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pivitor · 5 years ago

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I’ve been really frustrated lately.

One thing quarantine has hammered home to me is how much I hate my current job. I just...don’t want to go back. I hate being there. I don’t get any satisfaction from it. I’m not going to act like I’m special for hating my job or anything, but when I was still going in every day I thought it was at least something I could handle in the long term, I think I played down to myself how much I actually disliked it. I don’t think I can keep doing that.

Atop from normal job related things, my boss screwed me over with my taxes this year and I didn’t realize it until right when i stopped going into work this year. My office has had three employees at the most the entire time I’ve worked there, so the office has never had its own payroll; I was always included on the payroll of the restaurant we operated. Once we sold that, my boss told me he was shutting down the payroll altogether and would just be paying me by cutting me checks and giving me a 1099 at the end of the year, and told me that I’d still be paying the same amount of taxes, just as a lump sum at the end of the year instead of having some deducted from my paycheck every week. I didn’t really feel like I had much of a choice. But, hey, when I had my taxes done this year, it turns out that’s hella illegal! 1099s are for self-employed independent contractors, and I am neither! My tax person told me that I wouldn’t get into trouble, but that my employer could definitely get in trouble with the IRS for swapping an employee over to being an independent contractor like that when they’re still working the same position for the same amount of money. It also cost me extra in taxes, because every paycheck the employer pays a bit of taxes, but as a “self-employed person” I’m expected to pay that portion. So a little chunk of my taxes I’m paying this year is money my employer used to pay/was supposed to pay. I’m pissed about that.

Those two things put together mean I really want to get a new job. This lands me pretty much exactly where I was a year ago, when I was looking for a new job, then eventually stopped because my boss offered me a couple of promotions within the company in regards to the real estate company and coaching company he was starting, both of which really had only just barely started to come together when quarantine started. So now I have the added joy of essentially having wasted a year, and starting to look for a new job in a much worse economy than last year’s. Fun!

The coaching thing sucks. My boss is starting a company to teach food safety classes for the local food safety programs all restaurants need to be certified in. I’ve taught one so far and I was proud of myself for it, but none of the students passed, even with us stretching the eight hour outline given us to close to twelve. The pay isn’t what we originally agreed to and, frankly, isn’t worth the time you have to put into it. The idea of me teaching these was supplemental income, but if I were to teach one during the week instead of doing my desk job, I wouldn’t really be making enough money to justify it. With the extra time, I’d really be making less. It’s such a headache.

I really should see through the real estate. At one point I thought I’d get a new day job but maybe still help my current boss with the real estate on the side, but even if I don’t, I’ve already invested over 80 hours into this, I should really finish it. I’m 99% done with the program and just have to pass the final exams, but I started in November and honestly don’t remember a lot of the information. I’ve done nothing with it over quarantine, partially because I thought I couldn’t take my final exams during that time, but it turns out I could have all along. The course was going to expire at the end of May so I spent my own money to renew it thinking it would motivate me to finally finish it, but I haven’t. I can’t tell if I don’t actually want to do real estate, or if I’m just being lazy, or if it’s the fact that I honestly just don’t know how to study. I don’t think I can pass the test right now and I really don’t know what to do about it.

I also didn’t know I could apply for unemployment until, like, the end of April/beginning of May. I technically still had a job, right? Nope, even with me just being temporarily out of work, I could still apply. So I’m frustrated on myself at missing out on a month’s worth of unemployment payments for no reason other than my own stupidity.

My boss called me Wednesday and I panicked and didn’t answer, but he said they’re going to open back up soon. I don’t want to come in, but if I refuse or quit, I could lose my unemployment. Ugh. And THAT’S frustrating because going back to work, I’ll be losing money. I was making more money on unemployment than I was going to work, while spending less. I haven’t put gas in my car since March. March! Less money+more gas=suck. I send my boss and his wife an email tonight detailing the tax situation. I guess I’ll give them a call tomorrow.

I’ve been lucky to have been well-taken care of throughout this pandemic, and to have been able to pay off quite a bit of my debt -- for the first time in a few years now, I have more money in savings in the bank than I do in credit card debt. But the extra $600 in unemployment goes through the end of July, and I was hoping to be able to continue cashing in on that for a few more weeks and actually add a bit of money to my savings. I know I’m going to need it in the future.

So I’m frustrated, I think, because I basically have no direction, and feel like I wasted so much time. Even in quarantine, I applied to a few jobs and even had an interview, but I wasn’t serious about job searching, and now I feel like I didn’t take advantage of all that time I had. I need to get out of my parents house so badly, I need to be able to finish breaking away from their fucking cult bullshit SO BADLY, I’m having such a hard time seeing the path forward. And it’s such an awful time to be job hunting or, god forbid, moving right now. I think I really screwed up, and while I think there’s not much to do but start applying to jobs again, I’m frustrated and, honestly, a little bit scared about my future.

#pivitor

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stillness-in-green · 6 years ago

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Seven Stars Tea Blends

Ever since I saw that the Gundam Café in Akihabara was selling official, licensed teas with the Bauduin and Fareed family crests on them, I knew I was going to write this post someday.

The calls below (other than the two canonical ones) are based on a sort of ambiguous blend of what I think a café might pick (On the Menu), what the characters would think of their family tea in a world with more surviving tea culture than I suspect the IBO world actually has (Tea Culture), and stray facts that influenced my picks or that make fun parallels (Supplementary Notes). I’m tempted to go back in and make bonus picks for Ein, Isurugi, and Julietta, but for now, I’ll try to keep on-theme.

Bauduin Family Blend: Earl Grey.

On the Menu: Bergamont's rich floral scent belies the strength of the black tea brew with its piquant citrus twist; in the same way, the Bauduin family's comfortable affluence masks their intense dedication and trained skill. Tea Culture: Gaelio is surprisingly fond of tea for a soldier, likely due in no small part to his sister's tireless efforts. His palate is not terribly refined, but he can certainly taste when a brew has turned bitter and isn't afraid to say so. Takes his tea with a lot of milk. Gallus leaves the milk but takes a dash of sugar, and likes his teas brewed strong. Almiria has weaned herself off of both milk and sugar when drinking with company, wanting to seem grown-up; though she secretly does prefer a splash of milk added, she nevertheless has the most refined palate of her family. Supplementary Notes: Earl Grey has a storied history that, despite all its associations with high-class luxury, has some outrageously fake elements to it. I enjoy the way this echoes how very prepared Gaelio and Almiria both are to flush their family fortunes straight down the drain the moment Earth taboos or paternal authority conflict with their personal desires. Those kids look like nobles, but deep down, they are far more attuned to their own emotions and goals than they are advancing the family's standing in the peerage.

Fareed Family Blend: Darjeeling.

On the Menu: While the labeling of Darjeeling is strictly regulated and monitored, the tea itself is a mild, soft black with faint floral notes. This juxtaposition echoes both the Fareed family's meticulous intelligence and their talent for the delicate art of social maneuvering. Tea Culture: McGillis has done enough reading, and is attentive enough to social cues, that he can fake it, particularly for Almiria, but his palate is actually quite poor. He can take or leave tea as a drink--he actually prefers coffee--but weird tea classism is exactly the kind of frivolous luxury he loathes on principle. Iznario, on the other hand, is quite discerning. Supplementary Notes: A fun fact about Darjeeling: While the bulk of black tea in India is cultivated from the local variety of the Camellia sinensis plant, assamica, Darjeeling derives from the Chinese type, sinensis. Literally--early Darjeeling tea was grown from seeds smuggled in from forbidden provinces in China, because the East India Trading Company was getting desperate. I am delighted by the way this parallels Iznario's propensity to more or less steal children to advance his own ends--of course we all know how he came by McGillis, but Carta and Almiria's ties to the Fareed family echo the methodology as well.

Issue Family Blend: Matcha.

On the Menu: The Issue family puts a great deal of stock in tradition and ceremony. Our matcha--rich, astringent, and demanding--is a perfect match. Tea Culture: Carta, with her strict personality, would be startlingly skilled with the whole matcha process, though it would have taxed her patience mightily as a young child. She would be smug bordering on intolerable that she drinks it straight, unlike that thin, oversweetened nonsense Gaelio favors. Supplementary Notes: Probably the least likely in-universe call, as Teiwaz and its associated members are the ones hanging onto most of the Japanese culture in the setting, rather than Gjallarhorn, with its European trappings. However, I can't resist drawing the parallel between Carta's fondness for (even reliance on) established battle strategies, her kitsune tails and kabuki makeup, and matcha, that most rigorously, performatively Japanese of teas. If I didn't go with matcha, I probably would have gone with a good quality white, but the delicacy and subtlety of white teas didn't really seem like Carta's bag, and we don't have any other family members to compare to.

Kujan Family Blend: Masala Chai.

