Reading a pay stub can be confusing. What are all the things that get taken out before the money hits your bank account?
Let’s go through the most common line items on a pay stub and explain what they mean, which ones you can adjust, and how they affect your tax refund.
IRS withholding calculator: https://apps.irs.gov/app/tax-withholding-estimator
Tyler Smith:
Todoist, much as we love it, is a task management tool, not a project management tool. What if we treated it that way?
Today, Tyler explains a shift he’s recently undertaken in project management that has made it easier to keep the proper perspective and get the right things done.
Steve confesses that weekly reviews are probably worth his while.
And Tyler unexpectedly falls in love with Apple Mail because of Focus Modes.
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
This one is a bit, um, wide-ranging. And nerdy. It’s a window into the minds of your esteemed hosts.
We talk about email management and apps and workflows.
We talk about podcast management and apps and workflows.
Tyler agrees to try an experiment with Apple Mail.
Tyler Smith:
We take a few minutes to look back on the interviews we had during the “Many Hats of an Entrepreneur” series over the past few months.
Steve resonated with growing slowly and intentionally. Tyler learned a lot about marketing.
And we’re both looking forward to future episodes with just the two of us: book clubs, nerdy deep dives into our tech stacks, reports of home maintenance projects, and probably at least one mention of McDonald’s.
Tyler Smith:
You know you need a website, but maybe it’s a daunting task. Today’s guest explains everything you need to know to get started on your business website, whether you decide to DIY it, hire a professional, or something in between.
James Hagen is a web designer who works with business owners and budgets of all sizes to make sure the right thing gets built to do the right job for the right customers.
We discuss:
James Hagen:
Timestamps:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
Whether you think you're a good storyteller or not, it's a skill worth developing. Today's guest, Stephen Steers, is the author of Superpower Storytelling. He walks us through how to get better at storytelling and why it's such a powerful tool in sales, in business, and in life.
Along the way, we discuss why it's so important to reframe sales not as a battle to be won with the right pressures and tactics but as a collaborative problem-solving exercise that helps everyone.
Stephen Steers:
Tyler Smith:
For the business owner, transitioning from being a soloist to being an employer is tricky and full of potential pitfalls. How do you navigate it successfully?
On this episode, we speak with Vanessa Gutierrez, a human resources expert who helps startups implement, streamline, and optimize their people operations. That covers everything from writing job descriptions and offer letters, to keeping employees apprised of local labor laws, to making sure payroll runs properly.
If you're thinking it might be time to hire someone--whether full-time or part-time, W-2 or contractor--this conversation will give you some ideas to explore and some questions to ask as you evaluate your options.
Vanessa Gutierrez:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
Health insurance can be intimidating, especially when you first go out on your own and don't have an employer-sponsored plan to fall back on. In these transitions, having a health insurance broker can be a huge help.
Today, to discuss the complexities of individual health insurance, we speak with Mitchell Underwood. He helps solopreneur and small business clients evaluate their options in private insurance as well as government-subsidized marketplace insurance.
What do you need out of a health insurance plan? What is your budget? Where do you live? What doctors and networks are available in your area? When do you need coverage to start?
These questions will help guide you toward the right choice for yourself, your family, and even your employees (if you have them). Mitch walks us through each of them and their implications.
Mitchell Underwood
Links:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
You're probably already allergic to manipulative sales tactics, and your customers are too. So how do you get better at sales without pushing prospects away?
Today we interview Landon Pitcher, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer of Listo Global, who has a wealth of sales experience. He talks about transferring enthusiasm, selling without "commission breath," practicing the craft, and keeping your sales pipeline full.
Solopreneurs have a particular advantage when selling our services, because we're also the people in charge of delivering the service. We're deeply in touch both with what our customers need and what it takes to get them there.
Landon Pitcher, Co-Founder of Listo Global
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
While it might be easy to jump straight into marketing tactics (posting on social media, making videos, running paid ads), your marketing will be much more successful with the proper strategy in place.
Today, Juliana Weiss-Roessler talks in depth about getting the right business strategy, brand strategy, and marketing strategy for your business. Once you have those, you can follow the experimental process of plan--implement--measure--repeat to find the marketing channels and approaches that consistently find and convert the right kind of clients for you.
Whether you need tools to DIY your marketing or you're ready to hire (fractional) help but don't know what you're actually buying, Juliana's advice will get you on the right path.
Juliana Weiss-Roessler, founder of WR Digital Marketing
Links:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
How much money does your business need to make for your life? Would you rather have an extra $50k this year or get back 10 hours a week? What time bucket of your life are you currently in?
