Julie Cropp Gareleck - Dare to Become

On the Power of Drive: "If there was something we want, we built it. If there's something we needed, we would go get it."

What could you become if only you trusted you could?  What is the worst case and best case for you getting out and trying to be this higher you?

Julie Cropp Gareleck asked those questions and many more on her way to going from the corner booth to the corner office.  She shares her insights in her new book, Dare to Become.

We have the inspiring Julie Cropp Gareleck, author of "Dare to Become" and founder of Junction Creative. Julie shares her invaluable insights on navigating the challenges of hiring and managing employees, understanding intergenerational work ethics, and balancing business growth with personal hurdles, such as infertility and motherhood.

Julie and James also tackle the complexities and risks associated with AI-generated content and the importance of responsible usage to avoid plagiarism and misinformation. We'll explore how Julie's digital marketing firm adeptly responds to client turnover, the intricacies of hiring top-tier design talent, and the evolving landscape of digital marketing.

Additionally, discover Julie's journey from her early career experiences to launching her own successful business, her motivations behind writing "Dare to Become," and her candid reflections on working through a high-risk pregnancy. Learn from her resilience and gain actionable advice for your entrepreneurial journey in this compelling episode of "Authentic Business Adventures." Don't miss out on our detailed discussions and personal anecdotes that offer a unique window into the entrepreneurial world!

Enjoy!

Visit Julie at: https://juliecroppgareleck.com/

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Looking back for inspiration, then wrote book.

04:14 In search of culture, founded Junction Creative.

06:33 Quit job due to manager's demeaning behavior.

09:40 Experienced in business, marketing, and strategy operations.

13:10 18 months: No employees, $1M revenue, overnight.

16:51 Adaptable and experienced designer excelling in digital era.

21:46 AI-generated marketing content lacked completeness, needed education.

24:19 AI as tool: do we need it everywhere?

27:01 AI takeover led to inaccuracies, health problems.

32:09 I've evolved, grown smarter, continually learning, adapting.

36:14 Ensured best food, coffee; created positive experiences.

37:52 Understanding and appreciating employees' individual paths fosters loyalty.

42:01 Paused growth to focus on health and family.

45:50 Writing always my passion; book inspires others.

47:56 Last-minute photo ended up on book cover.

51:36 Traditional publishing doesn't offer authors full control.

Podcast Transcription:

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:00:00]:

But I had to learn how to be a CEO and a mom 6 years into my journey, and boy was that a wake up call. And I while I could foresee that there was going to have to be a shift, I didn't anticipate the impact that those struggles would have.

James Kademan [00:00:20]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found On the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the Bold Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Julie Cropp Gareleck. I hope I said that last name okay. I'm trying.

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:00:48]:

No. It's okay. It's great.

James Kademan [00:00:51]:

Author of Dare to Become, which is somewhat exciting, from the corner booth to the corner office. So, Julie, how are you doing today?

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:00:58]:

I'm doing well. I'm glad to be here.

James Kademan [00:01:00]:

Yeah. We're glad to have you. So let's start with the book. What's what was going through your head when you decided you should write a book?

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:01:07]:

Absolutely. I mean, I think to some degree, I've always wanted to write a book, just never really fig didn't know what it was going to be about, and I had reached 13 years in business. I had achieved some milestones that I'd set for myself, and I really found myself in a place where I was asking a lot of questions around what's next. What's the next milestone? What do I do now? And I was looking for inspiration, and I flipped through journals that I'd written from the time I was 16 years old until now. I'm in my mid forties, so lots of years to cover. But I started reading through journals. And in the process of looking back over the course of my career, I I really found inspiration in kind of revisiting my 20 year old fearless self, and, you know, reliving some of the things that I had overcome, some of the successes that I'd had. And that's really where, I found my voice and I found the words to write dare to become.

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:02:05]:

Nice.

James Kademan [00:02:05]:

She's in 13 years in business. Now you've had a few businesses. Is that right? Or have a few businesses?

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:02:11]:

So we celebrated so Junction Creative, which is by digital marketing agency, we celebrated 15 years this past spring. Congrats. My book. Thank you. Yes. Very exciting. And I also am invested in other businesses just as On investor or an owner, but I've done that for the last 20 years as well.

James Kademan [00:02:29]:

Very nice. So what was your first business? The first what Call dare to Call first real business. Maybe not just lemonade stand or anything like that.

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:02:37]:

Yeah. So I would say first real business would be or at least I would say real. I mean, I started a consulting business years before I started Junction Creative. I did it very briefly and realized that I needed to get more experience, before I could really figure out what I was gonna offer and how it was gonna be different. So Junction Creative is the business that I started 15 years ago, and she's my labor of love. I've worked on her for for a long time, but that's that's the first real business.

James Kademan [00:03:08]:

Alright. And what made you start it's a marketing agency. Right?

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:03:12]:

Yes. We are a full service digital marketing agency, so we work with small to midsize clients. We work with the Fortune 1,000, and I like to tell folks we combine, you know, traditional business consulting with that of an advertising agency. So we do the smart thinking, but we're also really great at the branding and design.

James Kademan [00:03:29]:

Very cool. So what made you start that?

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:03:32]:

Yeah. So, you know, really, it was, my experience that I'd had. So I started my career working in Philadelphia. I worked in the entrepreneurship space, working at an entrepreneurship institute and then a venture capital firm. So I was working with companies already on, you know, trying to find companies that had really great products or services. They had some scalability to them. And when I moved to Atlanta, when I met my husband who I've been with for 18 years, the I realized that the venture capital climate in Atlanta at that time was not as sophisticated as it was in the northeast. So I really pivoted my career and started working as a strategist for interactive ad agencies at the time.

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:04:14]:

And so I was working on a lot of strategies, for, you know, big clients, big brands, and this was really before, you know, digital grew up. Right? I mean, I remember Twitter launching when I one of those agencies. So, and it was just through some experiences that that I've had there. I couldn't really quite find a culture or an environment that aligned with the type of environment I wanted to be part of. And I really just said to myself, you know what? Like, there's a way to do this transparently and and still be really, creative, but maybe add a little bit more business measurement to it. And so that's really how Junction Creative was born where that intersection between, you know, creative and execution On strategy and execution.

James Kademan [00:05:00]:

I was just gonna ask you where the name came from. Yeah. So that's more or less it. That's the Junction part.

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:05:05]:

Exactly. Yep.

James Kademan [00:05:07]:

Alright. Very cool. And when you first started, was it you or did you have business partners?

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:05:13]:

So when I first started Junction, at the time, there were a couple of coworkers that, we had kinda joined together and decided that we wanted to go down this path. But, you know, as I'm sure you know with starting a business, you're not walking with your salaries. You're not walking with your comfort of, you know, getting that paycheck every 2 weeks. And so I was kind of the last woman standing, and I really was committed to, launching it. So it's been just me as the, you know, sole owner of Junction since then.

James Kademan [00:05:48]:

Wow. Okay. So you said you've been married a while, and Junction's been going on a while. Which came

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:05:56]:

first? I so I was married just recently. I think I was married less than a year when I decided to to start the business. And, you know, my decision to start my business is not necessarily one I would advocate, but I, had had a rough experience at work and and didn't mean to, but quit my job. And You didn't mean to? Me too. I mean, it wasn't my intent. So I had gone back into the office after having had an illness. I was actually recovering from the swine flu. So I don't know if you remember that before

James Kademan [00:06:31]:

Yeah. Way back when. Yeah.

Julie Cropp Gareleck [00:06:33]:

Yeah....

Michael Silva - Physical Therapy Coach

On Planning How to Market: "Different audiences react to different techniques."

In this insightful episode of Authentic Business Adventures, host James Kademan sits down with Ross Jenkins, CEO of DigitalMe, to explore the intricacies of modern marketing. Ross shares invaluable tips and strategies on harnessing the power of email, SMS, and WhatsApp for business growth. From building strong email campaigns to leveraging WhatsApp for global outreach, this episode covers it all.

Ross discusses the importance of knowing your audience, stating, “Understand who's purchasing. If most of your clients are middle-aged, male, and from California, then build a persona around that and market to it.” He emphasizes that a personalized approach to marketing is crucial for success.

One of the highlights of the episode is Ross’s insight into email and SMS marketing. He explains, “Text messages always deliver...there isn't a spam box inside of it, so they're always going to deliver.” He further delves into the technology behind SMS marketing and how tools like ActiveCampaign and WhatsApp are changing the game.

If you're curious about the world of digital marketing, how to build effective campaigns, and why knowing your audience is more important than ever, this episode is for you!

Tune in to this episode to learn:

The benefits of email, SMS, and WhatsApp marketing.

Why upselling is one of the most powerful yet overlooked tools in e-commerce.

The future of marketing automation with tools like predictive send.

  Available now on Spotify, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms. Remember to give us a thumbs up and share it with your entrepreneurial friends!

Visit Ross at DigitalME.cc

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 12 years in UK agency, communication struggles.

05:36 Credit card company sent 3 AM payment text.

06:24 PredictiveSend identifies your optimal email open time.

12:35 First business: SMS to PayPal payment solution.

14:00 WhatsApp marketing will overtake SMS usage.

17:26 Spoke to agencies, decided to work independently.

21:10 Fiverr's name misleads, targets prefer extensive projects.

23:52 Preferred Upwork/Fiverr for cost-effective freelance services.

28:08 Facebook ads, landing page, email, TikTok promotion.

29:34 Finish projects before starting new ones.

34:09 Segment audience by product interest for targeting.

38:19 Answering service unsuitable for low-cost transactions.

40:03 Boost value with add-ons during calls.

45:12 Tipping prevents bartenders from seeking other jobs.

47:19 Understand audience, build persona, market uniquely, use data.

50:22 Build connections with trustworthy, competent colleagues is crucial.

