WEBVTT 00:00:16.969 --> 00:00:20.410 Welcome to another episode of Networking Unleashed, 00:00:20.469 --> 00:00:23.629 Building Profitable Connections, the show where 00:00:23.629 --> 00:00:26.910 we explore the powerful intersection of relationships, 00:00:27.449 --> 00:00:31.309 revenue, and real success. I'm your host, Michael 00:00:31.309 --> 00:00:34.329 Foreman, and today we're diving deep into how 00:00:34.329 --> 00:00:37.090 the right connections can do more than just grow 00:00:37.090 --> 00:00:40.460 your network, they can grow your wealth. Our 00:00:40.460 --> 00:00:44.140 guest today is a true expert in this space. She 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:46.740 helps business owners and high -level professionals 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:50.939 maximize tax savings through strategic partnerships, 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:54.200 connecting with the right experts, making the 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:58.340 right moves, and using networking as a tool not 00:00:58.340 --> 00:01:01.659 just for influence, but for the financial transformation. 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:05.140 If you've ever wondered how your network could 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:08.900 actually cut your taxes, build your assets and 00:01:08.900 --> 00:01:12.480 unlock hidden financial advantages, this episode 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:16.200 is for you. So get ready to learn how to network 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:19.829 with purpose. partner with power, and build connections 00:01:19.829 --> 00:01:23.810 that just don't open doors, they build legacies. 00:01:24.250 --> 00:01:28.310 So I would like to introduce Shauna, the tax 00:01:28.310 --> 00:01:31.829 goddess, and I want you to give me a little bit 00:01:31.829 --> 00:01:34.569 about your background. Welcome to the podcast, 00:01:34.930 --> 00:01:37.709 Shauna. Aw, thanks so much. Thanks so much for 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:39.689 having me. I'm super excited to be here because 00:01:39.689 --> 00:01:43.049 I am very all about having your network save 00:01:43.049 --> 00:01:47.209 you money, so I'm all in. Tell us a little bit 00:01:47.209 --> 00:01:50.290 about your background. Yeah, absolutely. So I 00:01:50.290 --> 00:01:54.049 am a CPA, master's in tax, certified tax coach, 00:01:54.209 --> 00:01:56.909 certified tax professional, certified tax strategist, 00:01:56.909 --> 00:01:59.849 all of which to say that basically for all of 00:01:59.849 --> 00:02:02.189 my adult life, I have done nothing but look at 00:02:02.189 --> 00:02:04.829 taxes and tax strategy and how to keep people's 00:02:04.829 --> 00:02:08.120 money for them. ex -KPMG from that standpoint, 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:10.539 was with some of the big firms, basically went 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:13.800 out on my own. Actually, yesterday was Tax Goddess's 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:17.939 21st birthday. Yes. So yeah, so we've got a team 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:21.439 over here. At one point, we were as many as 123 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.860 on staff. And at this point, we've crunched it 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:27.979 down just to my super experts in my tax strategy 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:30.900 side. So we're at about 35 right now. And global 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:35.340 team, we help primarily US taxpayers. So we don't 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:38.699 do Canadian taxes or Mexican taxes and any other 00:02:38.699 --> 00:02:41.620 country taxes. But yeah, so that's the deal. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:46.860 That sounds absolutely wonderful. Okay, so let's 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:50.740 get into some of my questions. Okay. You specialize 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:55.620 in maximizing tax savings through strategic partnerships. 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:59.580 Yes. Can you share an example of how the right 00:02:59.580 --> 00:03:03.340 connection significantly reduced a client's tax 00:03:03.340 --> 00:03:06.500 burden? Absolutely. Considering we're at about 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:09.979 $2 billion and counting in tax savings for our 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:13.300 clients, it's all about who you know and how 00:03:13.300 --> 00:03:16.840 those people have been vetted. Okay, so let me 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:19.639 give you a really good example. There is a tax 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:22.199 strategy called a captive insurance company. 00:03:23.050 --> 00:03:25.370 Now, for those of you listening, you either have 00:03:25.370 --> 00:03:27.849 heard about it and your current CPA has said, 00:03:27.909 --> 00:03:30.250 absolutely not. That's on the IRS's dirty dozen 00:03:30.250 --> 00:03:31.889 list. We're not touching that with a 10 -foot 00:03:31.889 --> 00:03:35.409 pole. Or you've met a tax strategist who said, 00:03:35.590 --> 00:03:38.689 yeah, there are bad providers and there's good 00:03:38.689 --> 00:03:41.129 providers. And you want to make sure that you're 00:03:41.129 --> 00:03:44.289 with the right. person. So when you talk about 00:03:44.289 --> 00:03:46.669 networking, it's not only about who you know, 00:03:46.750 --> 00:03:49.430 but it's also about what do they know? How have 00:03:49.430 --> 00:03:50.909 they been vetted? How long have they been doing 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:52.969 it? What's their background? Do they have IRS 00:03:52.969 --> 00:03:56.150 approval? These kinds of things, right? If we 00:03:56.150 --> 00:03:58.810 stick on the example of a captive, I had one 00:03:58.810 --> 00:04:01.349 client, unfortunately, work with a company out 00:04:01.349 --> 00:04:03.949 of California. She came to us after she was already 00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:07.389 working with them. The entire company and all 00:04:07.389 --> 00:04:10.150 of their clients got audited because of the way 00:04:10.150 --> 00:04:13.030 they were doing the paperwork. Right. So of course, 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:16.290 we do not work with that company. We work with, 00:04:16.290 --> 00:04:19.509 we have two vendors that we like, right? We always 00:04:19.509 --> 00:04:21.529 try to make sure that when we work with clients, 00:04:21.610 --> 00:04:23.790 we give them more than just one choice, right? 00:04:23.889 --> 00:04:25.769 Because I do want the client involved. Do you 00:04:25.769 --> 00:04:27.689 like their personality? Do you like their fees? 00:04:27.850 --> 00:04:30.319 Do you like... whatever it is for whatever strategy. 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:33.480 And of course, it's our job as a strategist. 