Elaine Domin of Gold Star Business Services

Elaine Domin already knew she wanted to be an accountant when she began her career at the age of 17. At a time when most women didn’t go to college, Domin started small with a particularly strong high school bookkeeping class. She began doing grunt work for accounting departments and worked her way through a host of roles in both multinational companies and small businesses as she furthered her formal education with college accounting classes. Over the decades, she gained experience and knowledge in all that falls under the umbrella of accounting.

“I am really lucky. I have never really had to work, but I choose to work because I like it – I truly enjoy the people and the business,” Domin said.

In 2009, Domin decided to go into business for herself, and Gold Star Business Services was born. While she focuses mainly on accounting and some taxes, she is also a certified QuickBooks Pro advisor and enjoys training others to use QuickBooks.

“I have gained a broad background that allows me to adapt to almost any business or person,” she explained. “I enjoy working closely with local clients, which allows me to understand where my clients are coming from and take a personal approach to meet the needs that are unique to themselves and their company.”

Domin has always felt a need to give back in the community and takes particular interest in women’s rights as a past president of the Charleston chapter of the National Association of Female Executives. In addition, she has served on boards of the YWCA and Trident Literacy Association.

“My life has been different than those who went to college in the 1980s and 1990s. Back in the day, when we bought a house, I had to sign papers saying that I wasn’t pregnant. Women couldn’t even have credit in their own name. In those days, there were no laws protecting women’s rights; following a recent court case saying women could continue working during pregnancy, I challenged my employer’s policy of making you quit at three months and worked until much later in my pregnancy,” she explained. “There was never an expectation for a woman back then to be independent like they are now; in that regard, being a woman has not been an easy challenge in business and in life.”

Domin’s advice for others is that they can work to become whatever they want to be.

“One client led to another, and another and another,” she smiled. “I am doing what I am passionate about, and I am dedicated to my clients. Those are the mainstays of Gold Star Business Services.”

By Anne Toole