Quitters Never Win, Tax Strategy, Faith and Mindset with James Bohan
Featuring: Justin Mills (Dragon’s Gold Podcast) & James Bohan, CPA, MRED
This conversation originally aired on Dragon’s Gold: The Magic of Mindset, hosted by Justin Mills, where entrepreneurs and leaders explore the mindset frameworks behind wealth, resilience, and impact. In this episode, Justin sits down with James Bohan, CPA, real estate investor, fund CFO, and founder of Stonehan Accountancy and Stonehan Capital.
What unfolds is one of James’ most personal conversations to date, covering childhood influences, the reality of accounting, leaving corporate life, understanding taxes as a battle of incentives, dealing with fear and uncertainty, and the faith-driven decision making that has shaped his career.
If you are building a business, raising capital, investing, or trying to build generational wealth, this episode offers both strategic tools and deep mindset principles.
Summary:
Entrepreneurship is not just about taxes and structure. It is about mindset, discipline, faith, and refusing to quit when the path gets hard. Justin and James explore:
Growing up in a real estate development family
Why accounting is the best foundation for future fund managers
The brutal reality of CPA busy season and how it forges discipline
Moving from public accounting into private equity real estate
Leaving a CFO role to build his own firms
Taxes as “war,” why structure matters, and becoming the “tax hero”
A real deal that almost fell apart 4 days before closing (and how faith saved it)
How God reveals only the next step, not the entire plan
Upgrading from QuickBooks to Oracle NetSuite for true family office visibility
Stoic philosophy, biblical leadership, and the dangers of ego
Legacy, perseverance, and why “quitters never win, winners never quit”
This episode blends strategy, faith, and entrepreneurial realism, perfect for operators, fund managers, and business owners aiming to grow with intention.
Watch the Full Episode:
FAQ's
1. Why did James choose accounting before real estate investing?
Accounting gave him the language of wealth, the foundation for private equity, and the ability to structure deals properly.
2. What does James mean by “taxes are war”?
He sees tax planning as a strategic battle of incentives that requires discipline, structure, and a warrior mindset.
3. How does faith influence his business decisions?
James believes God reveals only the next step, not the full path, and surrendering control often leads to unexpected breakthroughs.
4. What does “quitters never win” mean in practice?
Success is inevitable if you never quit. Even when goals shift, staying in the game ensures forward motion.
📞 Book a Tax Strategy Call with James:
https://calendly.com/jamesbohan/book-a-call
📨 Connect With James:
LinkedIn: James Bohan, CPA, MRED
Instagram: @jamesbohancfo
Website: stonehan.com
Chapter Breakdown With Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:58 – Early Influences and Real Estate Upbringing
04:10 – Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
06:30 – The CPA Gauntlet and Foundational Career Lessons
08:55 – Faith, Direction, and Evolving Career Vision
10:30 – Fellowship and Key Mentors in Real Estate
12:15 – Leaving Corporate and Launching Stone Han Capital
14:20 – Building Stonehan Accountancy and Early Growth
16:10 – Darkest Moments, Burnout, and Purpose
18:00 – Warrior Mindset, IRS Battles, and Personal Transformation
20:10 – Achievements, Rewards, and Mindset Shifts
22:40 – The Investment Crisis Story and Divine Timing
26:10 – New Partnerships, Relationships, and Business Expansion
28:45 – Future Vision, Scaling, and Operational Excellence
30:40 – Books, Wisdom, Leadership, Ego, and Staying Grounded
32:10 – Legacy, Impact, Mythical Creatures, and Closing CTA
Original Episode:
This conversation originally appeared on Dragon’s Gold: The Magic of Mindset.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc4v9HfHUzY
Full Transcript:
00:00 – Introduction and Guest Welcome
Justin (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to another episode of Dragons Gold, the Magic of Mindset. Today we have the pleasure of having James Bohan, the founder of Stonehan Capital Family Office as well as Stonehan Accountancy. James, welcome to the show today.
James (00:22):
Thanks for having me on, Justin. Excited to be on this Dragons Gold podcast.
Justin (00:30):
Thank you, my friend. It is a pleasure to have you here with us, and I am really excited to help share your story. So to that point, let's dive in. Let's go right to the origin story. Where did it all begin for James?
01:58 – Early Influences and Real Estate Upbringing
James (01:58):
Where it all began for me was really growing up in a real estate family. I have always been interested in property development, looking at the world from an economist lens. I remember my dad saying when I was six years old, I said I wanted to own a Blockbuster Video because I would still get to keep the movies and people would pay me rent. Not a great long term vision with the internet coming along, but I had the idea of an owner’s mindset very young. I watched my family develop homes and apartments across Southern California and Nevada. I grew up learning about real estate at the dinner table, and it really spoke to me.
