January 14, 2025 • 32 mins
Welcome to another inspiring episode of Leap To Success With Mary Gaul! This week, we’re thrilled to have tax strategist and financial expert Rebecca Mains, founder of Artea Tax Group, join us. Rebecca is on a mission to help entrepreneurs and business owners unlock financial optimization through strategic tax planning.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Hello and welcome to the Leap to Successpodcast.
Leap to Success is the conduit by which weshare women's stories of courage, bravery,
success, and diversity.
Each week we interview women entrepreneurs andleaders that have taken the leap in their lives
and inspire our global listeners to be more,have more, show up more, and live a life filled
(00:26):
with joy and happiness through believing inyou.
So today, my guest is Rebecca Maynes of ArteaTax Group and I'm so excited to talk to to
Rebecca today.
Rebecca and I were part of a twelve week sprintin the end of twenty twenty four, so I got to
see her work ethic and her drive and just howshe interacts with other people.
(00:52):
And I'm super excited to interview her today.
So let's dive in.
And Rebecca, just tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Like, how did you end up where you are, andwhat do you do for your clients?
Sure.
So I'm an enrolled agent and a certified taxcoach.
Those are the nifty letters after my namethere.
(01:12):
I honestly fell into this, industry by acomplete accident and becoming a business
owner, I think was always in the cards for me,but I never knew what that looked like.
I'm so I'm 24 years old.
Will be 25 this May.
(01:32):
Yeah, thank you.
And
I graduated high school in 2018.
Finished my associate's degree in 2019 and notknowing what I wanted to do or major in.
I didn't want to spend a bunch of money ongetting a four year degree if I didn't really
know.
But I did know I wanted to go into financialservices somehow.
(01:54):
I started working at a local bank.
I was there for three years.
Again, I fell into working at an accountingfirm in 2021 and I got all my on the job
experience there.
I received my enrolled agent license and let'ssee, in 2022, I got my enrolled agent's
(02:16):
license.
And it's been a really rewarding industry to bein, especially because there are a lot of
people out there who don't know how to handletheir financials as small business owners, I
suppose, which is fine.
That's what I'm here for.
And I just genuinely enjoy helping clients anddo their bookkeeping and keep their taxes in
(02:40):
line and keep them compliant with federal andstate guidelines.
It sounds weird.
I know I know it sounds super weird.
They're like who thinks compliance is fun,
but thank goodness
for me.
People that think compliance is fun, right?
For the rest of us, don't think it's fun.
Right.
Yeah, it's so funny.
I mean, when I was working at the bank, I was alender.
(03:02):
So, you know, people would come in and ask forhelp, say, hey, I need, you know, dollars
3,000.
I have to hire a lawyer or whatever theirsituation was.
And I had to get creative because sometimesthey wouldn't qualify for certain types of
loans and we'd have to really think about whatwe could do to get them that money because they
really needed it for their situation.
(03:23):
So it's kind of like a puzzle, I suppose.
And my type A personality loves doing puzzles.
So that's how that's what I enjoy about my lineof work.
Everybody's different.
Everybody's got a different goal.
Yeah, I love it.
So for our listeners that maybe don't know, canyou explain to us what an enrolled agent is and
(03:47):
why that's an important designation for peopleto look for?
Sure.
So an enrolled agent is very similar to a CPA.
I know CPA is more widely known, but if youthink about it in terms of CPAs are licensed by
the state that they reside in or the state thatthey are working in.
(04:08):
So certified public accountant, you know,they've gotta have their bachelor's degree in
accounting and they have to have so many hoursand all that good stuff.
An enrolled agent is more of, I would say,application.
You know, like, we work more with the practicalapplication of, like, the tax laws and how it
(04:35):
might apply to you and how we can really makesure we're staying compliant.
Not that CPAs don't because they do, of course.
But based on how I've built my firm and myclientele, I find that the EA is more useful
for them.
You know, there are CPAs in the world that havenever seen a tax return except their own, which
(04:58):
is okay because CPAs are a little moreversatile and what jobs they can hold.
So your CFOs, your controllers, stuff like thatin those bigger corporate places, which is
great.
But for me, an enrolled agent made more sensebecause I didn't really want to go back to
(05:19):
school at the time.
And again, an enrolled agent is a little morepractical in terms of approach.
Nice.
Now, that also gives me the ability.
So say, Mary, you call me, you say, I got thistax bill.
I don't know what the heck to do with it.
It makes no sense.
Can you help me?
I can also represent you in an audit with theIRS.
(05:43):
Okay.
Excuse me.
And You know, that go between so there's a veryfine line between a lawyer and an accountant,
and it's sometimes we're dipping in theopposite pool, but we have to be really careful
of that.
And But yeah, so if you get an audit letter,you can call me and say, Hey, I need help with
(06:06):
this.
I don't know why I'm getting audited.
Then we can go from there.
Nice.
Nice.
I love that.
It's good to know that there's people like thatout there because sometimes you see that and
you go into panic mode and then you're like,gotta hire a lawyer.
Gotta hire this person, that person, right?
And knowing that there's somebody as anenrolled agent that can act on your behalf, and
(06:26):
help you get through the process.
That's such a such a relief.
Absolutely.
And the thing with enrolled agents too is weare granted our license by the federal
government.
So I'm currently in Washington State.
I can technically practice tax prepare That wasa little bit of a tongue twister.
(06:49):
Tax preparation in any state.
But I personally don't work with New York orCalifornia because of the stringent tax laws.
So I apologize listeners if you are in thosestates, but I do have contacts in those states.
If you need some help I can get you connectedwith somebody.
(07:09):
Okay That's great to know too because if youare looking for a CPA, then to know that they
are licensed by state versus an enrolled agentcouldn't work with anybody by their preference,
but they're licensed through the federalgovernment so that it's at a higher level and
they can work with more people.
I love that.
(07:31):
So how would you say if you were going to talkabout a leap that you've made that's been a
leap to success, the name of the podcast?
You're young so you've taken some leaps in yourcareer.
How would you share a story about taking a leapand leaping towards success?
(07:53):
Well, I've got a couple actually.
The first one, as you said, is starting mybusiness to begin with because when I started,
I was 22 years old.
