How do you take over a legacy small business that was founded in Springfield 20 years before you were born?
If you're Emmanuel "Manny" Davis, you just dive right in.
The 24-year-old Davis became the new owner of Tax Partners Holding, Inc. on Feb. 1. The tax preparation and bookkeeping business, located at 2060 W. Monroe, was established by the late Don Fuener more than 44 years ago, and Davis has already taken the firm's clients through their first income tax season and beyond.
"So far the reaction from clients has been overwhelmingly positive," Davis said. "A lot of people were happy that they didn't have to change tax preparers."
Davis knew he would have big shoes to fill, and he has been taking it one tax return at a time since assuming ownership earlier this year. He also changed the name of the company to TPH Strategies.
"I keep saying to some of the clients that the business isn't in year one but I'm in year one," Davis said. "Learning the processes has been interesting, trying to compare the way I want to run the business with how Don ran the business. My goal for the first two years is to just keep things running the way they have been and absorb as much knowledge as I can."
Davis said that as a young, minority business owner, he had expected to face some unique challenges in purchasing and operating TPH, but those challenges simply haven't occurred.
"Being a minority business owner, I was nervous stepping in after Don passed away. I didn't know how that was going to be perceived by the public," Davis said. "But I think that hasn't been an issue at all. Everything has been quick and easy."
Davis said that Cindy Fuener, a TPH employee and Don's widow, "did some creative financing on how she structured the sale of the business." Davis also secured a Small Business Administration loan for working capital, and has had a good relationship with Bank of Springfield that has helped to get things up and running.
Davis was born and raised in the Chicago area. He earned an undergraduate accounting degree from Millikin University in Decatur where he met his fiancée, who lives in Springfield. Davis earned his MBA from the University of Illinois Springfield, worked in accounting with Sikich LLP in Springfield, and then took a job in finance with the private equity firm Advantage Capital in St. Louis.
Davis had a five-to-10-year goal of owning and operating his own tax preparation business, but that timetable advanced when he learned about TPH from an old colleague. When Davis looked further into the possibility, he discovered that his fiancee's mother was also a TPH client. She put her future son-in-law in touch with Cindy Fuener in November 2023.
"I called Cindy and she told me how many clients Don had, how he did payroll, how he did tax services and tax preparation," Davis said. "We decided to meet in person to see how interested I really was in buying the business, so I came down that next day. I felt like we hit it off pretty quickly."
Cindy explained that she wanted to find a good steward for her late husband's business and their clients. Offers had come in from multinational corporations and smaller entities, but she was determined to keep the business local and personal.
"She explained to me how nothing really felt right until we met, and I felt the same way," Davis said. "I fell in love with the clients, I fell in love with the building, and knew that I could continue on with the business and with Don's legacy."
The first step Davis took was to retain the firm's two employees, Cindy Fuener and Alice Foss, so clients would have some familiar faces when they walked through the door. Next came a mailer that Davis sent to all TPH clients to introduce himself to them and to assure clients that the business' name and method of operation would remain unchanged.
"The only real change I have made so far is decorating this office and changing the form that the clients fill out," Davis said. "Right now I'm learning everything I can about our clients, their work and their personal stories so we can cultivate their individual tax stories."
Davis attained his Enrolled Agent Certification with the Internal Revenue Service in May. He has joined the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and several local tax professional groups, and feels Springfield has a lot to offer small businesses and the people who operate them.
Meanwhile, Davis said he's in it for the long haul with TPH.
"Don built something here and I really just want to keep it going," Davis said. "He put in 44 years and hopefully I can put in 44 years. I'm here to stay, I'm here to serve the local community."