Alumni Success Story: Randy Goodyke, ‘85

True Success Is Trusting Your Team

Randy spent 20 years building his dream business- one that he drafted business plans for at Davenport University. Today, it’s a successful company and he has team that he is proud to call family. Read more about Randy’s inspiring view of success below.

Tell us about yourself, Randy!

I was born and raised in Jenison. I started at Davenport after high school with goal of earning a degree in hospitality management and accounting. I earned my associate degree in 1985 and I started working for an accounting firm in Grandville. Thanks to some great advice from Davenport staff and faculty, I returned to school to pursue a bachelor degree in accounting and passed the CPA exam. My partner and I started our own accounting firm in 1991 called DeBoer, Goodyke, Kahler & Tuttle P.C.

Why did you pick Davenport?

I originally picked Davenport because I was interested in hospitality management. My parents owned two ice cream shops, one in Holland and one in Zeeland, so I was interested in pursuing a career in food service and restaurants. I quickly learned that the hours of working in a restaurant industry was not the best for raising a family, so I gravitated to accounting. Many professors also pushed me in that direction.

Tell us about your experience at Davenport.

I really enjoyed attending classes at the Fulton Street Campus. I will never forget how tough it was to find parking, but once I did find a spot, I loved it! I loved the professors, all of whom had hand-on experiences and helped me get where I am today. I feel like the professors really cared about the students. Some of my management and accounting professors even helped form our business plan. But one of the best experiences at Davenport was meeting my wife of 31 years, Brenda. We were both participating in the college internship program at the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. She was a legal secretary and I was in the accounting and hospitality program. Naturally, the program fit my education path, but I don’t know how she got an internship at Disney being a legal secretary. God put us in the same place at the same time for a reason.  We became friends and dated during the Disney program. Once we came back home one thing led to another and we ended up getting married.

In a nutshell, what do you do?

I work as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and manage a firm of 16 staff. Our company, DeBoer, Goodyke, Kahler & Tuttle P.C., provides accounting services, payroll services, corporate, partnership and individual tax services, business consulting, and technology consulting. We all work really hard between January and April and we have a nice schedule between May and November. I enjoy the quality of life and work balance that I have as a public accountant. My passion is working one on one with business owners. We have built our business by building long-lasting relationships and friendships. We get to know our clients’ needs and customize our approach for individuals. While working with people’s finances, you get to see it all. We joke sometimes that we should have psychology degrees!

Tell us more about your firm.

The 25 year evolution of our CPA firm came with hard work and dedication, but the people we are surrounded with here each day is what makes this a success. We like to have fun and work hard. True success can be only measured in the team, not one person. Each day I am so blessed to be surrounded by outstanding people who are not my/our “employees,” but are my colleagues and friends.

What is your dream job?

I have my dream job now. It was a lot of work building the business the first 20 years. But looking back, it was worth it. I love the flexibility I have as a business owner. One of the best parts of this career is that my kids all played sports in high school and I do not remember missing any of their events. I would not let my job get in the way of raising my family. It was stressful, at times, but I learned to make it work.

What do you do when you are not working?​

I enjoy spending a lot of time with my family. I have three children who are now all grown up. I enjoy hunting, golfing, spending time outdoors and being in my church. My wife and I travel frequently and love to see different places of the world.