Silvia Castruita

“Whenever I call American Express for anything, I receive such good service. It’s always been there for my business.”

Silvia Castruita

Real American Express customer who was aware that this testimonial may be featured by American Express.

From taxes to triumph: Empowering the community with American Express

Silvia Castruita’s business model began with an act of family advocacy. More than 30 years ago, as a young newlywed and student, she was thrust into the world of tax preparation when her mother, a factory worker who had moved her children from Mexico to Dallas and was still struggling with the local language, was shocked to learn she owed several hundred in taxes – an insurmountable amount for her at the time.

“My mother was devastated,” Castruita recalls. “She worked in a factory, making minimum wage. When she went to get her tax return done, she was told she owed over $200, which was like $2 million to her.” Castruita, who had no formal tax training, was determined to help. “I went to the post office, got the instruction booklet for the tax return, and read it. I was able to see a series of simple mistakes.” Castruita’s mother, nervous and uneducated in such matters, asked her to address the issue with a local tax professional.

Castruita’s visit to the tax office was disappointing, and a turning point. “The way I felt treated was not nice,” she remembers. “When I finally spoke to the person in charge, she looked down at me and said, ‘What makes you think you can correct us on our work? We know very well what we’re doing.’ I stood up, took the instruction booklet out of my purse, and started reading the corrections.” It took some pushing, and a few tense words, for the manager to relent and finally lend support, Castruita says. The experience highlighted the lack of sympathetic, Spanish-speaking tax services in her community.

What began as a personal mission soon evolved into a full-time endeavor, with word spreading about Castruita’s expertise. Encouraged by her husband, she pursued licensing to offer professional tax services, founding TaxSolutionS in 1991 to translate and demystify accounting and tax preparation for Dallas’s Hispanic population, one of the largest Hispanic communities in the United States.

“I was so upset back then,” Castruita recalls. “But now I am thankful they were so horrible to me because it inspired me to do something meaningful.” Today, her groundbreaking business thrives, thanks to Castruita’s resolve and persistence – and to the suite of business products from American Express that help her manage her cash flow and business finances.

Tools of the trade

Over the quarter century she’s been an Amex Member, Castruita has always relied on American Express® Business Cards for support. She currently uses the Blue Business Cash™ Card. In time, though, she has broadened her arsenal to include bespoke solutions tailored to her small business needs, including an American Express® Business Checking account*, an American Express® Business Line of Credit, and American Express Business Blueprint™. She says these tools have been instrumental in helping her run her business.

She discovered her Amex bank account through an email. “Hearing about the banking opportunity from Amex was surprising to me,” she says. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute – they’re not just a credit card company.”

Castruita was especially impressed by the ease-of-use of her online American Express® Business Checking account. “It’s easy to understand, and, once I was approved, I could start using it right away,” she reports. “Transferring money to and from the account is also very simple.”

Castruita says her American Express® Business Line of Credit, which offers her flexible access to an assigned amount of business funding, helps give her the support she needs to fund new projects – a game-changer for certain small renovations. “We are planning on redoing the parking lot in our building,” she explains by way of example, “and I wanted to draw a loan on the line of credit as a short-term vehicle to help pay for that.”

A single spot to manage cash flow

Best of all, Castruita can monitor such developments from one digital location, something she claims has significantly eased cash flow management.

With the comprehensive American Express Business Blueprint™ experience, businesses can view select Amex business products – from Cards to a Business Checking account and a Business Line of Credit – and linked external business bank and card accounts on the Business Blueprint dashboard. “Running a business, your most precious resource is time,” she says. “So, I need things to be easy, quick, and safe.”

Castruita’s journey, from helping her mother with her taxes to running a flourishing consultancy business, speaks to her community spirit. But she hopes to stay available for client needs large and small, just as American Express has helped her along the way. “Amex is always on call,” she says. “Even when I just need to talk to somebody to understand something about a product. It’s always been like that, and I’m grateful.”

*American Express® Business Checking

Deposit Accounts offered by American Express National Bank. Member FDIC.