Onward Nation and Stephen Woessner

Good morning Onward Nation, I’m Stephen Woessner and welcome to Episode 530. Now today’s episode is going to be different from any other. In fact, it is fair to say that today’s episode will be another powerful lesson into why marketing and biz dev is like breathing for your business.

I can make such a bold claim because our special encore guest today is Craig Cody. Craig is a certified tax coach, and the owner of the New York City-based accounting firm, Craig Cody & Company. Craig belongs to a select group of tax practitioners who have undergone extensive training and continued education on various tax planning techniques and strategies. Craig is passionate about helping business owners understand the difference between tax planning and tax paying, by helping them save significant money. Craig is also the co-author of the Amazon best-seller Secrets of a Tax Free Life.

Now, you may remember Craig, and the wisdom he shared during Episode 178 of Onward Nation but if you haven’t listened to, studied and applied all he shared during our first interview I highly encourage you to add Episode 178 to your list of vital priorities. So without further adieu, welcome back to Onward Nation Craig.

Oh Stephen, thank you so much for having me.

Oh my goodness, I am over the moon excited to have you here. Have you here for a second time and we’re just, we’re going to have this great conversation about tax planning, about CFO level types of visibility within financial statements and things that business owners should be looking for, but before we dive into that, which is going to be an exciting conversation Onward Nation, a money saving conversation, I noticed you’ve been working on some really exciting things as you look out 12 months, 18 months with your business and practice. So bring us up to speed with what Onward Nation needs to know about what’s new, and then we’ll dive in with the questions.

Oh great, yeah the next 12 months are going to be wonderful. You know we’ve been obviously focusing on our tax planning which is really the cornerstone of what we do for our clients. Integrating that with the outsource CFO services is a really big part. We’ve hired another CPA to add on to that section of the firm. So that’s all going good and we’re looking in the next 12 months to keep growing there.

I’m also hoping to add in the next few months a podcast. I am looking to do some speaking at a number of dental conferences.

Exciting, I really love how during our first conversation we talked about marketing and biz dev and how important that is, and everything you just mentioned there fits into that category, biz dev and how you’re driving the business forward and how you’re building platforms and so forth. Really exciting stuff Craig.

Yes, you know what they say, “Marketing is like breathing.”

Well, and I think I’ve heard those words before. Which is Onward Nation all joking aside, when you go to Episode 178, you’ll see that that’s what we entitled that episode, Craig’s first episode here. Because that’s what he said, I mean he really drove home how important marketing and biz dev is, and you can hear in his voice right now, he obviously believes that to his core.

So this will sound like a little bit of a plug for Craig Onward Nation but I feel like this really kind of sets context. After that first interview, I was literally blown away at some of the tax saving strategies that Craig was kind enough, generous enough to share during that conversation. Then coincidentally having then a phone call a few days later with another Onward Nation alum and that business owner was sharing about a couple of challenges that he and his business partner were feeling in their business. He said, “Oh gosh, you know we really need to find …” This is what the Onward Nation alum shared with me. “We really need to find like either a different CPA, a different bookkeeper, I mean like somebody who can help us with this tax stuff.” I said, “Well now that’s interesting.” So then I mentioned Craig, and what he did, put the two of them together and honest to goodness Onward Nation, Craig was able to save them $200,000 in taxes.

Craig, when I heard about that, my mouth was just, like, gaping open. That is a huge number.

Yeah, yeah that was a great number. I loved that number. They’re great people and we were really able to provide a lot of value with them. We kind of took over as their outsource CFO so we’re working with them very closely going forward. It’s a great relationship, and that’s a big number.

It is a big number, and so my guess is that many Onward Nation business owners hearing you describe that just probably sat up and said, “Uh, I’m sorry, what? Like, how were they able to do that?” So, you know as this conversation unfolds and I’m sure you’ll add a little bit of context and clarity to that.

Listen to the full episode here.

Get your free copy of my book here.