Ever feel like taxes are the ultimate entrepreneurial riddle you're never quite sure you've solved?
Every form you have to complete and every deduction you have to consider can leave you wondering if you're doing everything correctly.
Taxes and bookkeeping are hard to understand, especially when you’re busy running the rest of your business.
That’s why we invited on Melissa and Eric Broughton of Busy Bee Advisors. With over 20 years of combined bookkeeping and tax experience, this duo helps solopreneurs and small businesses gain more financial clarity and pay less in taxes.
We were shocked throughout this episode and our jaws hit the floor a couple of times. We learned some valuable information we had never heard before that is so beneficial to one-person business owners.
During the episode, we discussed things like:
- Melissa and Eric's New Business Start-up Checklist for Bookkeeping & Taxes
- The $12,000 Tax Loophole
- Why the Tax System is Rigged & What You Can Do About It
- 5 Essential Questions You Should Be Asking Your Tax Preparer
Plus so much more! Be sure to tune in.
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Carly Ries (00:00):
Ever feel like taxes are the ultimate entrepreneurial
riddle you're never quite sureyou'd solved? Every form you
have to complete and everydeduction you have to consider
can leave you wondering ifyou're doing everything
correctly. Taxes and bookkeepingare hard to understand,
especially when you're busyrunning the rest of your
business. That's why we invitedon Melissa and Eric Broughton of
(00:20):
Busy Bee Advisors. With overtwenty years of combined
bookkeeping and tax experience,this duo helps solopreneurs and
small businesses gain morefinancial clarity and pay less
in taxes.
I think I put my palm to myforehead more times in this
episode than ever before. AndJoe is well educated in this
area, and even his jaw hit thefloor a time or two. It was
(00:41):
wild. We invited them on todiscuss things like their new
business startup checklist forbookkeeping and taxes, the
$12,000 tax loophole, which mayhave been one of the times Joe's
jaw hit the floor, why the taxsystem is rigged and what you
can do about it, five essentialquestions you should be asking
your tax preparer, plus so muchmore. This was such a great
(01:03):
episode, so be sure to tune in.
You're listening to The AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
guides to navigating this crazybut awesome journey as a company
(01:24):
of one. We take pride in beingpart of LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you.
(01:44):
So if you're eager to gainvaluable insights from industry
experts on running a businessthe right way the first time
around or want to learn from themissteps of solopreneurs who
paved the way before you, thenstick around. We've got your
back because flying solo inbusiness doesn't mean you're
alone. Okay. So before we jumpinto episode, I just have to
share this new free offer wehave called the Solo Suite
(02:06):
starter. Being a solopreneur isawesome, but it's not easy.
It's hard to get noticed, andmost business advice is for
bigger companies, and you're allalone until now. LifeStarr's
SoloSuite gives you freeeducation, community, and tools
to build a thriving one personbusiness. So if you're lacking
direction, having a hard timegenerating leads, having trouble
(02:28):
keeping up with everything youhave to do, or even if you're
just lonely running a company ofone. Be sure to check out
SoloSuite starter atlifestarr.com and click on
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drop down.
Again, it's totally free, socheck it out at LifeStarr.com.
Click on products and pricing,and it's the first one in the
(02:49):
menu. Hope to see you there.Okay. Melissa and Eric, this is
not something that everybodycelebrates, but I just wanted to
wish you two a happy tax day.
Melissa Broughton (02:57):
Thank you.
Joe Rando (02:58):
Thank you.
Carly Ries (02:59):
We're recording this on April 15. It will not go live
then, but Joe and I weretalking. We were like, how in
the world did we get taxpreparers and people to educate
people on the topic onto ourshow on April 15? So we are just
so happy you're here. Melissa,we were talking offline.
You were like, well, if theydon't have things in at this
point, they won't have things inin general. So, we hope you guys
(03:23):
can breathe easy starting todayand for the weeks to come.
Melissa Broughton (03:26):
Yep. We actually looked at each other
last night, and it was like,okay. We can breathe. We can
take a deep breath. You know,everybody at this point, to
answer your question, everybodyat this point who hasn't filed,
wouldn't you say, has eitherfiled an extension or they've
gone MIA.
We have that happen toosometimes where clients just
kinda disappear, and then theycome back. And maybe they come
(03:50):
back tomorrow, which is, youknow, it'll be a day or two
after tax day, and it's like,okey dokey.
Joe Rando (03:55):
So Did you ever see the Steve Martin skit where he
talks about paying taxes and hesays, don't pay your taxes when
the IRS comes, just say, Iforgot.
Melissa Broughton (04:04):
You know what I have?
Joe Rando (04:05):
That sounds like the strategy.
Melissa Broughton (04:06):
It's an interesting strategy. Yes.
Eric Broughton (04:09):
It's not a winning strategy,
Joe Rando (04:11):
No. No. Not at all.
We are not recommending thatstrategy,
Carly Ries (04:17):
Well, speaking of strategy, because I feel like
this is the time of year whereif solopreneurs don't have it
together, this is where they'relike, oh gosh. I need to educate
myself. That was a rough month,few weeks leading up to tax day.
I need to get a better strategyin place moving forward. And you
guys have, like, a new businessstartup checklist for
bookkeeping and taxes. Can wewalk through that list or at
(04:40):
least a few parts of that list?
Melissa Broughton (04:42):
Sure. You know, I think the biggest piece
and, Eric, definitely feel freeto interrupt. I think the
biggest piece is when somebodyis a solopreneur and they start
a new business, to open up aseparate account for that
business, to open up a separatechecking account and savings
account at the very least forthat business. That alone will
(05:04):
help them to, organize theirexpenses and, of course,
organize their income so thatany income from the business is
deposited into that account. Andthen, hopefully, any expenses
for the business are able to goout of that account. And I say
hopefully because, you know,sometimes when we're brand new
and we're starting, there's notquite enough cash coming in to
(05:24):
afford all of the differentthings we need to spend money
on.
But that's the absolute firstthing I recommend is a separate
account. And it doesn'tnecessarily have to be a
business account. I recommendgoing to the bank that they're
currently banking with and justopening up if there's a free
checking account available orfinding a bank that offers a
(05:46):
free checking account at leastto start with.
Carly Ries (05:49):
Okay. So they have that as separate account, and
then they're like, who did it?
Melissa Broughton (05:53):
Now what? Right. So depending on what cash
flow for their business lookslike, I mean, some businesses
are lucky, and they've got moneycoming in from day one. Others
need to maybe, have a loan oruse a credit card. We'll have a
lot of our realtor clients whenthey're brand new and they're
(06:16):
starting out, their business isfunded essentially on a credit
card or maybe majority of creditcards.
So don't go crazy with thosecards. If you get a business
loan, don't go crazy with thatbusiness loan. Know that you
will have to pay it back at somepoint. Keep your expenditures to
business expenses, and, have aplan set out. So have an idea of
(06:40):
what you know your expenses aregoing to need to be.
Set a budget for yourself, and Isay that as far as office
supplies, equipment, it'stempting when I'll tell you
this. It was tempting when wewalked into a store and
purchased things to spend a lotof money, but now that
(07:00):
everything is purchased reallyonline, I mean, you can go
crazy. Right? You can easilyspend a thousand dollars on
Amazon. So set a budget foryourself and kind of know what
your goal is and what yourobjectives are.
Carly Ries (07:15):
So for people that are like, one of my good friends
makes pies for a living. Let'ssay they make pies, and they're
like, I'm good at this, but Ihave no idea what I'm doing when
it comes to tax prepbookkeeping. Should I be making
quarterly payments? What shouldI do? What should I even what
kind of business should I run?
Do you recommend that theybecause a lot of solopreneurs
(07:35):
starting out don't have a hugebudget. So do you recommend that
they go the QuickBooks route, ordo you recommend that they hire
somebody knowing it's gonna bean investment, but that will
save them tons of time in thelong run?
Melissa Broughton (07:47):
So I'm gonna answer that, and then I'm gonna
have Eric answer it from kind ofa tax perspective. Right? So
okay. If it's a retail businessor something where you're
selling product I say retail andmost people assume that means,
like, storefront store, but thatcan be so you can be an Etsy
seller, right, and not even havea storefront. If you're selling
(08:08):
a product, I definitelyrecommend using an accounting
software.
And QuickBooks Online is withouta question our number one
recommendation. They just yeah.It's easy to use. It's pretty
affordable still. And to behonest, any of the other
softwares that pop up into itbuys them anyway.
So you might as well go withwho's gonna take over the
(08:31):
market. And the other benefit ofQuickBooks Online is that it's
so widely used that if you doneed somebody to jump in and
help, you can easily findsomebody who can, you know, jump
in and help and know thesoftware. If it's a service
business, so they're aconsultant, I don't know that
they necessarily need anaccounting software. And I say
(08:52):
that because I look at it fromthe perspective of you're a
brand new business ownerstarting out, you have the best
hopes and intentions to, makeyour million, in business, but
it can be slow to watch thosedeposits come in at first, and
so you have to be careful ofyour expenditures. And that
software subscription may be anexpenditure that you don't need
(09:14):
to make right away.
If you're in a service industry,I think using there's a,
spreadsheet that you can use andwe'd be more than happy to send
that to you guys for yourlisteners to have as a tool to
have in their toolbox. Sothere are options, but keeping
(09:37):
track of those expenses iscertainly important initially
when they're starting up.