Erica Goode, CPA, is a fractional CFO serving coaches and consultants, but she offers so much more than just financial guidance to her clients.
Her own journey to business ownership is unique and refreshing, and it embodies her mindful and intentional philosophy. The kids will never be young again, the teenagers are only this way right now, and maybe your travel preferences will evolve over time. So recognize what phase of life you're in now and strike the balance that best aligns with your values.
This conversation started with what a fractional CFO can do for you, but it evolved into something much more personal and meaningful. Come along for the ride!
Erica Goode, CPA
Links:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
If you're a tech professional at a big company or a small startup, chances are good that you get at least some of your compensation in equity: stock options, restricted stock units, ESPPs, etc.
All these forms of equity have their own nuances and tax implications, and figuring out how they fit into your larger financial picture can be confusing.
Today our guest is Alex Crouch, CFP, the founder of Tech Financial Planning. His firm specializes in helping tech professionals answer these complicated questions in the way that best suits their financial goals.
We discuss the major forms of equity compensation, what's unique about each, and what factors to consider if they're part of your compensation package.
Alex Crouch, CFP
Links:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
What do a meteor strike, a laptop in a canoe, and a cyberattack have in common?
They all require you to have a business continuity plan, both so you don't lose your data and so you can continue operating the business even in a disaster.
Today we welcome Don Sesler of Sageplan Technology Consulting to talk about the nuts and bolts of cybersecurity and IT for solopreneurs. Whether you want to DIY or you're ready to hire it out, Don shares a wealth of information that will point you in the right direction.
Small businesses like ours usually aren't the target of cybercriminals, but we can be collateral damage. And the way you recover from a cyberattack is the same way you recover from any other catastrophe, so having good systems and plans in place will protect you no matter what comes your way.
Don Sesler, owner of Sageplan Technology Consulting
Links:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
We're back with a new series of interviews, and this episode introduces the theme: the many hats of an entrepreneur.
Our framework is the "five parts of every business" proposed by Josh Kaufman in "The Personal MBA": value creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, and finance.
What are each of these things? What does it look like to perform all of them as the solo entrepreneur? What does it look like to hire out certain functions to fractional specialists? What do each of those things look like in Steve and Tyler's businesses right now?
In the next episode, we'll start the first of the interviews in the series.
Links:
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
Coming up in a few weeks: a new series of interviews with experts in areas of business where you might want help: marketing, finance, IT, management, operations, insurance, and so forth.
You, as a solopreneur, have to wear all the hats of a functioning business, even if you're not an expert at all of them. Sometimes you'll want to outsource a particular function and hire a professional to do just that piece. Sometimes you'll want to keep doing it yourself, but you want to get better at it. Sometimes you don't even know that it's important for the business and you need someone to give you an introduction.
Wherever you are in your business journey, this series will give you ideas, milestones, guideposts, and practical tips to continue growing and getting better at what you do.
We're taking off a few weeks to prepare, but we'll be back soon to share this exciting series with you!
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
What if you could put all your bills on autopay, treat your credit card like cash, and step back from the stress of worrying about when your transactions happen?
That's the peace of mind available when you get to YNAB Rule 4: Age your money.
When the money you're spending today was earned long ago, you can suddenly let go of a whole category of money stress that you might not even realize you have.
Tyler and Steve demystify the "credit card float" and illustrate with cafeteria-style cereal dispensers.
If after all this you'd like one-on-one guidance through your money journey, Tyler is the coach for you.
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
Best-laid plans rarely survive contact with reality, but getting your budget to reflect reality is where the clarity comes from.
Tyler and Steve have both had aspirationally-too-small budgets for groceries and eating out. What to do?
Rule 3 empowers you to get your budget to show what's actually happening and align the way you spend your money with the things you actually, truly value.
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
In part two of our series, we discuss YNAB Rule 2: Embrace your true expenses.
Not every expense happens regularly or predictably. Budgeting for the infrequent or high-impact purchases that happen throughout the year increases your resilience. It can even take circumstances that used to be emergencies and convert them into mere inconveniences.
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith:
The first episode in four-part series on the YNAB Four Rules.
Today: Giving every dollar a job, and why embracing the reality of your financial picture empowers you with clarity about your priorities.
Tyler Smith:
Tyler and Steve have a McDonald’s…problem? And Steve dives into the numbers to figure it out.
Along the way, they discover the value of McDonald’s rewards points, what lessons Tyler learned from how McDonald’s prices different sizes of fries, and how to run what-if scenarios.
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Steve Nay:
Tyler Smith: