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Justin Colby
What is up the Entrepreneur DNA Family if you are a personal brand, if you're a hard charging entrepreneur and you want to understand how to keep more of the money you're already making, this episode is going to be for you. I have a good friend, the founder of Abundant X tax planning and accounting firm. My man Grant Newell is here.
Grant Newell
Thanks for having me. It's great to be in the sunny state.
Justin Colby
That's right. That's right. So I'm a hard charging entrepreneur. I am a brand. I want to keep more of the money I'm making. I want to make sure I don't have to pay as much taxes as is the common folk out there that Might have to talk to me about what's on the horizon. Trump's in office. There's some things that are getting shaken up. Talk to me what's on the horizon for us?
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
So probably the one that will be most exciting to entrepreneurs like yourself is in that big, long tax plan that he laid out, the beautiful tax plan.
Justin Colby
There is one which I read like a sentence of.
Grant Newell
Yeah, there's, I mean, hundreds and hundreds of pages in it.
Justin Colby
Did you have to read the whole thing?
Grant Newell
No, I have. I have people on the team that I. I've sectioned it off. Yeah.
Co-host
Okay.
Grant Newell
You. Yeah, there's too many. And so I had each person tackle a section, but one exclusion was left out that a lot of people aren't talking about. And it is the entertainment deduction.
Justin Colby
Okay.
Co-host
Not.
Grant Newell
It's set to expire at the end of this year and it was not in there to extend. Meaning if you go golfing with a client or potential investor or whatever, currently you can't write that off.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
You got to pay for it on your own dime.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
Now you can go and write that off if it gets excluded. So I'm, I'm being cautious about saying this on camera because we don't know.
Justin Colby
Where it's going to land. So you have to be able to, you know, make sure you protect your downside here. But right now, I go and take you to golf. I can write that off.
Grant Newell
Currently, you can't.
Justin Colby
I cannot.
Co-host
Right, okay.
Grant Newell
You cannot write that off. But because it is excluded, it's not mentioned in there that, you know, non deduction would come back. So you can write off, you know, if it's, you know, $500 for, you know, a green. Okay, Write that all off now.
Co-host
Wow.
Justin Colby
You know, what about dinners and that kind of stuff?
Co-host
That is.
Justin Colby
No.
Grant Newell
Yeah, so that is, that is currently a 50%.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
It would go to 100.
Justin Colby
Wow. So we're talking about 100 tax write off.
Co-host
Correct. Okay, so if.
Justin Colby
So if I took you to golf, I, I don't even get 50% tax.
Grant Newell
Write off because it's an entertainment. Now meals. You'll get 50% because I think I.
Justin Colby
Remember my accountant telling me this, that was going away with someone's bill. Yes. It used to be. I could go do that.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
It used to be. And with the previous administration, it went down to 50% and it set, it's set to go to zero, but it's not mentioned in there. So it would come back.
Justin Colby
That's right.
Grant Newell
So that's one of those things that I tell people, I'm like, okay, it's not there yet, but we're getting there.
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And that's one of the ones, you know, like, you know, let's say you wanted to take somebody to the Heat game here in Miami. You couldn't write that off previously, but.
Justin Colby
Now, are people misinformed? I believe a lot of people think that that's the tax write off.
Grant Newell
Let's say this. Some people probably are taking that as a tax write off, but if you were to get audited, they would say.
Justin Colby
That is not the tax write off.
Grant Newell
That would be an add back. Okay, so what with add backs, you add back that expense plus what the tax was, plus interest, Not.
Justin Colby
Not however many years it's been.
Grant Newell
So not a great idea.
Co-host
So.
Justin Colby
And again, just because I try to inquire through my accountant, but I gotta be honest, talking to accountants is not the easiest thing in the world because you guys are so overly knowledgeable that you go into a wormhole and I go, bro, I just needed a simple, like, yes.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
So when did that go away? Because I remember when I. Now I'm 44, I've been an entrepreneur literally since I graduated college.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
There was a time meals in entertainment and entertainment.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Was a write off.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Golfing was absolutely a write off. Who took that away?
Grant Newell
To be honest, I could not tell you who exactly.
Justin Colby
Because it was within the last two different.
Grant Newell
Yeah, it's. It's been recent because you. You previously could write those things off. But now, even, like with the vehicle, you know, the vehicle went from 100 to 80 to 60 this year. Next year would be 40, 20, so on all the way down to zero. But that, you know, Trump's talking about bringing that back as well. 100% vehicle deduction because car sales are down to be, you know, to be honest, he's like, people aren't buying as many cars as to where. Hey, at the end of the year, I got. I get a big tax write off for buying a big SUV.
Justin Colby
£6,000.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And so.
Justin Colby
So where is that at right now? If I go buy, which I did just go buy a big Range Rover that fits the.
Grant Newell
Fits the bill.
Co-host
Right? Right.
Justin Colby
So what tax percentage am I at with that?
Grant Newell
So you can write off 60% of that.
Justin Colby
No kidding.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
So you can't write off all of it like you previously could.
Justin Colby
Sure.
Grant Newell
But you can get 60%, which is, you know, not terrible. It's terrible.
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
That's what Trump is looking at. He's like, nobody's gonna be buying these Big vehicles. Yeah, because why, why buy them?
Co-host
Right?
Grant Newell
You know, it's like I'm not gonna get to write them off. So you know, you're having to eat that entire expense. And over £6,000 is usually over six figures in expenses.
Justin Colby
Now let me ask you a common and I don't know, I'll let you tell me if it's a misconception. I go round and round with my accountant about this. You go get a car.
Co-host
Yep.
Justin Colby
Any car, I don't care. But make an expensive one, right? Can you write off if you put it in the company's name?
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
Can you write off 100% of that payment? Is that 100?
Grant Newell
If it's leased, that's the big key. So if it is leased, you can write off the full expense of that every month. Every single month. You can write off the lease, the gas, the maintenance, all that can get written off if it's a lease.
Justin Colby
Why would anyone buy a car?
Grant Newell
Well, because you can't, obviously you're not going to get the accelerated depreciation on a lease, right? But if you buy the car, like I said previously when it was 100% write off, if you financed a hundred thousand dollar vehicle, you could write off a hundred thousand dollars. And let's say you put zero dollars down. Yeah, you got zero dollars down. Well, there's a hundred thousand dollar write off, but you didn't have to pay any money for it, right? So you now got a hundred thousand dollars tax free.
Justin Colby
Now it's not 100% anymore, right.
Grant Newell
Now it's not a hundred percent anymore. So it's not as advantageous, which is why leases are up and car sales are down. So, you know, leases right now I would say are the best, best option because you can lease a luxury vehicle for advertising, marketing, whatever.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
I tell people at least have, you know, a license plate cover that has your business on it. Don't just say, oh, this is my business vehicle, but it's a Ferrari. And I'm like, okay, nobody knows that it's a business vehicle, right? So at least when the IRS shows up, say, well, here's the business right here. I tell people, at least do that I usually have my clients do license plate and license cover, something related to your business. So you can say, yeah, it's recognizable. Yeah, my business.
Justin Colby
So, and I hate to hound on this because I go back and forth because I want all the tax. Roth accountant, I buy this, let's just say it was back to 100. Let's say it moves back there I buy this new Range rover and it's $150,000.
Co-host
Yep.
Justin Colby
My payments are 2 grand right out of that 2 grand that I pay. Does the, does the car have to be in the business name? No, but I can get 100 tax write off of that 2 grand a month. So 24 grand a year?
Grant Newell
Yeah, if it is a business vehicle. Yeah, business vehicle. So what you, if you take the 100% deduction, you can't write that off, those payments.
Co-host
Okay.
Grant Newell
Because you've already taken the full payments off right now.
Co-host
So.
Justin Colby
And then if you sell the, the car in year two, then technically, just like real estate, they're going to say, well, dude, you took a, a five year depreciation schedule, you threw it into one year and now you're selling it.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Then they basically want to claw back.
Grant Newell
Yeah, yeah. So that's the hard part about it is, which is why I say leasing is absolutely fantastic. Because if your payment is two grand a month, you write off two grand a month and you never have to pay for that vehicle. You sell it or you return it and get a new, you know, a new one. Some people like to do them every year.
Justin Colby
Yeah, all right.
Grant Newell
Return it, get the new one.
Co-host
All right.
Grant Newell
That same payment, never crazy. So, you know, I say kind of pick, pick one or the other if you're going to take the accelerated depreciation, like if you have a big tax bill, obviously writing off two grand a month is not really going to do much for you.
Justin Colby
Correct.
