Today we’d like to introduce you to Tonya Sewell-Lawton.
Hi Tonya, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always had a heart for people. I see their struggles and I don’t discard them — I try to help them build themselves. That’s the thread through everything I’ve done for 28 years.
My first accounting job was payroll data entry through a temp agency at American Airlines. Nobody trained me. I paid attention, figured it out, and kept going. That set the pattern for everything that came after — every place I worked, I found a way to make it better.
I built my client base on nights and weekends while raising three daughters. One client at a time. No marketing plan, just doing the work and letting it speak. In 2018 I was in a collision with a semi that left me with a traumatic brain injury. I had to rebuild how I think, how I process, how I work. I came back and went straight back to building.
Today I run Sewell Business Services — tax preparation and bookkeeping for self-employed individuals, real estate investors, and small business owners across all 50 states. My clients are people building something. What I give them is what I always wanted someone to give me — someone who actually sees them, not just their numbers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The TBI was the hardest thing I’ve ever faced. I had 28 years of knowledge in my head and suddenly couldn’t access it the way I used to. There was a stretch where I didn’t know if I could do this work anymore. But stopping wasn’t an option — I had daughters watching me and clients counting on me. So I did the only thing I could do. I kept going. I fumbled through it, figured it out day by day, and came back stronger than I left.
The other challenge is one I chose. I take the hard cases. The client with five years of unreconciled books. The self-employed single parent who doesn’t understand why their numbers don’t add up. The first-generation business owner who’s never had anyone actually explain how money moves through their business. I could turn that work away. I don’t. That’s where I belong.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sewell Business Servics. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Sewell Business Services exists because self-employed people deserve the same quality of financial guidance that big companies get — and almost never have access to. Most of my clients are running their businesses and their lives at the same time, and the financial piece is the part that keeps them up at night. My job is to make that part make sense. Not just at tax time, but all year. Not just the numbers, but the story behind them.
I do tax preparation, bookkeeping, business formation, and financial structuring for self-employed individuals, real estate investors, and small business owners. I also help clients get lending-ready — clean books, proper entity structure, and documentation that actually holds up when it’s time to access capital. A lot of people come to me after something has already gone wrong. I clean it up, build the structure underneath them, and make sure they understand how to keep it right going forward.
This isn’t just number work to me. Every file I open is somebody’s livelihood. I treat it that way.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success isn’t about money. It’s about showing someone how to take the next step when they didn’t think they could. It’s the client who came in convinced they’d messed everything up, and walked out understanding what happened and how to fix it. It’s watching someone go from overwhelmed to confident because somebody finally took the time to explain it to them.
That’s what I built this for. Not the numbers. The people behind them.
Pricing:
- Business formation: $750 (includes EIN, operating agreement, and state fees)
- QuickBooks setup & chart of accounts build: $1,500
- Tax preparation: $100–$1,250 per return (seniors, self-employed, S-corps, partnerships)
- Business lending readiness & financial documentation: starting at $2,500
- Bookkeeping cleanup & reconstruction: priced by project
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sewellbusinessservices.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sewellbusinessservices/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sewellbusinessservices
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyasewell/
