Dr. Patty Ann Tublin is an internationally acclaimed relationship, emotional intelligence and communication expert. She is that rare individual who seamlessly moves among  corporations, entrepreneurs and individuals creating business and personal success through her consulting, coaching and professional speaking. Michael tells the story of his past business partner and his partner’s struggles with his relationship with his wife. The stress she created ultimately ended the partnership. Our conscious and unconscious attitude towards money is formed by the age of 12. It’s formed from the conversations and fights the adults in our lives have when we are in our youth. Fighting about money has nothing to do with whether or not you have money  and has everything to do with what the money represents to you. Chances are Michael’s business partner’s wife was raised in a saver household and had a scarcity mindset around money. Depending on how we are raised, we either imitate the path our parents showed us or do the complete opposite. We have a relationship with money just as much as we have a relationship with people and they are both heavily influenced by your environment when growing up. People don’t do a financial audit of their attitudes towards money before they get married, and that can come back to haunt them. As a couple, you need to identify your investing goals and what money represents to each of you. Money is a way to buy stress out of our lives and give us choices that would otherwise not be open to us. Many people deny the role that money plays in our lives. Your money mindset comes into play whenever you make a purchase so it’s definitely a conversation you need to have with your significant other. When it comes to investing, if you don’t invest today to make your future better then you will have to be satisfied with what you end up with. There is no reward without some element of risk, but if you find you or your spouse resistant to the idea of investing in something, you need to address the mindset of why it feels too risky. If you don’t understand your risk tolerance you won’t be able to make timely decisions. Differing risk tolerance is the most common money stressor between married couples. The fear of losing money has to be addressed, acknowledged, and respected. Chances are that fear is from experience. There is a lot of power and control attached to money as well that people should keep in mind. A risk-averse partner might be trying to wield their power over the other, more dominant, partner. One of the most difficult conversations anyone can have is asking for a raise, despite the fact that the amount of money involved is rarely life-changing. Money is fraught with emotion for most people. When someone in a relationship does show resistance to spending money, ask them their concerns and then dig deeper to the real issue. Listen to what’s not being said. If you really want to learn about someone, either live with them or lend them money. The way people pay their bills tells you a lot about them. A couple that is on the same page about money can grow their business faster and with less stress. It may take some coaching or therapy to get there but it’s worth it. As an entrepreneur, you have to understand your relationship with money. How much money will you have to put in your business? What about the money you will have to spend on your personal development? If you don’t figure out your relationship with money before you start your business, there will come a time later when you’ll be forced to. Both partners don’t have to be fully involved in the investments, but there has to be trust and transparency, and clarity on the goals. In marriages where the husband handles the money entirely, it’s often because of the wife’s money mindset. In order to best take care of their significant other, they need to have access to that information. They need to understand where their financial security is going to come from. Every man on the planet has had a woman in their life who has suffered because of their lack of knowledge about money and financial investment. Money is part of the love story. Many people start with nothing and the nest egg is something they build together, so both parties need to be involved and understand what’s happening. Seek professional help and let your money work as hard for you as you do for your money.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy - rozstrategies.com drpattyann.com Money Can Buy You Happiness: Secrets Women Need to Know To Get Paid What They Are Worth! by Patty Ann Tublin

Tax Resolution Success Show

Money Can Buy You Happiness: The Money Mindset with Patty Ann Tublin

Scott Zarret is a CPA who went to school at the University of Maryland and is the founder of CPAacademy.org. They are the largest provider of free continuing education to the accounting profession and have over 365,000 members. Scott comes from a family of accountants/educators so what he’s doing now is not a far cry from what he grew up with. He started out in public accounting but quickly realized that it wasn’t his cup of tea. He worked several jobs since that first foray into the business until he was introduced to the idea of selling cost segregation studies. He put on his entrepreneurial hat and thought about how to sell something like that and realized that education was the way to go. He put on a live event that went really well but realized that live events don’t scale well, so he started pursuing the idea of online education with a model similar to the major universities. The first few years in business weren’t easy, but that struggle is what taught Scott the lessons he needed to learn in order to build the business he has today. Every state requires an average of 40 hours of continuing professional education to maintain your CPA license. There is no other profession with that level of requirement. From a marketing perspective, this is a great captive audience and there is a huge demand for this kind of education. Anything where you can make the argument that the topic will make the CPA more effective at their job, it will qualify as continuing professional education. CPA academy offers these courses for free so it’s a gold mine for small to midsize firms that care about budget and want to spend their time well. Last year was the tax season from hell, and this year is looking to top it. Around this time last year, the demand for education exploded right after the stay-at-home orders. People were scrambling to understand the recent PPP legislation as well as the new work-at-home paradigm. This year, PPP is still important but there are new programs being introduced that CPA’s need to stay up to date on. Each state has its own programs and bills working their way through the system which leaves a lot of uncertainty in the business. From an educational standpoint, there is going to be a greater shift to online learning no matter what happens with Covid. The flipside to that is that live events and conferences are on the decline. Scott has also noticed a trend towards people looking for content that’s grouped together like a mini-certification. Scott opened the CPA Academy with one goal which was to deliver free continuing professional education. It started off with webinars and is developing in a number of different directions. There are seven main topics that Scott believes are going to be in high demand in the future. They are financial planning, tax controversy, estate planning, non-profits, international tax, retirement planning, state and local taxes. Tax controversy isn’t as popular as it should be which is probably an advertising issue, but it can be extremely difficult for CPA given all the educational content available. Bankruptcy, tax resolution, and tax controversy go hand in hand and we are seeing the biggest spike in bankruptcies right now since 2010. Of the 110,000 businesses that have closed during the pandemic, many of them are going to owe income taxes. For most CPA’s, they need to realize that a quarter to a third of their existing clients are going to need tax resolution representation in the near future. CPA’s and EA’s need to at least know the basics with regards to dischargeability. You don’t need to know everything about bankruptcy, you just need to know how to interpret and read the basic documents and be able to refer the client to the right professional.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy - rozstrategies.com CPAacademy.org