Joe Rando (09:42):
So you say you've got a spreadsheet that people can
use to keep track of theirexpenses and instead of revenues
and expensive instead of usingsomething like QuickBooks
Online. Is that what Iunderstood?
Eric Broughton (09:52):
Yes.
Melissa Broughton (09:53):
Yep. Awesome. Thank you.
Carly Ries (09:54):
Alright, Eric. Let's hear it.
Eric Broughton (09:56):
Everything's gonna be based upon how much
effort you wanna put into it.Right? So if you don't wanna put
any effort into it, you wannamake sure it gets done, then you
wanna bring someone on board.You want to pay for a service to
track your stuff. But generallyin the first year, you know, for
like a consultant, really,you're making your way there.
(10:16):
You know? You're not quite thereyet. Maybe a service is
something you're looking at inyear two or year three. First
year, you wanna track everythingthat you're spending going up
that's business related. Thatcan easily be done onto an Excel
spreadsheet.
Accountants and tax preparersare so used to converting data
from a spreadsheet intosomething usable for a tax
filing that it's commonplace atthis point. So you just, if you
(10:41):
want to do it that way, youcould certainly do it bare
bones, so to speak. But if youhave the capital and you've kind
of planned for it, you'resaying, okay. I wanna spend my
time working on my business anddeveloping my business and my
sales. I don't necessarily wannawork on tracking my receipts.
I'm gonna pay someone to do thatinto it, you know, using
(11:05):
QuickBooks and stuff like that.Those are good routes to go. But
it really comes down to yougotta have a plan on what you're
going to do from the from theinception of the business. And
if you're really like, man, Ijust wanna get out there and do
some stuff.
Okay. Get out there and do somestuff, and then, you know, keep
some records of your receipts inan Excel file. Keep your life
(11:27):
simple, a little simpler thatway.
Carly Ries (11:29):
Well, let's say somebody's like, I know I don't
want to touch any of this. Thisis all very intimidating to me.
I'm not a money person. I'mhorrible at tracking these
things, but they also don't knowwhat to ask a tax preparer. What
questions would you recommendpeople ask if they are on the
hunt for somebody to help themout?
Eric Broughton (11:50):
The first thing I would ask is what they
recommend you do for forseparating your business from
your personal. You know, if theanswers are like, open up an
account, get some things going,then you're on the right path in
talking to someone. Because,unfortunately, in the industry,
in tax preparers andaccountants, just like in all
(12:11):
the rest of the industries,there are those who really are
just there to kinda do the ordertaking, and they're not really
there to do any forward planningfor you. So they're like, yeah.
Just put it on an Excelspreadsheet and then give it to
me.
And if that's kind of all youget from them, then that maybe
is not someone that's a good fitfor you because you as a
business owner need to learnwhat is a business expense.
(12:34):
Right? And we have a worksheetthat we've been building slowly
over time that's got over ahundred different business
related deductions that you as abusiness owner may not realize
that you could take. And sohaving someone provide that
information for you and give youthat education is as important
to developing your business asworking on your sales.
Joe Rando (12:57):
love that.
I wanna ask you a question thatI don't know if there's a
good answer to this question butwhen you think about especially
solopreneur businesses, right?And you know, typically if these
people are retailers, they'redoing what you said, they're
Etsy or they have an onlinestore, Shopify site or
something. A lot of them arebasically providing some kind of
service, you know, whether it'sghostwriting or coaching. But
(13:19):
are there any kind of generalcategories of, expenses that are
maybe would surprise people thatwere new to being a solopreneur
or anything that might maybeisn't a 100% obvious that they
can take as a category? Just anyway to think about it or is it
just kind of a laundry list ofIRS rules that you have to
understand?
Melissa Broughton (13:39):
You know, I think the one that's you know, I
maybe it's obvious to somepeople, maybe it's not. I think
mileage is one that a lot ofsolopreneurs forget about. And
you know, I don't know why. Forsome reason, our smaller
clients, that's what I seeconsistently that they have all
(14:04):
of their receipts for differentthings, office supplies.
Everybody knows about officesupplies.
Course, if you have to buy,equipment, people know about
that. But they forget aboutmileage, and mileage can, can
add up really, really quickly,especially if you're, you know,
maybe a direct seller or and welove working with direct
(14:26):
sellers. But if you're a directseller and you're going to
appointments or going tomeetings and things like that or
even a real estate agent, youknow, we had somebody last year
that we were working on hertaxes with her, and she left
mileage out. She was a realestate agent. We, kind of asked,
(14:48):
did you have any mileage?
Oh, yeah. I think so, but Ididn't really keep track of it.
Is it worth it? Probably. Andshe had, like, 12,000 miles that
she had driven.
You know, at 56¢ a mile, That'sfunny. That adds up. That's
money.
Eric Broughton (15:03):
So that was a $6,000 deduction that she was
just keeping on the tablebecause she thought maybe it was
too much effort or it wasn'tworth it and stuff.
Joe Rando (15:11):
Yeah. Writing down those numbers is a bear.
Eric Broughton (15:14):
But there are apps that
you could do. There's an app youcould put on your phone that
You're starting the businessday. You press the app and the
app says go, and it tracks yourmileage, and it gives you a
mileage report at the end of theday. And it keeps the report
going, and then when at the endof the year, you could actually
email to yourself your annualreport, and it'll basically give
(15:37):
proof, and it's a written recordof all of your mileage.
And it was by going through hercalendar, she was able to
backtrack and look at that shehad at least 12,000 miles.
That's just going off of hercalendar. Imagine if she
actually tracked her truemileage.
Carly Ries (15:56):
Right. Yeah.
Joe Rando (15:58):
So related question. So what about the other one that
almost all solopreneurs have nowwhich is the spare bedroom slash
office,
Melissa Broughton (16:10):
The home office deduction, sure.
Joe Rando (16:12):
But you know, I've been told by people smarter than
me that that is a trigger for anaudit. And I'm wondering if you
think that that's true or is itworth doing?
Melissa Broughton (16:24):
I, you know, I don't well, I think there's a
lot of rumors out there aboutthings that are triggers for an
audit. And I think the IRS keepsit a very well guarded secret on
what actually triggers an audit.in truth, I think the thing that
really is the biggest trigger ofan audit that I've heard is if
you are, claiming a child andsomebody else is claiming that
(16:47):
child, so maybe a divorce or acustody situation. Aside from
that, I have not consistentlyseen anything that's, you know,
an audit trigger. I think if youare doing your due diligence and
you have a tax preparer that isencouraging you to keep all of
(17:08):
your receipts and records, thatyou are that you are fine
because you have the backup.
Now if you just claim a wholebunch of things and don't have
any backup, then you shouldmaybe be a little bit worried.
But Eric, talk about theLamontas deduction.
Eric Broughton (17:25):
Home office deduction is going to
potentially put you on a listfor audits. I hear that a lot of
times. I say filing taxes willput you on a list for audits.
if you're worried about being ona list, then, yeah, you got some
other issues that you maybe needto attend to. Just because
you're I mean, you're a smallbusiness owner. If you're a sole
(17:46):
proprietor filing a schedule cwith a home office deduction, a
business mileage, and stuff likethat, You filed taxes. You're
already on a list. Now how doyou work past that?
Don't be afraid of the audit. Infact, welcome it by having your
documentation in order. Becausethe first thing they're gonna do
is send you a letter and say,hey. What about this? And if you
(18:10):
respond in a timely fashion withaccurate documentation, then the
IRS says, thank you and have agreat day, and then they move
on.
But if you ignore the letter, ifyou don't have documentation
that proves what they're asking,then they say, you couldn't
provide information for that, somaybe you can't provide
information for the rest ofthis. We're gonna send someone
(18:33):
to come say hi to you. That'swhen things start getting a
little bit more interesting. Butif you have your documentation
in order and you answerquestions in form of letters
because they're not gonna callyou. Remember, the IRS doesn't
call.
The IRS sends letters, and ifthe letters aren't responded to,
then they send someone actuallyin person. You know? So don't
(18:55):
get to that point. Respond toyour letters.
And anything that you can do inregards to filing taxes can
could raise a flag. I love thatone. Or put you on for a
potential audit. You file taxes.You're already on the list.
Don't be afraid of that. Moveforward and take the maximum
(19:17):
allowed deductions for you as ataxpayer. Don't feel that you
need to underreport yourdeductive values. You're
reporting your full income valuebecause that's the law as well.
But the IRS is never gonna sendyou a letter saying, oh, hey.
You forgot your home officededuction. They'll never do
(19:37):
that.
But they will send you a letterif you forgot to add a ten
ninety nine to your soleproprietor for, like, $25,000.
They're gonna be like, hold on.One moment. You owe us more
money.
Joe Rando (19:51):
I guess that makes sense.
Carly Ries (19:53):
Yeah. And, I mean, so many people think that the
tax system is rigged, and it isin a sense. And I know that you
guys would agree with that. SoI'm curious why you think that,
but, also, is this just a way todeal with it? Like, just have
your ducks in a row, or arethere other things people can be
doing to help them out in thissystem?
Melissa Broughton (20:11):
I think if you're, an individual who works
a w two job, you're absolutelyfine to file your taxes yourself
in most cases. You can usethere's great programs out
there. Turbo is excellent. Ithink H and R Block has one.
There's a whole bunch ofdifferent ones out there, and
they all do a good job.
