Episode Transcript
Glenn Harper [: 00:00:03
Hello everyone. Welcome to another edition of the Empowering Entrepreneurs Podcast. I’m Glen Harper.
Julie Smith [: 00:00:06
Julie Smith.
Glenn Harper [: 00:00:07
What’s going on, Julie?
Julie Smith [: 00:00:08
Well, you know, here we are in tax season and I hate it. Why? Well, I don’t want to know my numbers. I don’t want to discuss anything. I don’t want, do I owe money? Do I not owe money? What does it look like? Like it is beyond, gives me anxiety.
Glenn Harper [: 00:00:22
Well, sounds like you need a new CPA.
Julie Smith [: 00:00:24
Sounds like it.
Glenn Harper [: 00:00:26
No, it’s— tax season does get stressful, and there’s two kinds of people out there that it affects. The first kind of person that affects is if you don’t plan throughout the year, when tax season comes, it’s like, what’s going to happen? And it’s very stressful because if you owe a bunch, where do you come up with that money to do it? If you get a lot of money back, you’re mad because you didn’t keep your money all year. So it’s a very stressful thing when you don’t plan. The other side of— other type of person out there Works all year with their tax advisor and they know exactly what’s going to happen. They work with a plan, they do the projections, and when they get to tax season, they’re on the beach on spring break. Literally this week we’ll be calling people on spring break and they’ll say, oh, tax return came out exactly what we planned. We’re going to apply this to next year. You’re good.
Glenn Harper [: 00:01:07
And they’re like, oh, that’s awesome. They go back to drinking their Coronas. It’s awesome.
Julie Smith [: 00:01:10
I mean, I want to know how I get on that path. Sign me up for that one.
Glenn Harper [: 00:01:13
Well, we got to change careers if we’re going to do that. Yeah, that’s the hard part.
Julie Smith [: 00:01:16
But I also think that anxiety around those numbers and what it is like, how does one go from drinking the Corona on the beach to, you know, or not opposite way. How does one going from like, I don’t want to see it, I don’t want to open it, I don’t want to know, to drinking the Corona on the beach?
Glenn Harper [: 00:01:32
Well, again, it’s you, you want to engage in an advisor, a tax advisor versus a tax preparer, because if you engage an advisor, that’s somebody that’s by definition is going to work with you and advise you throughout the year to get the best result. You work with just to prepare, you’re seeing that person at tax season, there’s no advising that’s going to happen. It’s just whatever it is is what it is. Makes it very, very challenging.
Julie Smith [: 00:01:57
What do you think are the top 3 mistakes you see from people who are maybe like me, who don’t want to look, don’t want to see, don’t want to know? And how do you get them to work through that?
Glenn Harper [: 00:02:10
Well, again, for some reason, taxes for most people are Literally, it’s worse than going to the dentist. It’s worse than going anywhere. It’s like the most stressful thing, but it’s only stressful like that for people that don’t plan and don’t take advantage of things that are available. They look at this, oh my God, it’s so horrible and terrible. Oh, if you just speak the language and understand it, if your advisor is telling you this is how you navigate it, oh, well, that’s real easy. So you just have to take the fear away from it. And when the fear leaves, now the curiosity comes in, and then you’re trying to be a better, a smarter taxpayer versus then just signing your tax return and paying.
Julie Smith [: 00:02:50
Sounds like knowledge is power here.
Glenn Harper [: 00:02:52
Pretty much. It’s, uh, the curiosity is the key. If you try to avoid something, you’re never going to get the best out of it, versus if you’re curious and try to engage in it, you’re going to get a better result.
Julie Smith [: 00:03:04
That’s great advice again.
Glenn Harper [: 00:03:05
Well, hopefully everybody enjoys that. Another edition of the Empowering Entrepreneurs Podcast. I’m Glen Harper.
Julie Smith [: 00:03:10
Julie Smith.
