Drago Accounting has opened a new location at 230 W. Main St. in West Plains.
The accounting practice is owned by local entrepreneur and Certified Professional Accountant Sarah Drago. The firm serves individuals, small businesses and organizations.
After gaining experience in a local CPA firm, Drago moved into business ownership and reported stronger early demand than expected, including steady walk-in traffic and a busy tax season. She said she also is continuing to pursue monthly bookkeeping clients and expanded nonprofit work.
“I’m an accountant — numbers, projections and bookkeeping are what I do well,” Drago said. “But I knew I needed a professional website right away so people could look me up, see that I’m legitimate and understand what we do before they ever pick up the phone.”
Drago received an Ozarks Small Business Incubator Website Development Digital Impact Scholarship through OzSBI’s Brand Building & Digital Impact program. The program provides $1,000 in website development scholarship funding to qualifying small business owners and connects recipients with local professional web developers.
Drago worked with Idyllic Solutions, owned by Katie Vetter, a program partner specializing in brand-focused websites on the Squarespace platform.
“Katie sat down with us once for about an hour and then — honestly — she just magically created a beautiful website,” Drago said. “When I saw it, my first thought was: this is exactly what I wanted and never knew I needed. It was one huge piece of opening a business that got taken off my plate by an expert.”
OzSBI created the Brand Building & Digital Impact program after receiving support from Rural LISC through Mastercard Strive to help area small businesses strengthen brand identity, marketing and digital presence.
In follow-up meetings with OzSBI, Drago said the new office is seeing more walk-in activity than anticipated, especially during tax season. She also reported growing word-of-mouth referrals, improved business stability and room for growth, including capacity to take on more bookkeeping clients and specialized engagements such as nonprofit financial review work.
Drago said OzSBI’s guidance helped turn an abstract goal into a step-by-step plan.
“I came to OzSBI because I needed a sounding board I could trust — actionable plans, honest feedback and confidentiality,” she said. “When you’re starting out, you know what you want to do, but the roadmap isn’t there. OzSBI helped lay it out in a neat little package and empowered me to take the first step.”
“Sarah’s story is exactly why we built this program,” said Autumn Shirley, business development director at OzSBI. “A solid website and clear brand presence aren’t ‘nice-to-haves’ anymore — they’re basic infrastructure for being found and trusted. We’re proud to support local entrepreneurs like Sarah as they build sustainable businesses right here in our region.”
OzSBI’s Brand Building & Digital Impact initiative includes support for website development and long-term brand-building strategies, including a website development scholarship and options for discounted radio brand-building campaigns through Ozark Marketing. More information is available at ozsbi.com/brand-building. The deadline to apply is May 15.
Learn more about Drago Accounting at dragoaccounting.co.