Grant Newell
So, you know, that's where I say, okay, buying the car is more advantageous. It all depends on where your situation's at.
Justin Colby
What is the whole thing about gas and insurance and mileage? Like.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
I say for entrepreneurs and people making over six figures, the mileage deduction is not going to make sense.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
The actual method, which is where you write off gas, insurance, all that sort of stuff is going to make more sense.
Co-host
Right, right, right.
Justin Colby
It's always, I always want more. And he's like, you can't get more than what you've got, so.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
All right, so let's talk about kind of the science of what you do. Because I am a personal brand. This is actually why you're on my podcast, is somewhere in your ecosystem, you found me. You're like, I'd love to on this. You have an incredible tax and accounting firm.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Abundant X. Let's talk about what you do for us. You know, what, what, what's your ideal client look like? Why is it important to have a team like yours on staff. I obviously have told you about my bookkeeper. I have two bookkeepers. I have an accountant. Like I'm trying in every way, right to find the way around it. I want to make all the money and keep it all right? So talk to us about your clients. What you can help them with that kind of stuff.
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Grant Newell
Yeah, so really our ideal client is a personal brand that has multiple businesses. So we say, you know, we work with personal brands and serial entrepreneurs, people that, you know, wake up in the morning and you got a new idea that you're like, I want to try this out. And I say, rather than paying the irs, you know, six figures in a tax bill, use that money to go make your idea a reality. And so we help people realize their, their dream businesses that they're thinking of. Typically through, you know, a lot of our clients will have a cash cow business that will fund these other side projects that sometimes turn into values, big deals and failures. Yeah, I mean we've had both. You know, we had one client exit for several million million dollars on a side project that he had no idea. He was like, yeah, I just did this in my free time and we made it a business. He made a big sale. And so, you know, we help people figure out, okay, how can I do this and not have to pay the irs?
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And that's, that's, it's exciting because you get to see the excitement on our clients faces when I'm like, yeah, okay, we can do that.
Justin Colby
I was excited when we first had our first phone call. Now you're getting me really excited. So for example, I started a business 60 days ago.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
Super excited about, super passionate about it. I love it. It is about personal branding, content creation and driving revenue through your personal brand. Yeah, I'd love to make an intro to the mastermind.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
So some mastermind base. Um, how would you advise me? And so this is for all you listening and watching, so you get real tactical knowledge. Right. Uh, so how it went is I created the idea, put it together with gum and super glue.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
And immediately became profitable.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
Out of the gate in the first 30 days. Profitable. Um, what would you advise me? New business literally already have the, the entity up is driving. What would you advise?
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
So with event driven businesses, those are, those are a lot of fun because as I say, you get to travel to places that you know, maybe you would have traveled personally not been able to write off because there was no business related expense to it.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
But now you can. So like one of the things that we like to do with event businesses is we say pick a place that you're like, I would go here if you know, there was no other reason but just to enjoy the beauty of the place.
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And you know, you can scout it out for your event. You don't even have to have the event there. You know, you can go there and be like, ah, this might not be a great place for an event, but you go there, you write about, okay, this is the landscape. This, you know, this would be where we would host the event. You know, you write up a pager, two synopsis on what you thought about the place and if it would qualify for an event. And now whether you choose to go there for an event or not, you can write it off.
Justin Colby
How much of it can you write off?
Grant Newell
100% of it.
Justin Colby
You write, come back from Turks and Caicos. Yeah, I have an event coming up this week. I throw together a two pager. Yeah, this is what the hotel was like. This is what the conference rooms looked like. This was the cost of the rooms. Maybe a little more pricey than probably what they could afford. This might not be the location.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
In that whole trip is now a tax write off. Because I run an event based business.
Grant Newell
Yeah, because you're scouting it out for the event, obviously, you know, so it's like if you travel somewhere to look at a piece of property that you're looking to purchase and you, you know, obviously you have to pay to get there. And so that would be a write off. You know, you go there, you look at the property. Maybe it's something you want to invest in, maybe it's not. But that whole trip is a write off. Same thing for an event. You're going, you're looking, is this a viable place for me to host an event? How much does the event place cost? How much does a room cost? You know, could I, you know, a lot of people with events, they'll, you know, say, hey, we'll give you a XYZ room for price. You mark it up a little bit from what they do. And you know, you write out that one or two page synopsis of it. Now that trip's a write off whether or not you go there or not. I mean, as long as it's a viable place. If it's like, you know, in the middle of the Sahara desert, you know, you, the IRS might have a little hard.
