Year 3 of Full-Time Entrepreneurship

How I am spending the end of year 3 of full-time entrepreneurship!

We are somehow wrapping up year three since I left the Department of Justice Tax Division to pursue full-time entrepreneurship.  Being based in Washington, DC, despite the remote nature of our work, this business gave us a lot to be thankful for during a tough financial year across the nation.  Before diving into the growth of our business in its third full-time year, here is why I am thankful to be doing this work:

• The Trump Administration started making most DC-based employees return to the office four or five days a week.  I left the Department of Justice Tax Division when they wanted to force me to commute to the office two days a week.  This business was already giving me back about 128 hours a year by not commuting two days a week, and it gave me back 320 extra hours of life in 2025 under new in-office requirements, under the assumption that I would have been a government employee this year!

• A daring assumption given how many government employees lost their jobs over the past year!  I might have retained my position based on service tenure, but a small detail like working on a short-term civil rights project was enough for some attorneys to be pushed to leave.  Even if I had not been forced out, the folks who still work at the Department of Justice are unhappy.  It seems like a terrible place to work under the Trump Administration, and I am much happier and healthier without dealing with that stress.

• While government layoffs hit in early 2025, widespread layoffs continued throughout the entire year, including during the shutdown.  Simply put, it was a good year to be an entrepreneur.  We are entering an era where entrepreneurship is safer than having a job, and already having a pre-built business rather than scrambling to enter the initial stages at the same time as everyone else gave us financial stability that many around us lacked in this devastating job market.

• I also feel luckier than many other business owners.  Entrepreneurs creating physical products have faced economic hardship due to tariffs that impact their manufacturing.  Other entrepreneurs in less essential industries have seen a downturn in clients as their clients cut out extra spending due to job loss.  We still have taxes, money, and laws (for now!), so I have been fortunate to remain insulated from some of these hardships thanks to being part of an enduring industry.

I am beyond grateful that Phippen Tax & Financial Services has not only survived 2025, but has grown since 2024.  We experienced a similar rate of growth as in 2024 despite pausing all outreach and marketing efforts.  Losing Xa’s mom in late 2024 meant we were not looking for growth in 2025, but the business continues to grow authentically with referrals from our wonderful clients!  Specifically, in 2025:

• As of November 12, the IRS had processed 278 unique Form 1040 tax returns from Phippen Tax this calendar year (compared to 209 for the same period the previous year).  This figure does not include business returns, returns filed after that date, or returns filed by that date but still awaiting processing.  Most of these were 2024 returns, but a fair amount are returns from prior years as we work with folks to amend prior returns or get caught up on unfiled returns. 

• In 2025, we exceeded our prior-year total billables on September 3, and are 37% ahead of that figure as of this writing on a cold and snowy early December DC morning.  We do not expect too much more growth since we are leaving for a Caribbean Christmas tomorrow, but the numbers may tick up slightly!

• We hired two part-time employees to work for Phippen Tax & Financial Services and are looking to make another hire to start the new year to accommodate our expanding business and provide better service for our clients!

• We kept our newsletter going and are excited to bring new content in 2026.  We made a little less content in early 2025 due to the stress in our personal lives, but we have picked up a bit this fall, and Xa is eager to continue the momentum following her recent retirement.

• We have kept our Instagram and Facebook quiet to minimize growth in 2025, but we expect to be more active on social media in 2026.  Check us out for financial tips!

Speaking of 2026, we have more in store for our growing business.  We are implementing a new tax return scheduling system to facilitate client experience and transparency in timelines while completing tax returns.  The new schedule will accommodate clients receiving tax documents on various timelines and help us find the best times for new clients to submit their tax documents.  If you are a new client interested in working with us, schedule an appointment in the new year!

Since we practice what we preach and prioritize life over work, we had both a lot to recover from and a lot to celebrate in 2025.  We learned that nothing can expedite healing from loss—I also lost a dear friend unexpectedly in June—but building a more flexible life makes it easier to give yourself the space to recover.  In 2025, the life we have been building over the years gave us multiple opportunities:

• We started the year in Hawaii, seeing the sun rise over the ocean to ring in the new year.  It was the therapeutic start we needed, a short escape spent with friends.