On the Menu: An Assam-based blend, this bold black tea is warmed by cloves, ginger and nutmeg. It reflects the Kujan family's reputation for producing leaders whose strength and easy charisma win the unflagging loyalty of their followers. Sweeten liberally with milk and cinnamon for the young or young at heart! Tea Culture: Iok's father, a man of such legendary prowess and charm that he had a generation of soldiers prepared to die for his children, probably drank this mostly straight, adding milk to sweeten it a bit when he was sharing it with his men. Iok, who has the taste palate of a spoiled nine-year-old, likes it so sweet that the family cook has secretly taken to leaving the Assam out entirely. Supplementary Notes: Iok is actually the person in the cast most likely to know his way around a Japanese tea ceremony, if his talent for kanji calligraphy is anything to go by, but chai's particularities--a widely social drink, and one whose production varies so hugely recipe to recipe that some of them don't even bother with tea leaves at all--make it an easy call for someone like Iok, whose charisma and passion make it easy to miss that someone left all the authenticity in his father's cup. Iok is also the most "exotic"-looking of the Gjallarhorn cast, and chai is exotic enough that it's spread overseas under a name that in its own language just means "tea," making it a likely call from our hypothetical Gundam café looking to find something that's foreign-sounding but not so obscure that it's unmarketable.

Elion Family Blend: Russian Caravan.

On the Menu: This green/black tea blend--oolong, keemun, and lapsang souchong--is famed for its characteristically smoky flavor. Bold and complex by turns, but with a mellow finish, this nuanced brew matches perfectly to the Elion family's dauntless yet urbane heir. Tea Culture: Rustal, like McGillis, has little investment in Tea Culture, though in his case it's more because he already knows what he likes and has little interest in exploring other flavors as a weird rich person hobby. Exasperatingly set in his ways, he makes no secret of the fact that he thinks his family brew is a superior tea, and is happy to lean into the star-faring romance of its characteristic flavor blend (see below). Supplementary Notes: The smoke flavor today comes from the lapsang souchong, which is dried over pine smoke, but folklorically, it was thought to have been imparted to the tea by the smoke of campfires on the long trek through Mongolia between China and Russia. As the admiral of the Arianrhod fleet, Rustal is the member of the Gjallarhorn cast who does the most traveling in the black depths of space, and so the imagery of strong-flavored brews to push back against the cold felt like a natural match. Additionally, while Rustal isn't canonically of any particular nationality, he does share his ash blond hair shade with many an anime Russian, which also influenced this match.

Baklazan Family Blend: Silver Needle.

On the Menu: This most rarified of white teas features a profoundly delicate flavor with just a whisper of natural sweetness. The skill, care and discernment involved in its production speak to the Baklazan family head's light touch and keen insight, honed over his many long years on the Council of the Seven Stars. Tea Culture: Lord Baklazan sticks almost completely to white and green teas; even oolong is a bit over-strong for his palate. He's blind, and so finds quite enough to savor in the milder, more nuanced cups of the traditional Eastern teas. He's a bit busy to mind his family's tea brand on his own, but there's an underling on the family payroll whose only and entire job description is "tea master," who Nemo is relieved to say he's unlikely to outlive. Supplementary Notes: We know precious little about Nemo Baklazan, other than his very particular design--even his being blind is blatant supposition on my part--but someone in that council room after McGillis's coup looked around at a room full of dudes in full riot gear and decided, "Despite the implications of those worryingly large guns, McGillis actually can't force us to side with him." Between Nemo, Gallus, and Lord Falk, I'm willing to bet it was Nemo, suggesting a prudent, cautious, but ultimately insightful man. I also wanted to have a proper white on this list somewhere, and he definitely looks the type to have the most refined tastes in Chinese teas. Silver Needle is, not coincidentally, also the most expensive white tea, which feels appropriate for one of the oldest and most influential men in the solar system.

Falk Family Blend: English Breakfast.

On the Menu: A blend of Ceylon and Assam teas with an added earthy Kenyan, brewed to stand up to all the milk or sugar you could add as an indispensable part of the classic full breakfast. Our stoutest black, this tea reflects the Falk family's pragmatism and resolve in the face of the changing times. Tea Culture: Probably the member of the Seven Stars with the greatest active interest in where his household is procuring its tea, Lord Falk always has time to offer his opinion on a cup--Almiria found him to be quite the educational resource, on the few occasions they ever spoke. He has a generous, adventurous palate, though he feels most at home with traditional blacks. Supplementary Notes: Oh my god, you guys, we know basically nothing about Elek Falk--he doesn't even have Lord Baklazan's distinct design! He has a big medallion of the sort that you sometimes see on Anime Popes, but there's no indication that organized religion figures into Gjallarhorn's affairs, and even if it does, the dude who responds, "That's just a fairy tale!" to claims of Agnika's soul animating Bael does not strike me as a likely spiritual leader. He seems interested in getting to the bottom of mysteries--he's one of the voices pressing for continued investigation into Galan Mossa after the Silent War--but those are literally all of the characterization cues we get for him. I don't want to sit here saying, "I picked English Breakfast because he looks like a guy who never skips a good full breakfast, if you get my drift, hohoho," but, like, if the shoe fits...

#mobile suit gundam: iron-blooded orphans #gundam ibo #g tekketsu #mcgillis fareed #gaelio bauduin #almiria bauduin #gallus bauduin #carta issue #iok kujan #rustal elion #seven stars #my writing #ibo meta #please take this nonsense

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weekegg2-blog · 6 years ago

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Choose Your Own Adventure, Bryce Harper edition

Remember when you were a kid and loved reading those "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories? Well, baseball fans, we have a real treat for you -- a Bryce Harper Choose Your Own Adventure story. Here's how it works:

Start reading below. As you'll see in the very first line, you are the protagonist. Control the narrative by channeling your inner Bryce.

Whenever you see a fork in the road, make a choice and click on it.

When you reach the end (i.e. no more choices), live happily ever after with your decision. Or don't -- part of the fun of the CYOA genre is going back and exploring all the other endings.

You're Bryce Harper.

You have perfect hair. You have a powerful arm and an even more powerful bat. You have one Most Valuable Player award already in your possession, and you wouldn't mind another. But what you're really after is a ring.

There has been speculation about Atlanta pursuing Harper. It makes sense, but it's just not how the organization does business.

Bryce? Manny? Both? ... Or steer clear. We examine how every team in baseball should approach a historic pair of free agents.

From the free agents set to cash in to the big-name stars sure to come up in trade rumors all winter long, keep up with all of the latest action.

2 Related

It's the one thing that has managed to elude you during your seven years in the nation's capital. Well, that and a playoff series win. And a manager that lasts more than two seasons. And a passionate fan base that cares about baseball -- like, really cares. Sure, you were flattered when the Nationals drafted you with the first overall pick back in 2010. But Washington wasn't exactly a sexy franchise, and you love sexy franchises. Always have.

You'd be lying if you said you hadn't allowed yourself to envision playing in a different uniform next season, but in your mind, you kept coming back to the Nats. After all, you made your big league debut with them. You've spent your entire adult life wearing red and white. The fans in D.C. adore you, and despite the team's massively disappointing performance this season, the future is pretty darned bright -- especially if you stick around.

But now you're no longer under contract. A few days after the World Series ended, you officially became a non-member of the Nats. You are a free agent. Finally.

So where will you sign?

Click below to:

Safety squeeze | Swing away

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

YOU'RE (STILL) A NAT!

It was a weird season in D.C. Except for you, almost every key player on the team was hurt at one point or another. Your new manager, Davey Martinez, brought real live camels into spring training to help put the Nationals over the playoff hump (get it?), but it didn't work. You guys didn't win a playoff series, or even make the playoffs. Your Nats, expected to contend for a World Series title with largely the same squad that averaged 96 wins the previous two years, were far and away the biggest disappointment in baseball. Still, the window remains wide open in Washington.

Staff ace Max Scherzer has three more years left on his contract, and Stephen Strasburg has five more. Shortstop Trea Turner, a fellow 25-year-old who's one of your best buddies, should be around for at least a few more seasons. Rookie Juan Soto is a beast, and an outfield that features him, top prospect Victor Robles and you does have a nice ring to it.

Speaking of rings, the fact that you haven't been able to deliver one to the District yet bothers you. And while that matters, it doesn't matter quite as much as this: The Nationals are the only team you've ever known. You have a strong relationship with GM Mike Rizzo, who has been there since day one, a steadying presence as the team has churned through manager after manager. You've spent the past seven years patrolling the outfield at Nationals Park and you know the contours of the right-field corner almost as well as you know your high school sweetheart (who, by the way, you married while you were a member of the Nationals). There's even a field named after you in nearby Takoma Park, a symbol of just how much you've meant to the city.

"This is my second home," you said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in May. A couple of months later, in the midst of a horrible first-half slump, you electrified the hometown fans when you staged an epic comeback to win the Home Run Derby in your own park. You had it all working that night. The stars-and-stripes arm sleeve. The D.C. flag bandanna. The unwavering and full-throated support of a sellout crowd filled with fans from in and around the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area. It was a crazy night, one that reminded Washingtonians just how much you mean to them. Perhaps more important, it was a reminder of how much the city means to you.

All that said, baseball is a business. You have the potential to sign a record-setting contract. You are represented by superagent Scott Boras. In other words, you're not about to hand out a hometown discount. That's why you reportedly said thanks but no thanks to the 10-year, $300 million deal Washington reportedly offered you at the end of September. In fact, you might be headed for a hometown markup.

True, someone might be willing to pay a little more for your services depending on positional need and/or payroll flexibility. But the Nationals are the only club with any emotional equity invested in you, and they've got lots of it. Much like parents who think their child is the greatest, Washington's opinion of you -- the face of the franchise -- is likely to be inflated relative to other teams. If you don't believe it, just check out that bloated $161 million deal Chris Davis received from the Orioles a few years back. And that was in a market where, by the looks of things, there weren't a whole lot of teams courting him. For you, things should be different. Much different.

By signing with the Nats, it seems you can have it all. The comfort level. The chance to win. And, of course, the money. Boras has probably already told you that you might have to be OK with deferring some of that dough, just as Scherzer and Strasburg (he reps them too) did in their contracts. The Nats already have $117 million committed toward next season, and that's without addressing needs at catcher, first base, second base and on the mound.

But assuming you don't mind a little delayed financial gratification, there's no place like home.

Start over »

Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire

YOU'RE LEAVING THE NATS!

You've had it with the Nationals. It's not that you didn't have a nice run in the District -- there were plenty of good times. It's just that, well, seven years is a long time.

In fact, it's more than a quarter of your life. You were a kid when they drafted you, and now you're a man. It's high time to spread your wings and see what life is like outside the cocoon.

Click below to:

Stay in the (comfort) zone | Go oppo

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

YOU'RE HEADING TO A NEW NL TEAM!

Much like the family that sells its house only to move into another house right around the corner (it's all about the school district, baby), you're not ready to venture too far afield.

As such, you've ruled out a move to the American League and are focused only on Senior Circuit suitors.

Click below to:

Go for the glitz | Go for the gang | Go for the green

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

YOU'RE A DODGER!

La-La Land, here you come. The Dodgers don't wear pinstripes, but it's pretty much your dream scenario. Because you're all about the sexy franchises. Always have been.

A couple of years ago, you walked into the clubhouse on the first day of spring training wearing a Dallas Cowboys cap, a gutsy move for a guy who's the face of a franchise headquartered in Redskins country. But you didn't care. After all, the Cowboys are America's Team.

When LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in July, you wore an orange Lakers cap to the ballpark the very next day. Growing up in Vegas, the Lake Show was about the closest thing you had to a local NBA squad. Of course, it didn't hurt that L.A. is where Magic and Kareem and Worthy played, where Shaq and Kobe did their thing, where "Showtime" was born.

Of course, L.A. is also home to the Dodgers, one of the most storied franchises in all of pro sports. They're also one of the richest: Every season from 2013 through 2017, Los Angeles -- bankrolled by Magic Johnson and Guggenheim Partners -- had the highest payroll in the majors. That includes 2015, when the Dodgers' $301 million payroll was nearly $80 million more than the next-closest club. They scaled things back a bit last season, checking in with the league's third-highest number ($196 million), but that doesn't alarm you. In fact, it intrigues you, because odds are the increased thriftiness had everything to do with getting under the luxury tax threshold so the team could spend freely this offseason -- on you.

You're flattered the Dodgers put in a waiver claim on you back in August. It showed they wanted you. After all, most teams would have been scared off by having to pay a portion of the $21.6 million you were earning last season. That same gesture also proves that despite a crowded outfield picture, they'd have no problem making room for you. Maybe they trade Yasiel Puig to open up right field. Maybe they sell high-ish on Matt Kemp. Maybe both. You don't really care. Because regardless of whom the Dodgers unload, they'll still be loaded.

The squad that's won the NL West in each of the past six seasons still has Justin Turner. It still has Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager. It still has closer Kenley Jansen and ace Clayton Kershaw. Hell, if you're lucky, L.A. might even be able to re-sign Manny Machado so you can reunite with your old roomie from back when you were both teenagers on Team USA. Not that you need the pot to be any sweeter.

Besides the deep pockets and the deep roster, the Dodgers have one thing money can't buy: location, location, location. (Technically that's three things, but you get the point.) Chavez Ravine is practically around the corner from your old stomping ground in Las Vegas, meaning you'll get to see your pops that much more. And your homies. And your beloved Golden Knights. And on days when the MLB and NHL calendars don't align for you, the Lakers aren't a bad Plan B. Heck, there's a sporting chance you can even roll with Magic and hang in the owner's box.

While you're at Staples Center, you can chat with LeBron James, who, like yourself, seems to have a knack for the whole athlete/actor thing. It's just one more reason he took his talents to Tinseltown.

And why you just did the same.

Start over »

Brad Mills/USA Today Sports

YOU'RE A CUB!

Last year in D.C., while the Cubs were in town, you posed for a pic. Left to right, it was your old pal Kris Bryant, his wife Jessica, your wife Kayla, and of course you. Then you posted it on Instagram, along with a caption that read, "Just two Vegas boys living our dream with the ones we love! This is what it's all about. What a time to be alive." No big deal, really. Except for the hashtag you decided to drop: #Back2BackOneDay.

The whole superfriends model of roster construction hasn't hit MLB yet, not like in the NBA, where all the best players would rather play with one another than against (see: Warriors, Golden State). But you don't mind starting a trend -- you've always been good at that.

You and KB (if he doesn't get traded), Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber. A bunch of fun-loving 20-somethings, all under one roof. You'll be the National League version of the Houston Astros.

On the one hand, it doesn't seem the Cubs could possibly give you the gobs of green you're looking for. Not with almost $165 million in payroll already committed for next season. Not with Jason Heyward's fat contract on the books for another five seasons. Not if they want to keep superstars like Bryant and Rizzo in the Windy City long-term.

Still, when it comes to spending, the Cubs might not yet be in the same league as the Yankees and Dodgers, but ever since the Ricketts family took ownership almost a decade ago, it sure has seemed like they're headed in that direction. With a wildly popular team and a rabid fan base and a new TV deal on the horizon, the money seems to be there.

The only question is: Where exactly will you play? With Heyward in right field, Albert Almora in center and Schwarber in left -- not to mention Ian Happ backing up all three spots -- there isn't a whole lot of room in Wrigleyville for you. And it's not like you can DH, either. But that's not your problem. When you land in Chicago, GM Theo Epstein will find a way to create space for you. And once he does, Joe Maddon will find a spot for you in the lineup.

With any luck, you'll be hitting right behind your old homeboy Bryant. Back-to-back.

Start over »

Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire

YOU'RE A PHILLIE!

This one's all about the Benjamins.

Sure, the long-range forecast is sunny. Led by Rhys Hoskins and Aaron Nola, the Phillies have a solid core of young talent that has made the team playoff-relevant, and well ahead of schedule. And you like a W just as much as the next guy. That said, Philadelphia is even farther away from your hometown of Las Vegas than D.C. is. Beyond that, it's a town that, when it comes to sports teams, is decidedly unsexy, a city known for its gritty, blue-collar edge. It's the kind of place a guy like Mike Trout -- a low-profile, no-nonsense kind of dude who was born and raised in nearby Millville, New Jersey -- belongs. You? Not so much.

Remember that slump you went through in the first half of last season? If and when that happens in the City of Brotherly Love, you'll get pummeled by the unforgiving fans there. Kind of like how the fans in NYC abused Giancarlo Stanton after he got off to a rough start.

But that's OK. Because for you, the move to Philly is a bottom-line move. It's a move that feeds your ego. Although you've never come out and said it, you love the idea of one-upping Stanton and setting a record for the richest contract ever. And the Phillies are the team that gives you the best chance to do that.

Aside from Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana, the Phils don't have any high-priced, long-term contracts. They have only $69 million committed to next season's payroll. Of all the clubs on your radar, they have by far the most financial flexibility, enough that they could probably sign you and Manny and still have some spending money left over. In other words, you can pretty much name your price, to the extent that GM Matt Klentak is interested in procuring your services. And why wouldn't he be?

Nick Williams is fine in right field, but he's not you. Even if Klentak wants to hold on to Williams, the Phils could slide him over to left and move Hoskins back to first once Santana's contract expires.

You don't really care about that. All you care about is the Benjamins. And the city where Benjamin Franklin made his name is where you'll make your fortune.

That's why you chose Philly.

Start over »

Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images

YOU'RE A YANKEE!

You've decided to lend the Junior Circuit your services. Although the Angels make a little bit of sense on account of the whole L.A. thing, really there's only one option in your mind.

You grew up worshipping the Yankees because your dad worshipped them. And because, well, they're the Yankees. Mickey Mantle was your idol. You loved him so much, your Twitter handle, @Bharper3407, is a combination of his number and your number. As for your number, you're aware of the conspiracy theory. The one that says the reason you chose to wear 34 in Washington is that you knew if you ever ended up wearing pinstripes, 7 wouldn't be an option. So you chose a number whose digits add up to seven, knowing full well you could take 34 with you to the Bronx should the situation present itself.

If you're being technical about it, following in the Mick's footsteps means playing center field. But you're not really a center fielder. Yes, that's where you spent most of your time as a rookie, but that was mostly because the Nationals already had Jayson Werth entrenched in right.

Ultimately, though, Werth moved to the opposite corner and bequeathed right field to you. You like playing there. It allows you to show off that ridiculous hose of yours in a way the other outfield spots don't, what with those long throws to third base. Even when you don't get the chance to let it rip because the runner knows better than to try to go first to third on you, which happens all the time, it makes you feel mighty and respected.

Whether or not you care to admit it, you weren't your usual defensive self this year. You were a little less aggressive, especially in the vicinity of the warning track, as if you were afraid of getting dinged up in your walk year. Maybe it was a conscious choice, maybe not. You also seemed a little distracted out there from time to time, a little less engaged than usual. Maybe that was the walk year talking too. Or maybe that first-half slump got in your head and made it hard for you to leave your ABs in the dugout.

Regardless of what went down on D last season, you're a good right fielder and you know it. Maybe not as good as some folks think, but certainly good enough to play right field for the New York Yankees. Problem is, so is Aaron Judge.

Could Judge slide over to center to make room for you? Probably. After all, he's a pretty sick athlete who's remarkably coordinated for his size. But that size -- 6-foot-7 and 280 pounds -- sounds less like a center fielder and more like just a plain old center. As in a basketball center. Or a football center. Take your pick.

So maybe Judge pulls a Jayson Werth and moves over to left field for you, where there's a hole created by the redeployment of Brett Gardner, whose $12.5 million team option was declined by the club and who instead will earn $7.5 million next season, which sounds a little less like starting outfielder money. Alternatively ... the Yanks could leave Judge in right and put you in center.

Oh, don't act like that doesn't intrigue you. It intrigues everyone who watched you start 50-something games in center field for the Nationals last season. Sure, Washington was struggling to score early on and it was a creative way to get three strong bats (yours, Juan Soto's and Adam Eaton's) into the lineup at the same time. That said, the move was eerily reminiscent of when Orioles slugger Davis -- a first baseman by trade and a fellow Boras client -- suddenly started playing a bunch of right field during his contract year.

And let's not forget about first base. You've never played the position before, but that didn't stop you from taking grounders there in early July, before a game against ... the Yankees. Coincidence? Maybe. But if you're looking to plant a seed in the collective mind of a front office whose team doesn't necessarily have a long-term solution at first base (Greg Bird? Luke Voit?), there are far worse ways.

Speaking of planting seeds: In June, a couple of weeks before your impromptu first-base showcase, you showed up to Nats Park clean-shaven for the first time in forever. That trademark beard of yours? Gone. Then you went out and took early batting practice prior to the series opener ... against the Yankees ... who don't allow facial hair.

If someone who was watching you didn't know any better, they might think you'd already made your choice then.

Start over »

So what will actually happen? Maybe Harper ends up signing with a dark horse like the Giants or Rangers or Padres. Maybe he decides to play in Japan. Maybe he pulls a Colby Rasmus and decides to walk away from baseball altogether. Nobody knows for sure, but it'll certainly be fun sitting by the hot stove this winter and seeing which adventure Bryce Harper chooses.

Source: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24674023/choose-your-own-adventure-bryce-harper-edition

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blackwoolncrown · 3 years ago

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OKAY UPDATE for those interested

we finally heard back from our landlords and they’re raising the rent $200

On the one hand that’s low compared to many of the price hikes in our area (over the course of the pandemic Orlando area rent prices have risen to SoCal levels).

On the other hand it’s still more than we can afford right now due to the general state of [gestures to Society] …things. Rent is now almost 2.5k.

I think our asking about getting roommates added to the lease influenced the rent raise as well which is just…ugh. Counterintuitive and counterproductive. We can’t move bc there’s nowhere to move to and a move itself would cost 2-3x what rent costs so we’re making moves for some changes that should pan out in the end, but we need help in the interim until the additional money starts coming in.

Thank you to everyone who helped so far; after taxes* it’s still a good chunk but we do still need and appreciate any donations you can offer before paying rent on October 4th. Today is September 29th.

please donate & boost

*fun fact: in 2022 all money sharing apps will be reporting accounts that accept over $600 as taxable income, meaning it is going to be even harder to assist others through mutual aid bc they will either need to tax the money via payroll throughout the year or make sure they have enough saved to pay for it the next year which means they receive less financial support through donations than donors actually gave and/or they now have an additional cost to pay which for many is just another financial burden. Capitalism is the fucking worst.

Cashapp: $moonseye

PayPal.me/ELLIPSISLUX

📣 📣 📣 📣 📣 📣 📣

‼️!URGENT AID NEEDED! ‼️ s.o.s. from FLORIDA

Black+Indigenous Land Back organizer needs rent assistance

Transcript: Hi all, this is urgent so I’ll be direct: the pandemic economic crisis and Florida rent prices have put me at risk. As with everywhere across the nation my income has been falling sharply over the last several months. Knowing this was a long term crisis and that my lease ends in November I’ve explored getting roommates but am not sure yet if that’s going to be able to happen. Our current rent is over 2k and due to rise if we renew but our landlord has not yet told us how much more we will be paying. We have no way of calculating how much more we’d need to stay on, and currently the only way to even pay these last months rent is dipping into what savings I’ve managed to save over the last few years- two of which being the pandemic. After that it’s the funds I’ve been earning for our land back project- and I absolutely do not want to need to touch them.

We also explored moving to a more affordable place but due to the Florida rent and economic crisis there are almost NONE available large enough for me to continue working out of. Homes only a few hundred dollars cheaper a month are a fraction of the size and after the cost of a move, fees, and the loss of business that’s not an improvement.

Due to my neurodivergence i *must* be able to work from home- I’m an autistic survivor of severe domestic violence who thus does not have family to ask for money, or to stay with- so please keep in mind this entire time there are safety nets I am not privileged with. I am currently working to pull some strings but need urgent assistance to support my safety while we wait to hear back about our rent and I chart a liveable course through this crisis.

Here’s what you can do to help me: 1. Donate anything you can to cashapp $MOONSEYE or PayPal.me/ellipsislux -this is the most immediate way to help, and it’s very much needed.

2. Book an appointment with me. I am now open for taking clients for card reading, guided meditation, spiritual consultation and relaxational hypnosis. To find out more about my history with these things, check out my site thatwhichcreates.com To book, contact me at [email protected]

3. Buy something from my store. I sell handmade jewelry and afroindigenous beadwork at awingedserpent.bigcartel.com you can also help for free by resharing my posts from @awingedserpent on tumblr and ig

4. I will be using only fans to offer live chats, dance performances, sound baths, rituals, personal content, photos, and recorded sessions in a way there can be respect and an even energetic exchange and I don’t feel over-exposed. Subscribe at shesthatwhich and keep an eye out bc I’ll be posting soon. *This will be a BIPOC & rainbow flag centered space so keep that in mind.*

5. Subscribe to my Patreon. This is a great option for allies and supporters who don’t feel like my only fans is right for them, but would love to offer me continuous support in my projects moving forwards. If you’re curious and want to know more about my general work visit my IG @iamthatwhich

https://www.patreon.com/ThatWhich

I’m grateful to have the opportunity to make it through this but I cannot do that alone. To everyone who has listened, thank you.

Please donate, support, and share this post.

Salamat, gracias, peace, Aśe”

‼️B O O S T & DONATE PLEASE!! ‼️

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violetsystems · 4 years ago

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#personal

It’s been a pretty busy couple of weeks in terms of work. It is a little surreal to identify as working for yourself. I ran into one of the people who hangs out on this block. I’ve known them for years in passing. There’s a gang of people who hang out in the alley underneath the subway tracks. They asked what I had been doing. I replied I work for myself now. My office is officially my kitchen. It look out at those very tracks. They film Chicago Fire and PD on my block often. I don’t watch either of those shows but it can have a Hollywood backlot kind of feel. Most of the street level communication I have resembles grittier parts of New York. There’s no one dominant kind of person on the block. People tend to keep to themselves but know vaguely what the other’s deal is. There’s a sort of hidden network of communication maybe. A block culture. That can get a little hard to read the further you get away from your safe zone. I’ve travelled all over the world at this point by myself. I started travelling to Asia back in 2011 with the intention of networking. Later in 2014, I revisited making music particularly with a Chicago form of street dance called footwork. Footwork at the time was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. But the root of it was buried under layers of white dominated dance music. In 2015, I decided to say fuck it and try to organize a music tour for myself. I tried with people in my own city but their personal agendas always eclipsed my basic plans. There was a bass driven night in Chicago at the time called Coldtech. It had a sister night in Melbourne. I tried to organize a tour that passed through on my way from New Zealand. I went to New Zealand to visit a friend. I ended up going out on a few dates then ghosted the final night. Somewhere in there I got detained in customs and accused of being a gang member. I eventually ended up in Japan where I met Jake Innes. Jake was an anime nerd and video game freak. He knew the Coldtech people but was more like me. Out on his own trying to use his passion to promote something he loved. Culture. Just like punk back in the day, you could count on that culture in a pinch to survive. We travelled all over Japan for a few days. Jake was my translator. I was guided to amazing food. Amazing spots to shop. We talked about what moved us. I had come up with this dumb ass phrase at the time. Yolonet. A sort of blockchain word of mouth. Jake had a lot of trust with people. He was friends with Lil B after all. It didn’t really matter who he was friends with to me. I am a very genuine and transparent person. You have to be when you’ve wasted so much time on liabilities. You never expect those to turn out to be past friends. After reading all this depressing news about the entropy in the job search, I felt down. You don’t expect your professional contacts to just disappear without a trace. I barely have the connections on professional social networking to prove it. Those people never reach out. Never ask how my employment is going. Don’t even realize I work for myself. And yet the block knows. Jake knows too. In fact, the last two releases I put out just for fun were purchased by him. The only way I am connecting to people I can depend on is through culture. Something I can trust beyond politics, sooth saying, and employment fraud.

There’s people outside of that Yolonet who have gone dark. Entire segments of ex-friends who memorialize people who have long died while pretending I just vanished from the face of the earth. It’s been surreal to watch. Much more disorienting to live. And yet, I am still here and surviving. The people in my dash are much realer and emotionally satisfying to me than the people who forgot about me. And the mystery of why is a little harder to detangle. I was reading a book about Chinese director Jia Zhangke. He was talking about how as a kid the only way to escape the place you grew up was to join the army or go overseas to school. It’s the same if not worse here. America talks a great game about freedom but it’s at the expense of the coffers of the military industrial complex of world war two. Thank the baby boomers for that. It benefits mostly the rich and generationally wealthy first. Wealth connects and is rewarded by those connections in America with more wealth. People who have Military family ties seem to always fall victim to the state’s own hidden expectations of connection, opportunity and ability. Hunted by recruiters since there’s little actual income to go around. The rich are hording it without paying taxes. So the military often bullies people into the reserves when there’s no valid occupational work or space on corporate payrolls. Fight their wars as a gateway into a career in cybersecurity I’m already overqualified for. My current state of wealth is due to a benefit known as a pension. This is to say I actually worked for it. And this is also to say I’m not exactly retired by choice. But I worked with a lot of people I knew for over twenty years. I literally got people jobs at that place. My ex girlfriend for one. That ended horribly. The other people I helped out to try to connect ghosted me out of guilt presumably. And so the only people I seem to be able to rely on are in the culture I have built or connected to myself. This blog has been one of those lifelines in ways I am not at liberty to divulge at times. There’s people I have better friendships through a click of a button than I’ve had ever in my life. I used to try to explain these things to people. And generally my exile from anyone in real life giving a fuck is a harsh lesson in the reality. People don’t actually listen. They don’t actually communicate in anything other than comparison and contrast and monetary valuation. I was reading how a person just literally asked to buy the rights to one of Elon Musk’s tweets for 7777$. How a sentence from a billionaire is worth more than my pain in this entire process or the lives of the worker’s in his factories even. We just got six hundred dollars. That should be enough for us. But I wasn’t valuable enough to insure past October even though I was paying the premiums. It would seem the real world’s network isn’t very reliable or at least focused on something so out of sync it seems comically evil. What can I rely on? It seems a lot. I never have felt alone in the last year or so. Ever since Valentine’s day really. Sometimes you can show you care by not even saying a word. Words are worthless when you can buy them for seven grand I guess. It’s the action of caring and attention that counts. If you built a foundation on people who didn’t care, your path ahead will be volatile at best. If you limit someone based on your fear of them outshining you, the results will be constantly mediocre. And many times, later in life you find you’ve outgrown these limitations people envision you in. And through that worthless feeling you seek out something true. You take the once in a lifetime risk to set up your own network. To leave the baggage and the past behind and see it for what it really is. Your self worth is no longer shackled by people’s envy, jealousy and active sabotage. You are a defective crash test dummy that served it’s purpose for capitalism. Or you can leave the car wreck behind and opt out of the American social experiment entirely. It’s a free country after all.

The baby boomers did have an answer to all of this. Shut up and take their money because they know what’s best. My dad would always say later on in life I’d understand Republicans. Maybe I’d even want to become one. Like many Republicans from the suburbs, he’d never be caught dead in the rougher areas of the city much less outside of the country. I’ve never seen any politicians talking to people on the streets in passing. I’ve never seen anyone answering, speaking for, or actively working on this privilege that acts like a monkey on my back. I’m an only child. When my parents die, my bloodline is some bullshit. I’ll most certainly have to deal with some estate affairs on either side. But when I die, who knows where my legacy will go. Will I get married? Will I have children? Will I be able to fulfill my role in the helping America achieve it’s desired GDP? I can’t even count on my government during a Pandemic let alone to hold people accountable for crimes. Will I die alone, invisible, broke but talked about on the Internet. Will people watch my life until the very end to see the tragedy unmatched to their own? Are people just drunk on making me some sort of talking point? The gossip will never end. The sad truth of the last five to ten years for me is simple. There is an opposite to block chain. A network of people who only cover for themselves and their lies. The great lie as they spoke of in Germany did something horribly foul. A lie when it gets out of control. A lie when it eclipses the truth. When every word out of your mouth is gaslighted to protect an entire ecosystem that feeds itself and protects the criminal. When your very presence needs to be edited and erased to continue the engine running. A great lie can tear a hole in the very fabric of reality and the truth of a narrative. And it can suck somebody so far out into space that they have to terraform a whole new network of support. These days the writing is on the wall. We trust everything and doubt further. I have only had the luxury of looking to myself for answers. I have other inspiration. The best inspiration if you ask me. But I keep that to myself for fear of breaches in trust. But it’s no lie what I believe in. A freedom that allows love to bloom. A freedom that values people for what they do in deeds not speculation. A freedom that is accountable in broad daylight and answers for what it represents. Opportunities that exist outside of war economies and mark to market accounting. Making art that connects people without controlling the dialog. Being part of a culture and democratically so without disrespecting the read receipts. I’ve been real for longer than most people have been breathing. Not long enough to claw my way out of the designs these dinosaurs outspend me on. But the one thing I know going forward is that you cannot get anymore hardcore of a foundation other than being true to yourself. And I’m proud to surround myself with people who are true to me. Wherever the fuck you may be. You all live deeply inside my heart. And that’s something there’s no price on to betray. So let’s stop speculating and let’s live in the moment. I built this Yolonet for us. And instead of hello world. Let the first words be simple. I love you. World peace forever. Drink some water. It’s your human right. <3 Tim

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accounting72-blog · 4 years ago

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How to Outsmart Your Boss on more information here

Advantages Of Outsourced Accounting & Virtual Bookkeeping Can Be Fun For Anyone

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Worker turnover in the accounting department is a genuine and continuous concern. It interrupts operations and consumes valuable personnel time to recruit and train a brand-new finance staff member. An outsourced accounting provider removes this problem by assuring there is a skilled team of consultants assigned to the customer that are cross-trained and can fill-in, without a hitch, when someone on the team leaves.

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If your nonprofit is dealing with internal control processes and isn't rather ready for outsourced not-for-profit accounting services, then we recommend diving into the posts Internal Controls Made Easy for Nonprofit CEOs and Internal Controls for Nonprofits- Leading 10 Finest Practices. The outsourced accounting company offers guarantee that federal, state and local laws and guidelines are observed in handling taxes.

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The outsourcing supplier has access to third-party applications that have capabilities beyond regular accounting department functions. Accounts payable automation can accomplish the AP tasks, in all or in part, that would normally be done in-house. For instance, purchase and invoice approval, payment, reporting with integration with the general ledger, and more.

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comparebizsoftware837-blog · 4 years ago

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3 Reasons Your quickbooks payroll Is Broken (And How to Fix It)

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ADP is a trustworthy, strong competitor in online payroll, however with a robust set of functions. If your service is mid-sized, nevertheless, you ought to consider ADP. quickbooks payroll Easy and endless payroll runs monthly Full-service payroll tax forms and filing with precision guarantee Free direct deposit and W-2 and 1099 processing Integrates with QuickBooks and other popular accounting software application 24/7 client service Great online resources for companies of all sizes Clients report (must call ADP for pricing) Included cost for year-end tax filing No devoted expert You should get in touch with ADP Sales to get a rate quote for your small company.

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As your organization grows and adjusts to new innovations, you might require some of the new advanced functions offered by new entrants in the accounting software space, or you might recognize you have actually been paying excessive. Learn who's best and why in our extensive review of the finest small business accounting software.

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Intuit QuickBooks offers 2 different plans for folks buying payroll alone, and 4 for those purchasing it in a bundle with QuickBooks Online accounting software application. (Note that payroll plans differ for QuickBooks Desktop.) Have a look at what each of these bundles includes listed below! Determining paychecks and paying staff members are the only functions included in QuickBooks' Fundamental Payroll bundle.

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The Complete Service plan includes whatever from the Boosted package, plus all of the following: Total payroll taxes Free W-2 filing Assisted payroll setup No-penalty guarantee $99/month + $2/employee/month (routine discount rates used) The Full Service strategy is developed for companies in need of a highly automated payroll service that includes extensive tax support.

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allmightyfroppy-blog · 7 years ago

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melvinfellerstuff · 6 years ago

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Melvin Feller MA Explains How to get Customers to Return More Often

According to Melvin Feller, all of your heavy marketing costs are incurred on the front end of your marketing program, and since that is the case, you now can begin reaping the real profits by getting your customer to come back and buy more!

One of the biggest marketing mistakes businesses commit is the failure to capture the names and addresses of everyone that comes into their business regardless of whether they make a purchase or not.

It boggles Melvin Feller’s mind when he talks to these business and hears how many businesses fail to do this. Melvin Feller concludes they will spend thousands of dollars on advertising to bring new customers into their business and then they do not even bother to capture their name or address.

You must understand these names are pure gold. They have paid for them, and they have paid a lot... doesn’t it make sense to capture them?

Even if these customers did not buy anything from you these businesses, the fact that those customers came into the business or practice, or responded to an ad, means they are at least interested in a product or service. They have qualified themselves as a prospect. Businesses do not want to let them escape, and force yourself to spend a bundle to bring them back, when a letter with a postage stamp can get the job done far more efficiently.

Therefore, the absolute crucial, never fail, must do, number one strategy for increasing frequency of purchase is…

Capture the Name and Address of Every Customer, Client, Patient, or Prospect that Graces Your Enterprise in Any Way!

Of course capturing the data is the first step, and then you actually have to figure out what you want to say to them to bring them back!

Once again, one of the best ways to get your customers to come back more often is to...

Ask them to!

In addition, when you do, give them a reason to come back. This can take many forms.