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:36.660 I always call myself a fire -headed, red -haired, 00:04:36.660 --> 00:04:40.240 breathing dragon, okay? Because my job is to 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:43.279 find gold coins, right? So there's a gold coin 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.660 for captive strategies. There's a gold coin for 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:48.180 paying your kids. There's a gold coin for using 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:50.920 the master's exemption, right? But how do you 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:52.779 know that those gold coins are actually gold 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:55.680 and not just copper gold -plated? That's our 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:00.319 job is to vet strategies. very good and very 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:04.779 eloquently put to explain the differences between 00:05:04.779 --> 00:05:08.879 it no for a simpleton such as myself where i 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.079 don't understand i don't do taxes i do numbers 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.019 all day long but i don't do taxes and you put 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:19.000 it in such a way that it was simple terms but 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:21.740 you made myself and everybody else understand 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:25.600 the difference and as always you have to do your 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.899 homework you have to see who you're getting involved 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:30.500 with and you have to see their reputation and 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:33.500 my god your reputation is fantastic otherwise 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:38.399 you wouldn't be called the tax goddess It does 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.860 help when you have clients calling you back years 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:42.759 and years later going, you're the best CPA I've 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:44.879 ever worked with. Can you take me back as a client? 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:47.740 This kind of thing. Absolutely. Absolutely. What 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:51.300 should professionals look for when building a 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:54.480 network that supports both business growth and 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:58.660 smart tax planning? Let me start with the smart 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:00.699 tax planning because that's definitely more of 00:06:00.699 --> 00:06:04.069 my expertise. Good financial advisor. a good 00:06:04.069 --> 00:06:06.389 lawyer, and really probably two different kinds 00:06:06.389 --> 00:06:08.170 of lawyers, depends on what business you're in, 00:06:08.209 --> 00:06:11.089 but an estate and trust attorney for sure. And 00:06:11.089 --> 00:06:13.069 then a corporate attorney, like a contracts guy, 00:06:13.250 --> 00:06:15.930 negotiations, right? Corporate attorney. Your 00:06:15.930 --> 00:06:19.529 banker, absolutely key in that financial realm, 00:06:19.709 --> 00:06:21.910 all right? Especially if you need lending, lines 00:06:21.910 --> 00:06:23.730 of credit, you gotta have a good relationship 00:06:23.730 --> 00:06:26.509 there. Most people skip this one, but it's actually 00:06:26.509 --> 00:06:30.379 super important. Your life insurance guy. Okay, 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:32.860 or gal. Don't try to be sexist. Either way, guy, 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:35.279 gal, person, whatever. But your life insurance 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:38.639 person can actually make the difference between 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:42.420 you living a tax -free life at retirement versus 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:45.540 you working and paying tax every single day for 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:48.439 the rest of your life. So huge difference, life 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.019 insurance side. And then I would almost call 00:06:51.019 --> 00:06:54.220 it an investment advisor. Sometimes that's your 00:06:54.220 --> 00:06:57.139 financial guy. Sometimes it's not. But the investment 00:06:57.139 --> 00:07:00.480 advisors, their job is to find new investments 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:03.060 because they change every year, right? Which 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:05.939 oil and gas is the right oil and gas? Because 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:09.339 there's thousands of them, right? And the investment 00:07:09.339 --> 00:07:11.959 advisor often works very closely with, of course, 00:07:12.329 --> 00:07:14.449 us, your tax strategists, right? We definitely 00:07:14.449 --> 00:07:16.009 want to be sitting on that board of advisors 00:07:16.009 --> 00:07:18.730 on the finance side because, you know, that oil 00:07:18.730 --> 00:07:20.449 and gas may do really well for your neighbor, 00:07:20.529 --> 00:07:23.670 Bob, but that oil and gas with your set of facts 00:07:23.670 --> 00:07:27.120 and circumstances may not be the right. fit for 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:30.360 what you have, right? Building a board of people, 00:07:30.459 --> 00:07:33.660 for sure, on the finance side. And then generally, 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:36.120 as far as expanding your business, two different 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:39.519 routes on this. One, go find the rabbit farmers. 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.639 I think it's an old B &I term. Who else is in 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:44.480 your industry that does what you do, that works 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:46.339 with the same clients, right? The rabbit farmers. 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:51.240 And side note, am I allowed to be a little direct 00:07:51.240 --> 00:07:54.769 on this? Sure, absolutely. Find somebody who's 00:07:54.769 --> 00:07:57.149 going to tell you the real truth, the truth you 00:07:57.149 --> 00:07:59.470 don't want to hear, the truth that nobody else 00:07:59.470 --> 00:08:01.629 is willing to say to you. And somebody might 00:08:01.629 --> 00:08:03.290 just grab you by the shoulders and shake you 00:08:03.290 --> 00:08:05.829 and go, what the, you do it, smack. You really, 00:08:05.870 --> 00:08:09.269 you need somebody who can really bounce ideas 00:08:09.269 --> 00:08:13.170 off of. Yeah, I do this when I coach and when 00:08:13.170 --> 00:08:15.930 I do speeches and everything else. You don't 00:08:15.930 --> 00:08:18.699 want to surround yourself with the yes men. What's 00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:20.459 the point? Because yes men will just put you 00:08:20.459 --> 00:08:22.759 out of business. And you're right. What's the 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:24.920 point? You need somebody that's going to give 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.139 you a little bit of a say, hey, what exactly 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:30.040 are you doing? Because it doesn't make sense. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:34.000 It doesn't make logical sense. That's it. So 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:38.799 it's very good. Very good. Okay. So how can entrepreneurs 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:43.740 identify experts like CPAs, tax strategists? 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:47.090 or legal advisors who can help them build wealth 00:08:47.090 --> 00:08:50.629 through proactive tax strategies. I love it. 