Justin (03:40):
That is awesome. Family is huge, and for them to share that with you at such a young age and for you to have the desire to take that knowledge and move forward with it is incredible.
04:10 – Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Justin (04:10):
Speaking of that fire, when did you know you wanted something more? When did that click for you, and what steps did you take?
James (04:26):
Probably when I was 15 or 16, or even in my late teens, when I was interning at a property management company. I worked in the insurance compliance department, and my boss asked me where I saw myself and where I wanted my career to go. I said, I want to be the CEO of my own company. It has always been embedded in me. Watching my family be entrepreneurs meant I did not want to work for a big company my whole life. I did, however, have a great career with institutional shops like KPMG and a private equity fund in Los Angeles. Those roles were amazing for learning real estate from a fund manager’s perspective and really helped hone my vision and career path.
06:30 – The CPA Gauntlet and Foundational Career Lessons
Justin (06:30):
As you were developing and sharpening your skills, what trials or obstacles did you face? What was the gauntlet like?
James (06:45):
Accounting careers and CPA firms are challenging and a grind. You work 60 to 80 hours a week during busy season, and it is exhausting. But keeping your head down knowing it will lead to something great is important. My dad always told me, go get your CPA license and you can write your own ticket in life. And he was right. I tell new graduates who do not know their long term direction: become an accountant. Become a CPA. Work for a public CPA firm where you see multiple industries, then specialize. You become fluent in the language of wealth. From there, you can go to grad school. I got an MBA and a master’s in real estate development. It resets your career path. People stop viewing you only as an accountant and begin seeing the bigger picture. Accounting is one of the best foundational careers for anyone who wants to run their own business one day.
08:55 – Faith, Direction, and Evolving Career Vision
Justin (08:55):
When you were learning all of that, did you always hold the vision of being a founder and CEO? Did it ever waver or shift?
James (09:07):
A little bit. As I have grown in my faith, I have learned that God shows you the next step, not the whole path. When I worked at the CPA firm, my plan was to be there two years, get my license, and leave. But the culture was so strong that I actually saw a path to partnership. Then the firm was bought by KPMG, and I went to get my master’s in real estate development. always wanted to go out on my own eventually, especially because I was surrounded by incredible people at Rothstein Kass, which specialized in hedge funds and private equity funds. With my family background, I naturally slotted into real estate funds, and that set my vision to eventually join the private equity real estate side.
10:30 – Fellowship and Key Mentors in Real Estate
Justin (10:30):
To that point, we call it the fellowship. The mentors, the allies, the people who go along the journey with us. In your experience, who were some of the most inspiring people who helped you on your path?
James (10:42):
This one gentleman, Stanley Eisman, the founder of American Realty Advisors. He manages billions of dollars in real estate, and I had the honor of working for him as his CPA, not personally, but on many of the tax returns his fund invested in when I was at Rothstein Kass. Then when I went to grad school at USC, he was my professor for asset management. I got to see behind the scenes of his operations. He inspired me to get into private equity real estate, and then I went and learned from him directly in grad school. He is a big thinker, incredibly kind, treats his staff well, and has been a great person to learn from in my career.
12:15 – Leaving Corporate and Launching Stonehan Capital
Justin (12:15):
That is incredible to have someone guide you through both example and experience. Speaking of building something, creating your own companies, what were some of the challenges you faced early on? How did you overcome them?
James (12:32):
Great question. When I left my job as the CFO of a private equity fund, the plan was to partner with someone to start our own fund. This was in 2019. But for reasons outside of my control, that partnership fell through, and I had to go back to square one and ask myself what I was going to do. In 2019, I started Stonehan Capital with the intention of raising money for opportunity zone deals, but the role did not fit my personality. Around the same time, I started my CPA firm. An old client from Rothstein Kass reached out saying he had received terrible service after I left the firm and asked if I could help him again. I said yes. Honestly, I needed the money. From there, the CPA business grew into what is now a great practice.
14:20 – Building Stonehan Accountancy and Early Growth
Justin (14:20):
I think it is amazing how those opportunities appear when you need them. And when you help someone, it often comes back as fuel for your own growth. Your firm did not just appear. It took time, effort, and energy. Was there a specific moment you would describe as your darkest hour?
