Michelle Glenn stands in the unfinished office space that will become Prairie Creek Bookkeeping and Tax Services on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in downtown Enterprise. The business opens Wednesday, March 1.

ENTERPRISE — Just in time for tax season, Michelle Glenn has opened the doors to a new tax service — Prairie Creek Bookkeeping and Taxes — in Enterprise.

“Tax season has already started,” Glenn said as the finishing touches were being put on the new office.

With both the federal and state deadlines to file on April 18, she knows it’s time to get going.

“That was one of the first things I checked,” she said.

Glenn will be working with her mother, Susan Gillstrap, and Angie Neil. In fact, Glenn worked a year for Gillstrap, a certified public accountant who has had a tax service in Enterprise since 2009.

“She’s been working for me and I’m going to be here helping her get established,” Gillstrap said, adding for a laugh, “I’ll be an employee.”

Glenn is still a bit new at doing taxes, not having gotten her qualification as a CPA yet. She said she has one more test to pass and then she’ll be an “enrolled agent” to do taxes.

Business

But the business won’t end with tax season, Glenn said. She’ll be working all year long.

Prairie Creek will do bookkeeping and payroll for businesses, as well as tax services.

So far, she’s been soliciting business by word of mouth — largely with the help of her husband, Jeremy Glenn.

“My husband has a big mouth,” she said, and laughed. “He likes to spread the word around.”

Jeremy Glenn works for Parks Bronze in Enterprise, which does many of the bronze sculptures seen around the county.

Michelle Glenn may be new to doing actual tax returns for customers, but she’s not new working with the public.

“Prior to that I did customer service for over 25 years,” she said.

She’s been studying her trade online, she said.

Family

The Glenns moved to Enterprise from Eugene in 2020, Glenn said, “just in time for the pandemic.”

She said they decided that once their three children had grown up and moved out it was time to move themselves.

“Our kids are grown up so we’re out of here,” she said they decided about Eugene.

They wanted to live in a smaller, more laid-back community.

“It’s a smaller community and we like that,” she said. “We were pretty tired of the city.”

That, and they’d visited Jeremy’s family here. In all, it just made sense to move to Enterprise.

“It was just time,” Michelle said. “We wanted an easier lifestyle.”