BIRD WILLIAMS: You’re listening to Bird Means Business Episode 62

Hey, party people! I am so glad you're investing in yourself and your brand by tuning into this episode on Bird Means Business podcast. Look, taxes can be so not fun for most people. But it's something that you do not want to ignore. Even in the beginning, as you're just figuring things out. Because, see, like we discuss in this interview with Erin, it's so important that you develop a tax strategy based on your goals. And do it sooner than later so that you aren't paying to the IRS, what you could have been reinvesting back into your business, so you can build a better brand, right? Because that's what we're doing here people. Look, anyone, we can launch a business. There's not much to just getting your business up and running and launching it, right? But to design a sustainable business that’ll still be here in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years from now. That's gonna take intentionality, and holistic strategy, meaning it's going to go way beyond just what you're posting on social media or the logo you develop. Those are the things that most people view as the fun stuff. You're gonna need to make sure you also develop a solid foundation. And getting a tax strategy together is one great way to do exactly that. So, I really want you to lean into this episode, and get ready to take in some of these really incredible gems from our guest, Erin Lashley of Pay It Forward Taxes. Let me give you some background on Erin, and her business partner Delicia. 

In 2019, two friends decided to start a tax preparation company to change their family tree, and the rest is history. Their team has over 30 years of experience in preparing taxes for influencers, business owners, and families, with backgrounds of all kinds. And in addition to the clients they serve, every single tax season, they choose an organization or a cause to donate to, because that's what they're all about - paying it forward. Y’all this is gonna be a good one. Let's dive in. 

Erin, thank you so much for being on the Bird Means Business podcast. I'm so glad to have you here.

ERIN LASHLEY: Thank you so much, Ashley. It is honestly an honor to be here and I love you. I love what you're doing. So, the pleasure is all mine, honestly. 

BIRD: I love it. I'm glad. I'm glad we get to have this conversation. I know that it's gonna be so helpful for the entrepreneurs who tuned into our Bird Means Business. And I'm just really excited to get into what we have to talk about today. So, for starters just kind of tell me a little bit about your journey, and how you’ve gotten to where you are today with Pay It Forward Taxes. 

ERIN: Yeah, for sure. So, this business, Pay It Forward Taxes, for me, was just an idea of wanting to have a business and own something and have the opportunity to not necessarily have somebody else, write my paychecks all the time. And so back in 2018, I came across this opportunity where I was learning from another company called Jumping Jack Tax where they were helping people start tax preparation businesses. And the more that I learned about them like this is definitely a service that isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. And I would never have considered myself a person that was very passionate about taxes. But what I am passionate about is just building business and seeing something come to fruition, also of helping people in serving them, especially entrepreneurs and different people like that. And so it seemed like the right thing to do and the right type of opportunity to jump on. And so as I was always talking about the idea with one of my best friends, Delicia, who is my business partner. She was like man like I would love to do something like that with you, as well, especially when it comes to just our goals that we have individually that are similar for ourselves and for our families, where you want that extra income. But you also want to provide opportunities for family and friends to make money too, especially people of color because that's where our heart is. And that's the context that we live in day to day. So how cool would it be to be in a position of power to be able to give opportunities to other people. So that's kind of what our heart was and being able to pay it forward in that way. And it's funny, even with the name. Delicia actually had a dream that our business was called Pay It Forward. And she told me that the next morning right after she woke up. And I'm like, that's the name. That's like a totally divine thing. So, that happened in 2018, and Delicia and I both went through a hundred hours of tax preparation school. And then just began to build it out, began to build out the marketing elements, and that's kind of where I have experience. And Delicia is very good at just building a team. And we began to research and find different tax preparers that could join our team. So we're a team of tax preparers that just love helping people keep their tax liability low and just paying it forward in our own community and in that context. So, yeah. We're really happy to be doing what we're doing.

BIRD: That is incredible. I love everything about your story. How powerful, and how it all just kind of came together and was so aligned. And even your heart to serve I try to remind entrepreneurs that with your business, of course, it's helping bring in income to your family and helping you grow an empire, or a legacy and all of that. But you're also serving people. And if you remember to think of it in that way, it helps, how you speak to them, become a lot more clear. It helps what products or services you offer become a lot easier because you're literally thinking about “How am I a solution to my ideal audience's problem, and going about it that way. So I love that you share that as well. 