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:52.929 So the first thing here, and I need to lay a 00:08:52.929 --> 00:08:55.870 little bit of groundwork, okay? One of the biggest 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:58.690 questions, people call our office at Tax Goddess 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:01.850 and say, hey, can you do our taxes? We don't 00:09:01.850 --> 00:09:04.450 prepare tax returns, right? That's not what we 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:08.210 do. We partner with CPAs who specialize in compliance, 00:09:08.570 --> 00:09:11.750 right? We only do the strategy side. And the 00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:14.789 reason why I bring this up is because in probably 00:09:14.789 --> 00:09:19.049 99 % of people's minds, my CPA does my strategy 00:09:19.049 --> 00:09:24.250 for me. They have no idea that a separate tax 00:09:24.250 --> 00:09:28.450 strategist even exists. If you look at the statistics, 00:09:28.549 --> 00:09:33.409 according to Google, there are 660 ,000 CPAs 00:09:33.409 --> 00:09:38.269 in the US. There are only 607 that even start 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:40.929 the specialization of strategy specifically. 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:44.570 So when you look at, so when you're out and looking 00:09:44.570 --> 00:09:46.879 and who should I be working with, right? If you 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:51.399 see, so CPA, $660 ,000. Masters and tax, there's 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:57.720 $60 ,000. CTC, $607 ,000. CTP, about $250 ,000. 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:03.539 CTS, there's only $15 ,000. $15 ,000. So knowing 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:07.419 who you need and who you're trying to find for 00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:11.440 what purpose, I think those are the key. items 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:13.919 that you need to have, right? Because if you 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:15.779 just need somebody to file your tax returns, 00:10:15.899 --> 00:10:17.159 you don't want to get in trouble with the IRS. 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:19.019 You're good with how much tax you're paying. 00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:21.580 You don't need a strategist. You don't want a 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:23.799 strategist. We're more expensive than you want 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:27.200 to pay. Let's put it that way. But for most people, 00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:29.559 they will look at their tax, what they're paying 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:32.519 and say, you know what? I'm tired of writing 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:34.519 a check every single year to the U .S. government, 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:37.360 to the state government, whatever, for $200 ,000 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:40.870 a year. How do you get it down to 30? How do 00:10:40.870 --> 00:10:44.029 we get it down to zero legally above board? Right. 00:10:44.149 --> 00:10:46.129 The downside is being redhead. Red and orange 00:10:46.129 --> 00:10:47.570 don't look good together. So I'm not going to 00:10:47.570 --> 00:10:49.929 jail. We're not doing the thing. How do we do 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:53.190 this legally? And so understanding who needs 00:10:53.190 --> 00:10:56.289 to be on that team to get you the outcome you 00:10:56.289 --> 00:10:59.850 want is actually, in my opinion, the first key. 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:02.309 First thing you have to know. Right. Absolutely. 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:05.789 Absolutely. And again. It's doing your homework, 00:11:05.950 --> 00:11:08.289 knowing who's good, knowing who's bad and everything 00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:11.830 else. But that's your first step into doing. 00:11:11.850 --> 00:11:14.870 And this is for a slightly larger corporation, 00:11:15.309 --> 00:11:17.649 something like that. But somebody like myself 00:11:17.649 --> 00:11:20.830 who was a solopreneur, not exactly. Not yet. 00:11:20.909 --> 00:11:23.190 You'd be surprised. And I was about to say not 00:11:23.190 --> 00:11:25.909 yet, because really that's the key in my mind. 00:11:25.990 --> 00:11:28.970 OK, so when you look at specifically tax strategists, 00:11:29.029 --> 00:11:34.200 OK, the CTCs will generally help anyone. Paying 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:37.779 tax, $70 ,000 or less. So you could be paying 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:40.659 $5 ,000 in tax. Are you happy, Michael, about 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:42.799 paying $5 ,000 in tax if you don't legally have 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.779 to? Who is? You could pay $1 and not be happy 00:11:45.779 --> 00:11:49.100 with it. Most people only want to pay what is 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:52.080 legally required to pay. So I think when you're 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:55.639 looking at the level of even within the strategist, 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:57.799 you're right. Where is your business, right? 00:11:57.960 --> 00:12:00.840 If you're taking home, if you're paying... more 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.559 than about $300 ,000 a year of tax, you're going 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.179 to want to find one of the CTSs, one of the 15 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:09.100 of us that are CTSs, okay? If you're somewhere 00:12:09.100 --> 00:12:12.019 in the middle, go with the CTP. So it just depends 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:14.360 on what it is you want. We've also very much 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.320 had clients, for example, that say, listen, Shauna, 00:12:17.340 --> 00:12:19.519 I don't mind paying a little bit more in taxes 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:23.029 because I feel... social responsibility. I feel 00:12:23.029 --> 00:12:25.070 like my taxes are going to help my community. 00:12:25.190 --> 00:12:27.850 That's fine. I think one of the most important 00:12:27.850 --> 00:12:30.169 things as an individual, whether you're a business 00:12:30.169 --> 00:12:32.250 owner, a big corporate, like it really doesn't 00:12:32.250 --> 00:12:34.889 matter. What do you want to do with your money? 00:12:35.509 --> 00:12:37.070 Because I don't care what you want. It's your 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:39.210 money. We'll do whatever you tell us to do with 00:12:39.210 --> 00:12:40.970 your money, right? If you want it back in your 00:12:40.970 --> 00:12:43.549 pocket. let us know. If you want to do charity, 00:12:43.710 --> 00:12:45.490 we have quite a few clients that will set up 00:12:45.490 --> 00:12:48.649 charitable foundations and do funds and set up 00:12:48.649 --> 00:12:51.350 scholarships for kids. There's some amazing things 00:12:51.350 --> 00:12:53.970 we can do that are all side note tax benefits 00:12:53.970 --> 00:13:00.750 as well. Good. Okay. Many people network for 00:13:00.750 --> 00:13:04.730 sales and visibility. How do you approach networking 00:13:04.730 --> 00:13:08.929 with the intention of long -term financial impact 00:13:08.929 --> 00:13:14.279 instead? Everything is long -term. I hate to 00:13:14.279 --> 00:13:16.720 say it. When I was a baby business owner, some 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.679 many years ago, okay, BNI definitely got into 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:21.779 my head. Business Networking International definitely 00:13:21.779 --> 00:13:24.879 got into my head. Giver's gain. So if you're 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.100 looking at it for long -term financial wealth 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:28.740 for yourself, for your family, for your business, 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:31.460 whatever, I think two things. One, give before 00:13:31.460 --> 00:13:34.460 you expect to get, right? And two, do what you 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:37.399 say you're going to do. If I say I'm going to 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.419 save you $100 ,000 worth of taxes if you do what 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:43.279 I tell you to do, then do. that. Don't over -promise. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:45.740 I'm a big fan of under -promise and over -deliver, 00:13:45.820 --> 00:13:48.039 right? From that standpoint. Absolutely. Yeah. 00:13:48.139 --> 00:13:50.700 So I think the biggest thing is do what you say 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:53.200 you're going to do and show up. Really actually 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:56.120 be engaged. Care about those that you've decided 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:59.120 to make a relationship with because you decided 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:00.960 to make that relationship for a reason. You're 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.559 just going to... blow it off. You chose. So unless 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:05.519 you're choosing otherwise, just be conscious 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:07.440 of what you're doing. Make sure you return people's 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:09.700 phone calls. Some of the basics of polite society, 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:12.000 to be honest with you. You know what? When I 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.120 go on it and I go on stages and I speak and I 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.980 do workshops, those two items that you just brought 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:23.320 up is the mainstay of what I talk about. It's 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:27.769 common sense, common decency. right and because 00:14:27.769 --> 00:14:30.269 if you want due to others as others would do 00:14:30.269 --> 00:14:32.809 to you right if you don't want to wait a week 00:14:32.809 --> 00:14:38.379 for a phone call amazing it's very simple Novel 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:42.299 idea. Novel idea. I do think, sorry, just to 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.279 hit on that for one more second, Michael. I do 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:46.879 think often what happens is we all get involved 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:49.559 in our own little worlds. I've got this happening. 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:50.980 I got that happening. The kids are screaming. 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:52.759 There's always this little kind of stuff going 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:55.639 on. One of the, if I can give my two cents on 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.700 a tip and trick, right? Spend at least a minimum 00:14:58.700 --> 00:15:02.000 of two hours every week. I book mine on Fridays 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:05.029 from 10 to noon, just to double check. Who should 00:15:05.029 --> 00:15:08.009 I be taking care of that I have not taken care 00:15:08.009 --> 00:15:09.610 of? Oh, let me follow up with Bob. I haven't 00:15:09.610 --> 00:15:11.049 spoken to Bob in a while. Let me just check. 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:13.110 Bob, how's it going? Even if it's something as 00:15:13.110 --> 00:15:14.950 simple as a text message. I know a lot of people 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:17.470 are antipicking up the phone these days. Bob, 00:15:17.789 --> 00:15:19.610 I was thinking about you. Put a little smiley 00:15:19.610 --> 00:15:22.629 face with a heart. Whatever, right? Sometimes 00:15:22.629 --> 00:15:24.750 it's the little tiny simple things that just 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:26.909 can make a difference in somebody else's life. 00:15:27.009 --> 00:15:31.070 And they remember you forever for it. I absolutely 00:15:31.070 --> 00:15:34.559 agree. Accepting that I do it. Twice a week. 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:39.120 Ah, I love it, Michael. Okay. I do it on Fridays, 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:42.600 but I also do it on Tuesdays. And I do it with 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:44.899 two hours to say, it's the same thing. It's the 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:47.340 same way. Because I have a great many contacts 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:50.980 and I either send a quick email or a quick text, 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:55.159 or if I'm closer to them, a text. If I'm not 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:58.399 as close, then a quick email. And you'll be surprised 00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:01.139 at how many people respond. Oh my God. Yeah. 00:16:01.220 --> 00:16:04.950 I haven't thought about you. Yeah, really. And 00:16:04.950 --> 00:16:08.330 so it just rekindles that connection and makes 00:16:08.330 --> 00:16:12.909 them think. Okay, ready? What are some common 00:16:12.909 --> 00:16:16.190 mistakes professionals make when trying to form 00:16:16.190 --> 00:16:20.629 strategic partnerships for financial gain? Oh, 00:16:20.850 --> 00:16:23.429 the biggest one, immediate answer is not being 00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:25.190 clear with what you want and what you're trying 00:16:25.190 --> 00:16:27.750 to accomplish up front. Because communication 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:31.070 is always the failure point. Always. In every 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:33.250 single relationship, business, personal, doesn't 00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:35.429 matter. It's always communication. Now, sometimes 00:16:35.429 --> 00:16:37.490 I will grant it. Sometimes it takes three or 00:16:37.490 --> 00:16:41.649 four meetings to figure out what you want and 00:16:41.649 --> 00:16:43.309 how it's going to fit together and how you can 00:16:43.309 --> 00:16:47.129 work together. But going into, just going into 00:16:47.129 --> 00:16:48.710 a meeting and being like, yeah, so what can you 00:16:48.710 --> 00:16:52.019 do for me? Nobody feels good about that, right? 00:16:52.139 --> 00:16:54.360 It's thinking about both sides of the party and 00:16:54.360 --> 00:16:57.000 thinking about what is really truly a good fit 00:16:57.000 --> 00:16:59.679 for you. For example, Michael, as we just found 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:01.700 out, both you and I are very, what other people 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:04.059 would consider high communication, right? We 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:05.799 follow up, we check in, we do these kinds of 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:08.319 things. If you as a person are high communication 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:11.259 and you're finding within the first week, two 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:12.880 weeks, three weeks of a new relationship that 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.279 the other person isn't, you either need to see 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.799 something, say something is what we say inside 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:20.450 my... inside tax goddess, but you either need 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:22.829 to say something or you need to