I think the second that youventure into being a business
(20:36):
owner, whether it's asolopreneur or you've got a
huge, corporation, that's whenyou need to consult a
professional. And thatprofessional, to take it a step
further, needs to be someonethat you feel that you can have
a conversation with, and thatdoesn't make you feel like they
(20:57):
won't explain things to you, orthat they're just doing what's
in your best interest, or thatis doing things and you don't
understand. So that would be thefirst big recommendation I would
make. The second thing, do Ithink the tax system is rigged?
I absolutely think the taxsystem is rigged.
And, yep, putting your ducks ina row and keeping your
(21:19):
documentation is probably thebest thing you can do to protect
yourself. I don't think that theIRS is a big, you know, scary
monster that's hiding under yourbed. In fact, that would be
super awkward to have an IRSagent hiding under your bed. But
I think they're an agency that,just like any other agency,
(21:40):
should be respected. And if youunderstand the rules, you're
fine.
You're complying by the rules.And most most people are trying
to comply by the rules. So it's,you know, it's having a healthy
respect and yeah. I do thinkthat the system is rigged
though.
Joe Rando (21:58):
Can ask you one clarification? So I've been in
business for a long time. I'vebeen self employed in one form
or another since 1990, a numberof different companies. And one
time, the IRS made a big mistakeand they didn't just pay us a
visit, they showed up I mean,I'm glad this woman didn't have
(22:19):
a gun because she walked in,slammed this big folder down,
started screaming at people andI'm just curious, have you heard
was this just really bad?
We ended up being completely inthe right, they were completely
in the wrong. But have you everhad an experience like that
where the IRS just went offlike, you know, completely
(22:40):
crazed or was this just a oneoff?
Melissa Broughton (22:44):
I, you know, don't hear about it happening
too much. I have heard ofsituations where there's been a
little bit maybe of a, oh, Iguess you'd call it an
overzealous agent. I thinkagain, if something like that
happens or if you feel thatyou're being treated unfairly,
you should seek representation.So that would be when I would
(23:06):
absolutely recommend to somebodyto reach out to a tax attorney,
and maybe go a step above justtheir tax professional. You're
gonna be pretty hard pressed onyour own as, you know, Joe
Citizen to get the IRS to admitthat they're wrong.
(23:27):
It sounds like you were able toget the issue resolved, but, you
know, we had a client, and thiswas kind of an interesting
situation. He sold a commercialproperty at the end of one year
and didn't receive funds for ituntil the next year. So that's
already an interesting taxsituation. He was the type of
(23:50):
person that would go for the,we'll just say, lowest price
service provider. So he kind ofshopped around for either people
who would do taxes and trade orcheapest price he could get.
So the person who filed histaxes in the year that he sold
the property didn't catch it,And then the next year, they
(24:12):
didn't know till it was adifferent person that had
prepared the taxes, didn't knowto look for it. So he got a
notice that he owed, like,hundreds of thousands of dollars
in taxes. And, you know, whenyou get into that 6 figure debt
range with the IRS, they getslightly more aggressive than,
(24:33):
if you owe $500. And our biggestrecommendation to him was, you
know, really sorry that that'shappening to you and here is an
excellent tax attorney that youprobably need to reach out to.
Joe Rando (24:48):
So that's the important thing. There's
bookkeepers, there'saccountants, and then there's
tax attorneys. Right? So we'vegot this kind of progression of
skills and expertise and you'vealso got accounts that are just
crunching the numbers versusaccounts that are helping you
with tax planning. So we canalmost think of like four
levels.
Okay, cool. Thank you.
Eric Broughton (25:08):
It's just like any other profession. Right?
You've got doctors and doctorscome in a wide variety of not
only education backgrounds, butthey also come in a varying
levels of expertise. So think oftaxes in that realm is is is
very similar to that. You havepeople that specialize, but then
(25:29):
you also have people that dogeneral practice. And so tax in
the world of tax, you're gonnahave that as well. And you're
also gonna kinda get what you'relooking for. If you're looking
for someone to just do a barebones job, you're gonna find
that someone that's gonna do abare bones job, and you may just
pay the amount for the barebones job. I wouldn't
necessarily trust that barebones job for the most part, but
(25:52):
in that essence, yes, there area variety of levels to the tax
field just like any otherprofession.
But when an agent actually comesto your home or to your place of
business, you should not bedoing that without some form of
representation. It's the samething about going to court. If
you're going to court for not atraffic ticket, but, I mean, an
(26:13):
actual criminal matter, hire alawyer. Right? Have someone
there to look out for yourinterests.
And that would be my number onebit of advice in that particular
situation, especially if theyshow up out of the blue. Say,
one moment. Let me contact myrepresentative. And then you
excuse yourself, and you callsomeone and be like, what do I
(26:35):
do right now?
Carly Ries (26:36):
Yeah. Oh, the world of tax I mean, I feel like you
guys have secrets or notsecrets, but you know things
that so many people don't know.I guess, like, a little world
that you understand. I know evenfor me, when I was starting, I
was only familiar with, like,LLCs. I just wanted to go the
basic route.
But I didn't know s corps wereeven a thing, honestly. And
there are so many benefits therethat people may not be aware of.
(26:58):
Can you kind of go into why asole proprietor may wanna
consider an s corp over an LLC?
Eric Broughton (27:04):
The biggest thing is is that when you're a
sole proprietor filing aschedule c, all of your profits
are considered taxable. Taxablewages. So you're paying the
15.3% self employment taxes onall profits from your sole
proprietorship. So as you'regoing down the line, you're
like, oh, yeah. It's added to myAGI.
(27:24):
It made a little bit. Then atthe end, you're like, why is my
tax bill so high? It's becausethey add that 15.3% self
employment tax on from theprofits from your business at
the end. After all your creditsand payments have already been
added up, then they add it in,and it just jumps right back up.
And a s corporation allows youto turn your business all of
(27:49):
your business income into thecorporation and pay yourself a w
two.
So, therefore, you're payingyourself a reasonable wage out
of the business. You're having aw two, and then whatever profits
are coming out of the companyare taxed through other means,
but not with the extra 15.3% forself employment tax.
Joe Rando (28:08):
Now that's not the case with an LLC, just an s
corp?
Eric Broughton (28:12):
An LLC excellent to bring this up. An LLC is a
legal term, not a tax term. Soan LLC is just considered to be
a legal term for lawyers in thestate that you have limited
liability for your business'activities and practices. As far
as the tax world is concerned,you're a sole proprietor. if you
(28:35):
have an LLC, you also are in thesame tax boat as the guy that's
doing woodworking out of hisgarage. Got it.
Melissa Broughton (28:42):
Would it be safe to say that an LLC because
I think I've heard you say thisbefore. An LLC is similar to
having an insurance policy Overyour business.
Eric Broughton (28:51):
Yeah.
Melissa Broughton (28:51):
So it's not a level of tax protection. It's
not necessarily a businessentity type that has tax
benefits, but it protects you.
Joe Rando (29:00):
Mean, it's Limits liability, which is what?
Melissa Broughton (29:02):
Yep. LLC stands for liability. It's right
in the name.
Joe Rando (29:04):
But you can then have an LLC that elects to be an s
corp.
Melissa Broughton (29:07):
Yes. Yes.
Joe Rando (29:08):
K.
Melissa Broughton (29:09):
And those we love.
Joe Rando (29:10):
Yeah.
Carly Ries (29:17):
Well, so I'm so glad we got into, these little things
that people just might not beaware of. And I did do my due
diligence ahead of thisinterview, and you guys talk
about a $12,000 tax loophole. Isthat relevant to solopreneurs,
and what is that?
Melissa Broughton (29:34):
Okay. So first things first. We're
probably not gonna have a ton oftime to go into all the things
about the $12,000 tax deduction.If people go to our website, and
I'm sure it'll be posted in theshow notes, they can actually
download or get access to awebinar that we put together
that's free. It's about a fortyfive minute webinar, and they
(29:55):
can learn everything they wouldwant to know about it.
So I'll say that. Because I'mjust gonna touch on things with
it. So, essentially, it's alegitimate tax code loophole, I
guess you could call it, butit's called the fourteen day
rental rule. And so,essentially, what the fourteen
day rental rule allows you to dois, as a business owner, you can
(30:20):
rent your property to yourbusiness. So your business gets
the write off because yourbusiness pays you as a person
for a maximum of fourteen daysper year.
They can be consecutive days.They can be broken up, however,
but it just can't exceedfourteen days. Your business
pays you personally for rentalof your property for business
(30:43):
use purposes. So if you werelet's use a direct seller. Let's
say you are a Tupperwareconsultant or a Mary Kay
consultant, and you have a team.
And once a month, you hostevents for your team at your
home. Not strange, not out ofthe realm of possibilities. So
(31:06):
you would be able to payyourself, your business pays
you, the fair market value inyour area of what it would cost
to rent a venue.
Carly Ries (31:17):
Well, I did not know that. Joe, you're the real
estate guy. Did you know that?
Joe Rando (31:21):
No.This is this is all news to me.
Eric Broughton (31:23):
It's also referred to as the Augusta rule.
Okay. So sometimes I've heard ofit some people have heard of it
not as the fourteen day rentalrule, but also as the Augusta
rule. Literally, you as abusiness, if you went to a venue
and said, I would like to rentthis to have a board meeting or
to have a team building event,and they would give you a price.
(31:45):
Right? Okay. It's gonna cost$1,500 to have the event
throughout the night or throughfor a full day. But you're like,
okay. Thank you very much.
And then you as the propertyowner to you as the business
owner say, it's gonna cost you$1,500 to use this place for the
night. And the business owner,you, says, that sounds great.
