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Charge Forward Podcast
The Charge Forward Podcast: Dedicated to those who choose to Charge Forward into the Storm when hit with challenges. This is what makes them different and has lead to their success. When in doubt.... Charge Forward!
Charge Forward Podcast
Mastering Tax Strategies and Seizing Opportunities with CPA Valerie Kemp
Episode 2:
Mastering Tax Strategies and Seizing Opportunities with CPA Valerie Kemp
🎙 Valerie Kemp joins us today on the Charge Forward Podcast and shares her tips, tricks and insights on how to optimize your tax strategy.
*Spoiler Alert! Tax Planning Meetings are Critical to minimizing your tax liabilities. Valerie shares her tried and true method to optimization.
What happens when an unexpected job opportunity redefines your career? Join us on the Charge Forward Podcast as we sit down with Ms. Valerie Kemp, a dynamic CPA who transitioned from her family's grocery business to a successful career in accounting and tax planning.
Valerie shares her inspiring journey, beginning with an unforeseen chance to work for a local attorney and CPA, Tom Harris, whose mentorship transformed her initial reluctance into a passion for numbers.
In this episode, Valerie reveals the power of strategic tax planning for business owners. Learn why regular tax consultations and a collaborative team approach are vital for optimizing tax liabilities and driving business growth. We dive into essential strategies like property exchanges and employee compensation plans that can make a significant impact on your financial health. Valerie also provides expert tips on evaluating the quality of a tax advisor and the importance of mid-year and fourth-quarter planning to align your financial goals seamlessly.
Beyond the numbers, Valerie opens up about the importance of financial literacy and mentorship. Discover how her father’s advice on simplifying complex concepts shaped her career and why she finds joy in mentoring young professionals and teaching children about money management. This episode is packed with valuable insights, practical advice, and heartwarming stories that highlight the profound impact of education and mentorship in both personal and professional success.
Whether you're a business owner looking to optimize your tax strategy or someone inspired by stories of resilience and growth, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Tune in to explore how seizing opportunities and mastering financial strategies can foster lasting change in your life and career.
You can contact Valerie Kemp CPA for more information at https://vkdcpa.com/ or at 615-792-1766
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Hey team, thanks for joining us for the Charge Forward podcast. Today I have an amazing guest, Ms Valerie Kemp. She's a local CPA, just an absolute rock star in that space, and this is one of those topics that's near and dear to my heart. Good morning, Ms Valerie.
Speaker 2:Hey there, how are you?
Speaker 1:I'm fantastic. So you know, I think for a lot of people they fear taxes, they fear looking at it. It's almost like was it Schrodinger's cat, where if you don't look in the box you don't know if the cat is alive or dead. And if you're a Big Bang Theory watcher, well then, maybe you got that reference. Do you find that to be the case, or am I off the market there?
Speaker 2:No, you are totally correct. Most people, when they hear what I do for a living, they say if I had to wake up and do that, I would never get out of bed. And so most people are fearful of taxes. Just the word taxes causes anxiety to come up for them, and I must have something wrong with me, because I really like it.
Speaker 1:Well, and one of the things that I find interesting about kind of your path to where you are today, owning your own firm and doing fantastic work out there. I love referring you because I know that you're going to get them taken care of and that they're going to be in much better, better situation than they are usually elsewhere. But one of the things that I love is that it's not like you woke up and decided you wanted to go into taxes. How did how did you kind of end up doing taxes and becoming a CPA?
Speaker 2:So I did not wake up one day and think my gosh, I want to do taxes for a living. So my parents owned some grocery stores in a small town outside of Nashville and I worked for them as I was going to college and I thought my father should run his business a certain way and he thought that he knew what he was doing, which he did because I was like 19 at the time. And so a woman came into the store one day and she was being very loud and obnoxious talking about this old man that she had just quit her job with, and he was just the worst, most horrible person in the whole entire world, and I wanted to not work with who I thought was the most horrible, which was my father at the time and I asked her where she worked and where she just quit, and she told me about an attorney who was also a CPA, and I called him up on the phone and I said, hey, I hear you're hiring, and he said yes, and I went and I called him up on the phone and I said, hey, I hear you're hiring Um, and he said yes, and I went and interviewed with him that afternoon and it turned out he was my father's accountant. So he called my dad and he said your daughter has interviewed with me to um, have a job as a receptionist, making making coffee and making copies. And, uh, I'd like to hire her, but I know that she works for you. And my dad said hire her, but I know that she works for you. My dad said take her, take her away from this grocery store, teach her your ways and what I think worked so well. And why I gravitated toward that is because I was raising the home of entrepreneurs, so I didn't realize that I was learning a lot of the things that business owners and accountants need to know. So it worked out really great.
Speaker 2:The rest is history. He was the gentleman I worked for. Tom Harris was an ex-Belmont professor. He used to teach tax and accounting there and then he opened his own firm. And so I trained for 10 years with a man who was actually a college professor in the subjects that. So it worked great when I went to college, but that's how I became a CPA.
Speaker 1:So I guess you could say accounting and doing taxes really found you.
Speaker 2:Oh, it absolutely did yes.
Speaker 1:Now, one thing that you said in that story that I find interesting one. It does play into the fact that you family was born entrepreneurs and you were raised in that household. But most people wouldn't think to listen to that woman talking about she had just left the job and then to use that information to call and say, hey, I want a job.
Speaker 2:I don't know what made me do that. Other than I knew me and my father were probably going to kill each other if I continued to work for him, and my father was a great, great man. But when you're, you know, 18, 19 years old, you think you know more than him, and so we were butting heads constantly. And it was a job in the small town I lived in, and those were few and far between, so I jumped on it.
Speaker 1:Fantastic.
Speaker 2:Plus she seemed kind of crazy anyway, so I figured he's probably an all right person.
Speaker 1:Right Now. And so in that process because you started, you were making copies and you know your entry level position at that time how did that kind of transition into? You know what? I'm going to go become a CPA.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I started out like you said, making copies and typing up legal briefs and helping put together tax returns. And then one of the girls who works there doing taxes actually got mono and was out for several weeks. And the man that I worked for was an older gentleman. He was in his 60s and not to age myself, but computers were not always the mainstream up until that point, and so he wrote out his tax returns by hand and he said, honey, do you know how to use a computer? And I said, yes, sir, I do. And he said, well, I know how to do taxes. We're going to sit at a computer and we're going to do them together. And so I sat there with him and I was like man, this is like solving a puzzle.
Speaker 2:And I loved puzzles and clue and board games and all that kind of stuff and it was like it was like that to me. It was like a big puzzle, um, and I just gravitated toward it and I loved it. So um changed my major from just business um to accounting and the rest is history.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it Now. Right now, you're in the middle of a growth cycle.
Speaker 2:We are.
Speaker 1:At your firm.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So how did you come to that, how did you decide, or what made you decide? You know what? I'm ready to grow.
Speaker 2:Well, I think growth just found me. Middle Tennessee is booming right now. There's so many different industries that are moving here, there's so many people that are moving here, and then all of these large, large companies like Oracle, and we've got HCA and Staples that have always been here in Middle Tennessee. They have auxiliary businesses that feed into them, and so there's just so many businesses here right now and we're having to turn business away, and I don't want to do that. I want to help as many people as I can, and so we have decided to add more staff so we can accommodate more clients.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. You know, when we first started talking about posting for the position and those types of things, you were a little concerned about. You know, what are people going to think? Well, you know how will they take it, and you know. Then we kind of walked through that Well, no, this is a good thing. This is a good thing for the firm, this is a good thing for our employees, this is a good thing for whoever we bring into the firm to help our clients, and I think it just flipped a switch for you in that. Okay, now, this is a good thing.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I think so many things are about perspective, and so you helped me see a different perspective than what I was looking at, because what I was looking at was, well, if I say that I'm hiring another person to help with taxes and another CPA, then my clients are going to say, well, valerie doesn't want us anymore, she doesn't have time for us, and so that's not it. What you helped me see is we want to serve you all in a better capacity and be able to provide even more services, and so there is that trepidation when you're making different moves with your career, with your business, and so, for me, I've always been a team player. I like having a team approach to decisions like that, because I know I see things one way and that may not be the only way to see them, and so I appreciate your perspective in helping me understand that, that it could be perceived that you are going to provide a level service, um, and so, yeah, I appreciate that a lot. Life is about perspective.
Speaker 1:It is about perspective, and there's a million different ones out there.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And and then. Part of it, too, is you owning that narrative and saying this is why we're growing, instead of letting people fill in their own blanks. So now, through all of this, anybody that owns a business knows it's not all easy. It's not all making your own. So many people think, oh well, they get to make their own schedule, they get to do this, they get to do that. What are some of the hardest things about running a business, specifically running your business, that maybe you didn't know in the beginning?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that I want to touch on one thing where you said that people think, until they are business owners, that you get to make your own schedule. Now, I do get to make my own schedule. I can come in at three o'clock in the morning, I can stay till midnight, you know. So there is some flexibility there. But I did, I think, I underestimated the importance of work-life balance. And so when I first started in business 16 years ago, I'm going to work, I'm going to work, I'm going to work, I'm going to work and make this into the best business it can be, and I'll have a personal life when I retire in my 60s. And that doesn't really sit well after months and months and months and months. So I would encourage anybody who is an entrepreneur starting a business or anybody who owns a business right now to make sure that you have work-life balance, because at some point you become unproductive if that's all you're doing, so you've got to have outlets. I like yoga, I like working out. Well, I don't know if I like working out, but it helps me mentally be sharper and just family time and having some downtime too. So I think that's really important.
Speaker 2:And then another thing I think in business for me that I've had the most difficulty in is managing people. So I think that I'm very good at taxes and tax planning and all that kind of stuff. Everything I learned in college and then learned working for 10 years with a tax attorney. That's my bread and butter. But no man can be an island, and so I had to hire staff after a year or so in business and we have a staff of six plus myself, and so that is not a really big part of my wheelhouse, you know, and I've had to cultivate those skills and reach out to people that can help me cultivate those skills and just help me with that in general. And so that's the toughest thing for me so far has been finding work-life balance and managing people, because I want everybody to like me and not all conflict is bad and there are ways to resolve issues, and, jim, you can probably speak more to that because you've been a big part of helping me with that.
Speaker 1:Well, that's one of those fun if it's not your team, it's almost like a puzzle. Kind of like you find taxes like a puzzle, I find teams like a puzzle.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And early in my career to me, I was the same way, in that I struggled between that balance of. You know, I want people to like me and I want to get the job done, and then, you know, at some point it transitions more into. You know we're going to respect each other and this is going to be a team approach, and you know we've even talked about the difference between calling people part of family and calling the team Right. On a team, everybody has a role and so there's an expectation, whereas with family you can have expectations but you're usually going to be let down.
Speaker 2:You can all love each other, but you can't expect too much out of each other. That's right.
Speaker 1:That's right, but that's just part of growth. It's one of those things. If you wanted to just do taxes, well, you'd still just be you doing taxes, and so I commend you. I think it's great that you're growing and taking care of more people, and part of that process is also really hammering out what you do.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And so I know a significant amount of time has been spent on figuring out like really where y'all kind of specialize, and when you hear a client has this type of business you get excited and so what does that look like? What is the right client for future growth? Look like for Valerie Kemp, cpa.
Speaker 2:Well, my bread and butter client that I feel like I do the best for is basically if I took my parents' business as a template. So my parents had some retail grocery stores.
Speaker 2:They also had investment properties multiple businesses and so what I love helping people do is take those multiple businesses and structure things in such a way that they can keep the majority of their dollar because, you know if you're making money, you're going to pay something in taxes, and so we want to minimize that and use what they're already doing and the businesses that they already have to help create the best financial picture, the best tax strategies to put in place for them, and just a team approach, and so I have derived the most satisfaction. Helping clients like that and that would be what we want to do is A to Z everything you need from accounting and tax wise. We want to be there for you to do that.
Speaker 1:Hence another reason why you're growing, yeah, while you're adding to the team.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:I love it. You know, one of my favorite things that you guys do and I know some of this just sounds like a brag cycle is I think you all do a much better job than a lot of places out there in tax planning. And I think a lot of business owners, a lot of entrepreneurs they don't understand the value of tax planning until they have somebody that does it right. And so you know, I know even now you struggle to get people to come in for their tax planning sessions, but that's where the real magic happens.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I mean, if you only see your accountant once a year, when you're dropping off that shoebox to get your taxes done, you are missing something I can guarantee you. I don't know your exact situation, but if that's all you're doing, then you're missing some critical strategies that you could be using. And so it's like I tell a lot of people I don't want to turn away business, but if all you want me to do is take your numbers, regurgitate them into a tax return, you look smart, jim, get on TurboTax or something like that and do it yourself. So what I think we excel at is helping people figure out the best ways to handle their situation. You know, you may have children that are working in the business and helping, and there are ways to pay them.
Speaker 2:Um, you maybe want to sell a piece of property. There's a section 1031, exchange you could do if you're wanting to buy it. So there's all different types of tax strategies, but if you don't see me before the ball drops on New Year's Eve, I can't help you with that. And so I would tell anybody and not just people that are entrepreneurs or own their own businesses, but anybody that has more than just a W-2, they ought to be talking to their tax advisors on a regular basis, at least a semi-annual and a year-end kind of consultation, and it's worth their fee. Most of the time it'll take 30 minutes to an hour and it's worth that tax advisor's fee because you'll probably save more than that in taxes in the long run.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and I think any CPA that's worth their value is going to save you more than they cost you.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You know time-wise for those tax planning sessions, what are the best times of year in order for somebody to pick up the phone or to schedule that where they're going to get the best use of their time, money and your time.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I recommend people about this time of year in June, july, when you kind of see what the first half of the year looks like and you're starting to plan for the last half of the year, it's a good time to check in with your CPA, your tax preparer, because they can see what's happened the first half of the year and then take what your projections are for the remainder of the year to help you put some strategies in place. I mean, it may be that you need to buy a piece of equipment and you're going to need some time with the bank or whoever's going to finance that to help you with that process. And then I also tell all my clients when you slice that turkey on Thanksgiving day, I hope my face pops into your mind's eye because we don't have but five or six weeks left to do whatever we need to do to top all the loose ends. And so definitely mid year and then again I would say in the fourth quarter of the year is a great time to plan.
Speaker 1:And then again I would say in the fourth quarter of the year is a great time to plan. Okay, and what do you think? So if somebody let's just say you're at dinner and you're sitting across from somebody you just met them and they strike up a little conversation about business, it turns out they have a business. What are a couple key questions or things that you maybe ask to discern whether or not somebody has a good tax person or maybe just somebody that is a tax preparer?
Speaker 2:Well, we want to ask them are they having conversations with that advisor about purchases, about buying properties, about how to pay employees, employee benefits? And I also want to ask them does your attorney and your tax preparer, do they have a relationship? Does your insurance agent, your real estate agent, do they know who your tax advisor is? Because if your real estate agent sells a piece of property, you can make a ton of money, but you may have a capital gains and then, when what's left over in your pocket is not what you thought you were going to, get.
Speaker 2:And so it's a good idea to talk those over. I also like to have a relationship with my clients brokers because if that broker sells stock or moves money around within IRAs things like that that can create a tax burden. So it's good to have and we said the team approach before, but team is so important, especially when you're talking about things in your finances.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, you know. The thing to me that has often struck me that you do differently is that right there, not just the tax planning, but the fact that you communicate with their advisors in the other disciplines in order to make sure that something that you're planning for, or something that they're planning for, lines up with the overall tax strategy to minimize their tax liability.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, if your attorney, your insurance agent, your real estate agent, your broker, your banker and your CPA, if they're all working together to come up with that common goal, then that's going to push you, propel you so much faster than if your attorney is looking at just the legal liability side and your accountant is looking at just the tax savings. Well, they kind of go hand in hand. You can do some things for legal liability purposes that mess you up on taxes, and the reverse is the same too. So I love that team approach.
Speaker 2:I want to know I talk to bankers all the time and I love my job because of that Because I get to see a business start out, take on a banker, take on an attorney, take on an insurance agent, real estate agent, and watch us all push that engine forward. And it's so satisfying to see people start out from just taking that leap of faith. And then you know 5, 10, 20 years from now, because I've been in this industry for a while now not to date myself, but it's wonderful to look back over the last 25, 26 years that I've been doing this and see where people were and where they are now and there's so much satisfaction in just getting to be a part of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Well, you know, one of the other things that I see with a lot of people's strategy when it comes to, you know, not connecting those professionals in their world is they end up being the middleman. And so now we're playing relay and you know, a conversation that you might have directly with another professional might turn up something that, when the business owner is in the middle just relaying messages, now all of a sudden it doesn't come together. The whole picture isn't there.
Speaker 2:Well, that's so true. I mean, it's like when you're kids and you play the postman game. If you start down here and you send a message, by the time it gets over to the other end, do we even know what it was to start with. By the time it gets over to the other end, do we even know what it was to start with? Are you relaying every single facet? And then there's a lot of questions that come up. If you do A, then B will happen, but what if you do C? And so I just like to have those conversations directly, with the client's permission and with them involved in that conversation.
Speaker 1:Sure conversation, sure Well again, you know also the entrepreneur their time, their money is probably better spent doing what they do as opposed to having conversations and relaying messages versus the professionals that they've hired and trust to take care of these things? Having a conversation.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's so true. You know, I don't know how to run a backhoe, I don't know how to run an excavator, but I got clients who are really, really good at it and that's what they ought to be doing managing their employees to do that. And let us handle those things that they don't want to.
Speaker 1:That's right and that's what that's where the fun comes in. The fun comes in when they get to do more of what they're passionate about and you get to help them by doing so. When you started out, obviously Mr Harris had a depth being an attorney, being a professor, all those things so obviously he helped you in this world of becoming a CPA. But what else like what other mentors have you had in your life?
Speaker 2:So I've had several mentors in my life. Tom Harris was one of those. He was a brilliant man, knew all about taxes. Now he mentored me in a way that I don't think he realized, and that was in work-life balance, because he had none. His goal was to die with his hand on a calculator, leaned over a tax return. That is not my goal.
Speaker 2:I saw that in him that is not my goal, sure and so I saw that in him my father has been a huge part of mentoring me because, like I said, I grew up in the family of entrepreneurs and so my mother and father, when we sat around the dinner table at night, we talked about issues, or they talked about and we listened Issues with employees, issues with bankers, how to get financing, how to promote this product, and so, as young girls, me and my sisters were learning more than we really realized we were doing, which has served us so well.
Speaker 2:And then you know, your dad is probably your biggest cheerleader or at least mine was, or at least mine was and he made me feel like Tiger Woods on the golf course which I'm mediocre at best would be the way to describe that but he always helped instill confidence in me, but was able to critique me and to help me be better in business, and one of the things that he told me when I became a CPA and was opening my own firm, I said, daddy, what should I do?
Speaker 2:What, as a business owner, would you want your accountant to do?
Speaker 2:And he said we know you're smart, you've got CPA after your name, you've gone to college, you passed that test, which is very, very hard to pass.
Speaker 2:So you don't need to talk down to me, you don't need to talk over my head. You need to talk to me in ways I can understand my business and help me be better. And so that was a huge thing that he instilled in me is speak to your client in terms that they can understand, because they need to walk away from your office, from that tax return, from that meeting, and understand why they owe the IRS, why they're getting a refund, why their quarter was down or up this year or this season. So I think that is a huge part of it. And then I've also had several business owners in my community and in Middle Tennessee bankers as well just kind of take me under their wing and help me find financing for clients or help me find other strategies to be in business, and I'm grateful for all the people that have poured into me, and that's why I think it is so important for me to do likewise.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Well. And when you talk about hiring people for the summer and those types of things people in high school, that type of thing, giving them their first opportunity to help with some filing, or those types of things you light up when you start talking about things that you taught them during that time. And that's one of the things that I love is because that's a form of mentorship too.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it fires me up, like I believe that there's enough success in this world for everybody, that my success is not dependent on someone else's failure.
Speaker 2:And so if I can help a young man or woman who it's their first job, like I get super pumped when I when they've never worked anywhere before and this is their first job because we all remember that first job, and this is their first job because we all remember that first job.
Speaker 2:And so I know when they're my age and they look back, they're going to say I worked for this old woman one time and blah, blah, blah. And I want them to take away from me and their job, their time with me, with confidence that they can go out into the world and they can achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve, and that we've helped them form a foundation where they do have a skillset to go out into the world with. And so I know a lot of them don't want to become accountants because a lot come in and they're like, oh, I was thinking, I like math and I want to be an accountant. And then they work for like six months and they're like, yeah, this is not my thing, but I really like working with you.
Speaker 1:So that makes me feel good. Yeah, not my thing, but I really like working with you, so that makes me feel good, yeah. Now you said when you and your sisters were growing up that money and kind of sales and those types of things were conversations around the dinner table. Now, especially with your nieces and nephews, how important is it that you see that parents teach their children about how money works.
Speaker 2:I think it is very important. So when we grew up, we had no idea you know, how much money our parents made or anything like that. But we understood that employees work, business owners pay them and there's that mutual relationship and we learned about saving money and there's that mutual relationship and we learned about saving money. We learned about giving back with part of our money into our community and our churches.
Speaker 2:And I think it is so important, especially these days, to set a foundation where your child understands the value of a dollar, because we live in a world where I can go scan my debit or credit card and I don't really even know how much I spent until I look back at the statement, and I think it's so important to teach the value of a dollar, but also saving money and how you can put money to work for you as well.
Speaker 2:So there are lots of different ways to do that. Lots of our local banks do a great job when you bring your child in to open up a savings account or check an account, and they get fired up about that, like I do, having a young employee work for me, and there's lots of apps that you can use now to help your child see how much they've spent, how much they've saved, how much they've given to charity, and it's oh gosh, I can't even, I can't even tell you how important that is oh it's, and it's fun too as a parent, especially if you've I'm not going to say I've figured out how money works, but I would say I'm always learning.
Speaker 1:And when Castle, so our son's 10 now and he cuts a couple yards, now that type of thing, so he's earning his own money. But good, bad or ugly, because I get different opinions on this but I would take him to the bank with me before he could even walk. And then essentially, what we put in place is if we were putting money in the bank or we were moving money from checking to savings, he got a sucker, and if we were taking money out of the bank, there was no sucker.
Speaker 2:Oh boy. Well, I'm glad my mom did not have that, because when her car pulled in the bank parking lot and we went through that drive-through I knew I was getting that little dumb dumb sucker. But I think that's a great way to make that connection, because so many people in this world today are not saving money. We can look at the statistics and see that a large majority are living off of credit cards and don't have savings, and the best way to form a habit and savings is a habit a good habit is to start young, and so I applaud you for doing that with Castle, and I love the fact that he is cutting yards at such a young age because it's teaching him responsibility. He's got to show up for those customers Also.
Speaker 2:It's just adorable. He's 10 years old cutting grass. It's just so cute. But he's learning responsibility, he's learning about finances and he's learning work ethic, and you all as parents you and Emily have done a phenomenal job. You all are shaping what a future employer, or, if he becomes an entrepreneur, you're shaping those characteristics that he's going to need to do that. So I applaud you all.
Speaker 1:Well, sometimes I worry that I'm creating a monster, because I showed him how to pull up the Dave Ramsey investment calculator and you know so when he cuts his yards he's got to take a certain portion of that and that's got to go into his Roth, and you know so he knows how to look and see what that's going to potentially be worth when he retires. And so I did have to back him down. We, you know he cut his yards and I said okay, so how much are you going to send to the investment guy and how much are you going to take out to spend? And it was lopsided and I said, oh, you know he wanted to. Essentially 90% of it he was going to send to the investment guy.
Speaker 2:I have a 10-year-old niece, Eliza, that I would love to introduce to Castle so that she can have a very firm, secure financial future.
Speaker 1:I love it, but it is fun. I think across the board, like we started talking, so many people are afraid of taxes, afraid of having that conversation, but if we're having that conversation early, whether we're talking about money or how you retain as much of that money as possible, there's a lot of different things that you can do as much of that money as possible. There's a lot of different things that you can do. And what do you see as one of the most undervalued maybe? Strategies or tactics that most people never consider that those that are retaining most of their earnings do?
Speaker 2:So I see paying your children so a lot of times in a family-owned business especially, the children are doing stuff in the business Absolutely, and so you can pay them money. Put that in a retirement account for them, teach them about the retirement savings and you've propelled their retirement so much faster. So as a parent, you can look at it from the standpoint of you're helping secure their financial future after you're long gone by teaching them at a young age that this is what we do. We put money into retirement. But also your children are taxed at a much lower rate than you are, and so you're saving those percentage points on the tax dollar there. So I think that's a huge strategy that people can do.
Speaker 2:There are lots of things depending on what type of entity you have. Recently, a lot of people are using that Augusta rule because we have things like Bonnaroo, we have CMA Fest and things like that. You can rent your house out for a couple weeks a year and not pay any tax on that. So there's so many different things, and from COVID, there were a lot of different tax strategies that were implemented during that time and I think if COVID did anything positive which it's hard to say, but it taught businesses that you need to have a good relationship with your banker. You need to have a good relationship with your banker. You need to have a good relationship with your financial advisor and your tax advisor, because they were passing laws on a Friday that were going into practice on a Monday and we were all trying to figure it out together and we earned our fees in those years definitely for that, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now you know again. It's not all sunshine and rainbows.
Speaker 2:No, unfortunately it's not.
Speaker 1:We've all hit walls before.
Speaker 2:We have.
Speaker 1:And you hit a couple like they just kept coming at you During that COVID, that weird time in our life. How did it, like you know, paint that picture for us what happened? And then how did you just kind of muscle through it?
Speaker 2:So I hit some walls. They were like concrete cinder block tough, tough walls. So in late November of 2020, I had an employee leave who had been my right hand for seven years and um went to open her own um accounting practice and so I was trying to figure out about how to uh replace her. What you know, what was I going to do? Try to wrap my head around this, how to reallocate work, that sort of thing. And then COVID was going on. My uncle got COVID, several members of my family got COVID and my uncle passed away, unfortunately, from COVID, and three days after that my father had a massive heart attack and passed away on Christmas Day of 2020. And he was my biggest supporter, my mentor. My uncle was like a second father to me. This employee had been with me for seven years, so had she still been there when those things happened, she'd have picked up for me. Well, I have great staff and I had great staff at that time. They're still with me today, but they weren't CPAs, so they worked to help during that time in any way they could.
Speaker 2:But basically, the day after my father's funeral, I had to put my head down and it was tax season. Essentially, he was buried on the 28th day of december and I was still doing year-end tax planning for people, trying to pay out bonuses and things like that as corporate bonuses, um. And so somebody said why did you go back to word? I didn't have a choice, like I had a business and clients that depended on me. These checks had to be written, these strategies had to be put in place by the end of the year, and I kept looking back to the fact that my father owned his own business. His father passed away and he went to work the next day, and so I just put my head down and thanks to the two women that were in my office at the time, because there were days when they came in and they're like we've canceled your day, you need to go home.
Speaker 2:Um, because your mind, uh, if you've never been through that grief, it's hard to explain it Um, you're just not thinking, you're just not yourself, you're not thinking and you're just trying to get through the day day. It's like you're in a quagmire, just a muddy pit. Every action seems like it takes 10 times more effort and at the same time, my father also had several businesses and a portfolio of commercial and residential rental property, and so my sister and I were trying to do that in addition to our full-time jobs, and so it was so, so, incredibly difficult. But I look back on that time and, number one, the worst thing that could have ever happened to me happened, and I made it through it.
Speaker 2:So it is while it was horrible, it's very empowering and then also it makes you really appreciate the team that you have around you, and it even drives home the point that we were talking about earlier, about expanding your team, because had I had other people in place, had I delegated better, then I wouldn't have had so much of the burden put on me. And so that's really why and that was three and a half years ago that's one of the reasons why that we have looked so hard at this other position, this other tax preparer, and expanding during this growth period is because we need to be able to get sick, we need to be able to grieve, we need to be able to have time off and just not have so much where only one person knows how to do it. We need to all be trained in multiple skill sets.
Speaker 1:I love it. Well, I think it goes back to there. Know, there's a couple different analogies that different people say. So you know, jack Daly says if you're not growing, then you're dying, you know, or you're going away, and I think that's part of it. Two you know you also have to grow. You've got to expand in order to take better care of your team members and your clients.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:And I think that goes back to that old analogy where I think some people get it backward or messed up. Some people will say I'm in charge and I think it really comes from what it used to be said and they're in my charge. And if you say it that way, it feels different, it hits different. Your staff, your employees, you're responsible for them, oh, absolutely. And your clients you're responsible for them. And so you know, not everybody feels that way, Not everybody takes it that serious, and I think some of us do. And when you look at it through that lens, it's really like you have to grow.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, just for security of my staff. You have to grow. Oh, absolutely, just for security of my staff, in order to keep a business thriving. Like you said, if you're not growing, you're dying. In order to keep a business thriving, you've got to be able to service all the needs that are out there, and one of the things that we experienced was, even though we weren't taking on new clients, our existing clients were taking on new ventures. So we couldn't say, oh yeah, well, we've been doing your books for 15 years, but, oh, that new venture, you got to get a new CPA. Because what happens there is they say, well, I want somebody that handles it all, because they should. And so, even without taking clients, our business was growing, and so, in order to service them in the best way possible, we've got to be able to grow with them.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Now. So that was a really tough moment and a tough thing to work through. Obviously, a lot of things happened to you, but really it was that foundation that your parents taught you and the work ethic and all of those things. You had seen how the business and the employees, your, your dad and your mom in order to keep the business running when things happened to them, and so you push through that and I think it's because of that that foundation that they gave you, that gave you that work ethic and that, that ability to believe in yourself that you know what I've got to go do this, um. But what are some pinnacle moments? What are some things where you just felt like it is just hidden. It is where it needs to be, Things are going good. What are some of those and how did you feel and what kind of made those moments?
Speaker 2:So one thing that stands out in my career is in 2010,. If you're from Middle Tennessee, you know that in May of 2010, we had a massive, a hundred thousand year flood. Whatever they want to, whatever they um coined that as Right. And so, uh, in Cheatham County, where I live, there were over 600 homes that were damaged, um, and I think about 50 were complete losses, just like they just washed down the river gone Um. And so during that time, we're trying to help our clients that had floods and things like that.
Speaker 2:But a group of citizens met at the First Baptist Church in Ashland City to figure out how are we going to help these people? What, as a community, are we going to do? And the Red Cross was there and some other organizations were there, and they said, well, you've got to have a long-term recovery group. And we all said, well, we don't know what that is, we don't have one. And they said, well, that is a non-profit organization that works with the government, it works with emergency services to obtain grant money from foundations and all kinds of charities across the country and across the world that are going to put the funds into the community to rebuild. And somebody said, well, we don't have it and nobody knows how to do a 501c3 application. So what do we do?
Speaker 2:And I raised my hand. I'd been in business maybe, well, actually two years, because I started in 2009. I raised my hand. I said, well, I do know how to do that. I don't know how to run a long-term recovery, but I can get you your nonprofit status. And so I went home that day it was on a Friday. I worked that weekend, I got the nonprofit status, worked with an attorney who drafted the bylaws, all this kind of stuff. And then I wrote all over the envelope highlighter flood, uh, desperate need, just this big package to the irs. And they probably whoever opened it up was like this woman's crazy.
Speaker 2:But, um, in those days it took about six months on a fast track and a year, uh, to get non-profit status wow. So we were looking a long way out. Um, and a year to get nonprofit status Wow. So we were looking a long way out and a lot of these other counties in Middleton Tennessee already had these organizations, and so we were behind the eight ball and within 29 days we got nonprofit status for the 501c3 for Cheatham County Long-Term Recovery Organization and our group got accommodation from the governor and someone from the American Red Cross. Now they've revamped their system. So if you're watching this today, the IRS is much more efficient at processing these applications and you can get it within about a month now, but back in those days it was a big feat. The American Red Cross said that they had never seen one go through this fast, and I know it was not me.
Speaker 2:I know that it was God's favor shining down on Cheatham County, but we were able to obtain the funding to rebuild Cheatham County and all the homes that we needed and we've had to do.
Speaker 2:We've had tornadoes since then and other other natural disasters, and so we've been able to use that organization to do that. And so that is probably the pinnacle of my career, because I don't know how to rebuild a house. I couldn't put a nail, I couldn't hammer a nail in a wall, but I know how to work with IRS and so I used my skillset to do what it is I know how to do. And then other people took it from there and I helped manage the money side of it, and that just. I get kind of speechless when I talk about it, because I never thought that I would have the ability to impact so many people. But because I was able to do that and because I spoke up and had these team of people that were like, okay, she says she's going to do it, let's go, you know. And so I'm very proud of that moment from my life as a CPA.
Speaker 1:That's one of those things that, to use the term, it fills your well.
Speaker 2:Yes, it definitely does. That's. Fantastic.
Speaker 1:And I remember that time. I mean, people were just scared and didn't know what to do and all those things. So it does take, you know, it takes a village in order to get it all done. Well, this is one of the more fun things that we talk about. So it's called Things we Think but Do Not Say. And so what would you have to add to that? It might be a little controversial, it might be a little controversial.
Speaker 2:Well, I try to steer clear of controversy unless. I am talking about the United States tax code and that can get very controversial for me. But one thing I think and people may have a real issue with this is I am a very independent woman business owner, entrepreneur, independent single so maybe this is like my dating app type thing here.
Speaker 1:Hey, we'll get you out there so everybody get out there and find me a man.
Speaker 2:But I I like a strong male figure in my life. I want a man who's going to open the door for me. I'm not offended by that. I spend so much of my time being in control that it's nice to relegate that to my partner. And so I've gravitated toward or let me say this passive men have gravitated toward me because I am so dominating. I think. Well, dominating, not domineering. I think there's a difference there.
Speaker 2:Uh, jim, we're going way off. No man now is going to see this and be like, oh, forget it. But um, I I do like the traditional male, female roles, roles, and I don't think that that means that I think that women are inadequate. I think that men and women balance each other very well. There are things that I can do very well that my male counterpart cannot, and there are things that he can do very well that I don't see things that way, and so that's probably a controversial thing and my hatred of Crocs.
Speaker 1:Hatred of Crocs.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, you know, and I think we've talked about this before, crocs were in the movie Idiocracy and the set designer, or the costume designer. She was set on a mission to find the most hideous shoe that nobody would ever wear, that would never become popular, and they were Crocs.
Speaker 2:So and why they became popular. I will never know.