So let's talk a little bit about the importance of business taxes and getting it right sooner than later. And I have a place in my heart for this, because, we were a whole hot mess with our first business. So for anyone listening, I have a gym business called The League that my husband, Terry, and I launched in 2013. And we went through four accountants before we found the accountant we're currently working with. And it was the kind of thing where it was like, “Oh.” You know, we were like 24 when we launched our business. So it was like we had a college friend who was like an accountant for this other company. So maybe she could help us with our taxes. 

ERIN: Yeah. 

BIRD: And then that wasn't working out. So we went to like a client friend who kind of did the taxes for their own business. 

ERIN: Yeah.

BIRD: That was not a good idea. Then we went to like this big huge tax firm. And we were like, the small fish in the big pond kind of thing. So they weren't as, I guess, interested in us as a client because we weren't like making the big bucks, and so it just wasn't aligned. And then we found out Alby, our accountant and it just changed the game. And I remember sitting down with him in that first session and he was like, he showed me our tax return and he showed me this number that was a five-figure number, was a lot of money. He was like, “This line right here could have been gone. Like you could have saved like $16,000 last year.” 

ERIN: Yeah. 

BIRD: If you would have just done one small. 

ERIN: Yeah. 

BIRD: My heart just sank. It was like, it sank because it was like oh my goodness, our tax liability had gotten out of control. And it’s like that mo’ money, mo’ problems kind of thing. Especially when you aren’t doing things right in your business. The League had grown so exponentially. But we just didn't know. We just didn’t that it was as simple as… We weren't trying to avoid paying anything or… 

ERIN: Totally. 

BIRD: We just didn't know and so that's why I speak and that's why I have my podcast. That's why I do all the things I do. Because I want entrepreneurs to know those small little things. So just talk a little bit about why it's important to get this right early on.

ERIN: Yeah, no that's such a good question. I would say honestly it's so important to get it right early on because you're trying to do the best and serve your community in the best way possible. And the more money you can keep in your pocket, the more you'll be able to service the audience that you're serving, in that way. So that's number one. With that in mind, I would say, especially if you're just starting out, it's really important off the bat to ask yourself and spend a lot of time asking, “What are my overall business goals, and what am I trying to accomplish with this business?” Because one thing that we found last tax season, working with different small businesses is maybe they're growing rapidly and more quickly than they were expected to or they were prepared to. And so, let's say they launched merch. And then they also launched courses. And then they wrote a book. And they have all these revenues and they're also doing brand deals, especially influencers, which is an audience that we enjoy serving as well. But because they weren’t structured, and didn’t know, they weren't prepared for the growth that was to come. Like similar to your story. They wound up owing more in taxes than they needed to. And so when you really figure out what your business goals are, you can then create a tax strategy that complements that, so that you're keeping more money instead of paying the IRS so much money because you didn't have certain things set up. So that's a question we really encourage new business owners to ask themselves if what are they trying to build. And then also just paying attention to how much revenue are you making, you know, because your business structure also determines your tax liability. If you're a sole proprietor versus an LLC versus a corporation. And also just knowing how many transactions do I have as a business owner, determined by how much revenue you're bringing in. So for example just to make it super practical. If you're making less than six figures, you could do a sole proprietor. But we do recommend that people set their businesses up as LLCs because it protects them in so many different ways. Just with their personal assets which I'm sure that you've talked a lot about. But if they’re making $100K, if they’re making 6 figures, they definitely want to be an LLC. But if they’re making like $500,000 or more, Maybe even move to a corporation because there’s some tax loopholes that you can get around if you're starting to do salaries and different payrolls and stuff like that. So, the answers to those questions, inform your tax strategy, right? So if you're making a certain amount of revenue, and you have X amount of cash just kind of sitting there. Why not throw that into an IRA or 401K, because it's seen as an investment versus a tax liability. You know what I mean? Where you don't have to pay taxes on it. So that's one thing that we like to work with small businesses when it comes to tax strategy is, okay, your business strategy and your business plan work hand in hand with tax strategy. And you really want to have a tax strategy so that you're keeping as much money in your pocket as possible. And so those are the types of things that you want to think about as a business owner.

BIRD: I love it so much. Even to what you just said. Your business plan goes hand in hand with your tax planning and your tax strategy. Many who are listening know I have a program, it’s an online course called Prove It Plan. And there are these modules that we work through. Foundation. Financial. Operations. Marketing.  Really coming up with a strategic plan for your business. And in that financial module, we talk a lot about this. And you talked about knowing the goals and having a game plan for how growth looks. I think one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when they’re starting off, and we made this. It’s not thinking big enough. You’re like, I’m going to start this and try it and see what happens. And then, a year in, our first full calendar year, we had six figures in revenue. We were like, “Oh my goodness.” 

ERIN: You’re like, “What do I do?”

BIRD: Exactly. So we did not plan for scale from the beginning and it bit us in the butt, right? So, with Prove It Plan, you gotta start thinking about scale from the very beginning. And one of the things that I didn't know was filing as an S-corp for tax purposes. And so that was the thing that Alby was saying we could have avoided if we would have just filed a little bit differently. 

Anyway, I just, I love that you're giving some practical tips and having folks understand. Like there are, you can actually file for tax purposes. Like, we’re an LLC. But for tax purposes, we're an S-corp, which means we can just save a lot on some of these taxes. But when you’re an S-corp for tax purposes, you have to be able to pay yourself a reasonable salary.

ERIN: Right.

BIRD: You can’t always do that from the very beginning. And it doesn't have to be scary. I think a lot of times, entrepreneurs are like, “Ugh, I’ve been co-mingling my personal and business funds. I don’t have a separate business bank account setup. I’m afraid to go to a tax person or a, you know, bookkeeper because they’re gonna shame me. And it’s like no. You want to do this sooner than later. Like, they’re used to seeing people having a bunch of stuff messed up. It’s fine. Get it right now. 

ERIN: Exactly. And I think it’s just, sometimes you need to take a deep breath and just like humble yourself. It’s ok to not know everything, you know?  And find people that are willing to help you. That’s even why we, having gone through the tax preparation school and all of that. There’s still so much that I need to learn. That’s why we surround ourselves and our team with people that have a ton more experience than us. Especially business taxes. And then setting up a consulting model where people could like, “Hey, this is what I am. This is what I need. This is where I’m trying to go.” What do you recommend to get those answers for you so that you can be set up properly? So I echo everything you said. It’s like yes, yes, yes, Ashley. Totally the right thing.

BIRD: And I love that you said you don't have to know everything. I was working with a client recently who had been scarred by, I just say a business partner, someone who partnered with them in their business and was helping in a similar way. And she was like, “Look I’m doing everything myself. I'm negotiating my contracts.” And I was like, man, I know what it's like to have had that experience because there have been people I've hired onto my business, even this baby business. That when it messes up, you begin to lose trust and you want to control everything. Yeah, the reality is you will not grow your brand if you try to do everything yourself. At some point, you're going to have to outsource. You're going to have to relinquish control. And that takes a lot of trust. But if you're a photographer, you need to be focusing on the art of photography and making that just incredible for your clients. Not on how to do your bookkeeping every single month. It’s one thing if you have to do that in the beginning as you're just getting started. But as soon as you can, which you determine in a plan when you think about your goals, right? As soon as you have X amount in revenue or X amount in profit or X amount of clients you've worked with, you're going to switch over to outsourcing your bookkeeping so that you focus more on your competency of photography because that's what's going to really take your business to the next level. Not you trying to negotiate your contracts and doing your bookkeeping every month. 