I was very new.
I was very scared, of course, because I'm 22years old.
My biggest concern at that point was, arepeople even gonna take me seriously?
(08:13):
And for those that have been listening for awhile, they know Colleen.
I met Colleen in Mexico that year, 2022, Ibelieve.
And she was like, girl, why don't you startyour own?
And I was like, no way, like that can't happen.
And a couple of things happened in my life thatkind of pushed me into it that I were honestly
(08:40):
out of my control.
I ended up losing my job at the firm I was atand I stuck.
Had no way of generating income.
I was scared.
And I called my parents.
I was like, what do I do?
What can I do?
I don't know.
And my dad says, well, how much would it costyou to get started?
(09:03):
And I was like, I don't know.
My dad's a business owner.
He's a contractor.
And he's like, well, why don't you come overand let's look at the numbers and see if I can
help you start a business.
Nice.
And I
was like, wow.
So that's how I started my business.
Now, a little recently though, and we alreadytalked about this in our twelve week year.
(09:23):
I had to work a second job for a little overtwo years just to keep the income steady
because I was still building.
And what I ended up doing, let's see, I want tosay October, maybe it was in September now, I
can't remember.
And I quit my second job because it was reallymentally taxing working seven days a
(09:47):
week
and couldn't devote the attention I needed toto my clients.
And I was just very unfair to them and youknow, they're calling me why isn't this getting
done and I said I'm so sorry I've been out ofthe office and it just felt run of the mill
very, you know, excuses.
And my clients deserve better than that.
So I quit that job and well, here we are.
(10:10):
Here we are.
I love it.
I love it, Rebecca.
So you've taken so many leaps, right?
And starting a business is a big leap.
It's a big scary leap, right?
And it's a lot of hard work, and don't letanybody tell you, Oh, you're going to go make a
million dollars in the first six weeks, becauseit just doesn't happen.
It doesn't happen.
There's a lot of people out there pushing thatdream, And more power to you if you can find a
(10:34):
way to make that happen.
There is a lot of work involved.
And there's a lot of taking little leaps everyday.
It's like, okay, now I'm going to be able tomarket myself here.
Now I'm going to go be on this podcast.
Now I'm going to put myself out there by doingthis sponsorship or whatever it is.
Or raising my prices.
We have all of these things that we have to doas business owners that take those little leaps
(10:58):
that add up to success.
But it doesn't happen overnight.
You don't leap to success and like, oh, I'mhere.
I landed.
I'm good.
Right?
So it's that constant striving.
So what are some of the problems that yourclients come to you with or some of the issues
that they're dealing with that you are able toreally shine and help them have a better
(11:21):
understanding of their finances and or dealwith issues that come up like being audited?
Yeah so there's a few different things you knowI offer a good myriad of services so I have
some people coming to me and they say, I don'tknow how to do my bookkeeping.
I need help with my bookkeeping.
And so we get them going and I just handletheir bookkeeping on a month to month basis and
(11:47):
their state tax filings and that sort of thing.
Of course, I do have clients who come to meonce a year and I just do their tax returns,
and that's also totally fine.
I actually had a new client last year, they hadmoved here from out of state, and they said,
Hey, we got a surprise inheritance house acrossthe country.
(12:11):
And I was like, Okay, all right, we can makethis work.
It's gonna be okay.
And they were like, Just as much of a surpriseto us.
And so that was fun just to kind of workthrough it because they were such sweet people
and they were very communicative about whatthings were and what things weren't.
And of course, violating any privacy laws alongthat, we got it all buttoned up and taken care
(12:38):
of.
They've signed again this year with me.
So I'm excited to work with them I have hadsome people come to me with Department of
Revenue tax warrants, which is what the statein Washington calls it where their sales tax is
delinquent.
They're like, I didn't even know, I thought itwas paid.
So we have to work with the revenue officersand say, hey, let's do this or that.
(13:02):
And the state of Washington is a little easierto work with than the feds, will say.
Now, I have had a couple of clients come to meand they've got years of unfiled tax returns.
And that also happens sometimes.
Both the two people I'm thinking of, they wereboth under the impression that they were filed
and they weren't.
(13:23):
So now we're working our way backwards and it'sthis whole thing.
And some of these projects take two to threeyears because we're waiting on the feds and
we're waiting on the state and we're waiting onall these things.
But I'm happy to say that we are coming up onthe finish line for both of those clients very
soon.
So it's definitely helpful, but that's justwhat I've been doing for the past six months
(13:48):
and that's my general day to day.
However, I'm of course looking for new clientsand I'm actively looking to help anybody that
needs it and trying to stay accessible asopposed to corporate firms as well.
Right, right.
So who would be an ideal client for you?
Do you work primarily with business owners orjust individuals?
(14:13):
You mentioned that you can work with anybodyacross the states, preferably not New York or
California.
Is an ideal client for you?
Pretty much anybody.
And I know that that's not the standard answerthat anybody wants to hear, but if we're
talking, I can handle any individual person whohas a W-two job.
(14:38):
I can help you if you're worried about that.
If we're talking small business, I primarilywork with construction workers or construction
businesses.
So I've got a few excavators, I've got a fewdrywallers, concrete, general contractors even,
stuff like that.
I I learned that's where I learned all myaccounting experience is in the construction
(15:03):
field and I, you know, my my dad and my stepdadare both contractors, so I grew up on the job
sites So it's very, it's not new to me.
But I also do service based, so coaches andyour Etsy sellers and stuff like that,
(15:23):
photographers.
And there was one more and my brain totallyjust lost it.
So retail essentially is what that would looklike.
Okay, okay, great.
Great.
And when do people know?
How do you help people know when it's the righttime for them to get some help?
(15:46):
What are some of the words that they're sayingthat we could listen for to make a
recommendation?
Or ourselves?
When do we know, Okay, I need some outside helpwith this?
Right.
I can't believe I had to pay so much in taxes.
It's crazy.
I've never paid that much.
And I will say this, as an accountant, we walka very fine line between, hey, you have an
(16:08):
obligation to pay your taxes.
And then there's the other side of that coinwhere people are like, well, I don't wanna pay
Uncle Sam.
I don't agree with this.
I don't agree with that election year, youknow, all of that that we just went through as
a country.
You know, I I do my best to keep it veryseparate.
(16:29):
Know, people voted for the new president.
If they didn't, it doesn't matter.
Right.
You still have an obligation as a citizen topay taxes.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So I'm like, you know, like, I'm sorry.
I, you know, so, or if people are likecomplaining or very frustrated with their
current person, you know, oh, I never get anemail.
(16:50):
They never call me back.
I find that being a solo person in my firm, Imean, aside from my firm, but, you know, they
get that one on one time they can sit down withme and ask me questions and not have me have
them feeling like I'm rushing them out thedoor, which I do my best to break the terms
(17:14):
down into like layman's terms because it's noteasy to understand.
Will say that.
Right.
Yeah.
The tax code book is what, however many inchesthick, right?
So it's not something you
sit
down and want to read after dinner orsomething, right?
Yeah.
Going back to paying taxes, I switched mymindset many, many years ago, decades ago,
(17:35):
about paying taxes because my kids went topublic schools.
We went to the library all the time.
We love our fire departments and roads that wecan drive on without too many potholes.
Those taxes all go to pay for those things.
So if nobody's paying their taxes, then wedon't have the money to do those kind of
(17:56):
things.
In your local community, those taxes go to helpsupport those services.
Our country needs those.
So we have to pay them our fair share.
We don't be paying more than we need to bepaying.
And that's where having somebody on your sideto help you make sure you're making the right
decisions and not paying too much, but stillpaying, you know, what you need to pay on the
(18:21):
revenue that you make.
Right?
And the switch I made is the more taxes I haveto pay means I made more money this year.
Right?
So it's a good thing in some respects.
Right?
The more money I make, the more taxes, thehigher my tax bill could be.
Again, with somebody's help, you can you canmitigate some of those higher taxes.
But if you're going up, that means you'remaking more revenue, generally.
(18:43):
Right, yeah, absolutely.
And I find that people who maybe cross that 6figure mark, even in gross revenue before we're
talking about expenses, that's when they'relike, oh my gosh, like I'm making 6 figures,
what do I do?
So, you know, there's so many strategies outthere and so many different things that you can
(19:04):
do depending on your situation to call incomeshift, which isn't illegal.
We're just moving how the income is reportedand having you pay taxes on it as you go.
And there's a lot of different things.
And I'm graduated high school in 2018, so notvery long ago.
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I am appalled at how little they teach that inschools these days.
At an accounting firm I worked for when I veryfirst started, you know, we, we set up time
with the local schools to go into their homehome economics class and teach them like, hey,
this is how you set up for retirement.
Know, are you working at a coffee stand?
(19:47):
Are you working at the mall?
Shove like $300 in this retirement account amonth And then, you know, by the time you turn
60, you'll have millions of dollars.
So, you know, I do enjoy doing the outreach ofit as well because the younger generation, you
know, the education is not what it used to be.
(20:09):
Right, right.
Yes, I know.
I have two daughters in their mid-20s.
And so, yes, they call me and ask me, if theyget a new job, it's like, what do I declare on
my W-two?
Am I a zero or one or whatever?
All those things make a difference, right?
And if no one sits down and explains what thatis, like, well, this means they're gonna take
less out of your taxes, you know, so you mightget more back later, but, do you wanna keep
(20:33):
that money or you want the government to holdthat for you and you get a tax refund?
Yeah.
There's more high yield savings accounts youcan put that money in for for.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
Make some money on your own money.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Definitely.
I love that.
I love that.
So, what calls you forward to keep growing yourbusiness and, you know, what really inspires
(20:58):
you to keep to keep growing?
My genuine need to help people because I'm verymuch a numbers person.
I'm like I mentioned earlier, very type A.
The puzzle aspect keeps my ADHD brain engagedin the work.
(21:19):
And the fact that every person I speak to has adifferent situation, every client that I have
has something different, from real estate toconstruction to franchising, to a restaurant,
you know, we've got so many different peopleand so many different things going on in their
personal lives.
You know, this client just got married.
(21:40):
You can't see my hand.
This client just got married.
This client just had a baby and this clientjust has back taxes and needs to get her
returns filed.
And just, everybody's different.
Every approach is different.
And my genuine, I don't even know what the wordis, I just want to help.
(22:04):
I'm an extrovert by nature.
I enjoy talking to people and saying, Hey, canI help you?
Kind of like a fixer, but not necessarily apersonal fixer, but, Hey, let me at least make
sure we're good with the feds at least.
Yeah, let's make sure your taxes are in order.
That's great.
That's great.
And as a business coach, I'm always telling myclients who are business owners, you have to
(22:27):
know the numbers in your business.
Whether you to know if that's a matter of aspreadsheet that you're managing your numbers
on, or you've got QuickBooks or Wave or any ofthose other softwares that are out there, you
have to know the numbers.
And some people don't want to look at thenumbers, and so that's why having somebody like
you who can help them with the bookkeeping sideand then also help them understand what the
(22:51):
numbers are and what they mean and how they canimpact things going forward.
I say this all the time, better data equalsbetter decisions.
And if you don't have the data, you don't knowwhat your numbers are in your business, it's
really hard for you to make good decisionsabout what to do going forward.
(23:12):
I really love that you help with that.
So how do you help business owners inparticular to know their numbers and understand
their numbers?
Well, I mean, this is a great example.
I went and sat down with one of my clients, theother day.
You know, I we've we've known each other for solong before I even started this.
(23:34):
So we do dinners and so I went up to her house,all that good stuff.
It was a great time.
And we sat down and we looked at it and I askedher, I said, what are your goals?
I know you're wanting to launch this programthis year and I know you're worried about
competition in the area, because you've talkedto me about that.
(23:55):
So, you know, what are your goals?
Do you like, do you need to take time off?
Do you need to hire somebody?
You have an income goal?
What is what does that look like?
And so Mhmm.
You know, we we sat down.
She's like, oh, you know, I wanna hire I wannahire another person.
I wanna take an extra day off a week so that Ican spend time with my husband and my family.
And I want to make sure I'm still making thatmoney.
(24:18):
And I said, okay, great.
So let's see.
