SPEAKER_01 0:00

More than your return on investment, you have to make relationships. If you can't talk to people, how are you gonna make a relationship with them?

SPEAKER_00 0:15

All right, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter. My name is Andrew Johnson, and I love having conversations with Northern Colorado's best networkers. Uh, my guest today, Richard Ross from Ross Professional Accounting for InTax. Uh, thanks so much for coming on the show. Hey, no sweat.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Glad to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Well, uh, some people know you from way back, Richard, right back in the DJ days.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Uh DJ for 41 years.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

41 years. Um, you probably you've seen some things, you create some energy. Man, I could tell you so many stories.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

We don't have time.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

I do want to get there is a good story in there of um what that did and how you transitioned to your current role. So um, and I love, I think it's really relatable as a as an origin story, your business of how you got to where you currently are. But take us into that transition and how it led to be you being a great tax professional.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Um I was a DJ for 41 years, and in the process of doing that, and when I say 41 years, I mean like I just did I have a gig next next in two weeks, right? Yeah so I'm still doing it, but uh not as often I don't want to. I was getting tired of the hours, right? I have two kids, I love them, I want to spend all my time with them, but it was just it was it it's separating me from my family. And uh so it was time to get out. My mother had told me that it would be a good idea for me to be a bookkeeper. So I figured I'd get into that first. And when I was in school, I had a problem with some taxes that happened, and I decided that was the route that I was gonna go to. And that was 14 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

And you are a tax expert, uh, from what I understand. So um share the difference for those who don't know the difference between like a CPA and an enrolled agent or just a traditional bookkeeper.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

Uh a bookkeeper is somebody they they they keep your books, they they work with your bank account, they w make sure that you know the money that you're spending is being um uh accounted for, right? Uh CPA gets more into other areas of compliance and things like that. And some CPAs do taxes and some people some CPAs don't. The certified public accountant part comes in. You have to have one if you are a publicly traded company.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

Right. If you're not publicly traded, you don't necessarily have to have a public accountant, certified public accountant. An enrolled agent is the highest uh certification or the highest designation, they say, that the IRS gives to a civilian. Meaning you have to pass all these exams that are strictly based on taxes. Right. And uh that goes over uh business, individual, and uh compliance. So when you deal with a CPA and they're doing your taxes, 80% of the time what happens is you walk into their office, you hand them all your paperwork, you walk out of the office, they grab your paperwork, turn around to an enrolled agent, hand it to them, right? And have them do it all, then they hand it back, and then they call you up and they give it back to you. So cut out the middleman and just go straight to an enrolled agent.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

That's good advice. Well, um, I mean, a lot of business owners, first of the years, Q1 2026, they're thinking about taxes. Um maybe they've even thought they had a handle on taxes, and then the government will pass a bill, and uh you know, there's no tax on tips potentially now, or uh different uh depreciation things that are happening. But it regardless, it's always changing, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:06

Different administrations it's always changing, and I gotta do 24 hours of CPE every year. So you're on top of it, yes, yes, in order to keep my designation. So, you know, by if you're planning or if you're if you're worried about what's going on in taxes by the first quarter of the year, the new year, you're already behind the curve. I'm feeling confronted right now, Richard. Yeah, right. I'm just saying you wanna you you you you wanna keep up with your tax person throughout the year. Um sometimes it's good to just let them do what they do because they're gonna handle all the stuff. You go spend the money, work on the business. You know, you I'm sure you've heard work on your business, not in your business. So do what you are good at and then have somebody else do what they're good at, delegate.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

We talk about the DJ and the hours. Uh, from what I know about tax time, is there's a lot of deadlines. And um I imagine you're you're pretty busy this time of year.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Aaron Ross Powell, I'm pretty fast too, though.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

And you're pretty fast. Okay. How do you yeah, especially if that's what you do? I mean, you can work through some stuff, but how do you manage the ebbs and flow of like April 15th, October 15th, uh different deadlines that people have to stay in front of?

SPEAKER_01 5:29

By the time you get to like April, the beginning of April, anybody who has is coming in then is coming in for an egg uh an extension. And I have a saying, if you don't have your act together by April 15th, you probably won't have your act together by October 15th. Just kicking the can down, right? Right. You just you know, oh, I can do it later. And then, you know, so I try and keep up on my clients even after the 15th. I'm calling them and saying, look, we've got you an extension, let's get your taxes filed. And they'll come, you know, a lot of them will come all the way up to the 15th of October with that extension. What a lot of people don't know, and I'm glad that we're getting this opportunity to tell them, is that just because you get an extension to file doesn't mean that you have an extension to pay. Sure. Right. So you're gonna start getting penalties as soon as it's not coming in. Right. But I I try and schedule my clients in before April and uh just keep on them. You know, just keep on them all the time. Give me this information. If I've got all the information, it's coming back to you quick.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Sure. You know, so um and business owners uh sometimes we have complicated tax situations. Um to an extent.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

I mean, it it everybody's different. Everybody's different. Sure. Right. And so with business owners, um you're dealing with a different kind of person. And it me, I've had a bunch of businesses, so I know how to talk to those people and I know how to speak their language and I know how to lean on them like they can, you know, because it it comes down to somebody's gonna hold you accountable, I'll do that for you. Right. That's my favorite of you, is to make sure that you are on understanding that this is this deadline's coming up, this thing's coming up. Okay, I can give you a little bit more time, but usually if you're with me from end to end, I've got you taken care of. You're not gonna be the guy who's telling me in the middle of the year that, you know, well, I really should have done this. Well, I already told you that in January. Yeah. You know, we got you covered.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Coach, coach us up.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Um well, I think too, your your insight into the business owners because you're looking at their returns or their books. Um you have you have a unique perspective. Um, what are a couple of quick, easy, quick wins that a business owner could do that would make themselves more successful or save themselves some money on their returns?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

First off, hire a bookkeeper. That's the first thing. Don't get your wife to do it. That'll create problems in your marriage. Right? Okay. Don't um don't try and do it yourself. What's your time worth? You you we all do this because we want to spend time with our families. We want to have um, you know, we want to have money to go enjoy. Get a bookkeeper. That's the first thing. That will save you time, and time is money. Second thing, keep track of your miles. It's 72 and a half cents a mile right now.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 8:42

For a deduction, right? So those are that's probably gonna be one of the biggest deductions that you get. And having a professional delegating that out to somebody else, it seems like you can't afford it. But usually if you're so small that it's easy, a bookkeeper's gonna work with you and it's not gonna cost you much, except time and money, and spend your money in the right places.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Um, is there any apps you recommend for the mileage or is it pen and paper? No, okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

Don't do pen and paper. There's an app that uh I was turned on to by one of my clients called uh MileiQ. Okay. And it's so easy. You load it in your phone, you just you swipe one way, you're going personal. You swipe the other way, you're going uh business miles. Interesting. And it's just like that at the end of the month. First of the year, always write down your mileage. Right? First of the year, first thing you do. Happy New Year. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's the small, easy things that will keep you ahead of the game. And I always tell my clients it's easier to keep up than catch up. Don't put it off. Just get somebody else to do it. Then it's on then it's their responsibility to have you caught up all the time.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Well let's talk about networking. Okay. Uh because you you're you're you've been in the networking scene, you built some relationships. Um I guess talk to me about your networking philosophy and some of your methods for success.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

I believe that you have to get over the shyness immediately. If you're gonna network with people, you know, and you go to networking events, walk in like you already know everybody.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

Well, I imagine your role as a as a DJ helps with that too. So um unpack that for me a little bit. Like, because what if I'm a shy, nervous person, Richard? I can't just give that up.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Pretend.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Oh, that's if you are a shy and nervous person, it's okay to be shy and nervous. Just not right now. So pretend that you're not that person. Pull a mask out of your your drawers and decide this is who I'm gonna be, and make sure that you talk to people when you go there, because otherwise, what are you doing? You know? And um it's important to follow up with people and it's important to keep your name and your face in front of people as much as possible. So when you join a networking group, you want to make sure you go all the time. It's you know, how are you gonna get your return on investment? But more than your return on investment, you have to make relationships. If you can't talk to people, how are you gonna make a relationship with them? And you'd be surprised. I I I met a guy last uh networking in action. The big or the yeah, last networking in action that we did, I met a guy at the table, we barely talked. We went and had lunch and we get along famously. Like I want to hang out with this guy all the time if I can.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Very cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

You know, so um it's uh it's you know, you're go there to make the relationships, go there to meet people and make friends. And if they see you as a friend, of course they're gonna read they're gonna refer you. Don't walk into a room and think that you're gonna get a hundred referrals when you walk in. You got a hundred people in the room. They're all gonna, you know, everybody needs taxes, but that doesn't mean that everybody doesn't already have a tax guy.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Sure. How many uh how many people just I mean, I see like the people in the Statue of Liberty things, or you go by Walmart, there's a kiosk, there's a lot of that stuff where they just no relationship, but they're doing their the taxes. But talking to you, you absolutely build relationships with your clients where or you'll even grow with a business when they file their returns, when they're a solopreneur, then they have small employees, and then they grow. Exactly. Um how important do you think it is that you actually have a relationship with your tax professional?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Invaluable. I I I would say the people that I'm looking for are the people that don't want they need more than what they're gonna get from HR Block or Liberty Tax or Jackson Hewitt, right? But they can't afford the bigger name companies, you know. And so I kind of get this little sweet spot right in the middle where you're just starting out or whatever. And when you know when somebody's birthday is and you send them a card in the middle of the year, you know, they think about that and go, oh, that's my tax guy, you know. When you walking down the street and you see him, hey, what's going on? That's my tax guy. So be the personality where they feel better about what they're doing and they're doing it with you, because I've got a different kind of personality than most tax people have.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Oh, you know, I was gonna mention, but you you're definitely you put the room, uh people remember your name. Whereas a lot of people like to just be on the computer or type it in, they're more reserved. They should come work for me.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