The obvious is the sale but why not be a little more creative than that.

You can hold a special event.

A woman with a women’s apparel store sent out invitations for a special private showing to her best customers, every time her new seasonal inventory came in. She did not mark the items down; actually, they were listed at full retail.

This event was held after hours as a “closed door” affair with light refreshments. The purpose was to simply give the best customers first crack at the new items. This way the best customers get the size, style and selection they want before anyone else.

This type of event left the customers feeling special and it built a long-term relationship with them.

Make Doing Business With You Fun!

If you do not have a natural reason to hold an event or give customers a reason to come back again, invent one. I love the story of a music store that has a special event every day of the week. They have shave your head day, perform like a maniac day, military day, dress like a farm animal day, swim suit day, crawl on your knees day, karaoke day, yes they even had a dress nude day, (this is an Australian business, don't try this at home!)Etc... Any way you get the point.

These folks probably go overboard on the idea, but what if you did something like this once a week or once a month If you are consistent with it, you will gain a loyal following coming back every time.

Make Your Customers Feel Special!

One Realtor has two events a year. One is for the community; the other is for her clients. This year she took 150 clients to a nearby gambling resort. She fed them a prime rib dinner and turned them lose to have fun. These clients continue to give her referrals every year. Moreover, she asks them for those referrals, too.

Take Advantage of Back-end Offers!

What can you sell your customers on the back-end? Once they have purchased from you, the opportunity to sell them something else goes up dramatically because you have broken through the barrier of sales resistance. Your customers trust you. They are receptive to your offers to add more value, more protection, more benefit to their lives. Your current customers are prime prospects for additional products or services.

Using the furniture example, suppose you located a discontinued line of new oak bar stools for 25 cents on the dollar. You could send out a letter to all of your customers and let them in on this incredible deal. Talk about adding value to their lives! They will love you for it. In addition, once they are back in the store, you can continue to up-sell them. You might be able to unload your entire supply of those bar stools to your existing customers, and you would do it far less expensively than if you had to advertise those stools in the newspaper or in the broadcast media.

Another back end opportunity is…

Hosting Other Peoples’ Products!

What other products or services do your customers buy before or after the sale you make to them?

If you owned a furniture store, you could work a deal with a company that cleaned furniture or carpets. Just send out a letter to your customers telling them you have located this business with a great service and arranged a special deal just for them. Then you would make sure the carpet cleaner cut you in on a piece of the action.

One client, Dave owns an employee leasing company. He writes the checks for a couple of hundred employees every week. Does this give you any ideas? If Mother’s Day was right around the corner, for example, it would be a good idea for Dave to contact a florist and make arrangements to offer a special deal to his employee’s and cut himself in on the deal.

What else would employees need? Well, if it is tax season, how about a tax preparation service? Restaurants are always looking for new customers, and it is certain employees eat. Maybe dentists or orthodontists. Car dealers, appliances, electronics... it really is endless!

Dave could set up deals with dozens of businesses and offer their products to his employees... and may actually make more money on the back end from products and services totally unrelated to his business, than he does from his core business!

In fact, if he institutionalized this process at the highest level, he could even provide the low-margin payroll services FREE, and make all of his money on the back end. WOW! A wild concept, and what an incredible Unique Purchase Appeal!

What other products or services are your customers going to buy, whether you help them out or not?

Frequency of purchase idea…

Programming Your Clients for Repeat Usage!

For example, a window washer who sold a service contract guaranteed himself repeat business. The carpet cleaner could do the same thing, as well as the tree trimmer. Dozens of businesses can and should adapt this idea.

You could use price inducements to encourage repeat business. The frequent flyer programs the airlines offer are in this category. You could offer a frequent purchase program for your customers, and here are few examples.

Ten oil changes earns a free one. A Diner’s Club card earns points that are good for free merchandise or a discount. The Discover Card gives back 1% of the purchase. At one local supermarket, they give a voucher with every gallon of milk bought. When 12 of these vouchers are collected, they can be traded in for a free gallon. All of these programs are designed to get customers to come back more often.

What will you do to induce your customers to come back more often, and buy more when they come?

Please do not delay. Every day without these marketing blocks in your “Power mind of Profits” represents lost sales, profits, service to your customers, clients, or patients… and a loss of quality of life for you.

May you use these blocks to succeed in every way you dream possible.

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT

Choose a new method for increasing the frequency with which your clients buy from you. Initiate a test of this method within 30 days. When the program works, systematize it and do select another frequency of purchase strategy to test.

Therefore, the bottom line is to try each of these action items and see what works the best for you!

Stay in touch.

Assume they will not remember you.

Keep the experience fresh and relevant.

Surprise them.

Collaborate.

Have the right people on the front-line.

Make it easy for customers to reach you.

Listen.

Show your appreciation.

Melvin Feller is known as “The Entrepreneur’s Mentor” because Melvin walks his talk. Melvin Feller has been there and done that and more importantly, Melvin Feller knows how to transfer the skill set for success. This is main reason that he has been the sought after coach to hundreds of small business owners, entrepreneurs, Realtors, real estate investors and service professional internationally. Melvin Feller’s main talent is to show you how the step by step process to build and enjoy a successful 6-figure plus business while having a balanced life. Melvin Feller maintains offices in Texas and Oklahoma.

Melvin Feller MA is in Texas and in Oklahoma. Melvin Feller founded Melvin Feller Business Group in the 1970s to help individuals and organizations achieve their specific Victory. Victory as defined by the individual or organization are achieving strategic objectives, exceeding goals, getting results or desired outcomes. He has extensive experience assisting businesses achieve top and bottom line results. He has broad practical experience creating WINNERS in many organizations and industries. He has hands-on experience in executive leadership, operations, logistics, sales, program management, organizational development, training, and customer service. He has coached teams to achieve results in strategic planning, business development, organizational design, sales, and customer response and business process improvement. He has prepared and presented many workshops nationally and internationally.

#returning customer #returning customers #increasing your customer base #increasing customer spending #increase business #increased business #more money #increased income #building business #success #successful #business success #How to Succeed #planning for success #melvin feller #business Group of Melvin Feller #Melvin feller in texas #melvin feller in oklahoma #melvin feller business group

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stephenmccull · 4 years ago

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Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen

Hiya! I’m Lauren Olsen, your new Newsletter Editor. That’s right — the totally official, no more fill-ins, always-here-for-you Newsletter Editor. As the replacement for editor extraordinaire Brianna Labuskes, I’m here to tackle all your health news needs.

Why yes, you’re right — a pandemic is a heck of a time to take over this job. I’d argue, however, that it’s the best time, because who doesn’t need a hand sorting out all this craziness? So far, 2020 has been like trying to paint the “Mona Lisa” while riding a unicycle in a rainstorm — in other words, a sloppy mess teetering on disaster — but, with any luck, when it’s done we might all manage to smile.

In the meantime, I won’t Louvre you in the lurch. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Be sure to read each day’s top health news headlines in KHN’s Morning Briefing, compiled by yours truly. Please subscribe, if you haven’t already — and tell your colleagues and friends, too. Have a comment about the Briefing or the Breeze? Send me an email at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

A Gift for You, My New Friend

Because we’ve just met, I’d like to offer you a token of friendship: Today’s Breeze will do its best to have a positive spin. Things are dreary enough in the world right now — you don’t need me to blow more gray clouds your way. In the words of Helen Keller, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

What’s Donald Up To?

Today, let’s play a game called “What’s Donald Up To?” You won’t win any points or money. What you will win is the knowledge that there are 180 days until Inauguration Day! (I suppose your real prize will be if “your guy” wins, whether it’s President Donald Trump, Joe Biden or Kanye West.)

So what is Donald up to? He began his busy week of tweeting, mask-wearing and name-calling with a feisty interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Sunday. In it, he lamented increased COVID testing (“I’m glad we do it, but it really skews the numbers”), called Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s infectious diseases superstar, an “alarmist,” boasted about the sagging U.S. economy (“I built the greatest economy in history, I’m now doing it again”), reasserted his opinion that the virus will “disappear” and downplayed the potentially devastating physical effects of COVID-19 by saying some people just have the “sniffles.” When asked about the nearly 1,000 deaths a day in the U.S., Trump said it “is what it is.” On the positive side? Well, the interview was only about an hour.

The critiques rolled in, and for most of the week we saw a kinder, gentler version of Trump. Maybe it was because he was happy he supposedly aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test that detects early signs of dementia. Or maybe it was because he’d passed “multiple” COVID tests a day, according to his press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany. (“I don’t know of any time I’ve taken two in one day,” he clarified a few hours later.) Or perhaps he was simply feeling generous, providing $5 billion for struggling nursing homes, resuming COVID task force briefings, renewing the national public health emergency and even (gasp!) tweeting a pic of himself wearing a mask. But I think the real reason may have been because two White House cafeterias closed this week after a staffer tested positive for the coronavirus — providing another excuse for him to keep eating McDonald’s. (Just a theory.)

Even so, Trump’s good mood subsided by the end of the week, probably because he had to cancel the GOP convention in Jacksonville, Florida, amid the state’s rising COVID cases. (Not to mention that the Duval County sheriff did warn him about not being able to provide security.)

Wondering what Biden, Trump’s probable Democratic rival in November, was up to? Well, this week he released his massive “caregiving plan” for Americans — $775 billion over 10 years. (That certainly would buy a lot of Care Bears.)