Let's look at your past two years this quarter,first quarter of the year, and see if we can
afford to hire somebody at least, you know, forthe last three years, would you have been able
to?
Because the numbers don't lie.
Never gonna change.
You know, if you're consistently making, youknow, 60,000 in the first quarter this year,
(24:41):
sure, you might go up to 70,000.
You might, but we know for sure you've made atleast 60 for the last three years because
trends never lie either.
And people are like, oh, graphing, oh, graphs,oh, I hate this.
I get that, it's okay.
That's why I'm here.
I'm here to read it, explain it to you and say,you can afford it.
You can afford to hire a person twenty hours aweek.
(25:03):
It's only gonna cut into your profit, 5%.
Right.
So then she was like, well, how would you doit?
And so we wrote it all out and we had a reallygood conversation about it.
And I said, you're now taking Mondays off.
Don't work, don't do anything.
Leave your laptop in your home office, takeyour dog for a walk.
(25:26):
Yeah.
Yeah. Your parents, if you need to work, do itfrom your laptop, on your couch, at your house,
do not go into your office, like your physicaloffice.
And she was like, okay, okay, think I can dothat.
And we did projections because she's adding anew program.
So we priced it out.
We figured out how much it's gonna cost her torun it, how much she should charge so she has
(25:50):
good margins and is making money.
And then comparing that to her competitors.
This is all what we call fractional CFO work.
And so I'm not, I'm just giving you thenumbers.
I'm not telling you what to do.
You tell me your goals and I tell you whetheryou can afford to do the things you want.
You can or you can't, you know?
Of course I do tell all my clients I make zeroguarantees.
(26:14):
I'm not a CPA.
I am not allowed to personally guarantee yourfinancials.
But I can say based on trends, it looks likeyou'll be okay.
Right, right.
I mean we could have another COVID and whoknows what the world would do, right?
Oh my gosh, yeah.
But
having that confidence to have somebody explainthe numbers to you and she may have thought,
(26:40):
Well I think I can do this, but I'm not quitesure.
Not knowing how to look at the numbers andreally say, Okay based on the numbers, yes.
Based on this trend, based on what you've donein the last couple of years, here's what the
numbers look like, and here's what it mightcost.
And running through all of those numbers is sopowerful.
And that's where having, you know, evensomebody to do that with on a regular basis,
(27:03):
even quarterly, to look at them.
Or if if I'm sure when you do your bookkeepingfor your clients that you're giving them those
kind of reports rather than, you know, here'syour profit and loss statement.
Good luck, right?
So, so giving it a little bit more feedback onhere's your profit and loss.
I noticed this is up or your expenses are upthis month.
(27:23):
You know, I know people who pay for bookkeepersand get those reports monthly, but they never
look at them.
They never look to analyze and see what'shappening.
Is my revenue up or is my, you know, I gotmoney in the bank account, I'm good.
Well, there's more to your business than that.
Right.
Well, and too, some clients prefer it that way.
(27:43):
If they don't want to look at it until the endof the year, I'm not going to force them.
Here's your report.
If you have questions, please reach out.
We'll talk about it.
I don't offer.
I started to lose you.
Hang on.
So
(28:05):
I do offer it, but at a little bit of a higherprice point just to account for my time.
But if that's something that you need, let'stalk about it.
Let's get it into your package and I'm here foryou.
Call me.
We'll have a meeting every month.
We'll going on.
Good.
Good.
That's so amazing.
(28:25):
So, Rebecca, it's been a pleasure to talk toyou today.
So I'm so excited to share your skills withThere are many of us out here who don't want to
look at our numbers, who don't want to do thecalculations, don't want to do that part of it,
I'm so glad that you're out there and you'reavailable to help people especially if they're
dealing with an issue with the IRS orsomething, it really is nice to know that
(28:49):
there's somebody who can be on your side andhelp you get that straightened out, right?
Because that's such a heavy energy that you'recarrying.
Absolutely.
So just having you on their side will be such arefreshing way to deal with that problem.
So how is the best way?
We'll put in the show notes.
This will be, you know, streamed on all of theplatforms where you listen to your favorite
(29:10):
podcasts.
And we'll put in the show notes all ofRebecca's contact information.
But is there a way or a way for people to startworking with you or just reach out and have a
consultation call with you?
What's the best way for them to find you?
You can email me at inforta tax group right uphere on my on my banner.
(29:30):
If you're watching this on Facebook orsomething like that, but best way to guarantee
time with me because we are walking straightinto tax season.
I cannot guarantee phones will be answeredagain.
I'm a one woman show.
I have to spend time working on all of myclients.
As of now, the best way is to use my initialconsultation link, which I've sent to Mary, so
(29:53):
that should get there on the show notes foryou.
So that would be the best because that is myactive calendar at all times of day.
It'll let you know what's available based onwhat's already on my calendar so you won't have
to worry about it.
And if you do schedule with me, and I'moffering a freebie too.
(30:15):
I don't know if you were gonna say that next,Mary.
No, but go ahead and tell us about it.
So I'm offering a free tax discovery session.
So that is a separate link.
That's a $300 value if you book it with me bythe last day of the month, January thirty
first.
So I have that link currently set as free.
(30:36):
If you have any questions, feel free to emailand me or my admin will get back with you on
that.
Fantastic.
That's fantastic because I know a lot of peopledo have tax questions, especially business
owners with the do I need to do a ten ninetynine?
How do I get W-9s?
All of that kind of stuff that has to happen.
And your corporate taxes fall in the Januaryand all kinds of things that happen for
(30:57):
business owners in January.
So please take advantage of that amazing offerthat Rebecca's giving us to our listeners
today.
And so we'll get this out as soon as we can,the podcast out, so that people have time to
get that scheduled with you.
Alright.
So, that wraps up our time today.
So, again, thank you so much to Rebecca Mayneswith RTX Group.
(31:21):
She is an enrolled agent and a certified taxwhat's this?
Coach.
Coach.
Yes.
So she can help you with your books, for yourbusiness, for your personal life.
If you've got any kind of tax questions at all,please reach out to Rebecca and let her help
guide you through your issues so that she canhelp relieve that stress and move through 2025
(31:44):
with ease.
Yes.
Yes.
All right.
Thank you.