just be really 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:24.529 clear. Hey, it just seems like our communication 00:17:24.529 --> 00:17:27.210 styles aren't working out. And I feel like I've 00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:28.930 tried and I feel like you've tried. Maybe you've 00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:30.630 said something and they've tried. It's just not 00:17:30.630 --> 00:17:33.430 holding. I think it's best that we just part 00:17:33.430 --> 00:17:36.210 ways right now because what's the point in us 00:17:36.210 --> 00:17:38.970 both getting frustrated? No, most people will 00:17:38.970 --> 00:17:41.630 just let it go. Okay. He doesn't want to respond 00:17:41.630 --> 00:17:44.890 to me. I just won't send that email again and 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:47.950 just leave it hanging. But it's better to get 00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:51.609 a response and get a positive or negative. It 00:17:51.609 --> 00:17:54.210 doesn't make a difference as long as you get 00:17:54.210 --> 00:17:57.730 a response. And really what you're talking about 00:17:57.730 --> 00:18:02.069 in networking in my world is know you like you 00:18:02.069 --> 00:18:05.250 trust you. They'll do business with you. And 00:18:05.250 --> 00:18:07.809 all of those meetings and those communications 00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:10.569 and everything else, you're building up that 00:18:10.569 --> 00:18:14.319 trust factor. And as soon as they trust you, 00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:16.779 then they'll start to do business with you. But 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:20.319 until then, forget it. Forget it. I hate those 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:22.940 people that you're at a networking event or meeting 00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:25.319 face -to -face and they immediately come out 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:28.440 with a business card and say, here, I sell widgets 00:18:28.440 --> 00:18:34.240 for $3. Call me. I'm like, okay, rip, gone. I 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:38.329 have a friend of mine that... The way he phrased 00:18:38.329 --> 00:18:40.369 this, I thought was the best way I've ever heard 00:18:40.369 --> 00:18:42.730 it. He said, listen, every single person has 00:18:42.730 --> 00:18:46.089 an emotional bank. And so you called me, you 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:48.130 texted me, you sent me a smiley face, you sent 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:50.130 me a cute joke. You thought of me, you saw an 00:18:50.130 --> 00:18:52.289 article. Every single one of those is like a 00:18:52.289 --> 00:18:55.269 deposit into the emotional bank, right? And the 00:18:55.269 --> 00:18:58.430 day you need something and you call and you say, 00:18:58.630 --> 00:19:01.829 oh my, this thing happened and I need your help. 00:19:01.849 --> 00:19:04.970 And could you please help me? The bank comes 00:19:04.970 --> 00:19:07.680 down. Which is fine, right? Banks go up and they 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:09.680 go down and they come up and they go down. But 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:11.740 you're not immediately starting at zero going 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:15.220 into negative asking for something, right? So, 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:19.759 yeah. Absolutely. And what I call it is social 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:23.599 capital. That's called your social capital. And 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:27.339 you're just making deposits to that person. So 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:30.970 if you do need something. You're able to do it. 00:19:30.990 --> 00:19:34.710 Or again, if you're able to give something, giver's 00:19:34.710 --> 00:19:38.269 gain, as long as you're able to add value, give 00:19:38.269 --> 00:19:41.210 something, you do it. And it takes all the pressure 00:19:41.210 --> 00:19:43.930 off you. Yep. So it always feels really good. 00:19:44.029 --> 00:19:46.990 Okay. So I can see we're on the same level with 00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:51.730 so many different things. Okay. So can networking 00:19:51.730 --> 00:19:55.490 with the right experts actually prevent costly 00:19:55.490 --> 00:20:00.650 tax errors and liabilities? Absolutely. Oh my 00:20:00.650 --> 00:20:02.470 goodness. Even if we just go back to the very 00:20:02.470 --> 00:20:05.690 first example where this client had gone to work 00:20:05.690 --> 00:20:08.910 with somebody without... I guess it's a redhead 00:20:08.910 --> 00:20:11.210 commentary. Without my permission, a client chose 00:20:11.210 --> 00:20:13.250 to go work with somebody. And I spoke to her 00:20:13.250 --> 00:20:15.430 later and said, honey, if you had called me and 00:20:15.430 --> 00:20:17.329 told me that's who you were going to work with, 00:20:17.490 --> 00:20:20.190 I would have told you absolutely not. Run away. 00:20:20.430 --> 00:20:22.309 Here's what I've heard. Here's what I've seen. 00:20:22.390 --> 00:20:24.470 Here are the other audits we've seen. Run away. 00:20:25.049 --> 00:20:28.710 Now, you have to take some of that with a little 00:20:28.710 --> 00:20:31.009 bit of a grain of salt because, for example, 00:20:31.009 --> 00:20:33.009 we talked about levels of communication. What 00:20:33.009 --> 00:20:35.309 if I just had a bad example with that person 00:20:35.309 --> 00:20:37.509 because communication styles were different? 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:39.019 different right it was nothing really about what 00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:41.339 they do or how they do it right so you do need 00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:42.759 to take it with a little bit of grain of salt 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:46.380 but ask around right if i have a bad when michael 00:20:46.380 --> 00:20:51.599 has a bad and mary has a bad so possibility he's 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:54.440 bad then it's bad and so i think when you talk 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:58.000 about costly mistakes you get one of course ask 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:01.359 around oh with ask around but two also that don't 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.880 be with the yes men as we said earlier because 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:05.799 if they're not challenging you, wait, why do 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:07.519 you think this is, why do you think it's legal? 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:09.200 Why do you think it's good? Why do you think 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:12.359 that's the right choice? So, yeah. Yeah, no, 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:16.460 it's so true. And when you're asking around, 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:22.150 you take away that personal. The emotional bit 00:21:22.150 --> 00:21:24.210 of something happened. You take the emotions 00:21:24.210 --> 00:21:26.289 out of it because when you're getting it from 00:21:26.289 --> 00:21:29.109 two, three, four people, then maybe you should 00:21:29.109 --> 00:21:32.529 listen. If you only got one bad and three others 00:21:32.529 --> 00:21:35.309 that were good, we have to make that self -judgment. 