When Phyllis Ludwig, CPA, FOX ’05, is mapping out complex business strategies, she’ll sit at a piano, working out the chords to help her work through the problem.

“The piano taps into something else. The idea of the performance unlocks something inside me,” she said. “For me, I’ve found it’s become essential for complicated problem solving and finding solutions.”

She had one of those “sit at the piano” moments back in 2002 when she founded Ludwig Business Consultants in her basement after deciding to “blow up” a very successful CPA career and build something for herself.

“On my 40^th birthday, I said to my husband Ray, who is also a CPA, that I wanted to go out on my own and create a business. I know my parents thought I was crazy — I was the vice present of finance at a public company — but I felt this calling to blow the whole thing up and do something different,” she said. “I sometimes wonder what the past 24 years would have been like if I didn’t make that decision; I’m sure I would have worked for some nice companies, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as fulfilling — just like this concert series is today, that was fulfilling my dream then.”

The inaugural Phyllis A. Ludwig Concert — “A Celebration of the American Songbook” — will be held in the Temple Ambler Learning Center Auditorium on Sunday, March 8. A reception for all guests, sponsored by Ludwig Business Consultants, will begin at 1:30 p.m. The concert will start at 2:30 p.m. The suggested attire is business casual. Reserve your spot today! The concert is made possible by the Phyllis A. Ludwig Concert Endowment. Learn more about the concert here.

Ludwig’s connections to Temple University Ambler and Temple as a whole run deep. She began the Executive MBA program offered by the Fox School of Business in 2003, not long after beginning her business.

“One day I came home and out of the blue there was an advertisement for the Executive MBA program at Temple in my inbox. While I was growing this new venture, it made sense to me — I felt like there was something missing in my business,” she said. “Initially, I was criticized for being ‘too much like an accountant.’ The Fox Executive MBA taught me how to think like a business owner — there were 26 people in our cohort and every class was transformational.”

There was much more to this new undertaking “than debits and credits and tax returns,” Ludwig said.

“It was about changing the way you think and how you collaborate with people. I created connections at that time that are still essential to me,” she said. “Some of the members of my cohort are still clients to this day. I was a resident of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), who provided some very valuable coaching and resources.”

With the support of IEI and SBDC, Ludwig said, “I was able to get out of the basement!”  

“When you’re in the basement by yourself, it’s a little hard sometimes. SBDC was an encouraging place to go and make connections, build and grow,” she said. “They introduced me to one of my first big clients. They helped me define what we’re doing with the business today, which is working with non-profits and for-profits to provide fractionalized controller and CFO services.”

Ludwig said that one transformative decision in 2002 is what has led her to today.

“I bet on myself and it’s amazing where that journey has taken me and the lives that have been touched through our clients and now through this endowment. It’s a spiritual feeling,” she said. “At the time I completed high school, I finished at the top of my class, and they were still asking me whether I was going to college or not. I have broken through several glass ceilings through hard work. There’s a lot of pride in that, but also a sense of responsibility — as a female business owner, you can do anything you set your mind to.”  

When just starting out on her own, Ludwig said, she would have never thought that 24 years later, “I’d have a thriving business and be in a position to create something for the community that is fueled by my passion for the performing arts,” Ludwig said.

“I hope everyone who is a part of this day comes out feeling great and, hopefully, a little bit inspired. If one person can start something in their basement and create a business that manages about 100 employees across all of our clients, then really, the sky is the limit,” she said. “You really do have to bet on yourself. You have to follow where the music takes you.”