"I made a mistake that I see my clients make all the time."

A few months ago, while on vacation, I got into a little accident with my rental car. Right in the rental company’s own parking lot! (After a grueling tax season, my brain was still in recovery mode.) When I opened the itemized repair bill and saw $3,000, my blood boiled. What started as a simple dent had mysteriously morphed into repairs on three sides of the car!

As a CPA with over two decades of experience and multiple professional certifications, I know just enough about the law to make me dangerous. My killer instincts kicked in, and I launched into full battle mode. I dove deep into small claims court procedures, investigated hiring an expert witness, and even planned a social media campaign to expose the rental company’s shady practices. Hours turned into days as I built what I believed was an air-tight case, ready to take all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

When I had my battle plan ready, I talked to my attorney who basically told me my ideas were actually dumb (but in a professional way, so I didn’t feel as stupid). Instead of discussing legal strategies, my attorney asked one simple question: “Does the credit card used to rent the car have accident coverage?”

Imagine my relief when I found out it did. One phone call later and I received the required forms to have the credit card company I needed for them to handle everything. They paid 100% of the bill, my insurance rates weren’t affected, and I didn’t spend a single day in court. That one question from an expert with experience in this area saved me thousands of dollars and countless hours.

As you’re reading this, you might be wondering how many times you’ve done something similar in your business.

I see small business owners fall into this trap all the time. You’ve probably done it yourself – late at night, doom scrolling through social media, following one “tax guru” after another. Before you know it, you’re deep into videos about business write-offs and tax loopholes that sound too good to be true.

Before you email me “simple” questions like, “Can I write this off?” or “Is it legal to [Enter any number of crazy TikTok content creator’s tip here]?”, consider that there are probably other solutions to solve your problem that you haven’t even considered.

That’s why I set aside time during the summer months for proactive planning meetings with business owners. While tax savings are often a primary concern, these focused one-hour sessions can address other business challenges. We identify the one or two most pressing issues affecting your business and provide clear, actionable solutions.

During our strategic planning sessions, we’ve helped clients discover opportunities like:

• How to use a 401(k) account to solve short-term cash flow problems
• Faster ways to input data into QuickBooks, saving time and also lowering audit risk
• Streamlining a multiple entity structure to reduce the number of tax returns to be filed each year (This one actually cost me money ☹)
• Planning for a future business sale to maximize the sale price and minimize the taxes on the sale
• And of course, several different tax deductions owners were missing (Most were far simpler than the schemes pitched on social media with a lot less audit risk)
  
  

While other business owners try to piece together advice from social media, you can benefit from real-world solutions I’ve seen work for hundreds of businesses just like yours. Think about it – would you rather learn from your own mistakes or from others’ experiences?

Ready to stop struggling and start solving? Your next step is simple. Schedule your summer planning session before August 15th. Call  (702) – 368 – 1120 or visit adamhodsoncpa.com today.

Remember: Smart business owners know when you take action now, you give yourself more time to implement changes that will impact your 2025 results..