Podcast Transcription:

Ross Jenkins [00:00:00]:

If you visit one of my clients' websites, it automatically gives them your email address and your IP address and various other things. It doesn't give the customer your IP address, but I believe retention has it. So then you can email market to them directly. So So you just visiting that website without even giving them your information. They already have it.

James [00:00:22]:

You have found authentic business adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at draw in customers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Ross Jenkins, the CEO of Digital Me. So, Ross, how is it going today?

Ross Jenkins [00:00:46]:

Doing good. Thank you very much for having me on the podcast, James.

James [00:00:49]:

Yeah. I'm glad to have you. Today, we're talking marketing. So why don't we start with what is Digital Me?

Ross Jenkins [00:00:55]:

Sure. So Digital Me is a a full round agency that focuses, specifically on email marketing. That's from your your setup all the way to sort of diagnostics, analytics and understanding your audience and understanding how best to to deal with them.

James [00:01:10]:

And do you tell me typical clients that you work with? Are they smaller businesses or bigger businesses?

Ross Jenkins [00:01:16]:

Yeah. Sure. So, the majority are under 50 staff. We have some really big clients, some that you'd know pretty pretty well. We have people who have run for US president, and we have various other sort of warmer bands. So it varies.

James [00:01:31]:

Nice. Alright. And tell me, how did you get in the marketing game?

Ross Jenkins [00:01:36]:

Sure. So I've been in it for about 12 years. I started working for an agency in the UK, and I worked for agencies ever since. And I I I understood what the struggle was. I understood that communication sucked and, you know, result, it's pretty much take the money and then work out how you're On deal with it. And that's not right, right? You don't sell a car and hope for the best. It's your maybe Tesla. So it's kind of understanding the market and understanding what's needed.

James [00:02:06]:

Got it. And you I mean, the digital me portion, I imagine. Are you exclusively DigitalME, or are you getting into some of the, I On dare say, older forms of media, but, we'll just say other forms, not necessarily digital.

Ross Jenkins [00:02:20]:

I mean, we do some forms. Listen, if you come on board with us, you know, let's say your your payment balances, we're gonna call you. We're gonna WhatsApp you. We're gonna text you. But outbound in terms of for our clients, we try to stick to the normal sort of email marketing, WhatsApp. You know, WhatsApp works fantastically as the marketing's all now. So it's email, SMS, and WhatsApp.

James [00:02:41]:

Oh, I guess I should clarify the question more. I mean, as far as marketing channels for your clients using. So do you get into billboards or newspapers, magazines, anything like that?

Ross Jenkins [00:02:51]:

Nope. We leave that to the to the people who could do that best.

James [00:02:54]:

Gotcha. Alright. And as far as the digital side online, are you getting into everything from social media of every channel? I don't even know all that exists or YouTube or It doesn't matter. It's things like that.

Ross Jenkins [00:03:08]:

I wanna kinda stick to stick to what works and stick to what we can build, like, the best performance. You look at ads and ads either work amazingly or, you know, it's a massive hole. And for me, that that's never gonna work. You know, we want the client to be happy. We want results, and the best way is we do deal with the tools that we're the best at.

James [00:03:28]:

Alright. And what are those?

Ross Jenkins [00:03:31]:

You look at email marketing, WhatsApp, SMS. Those are the 3 sort of fundamentals we use for our tools.

James [00:03:37]:

Oh, oh, I apologize. Okay. So you're going after really targeted people. Tell me, I guess I'm out of touch here. So tell me how do you market to people through SMS?

Ross Jenkins [00:03:48]:

Sure. So we use tools like ActiveCampaign, which allows us to SMS blast, as well as email blast. So it's quite quite a great combo, and we've built a tool on top of that to to WhatsApp as well. So we we kind of have every angle within the tool. So when you you wanna market, you could say, hey, Ross. I wanna, you know, I wanna SMS. I don't know. This list of my past customers, they're all in the US.

Ross Jenkins [00:04:13]:

You know, I've worked with them before. I wanna show them, you know, a new thing that we're working on or a customer recommendation. You know, we'll put it into email or whatever you you plan.

James [00:04:23]:

Alright. No. Tell me, I mean, you're a younger guy, so I remember when texting wasn't much of a thing because we had a text with a keypad that only included the numbers. And if you wanted the letter t, whatever, you had to press it 3 times or something like that. So texting when I was kid wasn't that much of a thing. Email was more of a thing or became a thing. But email, I feel like it's kinda slowly falling off the bandwagon because there's so much junk, so much spam. People just get inundated with Calls.

James [00:04:54]:

So their inbox is 50,000 messages that may or might may not have been read. So how do you avoid that happening to text messaging?

Ross Jenkins [00:05:03]:

Sure. So text messages always deliver to the point of, you know, there isn't a spam box in inside of it. So they're always gonna deliver. But who you who you have the biggest problem with is sort of appeasing their SMS providers. So you're sort of if you look at the UK, you've got Vodafone, Orange and all those guys. You know, they're the people who are gonna stop the spam. Whereas, you know, with email, it just goes into a spam folder and they allow it. It Call just go into the spam folder.

Ross Jenkins [00:05:31]:

So it's just ensuring that you're sending decent messages and, you know, you're keeping up with regulations and whatnot.

James [00:05:36]:

Alright. I can tell you last night, I got a test text message from my credit card company saying thanks for your payment, and that message came through at 3 in the morning. Yeah. And luckily, I do not disturb On, but I get I wake up at whatever 4 something, and I'm like, why would they send this message at 3 in the morning with all the technology and all the computers and all the programmers and all the people that I feel should be smart enough to think we don't need to send this text message out at 3 in the morning, if at all. We can send it at a more reasonable time. How do you figure out was what a reasonable time is, or can you figure out what a reasonable time is if you have clients or your clients have customers that are all over the globe? Yeah.

Ross Jenkins [00:06:24]:

So there's there's fantastic tools out there....

Michael Silva - Physical Therapy Coach

On Preparing For an Exit: "I pulled myself out. I was the least revenue generating team member out of my whole team at the time when I sold, so I wouldn't be handcuffed to the business."

What if I told you a $195 physical therapy session might only be reimbursed at $59? In this episode, we sit down with business coach Michael J. Silva, who specializes in guiding physical therapists through the tricky terrain of insurance contracts and pricing. Michael breaks down how insurance companies dictate pricing for physical therapy services, leaving therapists with little say in how much they actually get paid. Using a simple yet powerful analogy about selling a cup of iced coffee, Michael illustrates the struggle between what a service is worth and what insurance will allow.

But it's more than just numbers—this conversation digs deep into the effects this has on the quality of care, the business side of physical therapy, and the uphill battle many clinics face to stay profitable. From the frustrations of dealing with paperwork and low reimbursements to finding ways to offer preventative care despite insurance limitations, this episode uncovers the real costs that come with delivering healthcare.

Whether you're a physical therapist, a business owner, or simply interested in the inner workings of the healthcare system, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss. Plus, hear how Michael successfully built and sold his practice, and how he now coaches other therapists to grow their businesses, avoid burnout, and navigate the insurance maze.

Join us as we explore the highs and lows of physical therapy practices, with tips on how to thrive in a system that often feels like it's stacked against you.

Visit Michael at: https://michaeljsilva.com/

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Created Run Strong to prevent runners' injuries.

06:51 Transitioning from PT to helping therapists grow.

15:04 My kids aren't interested in healthcare careers.

20:14 Health coach improving lives through somatic work.

22:03 Small practices struggle; larger, diverse ones thrive.

28:34 First client gained through friend's referral proves invaluable.

33:30 Doctors overwhelmed by high patient quotas, lower reimbursements.

37:25 Started business for health-conscious, motivated clients.

42:38 Ebook on business basics and core strategies.

50:07 Business coaching: prefer long-term packages for value.

51:57 Passionate focus, AI, streamline processes, healthcare change.

Podcast Transcription:

Michael Silva [00:00:00]:

You this cup of iced coffee. Right? I could charge whatever I wanted for it. If you're in contract with an insurance company, I can say, okay. I wanna sell you this cup of physical therapy services, and I wanna charge a $195 for that session. And they're gonna On, no. If you want our clients, we're gonna pay you $59, and you'll take it or you won't see our clients.

James Kademan [00:00:21]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found On the podcast link found at draw in customers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie, Calls on call extraordinary answering service, as well as the Bold Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing preparing to learn from Michael j Silva, the business coach specifically for physical therapists. So, Michael, how is it going today?

Michael Silva [00:00:52]:

It's going great. How are you doing, James?

James Kademan [00:00:54]:

I'm doing well. So tell me the physical therapist world in my mind, that's for people that are older broken. Right? Is that, I am guessing that is incorrect,

Michael Silva [00:01:05]:

but they are a, they are a frequent flyer of physical therapy services for sure. But physical therapy, spans the the whole lifespan from, neonatal to, growing pain issues in, toddlers, children, teens, sports injuries, work injuries, and everything in between. So that is a, a common thing I hear all the time when people aren't familiar with physical therapy. Yeah. But, there's it's so much more. It's so much more than just, you you know, old people breaking a hip and needing someone to teach them how to walk again. But, yeah, we offer lots of great services to humans to get them out of pain, function better, relieve stress, all sorts of all sorts of health promoting, services.

James Kademan [00:01:53]:

So just for me being the the guy that just doesn't know the whole scope that physical therapy includes, does it also include prevention, or is it only let me help you fix once you're having a bad day.

Michael Silva [00:02:07]:

Well, if it was, there's many of us that are in the prevention side of things. So when I was a clinician, we we kept preaching prevention. I did a lot of work with runners over my career. So like my specialty, I worked with runners. So from high school to octogenarians, from Olympians to, you know, 7 hour marathoners, everything in between. And what I realized is after trying to fix people's pains, fix their fix their problems, that if I just put together a program where I could address these common issues that we find in all runners before they get hurt, maybe we can prevent injuries and improve running and that's what ended up happening. So I have a whole business called run strong that I did, that I created a class and it's a whole, like coaching platform that I do for runners and coaches to help prevent that from happening. Nice.

Michael Silva [00:02:54]:

The problem is when health insurances are involved, they're not big on prevention. No. They wanna wait for you to get sick and so they can give you a medication. They wanna wait for you to get hurt so that you can have a surgery. So we we preach it and we a lot of people in the sports medicine active outpatient world of physical therapy will have preventative services. But unfortunately, for some people, it's an out of pocket expense because it's hard to justify that to certain insurance companies. Some are coming around enough.

James Kademan [00:03:21]:

Yeah. It's so interesting that you say that because I had a health insurance professional salesperson on the show. I don't know. It's probably right after the pandemic. I think it was. Still in the studio, but it's interesting talking with her because she's selling the health insurance. But from a personal point of view, she's like, I don't know why they don't cover prevention. It's so much cheaper.

James Kademan [00:03:46]:

So

Michael Silva [00:03:47]:

much cheaper.

James Kademan [00:03:48]:

Healthier. People are happier. But in the end, in order for them to build the big hospitals, they need people that actually go to the big hospitals.

Michael Silva [00:03:54]:

You know, I I hate saying this, but, there's a lot of money in sick people. Right.

James Kademan [00:04:00]:

There is.

Michael Silva [00:04:01]:

There's a lot

James Kademan [00:04:01]:

of money in health

Michael Silva [00:04:03]:

care. There is, and it shouldn't be called health care. It should be called sick care. You know?

James Kademan [00:04:06]:

Oh, I love it. Yeah. So true.

Michael Silva [00:04:09]:

Yeah. It's just, you know, trust me, we could go off for a whole episode just on this, but, you know, I started in the in as a physical therapist in 1998 is when I graduated from graduate school. I was in fitness world before that from undergrad. So I've been trying to help people stay healthy and improve my my whole career. And the the woman you were talking to, the insurance salesperson, is exactly right. Is what's that old adage? An ounce of prevention is worth a

James Kademan [00:04:35]:

How much is it?

Michael Silva [00:04:35]:

Cure or what whatever it is. Right? And if we could just educate and get to people before they get sick, before they develop the chronic back pain, before they develop diabetes, before they break their first bone. Like, just give them the these small strategies and habits to form to better take care of themselves. I'd Call you there'd be a lot less, drugs being taken and prescribed to Americans, and Then it'd probably be a lot less money made in big pharma, but don't tell them.

James Kademan [00:05:04]:

Gotcha. Interesting. It's crazy. It's scary that we we're still in that realm of It is

Michael Silva [00:05:10]:

it is scary. Priority. Right.

James Kademan [00:05:13]:

So tell me, how do you shift from having your own physical therapy practice to coaching people with physical therapy practices?

Michael Silva [00:05:21]:

That's a good question. So I had my practice for about, I won't keep the story too long, but I had my practice for 20 years. So I started it early on. On was about 2 years into my career as a physical therapy, and I was getting, I didn't know the term back then, but it's a popular term in our world now is burnout. And I was unhappy with, what I was doing. Right. I was, I was working with the wrong patients that I wasn't passionate about. I was working for, you know, companies that just didn't see things the way I saw them.

Michael Silva [00:05:49]:

And I was just really unhappy doing that type of thing. So that's when I did, my wife was also a therapist. We decided let's just start our own business, do it the way we like it. So we did that, grew it for 20 years, and we had a successful business. I was about to open my 4th office before we sold. I had a team at some points up to, like, 25 employees, and we helped thousands of people in our communities. And we had really it was really rewarding, and I loved doing all of that, and I loved, helping people improving their lives. I didn't like battling insurance companies.

Michael Silva [00:06:19]:

Right? I didn't also,...

Victoria Thayer - Novii CPA

On Preparing For the Future: "It's always about making sure that you have time as a business owner to keep thinking about, okay, where do I think the industry is moving to? Where is the next thing?"

In this insightful episode, we sit down with Victoria Thayer, the dynamic founder of Novii CPA, who has rapidly grown her CPA firm in just over a year, now boasting a team of eight. Victoria shares her unique approach to accounting that goes beyond traditional tax preparation, emphasizing the importance of marketing, long-term strategy, and creating a business that thrives on innovation and client satisfaction.

Join us as we delve into Victoria's journey from solo entrepreneur to business owner, where she discusses the challenges and triumphs of managing a growing team, the significance of a well-structured sales funnel, and how her firm has successfully integrated modern marketing techniques to stay top-of-mind in the industry.

Victoria also opens up about her commitment to continuous improvement, including her decision to implement a 360-degree feedback system within her team. She candidly shares the lessons learned from this process, revealing how she’s working on enhancing her communication and organizational skills to better lead her team.

This episode is packed with valuable insights for business owners, particularly in the accounting industry, who are looking to scale their operations, improve team dynamics, and embrace a forward-thinking mindset. Whether you're a small business owner or a seasoned entrepreneur, Victoria's story will inspire you to think critically about your business strategy and the steps you can take to reach the next level.

Don't miss this episode if you're interested in learning how to combine financial expertise with business acumen, all while fostering a culture of growth and innovation.

Tune in to discover:

The importance of balancing short-term and long-term marketing strategies.

How to effectively manage and grow a team in a fast-paced business environment.

The benefits of adopting a proactive approach to client services and internal operations.

Key insights into the financial forecasting and strategic planning that drive business success.

Listen now and learn from Victoria's journey as she continues to break new ground in the world of accounting and business management

Visit Victoria at: NoviiCPA.com

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Consider short and long term marketing strategies.

07:16 Contemplating business success and personal fulfillment.

15:17 Close working relationship, delegation, and operational improvement.

16:05 Initial investment in hiring to create value.

23:15 Dealing with challenges, support is beneficial.

31:02 Improving communication and prioritizing thoughts through organization.

35:07 Improving accountability, efficiency and mindset for success.

40:27 Parenting spurs personal growth and learning.

45:22 Financial modeling helps project future costs, revenue.

48:49 Plan ahead to avoid tax bill surprises.

55:52 Consulted accountant about different tax methods, changed approach.

58:57 Plan ahead for business growth, update strategies.

Podcast Transcription:

Victoria Thayer [00:00:00]:

And now when I have an urge to message someone that is just scattered, it's nothing very urgent, I either message myself or I email myself all my random thoughts, and then at the end of the day, I create a concise email, like, okay, these are all the marketing things or sales things that I thought of. Here it is what the idea is, the reason why, and despite the deadline, or how important it is so that they have. Because otherwise they were like, I don't know what this even mean.

James Kademan [00:00:34]:

And today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Victoria Thayer of Novi CPA. And, Victoria, it's been a year.

Victoria Thayer [00:00:42]:

It's been a year. Yes.

James Kademan [00:00:44]:

I was just gloating for you with a friend today that I met with them, and I said, I'm meeting with Victoria again today, and I'm super excited. Cause she's a CPA. It's been in business a year, and she actually has employees. Most cpas that I know, it takes them decades, and some of them just stay themselves or maybe their kid joins out or something like that. So I'm excited to talk about growth with you today.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:10]:

Yes, no, I'm excited, too. Thank you so much for having me here again. It's a pleasure. Like you say, has been like a year. It's incredible. Seems like not that long ago.

James Kademan [00:01:20]:

No, it goes fast.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:22]:

We were having too much fun. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:24]:

So tell me, how many employers are you up to now?

Victoria Thayer [00:01:27]:

We are up to eight. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:01:28]:

Eight.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:29]:

And are they all including me? Yes.

James Kademan [00:01:31]:

Okay. They're all accountants.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:33]:

We have two kind of, like, more on our admin team. They are in church of marketing. Like the sales funnel, all of that fun stuff.

James Kademan [00:01:42]:

So. Man, this just gets cooler. Because you're a CPA firm that actually has people in marketing.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:46]:

Yes. Yeah, I know. Yes. Which is so interesting, me, because if you look at socials or SEOs for CPA firms, it's not usually where they tend to invest money on.

James Kademan [00:01:57]:

Not even a little bit.

Victoria Thayer [00:01:59]:

So that has really allowed us to tap into that kind of market of the new leaders and new businesses are looking for cpas, not only in a newspaper or things like that. Now they're looking at LinkedIn, who are my connections, who is coming up as a relevant person in the industry. LinkedIn has been wonderful for us. And again, we put a lot of blogs. We have a newsletter, actually. I think we actually reached to 800 subscribers recently. Or a newsletter from a CPA firm that. Come on.

James Kademan [00:02:32]:

Yeah. No one's jumping at that. Yes. Tell me more about numbers and taxes.

Victoria Thayer [00:02:36]:

Right. So, yeah, no, it has been incredible. I mean, I cannot take ownership on the success or marketing team. Like, Shayla and Haley have been wonderful. They have incredible ideas. Shayla actually is getting her masters now in UX design. So that's like user interface design. So all of what she does with our website or client portal, the whole experience that we try to kind of, like, come up for the customer is really.

Victoria Thayer [00:03:05]:

Well, throughout. Like, we try to really make sure that their experience, from the moment that they sign an engagement letter, is like, hey, this is your welcome package. This is like, little tutorials on how to use your client portal, trying to make it as easy as possible. Because, come on. Like, numbers are already kind of frustrating. No one wants to do taxes, so if we can make the process easier, then why not? And that really has helped us quite a bit.

James Kademan [00:03:28]:

That's incredible.

Victoria Thayer [00:03:29]:

Yes.

James Kademan [00:03:30]:

You know, it's funny, because the same person, I was gloating about you, too. I said, you got this. Was actually a social media person that I was hiring for social media for my businesses, because I don't. It's one of those things, like, I should. I should do that. I'm not gonna. It's just not gonna happen.

Victoria Thayer [00:03:45]:

It always gets back on the burner.