Speaker 1:We'll never know. We'll never know, but you know. To your other question there or statement, you know, I do think that in recent times, last few years especially, traditional gender roles have become a point of contention and realistically I don't really think that they should, in that we're all individuals. We all get to choose our partner. We get to choose who we spend our life with. We get to choose what we want.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And so you know, I know when I was dating, I always found it hard to date, because if I couldn't see myself being with that person long term, I couldn't see myself being with that person. And I've always found that a lot of people either want to pull somebody along or they want somebody to pull them along, and that's not what I was looking for. I was looking for a partner. My parents, although in very traditional roles, they were a partnership in that, you know, sometimes my mom was the one in control, sometimes my dad was the one in control, but together they were better than they were apart. And that's what I was looking for, and I really think that that's what you're saying as well is hey, just because I own a business and just because I am powerful doesn't mean that I don't desire that traditional male and female roles at home.
Speaker 2:That's true, and I think you and I are very lucky that we grew up in homes where our parents, while they did have those traditional roles, but they also, you know, my dad could cook and clean, my mom could run a business, you know. So, like you said, at different times one was in control, the other one was in control and it was a partnership. Yeah, and so I'm looking for a partner.
Speaker 1:There we go.
Speaker 2:An equal 50-50 partner here.
Speaker 1:There we go, so Charge Forward podcast listeners. Please help us on this mission Looking for a strong man for Miss Valerie and yeah, she's awesome, she's absolutely fantastic, so let's help her with that. Well, one of the other things that I've found impressive about you over the years is, especially recently, you have had amazing success in something that you've battled a long time much as I have as well Um, but you have gotten your health under control and you have like the healthiest I've seen you in my entire life. Um, in a lot of ways, the, the I don't want to say the happiest, but like the most centered as to who Valerie is, and so you know how did you do that? How did you get that under? Like, how did you figure it out?
Speaker 2:So it's been a process. In the last decade I've lost 100 pounds and it's been a little roller coaster, you know lose some, gain some, lose some, gain some. And so I'm hoping this time the roller coaster is coming to the station and we're even here. But I did that same way. I've approached my finances and things like that with a team approach. So trainers, nutritionist, my physician and my family.
Speaker 2:My mother is one of the most phenomenal cooks I've ever met. When you own a grocery store, you learn how to cook. And she managed the daily bakery. So, um, never have I been in my parents' home that there wasn't a dessert on the countertop to eat and uh, she that's the way she shows love is dropping, dropping those treats off. So I even had to have a conversation with her and it was like mom, I love your stuff, that's why you can't bring it to me, because I can't say no.
Speaker 2:I'm like a drug addict when it comes to things like that, and so I just put in place people around me that helped me see that Valerie Kemp was worth putting in this hard work, because it's not easy. I mean, I would love to say that there's a magic bullet out there that we can all take, but it hard work because it's not easy. I mean, I would love to say that there's a magic bullet out there that we can all take, but it's diet and it's exercise, and it is getting up every day deciding that being healthy is worth more to me than that extra 30 minutes of sleep or not meal prep and that running through that fast food line to to get my lunch or something. And so it takes planning, it takes dedication. But when you put people in your life that are going to say, hey, we haven't seen you at the gym, you need to be here, or just get in your face and be like what is going on with you? I take criticism very well when it's from people that I know have my well-being and my future the best future in mind, and so when you put people in your life around you that help you see what they see in you. It's not easy, but it's easier to take care of yourself, and so I do feel like at almost 50 years old, that I am in the best shape of my life, and not just that. I think that I had to get the mind right in order to take care of the body, and so that's what has changed. All of this is because I got a good life. I got a good business, I've got great employees, a good family, a wonderful community and I want to be here to live it as long as I can and at the weight I was, and cholesterol and A1C and all those numbers being way up on the charts where they were.
Speaker 2:I had a doctor, dr Hollinger, a Baptist hospital. He's since retired. He retired a couple years after he told me this. He looked at me and said your A1C is too high and you're going to be a diabetic if you don't do something. And you have a really good life, you're smart, you're funny, and you are not going to be able in the next 10 to 20 years, to walk up and down a flight of steps. You're not going to be able to travel like you want to. You're not going to be able to sit over your desk and do tax returns. Your body is going to give out on you if you don't do something.
Speaker 2:And I said, okay, great, well, what pill do I need to take? And he said I said, you know, give me a shot, because I'm always a person If I have a sinus infection, shoot me up, let's get it done quick. And so he said I'm not doing anything for you. And I was like you just gave me like horrible news. And he said you have six months. We're going to schedule a follow-up appointment. Here's a dietician, here's bariatric surgery, like here's all these people. I want you to talk to every one of them and then you figure out what it's going to take for you to get healthy and you call me if you need to.
Speaker 2:But six months from now there's going to be a change from where. You are right here and I was like, oh my gosh, he, he's not giving me a pill or a shot. I got to do this. And so I did what he encouraged me to do, which is talk to all these people, and formulated an eating style and worked with a trainer and the rest is history. And I'm so grateful for that man and maybe he was a mentor for my health, you know but I'm so grateful that he said we're not going to take a magic bullet. We're not going to try to, you know, give you a diabetic medicine or something like that. We're going to see if a lifestyle change is going to stop this first.
Speaker 1:Right, well, he gave you that hard truth.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Which resonated with you, because I mean, that's what you I mean taxes, math, math is the truth.
Speaker 2:Numbers yeah Period.
Speaker 1:It's not, doesn't care about your feelings, doesn't care about any of that. It is in black and white.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And you know so him giving you that harsh reality. You know a lot of people. They don't tell the truth or they don't hold people accountable because they don't want to hurt somebody's feelings. And more often than not it's because we don't want to hurt our own feelings Like we don't. We don't want to feel like, oh, we're the bad guy or whatever by telling the truth Right and we're not serving anybody by telling the truth Right and we're not serving anybody. So he did you the greatest service he could have possibly done by giving you that harsh dose of reality and just telling you the truth.