ERIN: Yes, Ashley. Yes, yes. And I think as entrepreneurs too sometimes we get overwhelmed with all that we have to do. But when we’re able to focus on our gifts, that's actually how we're able to bring the best value to our customers and the people that we serve, and the community that we serve. But when we're divided because we’re trying to everything in all parts to all of the business needs, we’re really, decreasing the amount of value that we're able to bring to the communities that we serve. So it is imperative, again, that I just humble myself and say, “I don’t know everything, and I don't have to know everything. And I know that maybe I got hurt once or twice. But maybe, what did I learn so that I can figure out healthier relationships to partner with in the future. Whether it be a bookkeeper or a tax consultant or a business consultant. Or you know like, “Hey I want to sign up with Bird Williams.” Figuring that part out, even just being able to consume people's content at a baby scale so you can just learn what do they know, so I can get used to just trusting them and who they are and getting to know them a little bit more before you just jump all in. And that's just the power of the internet. But anyway, I just love everything you said and just have to echo that for sure. 

BIRD: Yeah. Love it. Awesome. Now, what are some of the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs making when it comes to their taxes? Like what are some of those mistakes that if someone's listening, and they’re like, “Okay, I get what you're saying. I need to go ahead and tackle this and stop avoiding it in my business.” What are some of those mistakes they can avoid when it comes to doing their taxes?

ERIN: Yeah, I would say the number one mistake that we've seen working with clients, up until this point, especially new business owners and entrepreneurs, is just the lack of keeping track of their expenses and categorizing them correctly. And because a lot of their expenses aren't categorized correctly, they wind up leaving a lot of money on the table. And wind up having to give the IRS a lot more money than they need to, especially if you’re just starting out. And, you know, since we're talking about photographers. They just go out the gate. “I'm just gonna do this client this wedding, this over here, this over here.” And they're just taking in all this money. But they forgot, hey, how much did it cost you to get to that venue? And how much did you buy for that lens in order to do that project and all of these things? Which then allows you to write off on your taxes so that your tax liability is a lot lower. And so that was one thing. It's just like such a simple thing. But a really important thing that we found a lot of entrepreneurs just not doing very well. It is like everything you spent, you can pretty much write off which will help your tax liability a lot lower so that you're able to keep more money as you're creating revenue and trying to serve the community in the best way possible. And so that's probably the number one mistake. And the other one that I can think of is just not thinking ahead as to how much money you’re bringing in. To your point earlier, we're just not thinking that there is a possibility that I can grow at scale a lot quicker. So what is my tax strategy, once again, to keep my tax liability as low as possible. So, those two things: thinking long-term as to how am I set up for the growth that could happen, and then also, am I keeping track of my expenses well enough so that I can write things off properly.

BIRD: I love that. And especially to your first point about tracking everything, I love to make things practical, right? So what happens when you get ready to launch a business? Ok, you have this idea. You start to think about, “Ok well maybe I need to have an LLC.” You might, you might start already having clients you’re working with. And you’re kinda trying to kind of figure it out, right, as you’re building all of this. This is all kind of happening. Maybe you don't have an LLC set up. But to your point, it's like, there will be expenses that you incur before maybe you have that separate business bank account. And of course, you want to get one as soon as you can. Even if it’s as simple as an Excel spreadsheet where you just have the downloaded transactions from your bank account, right? Even if it’s your personal bank account, that says, on this date, this was the transaction. This is how much you paid. And then you're going to put like a category column that says this is what this was for. I actually put it in a category. So maybe it was equipment. Like you said, a lens for a camera. And then have a note. “This lens that I bought was for this thing.” Or you know what I mean? Like to give you more context. Because three months from now, a year from now, when you’re doing your taxes, you’re not going to remember what that lens purchase was for or why it might be. And then once you do get… You can’t set up a business bank account if you’re going to be an LLC without having your LLC paperwork, right? So that means you’re spending $300 in Texas. In Texas, that's how much it costs before you even have your business bank account. So it's fine to have some of those expenses happen before you actually have your specific account. But it just matters that you track them so that your accountant enters, your bookkeeper can go in and reconcile all those transactions whether you say, okay, the sum of these transactions were an equity investment that I made into the business. Or you can reimburse yourself personally. Is that how it works? Have you seen it work like that?

ERIN: Yeah, I’ve definitely seen it work like that, for sure. 

