Tag: Business Tips

Thoughts From Friends- What’s Your Best Business Tip for 2021?

On Monday I asked my social media community to do the following:

“Hit “reply” and share your best business tip for 2021.”

I asked everyone to give a tip that really takes into consideration 2020 and what’s happening in the world today. I received a lot of great responses from all around the world (my favorite part) and am sharing them here with you.

Focusing on the needs of each other and showing more kindness and empathy seemed to be the primary theme in most of the responses. Take a look and let me know what your take-a-way is.

If you didn’t originally respond to my question on social and would like to add your thoughts and best tip for 2021, by all means please do so in the comments below.

From Twitter

“My number one tip: Just say hello to more people on social platforms and offer them a meaningful and supportive comment about their post. Your reward will amaze you. You will not need to look for business anymore.” -@ArtsandClouds

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“Take an accounting of your life and share a personal story with five people with whom you want to strengthen your relationship. There is no better way to form an trustful bond .”  -@nealagoldstein

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“Instead of looking forward, look back at your background, experiences, relationships and interests to uncover common patterns and transferable skills. Then, think about your #lifeskills, unique to you and a competitive advantage. #DecodeYourValue” -@wendyglavin

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“Prioritize a healthy work/life balance. It’s more important than ever and your work will reflect either the chaos or the calm of your personal life.” -@Hope4Fashion

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“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.” -@thisdogcanhunt

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“If you make your day about helping others and giving back it will come back to you in so many good ways as long as you keep putting out positivity and helping others.” -@thayeristhere

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“Don’t be a cheapskate play fair because when you play fair you get promoted and everyone wants to work with you.” -@jawad_sharief

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“Don’t bad mouth competitors in front of potential customers. That negativity can ruin your chances. No comment is better.” -@gstockton

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7 Business Tips for 2021

Yesterday on Clubhouse (an audio only social media platform), I shared these 7 action items that my law firm and consulting services are focusing on while moving forward with business in 2021. The ideas were well received and so I’m sharing them here too.

The goal is to take what my different business teams learned in 2020 and use that information to better serve our clients while protecting the long-term viability of our businesses moving forward in 2021. Most of these ideas we actually initiated years ago but, we’re improving upon what we’ve been doing because of the lessons we’ve learned from COVID-19, social distancing and working from home. I hope these ideas plant a few seeds giving you new ideas moving forward.

#1 Communicate with clients the way THEY want to be communicated to.

Our clients and customers all have a lot on their plates right now. With this in mind, do your best to communicate with them in a way that reduces friction and makes it as easy as possible. If a client wants updates by text, give them text updates. If a client wants to see your smiling face via Zoom, use Zoom. Give clients what they want and you’ll be thought of as part of the solution and not the problem.

#2: Build life-long relationships: Pay attention to who promotes you. Stay top-of-mind by paying attention to your brand advocates.

If there’s one thing we learned in 2020, it’s that relationships matter. People who like, respect and trust you, will go out of their way to help you. They understand when things take a bit longer because services are delayed or shut down (our courthouses are basically closed), that we’re all in this together. As a matter of fact, because they trust you, they rely upon you more than ever in times of need.

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Five Things Business Owners Need to Know About Finances, Investments and Retirement in 2021

LIVE TODAY AT 3 PM PT (6 PM ET)

I asked my long-time friend, David Lopez, to share a few tips with my community because frankly, this is one area where I see business owners drop the ball. Our conversation will focus on finances and is designed to help you make smart decisions with money management and financial planning. Why is this important? Because doing so allows you to minimize taxes, maximizes profits, and help you put more money aside for growth, your family, fun and retirement.

David is a skilled and experienced financial advisor. He’s going to share more than 25 years of expertise and we’re going to chat about five things you should focus on in 2021 to move forward towards obtaining financial security and in some cases, independence.

Here’s a bit more about David:

David S. Lopez graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1989 and became a Submarine Officer; he then qualified as a Nuclear Engineer Officer. He served for 7 years and was 3 times awarded the Navy Achievement Medal and also awarded the Navy Commendation Medal. In 1996 he was honorably discharged from the Navy and he began his career as a Financial Advisor.

How many Nuclear Submarine Engineer Officers have you met in your lifetime? Pretty cool right!