(32:06):
And then you write a check.
Joe Rando (32:08):
So that's not an expense for the business, but it
is income to you personally. Sonow you're paying?
Melissa Broughton (32:13):
No. But you it's tax free income to you
personally.
Joe Rando (32:17):
Oh.
Melissa Broughton (32:17):
I love it. I love when I get the mouth open.
Eric Broughton (32:21):
It's up to fourteen days. So if you do
fifteen days worth, then youhave to start tracking and
report it. But if you didfourteen days, you're solid.
You're fine.
Melissa Broughton (32:32):
fourteen days. Under fourteen days. Well,
I mean, I guess it could go upto fourteen.
Joe Rando (32:36):
Yeah. Don't go to fifteen. So it's not that it's
not taxable. It's just that it'snot tracked fourteen days
Eric Broughton (32:44):
Until you hit that fifteen day.
Carly Ries (32:47):
How do you include that in your taxes?
Like, what do you say?
Eric Broughton (32:50):
It's a rental deduction.
Melissa Broughton (32:53):
Okay.
Eric Broughton (32:53):
It's the same. If you went to a venue and you
wrote them a check for a $1,500to rent the venue for the day,
you would list it as rents underyour business deductions because
it's it's you're rentingsomeplace. It's considered a
rent. So if you write the samecheck instead of it going to
(33:16):
Bob's business venue and it goesto yourself, you're writing
yourself a $1,500 check from thebusiness account to your
personal or wherever you want todeposit it. Right?
And then the business writesthat off as a $1,500 rent
expense. Now I'm not saying$1,500 is the baseline People
need to figure out because youwanna know what your fair market
(33:39):
value is. And I don't recommendgoing to the lowest value hotels
to get pricing. I wouldrecommend going to some place
that reflects your personalproperty, like my home.
If I was going to compare it, Iwould be like, Ritz Carlton.
Yeah. That sounds reasonable.Have it be in your ZIP code. If
(34:01):
it's in your ZIP code or innearby, it's a reasonable comp.
And real estate agents and stufflike that, they know all about
reasonable comps for all thatfun stuff. So find out what your
reasonable value is for yourpersonal property, and your
business could be charged tothat. Let's say you wanted to do
(34:21):
a fourth of July extravaganza.
Staff, friends, clients, family,The first day you read from
yourself is your setup day. Thesecond day you read from
yourself is actually fourth ofJuly where you have a party and
everybody has a fantastic time.You pay for a bounce house. You
pay for fireworks. You got food.
(34:42):
You got drink. Everybody'senjoying themselves. On day
three, you do cleanup. Maybehire a cleaning company to come
out and clean up your house fromthe best from your party. That's
three days worth of rental.
Plus, as a business relatedexpense, you could clean your
venue, which was your home.
Melissa Broughton (35:00):
Well, so, you know, we talk about it, and we
get we get really excited as taxprofessionals anytime we can
educate someone on somethingnew. Because there's really not
anything new with the tax code.There's changes, but there's not
any necessarily anything new. Sowhen we, talk about s corps and
(35:21):
what s corps can do for somebodyor we talk about the fourteen
day rent rule and what that cando for somebody, we get really
excited.
And I think sometimes when weget all excited about it, e
people get nervous. Right? Theygo, this is it's too good to be
true. But it really is alegitimate it's a legitimate tax
strategy. It's a legitimatetactic that people can use to
(35:45):
pay their fair share in taxes.
Joe Rando (35:47):
Can I just ask gets a little technical, but when this
happens, right, when my companypays anybody including myself
personally more than someamount, I can't remember what
the number is this year, I haveto give them a ten ninety nine?
Is there an exception for thefourteen day rental rule?
Melissa Broughton (36:06):
Well, you wouldn't have to issue yourself
a ten ninety nine.
Joe Rando (36:11):
Okay. So even though I paid,
Melissa Broughton (36:13):
Yes. There is an exception for the fourteen
day rental rule.
Joe Rando (36:16):
Okay. Cool.
Melissa Broughton (36:17):
As far as 1099s going. It's over 6 it's
any amount over $600.
Joe Rando (36:23):
Right. But I could easily exceed that in a year
with fourteen days of rental.
Eric Broughton (36:26):
See, now that would get into the realm where
specific things need to betalked about with your tax
person. Yeah. To make surebecause while this rule sounds
fantastic, once you start goinginto the weeds on some stuff,
you need to have good advice andgood rec Otherwise, you're gonna
get yourself in some trouble,unfortunately.
Joe Rando (36:42):
Right. Yeah. I'm in trouble already because I got a
pool, and now everybody's gonnawanna have the party at my
house.
Carly Ries (36:49):
But this is exactly what I'm talking about. You guys
know things that other people, Joe, I feel like we need to have
a part two or something at somepoint where we just talk about
these types of loopholes thatyou, the tax preparers, may be
well aware of, and then the restof us are like, this is the
craziest thing we've ever heard.Well, maybe not you. You're
pretty intelligent with thisstuff, Joe. Maybe it's just me.
Joe Rando (37:11):
But it's just I love the fact that it I'm a big fan
of using professionals. Youknow? As soon as you can afford
it, don't wing it, And it's justyou see people getting into
trouble, you see people screwingthings up and missing
opportunities. And so I lovethis because it's people are
gonna think hear this and go,yeah, maybe it's worth getting
somebody engaged to help me planmy taxes.
(37:33):
Whereas, without this kind of,you know I mean, some of it's
stuff you don't wanna just runoff and fill all your tax return
based on, but still get peopleinspired to maybe take that
leap.
Melissa Broughton (37:44):
You know, we don't get a lot of people that
call and explain why they're notgoing to use a professional.
Right? But in the rare eventsthat we have a chance to have a
conversation with somebody andthey're saying, no, I'm gonna do
it myself, but I wanna do mytaxes myself. One of the most
interesting conversations I hadwith somebody was, a gentleman
(38:05):
told me, oh, I don't need Idon't believe in hiring tax
preparers. I do it myself.
All of the information that Icould ever need is out there on
Google. And I just, and it'syeah. There is a lot of
information that's out there onGoogle, and there's a lot of bad
information that's out there onGoogle, or a lot of information
that tells you like the tip ofthe iceberg. So the fourteen day
(38:28):
rental rule, you know, it's allabout documentation, and it's
all about having the appropriatedocumentation for it. So, yes,
there's this fabulousopportunity that's out there.
But if you just elect to writeyourself a check for $5,000 14
times and have no documentation,you're probably gonna get in
some trouble if you do getaudited.
Eric Broughton (38:51):
And that would be something that would cause
when people talk about flags, Irefer to them more as anomalies.
If your return has such valuesthat are abnormal on its
reporting process, then the IRSlooks at it and says, what kind
(39:12):
of industry are they in? Now ifyou're a real estate agent and
you're spending 25% of yourgross on marketing, that's to be
expected in many areas. But it'snot expected if an accountant is
spending 25% on marketing.That's a little bit off.
But Sure. So that causesproblems. It that's abnormal
(39:34):
number counts is what causesmore triggers than anything
else.
Carly Ries (39:41):
Well, you guys, I feel like we could dive into
this all day, especially to thisis how we should be celebrating
tax day, but we wanna berespectful of your time. And so
you two help people find successwith the financial side of their
business. So we have to ask,which we ask all of our guests,
what is your favorite quoteabout success?
Melissa Broughton (40:02):
If you believe you cannot fail, what
would you attempt or whateverthat phrase is. It's a plaque
that I normally have on my desk,and it got moved. But, you know,
it's it's kind of the don't Ijust really live my life by the
mindset of don't get so in yourhead about things that you're
afraid to try. You know, plan itand and Love it. Kinda jump in
(40:23):
and see what happens.
Carly Ries (40:26):
so true. Well, listeners, I'm sure you're
intrigued like I am to learnmore about these two and
everything they have to offer.So where can people find you if
they want to learn more orcontact you?
Melissa Broughton (40:37):
Our website's the best place for them to go.
Busybeadvisers.com. We reallyare all about educating our
clients and the general public,and that's kind of what
motivates us and gets usexcited.
Carly Ries (40:52):
And is that spreadsheet that you were
talking about earlier on yourwebsite?
Melissa Broughton (40:55):
Yeah. Or if they fill out the contact form
on our website and just requestthe spreadsheet, our office
admin can get it sent over.
Okay.
Carly Ries (41:04):
Well, this has been so so great. Thank you both so
much
Joe Rando (41:08):
I don't think anybody's had a more fun
conversation about taxesprobably ever. Maybe your
podcast does this all the time,
Eric Broughton (41:15):
In my mind, we've kind of scratched the
surface. Remember, don'tnecessarily take your education
from DuckDuckGo or Google.Right. Please, if you're trying
to do a strategy, reach out tosomeone that has is educated in
this and and get their 2¢ on howto proceed forward.
Joe Rando (41:32):
Don't use TikTok either, please.
Melissa Broughton (41:35):
Don't use TikTok. No. Your tax expectation
now.
Eric Broughton (41:38):
I kinda refer to it as the Google educated. Well,
it says you could do this, andthen I say, but who said that?
Right. Yeah.
Joe Rando (41:47):
What's that saying if they couldn't they couldn't put
it on the Internet if it wasn'ttrue?
Melissa Broughton (41:51):
Right. That's that sounds like something like
15 year olds.
Carly Ries (41:56):
Exactly. Who could post something on the Internet
about this. Well, this has beengreat that has been great. We so
appreciate your time. Andlisteners, we know you will find
value in this as well.