Justin Colby
Listen, what my accountant has always advised me, he's like, listen, I work for you. You pay me, right? You say jump, I say, how high?
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Now I'm going to tell you there's a ceiling above me. So here's where the ceiling is.
Co-host
Yep.
Justin Colby
But I'm going to jump, right? So he's like, listen, at the end of the day, what it comes down to is you being audited, right. And you are going to either play with fire or not.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
And if you play with too much fire, then it starts to signal huge red flags. So he's like, there's always this gray area that you're going to Be able to walk because I run multiple businesses, one being in real estate. So it gives me a lot of flexibility because of cost, travel, buying properties out of state, things of that nature.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
The others, the education space and the event based businesses. So I do have a lot of those benefits.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Would you encourage all of you know, I literally just created a business. I don't know nothing. Basically saying everyone should have a personal brand. Like Grant Newell has a personal brand.
Co-host
Right?
Justin Colby
Yes. Your firm is abundant X.
Co-host
Right. Right.
Justin Colby
But you have a personal brand. Everyone should. For what? For nothing less than what we're talking about.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Create opportunity to make income and then keep it. And have tax write offs along the way.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
Do you agree? Do you think everyone. To some extent. And I understand, like, listen, you, you are probably one of the least sexiest type of business because people hate taxes.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
So we don't like talking about it. They want to deal with it. Just like me. I'm like, all right, talking to my accountant today. But you still have a brand. You're still here promoting the brand.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Shouldn't everyone?
Grant Newell
Yeah, well, and I mean, I, I also do not like taxes, which is why I started an accounting firm, because I was like, I don't want to have to pay the taxes.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
So how do I figure out how to do it? And that's what got me into it was I saw my tax bill even when I was making, you know, 35 grand as a lifeguard, I was like, why am I paying so much in taxes? I hardly make anything, you know? And so I was like, I gotta figure out how to do this. So but then I realized, okay, with personal brands and serial entrepreneurs, there's. I mean, basically, as I say, the world is your oyster.
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And on Sean's podcast, I talked about the Kardashians laid out the blueprint of personal brands.
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
Because every time they went to Louis Vuitton, they went down Rodeo Drive and shopped everything of that was a write off. Their house in Beverly Hills was a write off. Every time they bought a car, it was a write off because they had a personal brand.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
And if, if they don't go shop on Rodeo Drive, how many people are going to watch them?
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
Not very many.
Co-host
That's right.
Grant Newell
And so that's the beauty of it that I tell people is personal brands are the best thing for you because you basically are opening your entire living expenses to tax write offs. Like, for example, we had somebody that wanted to write off their personal home. They wanted to build a custom home Very expensive. Not a, you know, not a small expense. So they were like, how do we write this off? And most accountants would tell you, you can't.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
And write off your personal home. But our philosophy is, I'm never going to tell you no, I'm going to figure out how to get there. You know, it's like driving somewhere. If the road is closed, there's usually more than one way to get to your destination point.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
And so that's what I tell people is, let's figure out how to do this. So in this case, they were an influencer. And I said, okay, let's call, you know, four or five custom home builders where you're going to build and say, hey, I would like to document the process of you building the home, therefore promoting your business. Would you do that? In return for an affiliate code that you would pay me commissions on and found a couple and kind of sorted through them and figured out the best one. So they documented the whole process, you know, like, hey, they're building the foundation. You know, all this stuff. People love it. You know, they love to see the whole process of people building homes and stuff.
Justin Colby
Right.
Grant Newell
So they followed the whole thing, and all of that became an expense that we can now write off because it is now ordinary and necessary, which is the IRS's two requirements.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
We have documented proof that we're, you know, showing it, promoting the affiliate code. And now we can write off that entire custom home because it was promoted and it is a way for them to get paid. So that's, that's the two requirements is ordinary and necessary for you to get paid. So what, what do you have to do in order to get paid?
Justin Colby
It's like a trainer promote or sell something.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
So, like, nobody's going to go be trained by somebody who doesn't work out at the gym.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
So it's like, I can't sell a custom home, say, hey, buy this custom home if I don't build one. So you build one. You document the whole process, and now that home is a business expense on your personal brand.
Co-host
Wow.
Justin Colby
So that is great.
Co-host
Yeah. Wow.