James Kademan [00:03:47]:

I've been shitting for years, right? So it's time to hire a professional, get it done. And I was talking to her, I'm like, you gotta look at what Victoria's doing with NoVCPa on LinkedIn. Cause I need that. Cause when I go on LinkedIn, even if I'm on there for 10 seconds, like, somebody messaged me. So you gotta go on the platform, and you're like, hey, scroll, scroll. There's Victoria. There's nobody. And it's bizarre.

James Kademan [00:04:12]:

I'm like, every time. Every time there's probably, I don't know, two or three people that I'm connected to where I'm almost guaranteed to see their stuff. And I thought for a moment, huh? Why don't I see other people's stuff? And you just pick a random person. It's like, oh, because they haven't posted in months.

Victoria Thayer [00:04:30]:

Right.

James Kademan [00:04:31]:

Which I'm guilty of that as well.

Victoria Thayer [00:04:32]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:33]:

Cause it's not priority.

Victoria Thayer [00:04:34]:

Right? Exactly. Like, it falls off in the priority list pretty quickly. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:04:38]:

That's the name of the game of the marketing is to be top of mind, right?

Victoria Thayer [00:04:41]:

Yes. And the other thing, too, is, like, whenever we think about marketing, too, we think about short term and long term. So, like, our sales funnel, like, you know, like, for a CPA firm, it's not as fast for us, because we just don't do only taxes. So whenever, like, tax time comes, like, there's people that only want the taxes, we don't do that. We do the whole kind of like, financial statement forecasting. So those type of clients usually have different decision makers. They are usually taking a longer time to make a decision, to switch. So for us, sometimes we're playing kind of like the long game.

Victoria Thayer [00:05:16]:

So we're trying to add value, stay relevant, and stay in front of all these different people. So sometimes it's like, yes, I mean, we do have a pretty good sales funnel, but we're always thinking about, like, hey, we don't want to only invest for, like, short term, but also long term, like, and we only not think that way for, like, customers, but also for future team members. So we just started like, an internship program. And we are like, making sure, like,...

Benjamin Morone - Zabota

On Preparing New Recruits: "So the biggest thing is making sure that that onboarding is really good with a company contextual onboarding. So what are the values, this is who we are, this is the org chart, this is our philosophies around payment, those types of things."

Join us as Benjamin shares invaluable insights into the advantages of outsourcing, the art of precise positioning, and the secrets behind securing authentic testimonials from clients. We also explore the practicalities of hiring executive assistants, the metrics behind recruitment success, and the strategic benefits of tapping into a global talent pool. Whether you’re a business owner looking to optimize your remote workforce or simply interested in the evolving trends of global staffing, this episode is packed with actionable advice and real-world experiences.

Listen as Benjamin explains his tips and tricks for hiring, as well as the benefits of outsourcing for your business.

Enjoy!

Visit Benjamin at: https://www.zabota.io/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Create job description with brief, clear information.

05:38 Started with VAs, expanded to diverse roles.

07:38 Philippines time difference affects focus on business.

12:08 Direct hires with companies, no staffing agency fees.

14:44 Determining role, time zone, and budget considerations.

19:10 Executive assistant culture fit crucial for effectiveness.

23:32 Two types of executive assistants for hire.

25:02 Money-back guarantees and flexible 50% down payment.

29:29 Effective onboarding crucial for employee longevity, retention.

32:28 Changed name to show premium service care.

37:45 Screening process designed to gauge candidate authenticity.

40:04 Started staffing in Latin America due to accent.

44:11 Understanding roles and tasks for delegating effectively.

47:59 Client testimonials crucial for niche market success.

Podcast Transcription:

Benjamin Morone [00:00:00]:

And the thing is everyone can recognize GED, like it's not that hard and it's very lengthy, it's very verbose with with all what it says. And so, we realized that like okay we need to make job descriptions that cut through the noise And so really making a job description that is is magnetic. So not using, like, cliche language, not saying, like, we're looking for a data driven guru or wizard who can, like, do this. Right? Like, people see those, and they just, like, cringe and shut off. That's what we found and that's what my recruiter said. She was, like, I applied to your job because you didn't have anything like that. You don't have, like, these weird buzzwords and it was just very short and you told me what I needed to know, the skills that I needed, the time zone, salary, like those types of things we we display. And people can make a a quick judgment on if they're gonna apply or not.

James Kademan [00:00:50]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphs and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes of the podcast can be found in the podcast link found at draw in customers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service and the bold business book. Today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Benjamin Marone of Zubota. So, Benjamin, how is it going today?

Benjamin Morone [00:01:20]:

Everything's everything's good. Another day living the dream. Thanks for having me on, James.

James Kademan [00:01:25]:

Everything is good. That's says every business owner, but sometimes you can just tell that they're peddling their rails underneath. Let's start with what is Zibota.

Benjamin Morone [00:01:35]:

Yeah. So Zibota is a recruitment firm, that staffs talent from Central Eastern Europe and then also Latin America into businesses in the States Canada and the United Kingdom. So working mainly with online businesses but there are like home service companies and stuff we also work with more mom and pop for remote roles. So this isn't anything that would be coordinating like visas and and that type of red tape and headaches. This is all digital remote world, work.

James Kademan [00:02:04]:

Gotcha. To the point of being virtual administrators, or what are they doing?

Benjamin Morone [00:02:09]:

Some virtual administration kind of like VA type of work, but we have a lot of like project managers, sales, developers is a big one especially here in in Central and Eastern Europe. People have been recruiting developers out of here for a couple decades now. And so the IT sphere is is where we operate as as well. Small businesses, solo founders, maybe headcount under 10, but then we have some larger clients as well that are going more towards that mid market.

James Kademan [00:02:36]:

Alright. And did you start this?

Benjamin Morone [00:02:38]:

Yes. I'm the I'm the founder.

James Kademan [00:02:40]:

Nice. And how long ago was that?

Benjamin Morone [00:02:43]:

It would have been August 22. Okay. So almost 2 years.

James Kademan [00:02:47]:

Not too bad. Kind of the oh, man. If memory serves, it's gonna be end ish of pandemic or probably towards the end of the pandemic.

Benjamin Morone [00:02:56]:

Yeah. Yeah. Towards the end of the pandemic. And I think that if the pandemic didn't happen, I probably wouldn't have started this business because the world wouldn't have been as open to remote work and everyone being on zooms and that just being the the commonplace of what it was for the last several years inside of the pandemic. That really opened my mind opened my eyes to that world of of digital work. Because at the time I was a basically a sales rep appointment setter and I was kind of just bouncing around the world, central Europe, eastern Europe going back and forth between the states and I could just work online and it's always as long as I hit my KPIs, my numbers, my deliverables, I was good and I could kind of just bounce around. So I thought this is pretty cool maybe I can replicate this and give other people the same opportunity.

James Kademan [00:03:44]:

Nice. So did you have experience of recruiting?

Benjamin Morone [00:03:49]:

No. I didn't have experience of of recruiting. It's just kinda interesting. I've been in some high growth companies where there was a tech company called Connected in Indianapolis They did a lot of, like, LinkedIn automation software, and I was one of the first 15 employees there. I got to see it go to a 100 100 and 10 employees before I left. And so I could see how people grow teams and operate inside of teams. A lot of the the group was remote when we first started we eventually kind of went in house. So I'd worked in a lot of teams seen how they had grown and then I jumped into the the recruiting side of things.

Benjamin Morone [00:04:22]:

Really what I had noticed at Connected is I was allowed to utilize virtual assistants because I was also in university at the same time. And so juggling a full time role and then also being in university is just like a lot that there's a lot to handle with that. And so I wanted the virtual assistant to just focus on like sales follow ups, a lot of little like admin work just to save me 2, 3 hours a day so I could focus on still going to school remotely and, like, actually get my degree instead of having to choose 1 or the other.

James Kademan [00:04:50]:

So just to clarify, you as an employee were hiring VAs to help you get your job done?

Benjamin Morone [00:04:57]:

Yeah. I actually ran it by them, and they were they were okay with it. They said, hey. If it's gonna make you more efficient, then you're gonna work. And I was like, cool. And they just had to sign some forms, and then we were good to go. I worked a different sales role, the one where I was kind of traveling around and they didn't allow virtual assistants they were working more in the financial space. So I understand that but that's kind of how I got that idea because I recognized Ben with a virtual assistant was very, very productive and was better than Ben without a virtual assistant.

James Kademan [00:05:29]:

Interesting. So at that point, you don't have your business. You gotta find some VAs. How do you go about finding a virtual assistant?

Benjamin Morone [00:05:38]:

Yeah. So I was I'd say I was I was kinda lucky because I had worked in some smaller, like, consulting companies helping out friends, and they had a Slack channel with a bunch of VAs. And it had been dead for a couple years, like, there's no messages inside of it. And I went through and messaged some people and said hey are you looking for opportunities like I'm trying to build a virtual assistant staffing company and that was kind of the the first kind of iteration of Zibota we were called VA tasks before we switched to to Zibota in the last like year and a half now, where it was just kind of copy paste virtual assistant roles. And now we've just gone into more complex development, IT, analysts, those types of things from from here in Central and Eastern Europe. But it started with staffing from the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and then just kinda kept snowballing.

James Kademan [00:06:25]:

So are you actually or did you travel to all these places to find these people, or were you building this remotely?

Benjamin Morone [00:06:32]:

So I was building it remotely until January of 2023. I'm in Warsaw and in Poland, so about 7 hours ahead of you. And it was kind of a it was kind of a perfect move because my company was very small and still growing and I needed to keep the the cost very low as I built. I didn't wanna just, like, go back home and and go back home to, like, mom and dad, and that's a blessing to be able to fall back on that. But I wanted to be able to kinda operate and grow my company independentl

Thomas Castelli - Hall CPA

On the Major Tax Value of Investment Real Estate: "When you buy a property, there's a noncash expense called depreciation. It's one of the biggest tax benefits of investing in rental real estate, and that's true whether you buy a rental property directly or whether you do it through a syndicate or fund."

In the world of investing, you have a lot of options.  One investment that has proved timeless is real estate.  The globe is only so big, and owning a piece of it can be a profitable venture.

But what are the tax implications of owning real estate?  Thomas Castelli of Hall CPA dives deep to illustrate what are some tax strategies to save on taxes and make real estate a worthwhile investment.

We'll also touch on some advanced tax strategies, including the benefits of depreciation and cost segregation studies, and how they can meaningfully reduce your taxable income. Thomas will share insights on navigating the ever-changing interest rates, the strategic use of tax planning, and the essential role of a proactive tax strategist. Plus, he’ll offer practical tips on identifying reliable sponsors and tax advisors, ensuring you maximize your investment returns while minimizing tax liabilities.

Listen as Thomas lays out a plan for where to invest, how to invest and some tax strategies to make sure you get to keep most of your profit.

Enjoy!

Visit Thomas at: http://www.therealestatecpa.com/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Attended real estate association, learned about syndication.

06:04 Creating value through strategic commercial real estate investments.

09:42 Review sponsor's track record before investing.

12:44 Depreciation helps shield rental income from tax.

15:58 Depreciation recapture on $200,000 capital gain.

18:54 Depreciation calculation for $1 million property.

23:24 Property report details, desktop study for smaller properties.

26:55 Adapting tax reporting for past expenses possible.

29:29 Save $10,000 in taxes with tax strategist.

31:05 Leverage network, seek recommendations, vet through online content.

37:01 Joining community and listening to podcasts helpful.

39:28 Real estate plans changed due to COVID.

43:21 Avoid sponsors with consistent underperformance and issues.

44:47 Sponsors tested by asking extra questions.

49:53 Business success stories with sponsor acknowledgements and gratitude.

Podcast Transcription:

Thomas Castelli [00:00:00]:

Typically, these these cost segregation studies that you could there's they're done 1 or 2 ways, typically. The first way, is you would have an engineer who who is well versed in this in in this area. They would come down and do a they would survey your property. Think about almost like an inspection. Right? They're coming down. They're surveying the property. They're taking inventory of every component, and they're gonna go back to their office and they're gonna give you a report. That report's gonna say, okay.

Thomas Castelli [00:00:23]:

Well, your property has it's gonna give you, like, an itemized report. Okay. This this amount of property is gonna be 27 and a half year property. This amount's gonna be 15 year. This amount's gonna be 5 year, and that 5 15 years was eligible for bonus appreciation.

James Kademan [00:00:37]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link from the draw in customers.com. We are locally and written by the Bank of Sun Prairie. Calls on call extraordinary answering service as well as the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Thomas Castelli of Hall CPA. We're talking real estate, and we're talking taxes, which I guess in the end, if you're making money with real estate, taxes go right there. So, Thomas, how are you doing today?

Thomas Castelli [00:01:12]:

Not too bad. How's everything going with you? I mean, today's a beautiful day in New York, so, I can't complain.

James Kademan [00:01:17]:

Yeah. We're, you know, we're at a beautiful day in Wisconsin as well. So, I guess the meter's running everywhere. So let's get down to it here. You are in both the real estate investment world as well as the CPA side. So how does that happen?

Thomas Castelli [00:01:33]:

Yeah. So, this kind this journey started for me, back in college. So my during my during my teen years, my my parents always kind of herded me towards the college path. I always wanted to be a full time entrepreneur, but teachers, guidance counselors, parents, friends kinda made me feel that I was crazy for wanting that. So I went to college, and, I went to college for accounting because of business and accounting because that's what, I was told to do. So I did it. And through, like, my sophomore year of college, what I realized was and or it's, like, live the lifestyle that I wanted to live or write envision for myself, that probably just doing accounting wasn't going to get me there. So I started reading books.

Thomas Castelli [00:02:11]:

I started with The Richest Man in Babylon, like, the personal finance book, and then it went into Rich Dad, Poor Dad. And from there, the rabbit hole went pretty deep, and I fell across real estate. And, it was a common theme in a lot of these books. So I started, then then what ended up happening around the time I was graduating, my great my great uncle had passed away. And he was 99, lived a great life. You know? And he had this small house on this relatively large plot of land that he never did anything with, and it was right down the block from the Long Island Railroad, which went right into Penn Station in New York City. So I knew that it was people are always trying to buy houses around there for that location. So I knew there was something to be done with it.

Thomas Castelli [00:02:51]:

So I went to a Long Island REA, which is, like, a real estate investment association, trying to get someone to help me develop or wholesale the property. But the the executor of the estate between that and my own lack of experience, that never transpired. However, 2 things came out of that meeting. The first thing came that came from that experience was at that re event, I met a group that did a real estate syndication. So they bought these big properties, raised money, renovated them. So I went to one of their 3 day weekends in between the summer where I was starting my full time job in accounting, and I fell in love with the model syndication. Started going down that rabbit hole, started attending their monthly meetings and everything like that, And, eventually, someone who would become my mentor within that group, brought me a deal that they were doing in Ohio, pitched me the deal, and I said, you know what? Let me take it to my parents, show it to my parents. They invested some money.

Thomas Castelli [00:03:42]:

I invested some money. It was, at the time, not that much money because I was just kinda coming out of college, but it got my foot in the door. He kinda showed me behind the scenes, and, we eventually syndicated an 82 unit apartment complex together, me and a few me, him, and a few other partners. So that was exciting. I was on the active side of that deal. And, also, just kind of quick tidbit, that house that my uncle's house, someone whoever bought it ended up knocking down the house and putting up 3 houses. So, I at least I was on to something. I just couldn't execute on it at the time.

Thomas Castelli [00:04:13]:

So that's kind of how I got into, real estate investing. And then, like, some then I was working at a a large accounting firm, and I realized, okay, corporate isn't for me. I wanna be more moving. I can have more mobility. So I said, how can I marry this passion for real estate with my background for accounting? That's where I met Brandon Hall here at Hall CPA. And I came in when the firm was very small and, kinda worked my way up through the growth of the firm, and here I am today. I'm a partner at the firm. So that's kinda how I got involved and kinda gotten you've got in this world.

James Kademan [00:04:43]:

Nice. That's that's awesome. Sorry to hear about your uncle. Yeah. 99 is a good run, so good for him.

Thomas Castelli [00:04:49]:

Yeah. He he he lived a good life. He lived a good life.

James Kademan [00:04:52]:

Tell me I guess, I have to apologize because I'm not terribly familiar with real estate syndication. For the listeners as well, what is real estate syndication?

Thomas Castelli [00:04:59]:

Yep. So real estate syndication typically involves buying large properties, like, large multifamily or commercial properties that one person couldn't. Individuals certainly do take down these buildings or do buy them, but, it's more challenging. So what happens is you'll have, like, a you'll have a a sponsor or a general partner. They might have real estate experience. They know how to how to look at how to, value properties, you know, identify opportunity. They know how to put renovations in place and everything like that, run the deal, and then they go raise money from, passive investors or limited partners, they're called, who are pretty much just putting up the money for it and really don't do much else, which is fantastic for for on a limited partnership side. So that's kind of what a real estate syndication is.

Thomas Castelli [00:05:39]:

You know, your sponsors are buying large properties in order finance those properties. They're get they're getting financing from the bank, but they also need the money for the down payment and the renovations, and oftentimes that comes from investor capital. So that is kind of what a real estate syndication is in a nutshell.

James Kademan [00:05:55]:

Got it. So in the case of an investor,...

Glenn Plumby - Retired COO and Author

On the the Importance of Frontline Employees and Customer Service: "If that's a terrible experience, that guy could go on to have a terrible day."

There are basically two ways to learn something.  Dig in and make your own mistakes, which will take years and a lot of time, money and effort, or learn from those that have already done it, which if you pay attention can be done in a few hours or sometimes just moments.

Glenn Plumby went from COO of a major convenience store chain to a bestselling author of a book entitled, A Charmed Life, which outlines his life advice for those juggling life and work.

Glenn shares valuable lessons from his extensive 41-year career, discussing everything from the importance of prioritizing relationships and adapting to life’s changing priorities, to innovative marketing strategies and the complexities of labor management in the convenience store industry. He also touches on personal stories, such as learning to balance exercise and sleep and successfully navigating two marriages.

Listen as Glenn delves deep into topics well outside of what I expected and into the tips, tricks and philosophies that can improve your life dramatically, if you take action on them.

Enjoy!

Visit Glenn at: https://www.amazon.com/Charmed-Life-Practical-Wisdom-Successful-ebook/dp/B0D3VM8VC5?ref_=ast_author_dp

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Book addresses transition from academics to workforce.

09:29 Interest in extracurricular activities, soft skills crucial.

12:19 Successful loyalty program for convenience store chain.

19:24 Build diverse experience within a trusted company.

24:41 Labor key to customer service and satisfaction.

27:58 Store workers are undervalued during the pandemic.

35:52 Collaborated on book, marketed to universities successfully.

39:33 Building trust takes time, embrace people's identity.

46:10 Taught operations about marketing, built understanding. Supported growth.

52:32 Transition roles improve performance, provide soft landing.

56:26 Time pie changes at 40, prioritize wisely.

01:01:50 Second wife supported and understood work passion.

01:04:35 Spouse neglect, prioritize connection, avoid future regrets.

Podcast Transcription:

Glenn Plumby [00:00:00]:

The marketing people, if they're in a silo, they're gonna come up with all these great ideas and half of them are stupid. Right? They sound good in a boardroom, but it just doesn't work. We always reverse engineer In and put operating people in marketing along with some marketing, you know, talented people, and we were able to do that.

James Kademan [00:00:20]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumph successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link On at draw In customers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service and the bold business book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Glenn Plumby, operations and marketing expert, former executive vice president and CEO I'm sorry, COO of Speedway convenience store chain, and author of a great book called A Charmed Life. So, Glenn, how is it going today?

Glenn Plumby [00:00:59]:

Wonderful. Been looking forward to this, and, it's been a great day.

