Going out (of 2021) with a bang!

 

First of all, I completely understand how the holidays and the end of a year like this one can lead to boatloads of stress and overwhelm, but just stick with me for a few minutes…

2021 is coming, and the rules, even though they seem to be in flux in a lot of places, still apply. 

Right now, you’ve got to make time to ensure that things like any charitable contributions, retirement accounts, and maybe even basic bookkeeping are all sorted out and caught up. 

Plenty of times, as the calendar begins to push into the last few weeks of the year, shrewd operators are looking and calculating when some work needs to be fulfilled – do you ship in the last week of December or wait until the first week of the New Year?

Of course, some of this comes down to how you have your accounting set up – cash or accruals – but, since we’re operating in an unstable environment (and likely will be for some time), it might be a great idea to sit down and discuss how your business handles and documents income. 

I’ve given this kind of advice several times this year to business owners with a wide range of profits and I stand by it:  our economy is in flux and a lot of money is “out there” so how your business holds on to it will impact your success.

This isn’t just “tax” advice, either!  Companies who can act quickly because they have cash reserves are going to be able to negotiate better deals for themselves. 

Companies who are forced to rely on credit for capital purchases are going to be in trouble. 

There’s a third category here, too, and that’s those savvy business owners who are flush with cash and have the negotiating power to use that capital to secure expansion, not just spend it. 

Case in point?  I know of one business owner in southern California who was able to personally secure his business expansion, but to do so by bringing in investors with their own capital who knew his plan would work.  ‘

Those investors put up money, but he didn’t – he simply shared his systems with the investors in a careful, well documented way that expand his potential profits while avoiding many of the pitfalls of traditional franchising. 

As the world and the economy moves int o2021, I think this is something we’ll see a lot more of, and that brings me to my message in this email:

You can grow your business, and you can do it easily, but it’s going to take creativity to do it now and for the foreseeable future. 

It’s also going to take a partner with a sound knowledge of how your expansion will impact – and be impacted – by the tax laws (both those we have now and the ones that are sure to be enacted in the coming months by our new administration.)

Pick up the phone and let’s schedule a call to dig in to those plans and goals and see exactly what you can and cannot do – and how easily you can set yourself up for success.

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892. 

Don’t Let it Overwhelm You

We’re in the holiday season, and I hope it’s finding you well!

As you know, though, my team and I meet and discuss all manner of things, both personal and professional, with clients simply in the course of doing business, and more and more often, as 2020 grinds on, the biggest challenges we’re seeing is the hardest to deal with:  fatigue.

A “two week” lockdown to flatten the curve has become a seemingly never-ending process, and even the most astute business owners I work with are simply exhausted from the sheer willpower that has been needed to “make it through” 2020.

So while this email isn’t necessarily about “tactics” you can use, it is about one thing I want every one of my clients to do:

Keep going!

As we begin the last few hurdles to 2021, I’ve got one message:   Just. Keep. Going.

I get it – We’re all exhausted from “pivoting” and “falling forward,” talk of the “new normal,” and a drawn out and contentious presidential campaign, but if you think of the incredible amount of work you’ve done this year, the simple fact is you’ve done years’ worth of evolving as a business owner in less than 8 months. 

I’m proud of what my team has done and you should be proud of what yours had accomplished, too. 

So let’s talk about a couple things really quickly…

First of all, no matter how “pooped” you are about the pandemic, it’s not going away anytime soon, AND you’ve adapted a lot in these last months. 

Now what? 

Well, now, at the end of the year, you need to think about what you want from your business in 2021.  Not to worry, I’m not going to push you for a lot of goals and numbers and percentages, but I am going to ask you to think about things that you really didn’t like this year in your business, because right now, you have the chance to change how those impact you in 2021.

Was it hard to find good people this year?  Yes it was!  On the other hand, one of the most astute observations one of my clients made was that he had focused on “good people” for too long to do jobs in his business that “average people” could do … with great training.

He’s redesigned his hiring and training processes to do just that.

We’ve seen similar creativity being used by nearly all of our clients this year, whether it was about finding new markets, maximizing returns, minimizing contact, or simply fighting to stay open for business. 

You can make it.

You already have made it. 

2021 isn’t going to be easy, but it’s nothing we already haven’t handled.  

Just. Keep. Going.  

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892. 

Do This Before the End of the Year!

It’s easy to get lost in the holiday spirit – and with the year we’ve all had, many of us are just glad that 2020 is nearly over. 

Nevertheless, now is the time to make sure you’ve done all you can to maximize (or minimize) a few things for your savings and your tax bill.

First things first…

Charitable giving.  This is the time of year when charities “seem” more visible, but most donations must be dated before December 31^st to count on your 2020 taxes.  It’s also not a bad time to try to spend a few minutes tracking down ALL of your receipts for donations and such before the end of the year.  If you can’t find a specific receipt, it’s worth contacting the charity in question to see if they can share their copy.  Do it now, though, because it’s often harder for charitable organizations and non-profits to find this material at the local level, especially when they staff with volunteers. 

