Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: S1E92 An Interview with Shauna The Tax Goddess and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: S1E92 An Interview with Shauna The Tax Goddess and Michael A Forman, Public Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:16
Welcome to another episode of Networking Unleashed,
0:20
Building Profitable Connections, the show where
0:23
we explore the powerful intersection of relationships,
0:27
revenue, and real success. I'm your host, Michael
0:31
Foreman, and today we're diving deep into how
0:34
the right connections can do more than just grow
0:37
your network, they can grow your wealth. Our
0:40
guest today is a true expert in this space. She
0:44
helps business owners and high -level professionals
0:46
maximize tax savings through strategic partnerships,
0:51
connecting with the right experts, making the
0:54
right moves, and using networking as a tool not
0:58
just for influence, but for the financial transformation.
1:02
If you've ever wondered how your network could
1:05
actually cut your taxes, build your assets and
1:08
unlock hidden financial advantages, this episode
1:12
is for you. So get ready to learn how to network
1:16
with purpose. partner with power, and build connections
1:19
that just don't open doors, they build legacies.
1:24
So I would like to introduce Shauna, the tax
1:28
goddess, and I want you to give me a little bit
1:31
about your background. Welcome to the podcast,
1:34
Shauna. Aw, thanks so much. Thanks so much for
1:37
having me. I'm super excited to be here because
1:39
I am very all about having your network save
1:43
you money, so I'm all in. Tell us a little bit
1:47
about your background. Yeah, absolutely. So I
1:50
am a CPA, master's in tax, certified tax coach,
1:54
certified tax professional, certified tax strategist,
1:56
all of which to say that basically for all of
1:59
my adult life, I have done nothing but look at
2:02
taxes and tax strategy and how to keep people's
2:04
money for them. ex -KPMG from that standpoint,
2:08
was with some of the big firms, basically went
2:10
out on my own. Actually, yesterday was Tax Goddess's
2:13
21st birthday. Yes. So yeah, so we've got a team
2:17
over here. At one point, we were as many as 123
2:21
on staff. And at this point, we've crunched it
2:24
down just to my super experts in my tax strategy
2:27
side. So we're at about 35 right now. And global
2:30
team, we help primarily US taxpayers. So we don't
2:35
do Canadian taxes or Mexican taxes and any other
2:38
country taxes. But yeah, so that's the deal.
2:41
That sounds absolutely wonderful. Okay, so let's
2:46
get into some of my questions. Okay. You specialize
2:50
in maximizing tax savings through strategic partnerships.
2:56
Yes. Can you share an example of how the right
2:59
connection significantly reduced a client's tax
3:03
burden? Absolutely. Considering we're at about
3:06
$2 billion and counting in tax savings for our
3:09
clients, it's all about who you know and how
3:13
those people have been vetted. Okay, so let me
3:16
give you a really good example. There is a tax
3:19
strategy called a captive insurance company.
3:23
Now, for those of you listening, you either have
3:25
heard about it and your current CPA has said,
3:27
absolutely not. That's on the IRS's dirty dozen
3:30
list. We're not touching that with a 10 -foot
3:31
pole. Or you've met a tax strategist who said,
3:35
yeah, there are bad providers and there's good
3:38
providers. And you want to make sure that you're
3:41
with the right. person. So when you talk about
3:44
networking, it's not only about who you know,
3:46
but it's also about what do they know? How have
3:49
they been vetted? How long have they been doing
3:50
it? What's their background? Do they have IRS
3:52
approval? These kinds of things, right? If we
3:56
stick on the example of a captive, I had one
3:58
client, unfortunately, work with a company out
4:01
of California. She came to us after she was already
4:03
working with them. The entire company and all
4:07
of their clients got audited because of the way
4:10
they were doing the paperwork. Right. So of course,
4:13
we do not work with that company. We work with,
4:16
we have two vendors that we like, right? We always
4:19
try to make sure that when we work with clients,
4:21
we give them more than just one choice, right?
4:23
Because I do want the client involved. Do you
4:25
like their personality? Do you like their fees?
4:27
Do you like... whatever it is for whatever strategy.
4:30
And of course, it's our job as a strategist.
4:33
I always call myself a fire -headed, red -haired,
4:36
breathing dragon, okay? Because my job is to
4:40
find gold coins, right? So there's a gold coin
4:43
for captive strategies. There's a gold coin for
4:45
paying your kids. There's a gold coin for using
4:48
the master's exemption, right? But how do you
4:50
know that those gold coins are actually gold
4:52
and not just copper gold -plated? That's our
4:55
job is to vet strategies. very good and very
5:00
eloquently put to explain the differences between
5:04
it no for a simpleton such as myself where i
5:08
don't understand i don't do taxes i do numbers
5:12
all day long but i don't do taxes and you put
5:16
it in such a way that it was simple terms but
5:19
you made myself and everybody else understand
5:21
the difference and as always you have to do your
5:25
homework you have to see who you're getting involved
5:27
with and you have to see their reputation and
5:30
my god your reputation is fantastic otherwise
5:33
you wouldn't be called the tax goddess It does
5:38
help when you have clients calling you back years
5:40
and years later going, you're the best CPA I've
5:42
ever worked with. Can you take me back as a client?
5:44
This kind of thing. Absolutely. Absolutely. What
5:47
should professionals look for when building a
5:51
network that supports both business growth and
5:54
smart tax planning? Let me start with the smart
5:58
tax planning because that's definitely more of
6:00
my expertise. Good financial advisor. a good
6:04
lawyer, and really probably two different kinds
6:06
of lawyers, depends on what business you're in,
6:08
but an estate and trust attorney for sure. And
6:11
then a corporate attorney, like a contracts guy,
6:13
negotiations, right? Corporate attorney. Your
6:15
banker, absolutely key in that financial realm,
6:19
all right? Especially if you need lending, lines
6:21
of credit, you gotta have a good relationship
6:23
there. Most people skip this one, but it's actually
6:26
super important. Your life insurance guy. Okay,
6:30
or gal. Don't try to be sexist. Either way, guy,
6:33
gal, person, whatever. But your life insurance
6:35
person can actually make the difference between
6:38
you living a tax -free life at retirement versus
6:42
you working and paying tax every single day for
6:45
the rest of your life. So huge difference, life
6:48
insurance side. And then I would almost call
6:51
it an investment advisor. Sometimes that's your
6:54
financial guy. Sometimes it's not. But the investment
6:57
advisors, their job is to find new investments
7:00
because they change every year, right? Which
7:03
oil and gas is the right oil and gas? Because
7:05
there's thousands of them, right? And the investment
7:09
advisor often works very closely with, of course,
7:12
us, your tax strategists, right? We definitely
7:14
want to be sitting on that board of advisors
7:16
on the finance side because, you know, that oil
7:18
and gas may do really well for your neighbor,
7:20
Bob, but that oil and gas with your set of facts
7:23
and circumstances may not be the right. fit for
7:27
what you have, right? Building a board of people,
7:30
for sure, on the finance side. And then generally,
7:33
as far as expanding your business, two different
7:36
routes on this. One, go find the rabbit farmers.
7:39
I think it's an old B &I term. Who else is in
7:42
your industry that does what you do, that works
7:44
with the same clients, right? The rabbit farmers.
7:46
And side note, am I allowed to be a little direct
7:51
on this? Sure, absolutely. Find somebody who's
7:54
going to tell you the real truth, the truth you
7:57
don't want to hear, the truth that nobody else
7:59
is willing to say to you. And somebody might
8:01
just grab you by the shoulders and shake you
8:03
and go, what the, you do it, smack. You really,
8:05
you need somebody who can really bounce ideas
8:09
off of. Yeah, I do this when I coach and when
8:13
I do speeches and everything else. You don't
8:15
want to surround yourself with the yes men. What's
8:18
the point? Because yes men will just put you
8:20
out of business. And you're right. What's the
8:22
point? You need somebody that's going to give
8:24
you a little bit of a say, hey, what exactly
8:27
are you doing? Because it doesn't make sense.
8:30
It doesn't make logical sense. That's it. So
8:34
it's very good. Very good. Okay. So how can entrepreneurs
8:38
identify experts like CPAs, tax strategists?
8:44
or legal advisors who can help them build wealth
8:47
through proactive tax strategies. I love it.
8:50
So the first thing here, and I need to lay a
8:52
little bit of groundwork, okay? One of the biggest
8:55
questions, people call our office at Tax Goddess
8:58
and say, hey, can you do our taxes? We don't
9:01
prepare tax returns, right? That's not what we
9:04
do. We partner with CPAs who specialize in compliance,
9:08
right? We only do the strategy side. And the
9:11
reason why I bring this up is because in probably
9:14
99 % of people's minds, my CPA does my strategy
9:19
for me. They have no idea that a separate tax
9:24
strategist even exists. If you look at the statistics,
9:28
according to Google, there are 660 ,000 CPAs
9:33
in the US. There are only 607 that even start
9:38
the specialization of strategy specifically.
9:41
So when you look at, so when you're out and looking
9:44
and who should I be working with, right? If you
9:46
see, so CPA, $660 ,000. Masters and tax, there's
9:51
$60 ,000. CTC, $607 ,000. CTP, about $250 ,000.
9:58
CTS, there's only $15 ,000. $15 ,000. So knowing
10:03
who you need and who you're trying to find for
10:07
what purpose, I think those are the key. items
10:11
that you need to have, right? Because if you
10:13
just need somebody to file your tax returns,
10:15
you don't want to get in trouble with the IRS.
10:17
You're good with how much tax you're paying.
10:19
You don't need a strategist. You don't want a
10:21
strategist. We're more expensive than you want
10:23
to pay. Let's put it that way. But for most people,
10:27
they will look at their tax, what they're paying
10:29
and say, you know what? I'm tired of writing
10:32
a check every single year to the U .S. government,
10:34
to the state government, whatever, for $200 ,000
10:37
a year. How do you get it down to 30? How do
10:40
we get it down to zero legally above board? Right.
10:44
The downside is being redhead. Red and orange
10:46
don't look good together. So I'm not going to
10:47
jail. We're not doing the thing. How do we do
10:49
this legally? And so understanding who needs
10:53
to be on that team to get you the outcome you
10:56
want is actually, in my opinion, the first key.
11:00
First thing you have to know. Right. Absolutely.
11:02
Absolutely. And again. It's doing your homework,
11:05
knowing who's good, knowing who's bad and everything
11:08
else. But that's your first step into doing.
11:11
And this is for a slightly larger corporation,
11:15
something like that. But somebody like myself
11:17
who was a solopreneur, not exactly. Not yet.
11:20
You'd be surprised. And I was about to say not
11:23
yet, because really that's the key in my mind.
11:25
OK, so when you look at specifically tax strategists,
11:29
OK, the CTCs will generally help anyone. Paying
11:34
tax, $70 ,000 or less. So you could be paying
11:37
$5 ,000 in tax. Are you happy, Michael, about
11:40
paying $5 ,000 in tax if you don't legally have
11:42
to? Who is? You could pay $1 and not be happy
11:45
with it. Most people only want to pay what is
11:49
legally required to pay. So I think when you're
11:52
looking at the level of even within the strategist,
11:55
you're right. Where is your business, right?
11:57
If you're taking home, if you're paying... more
12:00
than about $300 ,000 a year of tax, you're going
12:03
to want to find one of the CTSs, one of the 15
12:06
of us that are CTSs, okay? If you're somewhere
12:09
in the middle, go with the CTP. So it just depends
12:12
on what it is you want. We've also very much
12:14
had clients, for example, that say, listen, Shauna,
12:17
I don't mind paying a little bit more in taxes
12:19
because I feel... social responsibility. I feel
12:23
like my taxes are going to help my community.
12:25
That's fine. I think one of the most important
12:27
things as an individual, whether you're a business
12:30
owner, a big corporate, like it really doesn't
12:32
matter. What do you want to do with your money?
12:35
Because I don't care what you want. It's your
12:37
money. We'll do whatever you tell us to do with
12:39
your money, right? If you want it back in your
12:40
pocket. let us know. If you want to do charity,
12:43
we have quite a few clients that will set up
12:45
charitable foundations and do funds and set up
12:48
scholarships for kids. There's some amazing things
12:51
we can do that are all side note tax benefits
12:53
as well. Good. Okay. Many people network for
13:00
sales and visibility. How do you approach networking
13:04
with the intention of long -term financial impact
13:08
instead? Everything is long -term. I hate to
13:14
say it. When I was a baby business owner, some
13:16
many years ago, okay, BNI definitely got into
13:19
my head. Business Networking International definitely
13:21
got into my head. Giver's gain. So if you're
13:24
looking at it for long -term financial wealth
13:27
for yourself, for your family, for your business,
13:28
whatever, I think two things. One, give before
13:31
you expect to get, right? And two, do what you
13:34
say you're going to do. If I say I'm going to
13:37
save you $100 ,000 worth of taxes if you do what
13:39
I tell you to do, then do. that. Don't over -promise.
13:43
I'm a big fan of under -promise and over -deliver,
13:45
right? From that standpoint. Absolutely. Yeah.
13:48
So I think the biggest thing is do what you say
13:50
you're going to do and show up. Really actually
13:53
be engaged. Care about those that you've decided
13:56
to make a relationship with because you decided
13:59
to make that relationship for a reason. You're
14:00
just going to... blow it off. You chose. So unless
14:03
you're choosing otherwise, just be conscious
14:05
of what you're doing. Make sure you return people's
14:07
phone calls. Some of the basics of polite society,
14:09
to be honest with you. You know what? When I
14:12
go on it and I go on stages and I speak and I
14:15
do workshops, those two items that you just brought
14:18
up is the mainstay of what I talk about. It's
14:23
common sense, common decency. right and because
14:27
if you want due to others as others would do
14:30
to you right if you don't want to wait a week
14:32
for a phone call amazing it's very simple Novel
14:38
idea. Novel idea. I do think, sorry, just to
14:42
hit on that for one more second, Michael. I do
14:44
think often what happens is we all get involved
14:46
in our own little worlds. I've got this happening.
14:49
I got that happening. The kids are screaming.
14:51
There's always this little kind of stuff going
14:52
on. One of the, if I can give my two cents on
14:55
a tip and trick, right? Spend at least a minimum
14:58
of two hours every week. I book mine on Fridays
15:02
from 10 to noon, just to double check. Who should
15:05
I be taking care of that I have not taken care
15:08
of? Oh, let me follow up with Bob. I haven't
15:09
spoken to Bob in a while. Let me just check.
15:11
Bob, how's it going? Even if it's something as
15:13
simple as a text message. I know a lot of people
15:14
are antipicking up the phone these days. Bob,
15:17
I was thinking about you. Put a little smiley
15:19
face with a heart. Whatever, right? Sometimes
15:22
it's the little tiny simple things that just
15:24
can make a difference in somebody else's life.
15:27
And they remember you forever for it. I absolutely
15:31
agree. Accepting that I do it. Twice a week.
15:34
Ah, I love it, Michael. Okay. I do it on Fridays,
15:39
but I also do it on Tuesdays. And I do it with
15:42
two hours to say, it's the same thing. It's the
15:44
same way. Because I have a great many contacts
15:47
and I either send a quick email or a quick text,
15:51
or if I'm closer to them, a text. If I'm not
15:55
as close, then a quick email. And you'll be surprised
15:58
at how many people respond. Oh my God. Yeah.
16:01
I haven't thought about you. Yeah, really. And
16:04
so it just rekindles that connection and makes
16:08
them think. Okay, ready? What are some common
16:12
mistakes professionals make when trying to form
16:16
strategic partnerships for financial gain? Oh,
16:20
the biggest one, immediate answer is not being
16:23
clear with what you want and what you're trying
16:25
to accomplish up front. Because communication
16:27
is always the failure point. Always. In every
16:31
single relationship, business, personal, doesn't
16:33
matter. It's always communication. Now, sometimes
16:35
I will grant it. Sometimes it takes three or
16:37
four meetings to figure out what you want and
16:41
how it's going to fit together and how you can
16:43
work together. But going into, just going into
16:47
a meeting and being like, yeah, so what can you
16:48
do for me? Nobody feels good about that, right?
16:52
It's thinking about both sides of the party and
16:54
thinking about what is really truly a good fit
16:57
for you. For example, Michael, as we just found
16:59
out, both you and I are very, what other people
17:01
would consider high communication, right? We
17:04
follow up, we check in, we do these kinds of
17:05
things. If you as a person are high communication
17:08
and you're finding within the first week, two
17:11
weeks, three weeks of a new relationship that
17:12
the other person isn't, you either need to see
17:15
something, say something is what we say inside
17:17
my... inside tax goddess, but you either need
17:20
to say something or you need to just be really
17:22
clear. Hey, it just seems like our communication
17:24
styles aren't working out. And I feel like I've
17:27
tried and I feel like you've tried. Maybe you've
17:28
said something and they've tried. It's just not
17:30
holding. I think it's best that we just part
17:33
ways right now because what's the point in us
17:36
both getting frustrated? No, most people will
17:38
just let it go. Okay. He doesn't want to respond
17:41
to me. I just won't send that email again and
17:44
just leave it hanging. But it's better to get
17:47
a response and get a positive or negative. It
17:51
doesn't make a difference as long as you get
17:54
a response. And really what you're talking about
17:57
in networking in my world is know you like you
18:02
trust you. They'll do business with you. And
18:05
all of those meetings and those communications
18:07
and everything else, you're building up that
18:10
trust factor. And as soon as they trust you,
18:14
then they'll start to do business with you. But
18:16
until then, forget it. Forget it. I hate those
18:20
people that you're at a networking event or meeting
18:22
face -to -face and they immediately come out
18:25
with a business card and say, here, I sell widgets
18:28
for $3. Call me. I'm like, okay, rip, gone. I
18:34
have a friend of mine that... The way he phrased
18:38
this, I thought was the best way I've ever heard
18:40
it. He said, listen, every single person has
18:42
an emotional bank. And so you called me, you
18:46
texted me, you sent me a smiley face, you sent
18:48
me a cute joke. You thought of me, you saw an
18:50
article. Every single one of those is like a
18:52
deposit into the emotional bank, right? And the
18:55
day you need something and you call and you say,
18:58
oh my, this thing happened and I need your help.
19:01
And could you please help me? The bank comes
19:04
down. Which is fine, right? Banks go up and they
19:07
go down and they come up and they go down. But
19:09
you're not immediately starting at zero going
19:11
into negative asking for something, right? So,
19:15
yeah. Absolutely. And what I call it is social
19:19
capital. That's called your social capital. And
19:23
you're just making deposits to that person. So
19:27
if you do need something. You're able to do it.
19:30
Or again, if you're able to give something, giver's
19:34
gain, as long as you're able to add value, give
19:38
something, you do it. And it takes all the pressure
19:41
off you. Yep. So it always feels really good.
19:44
Okay. So I can see we're on the same level with
19:46
so many different things. Okay. So can networking
19:51
with the right experts actually prevent costly
19:55
tax errors and liabilities? Absolutely. Oh my
20:00
goodness. Even if we just go back to the very
20:02
first example where this client had gone to work
20:05
with somebody without... I guess it's a redhead
20:08
commentary. Without my permission, a client chose
20:11
to go work with somebody. And I spoke to her
20:13
later and said, honey, if you had called me and
20:15
told me that's who you were going to work with,
20:17
I would have told you absolutely not. Run away.
20:20
Here's what I've heard. Here's what I've seen.
20:22
Here are the other audits we've seen. Run away.
20:25
Now, you have to take some of that with a little
20:28
bit of a grain of salt because, for example,
20:31
we talked about levels of communication. What
20:33
if I just had a bad example with that person
20:35
because communication styles were different?
20:37
different right it was nothing really about what
20:39
they do or how they do it right so you do need
20:41
to take it with a little bit of grain of salt
20:42
but ask around right if i have a bad when michael
20:46
has a bad and mary has a bad so possibility he's
20:51
bad then it's bad and so i think when you talk
20:54
about costly mistakes you get one of course ask
20:58
around oh with ask around but two also that don't
21:01
be with the yes men as we said earlier because
21:03
if they're not challenging you, wait, why do
21:05
you think this is, why do you think it's legal?
21:07
Why do you think it's good? Why do you think
21:09
that's the right choice? So, yeah. Yeah, no,
21:12
it's so true. And when you're asking around,
21:16
you take away that personal. The emotional bit
21:22
of something happened. You take the emotions
21:24
out of it because when you're getting it from
21:26
two, three, four people, then maybe you should
21:29
listen. If you only got one bad and three others
21:32
that were good, we have to make that self -judgment.
21:35
But also ego, because for them to call you and
21:39
say, how's this person? I don't let my ego get
21:43
in the way because I don't want to disrupt any
21:45
type of relationship that you and I have. So
21:49
that's something else to think about. How do
21:52
you vet potential partners or collaborators to
21:57
ensure that they're aligned with your goals,
21:59
especially when wealth and tax strategy are at
22:03
stake? Absolutely. I was going to say, I have
22:06
one of the easiest vetting systems ever. It's
22:09
called the IRS approval. Because you either have
22:12
their approval or you don't. My world of vetting
22:16
is a little bit easier, I think, than other people.
22:18
There is definitely a gray area where, so in
22:22
the IRS world, there's something called a PLR,
22:25
a private letter of ruling, okay? If a strategy
22:28
has been around for a while, any good strategy
22:32
will have a PLR positive, we approve, stamp from
22:36
the IRS. If you're looking at a strategy and
22:38
it has positive PLR, done, good, fine. You don't
22:43
even need to talk to me. Go, proceed. There you
22:45
go. There's your tip for the day. Go full steam,
22:47
almost full steam. Still ask around, but almost
22:49
full steam, right? But there's a gray area where
22:52
somebody's come up with a brand new strategy,
22:54
brand new in the eyes of the IRS is like five
22:56
to seven years old. It's brand new, right? They've
22:58
been doing it five, seven years. It's good. They
23:01
haven't had any, they've had a couple of audits,
23:03
but the audits have passed. That's a good sign,
23:06
right? So when you get into things that are a
23:09
little more. nuanced i guess i would say newer
23:13
strategies it's you do have to do more research
23:16
but that's really where you want somebody like
23:19
a strategist who looks at these things all day
23:22
every day to say wait a second that piece of
23:26
logic they're telling you doesn't make any sense
23:27
because of this irs rule or that plr is missing
23:32
the approval number so that looks like a fake
23:35
i've seen that really yeah oh Honey, when it
23:39
comes to getting people's money, people do some
23:41
very nasty things, right? Nefarious things, yes,
23:44
absolutely. Nefarious things. I think the biggest
23:47
pieces are, say, ask questions, look for an expert
23:52
that can help you analyze whether something is
23:54
good or bad from that standpoint or in the middle.
23:57
I think it's actually very important for people
23:59
to understand what their own, we call it the
24:01
aggression scale, okay? So you have to know for
24:05
you, zero to 10. Zero meaning the IRS never calls
24:09
you, never, ever, except for random audit, which
24:11
nobody can prevent. Ten meaning we're all going
24:14
to jail. Where do you and your spouse and your
24:18
family and your business, where do you sit on
24:20
that scale? Okay. Now, most entrepreneurs, so
24:24
tens going to jail. I'm not doing it. You're
24:26
not. Nobody's doing it. Nobody wants to generally
24:29
choose that path. A nine is Al Capone. You're
24:32
doing shady stuff, hoping you don't get caught.
24:34
And of course he got caught for tax fraud, tax
24:37
evasion. An eight is where most entrepreneurs
24:39
will sit at a seven or an eight. They're risk
24:43
takers by nature. They're okay getting a call
24:46
from the IRS, but they want to win. I don't mind
24:49
going through an audit, but I want to win, right?
24:51
So an eight is you might get a call. You have
24:54
all the backup. You have the proof. You have
24:55
the PLRs. You have all the things and you're
24:57
going to win. It really, for me, that is one
25:00
of the most dependent things when we talk about
25:02
what kind of tax strategies, who would, if you
25:05
came to me, who would I even network you with?
25:08
Because I've got some strategies that are sitting
25:10
at like an 8 .4. And then you've got other strategies.
25:15
We call them the negative four strategies where
25:18
a good CPA should know this. Like you don't even
25:22
need a strategist, but a lot of CPAs are so face
25:25
down in preparing tax returns. We have a tax
25:27
deadline coming up here in about a month. They're
25:30
so face down doing tax turns. They don't have
25:32
time to read the court cases and the articles
25:34
and everything that comes up. The IRS publishes
25:36
three times a day. with new, this happened. It's
25:40
a job all on its own called a tax strategist.
25:42
So yeah, you just got to have the right people
25:44
on your team. Okay, good. All right. Let me ask
25:47
you a question. What role has intentional networking
25:50
played in your own business growth and personal
25:54
wealth journey? That's a great question. And
25:58
I'm in love with it. Glit on for a bit there.
26:00
So BNI. So let me back up. When I first started
26:03
Tax Goddess now, 21 years ago, it was me. in
26:07
a home office by myself, no secretary, right?
26:10
I couldn't figure out how to send a fax, fax,
26:13
okay? Because the machine ran out of ink and
26:15
I didn't know it ran out of ink. And I had to
26:16
go to OfficeMax to say, my machine's broken,
26:18
give me a new one. And they said, here, try some
26:20
ink. I'm like, okay. So when you talk about networking
26:24
and the journey for Tax Goddess, the very first
26:27
thing I did when I left OfficeMax, I called a
26:30
friend of mine and said, I think I need a secretary.
26:32
I don't know, I don't know how to do. this stuff.
26:34
I have no idea. I've always been a tax preparer.
26:37
I've been a technical person, a tax preparer.
26:38
I don't know how to bill and invoice and do all
26:41
these things. So call on your friends and family.
26:44
I need help. Joining for me, I live in Arizona.
26:47
I joined the Scottsdale Business Networking.
26:49
It was the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce Business
26:52
Networking Group. That helped a ton. I have friends
26:55
that I've met there that I'm still friends with
26:57
20 years later. So really, I think a lot of it
27:00
is start with who you know and just... Keep talking,
27:04
keep asking questions and stay curious. For some
27:07
reason, a lot, not a lot, some people aren't
27:11
very good at describing what they do. Like they're
27:13
experts at what they do, but they just, they
27:15
can't, the words just can't come out. And so
27:18
nobody seems to know what they do, how they do
27:21
it, how they're an expert, where these things
27:22
come from. And so sometimes you have to poke
27:25
a little bit. Tell me more about that. Tell me
27:28
how you got there. Sometimes you need to be the
27:30
level of curiosity to really find the expert
27:33
you're looking for. Yeah, a lot of the, not the
27:37
presentations that I do, but the coaching that
27:39
I do, that 30 second elevator pitch, I have them
27:43
first focus on that 30 second elevator pitch
27:47
just to get them down to what they talk about.
27:51
Then I say, okay, take that 30 seconds and break
27:53
it down to 10 seconds. It usually takes two weeks
28:00
before we can actually hone in on exactly what
28:04
it is. I said, okay, you told me exactly what
28:07
you do. Now throw it away. Now we'll get to work.
28:11
And they go, what? I just spent two weeks doing
28:14
this. I said, absolutely. But I got you focused
28:17
on what you do. And you're able, when somebody
28:20
comes up to you and says, hey, what do you do?
28:22
You don't go through, well, I do this and that
28:25
and everything. In like a sentence, you told
28:29
them. And we work from there. So everything is
28:32
down to that functionality of it. But that's
28:36
what I do. Okay. Just a few left. For someone
28:41
just starting to build a professional network,
28:44
what's one high value move they can make today
28:48
that supports both relationships and financial
28:52
future? One high value move. I would say joining,
29:00
and I'm going to call it a club, but some sort
29:03
of organization. So Scott's your chamber of commerce.
29:07
Your BNI, it could even be like a club if you're
29:10
in an area that has a country club, that has
29:13
a gym, that has maybe the right level of people
29:17
you're trying to network with. Some sort of place
29:19
where you're going to be around a lot of people
29:21
where you can interact with those people on a
29:23
regular recurring basis. Because the more you
29:27
interact with people, the more they're going
29:30
to know you, the more you're going to know them,
29:31
the easier and faster it is to build relationships.
29:34
And you're building that trust factor. So it's
29:37
definitely meeting the people. Listen, I've been
29:39
part of my Chamber of Commerce for five years.