Speaker 2:Oh, for sure, and I am forever grateful to him for that, because he could have sugarcoated it and said well, we're going to give you this cholesterol medicine and we're going to give you this like pre-diabetic medicine. Come back in six months and let's see where you are. But, and we're going to give you this like pre-diabetic medicine, come back in six months and let's see where you are. But he took the time to sit down with me and made me see the light.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think in a lot of ways that you do the same thing with your tax clients.
Speaker 2:I hope.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I hope so Now, what would be a piece of advice that let's just say, there's somebody out there that's listening that you know, maybe is in college, maybe they're getting a more general degree, maybe they're on some other path and they're trying to figure out what they're going to do with their life. What's a piece of advice that you would give them? Uh, regardless of what profession they're going into, that you think is is valuable.
Speaker 2:I speak at a lot of career days, um days in our community, and everybody wants to know how much money you make. How much money you make, which is very awkward question to answer, but we give them the industry standards. But I always tell them this if you hate what you do and you're not passionate about what you do, then it doesn't matter how much money you make, because you're going to be miserable. We spend more time in our careers than we really do anywhere else, and so I would encourage everyone to figure out what they are passionate about. How can they marry their skill set, what they're good at, with what they're passionate about?
Speaker 2:And for me, I really like numbers, really like math all the way through school, all kinds of math, but I like seeing people succeed and helping people succeed. And so when I took those two things and married them together, that's what got me to where I am today, Because I am passionate about helping people in my community through charitable organizations. If I see an old lady walking in the grocery store, open that door for her, you know like that gives me a rush, a charge to help somebody do something. So when I took those two things my love of math and puzzles and word problems and all that and married it with helping people. I've derived so much satisfaction seeing people be able to reach their financial goals and buy homes and their kids to college. So find something you're passionate about and marry that with your skill set.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it, yeah, and statistically I believe it's 49% of all people out there are either unhappy, like unhappy, or worse, with their current job, and so it's not all about money. I don't mean wrong, we need money but it's not all about money. I don't mean we're wrong, we need money. But it's not all about that and you really hit a stride when you start putting together the pieces that you love about this world and you figure out how to monetize them.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, and I think if you take those, like the skills that you're good at, with the passion that you have, you're going to, you're going to make money. You're going to be successful because people are going to gravitate toward whatever it is that you've come up with, and so I think success is going to naturally find you when you marry those together.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. You start attracting business Right Now, kind of in that same breath. Somebody out there, right now there's an entrepreneur, there's somebody that owns a business, that is, they have a tax guy or they have a tax girl, however you want to say it, and they don't know if they're good or if they're bad, or if they're costing them money or any of those things. So what? What is a? What would you say is a simple kind of gauge, for you know, do I need to talk to another tax person?
Speaker 2:Well, I think that a good tax person is going to be a sounding board.
Speaker 2:So if the current advisor that you have is not someone that you feel you can talk to about the different capital investments you want to make or the different strategies that you want to employ into your business with your personnel things like that If that person is not a sounding board for you, then you might want to look somewhere else, because so much of what we do in business and moves that we make, we need to run by the person who's handling, or helping us handle, the money and the tax strategies.
Speaker 2:So that would be a key thing right there. Also, if you're not having regular tax planning, if they are not alerting you of the new tax laws that are out there and we haven't passed a large tax package, or our nation hasn't, congress hasn't, but there's a lot of new things that come down the pike, little bits and pieces here. So if you're not being kept abreast of what those are and you feel like you're the one that's having to do the deep dive yourself, then you might want to look at something else. But then, just what my dad said my clients need to understand their taxes and their money, and so if you don't feel like you have a good working knowledge of why did I pay this money? Why am I making estimated taxes? What are these capital gains on this property about? If you don't have a good work and knowledge and a basis for understanding, then, yeah, I would say that you need to look at other people as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that is so critical. In my previous history, running businesses small all the way to over $100 million a year, your tax strategy changes and your thought process has to change, and if you're not having regular conversations with your tax person, most often you are increasing your tax liability beyond what it should be or what it could be.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Because there's all types of strategies and it's not a one size fits all.
Speaker 2:No, it definitely is not, and that's what makes this occupation difficult is that some things that apply to some of our clients don't apply to the others. Some of our clients don't apply to the others, but there are so many things out there that your tax professional ought to be at least asking the questions. They may not, you may be doing everything that there is there's nothing else they can help you with but they need to ask you questions. There are these work opportunity credits. Do you have veterans that work for you? Do you have people that are on SNAP assistance? So we have those conversations with our clients. They may not have any of those, but at least they know that we are trying to help them save every dollar that they can.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. How does somebody get in contact with you? How do they find you if they've listened to this and they're like, oh, maybe I do need to talk to somebody else?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so the best way to reach us would be to go to our website, wwwvkdcpacom. V, as in Victor K, as in kite D, as in dog, and then CPA. That's the best way to reach us. There we have a wait list where we ask some questions and then we'll reach out to you. And you can also call us at 615-792-1766.
Speaker 1:Absolutely Well. Fantastic, Valerie. Any thoughts or anything you want to leave the audience with, or maybe an ask?
Speaker 2:Well, besides asking for a man, I just think that my number one rule and I just want to leave people with this is that your success is not dependent on someone else's failure, and I think if the world saw that more, we would get so much more accomplished. And then also, if you do have an interest in tax and accounting, we are hiring, so you can go to our website, wwwvkdcpacom. Forward slash careers and you can learn about those job postings. We love to have you be a part of our team.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. Valerie runs a great shop and she's looking for other great people to be a part of the team to take even better care of their existing and new clients. So don't hesitate to reach out to Valerie Again. Thank you, team, for joining us today. Hope you all have a fantastic afternoon. We're the Charge Forward podcast Take care Team. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of the Charge Forward podcast. Look forward to other amazing guests and until next time I'm your host, jim Cripps. Special thanks, as always, to Nick Heider and the creative team at HitLab Studios here in Nashville, tennessee. Special thanks to our sponsors, sense Custom Development and Charge Forward Solutions. Please be sure to like and subscribe.