Family Business Serving Chautauqua County for 50 Years
Article Contributed by
Walt Pickut
When a successful young Chautauqua County dairy farmer like Arthur Young came down with a serious illness after 15 years of farming, at the age of 33, he knew what to do. He was a farmer so, of course, he was resourceful. He and his wife, Barbara, sold the family farm, moved to town, and started a successful family business that is celebrating its 50th year in 2019.
Arthur had always liked working with numbers and, unlike most of his friends, actually enjoyed preparing taxes for himself and a half-dozen fellow farmers in the Cherry Creek area. So, he decided to became a tax preparer. He was a smart young man, having graduated as the valedictorian at Cherry Creek High, so he took a formal tax preparation course. In 1969 Arthur founded Young Tax Service serving 50 farmer-clients in the Cherry Creek area. After all, he knew their business better than most. In 1983, the family opened a second location in Jamestown, NY, which became the sole location in 2012, at 101 W 5th Street, across the street from the historic Prendergast Library.
Over the last half-century, the Young family business has grown to serve 1,500 individuals, families, and businesses a year in every line of work. That’s a lot of annual tax headaches cured by one family in 50 years. Though they no longer specialize only in farm work, they still serve one of Arthur’s first clients, then a 35-year old man who is still farming profitably at the age of 85 today. Loyalty is a family tradition that goes both ways.
Arthur and Barbara’s son, Wayne C. Young, now heads the business. The company’s services have been expanded to include accounting, bookkeeping, consulting, payroll returns and preparation, and notary services. Wayne earned a degree in Accounting at Alfred University in 1980, and more recently a degree in Business Administration at Houghton College, and a Master’s degree in Financial Planning as a Certified Financial Planner, and earned the status of Enrolled Agent with the IRS.
By the 1980s, Wayne’s sister, Wendy Howig, managed the Jamestown office, while brother- in-law, Bruce Hendrix and wife Brenda, managed the Cherry Creek Office, with Wayne sharing time at both locations. Sister Wendy has also been a mainstay of the business for many years. Young now employs four full-time and three part-time workers. Young attributes many changes in the business to technology. “We used to do everything in pen and ink on my parents’ kitchen table,” he said. “Then we’d do it in pencil when we got a copier that turned the final draft into something that looked like ink. It saved a lot of re-writing. When Internet filing started, we had to charge extra because of the technology costs, until the IRS made it mandatory for all returns to be e-filed by professional tax preparers.
The best free advice about strange things that can happen when filing a tax return that Young can offer is simple: Guard your Social Security number. Identity theft can now allow someone else to use your number and claim your return.
Like many successful family business owners, Wayne Young credits his parents for his success. “Even though my father had MS that gradually stole his physical abilities, he still kept going to serve a lot of people. My sisters and brother-in-law deserve a lot of credit, too. Everybody made a lot of sacrifices to see the family business grow. My advice is to love your work, give value to your customers, and show up every day.
To know more, visit youngtaxservice.com, stop in at 101 W 5th Street in Jamestown, or call 716-664-1550.