The Future Of Continuing Professional Education is Online at CPAacademy.org with Scott Zarrett

Chris Rivera is the director of client relations and business development at Entigrity, a leading offshore solutions provider to the tax and accounting space. Chris’s background had always been in client relations. He came from the corporate world and worked in a number of industries but he wasn’t particularly happy with the work. It wasn’t until he saw a job posting for a remote worker did Chris learn about a new way of doing things. Chris began working for his future founding partner who was an accountant and got a crash course in accounting over the next six months. He began working with clients and developing those relationships to help grow the fledgling business. Going through the remote hiring process himself helped establish the framework they use to help accountants find remote employees now. Remote work has been around since the introduction of the internet, but in most industries, it hasn’t been fully embraced until recently. The CPAs that Chris talks to generally need a fair bit of education to help them understand the remote aspects of the work. He helps address their concerns and uses the initial call to determine exactly what they require from a remote worker. Once onboarded, the client is assigned a relationship manager to help keep the lines of communication open. The client gets to interview the potential candidates for their project so they have full control. There is a difference between outsourcing and offshoring. They seem the same to many people, but with the offshoring model, you still have control over the employee. Working with somebody that is part of your team is a great way to scale a business while remaining flexible. There has been a spike in business since May of last year. The pandemic is showing everyone that they can work with anyone anywhere. This technology has also made it easier to conduct business as well. Clients call Chris for a number of different reasons, the main ones being bookkeeping, audits, and accounting. It’s always important to diversify your resources, and that includes your team. In regards to audits, clients are mainly looking for data entry work so they don’t get completely bogged down and end up working late hours. It’s much more cost-effective to offshore certain kinds of work. Staffing shortages in accounting are a big problem. This makes the cost savings of Entigrity for their clients even more important. The sweet spot for Entigrity clients is in the 10 to 15 employee range, where they tend to plateau and have trouble finding more people locally and taking on additional work. A common concern is privacy. Chris finds that most accountants they work with are worried their clients will not be willing to give their consent to allow a third party to work on their files, but the reality of the situation is that the vast majority of people don’t care. Most clients just want the work done at a reasonable price.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy Entigrity.com Entigrity on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/entigrity Chris Rivera on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/chrisriveraus

Scale Your Accounting Business With Offshoring and Remote Work with Chris Rivera

Jaime Buchwald is the Co-founder and CEO of Pitbull Tax Software, which is the premier software used by tax resolution professionals and the industry in general. Jaime originally created his software company because he originally had the same problem that most successful tax resolution firms had, specifically he was able to bring in a ton of work but getting it all done became a massive hurdle. That’s why he created a full automation software package which allows tax resolution firms to run their business more efficiently. He’s also currently a practicing tax resolution professional in addition to running his software company. The IRS is coming back with a vengeance. The cases are coming in hot as they begin ramping up operations again. In 2019 levies were up 32% and notices of Federal tax liens were up 13%. A few months ago the IRS sent out over 2 million notices to people who are falling behind and they will need to address these before long. We will likely see more bankruptcies in the next 12 months than ever before. The good news for tax resolution practitioners is that you can’t use bankruptcy to escape certain taxes and this is going to lead to a flood of business. Practitioners need to realize that every payroll tax case is actually two cases due to the associated trust fund recovery penalty. It’s predicted that 40% of small businesses have closed or will close over the next few months. Tax resolution professionals have an opportunity to help these people find relief from a very miserable situation. It’s incumbent on us to protect our clients from this coming deluge of tax cases. Practitioners that have a book of business have a huge opportunity to help their existing clients with tax resolution. By not doing anything they are doing a disservice to their clients. There are now so many resources available to the up-and-coming tax resolution professional. It’s very lucrative and well worth your time to work with either Michael or Jaime to add tax resolution services to your business. There are thousands of practitioners on the Pitbull Tax platform and due to the nature of the system, it’s possible for tax resolution firms to work completely remotely while still offering them hands-on support. The platform can even help new tax resolution practitioners understand the business and how to serve their clients the best. Tax resolution is one of the fastest-growing aspects of the industry right now and there are a huge number of tools and resources available to make adding it as a service easier than ever. Successful tax resolution practitioners all share the same attributes. They invest in themselves and their education, but they don’t just invest. They implement it too. The tax resolution industry changes constantly, so investing a little time and education is crucial to stay on top of what’s happening. The best time to invest in new employees or a new coach is when you can least afford it. Doing so motivates you to bring in the cases and justify the expense. You don’t have to know everything about the business, you just need to know who to ask or where to look. Will the IRS ever automate tax resolution the way they have with compliance? It seems pretty unlikely at this point. Other than that, the future is good for tax resolution professionals. Once you learn about tax resolution you’ll start to notice the opportunities that are all around you. There are between 4500-5000 firms that are marketing tax resolution services in any meaningful way. Contrast that with the 11.2 million people in the collection division of the IRS. We are likely to see roughly 20 million collection cases by the end of 2021 which means there is way more demand than there is supply. The major firms in your local area offering tax resolution services are actually helping your business by educating the customer base. Don’t be afraid to “compete” with them.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy PitbullTax.com (code: rozbiz)