We so appreciate your time todaytoo. As always, we love
providing this information foryou. So if you could leave that
five star review, comment,subscribe to us on YouTube,
(42:17):
whatever podcast platform youuse, all of the above, we would
so appreciate it because we lovedoing this. But until next time,
have a great week, and we willsee you next time on The
Aspiring Solopreneur. You may begoing solo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
(42:37):
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get advice from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
Ever feel like taxes are the ultimate entrepreneurial
riddle you're never quite sureyou'd solved? Every form you
have to complete and everydeduction you have to consider
can leave you wondering ifyou're doing everything
correctly. Taxes and bookkeepingare hard to understand,
especially when you're busyrunning the rest of your
business. That's why we invitedon Melissa and Eric Broughton of
(00:20):
Busy Bee Advisors. With overtwenty years of combined
bookkeeping and tax experience,this duo helps solopreneurs and
small businesses gain morefinancial clarity and pay less
in taxes.
I think I put my palm to myforehead more times in this
episode than ever before. AndJoe is well educated in this
area, and even his jaw hit thefloor a time or two. It was
(00:41):
wild. We invited them on todiscuss things like their new
business startup checklist forbookkeeping and taxes, the
$12,000 tax loophole, which mayhave been one of the times Joe's
jaw hit the floor, why the taxsystem is rigged and what you
can do about it, five essentialquestions you should be asking
your tax preparer, plus so muchmore. This was such a great
(01:03):
episode, so be sure to tune in.
You're listening to The AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
guides to navigating this crazybut awesome journey as a company
(01:24):
of one. We take pride in beingpart of LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you.
(01:44):
So if you're eager to gainvaluable insights from industry
experts on running a businessthe right way the first time
around or want to learn from themissteps of solopreneurs who
paved the way before you, thenstick around. We've got your
back because flying solo inbusiness doesn't mean you're
alone. Okay. So before we jumpinto episode, I just have to
share this new free offer wehave called the Solo Suite
(02:06):
starter. Being a solopreneur isawesome, but it's not easy.
It's hard to get noticed, andmost business advice is for
bigger companies, and you're allalone until now. LifeStarr's
SoloSuite gives you freeeducation, community, and tools
to build a thriving one personbusiness. So if you're lacking
direction, having a hard timegenerating leads, having trouble
(02:28):
keeping up with everything youhave to do, or even if you're
just lonely running a company ofone. Be sure to check out
SoloSuite starter atlifestarr.com and click on
products and pricing at the topmenu. It's the first one in the
drop down.
Again, it's totally free, socheck it out at LifeStarr.com.
Click on products and pricing,and it's the first one in the
(02:49):
menu. Hope to see you there.Okay. Melissa and Eric, this is
not something that everybodycelebrates, but I just wanted to
wish you two a happy tax day.
Melissa Broughton (02:57):
Thank you.
Joe Rando (02:58):
Thank you.
Carly Ries (02:59):
We're recording this on April 15. It will not go live
then, but Joe and I weretalking. We were like, how in
the world did we get taxpreparers and people to educate
people on the topic onto ourshow on April 15? So we are just
so happy you're here. Melissa,we were talking offline.
You were like, well, if theydon't have things in at this
point, they won't have things inin general. So, we hope you guys
(03:23):
can breathe easy starting todayand for the weeks to come.
Melissa Broughton (03:26):
Yep. We actually looked at each other
last night, and it was like,okay. We can breathe. We can
take a deep breath. You know,everybody at this point, to
answer your question, everybodyat this point who hasn't filed,
wouldn't you say, has eitherfiled an extension or they've
gone MIA.
We have that happen toosometimes where clients just
kinda disappear, and then theycome back. And maybe they come
(03:50):
back tomorrow, which is, youknow, it'll be a day or two
after tax day, and it's like,okey dokey.
Joe Rando (03:55):
So Did you ever see the Steve Martin skit where he
talks about paying taxes and hesays, don't pay your taxes when
the IRS comes, just say, Iforgot.
Melissa Broughton (04:04):
You know what I have?
Joe Rando (04:05):
That sounds like the strategy.
Melissa Broughton (04:06):
It's an interesting strategy. Yes.
Eric Broughton (04:09):
It's not a winning strategy,
Joe Rando (04:11):
No. No. Not at all.
We are not recommending thatstrategy,
Carly Ries (04:17):
Well, speaking of strategy, because I feel like
this is the time of year whereif solopreneurs don't have it
together, this is where they'relike, oh gosh. I need to educate
myself. That was a rough month,few weeks leading up to tax day.
I need to get a better strategyin place moving forward. And you
guys have, like, a new businessstartup checklist for
bookkeeping and taxes. Can wewalk through that list or at
(04:40):
least a few parts of that list?
Melissa Broughton (04:42):
Sure. You know, I think the biggest piece
and, Eric, definitely feel freeto interrupt. I think the
biggest piece is when somebodyis a solopreneur and they start
a new business, to open up aseparate account for that
business, to open up a separatechecking account and savings
account at the very least forthat business. That alone will
(05:04):
help them to, organize theirexpenses and, of course,
organize their income so thatany income from the business is
deposited into that account. Andthen, hopefully, any expenses
for the business are able to goout of that account. And I say
hopefully because, you know,sometimes when we're brand new
and we're starting, there's notquite enough cash coming in to
(05:24):
afford all of the differentthings we need to spend money
on.
But that's the absolute firstthing I recommend is a separate
account. And it doesn'tnecessarily have to be a
business account. I recommendgoing to the bank that they're
currently banking with and justopening up if there's a free
checking account available orfinding a bank that offers a
(05:46):
free checking account at leastto start with.
Carly Ries (05:49):
Okay. So they have that as separate account, and
then they're like, who did it?
Melissa Broughton (05:53):
Now what? Right. So depending on what cash
flow for their business lookslike, I mean, some businesses
are lucky, and they've got moneycoming in from day one. Others
need to maybe, have a loan oruse a credit card. We'll have a
lot of our realtor clients whenthey're brand new and they're
(06:16):
starting out, their business isfunded essentially on a credit
card or maybe majority of creditcards.
So don't go crazy with thosecards. If you get a business
loan, don't go crazy with thatbusiness loan. Know that you
will have to pay it back at somepoint. Keep your expenditures to
business expenses, and, have aplan set out. So have an idea of
(06:40):
what you know your expenses aregoing to need to be.
Set a budget for yourself, and Isay that as far as office
supplies, equipment, it'stempting when I'll tell you
this. It was tempting when wewalked into a store and
purchased things to spend a lotof money, but now that
(07:00):
everything is purchased reallyonline, I mean, you can go
crazy. Right? You can easilyspend a thousand dollars on
Amazon. So set a budget foryourself and kind of know what
your goal is and what yourobjectives are.
Carly Ries (07:15):
So for people that are like, one of my good friends
makes pies for a living. Let'ssay they make pies, and they're
like, I'm good at this, but Ihave no idea what I'm doing when
it comes to tax prepbookkeeping. Should I be making
quarterly payments? What shouldI do? What should I even what
kind of business should I run?
Do you recommend that theybecause a lot of solopreneurs
(07:35):
starting out don't have a hugebudget. So do you recommend that
they go the QuickBooks route, ordo you recommend that they hire
somebody knowing it's gonna bean investment, but that will
save them tons of time in thelong run?
Melissa Broughton (07:47):
So I'm gonna answer that, and then I'm gonna
have Eric answer it from kind ofa tax perspective. Right? So
okay. If it's a retail businessor something where you're
selling product I say retail andmost people assume that means,
like, storefront store, but thatcan be so you can be an Etsy
seller, right, and not even havea storefront. If you're selling
(08:08):
a product, I definitelyrecommend using an accounting
software.
And QuickBooks Online is withouta question our number one
recommendation. They just yeah.It's easy to use. It's pretty
affordable still. And to behonest, any of the other
softwares that pop up into itbuys them anyway.
So you might as well go withwho's gonna take over the
(08:31):
market. And the other benefit ofQuickBooks Online is that it's
so widely used that if you doneed somebody to jump in and
help, you can easily findsomebody who can, you know, jump
in and help and know thesoftware. If it's a service
business, so they're aconsultant, I don't know that
they necessarily need anaccounting software. And I say
(08:52):
that because I look at it fromthe perspective of you're a
brand new business ownerstarting out, you have the best
hopes and intentions to, makeyour million, in business, but
it can be slow to watch thosedeposits come in at first, and
so you have to be careful ofyour expenditures. And that
software subscription may be anexpenditure that you don't need
(09:14):
to make right away.
If you're in a service industry,I think using there's a,
spreadsheet that you can use andwe'd be more than happy to send
that to you guys for yourlisteners to have as a tool to
have in their toolbox. Sothere are options, but keeping
(09:37):
track of those expenses iscertainly important initially
when they're starting up.
Joe Rando (09:42):
So you say you've got a spreadsheet that people can
use to keep track of theirexpenses and instead of revenues
and expensive instead of usingsomething like QuickBooks
Online. Is that what Iunderstood?
Eric Broughton (09:52):
Yes.
Melissa Broughton (09:53):
Yep. Awesome. Thank you.
Carly Ries (09:54):
Alright, Eric. Let's hear it.
Eric Broughton (09:56):
Everything's gonna be based upon how much
effort you wanna put into it.Right? So if you don't wanna put
any effort into it, you wannamake sure it gets done, then you
wanna bring someone on board.You want to pay for a service to
track your stuff. But generallyin the first year, you know, for
like a consultant, really,you're making your way there.