00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:39.769 But also ego, because for them to call you and 00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:43.589 say, how's this person? I don't let my ego get 00:21:43.589 --> 00:21:45.990 in the way because I don't want to disrupt any 00:21:45.990 --> 00:21:49.180 type of relationship that you and I have. So 00:21:49.180 --> 00:21:52.660 that's something else to think about. How do 00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:57.380 you vet potential partners or collaborators to 00:21:57.380 --> 00:21:59.700 ensure that they're aligned with your goals, 00:21:59.859 --> 00:22:03.759 especially when wealth and tax strategy are at 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:06.880 stake? Absolutely. I was going to say, I have 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:09.279 one of the easiest vetting systems ever. It's 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:12.849 called the IRS approval. Because you either have 00:22:12.849 --> 00:22:16.170 their approval or you don't. My world of vetting 00:22:16.170 --> 00:22:17.990 is a little bit easier, I think, than other people. 00:22:18.230 --> 00:22:22.410 There is definitely a gray area where, so in 00:22:22.410 --> 00:22:25.390 the IRS world, there's something called a PLR, 00:22:25.529 --> 00:22:28.769 a private letter of ruling, okay? If a strategy 00:22:28.769 --> 00:22:32.009 has been around for a while, any good strategy 00:22:32.009 --> 00:22:36.250 will have a PLR positive, we approve, stamp from 00:22:36.250 --> 00:22:38.900 the IRS. If you're looking at a strategy and 00:22:38.900 --> 00:22:43.000 it has positive PLR, done, good, fine. You don't 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.380 even need to talk to me. Go, proceed. There you 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:47.700 go. There's your tip for the day. Go full steam, 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:49.720 almost full steam. Still ask around, but almost 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.140 full steam, right? But there's a gray area where 00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:53.940 somebody's come up with a brand new strategy, 00:22:54.059 --> 00:22:56.579 brand new in the eyes of the IRS is like five 00:22:56.579 --> 00:22:58.960 to seven years old. It's brand new, right? They've 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.450 been doing it five, seven years. It's good. They 00:23:01.450 --> 00:23:03.750 haven't had any, they've had a couple of audits, 00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:05.869 but the audits have passed. That's a good sign, 00:23:06.089 --> 00:23:09.069 right? So when you get into things that are a 00:23:09.069 --> 00:23:13.240 little more. nuanced i guess i would say newer 00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:16.480 strategies it's you do have to do more research 00:23:16.480 --> 00:23:19.400 but that's really where you want somebody like 00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:22.440 a strategist who looks at these things all day 00:23:22.440 --> 00:23:26.019 every day to say wait a second that piece of 00:23:26.019 --> 00:23:27.779 logic they're telling you doesn't make any sense 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:32.819 because of this irs rule or that plr is missing 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:35.539 the approval number so that looks like a fake 00:23:35.539 --> 00:23:39.339 i've seen that really yeah oh Honey, when it 00:23:39.339 --> 00:23:41.819 comes to getting people's money, people do some 00:23:41.819 --> 00:23:44.900 very nasty things, right? Nefarious things, yes, 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:47.420 absolutely. Nefarious things. I think the biggest 00:23:47.420 --> 00:23:52.279 pieces are, say, ask questions, look for an expert 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:54.740 that can help you analyze whether something is 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:57.700 good or bad from that standpoint or in the middle. 00:23:57.900 --> 00:23:59.799 I think it's actually very important for people 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:01.920 to understand what their own, we call it the 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.660 aggression scale, okay? So you have to know for 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:09.579 you, zero to 10. Zero meaning the IRS never calls 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:11.460 you, never, ever, except for random audit, which 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:14.380 nobody can prevent. Ten meaning we're all going 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:18.180 to jail. Where do you and your spouse and your 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:20.759 family and your business, where do you sit on 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:24.519 that scale? Okay. Now, most entrepreneurs, so 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:26.720 tens going to jail. I'm not doing it. You're 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:29.119 not. Nobody's doing it. Nobody wants to generally 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:32.799 choose that path. A nine is Al Capone. You're 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:34.359 doing shady stuff, hoping you don't get caught. 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:37.079 And of course he got caught for tax fraud, tax 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:39.900 evasion. An eight is where most entrepreneurs 00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:43.180 will sit at a seven or an eight. They're risk 00:24:43.180 --> 00:24:46.720 takers by nature. They're okay getting a call 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:49.940 from the IRS, but they want to win. I don't mind 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:51.859 going through an audit, but I want to win, right? 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:54.259 So an eight is you might get a call. You have 00:24:54.259 --> 00:24:55.619 all the backup. You have the proof. You have 00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:57.380 the PLRs. You have all the things and you're 00:24:57.380 --> 00:25:00.740 going to win. It really, for me, that is one 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:02.720 of the most dependent things when we talk about 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.660 what kind of tax strategies, who would, if you 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:08.319 came to me, who would I even network you with? 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:10.559 Because I've got some strategies that are sitting 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:15.529 at like an 8 .4. And then you've got other strategies. 00:25:15.569 --> 00:25:18.670 We call them the negative four strategies where 00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:22.190 a good CPA should know this. Like you don't even 00:25:22.190 --> 00:25:25.569 need a strategist, but a lot of CPAs are so face 00:25:25.569 --> 00:25:27.769 down in preparing tax returns. We have a tax 00:25:27.769 --> 00:25:30.109 deadline coming up here in about a month. They're 00:25:30.109 --> 00:25:32.450 so face down doing tax turns. They don't have 00:25:32.450 --> 00:25:34.710 time to read the court cases and the articles 00:25:34.710 --> 00:25:36.670 and everything that comes up. The IRS publishes 00:25:36.670 --> 00:25:40.190 three times a day. with new, this happened. It's 00:25:40.190 --> 00:25:42.450 a job all on its own called a tax strategist. 00:25:42.509 --> 00:25:44.750 So yeah, you just got to have the right people 00:25:44.750 --> 00:25:47.490 on your team. Okay, good. All right. Let me ask 00:25:47.490 --> 00:25:50.789 you a question. What role has intentional networking 00:25:50.789 --> 00:25:54.930 played in your own business growth and personal 00:25:54.930 --> 00:25:58.710 wealth journey? That's a great question. And 00:25:58.710 --> 00:26:00.730 I'm in love with it. Glit on for a bit there. 