Automate Your Tax Resolution Business with Jaime Buchwald

Justin Miller’s agency runs a marketing company that does both online and print marketing. Before the agency, Justin was a disc jockey and he grew that business for 20 years. Around the 15th year, Justin decided that he really wanted to focus on the marketing specifically. He dabbled with consulting and after a few more years sold the disc jockey business and opened his current consulting business. Direct mail is taking over the marketing world in 2021. The reason that it works is that it’s unpopular. Not many businesses are doing it, and surveys have shown that people feel more connection to a physical piece of mail than an ad in their Facebook feed. It’s a great way to get noticed, assuming you have a viable product or service to sell once you have their attention. The average person only gets one personalized letter every 62 days. This means that mailboxes are very uncluttered and are a great channel to use. Direct mail done right works. Always have an offer when using direct mail. Most of the time the whole point of the campaign is lead generation, so you don’t need to force a sale. Justin would rather have someone mail a smaller list 3 to 4 times than a larger list just once. Repetition matters. Make sure you have a clear call to action and multiple ways for them to respond. This can take the form of a landing page, a phone number to call, or a number to text. The goal is to have your piece not perceived as junk mail. Doing an every-door direct mail campaign on the main business route in your city would be a great place to find IRS problem clients. For high value service providers, even tiny numbers make direct mail campaigns very successful. It only takes a couple responses to make a campaign profitable. If you’re going to be in the direct mail business, knowing your numbers is crucial. You have to trace everything from the cost per lead to cost per acquisition to your conversion rate. The issue is that the numbers are not statistically relevant to making decisions. For a high ticket service you need to stay the course for at least 90 days. If you can do that you should be able to see the value of the direct mail campaign. The main goal is to try to get your piece of mail opened. Things like a stamp on the envelope and a handwritten-style address are necessary to achieve that goal. The return address is typically just the street address which is just enough information to pique someone’s interest and get the mail piece opened. Once it’s opened you have a second challenge. Most people don’t pay attention to the way something goes into an envelope. The first thing you want people to see is your headline. Extra weight or thickness can make your piece stand out and increase the odds of it being opened, but the best thing you can do is reach the right person at the right time. If you’ve picked the right mailing list you have the right person, but you also have to arrive at the right time, which is out of your control. This is why repetition is the most important thing, because it gives you more than one chance to be there at the right time. If your prospect is worth a lot of money to you, the more times you can mail them, the better. One of the more time consuming tips is to go through your list and use your personal perspective to prune those who you think aren’t worth the time of sending to. Go through your list and take the time to save money up front so you can send more often to the right people. As long as the post office gets back to its previous level of service, direct mail should definitely be in most business owner’s toolkits. It always comes down to getting started. You don’t have to have a big list to make direct mail work for your business.  A small number of prospects can make a big difference.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy profit911.biz

The Most Unpopular Tax Resolution Marketing Strategy that Works! with Justin Miller

Jim specializes in working with owner/founder entrepreneurs. Most financial advisors and wealth management people will work with anyone who has money, but there are unique problems and opportunities facing entrepreneurs. His ideal client is a business owner or entrepreneur who is doing more than $1 million EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). A company that has revenue and profits is where Jim can really add value. Jim builds virtual family offices for entrepreneurs, which is the wealth management solution that the billionaire club uses to manage their wealth. A family office is where a billionaire will simply hire all the needed tax, legal, insurance, and investment professionals and bring them under payroll for the family. Jim learned about the process from a billionaire family that was willing to show him the processes and he decided to help entrepreneurs achieve similar results. Every entrepreneur needs to protect, manage, and grow their wealth. Jim helps entrepreneurs in nine different areas under those categories by coordinating the different professionals involved. In most situations, the entrepreneur in the middle trying to manage those relationships is the weakest link. Jim’s company takes a central role so that all the players are collaborating and coordinating together to achieve better results. Most financial advisors either get paid for selling products or managing assets. Jim’s company does neither, they represent the entrepreneur and negotiate on their behalf. Jim believes that the incentives need to be aligned because they drive where you get advice and the results you get. This is why all of Jim’s advisors are compensated with salary and bonuses, this way they are aligned with the client’s needs in a true fiduciary relationship. Covid-19 has affected entrepreneurs all over the world. If you were in the right space your business exploded, like Peleton did. If you were in the wrong space though your business suffered. Jim’s company has been helping clients navigate the situation no matter what they are facing. One of the lessons that Jim’s clients have learned is that you have to know your numbers, that’s how you navigate hard times like this. Entrepreneurs need a great team with a CPA and a tax attorney who are proactively looking at their situation and coming up with great ideas. The tax code is complicated and set up in a way that an experienced tax planner on your team is a major asset. You won’t go to jail for screwing up the deductions, the danger is in hiding revenue. There are a number of strategies that you can use to minimize your taxes, but you have to be careful and have smart people on your team to help you implement them. Jim was raised by parents that went through the depression, so he learned to be very frugal with money. He had always been idealistic and was good at math and science, so Jim started off as a public school teacher. He did that for five years and learned two important lessons from the experience. The first is that he loved making a difference and helping people, and the second was that he couldn’t work in a broken system. Jim got into financial services and after getting into an argument with the manager of the firm Jim went on the path of starting his own company. The basic fundamental truth is that entrepreneurs get rich by being concentrated in a business, but you stay rich by being diversified outside that business. Every great investor has a discipline. Jim starts with where his clients are now and then comes up with a strategy to get to where they want to go. This allows them to quickly evaluate investment opportunities. Often people look at election results and other economic indicators to try to determine their investment strategy. When it comes to investing, you want to invest on probabilities, not possibilities. Every politician promises a number of changes, but they rarely get turned into law without considerable changes. Cash is historically the worst-performing asset class. Try not to get worked up about apocalyptic predictions about the market and avoid trying to predict the future of the market. Focus on your business. Don’t think you’re going to get rich from Bitcoin or Tesla stock. Your business is what is going to make you rich and improve your lifestyle.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy Beyond a Million: The Entrepreneur’s Playbook for Expanding Wealth, Freedom and Time - https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Million-Entrepreneurs-Playbook-Expanding/dp/1619618222   dewwealth.com makerichreal.com  