(10:16):
You know? You're not quite thereyet. Maybe a service is
something you're looking at inyear two or year three. First
year, you wanna track everythingthat you're spending going up
that's business related. Thatcan easily be done onto an Excel
spreadsheet.
Accountants and tax preparersare so used to converting data
from a spreadsheet intosomething usable for a tax
filing that it's commonplace atthis point. So you just, if you
(10:41):
want to do it that way, youcould certainly do it bare
bones, so to speak. But if youhave the capital and you've kind
of planned for it, you'resaying, okay. I wanna spend my
time working on my business anddeveloping my business and my
sales. I don't necessarily wannawork on tracking my receipts.
I'm gonna pay someone to do thatinto it, you know, using
(11:05):
QuickBooks and stuff like that.Those are good routes to go. But
it really comes down to yougotta have a plan on what you're
going to do from the from theinception of the business. And
if you're really like, man, Ijust wanna get out there and do
some stuff.
Okay. Get out there and do somestuff, and then, you know, keep
some records of your receipts inan Excel file. Keep your life
(11:27):
simple, a little simpler thatway.
Carly Ries (11:29):
Well, let's say somebody's like, I know I don't
want to touch any of this. Thisis all very intimidating to me.
I'm not a money person. I'mhorrible at tracking these
things, but they also don't knowwhat to ask a tax preparer. What
questions would you recommendpeople ask if they are on the
hunt for somebody to help themout?
Eric Broughton (11:50):
The first thing I would ask is what they
recommend you do for forseparating your business from
your personal. You know, if theanswers are like, open up an
account, get some things going,then you're on the right path in
talking to someone. Because,unfortunately, in the industry,
in tax preparers andaccountants, just like in all
(12:11):
the rest of the industries,there are those who really are
just there to kinda do the ordertaking, and they're not really
there to do any forward planningfor you. So they're like, yeah.
Just put it on an Excelspreadsheet and then give it to
me.
And if that's kind of all youget from them, then that maybe
is not someone that's a good fitfor you because you as a
business owner need to learnwhat is a business expense.
(12:34):
Right? And we have a worksheetthat we've been building slowly
over time that's got over ahundred different business
related deductions that you as abusiness owner may not realize
that you could take. And sohaving someone provide that
information for you and give youthat education is as important
to developing your business asworking on your sales.
Joe Rando (12:57):
love that.
I wanna ask you a question thatI don't know if there's a
good answer to this question butwhen you think about especially
solopreneur businesses, right?And you know, typically if these
people are retailers, they'redoing what you said, they're
Etsy or they have an onlinestore, Shopify site or
something. A lot of them arebasically providing some kind of
service, you know, whether it'sghostwriting or coaching. But
(13:19):
are there any kind of generalcategories of, expenses that are
maybe would surprise people thatwere new to being a solopreneur
or anything that might maybeisn't a 100% obvious that they
can take as a category? Just anyway to think about it or is it
just kind of a laundry list ofIRS rules that you have to
understand?
Melissa Broughton (13:39):
You know, I think the one that's you know, I
maybe it's obvious to somepeople, maybe it's not. I think
mileage is one that a lot ofsolopreneurs forget about. And
you know, I don't know why. Forsome reason, our smaller
clients, that's what I seeconsistently that they have all
(14:04):
of their receipts for differentthings, office supplies.
Everybody knows about officesupplies.
Course, if you have to buy,equipment, people know about
that. But they forget aboutmileage, and mileage can, can
add up really, really quickly,especially if you're, you know,
maybe a direct seller or and welove working with direct
(14:26):
sellers. But if you're a directseller and you're going to
appointments or going tomeetings and things like that or
even a real estate agent, youknow, we had somebody last year
that we were working on hertaxes with her, and she left
mileage out. She was a realestate agent. We, kind of asked,
(14:48):
did you have any mileage?
Oh, yeah. I think so, but Ididn't really keep track of it.
Is it worth it? Probably. Andshe had, like, 12,000 miles that
she had driven.
You know, at 56¢ a mile, That'sfunny. That adds up. That's
money.
Eric Broughton (15:03):
So that was a $6,000 deduction that she was
just keeping on the tablebecause she thought maybe it was
too much effort or it wasn'tworth it and stuff.
Joe Rando (15:11):
Yeah. Writing down those numbers is a bear.
Eric Broughton (15:14):
But there are apps that
you could do. There's an app youcould put on your phone that
You're starting the businessday. You press the app and the
app says go, and it tracks yourmileage, and it gives you a
mileage report at the end of theday. And it keeps the report
going, and then when at the endof the year, you could actually
email to yourself your annualreport, and it'll basically give
(15:37):
proof, and it's a written recordof all of your mileage.
And it was by going through hercalendar, she was able to
backtrack and look at that shehad at least 12,000 miles.
That's just going off of hercalendar. Imagine if she
actually tracked her truemileage.
Carly Ries (15:56):
Right. Yeah.
Joe Rando (15:58):
So related question. So what about the other one that
almost all solopreneurs have nowwhich is the spare bedroom slash
office,
Melissa Broughton (16:10):
The home office deduction, sure.
Joe Rando (16:12):
But you know, I've been told by people smarter than
me that that is a trigger for anaudit. And I'm wondering if you
think that that's true or is itworth doing?
Melissa Broughton (16:24):
I, you know, I don't well, I think there's a
lot of rumors out there aboutthings that are triggers for an
audit. And I think the IRS keepsit a very well guarded secret on
what actually triggers an audit.in truth, I think the thing that
really is the biggest trigger ofan audit that I've heard is if
you are, claiming a child andsomebody else is claiming that
(16:47):
child, so maybe a divorce or acustody situation. Aside from
that, I have not consistentlyseen anything that's, you know,
an audit trigger. I think if youare doing your due diligence and
you have a tax preparer that isencouraging you to keep all of
(17:08):
your receipts and records, thatyou are that you are fine
because you have the backup.
Now if you just claim a wholebunch of things and don't have
any backup, then you shouldmaybe be a little bit worried.
But Eric, talk about theLamontas deduction.
Eric Broughton (17:25):
Home office deduction is going to
potentially put you on a listfor audits. I hear that a lot of
times. I say filing taxes willput you on a list for audits.
if you're worried about being ona list, then, yeah, you got some
other issues that you maybe needto attend to. Just because
you're I mean, you're a smallbusiness owner. If you're a sole
(17:46):
proprietor filing a schedule cwith a home office deduction, a
business mileage, and stuff likethat, You filed taxes. You're
already on a list. Now how doyou work past that?
Don't be afraid of the audit. Infact, welcome it by having your
documentation in order. Becausethe first thing they're gonna do
is send you a letter and say,hey. What about this? And if you
(18:10):
respond in a timely fashion withaccurate documentation, then the
IRS says, thank you and have agreat day, and then they move
on.
But if you ignore the letter, ifyou don't have documentation
that proves what they're asking,then they say, you couldn't
provide information for that, somaybe you can't provide
information for the rest ofthis. We're gonna send someone
(18:33):
to come say hi to you. That'swhen things start getting a
little bit more interesting. Butif you have your documentation
in order and you answerquestions in form of letters
because they're not gonna callyou. Remember, the IRS doesn't
call.
The IRS sends letters, and ifthe letters aren't responded to,
then they send someone actuallyin person. You know? So don't
(18:55):
get to that point. Respond toyour letters.
And anything that you can do inregards to filing taxes can
could raise a flag. I love thatone. Or put you on for a
potential audit. You file taxes.You're already on the list.
Don't be afraid of that. Moveforward and take the maximum
(19:17):
allowed deductions for you as ataxpayer. Don't feel that you
need to underreport yourdeductive values. You're
reporting your full income valuebecause that's the law as well.
But the IRS is never gonna sendyou a letter saying, oh, hey.
You forgot your home officededuction. They'll never do
(19:37):
that.
But they will send you a letterif you forgot to add a ten
ninety nine to your soleproprietor for, like, $25,000.
They're gonna be like, hold on.One moment. You owe us more
money.
Joe Rando (19:51):
I guess that makes sense.
Carly Ries (19:53):
Yeah. And, I mean, so many people think that the
tax system is rigged, and it isin a sense. And I know that you
guys would agree with that. SoI'm curious why you think that,
but, also, is this just a way todeal with it? Like, just have
your ducks in a row, or arethere other things people can be
doing to help them out in thissystem?
Melissa Broughton (20:11):
I think if you're, an individual who works
a w two job, you're absolutelyfine to file your taxes yourself
in most cases. You can usethere's great programs out
there. Turbo is excellent. Ithink H and R Block has one.
There's a whole bunch ofdifferent ones out there, and
they all do a good job.
I think the second that youventure into being a business
(20:36):
owner, whether it's asolopreneur or you've got a
huge, corporation, that's whenyou need to consult a
professional. And thatprofessional, to take it a step
further, needs to be someonethat you feel that you can have
a conversation with, and thatdoesn't make you feel like they
(20:57):
won't explain things to you, orthat they're just doing what's
in your best interest, or thatis doing things and you don't
understand. So that would be thefirst big recommendation I would
make. The second thing, do Ithink the tax system is rigged?
I absolutely think the taxsystem is rigged.