And again, we'll put all of Rebecca's contactinformation in the show notes.
So reach out to her and connect as soon aspossible.
Thanks so much, Rebecca.
Thank you.
Hello and welcome to the Leap to Successpodcast.
Leap to Success is the conduit by which weshare women's stories of courage, bravery,
success, and diversity.
Each week we interview women entrepreneurs andleaders that have taken the leap in their lives
and inspire our global listeners to be more,have more, show up more, and live a life filled
(00:26):
with joy and happiness through believing inyou.
So today, my guest is Rebecca Maynes of ArteaTax Group and I'm so excited to talk to to
Rebecca today.
Rebecca and I were part of a twelve week sprintin the end of twenty twenty four, so I got to
see her work ethic and her drive and just howshe interacts with other people.
(00:52):
And I'm super excited to interview her today.
So let's dive in.
And Rebecca, just tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
Like, how did you end up where you are, andwhat do you do for your clients?
Sure.
So I'm an enrolled agent and a certified taxcoach.
Those are the nifty letters after my namethere.
(01:12):
I honestly fell into this, industry by acomplete accident and becoming a business
owner, I think was always in the cards for me,but I never knew what that looked like.
I'm so I'm 24 years old.
Will be 25 this May.
(01:32):
Yeah, thank you.
And
I graduated high school in 2018.
Finished my associate's degree in 2019 and notknowing what I wanted to do or major in.
I didn't want to spend a bunch of money ongetting a four year degree if I didn't really
know.
But I did know I wanted to go into financialservices somehow.
(01:54):
I started working at a local bank.
I was there for three years.
Again, I fell into working at an accountingfirm in 2021 and I got all my on the job
experience there.
I received my enrolled agent license and let'ssee, in 2022, I got my enrolled agent's
(02:16):
license.
And it's been a really rewarding industry to bein, especially because there are a lot of
people out there who don't know how to handletheir financials as small business owners, I
suppose, which is fine.
That's what I'm here for.
And I just genuinely enjoy helping clients anddo their bookkeeping and keep their taxes in
(02:40):
line and keep them compliant with federal andstate guidelines.
It sounds weird.
I know I know it sounds super weird.
They're like who thinks compliance is fun,
but thank goodness
for me.
People that think compliance is fun, right?
For the rest of us, don't think it's fun.
Right.
Yeah, it's so funny.
I mean, when I was working at the bank, I was alender.
(03:02):
So, you know, people would come in and ask forhelp, say, hey, I need, you know, dollars
3,000.
I have to hire a lawyer or whatever theirsituation was.
And I had to get creative because sometimesthey wouldn't qualify for certain types of
loans and we'd have to really think about whatwe could do to get them that money because they
really needed it for their situation.
(03:23):
So it's kind of like a puzzle, I suppose.
And my type A personality loves doing puzzles.
So that's how that's what I enjoy about my lineof work.
Everybody's different.
Everybody's got a different goal.
Yeah, I love it.
So for our listeners that maybe don't know, canyou explain to us what an enrolled agent is and
(03:47):
why that's an important designation for peopleto look for?
Sure.
So an enrolled agent is very similar to a CPA.
I know CPA is more widely known, but if youthink about it in terms of CPAs are licensed by
the state that they reside in or the state thatthey are working in.
(04:08):
So certified public accountant, you know,they've gotta have their bachelor's degree in
accounting and they have to have so many hoursand all that good stuff.
An enrolled agent is more of, I would say,application.
You know, like, we work more with the practicalapplication of, like, the tax laws and how it
(04:35):
might apply to you and how we can really makesure we're staying compliant.
Not that CPAs don't because they do, of course.
But based on how I've built my firm and myclientele, I find that the EA is more useful
for them.
You know, there are CPAs in the world that havenever seen a tax return except their own, which
(04:58):
is okay because CPAs are a little moreversatile and what jobs they can hold.
So your CFOs, your controllers, stuff like thatin those bigger corporate places, which is
great.
But for me, an enrolled agent made more sensebecause I didn't really want to go back to
(05:19):
school at the time.
And again, an enrolled agent is a little morepractical in terms of approach.
Nice.
Now, that also gives me the ability.
So say, Mary, you call me, you say, I got thistax bill.
I don't know what the heck to do with it.
It makes no sense.
Can you help me?
I can also represent you in an audit with theIRS.
(05:43):
Okay.
Excuse me.
And You know, that go between so there's a veryfine line between a lawyer and an accountant,
and it's sometimes we're dipping in theopposite pool, but we have to be really careful
of that.
And But yeah, so if you get an audit letter,you can call me and say, Hey, I need help with
(06:06):
this.
I don't know why I'm getting audited.
Then we can go from there.
Nice.
Nice.
I love that.
It's good to know that there's people like thatout there because sometimes you see that and
you go into panic mode and then you're like,gotta hire a lawyer.
Gotta hire this person, that person, right?
And knowing that there's somebody as anenrolled agent that can act on your behalf, and
(06:26):
help you get through the process.
That's such a such a relief.
Absolutely.
And the thing with enrolled agents too is weare granted our license by the federal
government.
So I'm currently in Washington State.
I can technically practice tax prepare That wasa little bit of a tongue twister.
(06:49):
Tax preparation in any state.
But I personally don't work with New York orCalifornia because of the stringent tax laws.
So I apologize listeners if you are in thosestates, but I do have contacts in those states.
If you need some help I can get you connectedwith somebody.
(07:09):
Okay That's great to know too because if youare looking for a CPA, then to know that they
are licensed by state versus an enrolled agentcouldn't work with anybody by their preference,
but they're licensed through the federalgovernment so that it's at a higher level and
they can work with more people.
I love that.
(07:31):
So how would you say if you were going to talkabout a leap that you've made that's been a
leap to success, the name of the podcast?
You're young so you've taken some leaps in yourcareer.
How would you share a story about taking a leapand leaping towards success?
(07:53):
Well, I've got a couple actually.
The first one, as you said, is starting mybusiness to begin with because when I started,
I was 22 years old.
I was very new.
I was very scared, of course, because I'm 22years old.
My biggest concern at that point was, arepeople even gonna take me seriously?
(08:13):
And for those that have been listening for awhile, they know Colleen.