California and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

California, the most populous state, on Wednesday surpassed New York as the worst-hit state for cases (tallying 413,576 as of that day). The increase of 12,112 was the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic started. At the national level, there have been 4 million cases — it took only 15 days to jump from 3 million to 4 million — and the death toll stands at 144,000. Unfortunately, the rise in cases is outpacing the rise in testing, with The New York Times explaining: “About 21,000 cases were reported per day in early June, when the positive test rate was 4.8 percent. As testing expanded, the positive test rate should have fallen. … Instead, the positive test rate has nearly doubled.”

The number of COVID cases is likely 10 times higher than what we thought, experts now say. On Saturday, the FDA approved the use of pooled testing, essentially allowing the testing of many more people using fewer tests. But the White House, not to be outdone, announced it would push to phase out funding for testing from the COVID-relief bill in Congress. (More on that in a minute.)

In the “oops” category, 113 people in Rhode Island, about 90 in Connecticut, 26 in Kentucky and dozens in New York were told they had COVID-19 when in fact they had tested negative. (Does that qualify as positive news? I’m not sure, but I’m happy those folks are fine.) Conversely, in The Villages, Florida, one of America’s biggest retirement communities known for its golf and rockin’ house parties, is seeing a spike in positive cases, jumping from the single digits last month to at least 29 last week.

Scientists delved into the big question this week: Can you get reinfected with COVID? And the absolute, no-doubt-about-it answer was: Um, not sure. But it’s unlikely, they say. Scientists did determine that mosquitoes most likely don’t spread COVID, and they’re testing whether UV light, which can kill many nasty germs, can kill this virus, too. As a bonus, the CDC now says that if you do get sick, you should isolate for 10 days, not 14. (But severely ill patients should isolate for 20 days.)

So Much for Vacation

Congress returned from a two-week summer recess Monday to begin work on the fifth COVID-relief bill of the year, and it played out like a real-life version of Chevy Chase’s “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” starring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as Clark Griswold, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the Ferrari-driving Christie Brinkley and Trump as the security guard at Walley World who basically ends their fun. (My goodness, can’t you just envision it?)

Republicans had a $1 trillion agenda that included funds for schools and COVID testing, a payroll tax cut, direct checks for individuals and $600-a-week stipends for laid-off workers. Senate Republicans seemed near a deal with the White House on Wednesday as the Griswold family station wagon chugged along. But the car crashed Thursday when the two groups failed to reach an agreement on the unemployment issue. (Mind you, the Democrats haven’t even gotten involved yet.) Republicans vowed to have a new deal next week. As all this was going on, smooth-driving Pelosi left tire tracks all over Trump while speaking on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Tuesday, calling the coronavirus the “Trump virus.”

Let’s Make a Deal: Which Vaccine Is Behind Door No. 1?

Am I the only person who can’t keep track of all the vaccines and treatments in play? Chinese group Sinopharm said it will have a vaccine ready for the public before the end of the year. (Woohoo!) British pharmaceutical firm Synairgen announced a breakthrough nebulizer treatment that reduces the severity of COVID-19, and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine AZD1222 showed promising results in human trials, too. Meanwhile, behind Door No. 2, the Russians are insisting they didn’t try to steal British coronavirus vaccine research.

Back in the good ol’ U.S. of A., five pharmaceutical giants testified to Congress on Tuesday that they wouldn’t cut corners when developing a vaccine. And Wednesday, as if on cue, Pfizer and German firm BioNTech made an unusual $1.95 billion deal to supply 100 million doses of a not-yet-finished vaccine to the federal government, which plans on giving it to Americans at no cost. (Not to nitpick, but there are 330 million people in America. I’m not great a math, but still …)

Meanwhile, behind Door No. 3, the Department of Justice indicted two Chinese nationals this week on charges that they hacked and stole research from companies working on COVID vaccines in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Spain, Australia and other nations.

The REALLY Important Questions

Sure, all of that stuff has big implications. But here in the real world, we’re worried about simpler stuff. For example, when can I watch NFL football? (Not for a while.) Has baseball started? (Yes!) Can I travel to the Bahamas (no), Niagara Falls (yes) or New York (maybe)? If I live in California and need a haircut, where can I get one? (Outdoors.) Should I buy my teen some condoms? (It’s up to you, but more adolescents are improvising with plastic wrap — shudder.) Does it hurt to get shot with a less-lethal projectile? (Um, HECK YES.) Should I wear a mask in Atlanta, at a Marriott hotel or when buying jeans at the Gap? (Yes.) How about at the bank? (Yes, as long as you promise not to rob the joint.)

That about wraps it up for me. Hope you enjoyed my inaugural Breeze. Keep smiling! Until next week,

— Lauren

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

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gordonwilliamsweb · 4 years ago

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Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen

A Gift for You, My New Friend

What’s Donald Up To?

California and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So Much for Vacation

Let’s Make a Deal: Which Vaccine Is Behind Door No. 1?

The REALLY Important Questions

That about wraps it up for me. Hope you enjoyed my inaugural Breeze. Keep smiling! Until next week,

— Lauren

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

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dinafbrownil · 4 years ago

Text

Must-Reads of the Week From Lauren Olsen

A Gift for You, My New Friend

What’s Donald Up To?

California and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

So Much for Vacation

Let’s Make a Deal: Which Vaccine Is Behind Door No. 1?

The REALLY Important Questions

That about wraps it up for me. Hope you enjoyed my inaugural Breeze. Keep smiling! Until next week,

— Lauren

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/friday-breeze-health-care-policy-must-reads-of-the-week-from-lauren-olsen-july-24-2020/

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goldeagleprice · 5 years ago

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Three States Considering Repeal Of Coin/Bullion Sales Tax Exemptions

In recent years, state, county, and local governments were finally required to include on their financial statements the net present value of unfunded liabilities for employee pensions and retiree health care and other retirement benefits. Michigan’s state government now discloses, for example, that it owes more than $60 billion in debt and liabilities, although these numbers are masked by spreading this information over multiple financial reports.

As a result, governments have become more aggressive at seeking additional ways to raise revenues. One tactic is to review existing state tax exemptions and credits for possible elimination or reduction.

Right now, three states—Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington—have pending legislation to eliminate their existing sales tax exemptions on the retail sales of coins and precious metals bullion. The legislative committee in Maryland was scheduled to hold its hearings on Thursday this week.

Unfortunately for legislators and government bureaucrats, almost none understand the well-documented fact that states with complete or partial sales tax exemptions on the retail sales of coins and precious metals bullion results in those states collecting higher sales taxes as well as other taxes than do states that do not have such exemptions. If the objective of a state government is to maximize its revenues, it should maintain existing complete exemptions, expand existing partial exemptions, or adopt exemptions if it does not currently have them.

The reason so few people in government do not understand the resulting enhanced revenues from such exemptions is that, on the face of it, when an item that was previously exempt from a tax then becomes subject to it, the anticipated result is that tax collections would increase.

Here are the reasons why sales tax exemptions on coins and precious metals bullion actually end up generating greater sales tax and other tax collections.

When tax laws change, taxpayers alter their financial activities.

In the precious metals bullion markets, for instance, the overwhelming amounts invested are for intangible forms that will never be subject to a state’s sales tax. These intangible forms include owning shares of stock in gold, silver, or platinum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), certificates representing ownership of physical precious metals sitting in the vaults of the Perth Mint in Australia, the Royal Canadian Mint in Canada, or the Royal Mint in England, owning precious metals commodity and options contracts, or owning shares of stock in precious metals mining companies.

In the gold market, over 95 percent of all transactions are in these intangible forms. Owning precious metals bullion in physical form in an investor’s direct custody or stored in a vault is only a tiny slice of the entire market. Should an existing sales tax exemption for precious metals bullion be eliminated, more investors will shift their purchases toward owning intangible forms listed above (shares of gold and silver EFTs are currently priced less than $200).

This alternative of being able to purchase intangible forms of precious metals bullion gives investors an option to legally avoid paying sales taxes. This means of tax avoidance is not possible with other tangible assets such as clothing, furniture, vehicles, and gasoline.

When the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA) conducted a 2016 national survey on sales, sales tax collections, and trade show attendance by coin dealers, it found that coin dealerships in states with complete or partial sales tax exemptions for coins and precious metals bullion experienced a huge increase in in-state retail sales of those items. In addition, dealers also sold far more other merchandise on which sales taxes were collected—enough so that the increase in these sales tax collections replaced, on average, about 2/3 of the sales tax collections lost from the exemption. Such sales-taxable items include, depending on the particular dealer, jewelry, antiques, other collectibles, and hobby supplies.

Also, when coin dealers see their in-state retail sales volume soaring—an average of more than 300 percent, they need to hire more staff. When jobs are created, a portion of the resulting increase in payrolls is spent on merchandise on which sales taxes are collected (a 1990s study by the Michigan Treasury calculated that 38.5 percent of payrolls are spent on items on which that state’s sales tax was collected.)

Another result of coin and precious metals sales tax exemptions is a significant increase in the number of businesses in a state or the expansion of existing businesses to extend their product lines to handle coins and precious metals bullion. These new businesses also create more jobs.

In the 2016 ICTA survey, it was projected that the increase in sales tax collections from the newly created jobs replaced more than 100 percent of the tax collections lost as a result of the adoption of the sales tax exemption.

Of course, most states also tax individual incomes. As a result, the creation of new jobs results in higher income tax collections as well as more sales tax collections.