And, yep, putting your ducks ina row and keeping your
(21:19):
documentation is probably thebest thing you can do to protect
yourself. I don't think that theIRS is a big, you know, scary
monster that's hiding under yourbed. In fact, that would be
super awkward to have an IRSagent hiding under your bed. But
I think they're an agency that,just like any other agency,
(21:40):
should be respected. And if youunderstand the rules, you're
fine.
You're complying by the rules.And most most people are trying
to comply by the rules. So it's,you know, it's having a healthy
respect and yeah. I do thinkthat the system is rigged
though.
Joe Rando (21:58):
Can ask you one clarification? So I've been in
business for a long time. I'vebeen self employed in one form
or another since 1990, a numberof different companies. And one
time, the IRS made a big mistakeand they didn't just pay us a
visit, they showed up I mean,I'm glad this woman didn't have
(22:19):
a gun because she walked in,slammed this big folder down,
started screaming at people andI'm just curious, have you heard
was this just really bad?
We ended up being completely inthe right, they were completely
in the wrong. But have you everhad an experience like that
where the IRS just went offlike, you know, completely
(22:40):
crazed or was this just a oneoff?
Melissa Broughton (22:44):
I, you know, don't hear about it happening
too much. I have heard ofsituations where there's been a
little bit maybe of a, oh, Iguess you'd call it an
overzealous agent. I thinkagain, if something like that
happens or if you feel thatyou're being treated unfairly,
you should seek representation.So that would be when I would
(23:06):
absolutely recommend to somebodyto reach out to a tax attorney,
and maybe go a step above justtheir tax professional. You're
gonna be pretty hard pressed onyour own as, you know, Joe
Citizen to get the IRS to admitthat they're wrong.
(23:27):
It sounds like you were able toget the issue resolved, but, you
know, we had a client, and thiswas kind of an interesting
situation. He sold a commercialproperty at the end of one year
and didn't receive funds for ituntil the next year. So that's
already an interesting taxsituation. He was the type of
(23:50):
person that would go for the,we'll just say, lowest price
service provider. So he kind ofshopped around for either people
who would do taxes and trade orcheapest price he could get.
So the person who filed histaxes in the year that he sold
the property didn't catch it,And then the next year, they
(24:12):
didn't know till it was adifferent person that had
prepared the taxes, didn't knowto look for it. So he got a
notice that he owed, like,hundreds of thousands of dollars
in taxes. And, you know, whenyou get into that 6 figure debt
range with the IRS, they getslightly more aggressive than,
(24:33):
if you owe $500. And our biggestrecommendation to him was, you
know, really sorry that that'shappening to you and here is an
excellent tax attorney that youprobably need to reach out to.
Joe Rando (24:48):
So that's the important thing. There's
bookkeepers, there'saccountants, and then there's
tax attorneys. Right? So we'vegot this kind of progression of
skills and expertise and you'vealso got accounts that are just
crunching the numbers versusaccounts that are helping you
with tax planning. So we canalmost think of like four
levels.
Okay, cool. Thank you.
Eric Broughton (25:08):
It's just like any other profession. Right?
You've got doctors and doctorscome in a wide variety of not
only education backgrounds, butthey also come in a varying
levels of expertise. So think oftaxes in that realm is is is
very similar to that. You havepeople that specialize, but then
(25:29):
you also have people that dogeneral practice. And so tax in
the world of tax, you're gonnahave that as well. And you're
also gonna kinda get what you'relooking for. If you're looking
for someone to just do a barebones job, you're gonna find
that someone that's gonna do abare bones job, and you may just
pay the amount for the barebones job. I wouldn't
necessarily trust that barebones job for the most part, but
(25:52):
in that essence, yes, there area variety of levels to the tax
field just like any otherprofession.
But when an agent actually comesto your home or to your place of
business, you should not bedoing that without some form of
representation. It's the samething about going to court. If
you're going to court for not atraffic ticket, but, I mean, an
(26:13):
actual criminal matter, hire alawyer. Right? Have someone
there to look out for yourinterests.
And that would be my number onebit of advice in that particular
situation, especially if theyshow up out of the blue. Say,
one moment. Let me contact myrepresentative. And then you
excuse yourself, and you callsomeone and be like, what do I
(26:35):
do right now?
Carly Ries (26:36):
Yeah. Oh, the world of tax I mean, I feel like you
guys have secrets or notsecrets, but you know things
that so many people don't know.I guess, like, a little world
that you understand. I know evenfor me, when I was starting, I
was only familiar with, like,LLCs. I just wanted to go the
basic route.
But I didn't know s corps wereeven a thing, honestly. And
there are so many benefits therethat people may not be aware of.
(26:58):
Can you kind of go into why asole proprietor may wanna
consider an s corp over an LLC?
Eric Broughton (27:04):
The biggest thing is is that when you're a
sole proprietor filing aschedule c, all of your profits
are considered taxable. Taxablewages. So you're paying the
15.3% self employment taxes onall profits from your sole
proprietorship. So as you'regoing down the line, you're
like, oh, yeah. It's added to myAGI.
(27:24):
It made a little bit. Then atthe end, you're like, why is my
tax bill so high? It's becausethey add that 15.3% self
employment tax on from theprofits from your business at
the end. After all your creditsand payments have already been
added up, then they add it in,and it just jumps right back up.
And a s corporation allows youto turn your business all of
(27:49):
your business income into thecorporation and pay yourself a w
two.
So, therefore, you're payingyourself a reasonable wage out
of the business. You're having aw two, and then whatever profits
are coming out of the companyare taxed through other means,
but not with the extra 15.3% forself employment tax.
Joe Rando (28:08):
Now that's not the case with an LLC, just an s
corp?
Eric Broughton (28:12):
An LLC excellent to bring this up. An LLC is a
legal term, not a tax term. Soan LLC is just considered to be
a legal term for lawyers in thestate that you have limited
liability for your business'activities and practices. As far
as the tax world is concerned,you're a sole proprietor. if you
(28:35):
have an LLC, you also are in thesame tax boat as the guy that's
doing woodworking out of hisgarage. Got it.
Melissa Broughton (28:42):
Would it be safe to say that an LLC because
I think I've heard you say thisbefore. An LLC is similar to
having an insurance policy Overyour business.
Eric Broughton (28:51):
Yeah.
Melissa Broughton (28:51):
So it's not a level of tax protection. It's
not necessarily a businessentity type that has tax
benefits, but it protects you.
Joe Rando (29:00):
Mean, it's Limits liability, which is what?
Melissa Broughton (29:02):
Yep. LLC stands for liability. It's right
in the name.
Joe Rando (29:04):
But you can then have an LLC that elects to be an s
corp.
Melissa Broughton (29:07):
Yes. Yes.
Joe Rando (29:08):
K.
Melissa Broughton (29:09):
And those we love.
Joe Rando (29:10):
Yeah.
Carly Ries (29:17):
Well, so I'm so glad we got into, these little things
that people just might not beaware of. And I did do my due
diligence ahead of thisinterview, and you guys talk
about a $12,000 tax loophole. Isthat relevant to solopreneurs,
and what is that?
Melissa Broughton (29:34):
Okay. So first things first. We're
probably not gonna have a ton oftime to go into all the things
about the $12,000 tax deduction.If people go to our website, and
I'm sure it'll be posted in theshow notes, they can actually
download or get access to awebinar that we put together
that's free. It's about a fortyfive minute webinar, and they
(29:55):
can learn everything they wouldwant to know about it.
So I'll say that. Because I'mjust gonna touch on things with
it. So, essentially, it's alegitimate tax code loophole, I
guess you could call it, butit's called the fourteen day
rental rule. And so,essentially, what the fourteen
day rental rule allows you to dois, as a business owner, you can
(30:20):
rent your property to yourbusiness. So your business gets
the write off because yourbusiness pays you as a person
for a maximum of fourteen daysper year.
They can be consecutive days.They can be broken up, however,
but it just can't exceedfourteen days. Your business
pays you personally for rentalof your property for business
(30:43):
use purposes. So if you werelet's use a direct seller. Let's
say you are a Tupperwareconsultant or a Mary Kay
consultant, and you have a team.
And once a month, you hostevents for your team at your
home. Not strange, not out ofthe realm of possibilities. So
(31:06):
you would be able to payyourself, your business pays
you, the fair market value inyour area of what it would cost
to rent a venue.
Carly Ries (31:17):
Well, I did not know that. Joe, you're the real
estate guy. Did you know that?
Joe Rando (31:21):
No.This is this is all news to me.
Eric Broughton (31:23):
It's also referred to as the Augusta rule.
Okay. So sometimes I've heard ofit some people have heard of it
not as the fourteen day rentalrule, but also as the Augusta
rule. Literally, you as abusiness, if you went to a venue
and said, I would like to rentthis to have a board meeting or
to have a team building event,and they would give you a price.
(31:45):
Right? Okay. It's gonna cost$1,500 to have the event
throughout the night or throughfor a full day. But you're like,
okay. Thank you very much.
And then you as the propertyowner to you as the business
owner say, it's gonna cost you$1,500 to use this place for the
night. And the business owner,you, says, that sounds great.
(32:06):
And then you write a check.
Joe Rando (32:08):
So that's not an expense for the business, but it
is income to you personally. Sonow you're paying?
Melissa Broughton (32:13):
No. But you it's tax free income to you
personally.
Joe Rando (32:17):
Oh.
Melissa Broughton (32:17):
I love it. I love when I get the mouth open.
Eric Broughton (32:21):
It's up to fourteen days. So if you do
fifteen days worth, then youhave to start tracking and
report it. But if you didfourteen days, you're solid.