I met Colleen in Mexico that year, 2022, Ibelieve.
And she was like, girl, why don't you startyour own?
And I was like, no way, like that can't happen.
And a couple of things happened in my life thatkind of pushed me into it that I were honestly
(08:40):
out of my control.
I ended up losing my job at the firm I was atand I stuck.
Had no way of generating income.
I was scared.
And I called my parents.
I was like, what do I do?
What can I do?
I don't know.
And my dad says, well, how much would it costyou to get started?
(09:03):
And I was like, I don't know.
My dad's a business owner.
He's a contractor.
And he's like, well, why don't you come overand let's look at the numbers and see if I can
help you start a business.
Nice.
And I
was like, wow.
So that's how I started my business.
Now, a little recently though, and we alreadytalked about this in our twelve week year.
(09:23):
I had to work a second job for a little overtwo years just to keep the income steady
because I was still building.
And what I ended up doing, let's see, I want tosay October, maybe it was in September now, I
can't remember.
And I quit my second job because it was reallymentally taxing working seven days a
(09:47):
week
and couldn't devote the attention I needed toto my clients.
And I was just very unfair to them and youknow, they're calling me why isn't this getting
done and I said I'm so sorry I've been out ofthe office and it just felt run of the mill
very, you know, excuses.
And my clients deserve better than that.
So I quit that job and well, here we are.
(10:10):
Here we are.
I love it.
I love it, Rebecca.
So you've taken so many leaps, right?
And starting a business is a big leap.
It's a big scary leap, right?
And it's a lot of hard work, and don't letanybody tell you, Oh, you're going to go make a
million dollars in the first six weeks, becauseit just doesn't happen.
It doesn't happen.
There's a lot of people out there pushing thatdream, And more power to you if you can find a
(10:34):
way to make that happen.
There is a lot of work involved.
And there's a lot of taking little leaps everyday.
It's like, okay, now I'm going to be able tomarket myself here.
Now I'm going to go be on this podcast.
Now I'm going to put myself out there by doingthis sponsorship or whatever it is.
Or raising my prices.
We have all of these things that we have to doas business owners that take those little leaps
(10:58):
that add up to success.
But it doesn't happen overnight.
You don't leap to success and like, oh, I'mhere.
I landed.
I'm good.
Right?
So it's that constant striving.
So what are some of the problems that yourclients come to you with or some of the issues
that they're dealing with that you are able toreally shine and help them have a better
(11:21):
understanding of their finances and or dealwith issues that come up like being audited?
Yeah so there's a few different things you knowI offer a good myriad of services so I have
some people coming to me and they say, I don'tknow how to do my bookkeeping.
I need help with my bookkeeping.
And so we get them going and I just handletheir bookkeeping on a month to month basis and
(11:47):
their state tax filings and that sort of thing.
Of course, I do have clients who come to meonce a year and I just do their tax returns,
and that's also totally fine.
I actually had a new client last year, they hadmoved here from out of state, and they said,
Hey, we got a surprise inheritance house acrossthe country.
(12:11):
And I was like, Okay, all right, we can makethis work.
It's gonna be okay.
And they were like, Just as much of a surpriseto us.
And so that was fun just to kind of workthrough it because they were such sweet people
and they were very communicative about whatthings were and what things weren't.
And of course, violating any privacy laws alongthat, we got it all buttoned up and taken care
(12:38):
of.
They've signed again this year with me.
So I'm excited to work with them I have hadsome people come to me with Department of
Revenue tax warrants, which is what the statein Washington calls it where their sales tax is
delinquent.
They're like, I didn't even know, I thought itwas paid.
So we have to work with the revenue officersand say, hey, let's do this or that.
(13:02):
And the state of Washington is a little easierto work with than the feds, will say.
Now, I have had a couple of clients come to meand they've got years of unfiled tax returns.
And that also happens sometimes.
Both the two people I'm thinking of, they wereboth under the impression that they were filed
and they weren't.
(13:23):
So now we're working our way backwards and it'sthis whole thing.
And some of these projects take two to threeyears because we're waiting on the feds and
we're waiting on the state and we're waiting onall these things.
But I'm happy to say that we are coming up onthe finish line for both of those clients very
soon.
So it's definitely helpful, but that's justwhat I've been doing for the past six months
(13:48):
and that's my general day to day.
However, I'm of course looking for new clientsand I'm actively looking to help anybody that
needs it and trying to stay accessible asopposed to corporate firms as well.
Right, right.
So who would be an ideal client for you?
Do you work primarily with business owners orjust individuals?
(14:13):
You mentioned that you can work with anybodyacross the states, preferably not New York or
California.
Is an ideal client for you?
Pretty much anybody.
And I know that that's not the standard answerthat anybody wants to hear, but if we're
talking, I can handle any individual person whohas a W-two job.
(14:38):
I can help you if you're worried about that.
If we're talking small business, I primarilywork with construction workers or construction
businesses.
So I've got a few excavators, I've got a fewdrywallers, concrete, general contractors even,
stuff like that.
I I learned that's where I learned all myaccounting experience is in the construction
(15:03):
field and I, you know, my my dad and my stepdadare both contractors, so I grew up on the job
sites So it's very, it's not new to me.
But I also do service based, so coaches andyour Etsy sellers and stuff like that,
(15:23):
photographers.
And there was one more and my brain totallyjust lost it.
So retail essentially is what that would looklike.
Okay, okay, great.
Great.
And when do people know?
How do you help people know when it's the righttime for them to get some help?
(15:46):
What are some of the words that they're sayingthat we could listen for to make a
recommendation?
Or ourselves?
When do we know, Okay, I need some outside helpwith this?
Right.
I can't believe I had to pay so much in taxes.
It's crazy.
I've never paid that much.
And I will say this, as an accountant, we walka very fine line between, hey, you have an
(16:08):
obligation to pay your taxes.
And then there's the other side of that coinwhere people are like, well, I don't wanna pay
Uncle Sam.
I don't agree with this.
I don't agree with that election year, youknow, all of that that we just went through as
a country.
You know, I I do my best to keep it veryseparate.
(16:29):
Know, people voted for the new president.
If they didn't, it doesn't matter.
