"I fill a specific need for a while, then work my way out of a job," said Mr. Jones, who offers his services as a "parttime CFO," or chief financial officer. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1975, the native Kentuckian and avid golfer said he stayed in Nashville and went to work for R.L. Polk, an automotive consulting firm. He went to work two years later for Dorsey Trailers, a subsidiary of the Chattanooga-based Dorsey Corp.

All the while, he said, he took accounting courses. He earned his CPA license in 1979, he said, the same year he was promoted to The Dorsey Corp.’s Chattanooga office. In 1991, he said, he became the company’s controller and chief accounting officer.

Mr. Jones said Dorsey, which became known as Constar International in the mid-1980s, was purchased in 1992 by Crown, Cork and Seal. Because that company had its own staff in place, he said, he and several Constar managers lost their jobs.

He said he signed on in 1994 as controller at Chattanooga’s Steward Corp. and stayed for five years. Each of his next three employers had at least one thing in common, he said.

"I worked for three in a row that were in financial difficulty" at the time and lost those positions as a consequence of those companies’ struggles, he said.

"The economy wasn’t great" around the turn of the century, he said. "If you look at Chattanooga from 1979 to 2003, there were a lot of big companies. Now there are many fewer manufacturing jobs."

Mr. Jones said that run of three employers in as many years moved him to make a big decision.

"I felt I could go on my own and serve small businesses well," he said. He launched his "part-time CFO" business in January 2003.

"It was a pretty tough decision," he said. "I started with zero clients and knew I wasn’t going to have much revenue for a while. That forces you to limit your spending and live off savings until you get some revenue in."

Mr. Jones said he’s had about 25 clients in all since he hung out his shingle. In about 10 cases, he said, he worked himself out of a job by getting his clients to the point where they could manage their own businesses.

"I would say it’s gone as well as I’d hoped," he said.

One of Mr. Jones’ approximately 15 clients is Kris Simmons. Mr. Simmons said he owns Fire Eye Productions, a video production and multimedia design company in Chattanooga.

Mr. Simmons said that his company’s books were in the "worst possible shape" when he called on Mr. Jones in mid-2003. "Most people would have run screaming from the room," Mr. Simmons said.

"When I got to the three-year mark (of the business), I realized the books hadn’t been kept correctly and the business was growing faster than I could manage. I needed a good accountant to do the work and teach me to do the work.

"I told (Mr. Jones), ‘I know nothing, so don’t assume anything,’" he said.

Mr. Simmons said he and Mr. Jones set a goal — have a "good, solid" balance sheet by Jan. 1, 2004. Mr. Simmons said he’s reached that goal and then some. "Now I have a good understanding of proper management," he said. "(Mr. Jones) has gotten me to the point where I don’t need him to do what a business owner should know how to do."

Staff Photo by Kathleen Cole Steele Jones talks about going into business for himself after working for several different companies. Mr. Jones has an office on Ashland Terrace.
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