The Billionaire’s Secrets to Managing Wealth with Jim Dew

Tech led the markets in 2020, and without that sector, the S&P and DOW would likely have been flat or down. Roland sees tech as continuing to be strong in 2021, in particular areas like software as a service, the internet of things, augmented and virtual reality, as well as tech enablement. There will also be several lasting changes as a result of Covid because of the increased rate of adoption of technologies that became a requirement to conduct business. We are going to see less of a budget for fulfillment, content delivery, and meetings. We’ll also see a reduction in travel expenses as meeting people and having conversations via Zoom becomes the standard. As a service provider, it’s going to be important to be able to deliver your services by embracing the technologies that your customers have been forced to adopt. You need to be on board with the evolution of how we are doing business or you will lose out to competitors that are. If you can humanize the existing tech experience within the tax resolution space it will be a major advantage. New platforms are always coming up. Clubhouse went from 3500 members at the beginning of 2020 to 1 million at the end of 2020. It’s important to be on places like Clubhouse, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and platforms like them even if it’s not a lead source for your business. The credibility of meeting your customers where they are and joining the conversation is going to be very important for the growth of practices going forward. Technology platforms can be even better than meeting clients in real life because it’s easier to control the environment. Instead of the standard presentation, platforms like Zoom can go beyond just broadcasting. Building a studio or investing in some basic equipment can take your ability to create virtual events to the next level, and if used well can pay off handsomely. In 2020, Roland closed over $2 million in sales at a completely virtual event by using Zoom breakout rooms. Hospitality will make a comeback in the future but it will require those businesses to increase the level of their service, if they don’t it’s not likely that they will survive. Tax practices are notorious for not communicating with their clients. It’s crucial to keep the lines of communication open and a lot of practices are starting to realize this. Not only should you be communicating, but you should be communicating to start a conversation so that you create an interaction that can lead to a sale. Breathe some personality into your communications and that can lead to generating 2x-3x the revenue. Measuring your Net Promoter Score and Customer Satisfaction is very valuable information that businesses should be paying attention to. If you’re open to it, that information can reveal where your business is falling short. An existing customer is worth 9 times more than a new customer, if you’re not focused on your existing customers you’re missing a huge opportunity. The magic is the people already within your tribe. Get someone to do your content for you, but answer all your messages personally. You must take massive action if you want to see big results.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy Roland Frasier's Business Lunch Podcast - businesslunchpodcast.com facebook.com/RolandFrasierPage twitter.com/rolandfrasier linkedin.com/in/rolandfrasier Roland Frasier's YouTube Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC9cUjWtqawvdM6K632PvGow instagram.com/rolandfrasier

2021 Business Insights with Roland Frasier

Raised in poverty and surrounded by dysfunction, Andre Norman gravitated towards his neighborhood gang and eventually found himself facing over 100 years in a maximum security prison. Andre had an epiphany in prison, chose to seek success through education and achieved what everyone thought was impossible. [2:00] As the Ambassador of Hope, Andre was instrumental in ending the protests in Ferguson, MO and is now a highly sought after motivational speaker and consultant. [3:10] Mentors were the one thing that changed the direction of Andre’s life. Andre found a mentor in prison who challenged him to be a better person which put him on a different path. He took that challenge and redesigned his life in a way to work towards making himself and other people better instead of fighting. [5:55] Being told what to do can sometimes lead to resistance. It all depends on who’s bringing you the message. It’s not what’s being said, it’s who is saying it. Andre didn’t see his mentors as competition so he was much more receptive to what they were trying to tell him. [7:50] When you have people that you revere and respect and they speak to you, you hear what they have to say differently. It took time for Andre to change, but he stuck to it for eight years while in prison and put in the work. [9:45] The underlying issue for people suffering from addiction is that they are being told what to do without the necessary connection. When Andre is helping people deal with addiction, he wants to know what they are running from because there is always a pain that is driving the addictive behavior. [12:20] Oftentimes the addict is not being heard, they’re being treated, and what they need is to connect with another person who cares. [13:25] It’s not always a traumatic experience that causes issues for people. Andre tells the story of how something simple led to his son feeling slighted and how without a conversation about the problem, it could have led to years of disconnection. [17:15] It doesn’t always have to be catastrophic, it just has to feel that way to them. Check in periodically with the people you care about, especially if you feel tension in the relationship. Something simple, like making a promise and not delivering on it, can be the beginning of the end if you don’t address it. [19:15] What you want from the world is what you should give to the world. You reap what you sow. Be a vessel and pass on what you know can help other people. The question is “Are you willing to pass your knowledge on?” [25:15] Anyone can connect with Andre by sending him an email. Even if Andre can’t help someone directly, he’s usually willing and able to talk and point people in the right direction. For people suffering from addiction, he focuses on finding out what the problem is, not what people think the problem is. It’s common for parents to see the symptom of the problem and want to fix that, but if you fix the ‘why’ the problem will correct itself. [28:10] As a child, Andre had negative influences in his life that taught him exactly how not to act. His father taught him it’s okay to quit, because he walked out on his family, and it’s okay to hit people, because he was violent towards Andre’s mother. He had a number of great people in his life but the negativity overwhelmed the positivity and put him on a bad life path. [31:00] Through the lessons that Andre has lived, you can draw the line to your own life. Those lessons are applicable beyond the world of addiction and trauma. Think about what he is saying and look for areas in your life to which you can apply Andre’s experience. [34:05] The biggest hurdles for people making a positive change in their lives are denial and courage. Nothing will change until the unspoken is said. Until you can admit that you have an issue, your life will remain the same. Andre started off by taking an inventory of who he was and began addressing each of those things one at a time. [35:45] Write down who and what you are. Make it external because the reason that you are not succeeding right now are the things on that list. Andre went down his list and as he checked them off, the burden he felt became lighter and he could see life with a greater clarity. Write down what you want to grow into and then put in the work to make that happen. [38:20] Are you walking around with cement shoes on? The world is passing you by and you won’t be able to participate because you’re unwilling to do the work to remove your burden. [39:35] The truth is that you can make a positive impact on the world. Get educated, build a company as big as possible, and help as many people as possible. The more you go out of your way to help others, the more that will come back to you in a way that you couldn’t imagine was possible. [41:25] Make friends with people for no reason other than to be connected. The goal of the world is to make it a better place. When you’re at a funeral the things we should be doing in our lives becomes clear, do those things. Don’t be the person who dies with regrets. [44:20] Covid-19 has forced people to stand still. Technology has changed the world in recent years but one positive result of the pandemic is forcing people to slow down and live life more consciously. The small things have taken on a greater significance.   Mentioned in this episode: Ambassador of Hope: Turning Poverty and Prison into a Purpose-Driven Life andrenorman.com