Between now and showtime, you can connect with David at South Orange County Financial Planning or call 949.542-3316

HOW MR. BEAST CAN LEGALLY AVOID PAYING UNNECESSARY TAXES

Mr. Beast aka Jimmy Donaldson is killing it on YouTube. I enjoy watching and sharing his content with all my friends. Great stuff Jimmy! You can watch Jimmy’s videos here.

Last night before bed I was clicking around on YouTube and came across this interview Mr. Beast had on the #H3Podcast with @h3h3productions @teddyfresh @HilaKleinH3. The topic was Jimmy’s complicated taxes. Here’s the YouTube link of the conversation.

Truth be told, most business/tax lawyers and accountants would cringe while listening to this conversation. I didn’t. I get it.

Mr. Beast is a creator. He’s doing what he loves to do and there’s nothing wrong with that. He’s pulling in millions of dollars a month from YouTube and the dude is super generous because he’s also giving away millions of dollars in cash and gifts each year on his YouTube channel.

In fact, it’s my understanding Mr. Beast wants to use his wealth to build hundreds of homeless shelters/food banks and give away all the money. That is so cool. Seriously, check out this content– pretty damn impressive and entertaining.

In any case, earlier today on my run I started to think about Mr. Beast and shot this video with my GoPro9. There are so many things that literally jump out at me that he can/should look at, and probably do, that will not interfere with the creative side of his content but will reduce state and federal incomes taxes and maximize the protection of his personal assets (bank account, house, favorite dog) from his business liabilities.

Doing so will allow him to create MORE wealth to donate or give away (BTW, there’s a right and wrong way to do this under the tax code). Hey, when you’re a trial lawyer with 34 years of experience, this is just how your brain works. Sorry not sorry. I’ve even discussed a few of these things over the years right here at my blog. Simply use the search bar for answers.

Hey Mr. Beast, if you haven’t done so already, surround yourself with a good business/tax attorney and CPA. Not only will you protect your wealth and business interests, you’ll also have more options than you ever thought possible and MORE money to give away to the homeless shelters and food banks because you didn’t pay as much in state and federal income taxes. And for the record, I have no problem paying taxes but I personally do wish our governments didn’t waste so much of our money. Maybe that’ll be a topic for another video in the future 😉

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Update- after I shot this video I learned that Jimmy’s multimedia talent management company is “Night Media” which is a creative outpost for the largest creators on the internet. His manger is Reed Duchscher, who’s an impressive dude, so I’m sure Mr. Beast is in good hands and all this stuff is being covered. The idea behind this post is to give creators something to think about and hopefully get them to move in the right direction. You can connect with Night Media here.
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OK. That’s it for now. Everyone please hang in there. I know we’re in tough times. I get that. But, I think it’s important that we all continue to try to move forward, lift each other up, and make each day our masterpiece.

Yours in service,

Mitch Jackson, Esq.
See recommendations/testimonials here

JASON FRIED (CEO of Basecamp and the New Email Platform HEY.COM)

Say hello to Jason Fried, Co-Founder and CEO of Basecamp and the brand new HEY email platform and service.

Basecamp is an all-in-one toolkit for working remotely with millions of users and thousands of new users signing up weekly. Hey.com is the new email platform that’s changing how email is looked at, handled, and experienced.

Jason is also co-author of Getting Real, REWORK, Remote, and “It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work” (click here to view on Amazon). If you’re looking for a better way to build and run your company, tap into how Jason is going about the entire process. We run our firm in a similar fashion and it’s the best decision we’ve made since opening up shop back in 1986 😉

Grab a beverage of your choice, bring your questions, and say hello to Jason Fried!

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Watch live (and recorded) on all the top platforms. It’s probably best if you start here at my “HackingLegal/Social/Life” shows.

This is What Fraud Looks Like

This cashier’s check is fake.

I received a phone call from a potential client, Jeffrey Miller (not his real name), who allegedly had settled an employment discrimination and harassment claim against Walgreens for $101,580.00. It had been about a month since the settlement, and he hadn’t received the funds. He claimed that Walgreens’ told him that because of COVID-19, everything was put on hold. He wanted to retain my firm to get paid without further delay.

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