I'll do the rest. Okay. Right. You know, I mean, honestly, it's just having that kind of personality, people like that. And they, you know, I I have a a client who is a uh clinical psychologist. And every time he gets me on the phone, he's like, Man, you make me feel so much better. You make me feel so much calmer about this situation. And we always get it taken care of. You call HR block, you're freaking out, they're like, Okay, we'll fill out this paper, see you next year. That's just the wrong way to be.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

So as you grow, I mean you you collect people, but networking, um you know what is what is some of your strategy, who you're trying to network with to continue to gain clients or to I want uh small businesses, solopreneurs, and individuals, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Um because I can do individuals, but usually you really want somebody that's like they're just starting off. I'm just starting to do this, I'm not sure which direction I should go in, I don't know how to get this done, I don't know how to make an should I do an S-corp right now, should I do it later? I mean those things are important in the beginning of your business. So you come to me, I lead you down the right path so you don't make a bunch of mistakes. And you know, those are the people I want. I want the pe and you build that relationship, you know?

SPEAKER_00 15:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

And then hopefully 10 years down the road, you've got a chain of whatever it is that you do. You've got uh over a hundred employees and you're making a lot of money, and I'm the guy that's watched you grow the whole time.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Yeah. You uh you were part of that success team because they're actually focusing on the business. Um very cool. What take me through one of the persons you went out and you networked, um, and now you're generating referrals, you're sending business back and forth. You know, I'm curious how you uh uh develop those referral relationships and what you do to um support those.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Nanaska.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Okay, tell me about Nanaska.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

Um she and I met at a networking uh event a couple of years ago, right? We were both guests of this networking group that no longer exists. And uh she came to me for taxes, and now, you know, I got her an office around the corner from me. So we're in the same building. We we sit down, we talk about stuff. Uh she comes to me for advice on all that. It's kind of like having a niece in the building.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

And you, you know, we've developed this relationship where she's a really good advocate of me. Um, and I'm always looking for somebody that's needs her services. Yeah. You know, and so, you know, we're a couple years in. I do her whole family's taxes, not just hers, but her mother's and her brother, and you know.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Well, shout out to Nanaska, uh, former Connections That Matter podcast guess. And um, you know, it's funny because when I talk to her, she says the same thing about you. I love that about the referral relationships, is it's mutual. You know, you guys uh have a mutual appreciation of each other. And um, you know, out of all the ones that I would have thought of as an enrolled agent, the you know, cleaning maybe you wouldn't think of it as the main referral partner. But it's interesting how even across industries somebody could be a huge advocate. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

She was cleaning some lady's house a while ago. She ended up talking to this lady about me. I'm getting ready to do a presentation for uh seniors in February with this real estate agent, you know, all off of just you know, referrals that go down the line. So it's uh it's you never know who is gonna be the perfect person. You think in your head that you know, I'm I'm a I'm an accountant, I'm an enrolled agent, I do taxes, that would mean that I need people that are in the finance industry. Most of the guys that are in the finance industry aren't always a good fit for me. You know, there's a different kind of shark there. You know, um, and sometimes it's the people outside of that. I've got clients that are property managers that send people to me, I've got clients that are mechanics that send people to me, uh carpet guys that do that, uh windows, you know. So it's just be the person that makes the relationship, and then you'll see that they come from you. Like, you know. So it's good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Really good. Well, uh maybe somebody is looking at this episode and be like, I still haven't filed, I need to hire Richard. Um, or they want to network with a C with an enrolled agent because uh you're I'm you're in high demand. Every networking room I see you, uh they they're seeking out uh a tax professional. How can people get a hold of you? Uh and what's the best way to get on your calendar?

SPEAKER_01 18:58

Well, my phone number, yeah, 970-852-0990. My website, www.rosprofessional tax.com. You can catch me at Instagram with Ross Pro Tax Guy. That's uh that's another one. Let me see Facebook I Ross Professional. So I'm I'm out there.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Come network with you. We'll link all your contact information on social media as well when the podcasts come in. But um No, I think that my biggest takeaway, uh Richard, was uh having a relationship with people who are supporting your business, how important that is. Um is really good.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

One thing I want to say.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Because you mentioned people that haven't done their taxes in a while, right? One in 16 people have a tax problem with the IRS.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Really?

SPEAKER_01 19:51

So do not you've had people on your podcast, I will not out them, that have horrendous tax problems right now. Okay. I'm actually helping them. Okay. Um, but it's important to know that you're not alone. You're not the only person this has happened to, and it's it's not as scary as you think it is. They're not, they're not, they don't want all your stuff. They just want their money.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

So I always say your taxes don't have to be taxing.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Oh, I like that. That's a good takeaway. Well, we'll end on that, uh, Richard. Um, thanks so much for coming on Connections That Matter, and we'll see you around uh the Northern Colorado networking events for sure. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado. I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh, go in the podcast description. There's the ways that you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.