James Kademan [00:01:05]:

Yay. You know? I love having people like you on the show. The people that have been there, done that kind of thing In of just the ones that talk about In, they've actually experienced it, lived it. I don't maybe you're still living it. Just you actually have the experience to to back up the information and advice that you

Glenn Plumby [00:01:23]:

give. Yes. Yes.

James Kademan [00:01:25]:

So let's start from the beginning. How does somebody end up in the convenience store business?

Glenn Plumby [00:01:32]:

Actually, it's really easy to get In the convenience store business. I mean, the barriers of entry are very low. And if you look, there's a 150,000 convenience stores in the country, and roughly 70% of them are single site operators. So pretty easy to get in the business. Right? Alright. Kinda crazy, In it?

James Kademan [00:01:49]:

So when you hold on a second now. 70% of those are just one guy owns that one thing?

Glenn Plumby [00:01:55]:

Yep. Single side office.

James Kademan [00:01:57]:

Never guessed that. Okay.

Glenn Plumby [00:01:58]:

Yeah. Yeah. That's because you're around up in your neck of the woods, Kwik Trip and Speedway. These are big chains, multiple locations, and Yeah. Yeah. That's actually the, that's that's not the norm. That's actually different.

James Kademan [00:02:11]:

Interesting. You know, it's funny you say that. I have a sister-in-law in Omaha, and I was taking my motorcycle from Madison, Wisconsin to Omaha, Nebraska, and I'm flying through Iowa, which k. I mean, there's not There's not. I saw Casey's general stores.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:31]:

Yep.

James Kademan [00:02:32]:

Casey's made me miss Kwik Trips so bad.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:35]:

Yeah.

James Kademan [00:02:35]:

Yeah.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:36]:

Because the

James Kademan [00:02:36]:

case is kind of beat up, dingy Yep. And sparse.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:41]:

Yes.

James Kademan [00:02:41]:

I remember staring at that fuel gauge going, I hope I can make it.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:47]:

Oh. Because you're

James Kademan [00:02:48]:

in the middle. I mean, it's corn and windmills.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:50]:

Yep. Yep.

James Kademan [00:02:51]:

Oh, it is. So it's interesting how we just get used to we have gas stations every 10 feet here. Yeah. That's not necessarily the case all over the country.

Glenn Plumby [00:02:59]:

Yeah. It's all based on population. Where you have population, you have gas stations.

James Kademan [00:03:03]:

Yeah. I would have never guessed the 70% were just On person. Oh, no. That is interesting. Okay. Alright. So you I'm sorry. You're you're going into more information about the convenience store world before I interrupted you and bold surprise here.

Glenn Plumby [00:03:20]:

So I, you know, I I graduated from college, went to Miami University in Ohio, started with a company called Marathon Petroleum, and, the subsidiary, the retail arm of Marathon Petroleum is Speedway. So it's been 41 years with, the combined between Marathon and Speedway. Last thirty, we're at Speedway and absolutely love the business.

James Kademan [00:03:42]:

Alright.

Glenn Plumby [00:03:42]:

About every chair there and, was very, very excited.

James Kademan [00:03:46]:

So do you start just as the the checker out guy?

Glenn Plumby [00:03:52]:

Typically, if you look in our business, I I didn't start there. But, you you we get a lot of people in college that start with us, taking money, and work their way up to assistant manager, to a manager, and the money's pretty good for those people, especially for people without a Call degree.

James Kademan [00:04:12]:

Alright.

Glenn Plumby [00:04:13]:

But, Call the management level people above the store were all college degree people. And, I've hired a ton of people. As a matter of fact, that's one of the reasons why I wrote the book In I've hired Draw of college graduates, and roughly 30% of them are gonna fail. It's not because they don't have the academic knowledge. It's just because they can't bring it to the real world, and they struggle. So the book is really meant to help, what I call people that are, transitioning from high school to college or college to the workforce to be able to make them, better understand how to use those academic talents in a real world environment. So that that's really In why I wrote the book.

James Kademan [00:04:58]:

That's cool. You know, it's interesting. You remind me of me. I was working with my kid this past weekend. We're running some wiring in the attic. He's 10 years old, and I'm trying to get him to understand just how stuff works.

Glenn Plumby [00:05:12]:

Yep.

James Kademan [00:05:12]:

Around the house, under the hood, just stuff. Right? Stuff that you're gonna experience in life. Yep. Assuming that he's gonna have a car someday. I don't know. Maybe they'll be flying by then. But, anyway, hate I On to know, like, this is wiring. Electricity goes through it.

James Kademan [00:05:25]:

This is how we work it. He was getting so frustrated because he just wants to play baseball or soccer or basketball, some sports, just play with his buddies.

Glenn Plumby [00:05:34]:

Yep.

James Kademan [00:05:34]:

I'm like, look, man, you gotta know how to do this stuff. Not because you're necessarily gonna become an electrician, which if you want to, great. Or because you get become a mechanic, you don't have to, but if you want On, great. Yeah. So that when you have the stuff in the real world, you can actually talk from experience and knowledge instead of just trusting whoever it is that you're hiring or to even know what the problem is.

Glenn Plumby [00:05:58]:

Yep.

James Kademan [00:05:59]:

A lot

Glenn Plumby [00:05:59]:

of people just

James Kademan [00:06:00]:

Don't even know how to change a tire.

Glenn Plumby [00:06:02]:

They Call afford a super

James Kademan [00:06:03]:

fancy car, but they don't even know how to open the trunk.

Glenn Plumby [00:06:06]:

Yep.

James Kademan [00:06:07]:

It's just a bizarre I can't have my kid be a moron. Yep. I've hired people that had parents that did not have that belief. I imagine you have too.

Glenn Plumby [00:06:17]:

Absolutely. Call the time. Yep.

James Kademan [00:06:20]:

You don't mean to. They don't tell you that in the interview. Right?

Glenn Plumby [00:06:22]:

Well, no. That that's true. But, you know,...

Mike Schuster - FiddleSmart Marketing

On the Getting Efficient Answers: "You might have people on the phone. It might be you, depending on your business, talking to owners, but you get the same kind of questions all the time when you're talking to people. So answer those on your website."

Marketing and innovation are the two keys to success in business, or so the saying goes.  But how is a business owner supposed to market their business when they are not a marketing business, they are a business that does something else?  To get over this hurdle, a business can hire a marketing company.

Mike Schuster, the founder of FiddleSmart Marketing joins us to chat about his business journey and adds some tips to successfully market your business. We delve into the importance of building business relationships and using marketing to scale them effectively. We discuss why the ultimate goal of a business shouldn't just be making money, but also serving a greater purpose and making a meaningful impact. Small business owners and entrepreneurs face unique challenges, and Mike shares his expertise on sustainable marketing strategies, ethical practices, and connecting with customers on an emotional level.

Listen as we explore how to create enticing and user-friendly websites, the significance of transparency in pricing, and the pitfalls of chasing multiple marketing strategies simultaneously. Plus, Mike will reveal his journey from attending industry conferences to helping struggling businesses and ultimately starting his own marketing consultancy. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking to boost your marketing game or simply interested in genuine business insights, this episode is packed with valuable takeaways.

Enjoy!

Visit Mike at: https://fiddlesmartmarketing.com/

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Transitioned from corporate to entrepreneurial journey.

05:56 Attended conference, offered marketing analysis, confident in abilities.

07:15 Understanding industry dynamics and financial impacts.

12:05 Ensure consistent experience in-store and online.

13:02 Employees respond to hypothetical billboard question interestingly.

16:41 Balancing choices to avoid decision paralysis.

20:49 Forgetting names and occupations at social events.

25:01 Navigating marketing budgets for maximum impact and reach.

26:55 Pushback from ego-driven entrepreneurs on marketing ideas.

32:08 Daily crew email template measures customer assistance.

34:53 Motivation and pay raise didn't work.

37:44 Entice with samples, let the crowd come.

40:35 Observing food truck lines at Korn Fest.

43:13 Understanding interconnectedness of ideas and portability.

47:12 Provide detailed answers, pricing, and value.

49:19 Transparency in pricing prevents high-pressure sales.

Podcast Transcription:

Mike Schuster [00:00:00]:

The reason I like small businesses and entrepreneurs is there's such a bigger mindset and a a passion and a purpose behind why they're doing what they're doing.

James Kademan [00:00:13]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you to the struggle stories and strength and successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Saint Prairie. Downloadable audio episodes can be found on the podcast link found at draw in customers.com. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Mike Shuster, the owner of Fiddle Smart Marketing, which means that we're talking about marketing. So Mike, how is it going today?

Mike Schuster [00:00:39]:

Yeah. It's going really well.

James Kademan [00:00:41]:

I'm excited to have you because marketing game, I mean, it's very broad. Right.

James Kademan [00:00:45]:

it's a big game. So let's start out. Just let the world know what is Fiddlesmart Marketing.

Mike Schuster [00:00:50]:

Yeah. So FiddleSmart Marketing is a practice I started about 5 years ago, to help small business owners navigate marketing. Marketing's confusing. Everybody thinks they know how to they can do marketing until they get into marketing. Right. And then it's what do I say? What do I do? Where do I focus to attract and find more customers? And I wanted to help small business owners navigate that field and put together a program that's designed for their business.

James Kademan [00:01:18]:

Alright. So is that to the point that you give them ideas on what to do, or do you actually do it for them or help them with it?

Mike Schuster [00:01:25]:

Or Yeah. A range of of all of it. It goes somewhat from, helping somebody do some analysis and pick it out and figure out what what to do, and they might take it from there and implement it to the bigger areas, coaching them through it, and giving them guidance as they're implementing strategies and putting things together. And then some people will say, I don't wanna deal with all of that, but can you put it in place and take care of it for me? And so Sure.

James Kademan [00:01:53]:

Just take care of this.

Mike Schuster [00:01:55]:

This is

James Kademan [00:01:55]:

one less thing. I'm good at my whatever my profession is. Right?

Mike Schuster [00:01:59]:

Right.