Further, states with complete or partial sales tax exemptions also host a greater number of coin shows that have higher average dealer and public attendance than shows in states with no such exemption. This greater trade show activity results in higher sales by the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, convention halls, gas stations, and the like) which also increases sales and income tax collections.

There have been a few states in years past that eliminated coin and precious metals bullion sales tax exemptions—Colorado, Florida, Louisiana (twice), and Ohio (twice). In each of these instances (other than the second elimination of the Ohio exemption that took effect just over five months ago), the resulting net decrease in tax collections resulted in the restoration of the same or similar exemptions.

The second time that Louisiana eliminated its exemption in 2016, it was one of about 285 exemptions and credits that were “suspended” for 27 months. When the industry’s tax collections fell dramatically as a result of not being able to sell coins or precious metals bullion without charging sales tax, a similar coin and precious metals bullion exemption was restored the next year. The first time Ohio’s exemption was revoked, in 2005, within six months it was reported that at least 100 Ohio coin dealers had either closed, move to another state that had a coin/bullion sales tax exemption, or reduced staff. Ohio’s largest coin show was quickly canceled.

As I explained above, most legislators and other government officials do not understand the net decline in sales tax and other tax collections that result from eliminating a sales tax exemption on coin and precious metals bullion sales. Consequently, there is a prospect that even more state governments will propose revoking such exemptions.

ICTA has been working with dealers and collectors in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington to oppose elimination of the coin/bullion sales tax exemptions in those states. Defending the exemptions in these states could help protect similar exemptions in other states. Coin dealers across the country who are not currently ICTA members can help support these exemptions by joining the organization. Go to https://www.ictaonline.org/join-icta for more details. Individual collectors can also support ICTA’s efforts.

Full disclosure: Since 2002, I have been a member of the board of directors of ICTA, served as the organization’s treasurer from 2002-2019, and participated in preparing and analyzing the 2016 ICTA national coin dealer survey (though I did not have access to individual dealer responses). This column expresses my personal opinions and is not an official ICTA communication.

Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, 2017 Exemplary Service Award 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and 2008 Presidential Award winner. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild (including twice in 2019), Professional Numismatists Guild, Industry Council for Tangible Assets, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan and writes Liberty’s Outlook, a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at https://ift.tt/1GftSyP. Some of his radio commentaries titled “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 AM Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and become part of the audio and text archives posted at http://www.1320wils.com).

Click here to read more Patrick Heller columns.

The post Three States Considering Repeal Of Coin/Bullion Sales Tax Exemptions appeared first on Numismatic News.

#Precious Metals

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charlesjening · 5 years ago

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An Interview with a Paperless Practitioner Doing Things Her Way

Welcome back to the second in our series of interviews with Gusto partners who just so happen to be doing some pretty cool things out there in the exciting world of accounting. In case you missed the last one, we introduced you to Bruce Phillips of Aprio Cloud, all while extolling the virtues of payroll and benefits solutions provided by our friends at Gusto. Go give it a read.

Before we jump in, we encourage you to pay Gusto a visit to find out how they’re bringing payroll and benefits into the 21st century. Forget flying cars, what the future needed was a modern solution to getting your people paid, onboarded, and insured. I mean, flying cars would have been nice but hey, this is pretty good too.

This time around, you’re meeting the incomparable Nayo Carter-Gray of Maryland-based 1st Step Accounting. Not to play favorites but we’re particularly fond of her paperless approach and how she’s using technology to embrace the deskless lifestyle.

Going Concern: Let’s get some introductions out of the way. Tell us about your firm.

Nayo Carter-Gray: 1st Step Accounting is a virtual accounting and tax preparation firm that is environmentally conscious and focused on leveraging technology for efficiency and convenience.

Nayo Carter-Gray

The culture I’m building for my practice is one of flexibility and freedom. I truly believe no one should be tied to a desk because of the advancement of technology, and so I try to ensure that my customers can work with us regardless of location and can access all information with at bare minimum a smartphone.

GC: As laptop hobos ourselves, we fully get behind the deskless lifestyle. What all do you do over there?

Carter-Gray: We currently offer accounting and bookkeeping services, tax preparation and planning, education and seminars (online and in-person), QuickBooks online setup and training, IRS and state tax audit and collection services, as well as consulting for small business growth and development.

GC: Nice. So a solid well-rounded suite basically. Bit of a personal question maybe but why did you start your firm?

Carter-Gray: I started my firm initially as a tax preparation firm, and I focused on multilevel marketing business owners because I was a MLM business owner. I found that my team members and other colleagues were being fed bad information when it came to reporting the business income and expenses on their taxes. After the first tax season, I discovered a need for bookkeeping and education for the small business community since the larger firms don’t want to waste their time and resources on these customers because they don’t earn them enough billable hours.

GC: It’s funny, we’ve heard that from other firm owners about starting with tax prep and then branching out when they see a need to provide more services to their clients. It’s almost as if tax prep is a gateway drug. So, if the little old lady you’re helping cross the street asks you about your work, how would you describe your job?

Carter-Gray: I make accounting a little less taxing for small business owners all across the U.S.

GC: Excellent play on words. While you’re making things less taxing for your clients, what tools can you not live without?

Carter-Gray: So many to choose from! My project management system Trello keeps me on track, my forms builder Cognito Forms helps me organize data collection from clients, and my online scheduler/CRM vCita does just about everything: it helps me keep my schedule in order, allows my clients to conveniently book appointments that work for them, and helps me to keep communication and notes in one centralized location.

As an honorable mention, I can’t live without my SideTrak second monitor for my laptop which conveniently attaches to the back of the laptop and slides out to make working from home as easy as working from my office.

GC: And Gusto, natch! How did you first hear about them?

Carter-Gray: Another accountant mentioned them (not sure who), and shortly after I heard about Gusto, I attended QuickBooks Connect where I got to see all the features for myself at a breakfast they hosted. I switched my largest customer at the time a month later because I was so impressed.

GC: Excellent first impressions aside, any surprises about partnering with Gusto?

Carter-Gray: No real surprises because Gusto did a fabulous job of presenting its product. I will say the payroll autopilot feature definitely lived up to the hype. I have several clients on salary and this makes payroll a breeze!

GC: Positive feedback is always nice. How about you? What do you think is the best perk of partnering with Gusto?

Carter-Gray: I do love how Gusto listens to its community and makes improvements based on our feedback. And it’s awesome that Gusto offers a discount or revenue share when we refer the product to our communities.

GC: Alright, enough about all the benefits of partnering with Gusto. What are some challenges your firm has faced in 2019? And don’t be afraid to tell us the really tough stuff.

Carter-Gray: This year my firm struggled with finding a project management system to stay in constant communication with my clients. After taking some hard but necessary feedback from a few clients that left the firm this year, I decided to make it a priority to find/create a system that would allow us to stay on track of deadlines and give our customers the insight they needed to know what was going on with their project.

Another challenge is because I’m the only person working in the firm year-round, my personal goals have hindered the growth of the firm this year. I’m currently sitting for the CPA exam, which is very time-consuming and it has taken away from major marketing efforts to bring in tons of new clients like I have in the past.

GC: Wow, that’s got to be incredibly difficult. We’re sure you’ll do great. Back to your clients, are you seeing any future trends on their side our readers might be interested in hearing about?

Carter-Gray: My clients will continue to grow in their respective industries. Because I work with businesses that are newly formed or have only been in business for one to two years, I get to watch their growth from part-time hustle to full-time enterprise. So I’m expecting a few of my part-timers to go full time in their businesses in 2020 because of their steady growth.

GC: That’s gotta be fun for you to see your clients thrive. On that note, can you tell us about an interesting client situation that you’ve advised on? Or something exciting your clients are working on?

Carter-Gray: The most interesting situation that I have advised on may not be very interesting at all to most. For me, I’m very interested in watching my clients grow. So the situation I have had the most pleasure of advising on was watching a current client who is a hair stylist create and sell a physical hair-styling product. To be a part of the team that helped her go from concept to reality was an amazing experience.

The client’s reality is that the older she gets, the harder it will be for her body to sustain the hours she puts in at the salon standing and styling people’s hair. So creating her product is going to allow her to create an exit plan before she actually needs it, and this is so inspiring and interesting to me.

GC: I bet! I’m happy to report that we’re done with the interrogation portion of this interview, now on to the easy stuff! What’s your usual breakfast?

Carter-Gray: Usually it’s two eggs over easy, but during the winter months when it’s cold or I��m traveling, it’s apple cinnamon oatmeal.

GC: Everyone has a routine for winding down at the end of a stressful day. What’s yours?

Carter-Gray: I love me some good TV and a delicious Coca-Cola slurpee. I can drink them every day no matter the temperature.

GC: Man! I haven’t had one of those in FOREVER. Alright, tell us a fact about you that would surprise people to hear.

Carter-Gray: I was a parent by the age of 14.

GC: Yep, definitely surprised! What a wonderful example you’re setting of how hard work and a forward-thinking attitude can take you far in life and make an impact in the world.

So that’s all we’ve got with Nayo Carter-Gray. Feel free to check her out on YouTube for more. And if her glowing review of Gusto made you eager to learn more about how partnering with Gusto can help you and your clients seven ways to Sunday, be sure to check out their partner program for more details.

The post An Interview with a Paperless Practitioner Doing Things Her Way appeared first on Going Concern.

republished from Going Concern

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