Retirement contributions.  I harp on your guys ALL the time about this, and while you have until April 15^th in some cases, MOST retirement funds require annual contributions before December 31^st.  Have you done it?  If, like some folks, you’re waiting on an annual bonus, it might be worth it to go ahead and make the contribution and be assured it’s logged before year’s end.  You can always go pay yourself back. 

Sometimes you have to spend money to save money…

Another contribution that many overlook is college funds and the various healthcare accounts.  Some, like HSAs (Health Savings Accounts) have stricter rules and guidelines than others, so BEFORE we get to the end of the year, it’s smart to review and see what you either need to use, save, or how much might roll over.

This year, more than many in recent memory, has seen a lot of financial impacts on families, and if you’re one of them, it’s also a smart strategy to do some calculating to see where your potential tax liability is, then reverse-engineer some solutions.  We’ve fielded a lot of calls from customers who have seen a dramatic change in incomes, and they will subsequently be in a different bracket this. 

Perhaps you qualify for tax breaks you couldn’t claim in previous years, perhaps you took money from a retirement account, or maybe you changed jobs. 

All these can have a dramatic effect on your taxes, so if that sounds like you, it’s not a bad thing for us to jump on a call to make sure you have your financial act together and prevent any “surprises” in 2021.

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892. 

Leading the Orchestra

Well, the media never lets up, but, like I mentioned earlier this month, we’re not going to lose focus on the news right now.  There will be plenty of time for that soon, so don’t worry about the end of the fiscal year just yet. 

I’d like to keep working this week on the topic this month – handling and creating systems for change in your company. 

In the last two weeks, we’ve discussed the simple fact of creating management systems to save you time, and then, testing and quantifying those systems. 

Now, let’s move on to the next step – orchestrating changes, systems, and processes. 

What does that actually mean?  Simple, it means getting them sorted out and thoroughly documented.  Now, you might think since you created a system or a process, it’s “ready to go” but chances are, as you studied the metrics of those changes, you might have realized you needed weekly tracking instead of daily tracking.  Or perhaps data needed to be reconciled after each shift, or based on the client’s needs. 

All those pieces are part of the “complete” system you’re now organizing and orchestrating. 

Get it? 

Here’s the thing – now that you’ve tested something, you have to make that process easy to do.  In other words, you’re taking this idea and making it a manageable process. 

Read that again…

You’re taking this idea and making it a manageable process. 

THAT is really the trick here – because basically nothing I’ve shared with you wasn’t in your head already, or something you already tried to do in your business.  What we’re really doing is organizing it into something coherent that can be easily “offloaded” to someone else with a minimum of training or can be automated through some type of software. 

Ultimately, when you have this process fully documented, you can replicate it over and over again. 

In other words, it is now a turnkey system.  It may also be the process you can use for building other similar systems in the (near) future. 

This part, though, is where it has to be very granular – truly “step-by-step” so you limit the “skills” needed for a team member to do the tasks.  Consider ALL the things that go into the process, and think about the lowliest team member as you orchestrate this process. 

Ray Kroc did this in McDonalds and that’s worked out pretty well for seven decades.  Far too many companies look for highly skilled people because they refuse to simply expend the energy to document how a simple system could imbue average employees with the data they need to achieve higher-than-average success.

In other words, when you internalize the ideas we’re discussing this month, you build a company that can create good people and great results from average people. 

You grow great people, in other words. 

That’s a lot better than trying to find them and hoping they’ll be loyal to your business!

Go ahead, give the idea of orchestration a try this week using the ideas you’ve been playing with and see how it can make a difference!

All the best-

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892.

Discovering the Metrics

Last week, I shared some ideas with you guys about how easy it can be to begin creating management solutions in your business to help you recapture your free time. 

Did you get the chance to do any of those last week? 

I hope so, because the end result is simple – more time for you to do the work you want to be doing and less – sometimes far less – time chasing your tail or “doing” numbers. 

This week, though, I want to share a next step based on that process.  After all, once you’ve created a system, and maybe you realize it’s not perfect, how can you fix it? 

Well, keep reading!

As a “numbers person” I have to live in the world of quantifying answers.  The IRS doesn’t care if my clients “think” they’re profitable, they deal in the absolutes of numbers. 

Numbers don’t lie, and that’s the attitude you must have when it comes to quantifying the results your innovations are generating.  How do you know if your innovation works?  Simple!  Look at the statistics before the innovation, and look at them afterwards!

If you created a process to speed up the sales process, then you should see a higher number of new clients as you compare before and after. 

On the other hand, you also need to look deeply into things.  If you’re closing at a higher rate, then you need to ensure that other systems are negatively impacted.  For example, when you sold a bunch more “new” clients, did you swamp your fulfillment team?  Unintended consequences are also metrics you need to make sure to study, and, quite frankly, if you’re really making improvements, then your quantifying data shows you exactly the places that need innovation and creation, too. 