From Prison Yard to Harvard Yard (an interview with the Ambassador of Hope, Andre Norman)

The Tax Resolution Success Summit Virtual 2020 is the country’s only direct response marketing, sales, and business mastery event that’s 100% devoted to starting or scaling a lucrative tax resolution business. This is a full-on live studio production where we’ll do everything we planned to do in-person. Many of our expert speakers will be in studio with me to deliver high-value, actionable content that you can implement immediately. We will have a vibrant, FUN, educational, and interactive networking event including a Virtual Exhibit Hall with all our great sponsors too. You’ll get your questions answered live, by me, and our other experts, as if you were right there in the room with us. Check it out here www.rozstrategies.com/virtual

Tax Resolution Success Summit 2020 Is Going VIRTUAL!

Paul Colligan has switched seats with Michael for this episode of the podcast to ask some very important questions about the future of the tax resolution industry. [1:15] How do tax resolution practitioners get ready when we don’t have an idea what’s going to happen in the world of taxes over the next 12 months? Michael has experienced three major downturns during his 22 years in the business, and in his experience the years following a downturn are major opportunities for tax resolution. [2:40] Pre Covid-19, there were 13.2 million people already identified by the IRS as owing taxes. There will probably be another 10 to 20 million more collection cases coming up over the next few years. [3:15] We are going to see the largest influx of payroll taxes cases coming down the pipe very soon. The IRS is the only creditor in the world that can pierce the corporate veil without a court order, and this may lead to an additional Trust Fund recovery penalty tax case for every payroll case. [5:00] There were 30 million people that were planning to file on April 15th, but the filing date keeps getting pushed back. What’s going to happen to those people who won’t have the money to pay their taxes once it finally comes due? [5:55] The IRS isn’t closed; they’ve just reduced their activities, but when July 15th comes around and everything goes back to business as usual, all hell is going to break loose. [7:10] Michael teaches his members to never take their foot off the marketing gas pedal. When things get slow that’s when you should double down on your marketing to keep your pipeline full. When the floodgates open people are going to be turning online for solutions and if they can’t find you, they can’t retain you. [8:40] It’s more important than ever to have an online presence right now. Now is also the time to negotiate rates with radio companies as Michael hasn’t seen advertising rates this low for 18 years. Radio stations have inventory to sell and will be looking for ways to raise revenue so incredible deals will be available over the next couple of months. [11:10] The government is hungry and they’re going to be closing in soon. The tax resolution specialists that embrace marketing and make it the overarching umbrella for everything they do are the ones who are going to profit. [11:45] Most CPAs and enrolled agents believe that if they went to the best school that it guarantees success, but it doesn’t. In today’s world, marketing is what guarantees success. [12:35] If you’re in business, you’re in sales whether you realize it or not. Many people have a mindset issue around their business and marketing. They believe their deliverables are primary, but they have to come secondary to the marketing if they want to create wealth and become rich. [13:15] One of the major opportunities for tax resolution specialists lies in calling their past business clients and helping them understand what assistance and relief programs are available to them right now. It’s also the perfect time to help your clients do some financial planning in reverse and put them into the best situation they can be to minimize their tax settlement. There are a number of tips and tricks that you can do right now with your clients because you have the luxury of time. [17:05] There are a number of opportunities for accountants to help their clients get what amounts to essentially free money. [18:30] The SBA/PPE is not a long-term business strategy. If you haven’t done it yet the window of opportunity is closing. [19:55] The effects of the 2008 recession on Michael’s business lasted for three years. The same is likely to happen this time around. IRS problems have the habit of percolating over time. It may take some time for them to find you, but eventually they will and you need to be prepared. [21:40] Michael is telling people that focus on tax preparation work to begin looking for additional streams of income. Tax preparation was already commodified before Covid-19, and if it’s your only stream of revenue you need to expand your offerings now. [22:50] Michael helps licensed professionals start a tax resolution business from scratch, or if they already have a business, how to grow it to the level they’ve been hoping to achieve. He teaches the whole business of tax resolution from generating leads to closing clients and delivering the service.   Mentioned in this episode: Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy

How To Prepare for the Affects of Covid-19 on Tax Resolution – Paul Colligan interviews Michael Rozbruch

Angela and Michael have known each other for a long time and they’ve been referring clients to each other for years. [2:50] Good credit is one of the best assets you can have. The US has a unique credit system that allows you to leverage your cash position and grow your wealth. [4:10] Angela works with both businesses and consumers but she spends a lot of her time teaching business owners to separate their personal credit from their business credit. There are protective measures that business owners can take to keep the debt of their business from affecting their personal credit. [5:50] Angela had been on her own since she was 16 where she was working three jobs, one of which was as a cashier as a bank. She quickly moved up to working as an underwriter where she was exposed to a number of people who needed credit help, which she would provide. Ironically, helping people with their credit and being one of the top underwriters in the company was also the reason she was fired. [9:45] What are the consequences to a consumer when it comes to credit? The end result is generally very simple, the lower the credit score the more interest that person will pay which will end up costing them considerably more money. When it comes to big purchases, a low FICO score can cost someone thousands of dollars. [11:55] Not everyone has the same credit history, so improving your credit score isn’t a standard process. There are a few basic steps that Angela walks her clients through that improve their position and allows the algorithm to take over. [14:00] Good credit practices shouldn’t be a secret but oftentimes, even when someone knows the steps, they will still need help with the process. That’s why people hire Angela. When she works with a client, she creates a custom strategy for them for their team to execute on their behalf. [16:15] There are a lot of companies that do credit repair, but they are more interested in increasing the number of customers rather than improving customer’s results. There are easy ways for consumers to dispute the information directly with the credit bureaus but that only goes so far without personally working with someone at the company. [18:15] Credit repair really involves you taking the time to understand the root cause and going directly to the creditor and working with them to remediate the problem. There is a lot of work that goes into how Angela assists her clients which is why she gets such great results for them. [20:00] Angela was asked to be a mentor by a company that sold credit repair software where she discovered the general problem with the industry, which was that the main priority of people getting into the business was money, not on improving the customer’s lives. [21:45] Every bank has a relationship with a credit bureau which is why they will only usually work with one or two instead of all three. [23:00] The way most credit repair companies work is very frustrating to people because the derogatory records often come back when not dealt with properly. In the end you get what you pay for. [24:30] Angela’s ideal clients are students who need to know how to better use their credit. Most people don’t understand their credit, and they’re afraid of what they don’t know. The best clients are the ones that are ready to learn from what they are going through. [27:50] Clients with student loan debt are on the rise. One of Angela’s passion projects is a financial literacy course that teaches young adults how to understand what they are signing up for in terms of student loans and how to minimize the interest they end up paying. [29:55] If your credit has fallen since the advent of Covid-19 there are a number of programs available that can help. It takes a little work but there are ways to defer payments to your creditors that can make the situation a bit better. The trouble is we have never been through something like this and the best option is to reach out and communicate with people. Anyone who is in a situation where they are losing income and are concerned about the future needs to sit down and come up with a plan on contacting their creditors and vendors and see what they can work out. [34:30] For a typical client, Angela will work for them for an average of 120 days, so if you’re planning a major purchase in the near future, now is the time to talk to her. There are a number of ways she can help you prepare your credit and save money.   Mentioned in this episode: Conquer Credit Management Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy

Covid-19 and the Credit Management Queen – Angela Setters Bessard

Larry and Michael go back nearly twenty years. Larry began the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers to specifically foster education in the area of tax resolution. It’s a place where practitioners can learn and also meet other people in the same industry as them. [4:10] What is tax problem resolution? Simply put, if someone has a problem with the IRS, a tax resolution specialist can come in and solve that problem. [6:35] Larry’s company was initially doing tax resolution work whenever it came along in between tax preparation cases. At that time, tax resolution wasn’t really a thing that people could do professionally but the jobs they did motivated them because it was difficult for people to get the answers. [8:15] Larry remembers that the first tax resolution clients he worked with had come from other tax preparation companies, how in the process he learned how different the work was and how surprisingly good at it they were. [9:50] Larry was thinking the IRS would waive penalties in light of the coronavirus pandemic but probably not push back the filing date. At this point every firm is playing it by ear as the situation is developing and changing each day. Larry’s company has decided to turn every tax return into a dropoff case in order to avoid getting his team sick. [13:10] Out of adversity comes opportunity. All of the companies that have been resisting adapting to the updates in technology are now looking at integrating it as quickly as they can in order to stay in business. Working remotely is a real possibility for most knowledge workers, and that includes tax resolution and preparation. [15:35] Software companies and the IRS are turning tax preparation and tax compliance work into a commodity. There are a number of free ways for people to file their taxes so the compliance side of the practice is almost required to stay in business. Tax resolution can’t be commoditized. [18:50] The IRS was decimated years ago but Congress recently appropriated over $300 million for a new enforcement fund, which indicates an increase in enforcement over the next few years. Data mining is going to be a new technique for the IRS that is going to really boost their ability to collect taxes. [22:50] Tax resolution specialists are not in the business of helping people cheat, they are not tax protesters. They are in business to help people resolve problems. [23:40] Pricing and fees are a major advantage of tax resolution services over regular tax preparation or compliance work. The same amount of energy goes into a $500 tax compliance case as it does for a $5000 tax resolution case. The deferred revenue is also a big benefit of this kind of work. [30:30] Now is the perfect time to master the skill of closing a deal with a client over the phone. It doesn’t have to replace what you’re already doing, you can do it in addition to having clients come into the office if that’s how you currently do things, but now you have a great excuse to implement phone closings. [32:30] There are 14 million people in the crosshairs of the IRS’ sights right now, and about 7 to 8 million are classified as non-filers, many of whom tax practitioners look down on as potential clients. Making a judgement on those people is a big mistake. If they understood the potential of tax resolution work and what it’s worth, they would reconsider how they approach these types of clients. All they have to do is understand the rules and build up their confidence. [40:50] If you want to learn the nuts and bolts of how to resolve a client’s tax resolution problem, go to the American Society Of Tax Problem Solvers. If you want to learn how to get the client in the first place, go to rozstrategies.com. [41:50] One thing that many tax practitioners don’t realize about tax resolution is that the deadlines are more flexible, and when you combine that with the ability to really help people solve some intractable problems while making more money, it becomes a very attractive option for anyone considering the business right now. [44:15] Tax problems affect all areas of life and the vast majority of them are the result of people’s difficult life events that got them into trouble. Tax resolution work is a great way to help people, help yourself, and have a much more comfortable practice. [49:30] The best way to get started in the tax resolution business is to come to Larry’s two and a half day bootcamp. All of that information can be found on the American Society Of Tax Problem Solvers website. [51:25] Michael and Larry have both seen the two most recent economic upheavals in living memory and both times were some of the highest revenue periods in the business. The next year is likely going to be a similar opportunity for tax resolution specialists. [50:50] How the client is going to pay you is up to them, but when going up against the IRS, people get very creative and resourceful. Where they get the money to pay you is not your problem. Just tell them what the fee is and if they come up with it, do a good job for them.     Mentioned in this episode: American Society Of Tax Problem Solvers Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy

Coronavirus and Tax Resolution Opportunities with Larry Lawler of the ASTPS

Christine and Michael go back all the way to 1998, when Michael was buying huge numbers of names from TaxLienLists.net. Christine started out in 1996 while working for a trucking company, where a friend shared the latest technological advance with her later known as the World Wide Web. One of the family members came up with the idea of collecting government records online, and this developed into a business selling that information to CPA’s, enrolled agents, and tax attorneys. In February, Christine will have been with the company for 21 years. [7:00] Tax collection enforcement tends to swing back and forth like a pendulum, and it appears that we’re in another swing towards more enforcement with the IRS receiving an additional $200+ million in funding. [8:40] In the late 90’s, the enforcement agents were a little overzealous. In many ways the IRS was ruining the lives of regular people because they got behind on their taxes. It was around that time that the IRS had to change their image and try to be a bit less intimidating. This change was groundbreaking for tax resolution businesses and that’s when Christine’s company really started to take off. [12:40] Levies and liens are the two main drivers of clients to tax resolution businesses, so an increase in those means a lot of additional business for us. The IRS benefits immensely from tax resolution companies because they help collect on their behalf, which is one of the reasons that it’s such a good business to be in. [16:00] There was a major decrease in lien filings starting in 2009, but even with that happening, Christine was still seeing plenty of successful tax resolution companies taking off. [17:45] Federal tax liens for 2019 will likely be around half a million, similar to the last two years. Christine’s company has been able to combine the list of federal tax liens with the individual state’s tax liens, which has enabled tax resolution companies to market directly to those people. Marketing to state tax liens is a great way to get to the clients’ federal problem and get ahead of the competition. Marketing is about numbers: when the number of federal tax liens is low, go after the list of state tax liens too. [20:00] A lien is public record, which is why federal tax liens can be compiled into a list, unlike levies which are not. There is no set standard for individual local courthouses where liens are filed. What this means is that Christine’s company has to be very flexible when collecting records. [24:10] As a list broker, Christine collects the same information that the IRS has on file. Name, mailing address, the type of lien, and the dollar amount of the lien that was filed against them for that year. They always remind their clients that the information on the lists are just the tip of the iceberg and most people with a current lien against them owe more. [27:30] The information Christine collects is really geared towards direct marketing, but there are companies that also use email to reach out to prospects. One thing to keep in mind is that you should expect to mail multiple times to get the best results from your marketing. If you do the mailing right with an accurate and fresh list, and a good mail piece, you should be able to get a 0.5% to 1% response rate. [32:10] Part of the service includes a personalized letter containing the prospect’s information, as well as brochures, business cards, and other marketing pieces that you can add to the package. Christine breaks down the math on purchasing a list with 1000 names on it, where with a good closer most tax resolution companies should be able to close 50% of the people who call in to their business. The typical ROI for this kind of marketing is anywhere from 400% to 2000%. [36:00] TaxLienLists.net services less than 55 customers nationwide and they have limited the number of clients for years, but now, with the increase in the number of tax liens, the doors are open. [37:30] Follow-up mailings can improve those numbers even further and potentially bump the response rate up to 1% to 2%, but you have to keep in mind that no marketing list is perfect. There will always be a part of the list that’s too old or inaccurate. Part of the strategy is to record the undelivered mail as it comes back and to remove those addresses from follow-up mailings. [43:45] Christine’s company tracks the results of their best customers over the years and what they’ve found is that follow up mailings produce paying customers. When the customer calls you, they are ready to do business. When you start follow-up mailings, a lot of the competition drops off because they only mail once. [45:00] Sometimes a mailing can generate no calls initially, but 9 months down the road the prospects start reaching out. Follow-up mailings are seeds that you have to plant and harvest later. Always include a business card or brochure in every letter so when the prospect is ready to call, they can reach you. [49:00] 2020 is going to be a great year for tax resolution businesses. When the IRS shut down in 2018, Christine’s company started making changes to their business and adjusted their prices and services. It was around that time that the IRS hired thousands of new agents and the Trump administration increased the budget of the IRS by $286 million, all geared towards enforcement. This all indicates a massive increase in business for tax resolution practitioners. [56:30] One of the major changes in the IRS for 2020 is their declared focus on businesses avoiding their payroll taxes. With all of that, Christine’s company started positioning themselves for growth.     Mentioned in this episode: TaxLienLists.net Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy

Best Practice IRS Tax Lien Marketing with Christine Lacina of TaxLienLists.net

The godfather of tax resolution is the featured guest of the podcast today. Robert McKenzie is the guy that leading attorneys and CPAs turn to when they have criminal tax defense cases they need help with. Robert has a unique perspective into the IRS since he worked as a collections officer and literally wrote the book when it comes to representation before the IRS. [4:15] Robert started his career as a revenue officer of the IRS. While working at the IRS, Robert completed his law school education and immediately went into his own practice doing tax resolution which he’s been practicing for the past 40 years. [6:00] While at the IRS in 1976, Robert was incentivized to seize 30+ businesses and homes because that was how success was measured by the IRS before reforms were passed. Since 1998, the number of seizures has drastically decreased. [9:15] In the last 8 years, the IRS has had its budget and headcount decimated, particularly in the enforcement area. This has lead to fewer enforcement actions and less revenue officers in total. [13:00] This is a little counterproductive in terms of government revenue because a skilled revenue officer generates $11 in revenue for every $1 spent. Right now it’s a good time to be a tax cheat in this country because the odds of being caught have never been lower. [13:50] The IRS received a 2.6% increase in budget in 2019 which means they can now bring on some new people. The new commissioner, Charles Rettig, is one of the first tax lawyers to get the job. [17:35] Levies were up 8% in 2018, the first increase in over a decade. Robert believes that this indicates a trend of increased enforcement in the near future. The IRS is taking revenue officers from underutilized states and placing them in other areas that are lacking staffing to help go after higher dollar actions. [21:00] The reality is the IRS has a lot of cases in queue that are just waiting to be assigned to someone in the field and they are not having liens filed. The more they can have people to receive cases out of the queue, the more liens we’re going to see. [24:30] Sometimes it can be hard to change someone’s attitude if the IRS hasn’t started looking at their case. If you want to be delinquent in this country, you would want to live in a big city where the staff to enforce is at the lowest point. In Dallas, the IRS wasn’t going after anyone that owed less than a million dollars. [27:50] There was a study released earlier in 2019 that shows about 83% of Americans comply with their taxes, but we are auditing 0.58% of all tax returns filed. They estimate that the government is losing over $300 billion in revenue from people not properly reporting their income. [30:40] Over 43% of all the 1040 audits in 2019 were done on low dollar amounts returns. These were automated audits because auditing a high net worth individual requires a person to handle the task. Overall, 97% of people who are making over a million dollars a year will never see the IRS. [33:40] Who cut the IRS budgets? Politicians. Who donates the most to politicians? Rich people. Who has the most to benefit by an IRS that’s not properly funded? Rich people. They cheat more and have more money they could be forced to pay if they were ever audited. [34:10] The IRS has been engaging in a series of summons with the clearing houses that deal with cryptocurrencies and have been looking more closely at people making those transactions. For some people, that could mean potential criminal prosecution if the numbers are large enough. [37:30] The statute defining an employee at the federal level has been established since the 1970’s. Congress is not likely to pass legislation dealing with the gig economy similar to the one recently passed in California, since industries have varying definitions as to who qualifies as an employee. [41:45] Customer service from the IRS has improved in recent years. Their answer rate is only around 70% and even when they do connect with someone, the IRS only answers around 70% of those questions correctly. The FAIR Act is an effort to improve the IRS’s customer service but we’ll see how it goes. [45:00] Now is a good time to get into the tax resolution business. There is going to be more audits and collections in the coming years which means more potential customers for your business. You will require proper training and an understanding of how to market your business if you want it to last. [50:45] The IRS has said that they are coming after syndicated conservation easements. Conservation easements have become a scheme that some people have used as an abusive tax shelter and the IRS has made it known that they are going after those people. [52:35] Captive insurance companies are another target of the IRS, particularly where something is insured against a risk that will never happen. [53:30] Employment taxes in the collection arena is very high. Not paying employment taxes is a particular focus that they IRS is working on and increased enforcement in this area is going to lead to increased business for tax resolution specialists. [54:45] The IRS is a special creditor, they are one of the only entities that can pierce the corporate veil and assess the trust fund without a court order. Not paying employment taxes is viewed by the government as theft against the employee.     Mentioned in this episode: Robert E. McKenzie, Chicago Tax Attorney Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy

Predictions from the Godfather of Tax Resolution - Robert McKenzie

Jeffrey Schneider has a tax and accounting service, but he also has a separate company that helps taxpayers with tax resolution and solving their IRS problems. [3:40] When Michael presented the Audit Protection Plan, the first thing that Jeffrey thought was “free money.” [4:30] Michael originally got into the tax audit protection business when he was running his tax resolution business. He was running a separate business of his own selling audit protection plans that generated over $9 million in revenue over three years. It was an opt-in plan at first. [5:30] In an opt-in plan, you have to choose to take the option to join the program. With an opt-out plan, you are telling the client they are enrolled and they have to choose to opt out. The way that Jeffrey structures his audit protection is opt-out. [6:45] Since implementing the plan in 2017, Jeffrey offers the plan to every single client but his practice is a bit atypical. About 80% of the people that turned it down were over the age of 75. He still has a very high acceptance rate for his clients and the program has generated over five figures every single year so far. The retention for the program has been over 96%. [9:40] Jeffrey made more money this tax season than in the past because of two factors. The first is that he has raised his fees across the board and the second is that many of his clients are self employed in some form and those clients are automatically enrolled in the Gold plan. [10:50] The Audit Protection Plan covers three major things: responding to notices after you file the return, audit representation in the event of a full-blown audit, and tax identity theft. It’s also customizable and has three tiers of membership. [13:40] When Jeffrey sends out the engagement letter, he includes a nicely designed brochure that explains the plan and conveys its benefits. He positions it as a cheap insurance plan. The brochure is also present in his waiting room and conference room so new clients always see it. Since it’s automatically included on the invoice, he has had an average 90% acceptance rate. [15:50] The Audit Protection Plan system includes all the documents you need to implement the plan in your tax resolution business. [17:25] You’re charging them on the invoice but it’s not mandatory. If they opt out, the charge is removed. People make mistakes, and the plan is an easy way for your clients to protect themselves from small but costly errors. The plan is also easily adjusted to whatever your existing fees are. The more you charge for your services, the more you can charge for the Audit Protection Plan. [22:45] For the first two years, Jeffrey kept the plan priced at exactly what Michael recommended, but he raised his prices until people complained. The value of the plan still far exceeds the expense for the client. [24:00] You make so much more money by having the plan in place than not having the plan and then charging people separately. Before the plan, Jeffrey would often work for free providing similar services but he tracked his accounts very carefully. The costs involved in handling the services were not even close to the amount of revenue generated by offering the protection plan. [27:15] You are not splitting the proceeds of the plan with anyone, unlike many out of the box tax software programs. [28:05] Jeffrey is going to make about $12,000 net revenue off the 110 tax returns he will do this year. Imagine how much you could make if you had a business that processed 200 or 300 tax returns. [30:30] Jeffrey’s Gold plan includes a couple of extra features beyond what Michael recommends, including additional schedules and expedited response times. [31:30] The people who don’t want the plan are required to sign a client disclosure form that explains they will pay the hourly rate for any work done outside the scope of the return. Jeffrey is getting paid 100% of the time whenever he does any work outside the preparation of a return. He also includes that in his engagement letter. [33:45] If there is any place where it is particularly hard to sell the protection plan, Florida would be it. Jeffrey has found tremendous success with the Audit Protection Plan, even so. It’s a simple program that’s easy to implement and very effective, even in a difficult market. [38:50] Jeffrey is probably in one of the toughest markets in terms of professional fees. If he can implement this system, then you can too. You’re clients want you to protect them. Notices and identity theft are the main selling points for Jeffrey’s business.     Mentioned in this episode: SFS Tax Problem Solutions Free Online Master Class Michael Rozbruch's Tax & Business Solutions Academy

Tax Season Found Money with Jeffrey Schneider

Stories of great success in the tax resolution business. Listen to CPAs and Attorneys on how they have added additional revenue, some of them upwards of a million dollars, to their existing practices.

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Tax Resolution Success Show

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