Barbara Jean Pate
Barbara Pate is the Pate’s Bookkeeping Owner and an experienced business professional and entrepreneur who has been a business owner in various industries for many years, while focusing on bookkeeping and financial management for the past year. She is passionate about helping small businesses increase their profitability by providing accurate bookkeeping, financial organization, and actionable business insights that support long-term growth. Barbara earned an Associate’s degree in Business Administration, Management, and Operations from DeVry University in 2013, where she developed a strong foundation in business strategy, communication, and operational management. Her career is guided by her belief that personal challenges can be transformed into opportunities to help others succeed, particularly new entrepreneurs who need guidance navigating taxes, inventory management, and financial planning.
Throughout her career, Barbara has owned and operated businesses across several industries, including a computer repair and electronic services business, a formal dress shop where she performed intricate beadwork and alterations on wedding and prom dresses, and a candle and soap business that also produced specialty personal care products such as beard balms, beard oils, and sugar scrubs. She also owned and operated a restaurant where she supported her community by donating leftover food to local soup kitchens rather than allowing it to go to waste. For the past year, she has focused on bookkeeping through QuickBooks, helping connect with small businesses that need financial clarity and operational support. Her key responsibilities include helping clients maintain inventory control, manage finances, and prepare taxes on monthly, quarterly, and annual schedules. One of her greatest strengths is helping business owners rebuild and clean up financial records when businesses have years of disorganized bookkeeping, turning complex financial challenges into structured and manageable systems.
Barbara is also deeply influenced by her mentors and family, especially her daughter Samantha West and her son Curtis Wilkes, who have supported and inspired her throughout her professional journey. She currently works as an appointment setter with The Call Center Doctors while continuing to grow her bookkeeping services under Pate’s Bookkeeping. In addition to her technical expertise, Barbara is known for her strong interpersonal skills, compassion, and ability to provide comfort and guidance to clients during stressful financial situations. Her mission is to continue helping small business owners succeed by improving financial health, increasing profitability, and providing the support and education they need to confidently manage and grow their businesses.
• Correctional officer, Law Enforcement
• DeVry University - AAS in Business Administration
• Correctional Officer Appreciation Award
• School Volunteer
What do you attribute your success to?
I have always taught my kids that education is everything. As long as you take classes to help you through your life, in case whatever direction you decide to go, whether it's in music or accounting or anything for small business, you need to get that education and grow. You won't achieve as much if you don't. My daughter has a math degree and is also going into accounting, which shows how much I believe in the power of education to open doors and create opportunities for success.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is that life is a game, and I have to learn how to play it strategically in order to benefit from the wins. This perspective has helped me focus not only on working hard but also on working smart by building meaningful relationships, understanding how decisions are truly made within organizations and industries, and identifying opportunities where my strengths create the greatest impact. I’ve learned to be intentional with my time and energy, study my successes to understand what is working well, and approach my career with both discipline and strategy rather than simply effort alone.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges are the clean-outs, where somebody hasn't kept their books for like 5 years and you have to go in there and clean up everything that they messed up on and refigure everything. That's one of the hardest things. But the easiest thing for me is just being able to talk to people. I can talk to anybody, anywhere, it doesn't matter, I don't even have to know them. It's comfortable when you can talk to your people and find out what they're thriving in and what they need help in, and I give them that comfort. The biggest thing for me is being able to comfort someone whenever they're having a hard time.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
God is first, family is second, and the business. You don't realize how much support you have until your local people start coming to you and using you because it's something that they needed. It makes me feel good whenever I can make others feel good and more confident in what they're doing.