BIRD: So that you can at least have it tracked, so that it’s not like, “Um, I don't know.” And then you can’t write any of those expenses off because they all came through your personal account. 

ERIN: Yeah. And we worked with a lot of clients last year that were just going off memory, unfortunately, where they needed to be consulted by you so that they could have a plan. Because they really didn't have a plan, you know. And so they were trying to go off memory, “I think I spent this and this and this, you know. And there’s just thousands of dollars left on the table. And we try to help people as much as we can. But we’re not in your brain. And we don’t know everything that you did, you know, so we can help you as much as we can. But in order to set you up successfully for next year, use this app. Or use this. Or you know, get a spreadsheet. All those types of things. Just to help, help you get inline, especially in the beginning and you may not be able to afford a bookkeeper. But like you said, until then, until I can get to that next milestone, for now, I'm going to do this and this and this every week. Once a week, I'm just going to review my books, put all the transactions in there, categorize them because you know, it helps with taxes. It really, really does.

BIRD: Yes, I love that. And I love that you said you have understood leaving money on the table doesn’t just mean oh, you will pay more in taxes this year, or you get less of a refund. It means that’s money, $3,000 that you could have not had to pay the IRS, could have gone into a marketing strategy to get the word out about your business to help more of the people that you serve. It could have gone toward a new product or service launch that better serves your community. But it can’t because you had to pay it to the IRS. 

ERIN: Exactly! Hey, it could have gone to them signing up with you so that they could then get things in place. You know what I mean? And I know I keep pushing you. But you’re great! You’ve helped us a lot. Like we consume your stuff, Delicia and I.  And so it's just figuring out, again, that money on the table can go to other things to help you get your business in a healthier spot so that you can better serve the community and the customers or the audience that you're in front of. 

BIRD: I love it. Awesome. Now, do you have any popular tax tips that you could share with newbie brand builders, folks who are just getting started, some tips, and things to think of? I know a lot of people wonder about, “Can I write off my cell phone bill? Or can I write off certain things?” I've been working with more influencers lately, and they're like, my photo shoot, like when I get my hair and makeup done, it’s ok to write off in certain industries and not in others. Right? So…

ERIN: Yeah, absolutely. And I would say, all those different things. Like things that we're not thinking about, such as. Okay, let's say you started a website on Squarespace. You can write that off. The domain you bought, the internet, the Wi-Fi that you use, depending on where you are. If you're working out of your home the square footage of your home office, you can write those things off. You can write off, yes if you get a photoshoot done because you're trying to promote a new product, because you’re gonna use those photos on Instagram to run ads or just to promote it. You can write that right off. You can write off consulting that you might get done to further your business. You can write that off. You can write off you pay taxpayer to file your taxes because it was supportive of your business. You can write off that as well. The mileage, that's a big thing too. I would say that people, kind of, “I don’t know if I want to track that. Cause it’s just up in here. But I’m just going down the street.” You know, and then that over a year, you can get money back from the miles that you spent. And so those things you can write off. I would say that where people, especially brands aren’t thinking a lot about what they can write off. It’s probably going to be in equipment and marketing. And also in contractors that they might hire to help them do something. Especially in the internet age, even as an influencer. You might collaborate with somebody. Or you might get a brand deal. Or you might have to pay somebody like $100 or something to get something done. All of those things you want to keep track of because you can write them off, especially when you’re set up properly, as an LLC or what have you, whatever structure you decided to set yourself up as. 

And so we actually have tax tips for influencers, a worksheet we put together where all of those categories are separated for you. And you can just literally line item by line item, add up all of the expenses under there that we put there for you such as the ones that I just said. And just write in the total amount that you spent on equipment, that you spent on contractors, that you spent on marketing and advertising. And we give you all that you need to think of. So you’re not having to think of it. We think of it for you, and you can just get it. Because I know it’s so helpful. Cause a lot of times people just don't know what they can write off. And so we've done all that hard work for you, especially for influencers. So that’s available on our website if you need something like that. But yeah, those are a few tax tips.

BIRD: Oh, that’s great. So where did you say that was?