00:26:00.869 --> 00:26:03.410 So BNI. So let me back up. When I first started 00:26:03.410 --> 00:26:07.410 Tax Goddess now, 21 years ago, it was me. in 00:26:07.410 --> 00:26:10.049 a home office by myself, no secretary, right? 00:26:10.130 --> 00:26:13.170 I couldn't figure out how to send a fax, fax, 00:26:13.210 --> 00:26:15.289 okay? Because the machine ran out of ink and 00:26:15.289 --> 00:26:16.789 I didn't know it ran out of ink. And I had to 00:26:16.789 --> 00:26:18.849 go to OfficeMax to say, my machine's broken, 00:26:18.930 --> 00:26:20.390 give me a new one. And they said, here, try some 00:26:20.390 --> 00:26:24.829 ink. I'm like, okay. So when you talk about networking 00:26:24.829 --> 00:26:27.769 and the journey for Tax Goddess, the very first 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:30.130 thing I did when I left OfficeMax, I called a 00:26:30.130 --> 00:26:31.890 friend of mine and said, I think I need a secretary. 00:26:32.250 --> 00:26:34.670 I don't know, I don't know how to do. this stuff. 00:26:34.869 --> 00:26:37.309 I have no idea. I've always been a tax preparer. 00:26:37.349 --> 00:26:38.930 I've been a technical person, a tax preparer. 00:26:38.970 --> 00:26:41.650 I don't know how to bill and invoice and do all 00:26:41.650 --> 00:26:44.029 these things. So call on your friends and family. 00:26:44.150 --> 00:26:47.069 I need help. Joining for me, I live in Arizona. 00:26:47.309 --> 00:26:49.970 I joined the Scottsdale Business Networking. 00:26:49.970 --> 00:26:52.329 It was the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce Business 00:26:52.329 --> 00:26:55.069 Networking Group. That helped a ton. I have friends 00:26:55.069 --> 00:26:57.049 that I've met there that I'm still friends with 00:26:57.049 --> 00:27:00.750 20 years later. So really, I think a lot of it 00:27:00.750 --> 00:27:03.900 is start with who you know and just... Keep talking, 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:07.039 keep asking questions and stay curious. For some 00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:11.180 reason, a lot, not a lot, some people aren't 00:27:11.180 --> 00:27:13.980 very good at describing what they do. Like they're 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:15.880 experts at what they do, but they just, they 00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:18.599 can't, the words just can't come out. And so 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:21.339 nobody seems to know what they do, how they do 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:22.839 it, how they're an expert, where these things 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:25.980 come from. And so sometimes you have to poke 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:28.269 a little bit. Tell me more about that. Tell me 00:27:28.269 --> 00:27:30.450 how you got there. Sometimes you need to be the 00:27:30.450 --> 00:27:33.029 level of curiosity to really find the expert 00:27:33.029 --> 00:27:37.069 you're looking for. Yeah, a lot of the, not the 00:27:37.069 --> 00:27:39.269 presentations that I do, but the coaching that 00:27:39.269 --> 00:27:43.609 I do, that 30 second elevator pitch, I have them 00:27:43.609 --> 00:27:47.470 first focus on that 30 second elevator pitch 00:27:47.470 --> 00:27:50.910 just to get them down to what they talk about. 00:27:51.089 --> 00:27:53.970 Then I say, okay, take that 30 seconds and break 00:27:53.970 --> 00:28:00.769 it down to 10 seconds. It usually takes two weeks 00:28:00.769 --> 00:28:04.410 before we can actually hone in on exactly what 00:28:04.410 --> 00:28:07.529 it is. I said, okay, you told me exactly what 00:28:07.529 --> 00:28:10.470 you do. Now throw it away. Now we'll get to work. 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.059 And they go, what? I just spent two weeks doing 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:17.460 this. I said, absolutely. But I got you focused 00:28:17.460 --> 00:28:20.900 on what you do. And you're able, when somebody 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:22.839 comes up to you and says, hey, what do you do? 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:25.880 You don't go through, well, I do this and that 00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:29.839 and everything. In like a sentence, you told 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:32.960 them. And we work from there. So everything is 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:36.819 down to that functionality of it. But that's 00:28:36.819 --> 00:28:41.240 what I do. Okay. Just a few left. For someone 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:43.720 just starting to build a professional network, 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:48.240 what's one high value move they can make today 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.000 that supports both relationships and financial 00:28:52.000 --> 00:29:00.140 future? One high value move. I would say joining, 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:03.960 and I'm going to call it a club, but some sort 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:06.539 of organization. So Scott's your chamber of commerce. 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:10.859 Your BNI, it could even be like a club if you're 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:13.599 in an area that has a country club, that has 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:17.319 a gym, that has maybe the right level of people 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:19.900 you're trying to network with. Some sort of place 00:29:19.900 --> 00:29:21.440 where you're going to be around a lot of people 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:23.900 where you can interact with those people on a 00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:27.180 regular recurring basis. Because the more you 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:30.019 interact with people, the more they're going 00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:31.480 to know you, the more you're going to know them, 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:34.119 the easier and faster it is to build relationships. 00:29:34.660 --> 00:29:37.769 And you're building that trust factor. So it's 00:29:37.769 --> 00:29:39.710 definitely meeting the people. Listen, I've been 00:29:39.710 --> 00:29:42.150 part of my Chamber of Commerce for five years. 00:29:42.809 --> 00:29:46.329 And I walk in and say, it's great. And somebody 00:29:46.329 --> 00:29:49.670 else just walking in, they come once or twice. 00:29:49.809 --> 00:29:51.690 Then they don't come for two months and they 00:29:51.690 --> 00:29:54.190 come once or twice. Nobody knows you. You're 00:29:54.190 --> 00:29:55.650 the random person that walks through the door. 00:29:55.769 --> 00:29:58.289 That's it. That's it. So it's getting to know 00:29:58.289 --> 00:30:01.069 you, getting the relationships going. But I firmly 00:30:01.069 --> 00:30:04.490 believe that. Before we bring this podcast full 00:30:04.490 --> 00:30:08.049 circle. I'm going to ask you a question. You 00:30:08.049 --> 00:30:13.289 are successful today and you are very successful 00:30:13.289 --> 00:30:15.450 and you're passionate about what you're doing 00:30:15.450 --> 00:30:19.970 and everything is, you're so full of life, but 00:30:19.970 --> 00:30:23.890 you had to have made a mistake along the way. 00:30:24.130 --> 00:30:29.430 And so give me, give us, my listeners, a mistake 00:30:29.430 --> 00:30:32.329 that you've made and how you came out of it. 00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:36.839 Specifically related to networking? It's up to 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:39.920 you. A mistake I make. In my mind, it relates 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:42.559 to networking anyway. Remember earlier I was 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:44.299 talking about sometimes your life gets in the 00:30:44.299 --> 00:30:47.059 way and so you stop paying attention? The reason 00:30:47.059 --> 00:30:50.640 why I have a Friday follow -up day, right, is 00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:54.500 because I made a mistake. And I made, I'll call 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:57.140 it a few mistakes over a very short period of 00:30:57.140 --> 00:30:59.700 time. And that led me to say, you know what? 