Right.
You still have an obligation as a citizen topay taxes.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So I'm like, you know, like, I'm sorry.
I, you know, so, or if people are likecomplaining or very frustrated with their
current person, you know, oh, I never get anemail.
(16:50):
They never call me back.
I find that being a solo person in my firm, Imean, aside from my firm, but, you know, they
get that one on one time they can sit down withme and ask me questions and not have me have
them feeling like I'm rushing them out thedoor, which I do my best to break the terms
(17:14):
down into like layman's terms because it's noteasy to understand.
Will say that.
Right.
Yeah.
The tax code book is what, however many inchesthick, right?
So it's not something you
sit
down and want to read after dinner orsomething, right?
Yeah.
Going back to paying taxes, I switched mymindset many, many years ago, decades ago,
(17:35):
about paying taxes because my kids went topublic schools.
We went to the library all the time.
We love our fire departments and roads that wecan drive on without too many potholes.
Those taxes all go to pay for those things.
So if nobody's paying their taxes, then wedon't have the money to do those kind of
(17:56):
things.
In your local community, those taxes go to helpsupport those services.
Our country needs those.
So we have to pay them our fair share.
We don't be paying more than we need to bepaying.
And that's where having somebody on your sideto help you make sure you're making the right
decisions and not paying too much, but stillpaying, you know, what you need to pay on the
(18:21):
revenue that you make.
Right?
And the switch I made is the more taxes I haveto pay means I made more money this year.
Right?
So it's a good thing in some respects.
Right?
The more money I make, the more taxes, thehigher my tax bill could be.
Again, with somebody's help, you can you canmitigate some of those higher taxes.
But if you're going up, that means you'remaking more revenue, generally.
(18:43):
Right, yeah, absolutely.
And I find that people who maybe cross that 6figure mark, even in gross revenue before we're
talking about expenses, that's when they'relike, oh my gosh, like I'm making 6 figures,
what do I do?
So, you know, there's so many strategies outthere and so many different things that you can
(19:04):
do depending on your situation to call incomeshift, which isn't illegal.
We're just moving how the income is reportedand having you pay taxes on it as you go.
And there's a lot of different things.
And I'm graduated high school in 2018, so notvery long ago.
(19:26):
I am appalled at how little they teach that inschools these days.
At an accounting firm I worked for when I veryfirst started, you know, we, we set up time
with the local schools to go into their homehome economics class and teach them like, hey,
this is how you set up for retirement.
Know, are you working at a coffee stand?
(19:47):
Are you working at the mall?
Shove like $300 in this retirement account amonth And then, you know, by the time you turn
60, you'll have millions of dollars.
So, you know, I do enjoy doing the outreach ofit as well because the younger generation, you
know, the education is not what it used to be.
(20:09):
Right, right.
Yes, I know.
I have two daughters in their mid-20s.
And so, yes, they call me and ask me, if theyget a new job, it's like, what do I declare on
my W-two?
Am I a zero or one or whatever?
All those things make a difference, right?
And if no one sits down and explains what thatis, like, well, this means they're gonna take
less out of your taxes, you know, so you mightget more back later, but, do you wanna keep
(20:33):
that money or you want the government to holdthat for you and you get a tax refund?
Yeah.
There's more high yield savings accounts youcan put that money in for for.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
Make some money on your own money.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Definitely.
I love that.
I love that.
So, what calls you forward to keep growing yourbusiness and, you know, what really inspires
(20:58):
you to keep to keep growing?
My genuine need to help people because I'm verymuch a numbers person.
I'm like I mentioned earlier, very type A.
The puzzle aspect keeps my ADHD brain engagedin the work.
(21:19):
And the fact that every person I speak to has adifferent situation, every client that I have
has something different, from real estate toconstruction to franchising, to a restaurant,
you know, we've got so many different peopleand so many different things going on in their
personal lives.
You know, this client just got married.
(21:40):
You can't see my hand.
This client just got married.
This client just had a baby and this clientjust has back taxes and needs to get her
returns filed.
And just, everybody's different.
Every approach is different.
And my genuine, I don't even know what the wordis, I just want to help.
(22:04):
I'm an extrovert by nature.
I enjoy talking to people and saying, Hey, canI help you?
Kind of like a fixer, but not necessarily apersonal fixer, but, Hey, let me at least make
sure we're good with the feds at least.
Yeah, let's make sure your taxes are in order.
That's great.
That's great.
And as a business coach, I'm always telling myclients who are business owners, you have to
(22:27):
know the numbers in your business.
Whether you to know if that's a matter of aspreadsheet that you're managing your numbers
on, or you've got QuickBooks or Wave or any ofthose other softwares that are out there, you
have to know the numbers.
And some people don't want to look at thenumbers, and so that's why having somebody like
you who can help them with the bookkeeping sideand then also help them understand what the
(22:51):
numbers are and what they mean and how they canimpact things going forward.
I say this all the time, better data equalsbetter decisions.
And if you don't have the data, you don't knowwhat your numbers are in your business, it's
really hard for you to make good decisionsabout what to do going forward.
(23:12):
I really love that you help with that.
So how do you help business owners inparticular to know their numbers and understand
their numbers?
Well, I mean, this is a great example.
I went and sat down with one of my clients, theother day.
You know, I we've we've known each other for solong before I even started this.
(23:34):
So we do dinners and so I went up to her house,all that good stuff.
It was a great time.
And we sat down and we looked at it and I askedher, I said, what are your goals?
I know you're wanting to launch this programthis year and I know you're worried about
competition in the area, because you've talkedto me about that.
(23:55):
So, you know, what are your goals?
Do you like, do you need to take time off?
Do you need to hire somebody?
You have an income goal?
What is what does that look like?
And so Mhmm.
You know, we we sat down.
She's like, oh, you know, I wanna hire I wannahire another person.
I wanna take an extra day off a week so that Ican spend time with my husband and my family.
And I want to make sure I'm still making thatmoney.
(24:18):
And I said, okay, great.
So let's see.
Let's look at your past two years this quarter,first quarter of the year, and see if we can
afford to hire somebody at least, you know, forthe last three years, would you have been able
to?
Because the numbers don't lie.
Never gonna change.