James Kademan [00:02:00]:

Painter, plumber, massage, whatever it is you do. I'm not a marketer, so go market me. Bring me the customers and I'll

Mike Schuster [00:02:07]:

take care of that

James Kademan [00:02:07]:

kind of thing. Right. Alright. How did you end up starting your own business?

Mike Schuster [00:02:11]:

So I, I spent 25 years on the what I'll say on the other side working for family owned businesses in doing business management and marketing, in in a few different companies. And then during a career transition, which is what happens to so many of us at times, I was left with what do I wanna do next in my career. Yeah. And I had some people say, well, you should you should consult. You should help people out. And I told them they were crazy, that nobody starts their own business when they've got kids getting ready to, go off to college in a few years and you're getting that phase of life. Like, who who's crazy enough to do that?

James Kademan [00:02:54]:

I can tell you a lot of people that sat in the chair that you're sitting in.

Mike Schuster [00:02:57]:

Yeah. A

James Kademan [00:02:58]:

lot of people are.

Mike Schuster [00:02:58]:

You find there's more people than you know.

James Kademan [00:03:00]:

Oh, yeah.

Mike Schuster [00:03:01]:

And so I did some exploration, talked to a bunch of business owners and decided to, take the leap

James Kademan [00:03:08]:

Nice.

Mike Schuster [00:03:08]:

And and start my own practice as opposed to just moving into another company again.

James Kademan [00:03:13]:

Alright. So you are you married?

Mike Schuster [00:03:15]:

Yes.

James Kademan [00:03:16]:

Alright. So you had a spouse, and you're like, hey, spouse. I'm quitting this gig, my w two with the biweekly paycheck, and the vacation, and all the things, the benefits. I don't know, whatever they have. And I'm gonna go off on my own, hang my shingle, and I don't know what's gonna happen. How do they take it?

Mike Schuster [00:03:35]:

Yeah. She, actually was more supportive than I was of the decision at first. Right? So, I mean, it was it was a a career transition where I was I found myself in I need to decide what I'm doing because I was told the company that I was working for, it was one of those situations we no longer need

James Kademan [00:03:53]:

Oh.

Mike Schuster [00:03:53]:

Somebody in your position.

James Kademan [00:03:55]:

Gotcha. Okay. And

Mike Schuster [00:03:56]:

we're we're changing the structure and every, along those lines. So as well, am I where am I going and what am I doing next? But yeah. She she was like, well, explore it. Look at all of it. It probably took me 3 to 4 months

James Kademan [00:04:12]:

Okay.

Mike Schuster [00:04:13]:

Or maybe longer to decide that's what I was going to do. I did a few small things on the side to test it out. And I said, I think this is what I should do. She said, well, yeah. I've known that for 3 months already.

James Kademan [00:04:24]:

Mike a good wife. She knows it.

Mike Schuster [00:04:25]:

Right. And and it came down to, what she really said was, well, in 10 years, if you don't do this, are you gonna look back and regret not giving it a shot?

James Kademan [00:04:36]:

Yeah.

Mike Schuster [00:04:37]:

She said you can always go get another job. Mhmm. So is this something that you'd look back on and regret not taking that opportunity? And that that's sort of what cemented it in some ways of, Mike, yeah. Probably would

James Kademan [00:04:49]:

Probably would question. Right?

Mike Schuster [00:04:51]:

Probably would regret it. And we had gone through the same thing when she, in the process of having and building our family, when our 3rd when our son came around, our 3rd child came around, she was feeling like she wanted to stay home.

James Kademan [00:05:07]:

Okay.

Mike Schuster [00:05:07]:

So she really just turned the lens on me because at that time, I said to her, well, you're gonna you get one shot at this if you wanna

James Kademan [00:05:14]:

Right.

Mike Schuster [00:05:14]:

Get home.

James Kademan [00:05:15]:

You don't get to push the pause button.

Mike Schuster [00:05:16]:

Not necessarily. You can't pause their growth. So if you wanna give it a shot, are you gonna regret it if you don't? Because she wasn't sure at the time. Am I gonna enjoy this, not enjoy it? I'm just feeling led to stay home. And so she had that opportunity. And so when this came up, she said, well, like, sort

James Kademan [00:05:34]:

of Oh.

Mike Schuster [00:05:34]:

Fair play. Like, you put you put that question on me back then. I'm putting it on

James Kademan [00:05:39]:

you now. Alright. Very cool....

Valerie McGeHee PhD - Author of Atomic Grit

On the Her Recipe for Success: "If you had grit, if you could set goals, and you had some sort of social support, which was the missing piece, which is accepting help from others, accepting, mentoring for account help getting help with accountability, you would be successful."

Nearly every successful business owner has learned, often through hard and costly experiences, that digging deep to find the drive and passion to overcome obstacles is essential. This drive is what people often refer to as grit.

Valerie McGehee, a dynamic leader, author, and motivational speaker, shares her inspiring story of grit and perseverance, which led her to achieve remarkable milestones, including the launch of her book, Atomic Grit. For entrepreneurs, grit isn’t just nice to have; it’s a must-have.

Listen as Valerie explains how business owners can find and harness their grit, and shares invaluable tips to help you move forward in your business.

Visit Valerie at:  www.valeriemcgeheephd.com

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Dissertation struggle leads to embracing social support.

03:18 Setting goals, grit, and social support success.

07:10 Epilogue shares story of challenging school experience.

10:31 Received college scholarship, achieved academic success. Taught.

14:41 Unexpected journey from teaching to business sales.

17:48 Importance of career guidance for younger people.

20:35 Decade of experience prepares for educational sales.

25:17 Teaching English in China, juggling multiple jobs.

27:20 Many lack goals and motivation for success.

31:24 Leadership and management: challenging but fulfilling.

36:18 Know numbers, communication, leadership, be always prepared.

38:33 Senior leaders are great at storytelling with data.

42:34 Delayed response, professor support, husband coaching dissertation.

45:25 Moments of achieving ultimate happiness in accomplishing.

Podcast Transcription:

Valerie McGeHee [00:00:00]:

So prior to being committed to this, it would ruin my day, my week if somebody asked, oh, are you finished yet? And I'm like, not yet.

James [00:00:10]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes. Business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie and calls on call extraordinary answering service as well as the Bold Business Book. And today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Valerie oh, my goodness. Valerie McGeHee. Did I say the name right, Valerie?

Valerie McGeHee [00:00:40]:

Right. Valerie McGehee.

James [00:00:42]:

Alright. Author of Atomic Grit, which that's gonna be 1 of the coolest names of a book that I've ever heard. So, Valerie, how is it going today?

Valerie McGeHee [00:00:51]:

It's great. It's a beautiful day in Atlanta. And, I'm loving being an executive and now a new author. So it's

James [00:01:00]:

Nice.

Valerie McGeHee [00:01:01]:

Can't complain.

James [00:01:02]:

So let's let's start with the the Atomic Grit book.

Valerie McGeHee [00:01:05]:

Yeah.

James [00:01:06]:

What triggered you? What was the big inspiring moment or 2 that caused you to write that book?

Valerie McGeHee [00:01:12]:

So it began with my doctoral dissertation, which I did on grit goal setting and social support. And I had always been an overachiever my entire life. And I got to a point where I was stuck, and I could not finish writing my dissertation. And I was like, what the heck? I could I mean, I've accomplished so many things and did most of them by myself. So it was fun, but it was also a lonely journey of accomplishments. And I was embarrassed to admit to anybody that I couldn't get through my doctorate. And it wasn't until I discovered social support that well, also accepting social support, which is basically in this situation, is someone saying that they're your accountability partner. Like, hey.

Valerie McGeHee [00:02:11]:

Checking in on you. Like, how far did you get with your rating today? Where did you finish yet? And so I I came across, my accountability partner, and he checked in on me. He helped to edit my work, and it was at that point where I was able to finish my dissertation. But let me just rewind. When I was trying to figure out what my topic should be, I started to interview other people who had graduated from my program, other doctorates.

James [00:02:44]:

And I

Valerie McGeHee [00:02:44]:

was like, what did you do to finish? And the theme in common with all of them was that they had this grit, this resilience that was just innate. They they were just you know, overachievers. And they set goals to finish their writing. And that's because, I mean, I I went through the program fairly fast. I passed all my exams the first try. So I'm like, I could do this. But when you're on your own and you have nobody telling you you have to write, you have to submit this, no. You're basically doing the doing this independently.

Valerie McGeHee [00:03:18]:

They told me that they set goals. And so after doing all this research, I went to my advisor and I said, I think I wanna do my research on grit goal setting, and social support because I've done so much research already on figuring out how I should finish this, that I wanna do it based on how to finish a doctoral program. And so after cleaning it up, he approved Grit, and basically, at that point, also said, well, if you don't get it done soon, like, you're just gonna have to maybe accept the masters instead of a doctorate. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. We're not doing that. So, I actually enjoy doing my research, and I found that, no matter your income level, your, where you were raised, if you were in a divorced household, where your parents were married, it didn't matter. If you had grit, if you could set goals, and you had some sort of social support, which was the missing piece, which is accepting help from others, accepting, mentoring for account help getting help with accountability, you would be successful. And so, Stephen Covey, he wrote the 7 habits of highly affected people.

Valerie McGeHee [00:04:36]:

And he discovered, he created the basically with his research, he put together the maturity continuum, and it's on the bottom level is dependence, on the middle level is independence, and the top of the maturity continuum is interdependence. And that means you are able to be interdependent, but you're also capable of working with others. And that's the ultimate level of maturity knowing that you could do it yourself, but you're more successful when you have when you're working together. And this could be in any situation. A couple or roommates living together, both buying food or paying the rent McGeHee. You know, it's more successful that way. In my situation, I accepted help. I was I had to throw out the window that I'm independent.