29:42
And I walk in and say, it's great. And somebody
29:46
else just walking in, they come once or twice.
29:49
Then they don't come for two months and they
29:51
come once or twice. Nobody knows you. You're
29:54
the random person that walks through the door.
29:55
That's it. That's it. So it's getting to know
29:58
you, getting the relationships going. But I firmly
30:01
believe that. Before we bring this podcast full
30:04
circle. I'm going to ask you a question. You
30:08
are successful today and you are very successful
30:13
and you're passionate about what you're doing
30:15
and everything is, you're so full of life, but
30:19
you had to have made a mistake along the way.
30:24
And so give me, give us, my listeners, a mistake
30:29
that you've made and how you came out of it.
30:33
Specifically related to networking? It's up to
30:36
you. A mistake I make. In my mind, it relates
30:39
to networking anyway. Remember earlier I was
30:42
talking about sometimes your life gets in the
30:44
way and so you stop paying attention? The reason
30:47
why I have a Friday follow -up day, right, is
30:50
because I made a mistake. And I made, I'll call
30:54
it a few mistakes over a very short period of
30:57
time. And that led me to say, you know what?
30:59
I think I'm going about this wrong. I can't just
31:02
call people six months later and expect that
31:05
they still know me, have a relationship with
31:07
me, this kind of thing. That doesn't work. That
31:10
doesn't work. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. All right.
31:14
So let's wrap up this podcast. And what's your
31:18
favorite hidden gem strategy for turning a single
31:22
connection into a long -term wealth building
31:26
opportunity? Okay, having some tequila and a
31:33
cigar with whoever it is you want to have, right?
31:36
There's something about breaking bread, having
31:38
the lunch, having the dinner, having the, for
31:40
me, it's tequila and a cigar on my patio. Please
31:42
come to my home. Let's sit. Let's have a night
31:45
playing cards, whatever it is. For me, it's the
31:48
taking it out of the business because business
31:52
is good, but there's something about a personal
31:54
relationship that just goes beyond business,
31:56
period. Absolutely. And one thing I always tell
32:00
all my clients, excuse me, all of my clients
32:04
is that the first thing you talk about is not
32:06
business. The second thing you talk about is
32:09
not business. You don't talk business. You look
32:13
to help somebody else. So that's having a servant's
32:16
heart. Gainers give. It's just, it's all that
32:19
we're all made to be. Okay. So Shauna, let me
32:23
ask you a question. If somebody wants to get
32:26
hold of you, either for being a tax strategist
32:30
or somebody just to call because they have a
32:33
question, what's the best way that they can get
32:35
hold of you? Absolutely. I'll be honest. It's
32:38
very hard to get ahold of me unless I know you're
32:40
calling. But taxgoddess .com is where you find
32:44
me, where you find the team. If it's for tax
32:46
strategy, you definitely want to start there
32:48
with taxgoddess .com. And you can find my assistant
32:51
there. So she is a place to reach out to and
32:55
check and we'll see if we can get an answer on
32:57
whatever the random question is. I don't know.
33:00
It's fantastic. Either way, Shauna, this was
33:04
an absolute pleasure to have you on my podcast.
33:08
And I hope a million people listen to it because
33:11
you are very good, very passionate about what
33:15
you do. And I think anybody who needs a tech
33:18
strategist should call you first. Thank you.
33:22
I'm happy to help. It's definitely my passion
33:24
to keep the money in your pocket, not the government's.
33:27
So happy to help anytime. Okay, good. I'll talk
33:31
to you soon. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere.
33:38
Let's hear from our sponsors. David Neal, co
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34:34
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such
34:37
incredible insights today. And of course, a big
34:40
shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for
34:43
tuning in and spending your time with us. If
34:46
you're interested in my digital courses, being
34:49
coached, or having me come and talk to your company,
34:52
just go to Michael and fill out the request form.
34:56
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect.
34:59
It's about being present. So take what you've
35:03
learned today. get out there, and make some meaningful
35:05
connections. If you've enjoyed this episode,
35:09
please don't forget to subscribe, leave us a
35:11
review, and share it with someone who could use
35:14
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35:17
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