You know, if you're consistently making, youknow, 60,000 in the first quarter this year,
(24:41):
sure, you might go up to 70,000.
You might, but we know for sure you've made atleast 60 for the last three years because
trends never lie either.
And people are like, oh, graphing, oh, graphs,oh, I hate this.
I get that, it's okay.
That's why I'm here.
I'm here to read it, explain it to you and say,you can afford it.
You can afford to hire a person twenty hours aweek.
(25:03):
It's only gonna cut into your profit, 5%.
Right.
So then she was like, well, how would you doit?
And so we wrote it all out and we had a reallygood conversation about it.
And I said, you're now taking Mondays off.
Don't work, don't do anything.
Leave your laptop in your home office, takeyour dog for a walk.
(25:26):
Yeah.
Yeah. Your parents, if you need to work, do itfrom your laptop, on your couch, at your house,
do not go into your office, like your physicaloffice.
And she was like, okay, okay, think I can dothat.
And we did projections because she's adding anew program.
So we priced it out.
We figured out how much it's gonna cost her torun it, how much she should charge so she has
(25:50):
good margins and is making money.
And then comparing that to her competitors.
This is all what we call fractional CFO work.
And so I'm not, I'm just giving you thenumbers.
I'm not telling you what to do.
You tell me your goals and I tell you whetheryou can afford to do the things you want.
You can or you can't, you know?
Of course I do tell all my clients I make zeroguarantees.
(26:14):
I'm not a CPA.
I am not allowed to personally guarantee yourfinancials.
But I can say based on trends, it looks likeyou'll be okay.
Right, right.
I mean we could have another COVID and whoknows what the world would do, right?
Oh my gosh, yeah.
But
having that confidence to have somebody explainthe numbers to you and she may have thought,
(26:40):
Well I think I can do this, but I'm not quitesure.
Not knowing how to look at the numbers andreally say, Okay based on the numbers, yes.
Based on this trend, based on what you've donein the last couple of years, here's what the
numbers look like, and here's what it mightcost.
And running through all of those numbers is sopowerful.
And that's where having, you know, evensomebody to do that with on a regular basis,
(27:03):
even quarterly, to look at them.
Or if if I'm sure when you do your bookkeepingfor your clients that you're giving them those
kind of reports rather than, you know, here'syour profit and loss statement.
Good luck, right?
So, so giving it a little bit more feedback onhere's your profit and loss.
I noticed this is up or your expenses are upthis month.
(27:23):
You know, I know people who pay for bookkeepersand get those reports monthly, but they never
look at them.
They never look to analyze and see what'shappening.
Is my revenue up or is my, you know, I gotmoney in the bank account, I'm good.
Well, there's more to your business than that.
Right.
Well, and too, some clients prefer it that way.
(27:43):
If they don't want to look at it until the endof the year, I'm not going to force them.
Here's your report.
If you have questions, please reach out.
We'll talk about it.
I don't offer.
I started to lose you.
Hang on.
So
(28:05):
I do offer it, but at a little bit of a higherprice point just to account for my time.
But if that's something that you need, let'stalk about it.
Let's get it into your package and I'm here foryou.
Call me.
We'll have a meeting every month.
We'll going on.
Good.
Good.
That's so amazing.
(28:25):
So, Rebecca, it's been a pleasure to talk toyou today.
So I'm so excited to share your skills withThere are many of us out here who don't want to
look at our numbers, who don't want to do thecalculations, don't want to do that part of it,
I'm so glad that you're out there and you'reavailable to help people especially if they're
dealing with an issue with the IRS orsomething, it really is nice to know that
(28:49):
there's somebody who can be on your side andhelp you get that straightened out, right?
Because that's such a heavy energy that you'recarrying.
Absolutely.
So just having you on their side will be such arefreshing way to deal with that problem.
So how is the best way?
We'll put in the show notes.
This will be, you know, streamed on all of theplatforms where you listen to your favorite
(29:10):
podcasts.
And we'll put in the show notes all ofRebecca's contact information.
But is there a way or a way for people to startworking with you or just reach out and have a
consultation call with you?
What's the best way for them to find you?
You can email me at inforta tax group right uphere on my on my banner.
(29:30):
If you're watching this on Facebook orsomething like that, but best way to guarantee
time with me because we are walking straightinto tax season.
I cannot guarantee phones will be answeredagain.
I'm a one woman show.
I have to spend time working on all of myclients.
As of now, the best way is to use my initialconsultation link, which I've sent to Mary, so
(29:53):
that should get there on the show notes foryou.
So that would be the best because that is myactive calendar at all times of day.
It'll let you know what's available based onwhat's already on my calendar so you won't have
to worry about it.
And if you do schedule with me, and I'moffering a freebie too.
(30:15):
I don't know if you were gonna say that next,Mary.
No, but go ahead and tell us about it.
So I'm offering a free tax discovery session.
So that is a separate link.
That's a $300 value if you book it with me bythe last day of the month, January thirty
first.
So I have that link currently set as free.
(30:36):
If you have any questions, feel free to emailand me or my admin will get back with you on
that.
Fantastic.
That's fantastic because I know a lot of peopledo have tax questions, especially business
owners with the do I need to do a ten ninetynine?
How do I get W-9s?
All of that kind of stuff that has to happen.
And your corporate taxes fall in the Januaryand all kinds of things that happen for
(30:57):
business owners in January.
So please take advantage of that amazing offerthat Rebecca's giving us to our listeners
today.
And so we'll get this out as soon as we can,the podcast out, so that people have time to
get that scheduled with you.
Alright.
So, that wraps up our time today.
So, again, thank you so much to Rebecca Mayneswith RTX Group.
(31:21):
She is an enrolled agent and a certified taxwhat's this?
Coach.
Coach.
Yes.
So she can help you with your books, for yourbusiness, for your personal life.
If you've got any kind of tax questions at all,please reach out to Rebecca and let her help
guide you through your issues so that she canhelp relieve that stress and move through 2025
(31:44):
with ease.
Yes.
Yes.
All right.
Thank you.
And again, we'll put all of Rebecca's contactinformation in the show notes.
So reach out to her and connect as soon aspossible.
Thanks so much, Rebecca.
Thank you.
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