• Xa decided to step away from work temporarily starting February 1, 2025, after trying to go back to work in January and realizing she did not have enough energy to give to work, playing rugby, and coaching rugby.  Work felt like the most negotiable priority, so she switched to an hourly status from February through mid-June.  In June, she went back part-time, and resumed full-time work in August.

• The DC Revolution Rugby Club went undefeated in the Capital region, won the Capital Championship, and advanced to the Atlantic Super Regional.  The team won the national semi-final match by one point, and Xa had a timely jackal in the last two minutes of the match to secure possession for the DC Revolution to get the win.  The DC Revolution ultimately lost in the national championship, coming in second in the division.  Xa scored a try in the final, and the team fought hard despite coming up short.  They finished the Fall 2025 season undefeated in their regular season matches and look forward to playoffs in the spring!

• We travelled to Sicily for a month in May and June, slow travelling throughout the island.  We visited Palermo, Avola, Modica, Ragusa, Noto, San Lorenzo, Marzamemi, Siracusa and Ortigia, Catania, Aci Trezza, Taormina, Vulcano Island in the Aeolian Islands, Castelmola, Giardini Naxos, Marinella, Cefalu, San Vito Lo Capo, Macari Trapani, Favignano, Levzano, Scopello, and Castellamare del Golfo.  Watching the sun rise from our Taormina apartment while eating breakfast and watching the sun set from Macari Beach with a pizza and a bottle of wine made from grapes grown from the soil of Mt. Etna will always be some of our favorite memories.  We ate the best pasta imaginable at La Brace in Cefalu, watched Mount Etna erupt from the Taormina theater, hiked through Cavagrande del Cassible to reach the most beautiful water, and enjoyed as much granite as possible.

• Xa’s dad visited us for the Red Sox series on the Fourth of July, we watched the USA women’s national 15s rugby team at Audi Field, we travelled to Boston with Xa’s dad for the Red Sox vs Dodgers series, my brother visited us for the Dodgers vs Orioles series, and we enjoyed many local sporting events along the way.  Most excitingly, the Dodgers won the World Series for the second consecutive year!

• We had multiple family members visit us in DC this year, for more than just the baseball series visits, making our year feel warm and filled with love and joy!  We also took multiple trips to Connecticut to visit family and friends.

• We spent some time in the Caribbean in August, sailing down to Curacao, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic for the first time as well as returning to the Bahamas.  We are excited to head back to the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas this month.

• We took a short trip to Sedona in November to have a few days of hiking, delicious food, and recovery by the pool.

• We used credit card rewards points for travel benefits, including lounge access.  Our points have started to add up, and we are excited to cash in on some deals in 2026.  We also flew enough to keep our status with United Airlines, which comes with perks like free checked bags, priority check-in, early boarding, and seat upgrades.

• We sponsored the DC Revolution Rugby Club and the George Washington University Women+’s Rugby Football Club to support our local rugby teams.  We also continue to partner with local businesses and have fun watching them grow.

• My run streak reached 3,000 days earlier this fall (dating back to July 2017), and I am on track to hit my 2025 goal of 1,500 total miles sometime while we are in the Caribbean.  

• Our net worth went up while travelling in Sicily.  This showed us we have generated enough wealth that our money makes money, even when we press pause on work.

• We doubled the number of full-time entrepreneurs in our household when Xa retired, effective yesterday.  In reality, Xa will only work part-time for Phippen Tax so she can dedicate more attention to rugby coaching and other ventures.  It is exciting to see that this business has grown enough in three years to let her confidently leave her job!

I continue to feel deep gratitude for everyone who has trusted Phippen Tax & Financial Services with their tax, financial, and legal priorities.  It was an unspeakably difficult year for us despite so many joyful outcomes.  Pushing through the 2025 tax season was one of the most challenging stretches of my life.  Thank you for your patience as we weathered a difficult season of life, and I hope we can help you through all seasons of your life as well.  We cannot wait to help you and your businesses achieve your goals in 2025.  I look forward to working with you over the next year.