ERIN: If you go to payitforwardtaxes.com and then click on our shop, you’ll see “Tax Tips for Influencers”.  And there’s a100 different write-offs that we put together for influencers. It’s $19.99. It's a digital worksheet you can write in. It’s just a helpful tool. Whether you work with us or whether you work with another tax preparer. Or hey, maybe you’re doing your taxes yourself. It’s definitely, definitely helpful to use that. 

After we worked with our clients last year, we were like, “Ok, let’s try to put something together for people that’ll be helpful. So that’s why we created this tool for this year. So I definitely think it will be helpful for people. 

BIRD:  That’s amazing! I love it. This has been such a fun conversation. I want to ask you this. It’s a question I like to ask guests. What is one thing that you can do this week to bring you closer to the best version of yourself? And I ask this question because I feel like there's all of this goal setting, especially toward the beginning of the year. And these big goals we have. And these big things we want to do and we don't often bring them down to the day-to-day tasks. Like, what can I be doing right now, to bring me closer to those goals? Really just to bring me closer to the best version of yourself. So how would you answer that question?

ERIN: Man, I would say, learning to Sabbath and learning to rest is really going to be helpful. Because, it is so important to slow down, take some deep breaths, and listen to your body and yourself. And ask yourself, “What do I need right now?” And that's something that I'm having to learn to do is to be aware of myself and what I need. As an enneagram three, I am an achiever. I go go go. I get it all done. I can do all of the things. But I'm really learning to slow down and say, “What do I need right now? Like I could go ahead and edit another video. But you know what. Maybe I'll just take a break and eat dinner, and just chill on the couch for a little bit.” Because the best gift that I can give to the community that I'm serving the best version of me, which is a healthy me. And in order for me to be healthy, I have to know what I need in moments. And I have to be willing to give myself, what I need. And so that's not something I would have said a year ago. But right now in this season, the message I'm echoing all the time is rest, Erin. Sabbath. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Listen to your body. Listen to what you need and give yourself what you need because that will make you more efficient in the things that you're trying to accomplish. 

BIRD: That is so real. And I know that so many entrepreneurs tuning in need to hear that. I need to hear that, Lord. Resting and taking a Sabbath. Because you get started, especially those first few years you’re just so busy and going nonstop. And it feels like everything is just demanding your time. But like you said. You won't be able to be the best version of yourself. The best chiropractor or the candlemaker or whatever it is that you do in your business if you are not feeding yourself. 

And, I actually did this devotional with, oh my goodness, her name, Beth Moore. It was “Chasing Vines”. Oh my goodness, it was incredible. And this is a question she asked in the book, and it's so resonated with me that I literally have it as a recurring event on the first of every month to have myself reframe my thoughts. And this is what she says, “Is what I'm doing, this action, approach, example, or instruction, bearing good fruit?” Is what I'm doing bearing good fruit? To your point, if you don’t stop and rest and take those deep breaths and take that moment to just say, “I could work. But instead I'm going to just pause.” You need to be able to ask yourself, “Wait a minute. This marketing strategy. Is it actually bearing good fruit? Is it helpful? Is it effective? I set my goals out. Is it actually getting me closer to those goals or am I just doing a whole bunch of stuff?” Though, I love that you said that. I thought of that when you mentioned it. 

ERIN: Yeah, and I love what you said too because then you start to ask yourself, “What are the things that are making my fruit toxic and not as healthy for the people that might partake of it, including myself?” You know, and even that just not getting enough sleep. Or I'm not drinking enough water. Or not letting myself get out of my house, and go for a walk and get some fresh air. But again, it takes time. You have to actually pause and ask yourself those questions in order to get to those spaces so you can answer them, you know. So just creating space for yourself is so important. So I love that. 

BIRD: Ah, that is so, so good. I love your answers to that question. And like I said, I’m not doing the best in that department right now. So definitely conviction and a heart check for me in this moment to get it together. 

ERIN: I get it. I get it. I’m there too But it’s like, I’m just trying. You know, baby steps. One little step at a time. 