16:10 – Darkest Moments, Burnout, and Purpose
James (16:10):
A couple of busy seasons ago, when I did not have as much help as I do now, production was overwhelming. It was a huge grind, staying up very late during tax season. I thought about selling the firm and moving on to focus fully on real estate.But talking with my clients afterwards and hearing how much they valued my service, especially after their horror stories with other CPAs, meant a lot. It made me realize there was a bigger purpose here. Even though I had internal resistance about owning my own CPA firm again, God paved the path for me.
Focusing on the joy and fulfillment of serving clients well, instead of focusing on the grind, is what helped me get through it.
Justin (17:45):
What you said is powerful. Perspective can transform the same workload into a completely different experience. When you connect it to service and purpose, it changes everything.
18:00 – Warrior Mindset, IRS Battles, and Personal Transformation
Justin (18:00):
And when you mentioned the grind, it reminded me of something. Taxes can feel like war. What lessons did your journey teach you there?
James (18:14):
It is total war. I agree with you. I have had a warrior spirit my whole life, but I did not fully realize it until the pandemic. I felt called to leave California because of the lack of freedom and moved to Idaho where there was a lot more freedom. Before the pandemic, I owned one gun. Now I own several. I never saw myself as someone preparing for battle, but I became trained by great people in Idaho and developed a warrior mindset. Beyond fighting for my clients against the IRS, my friends joke that I am the tax hero and I have to go slay the tax demon. That is how they encourage me when I talk about my work.
Justin (18:55):
That is amazing. It aligns perfectly with what this podcast is about and with my own values. You are a hero, my friend.
James (19:05):
Yeah, I like to say call me the tax hero because I will make your tax zero.
20:10 – Achievements, Rewards, and Mindset Shifts
Justin (20:10):
Let’s talk a bit about achievements, dragons, gold, the things you have experienced and the benefits that have come from them. You shared the joy of helping people, which is priceless. What are some of the things you have learned along your journey that you can take away in terms of mindset and rewards?
James (20:32):
I have had something happen over the past couple of weeks that really shows me a mindset. If God wants something for you, He will make it happen. For example, I was under contract to buy an investment property here. I had someone lined up to help me buy the property because the close date accelerated. I negotiated the price down, but they said I had to close faster and end my contingency period. I talked to the person who was going to provide financing and planned to pay them back with the mortgage and other investor capital. But four days before close, this person said they no longer wanted to do it. It was Friday. Closing was Tuesday. I had the weekend to figure it out.
James (21:20):
Luckily, this all happened Friday morning. I said to myself, if God does not want me to have this deal, so be it. I will lose my 20,000 dollars earnest money and move on. But by the end of the day, I found a new hard money lender. I also had dinner scheduled that night with a client who I wanted as the GC on the project. I told them I might lose the deal. They said, if you get that hard money loan, we can put up the rest of the money. How much do you have? I needed to come up with 98,000 dollars for my share. I scraped together every last dollar into one account, and it totaled 98,400 dollars. To me, that was a sign. God wanted me to have this deal.
James (22:15):
By Saturday, everything with the lender was worked out. Documents were prepared Monday. On Tuesday, everyone wired their funds just like they said they would. Looking back, it was incredible to see it come together. I surrendered the outcome to God, and He provided the path.
22:40 – The Investment Crisis Story and Divine Timing
Justin (22:40):
What an inspirational story on so many levels. The lessons are incredible. You cannot control other people. You do not know what is going to happen. You accepted that you cannot control everything, but you still took action. You scraped together what you needed. You pushed. Through your perseverance, your team, and your faith, everything aligned. And I am incredibly happy it worked out for you.
James (23:15):
Thank you. It also led to new business relationships. I now have a new hard money lender I am talking to for potential future financing. I also called my best friend, who I had originally asked to invest as an equity partner. He began underwriting the deal as a lender to try to save it, but the timeline was too short. Even though he could not step in, I am grateful the deal still worked out one way or another.
26:10 – New Partnerships, Relationships, and Business Expansion
Justin (26:10):
And I am happy for you, your investors, and everyone involved. You also created new relationships during the chaos. Through crisis comes opportunity. You made connections that will help you in the future and the people you work with. Approaching things with kindness creates richer experiences and stronger bonds. I am grateful you shared that story.
James (26:42):
Thank you. And you are right. Those relationships will absolutely bear fruit, not just for me but for them also. It all works together.
28:45 – Future Vision, Scaling, and Operational Excellence
Justin (28:45):
We have talked about the past and the present. Now let’s talk about the future. What is the next quest for James Bohan and your companies?