You're fine.
Melissa Broughton (32:32):
fourteen days. Under fourteen days. Well,
I mean, I guess it could go upto fourteen.
Joe Rando (32:36):
Yeah. Don't go to fifteen. So it's not that it's
not taxable. It's just that it'snot tracked fourteen days
Eric Broughton (32:44):
Until you hit that fifteen day.
Carly Ries (32:47):
How do you include that in your taxes?
Like, what do you say?
Eric Broughton (32:50):
It's a rental deduction.
Melissa Broughton (32:53):
Okay.
Eric Broughton (32:53):
It's the same. If you went to a venue and you
wrote them a check for a $1,500to rent the venue for the day,
you would list it as rents underyour business deductions because
it's it's you're rentingsomeplace. It's considered a
rent. So if you write the samecheck instead of it going to
(33:16):
Bob's business venue and it goesto yourself, you're writing
yourself a $1,500 check from thebusiness account to your
personal or wherever you want todeposit it. Right?
And then the business writesthat off as a $1,500 rent
expense. Now I'm not saying$1,500 is the baseline People
need to figure out because youwanna know what your fair market
(33:39):
value is. And I don't recommendgoing to the lowest value hotels
to get pricing. I wouldrecommend going to some place
that reflects your personalproperty, like my home.
If I was going to compare it, Iwould be like, Ritz Carlton.
Yeah. That sounds reasonable.Have it be in your ZIP code. If
(34:01):
it's in your ZIP code or innearby, it's a reasonable comp.
And real estate agents and stufflike that, they know all about
reasonable comps for all thatfun stuff. So find out what your
reasonable value is for yourpersonal property, and your
business could be charged tothat. Let's say you wanted to do
(34:21):
a fourth of July extravaganza.
Staff, friends, clients, family,The first day you read from
yourself is your setup day. Thesecond day you read from
yourself is actually fourth ofJuly where you have a party and
everybody has a fantastic time.You pay for a bounce house. You
pay for fireworks. You got food.
(34:42):
You got drink. Everybody'senjoying themselves. On day
three, you do cleanup. Maybehire a cleaning company to come
out and clean up your house fromthe best from your party. That's
three days worth of rental.
Plus, as a business relatedexpense, you could clean your
venue, which was your home.
Melissa Broughton (35:00):
Well, so, you know, we talk about it, and we
get we get really excited as taxprofessionals anytime we can
educate someone on somethingnew. Because there's really not
anything new with the tax code.There's changes, but there's not
any necessarily anything new. Sowhen we, talk about s corps and
(35:21):
what s corps can do for somebodyor we talk about the fourteen
day rent rule and what that cando for somebody, we get really
excited.
And I think sometimes when weget all excited about it, e
people get nervous. Right? Theygo, this is it's too good to be
true. But it really is alegitimate it's a legitimate tax
strategy. It's a legitimatetactic that people can use to
(35:45):
pay their fair share in taxes.
Joe Rando (35:47):
Can I just ask gets a little technical, but when this
happens, right, when my companypays anybody including myself
personally more than someamount, I can't remember what
the number is this year, I haveto give them a ten ninety nine?
Is there an exception for thefourteen day rental rule?
Melissa Broughton (36:06):
Well, you wouldn't have to issue yourself
a ten ninety nine.
Joe Rando (36:11):
Okay. So even though I paid,
Melissa Broughton (36:13):
Yes. There is an exception for the fourteen
day rental rule.
Joe Rando (36:16):
Okay. Cool.
Melissa Broughton (36:17):
As far as 1099s going. It's over 6 it's
any amount over $600.
Joe Rando (36:23):
Right. But I could easily exceed that in a year
with fourteen days of rental.
Eric Broughton (36:26):
See, now that would get into the realm where
specific things need to betalked about with your tax
person. Yeah. To make surebecause while this rule sounds
fantastic, once you start goinginto the weeds on some stuff,
you need to have good advice andgood rec Otherwise, you're gonna
get yourself in some trouble,unfortunately.
Joe Rando (36:42):
Right. Yeah. I'm in trouble already because I got a
pool, and now everybody's gonnawanna have the party at my
house.
Carly Ries (36:49):
But this is exactly what I'm talking about. You guys
know things that other people, Joe, I feel like we need to have
a part two or something at somepoint where we just talk about
these types of loopholes thatyou, the tax preparers, may be
well aware of, and then the restof us are like, this is the
craziest thing we've ever heard.Well, maybe not you. You're
pretty intelligent with thisstuff, Joe. Maybe it's just me.
Joe Rando (37:11):
But it's just I love the fact that it I'm a big fan
of using professionals. Youknow? As soon as you can afford
it, don't wing it, And it's justyou see people getting into
trouble, you see people screwingthings up and missing
opportunities. And so I lovethis because it's people are
gonna think hear this and go,yeah, maybe it's worth getting
somebody engaged to help me planmy taxes.
(37:33):
Whereas, without this kind of,you know I mean, some of it's
stuff you don't wanna just runoff and fill all your tax return
based on, but still get peopleinspired to maybe take that
leap.
Melissa Broughton (37:44):
You know, we don't get a lot of people that
call and explain why they're notgoing to use a professional.
Right? But in the rare eventsthat we have a chance to have a
conversation with somebody andthey're saying, no, I'm gonna do
it myself, but I wanna do mytaxes myself. One of the most
interesting conversations I hadwith somebody was, a gentleman
(38:05):
told me, oh, I don't need Idon't believe in hiring tax
preparers. I do it myself.
All of the information that Icould ever need is out there on
Google. And I just, and it'syeah. There is a lot of
information that's out there onGoogle, and there's a lot of bad
information that's out there onGoogle, or a lot of information
that tells you like the tip ofthe iceberg. So the fourteen day
(38:28):
rental rule, you know, it's allabout documentation, and it's
all about having the appropriatedocumentation for it. So, yes,
there's this fabulousopportunity that's out there.
But if you just elect to writeyourself a check for $5,000 14
times and have no documentation,you're probably gonna get in
some trouble if you do getaudited.
Eric Broughton (38:51):
And that would be something that would cause
when people talk about flags, Irefer to them more as anomalies.
If your return has such valuesthat are abnormal on its
reporting process, then the IRSlooks at it and says, what kind
(39:12):
of industry are they in? Now ifyou're a real estate agent and
you're spending 25% of yourgross on marketing, that's to be
expected in many areas. But it'snot expected if an accountant is
spending 25% on marketing.That's a little bit off.
But Sure. So that causesproblems. It that's abnormal
(39:34):
number counts is what causesmore triggers than anything
else.
Carly Ries (39:41):
Well, you guys, I feel like we could dive into
this all day, especially to thisis how we should be celebrating
tax day, but we wanna berespectful of your time. And so
you two help people find successwith the financial side of their
business. So we have to ask,which we ask all of our guests,
what is your favorite quoteabout success?
Melissa Broughton (40:02):
If you believe you cannot fail, what
would you attempt or whateverthat phrase is. It's a plaque
that I normally have on my desk,and it got moved. But, you know,
it's it's kind of the don't Ijust really live my life by the
mindset of don't get so in yourhead about things that you're
afraid to try. You know, plan itand and Love it. Kinda jump in
(40:23):
and see what happens.
Carly Ries (40:26):
so true. Well, listeners, I'm sure you're
intrigued like I am to learnmore about these two and
everything they have to offer.So where can people find you if
they want to learn more orcontact you?
Melissa Broughton (40:37):
Our website's the best place for them to go.
Busybeadvisers.com. We reallyare all about educating our
clients and the general public,and that's kind of what
motivates us and gets usexcited.
Carly Ries (40:52):
And is that spreadsheet that you were
talking about earlier on yourwebsite?
Melissa Broughton (40:55):
Yeah. Or if they fill out the contact form
on our website and just requestthe spreadsheet, our office
admin can get it sent over.
Okay.
Carly Ries (41:04):
Well, this has been so so great. Thank you both so
much
Joe Rando (41:08):
I don't think anybody's had a more fun
conversation about taxesprobably ever. Maybe your
podcast does this all the time,
Eric Broughton (41:15):
In my mind, we've kind of scratched the
surface. Remember, don'tnecessarily take your education
from DuckDuckGo or Google.Right. Please, if you're trying
to do a strategy, reach out tosomeone that has is educated in
this and and get their 2¢ on howto proceed forward.
Joe Rando (41:32):
Don't use TikTok either, please.
Melissa Broughton (41:35):
Don't use TikTok. No. Your tax expectation
now.
Eric Broughton (41:38):
I kinda refer to it as the Google educated. Well,
it says you could do this, andthen I say, but who said that?
Right. Yeah.
Joe Rando (41:47):
What's that saying if they couldn't they couldn't put
it on the Internet if it wasn'ttrue?
Melissa Broughton (41:51):
Right. That's that sounds like something like
15 year olds.
Carly Ries (41:56):
Exactly. Who could post something on the Internet
about this. Well, this has beengreat that has been great. We so
appreciate your time. Andlisteners, we know you will find
value in this as well.
We so appreciate your time todaytoo. As always, we love
providing this information foryou. So if you could leave that
five star review, comment,subscribe to us on YouTube,
(42:17):
whatever podcast platform youuse, all of the above, we would
so appreciate it because we lovedoing this. But until next time,
have a great week, and we willsee you next time on The
Aspiring Solopreneur. You may begoing solo in business, but that
doesn't mean you're alone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
(42:37):
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get advice from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
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