BIRD: That’s right. Well, I loved our conversation so much. I know that it is gonna be so impactful for, like I said, the incredible entrepreneurs who tune in to Bird Means Business podcast. I’m excited that you put together a tax preparation checklist for them to be able to download. It’s super helpful for them to be able to kind of go through and just think, “What do I need to get together in my business as I get ready to file my taxes?” So thank you so much for doing that. I have it linked in the show notes. So you can go right to the show notes and click the link to download your tax preparation checklist.

ERIN: Oh, you’re so welcome. I’m so excited about that. I think it’s a very helpful tool. You might not work with a tax preparer this year. You maybe prefer to do it yourself because you’re just not at a point where you can afford to do that. And having something like that is going to be helpful for you, whether you do it yourself or you’re working with another tax preparer or you choose to work with us. It’s just gonna help you. And so I appreciate that you just gave us an opportunity to provide that. And I pray that it’s a blessing to a lot of people.

BIRD: Yes, especially when I think a lot of folks who tune in are really intimidated by getting with a CPA, getting with an attorney. This is your money team that I’m always talking about. But it’s really just cause we’re not very prepared, right? They’re just human people like us. We can talk to them. So I’ve created different guides where it’s like here’s an email script, like a literal template, where you can copy and paste. This is what you email them. And these are some questions to ask. And these are some things to think about. And so I love that this tax preparation checklist you created. It’s like look, Pay It Forward Taxes is where you should go. They’ll help you with your taxes. And you can go ahead and go through the checklist and say, “Look, I’m prepared. I know I have these things. I’m not really sure about it. I have questions about these other things on the checklist that I saw on the checklist. I don't know if it applies to me or what have you.” As opposed to just going in blindly and having to kind of start from scratch and not feeling as prepared. So again, thank you so much for developing that. I know it'll be super helpful to my audience. Thank you!

ERIN: You’re so welcome. 

BIRD: So share with me how people can connect with you online. I want you to let them know because, again, I just so love what you're doing with Pay It Forward Taxes and to seeing you grow and all the amazing businesses and people you've been able to serve. It’s just huge. So share how people can connect with you and learn more.

ERIN: Absolutely. So you can find us at payitforwardtaxes.com. That's our website and on there you'll see resources that we have. And you can sign up to get taxes done with us or to see the different tax tips that we talked about earlier. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn. We will be on Clubhouse soon too as well. And all of our handles are Pay It Forward Taxes, so you can find us in all the places. We just try to stay pretty active on those platforms as well. So if you send us a message we will get back to you. And we're happy to serve you. And I'm sad that my business partner, Delicia couldn’t join me today. A schedule conflict. But you can reach out to me or her and we're happy to serve you.

BIRD: Incredible. Awesome. Well, thank you, Erin. It has just been such a pleasure to have you on the show, and we'll have to have you back for sure… 

ERIN: Yeah, absolutely.

BIRD: …to talk more things taxes and all the fun stuff that people try to avoid. 

ERIN: We will be happy to.

BIRD: Well, awesome. And then we’ll have Delicia on as well.

ERIN: For sure. For sure.

BIRD: Alrighty, have a great day.

ERIN: You too. Thanks, Ashley!

BIRD: What did I tell you? That was so good, right? I am so glad we had Erin on the show. I really want you to go to their website and check out the services Pay It Forward Taxes has to offer. And if you're an influencer, or even interested in growing a brand as an influencer, check out the Tax Tips for Influencers worksheet deck that she mentioned. And for all of my entrepreneurs out there preparing for tax time, Pay It Forward Taxes is helping you get prepared with a tax preparation checklist that you can download for free. So, go to the link in the show notes to grab your copy, and you can feel more in control of your taxes this year. No matter how nervous talking about taxes and all this conversation around taxes may make you look, it's a key to unlocking all the potential your brand has to offer. So do not wait. Lean into this, even the hard stuff. And you got to just make it happen. Book a consultation call and just do it, so that you can build a better brand. 

Now, as always, thank you so much for tuning into the Bird Means Business podcast, for subscribing on Apple Podcasts, and for following us on Spotify. Make sure that you tell every entrepreneur you know about this episode so that they too can start thinking more strategically about their tax strategy. All right?

All right. Talk to y’all next week.