James (28:58):
This year I spent a lot of time, money, and effort investing in the operations of my CPA firm. I hired a great marketing team, Banff Technology, through some masterminds. They get me, they understand my personality, and they understand the business. I also hired three more staff for busy season. I went out intending to hire one, but all three candidates were so strong that I hired them all. I may not have enough work to fill them to 100 percent capacity right now, but I see the trajectory of growth. I trust that God will provide if the journey is righteous. Hiring them gives me a year to train them before advertising ramps up. In the CPA world, inbound requests overpower capacity the moment advertising begins.
James (29:55):
On the capital and family office side, I will be working with my best friend to look at more acquisitions. There is one property already floating around that we may pursue in Q1. I am working on optimizing operations in both the CPA firm and the new investment I just closed, ensuring everything becomes more efficient.
James (30:25):
I also subscribed to Oracle NetSuite. At the level I operate, QuickBooks Online is too limited. My investors deserve dashboards where they can see their entire portfolio or net worth at the press of a button. With multiple LLCs, properties, GPs, and management companies, QuickBooks becomes too manual. NetSuite will let us automate consolidated reporting and give investors a professional experience worthy of a true family office.
30:40 – Books, Wisdom, Leadership, Ego, and Staying Grounded
Justin (30:40):
Good luck. Mistakes never happen. No, I love that you have been talking about the resources and tools you are using. What books or tools or anything have helped you that might benefit the listeners?
James (30:55):
I have been more into doing than researching lately. One book I read a long time ago was Rework. I forget the author, but it talks about looking at business differently. The old business models are dead. For example, why have team wide meetings where everyone bills at one hundred dollars an hour and sixty people are sitting there? That meeting costs six thousand dollars in productivity. How many of them even needed to hear that information? If something can be an email instead of a meeting, send the email. Be efficient.
James (31:18):
I read the Bible as much as I can. There is so much wisdom in it. Stories in Genesis still apply to human nature today. One story I love is Joseph. He had a vision of leadership, but before that came to pass, he went through slavery, imprisonment, betrayal, and hardship. When he finally rose to power in Egypt and his brothers came back during the famine, he did not seek vengeance. He chose kindness. The lesson is that things take time. They do not happen on your timing. They happen on God’s timing.
James (31:48):
Another book I read recently is Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. He is a stoic philosopher and author. As I started building an online presence on LinkedIn and Instagram strictly for business, that book kept me grounded. It helped me avoid falling into the negativity, vanity, and ego that are so prevalent on social media.
Justin (32:10):
Thank you for all of that. I resonate with so much of what you said. Joseph choosing kindness, controlling what you can control, staying grounded. If more people embodied that mindset, the world would be a better place. The stories you shared today will help a lot of people, and I am grateful for that.
James (32:24):
Thank you. The Bible version I have been reading lately is the Maxwell Leadership Bible. It takes passages and explains how they relate to leadership. For example, Moses was a reluctant leader, but God called him into action. It has given me great insight beyond just reading the text.
32:10 – Legacy, Impact, Mythical Creatures, and Closing CTA
Justin (32:40):
I have only got a couple more questions. We call it passing the torch. It is about impact and legacy. If someone were to see a statue of James Bohan in the Hall of Heroes, what would you want it to say?
James (32:48):
That is a really good question. I always think of the poem Ozymandias, King of Kings, where everything he built eventually turns to ruins. Nothing lasts forever. If I had a statue, I would want it to say the best lesson my dad ever taught me: quitters never win, and winners never quit. It took me a while to understand it. If you quit, you cannot win. But if you keep going, eventually you will. You may have setbacks, but if you stay in the game, you will eventually win. What winning looks like may change, but you will get there if you do not quit.
Justin (33:22):
Absolute gold, James. Anyone pursuing something meaningful will face challenges, but if they do not quit, they will succeed. Our vision of success changes as we grow, and that affects everyone around us. I am grateful you shared that.
James (33:40):
Thanks for having me on. It has been great to share these messages.
Justin (33:48):
One more question. If you could be any mythical creature, what would it be and why?
James (33:55):
It is obviously a dragon, because I want to build a castle and I love gold.
Justin (34:05):
Best answer ever. I resonate with that deeply. This has been one of my favorite interviews. Your values align so much with mine, and I am grateful to call you a friend.
James (34:18):
Thanks, Justin. Likewise. And if any listeners want to reach me, my website is stonehan.com. Stone, like a stone castle. Han, like Han Solo. We also put together a fifty point questionnaire for real estate investors. You can download it at 50taxquestions.com.
Justin (34:40):
It has been a pleasure, James. Thank you, my friend. Perfect, my friends. Thank you for joining us once again on this quest to inspire, educate, and empower you to turn your dreams into reality, one mindset shift at a time. We will see you next time.