Valerie McGeHee [00:05:25]:

I could do this myself. I was more successful when I accepted the help of somebody checking in on me and admitting that I couldn't get this done on my own because life got in the way and I got distracted. I did everything else but making this my priority. So I had already done the research of grit, goal setting, and social support, which is the premise of the book. But when I became a professor at the University of Louisiana, I was always giving my students advice on career help and, you know, helping to make good choices after college. And and so a few times I would hear, you have to write this down where, you know, did you write a book on this yet? And, and so a few years had passed and this past summer I was like, I just need to get this out of my head. I have their research. I just need to put my stories with the research, my personal stories.

Valerie McGeHee [00:06:19]:

And I get to write a fun book instead of, collegiate research that goes into a journal that other professors read. I want this to be, like, a fun book, and so that's how it came to be.

James [00:06:34]:

Nice. Yeah. And what how like, I wrote a book, and it's interesting how you get the stuff in your head, and you just get in that zone. Yep. And you type, type, type, type, type, and then it takes a little while because you're not just knocking it out in 1 sitting.

Valerie McGeHee [00:06:50]:

No. You

James [00:06:50]:

gotta come back and then you think like, oh my gosh. I gotta put that little thing in the book. Am I gonna put that little thing in

Valerie McGeHee [00:06:55]:

the book? I'd be driving. I would be in the shower. I'd be falling asleep. And I'm like, oh my god. I have to add that story. That's like and actually when I was I remember 1 night I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about my book and I was like, I just feel like something's missing. And I'm like, oh my god.

Valerie McGeHee [00:07:10]:

I need to talk about how this all started with my my goal setting. And I I added it to the end of the book as the epilogue, and I tell a story about my 4th grade teacher. And don't mention her name. And I actually give her credit and thank her for for doing what she did. But, I was new to a to a school. My parents had divorced and remarried, and I was living with my mom and her new husband, and I was the newbie. And I walk into the classroom and the teacher, I just felt like she didn't like me from the very beginning. She put me in the back of the room next to the windows, and I had a lot going on in my life.

Valerie McGeHee [00:07:54]:

You know, I was in a new, my mom was married to somebody new and I wasn't, I didn't see my dad. And, and so I was, like, daydreaming, not paying attention much. And, I remember doing some math work and then not really knowing what I was doing. I get back the paper, and she made Grit a point for herself to bring it

Larry Pendleton - Larry Pendleton CPA

On the Getting the Right People: ""I gotta be able to kind of find the right people to trust instead of finding someone that I halfway trust and I gotta oversee every every step of the way."

Just about every successful business owner has learned, often the hard and expensive way, that taxes can be a heavy burden to carry.  Once your business starts bringing in some money, after going through all of the sweat and challenges, you learn that the government wants a very large piece.  But how do savvy business owners navigate the tax code?

They do it with skilled CPA's that do more than just enter numbers and spit out results.  They do it with careful tax strategy to help you and your business make smart moves before it is tax time.

Larry Pendleton is a CPA that went from hustling numbers like most accountants to really bringing tax strategy to his clients.  Larry shares his transformative journey from having a limited mindset to becoming an astute real estate investor, thanks to the guidance of a trusted partner. We explore Larry’s first profitable residential investment, the challenges of dealing with contractors, and his strategic pivot from property flipping to new construction for better stability and lower risk.

Larry sheds light on the intricacies of cost segregation, a powerful tax strategy popularized by the 2017 tax reforms, and discusses the depreciation rules that real estate investors navigate. We also delve into the concept of self-directed retirement accounts, a game-changing financial tool that allows for diverse investment options beyond traditional stocks and bonds.

Listen as Larry gives details and strategies for both business taxes as well as real estate investing.

Enjoy!

Visit Larry at: LarryPendletonCPA.com

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Former athlete advising on tax strategies and coaching.

05:15 Accountant becomes year-round adviser and coach.

13:09 Struggling with project, need trustworthy professionals.

15:57 Adapting real estate investments to market changes.

22:45 Rolling over retirement accounts, choosing short-term investments.

29:44 Lack of promotion of self-directing investments.

31:30 Investors look for credibility, security in deals.

38:05 Explore budgeting, technology, and planning for accounting.

45:27 Clients aspire to be investors, achieving freedom.

49:50 Public accounting firms specialize in different areas.

55:52 Depreciation benefits and potential government changes summarized.

57:41 Understanding tax savings and depreciation in investments.

01:04:03 Quick cost assessment for new construction.

Podcast Transcription:

Larry Pendleton [00:00:00]:

Then you wanna know, okay, how much you how much is needed? How is secured? Like, who are you? Like like, what's your credibility and and and and what's my returns are going to be. But it's the security aspect of where like, are you sure, like like like if everything goes wrong, like am I at least gonna be like make my money back where, like, with with stocks and bonds, like, you can really lose everything. You can lose everything in real estate as well, but that's more so just not doing the proper due diligence, not, not really knowing what you're doing.

James Kademan [00:00:33]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, a business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie as well as calls on call extraordinary answering service and the Bold Business Book. Today, we're welcoming slash preparing to learn from Larry Pendleton, CPA and tax investment coach. So, Larry, how is it going today?

Larry Pendleton [00:01:04]:

It's going great, James. Thanks for having me. How are you doing?

James Kademan [00:01:07]:

I'm doing well. I'm doing better now because it's interesting. We're talking about taxes. I feel like in a time when we're thinking about next year. A few months ago, I was angry thinking that my accountant, wasn't doing essentially what I thought he should have been doing. In the end, I learned after the fact that accountants just play with or work with the numbers that you give them. They don't necessarily come up with strategies and stuff like that. So he's doing his job.

James Kademan [00:01:35]:

I just didn't know exactly what his job entailed. So I appreciate you being on the show.

Larry Pendleton [00:01:40]:

Oh, no. Like, great for the opportunity. So look looking forward to this.

James Kademan [00:01:43]:

Yeah. Let's start with what is the coaching that you do?

Larry Pendleton [00:01:48]:

So it's it's kind of a play on I'm I'm a former former athlete, and to your point where it's like, accounts, people just typically, like, Hey, I just speak with my account during tax season. And it's but the numbers are the numbers for the prior year. So is is this the advisory role where it was like, yeah, I I can advise you, but like, how do you really like apply apply these these, these strategies is like, that's where the coaching aspect of where I had to train you in a way to, like, how to really leverage the tax code to to best mass maximize. Like, I could just tell you all the strategies. You can Google all the all the strategies out there. There's TikTok Tok and all that. Do a lot of there for you, but how they implement that stuff, that's when the coaching comes into play there and and merge in the worlds of the boring accounting with the sexy investor, and I and I bring it and I kinda sit in the middle there.

James Kademan [00:02:43]:

Fair. So how did you end up in this role? Because going from athlete to a CPA is probably not a path most people take.

Larry Pendleton [00:02:51]:

Well, actually, I've been I've been the mindset of an accountant since high school, due to AAAA teacher I had a crush on. Didn't didn't work out, but it's it's still

James Kademan [00:03:03]:

That's awesome.

Larry Pendleton [00:03:06]:

So, I've always been really big on numbers. And, and then my my dad had a, had a small business, HVAC business growing up and besides, Kurt and Kurt and his football team, you always curse taxes. So I was like, how can I help him? So just always kinda at an early age, but kinda interested, like, there seemed to be a need that he needs. And then once I got to college and started to meet other people, okay, there's a lot of people that have this issue with accounting and taxes, and I can probably find a way to to to help serve in that in that capacity.

James Kademan [00:03:37]:

Nice. I love that it all originated from a crush you had on teacher in high school. That is safe to say 1 of the most surprising things I've ever had for someone driving to go into a certain field. That's funny. That's, is she still around?

Larry Pendleton [00:03:53]:

Yeah. She's still around. Like I said, we're like, man, we we cool. We laugh about it, but that's that's about it.

James Kademan [00:04:00]:

I got into being a CPA because of a girl. That's amazing. That is a so weird. Right. Fair. Totally fair. So tell me, how do you end up in the coaching world versus just being the the guy with the calculator pushing, filling out the 10 forties and all that james? Like the accountant set I end up complaining about.

Larry Pendleton [00:04:20]:

Well, as, and and I'm guilty as many accounts. What we typically do is that we go into public accounting, and we kinda just run the corporate mill, from from that standpoint. And then we step out and, like, hey. I wanna I can do this. I know I have clients and stuff, that that will will will work with me and start my own start my own business, start my own firm. And that was going okay for a while, but when I wanted to kind of work with more more investors because we started investing in real estate ourselves, It was a it was a crossroad that I had to really kinda come, I came to where it's like, hey, like, I need to really be doing more advisory work versus just preparing tax returns and, and not just doing bookkeeping. And then you start to kind of realize that there's different aspects. Similar to doctors and attorneys, there are different types of accountants and different type of CPA depending on what you're what you're looking for.

Larry Pendleton [00:05:15]:

So if I wanted to to grow and and evolve, had to get out of this comfort zone of just being a January through April, accountant and be more of a year round adviser, for, for my clients. And then the coaching aspect of it kinda came in where it's like, the people send me videos, like TikTok videos all the time and Instagram videos. Like, hey. Can I do this? And, like, no, you can't do that or that you doesn't apply. So it was always a lot of noes, like, how can I get you to that point? Like, it may start with a no, not right now, but because you're not doing x, y, and z. So the coaching kinda kinda james a spun off of the advisory where it's like, I can tell you all these things that you could do, but can you are you in position to do that? Like, everybody wants to be a real estate professional. Do you know what that takes? Are you willing to scale back from your job or you and your spouse? Are you willing you willing to quit your w 2 and you all live off of 1, 1 salary so that you can qualify and get these benefits if if this tax burden is is is what you're what you're concerned with. Are you willing to move to a whole different state? And if that's the case, alright, what states do you consider the movement to? Because just because you moved from California to Texas, yes, there's less income taxes, but you got high property tax in Texas.

Larry Pendleton [00:06:38]:

But but it's, like, how, like it's so I can advise you, but, like,...