Founded by someone who has actually built the thing she's teaching
Lashanda Carter has been starting, growing and rescuing businesses since 2003. Carter Cole & Associates is where that experience became a firm.
From the rat race to the room where the decisions get made
Carter Cole & Associates began with the vision of its founder, Lashanda Carter — a serial entrepreneur and realtor who has been dedicated to starting and growing businesses since 2003. What drove her from the beginning was a conviction that financial freedom shouldn’t be reserved for people who happened to be born knowing how the system works.
She learned it the way most people do: by doing it, getting it wrong, and doing it again. Entity structures. Credit lines that approved and credit lines that didn’t. Tax bills that arrived larger than expected because nobody had planned for them. Every one of those lessons cost something — and every one of them is now part of what clients get in a single conversation.
Today Lashanda leads a team of entrepreneurs who are as invested in your business as they are in their own. Together they have helped hundreds of aspiring business owners not just meet their goals for real-world growth and profitability, but pass them.
The firm now spans two divisions: Carter Cole & Associates for credit, formation, compliance, bookkeeping and consulting, and SmartTaxIQ for everything tax. One relationship, one strategy, one team who knows your full picture.
- Serial entrepreneur and licensed realtor
- Tax preparation with active PTIN & EFIN credentials
- Credit repair and business credit strategist
- Building and advising businesses since 2003
To put the tools of financial control in ordinary hands
We help people repair and build credit so they can start or grow a business, file returns that are both accurate and strategic, and understand the practices that keep a company running long after the excitement of launch wears off. We do it through expert coaching, honest consultation, and work we’re willing to put our name on.
A generation of owners, not just earners
We want every client to walk away with something transferable — a business that stands on its own, credit that opens doors, records that hold up, and knowledge they can pass down. That’s what we mean by legacy, and it’s the standard we measure our work against.
Three convictions that shape every engagement
Everyone starts somewhere
We have never once told a client what they can't do. A 499 score, an unfiled year, a business idea with no capital behind it — those are starting points, not verdicts.
Clarity over jargon
If you don't understand your own return, your own score, or your own entity, you can't make decisions about them. We explain until it's clear.
Build for the generation after you
A refund is a moment. A business with clean books, good credit and a compliant structure is something you can hand to someone. We aim for the second one.
Numbers from the work, not from a brochure
of client businesses saw increased revenue
of clients improved their credit score
positive feedback from businesses we coached
The work speaks, but our clients say it better
Rated excellent across independent reviews — for credit turnarounds, clean returns, and businesses launched the right way.
“I was going through a rough time and my credit score was a 499. Since I have been working with her my credit is now 625, from January until now. I would definitely recommend her company.”
“She helped me take my credit score from 420 to 740 in just a few months — and went back to fix my taxes from previous years too. She filed my amendments, found deductions I didn't even know I missed, and made sure I got the max return.”
“Lashanda's been doing my taxes for years and I trust her completely. She breaks everything down so it's easy to understand and never misses a detail.”
“She's been completely hands-on with the start-up process for my home care agency — EIN, LLC, business banking, website. She helped me set three strong goals to move my company in the right direction.”
“Everything Carter Cole & Associates touches turns to gold. My work was done in a very professional way and my portfolio was set up with an expert touch.”
“Through their business coaching program, I'm on the path to creating the financial future my family and I deserve.”
Let's talk about what you're building
Start with a complimentary consultation. We'll look at where you stand — taxes, credit, entity, books — and tell you plainly what to do next.
Monday – Thursday, 9:30am – 5:00pm ET · Every inquiry answered within 2 business days.