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:02.859 I think I'm going about this wrong. I can't just 00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:05.240 call people six months later and expect that 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:07.940 they still know me, have a relationship with 00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:10.099 me, this kind of thing. That doesn't work. That 00:31:10.099 --> 00:31:14.440 doesn't work. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. All right. 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:18.619 So let's wrap up this podcast. And what's your 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:22.980 favorite hidden gem strategy for turning a single 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:26.359 connection into a long -term wealth building 00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:33.390 opportunity? Okay, having some tequila and a 00:31:33.390 --> 00:31:35.910 cigar with whoever it is you want to have, right? 00:31:36.089 --> 00:31:38.089 There's something about breaking bread, having 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:40.170 the lunch, having the dinner, having the, for 00:31:40.170 --> 00:31:42.430 me, it's tequila and a cigar on my patio. Please 00:31:42.430 --> 00:31:45.769 come to my home. Let's sit. Let's have a night 00:31:45.769 --> 00:31:48.890 playing cards, whatever it is. For me, it's the 00:31:48.890 --> 00:31:52.369 taking it out of the business because business 00:31:52.369 --> 00:31:54.390 is good, but there's something about a personal 00:31:54.390 --> 00:31:56.869 relationship that just goes beyond business, 00:31:56.950 --> 00:32:00.299 period. Absolutely. And one thing I always tell 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:04.140 all my clients, excuse me, all of my clients 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:06.640 is that the first thing you talk about is not 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:09.640 business. The second thing you talk about is 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:13.359 not business. You don't talk business. You look 00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:16.519 to help somebody else. So that's having a servant's 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:19.819 heart. Gainers give. It's just, it's all that 00:32:19.819 --> 00:32:23.500 we're all made to be. Okay. So Shauna, let me 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:26.660 ask you a question. If somebody wants to get 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:30.859 hold of you, either for being a tax strategist 00:32:30.859 --> 00:32:33.059 or somebody just to call because they have a 00:32:33.059 --> 00:32:35.640 question, what's the best way that they can get 00:32:35.640 --> 00:32:38.019 hold of you? Absolutely. I'll be honest. It's 00:32:38.019 --> 00:32:40.180 very hard to get ahold of me unless I know you're 00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:44.210 calling. But taxgoddess .com is where you find 00:32:44.210 --> 00:32:46.410 me, where you find the team. If it's for tax 00:32:46.410 --> 00:32:48.369 strategy, you definitely want to start there 00:32:48.369 --> 00:32:51.410 with taxgoddess .com. And you can find my assistant 00:32:51.410 --> 00:32:55.549 there. So she is a place to reach out to and 00:32:55.549 --> 00:32:57.869 check and we'll see if we can get an answer on 00:32:57.869 --> 00:32:59.730 whatever the random question is. I don't know. 00:33:00.970 --> 00:33:04.029 It's fantastic. Either way, Shauna, this was 00:33:04.029 --> 00:33:07.910 an absolute pleasure to have you on my podcast. 00:33:08.250 --> 00:33:11.710 And I hope a million people listen to it because 00:33:11.710 --> 00:33:15.549 you are very good, very passionate about what 00:33:15.549 --> 00:33:18.849 you do. And I think anybody who needs a tech 00:33:18.849 --> 00:33:22.210 strategist should call you first. Thank you. 00:33:22.329 --> 00:33:24.970 I'm happy to help. It's definitely my passion 00:33:24.970 --> 00:33:27.450 to keep the money in your pocket, not the government's. 00:33:27.450 --> 00:33:31.299 So happy to help anytime. Okay, good. I'll talk 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:37.900 to you soon. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. 00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:41.640 Let's hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co 00:33:41.640 --> 00:33:45.220 -founder Revved Up Kids. Revved Up Kids is on 00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:48.200 a mission to protect children and teens from 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:51.180 sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. 00:33:51.460 --> 00:33:54.640 They provide prevention training programs for 00:33:54.640 --> 00:33:58.180 children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go 00:33:58.180 --> 00:34:02.640 to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan, Century 21. 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:05.279 When it comes to making the biggest financial 00:34:05.279 --> 00:34:08.280 decision of your life, leave it in the hands 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:11.579 of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:14.719 is a global real estate agent with Century 21, 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:18.920 celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter 00:34:18.920 --> 00:34:21.619 where you're moving, Henry has the right connections 00:34:21.619 --> 00:34:28.599 for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888. 00:34:34.539 --> 00:34:37.119 A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:40.539 incredible insights today. And of course, a big 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:43.760 shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for 00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:46.719 tuning in and spending your time with us. If 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:49.500 you're interested in my digital courses, being 00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:52.239 coached, or having me come and talk to your company, 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:55.900 just go to Michael and fill out the request form. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:59.719 Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:03.000 It's about being present. So take what you've 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:05.869 learned today. get out there, and make some meaningful 00:35:05.869 --> 00:35:08.789 connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, 00:35:09.030 --> 00:35:11.949 please don't forget to subscribe, leave us a 00:35:11.949 --> 00:35:14.570 review, and share it with someone who could use 00:35:14.570 --> 00:35:17.670 a little networking inspiration. Let's keep the 00:35:17.670 --> 00:35:20.690 conversation going. You can find me on Apple, 00:35:20.809 --> 00:35:25.650 Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website, foreman 00:35:25.650 --> 00:35:28.050 .com slash podcasts.