It’s a “chicken and egg” challenge, but one that allows you and your business to constantly grow – and that’s the core of the entire process we’re outlining this month! 

An easy way to continuously innovate within your company – and NOT get caught up in the constant game of “catch-up.”

So this week, take the time to look at that one thing you changed last week and really study on the changes you expected to see – and the changes you might not have expected, too.  What are the metrics you’ll look at?  What are the things that “should” change as a result of the processes you’re creating? 

These will be the key to your success, and more importantly, they’ll be the reason that you and your company grow when others are struggling – or shrinking.

The secret, in my own humble opinion, lies in focusing on the fact that every business is going to change and being open to that change – and communicating and teaching your people how easily your company is going to be able to make those changes.  When they see the business smoothly executing and navigating changes and creating solutions, they’ll not only respond favorably, they’ll be “on board’ with the innovations you’re making.

All the best-

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892.

Turn Off the Noise

First things first – this month, I’m not spending a single sentence in any of my communications to discuss who won the election, why they won, or if it was a “good” election or a “bad” election. 

The news is going to be filled with that for the next month, so spending time rehashing it is wasting time I could be sharing REAL things with you. 

He won, he’ll be president.  It’s that simple. 

Now, on to bigger and better things!

Last month, we looked at how entrepreneurs MUST stay focused on the dream, vision, purpose, and mission they opened their businesses to fulfill, but this month, I wanted to spend some time addressing businesses that are already open and “doing well…”

What’s the best process to easily and continuously manage that business? 

Well, in my own experience, most small businesses and start ups begin to fail because their owners never took the time to simply develop a process to manage anything UNLESS they were personally involved. 

You’ll never scale it that way, but the good news is you can adopt a simple, four-step process to begin to create a management strategy that works, over and over again. 

The first step? 

Innovating.  Now, that may be too much of a word for you, but it’s really the perfect one.  If it’s scary to you, use “creating” to make it easier. 

Let me put it simply:  create the systems you’re missing. 

Here’s an example…

Think about one thing you can’t seem to let go of at your company.  The process for opening the store each day, or documenting sales and customers each week.  You might do this without thinking, and now, I’m asking you to think about it. 

What is the exact process you do as you do a given daily task? 

If you can document it, you can create it, and if you create it, you can teach someone else to do it. 

So let’s get started!  Think of one, or two, or half a dozen tasks you have never been able to offload, and today (or at least this week), document how you do them and teach somebody to do them! 

One word of warning, though, don’t do this as an “on the job” training process, do this within a written or digitally documented system.  Video software like UseLoom, software like Excel, or even just a bulleted list with screenshots attached can all be the start of the training process, and more importantly, allow you to recapture the essence of your job – being the leader and the entrepreneur who created the business.

Take this time to create and innovate these small pieces, because five minutes saved here and there lead to hours – and then days. 

Chat soon!

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892.

Having More Than You Can Handle

A lot of you guys might have looked at the title of this email and thought “I’ve got so much on my plate right now, I’ll never get done!”

Really? 

Let me say this – having plenty to do isn’t a bad thing – it’s a blessing.  Look at how quickly many of us were impacted this Spring. 

Lost revenues, lost jobs, lost educations…

And we all had a choice – sit at home and bemoan the facts or get busy and start filling up our days.  Now, maybe you’ll take offense to this, but we all know far too many people who decided to simply sit at home and pocket unemployment benefits and now, those same folks are worried about what’s next. 

Here’s the larger point – what you plan to do each day is what you will do each day.  It’s called Time Compression and, to put it simply, it works. 

Basically, it works like this – if you give yourself or someone else a task to do and attach a time limit to that task, the amount of time you give them is the amount of time they’ll take. 

Give your kids a day to clean their rooms – they’ll take a day. 

Give them an hour and guess what? 

After an hour, that room is still clean. 

Imagine if you could harness that same power in your own day, life, and career?  You can!

Fill up your schedule!  Make those appointments!  Reach out to people – your banker, your attorney, your CPA – and make time to speak with them about what is going on in business, in your career, and how they are keeping up in their own businesses. 

The same holds true for neighbors, co-workers, even others in your industry that might be in other markets. 

Why is this?  Because you’re getting information, not just mindlessly scrolling through cat videos.  More importantly, you’re continuing to grow and sharpen your skills, or increasing your exposure to new opportunities that you may never have known about. 

The result is simple – and obvious – you make more money.  Bottom line. 

But there’s another intangible to this, too.  You’re gaining visibility, too … and just as importantly, you’re really never going to be overwhelmed, for one simple fact:  you’re too busy and people know it. 

When you fill up your schedule, you’re going to fill up your pockets, too. 

IMPORTANT: Our firm specializes in tax resolution. We also serve clients virtually so don’t hesitate to reach out.  If you want an expert tax resolution specialist who knows how to navigate the IRS maze, reach out to our firm and we’ll schedule a no-obligation confidential consultation to explain your options to permanently resolve your tax problem.  Make an appointment here!  Or, call Toll-free 1-855-254-1892.