Justin Colby
There's just so many utilities for this.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
First of all, let's make sure now you probably got everyone's interest. Where can everyone go? Where do you want to put them? Whether it's your social media or website? Where should everyone find you to talk to you about all this?
Grant Newell
Yeah, so you, you can find me on all the social medias at Grant G. Newell. You can also go directly to our website, abundantx.com and you know we, like I said that's, that's our specialty is. And like you said, personal brands. If they don't have a personal brand, you can't do that.
Justin Colby
Yeah, you can't, you know, you can't do a lot. I mean this is, this is an interesting subject. What is the first thing, what creates a personal brand in the IRS's eyes? Like what are the things that says do I even have a personal brand? I don't know. I flip homes just where I come from. I'm a home flipper.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
So in a general sense, what creates a personal brand for the irs? Say you're a valid personal brand. We'll treat you with the same tax laws as you know someone maybe more notable.
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Grant Newell
So everybody has a personal brand. Some are just more well positioned than others. So, you know, you think about it like when you introduce yourself to somebody, they're going to create, you know, a perception of you, which in my mind is a personal brand. If they see you on social media, they have that you have a more well positioned personal brand than if you didn't have a presence. And so that's where I say everybody has a personal brand. Some are just more well known and valuable than others. And the way that we make it legitimate in the IRS's mind is we create an LLC under your name.
Justin Colby
So like Justin Colby llc.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Okay.
Grant Newell
And so we create that. Usually we'll have a holding company that will hold that. And so anything that is personal brand related, Justin Colby LLC goes into any affiliate commissions, anything like that. Like, like I was saying, with the custom home build, those affiliate commissions went to that person's personal brand llc. And so now in order for them to get paid under that LLC, under that business, in the IRS's eyes, they had to go do that.
Justin Colby
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And so that asset got to be the personal home that they live in, got to be on that llc. So it has, you know, an asset that, you know, if you needed to go get lending and that sort of stuff, it can all be under the business, which is really nice.
Justin Colby
So that home's under so and so's llc.
Co-host
Yep. Yeah.
Justin Colby
And then you can go get lending as a company, not a personal loan.
Co-host
Yep. Wow. Yeah.
Grant Newell
So it's, it's, it's a, it's a cool maneuver that, like we said, if you don't have a personal brand, you can't do those things.
Justin Colby
So for those people today, what do they need to do today? Is it just simply put out content to just get started? What, what are the maybe 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 pieces of advice for someone that's like, Justin, I've been watching you and listening to you forever. Okay, I need to get this going or I'm not doing it right. Like, what are maybe the first, you know, checklists of things that you would tell someone to go get done today?
Grant Newell
Yeah, I think Gary Vee probably said it the best. Just document what you're doing.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
Because at that point, like the irs, you know, your accountant said, you know, you go into murky waters or all this, I always tell my clients, there's no murky waters if you have documentation to back it up. That's right. The IRS lays out in their, you know, all their IRS codes. They tell you what documentation you need to have in order to not be in those murky waters.
Justin Colby
That's right.
Grant Newell
So if you have all those documentations, there's no murky water. It's black and white. They come in and they look at it. I've been through a couple of audits where they asked for XYZ paperwork. Okay, here you go. Okay.
Co-host
We're good. Yeah.
Grant Newell
You know, a lot of people talk about these long, drawn out audits. That's usually if you don't have the documentation, things aren't organized.
Justin Colby
Isn't that our nature? The entrepreneur, the visionary, the go and get started and put it together with scotch tape and gum and, you know, it's kind of our nature to not be. I mean, you got to come in. That's right.
Grant Newell
So that's where, like, I always tell people, I'm like, we come into give you time and money because we're going to save you money on taxes and we're going to give you back your time.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
So you don't have to worry about, you know, all this stuff. You can go wake up in the morning and say, hey, I want to start this business. Okay, here's what we need to do. And a lot of the time, we'll prepare all the documents, work with attorneys, whatever, and get the documents. We just say, justin, fill out this part. Sign here.
Co-host
Done.
Grant Newell
Yeah, now it's done. And you're. You're like, I'm not bogged down by all this extra stuff. No, it's straightforward. We do. We handle all the back work, which is a lot of people really like and enjoy, especially, you know, personal brands, because they're like, they want to spend time with their family, they want to do their business and then be done with it.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And that's really where now it's interesting.
Justin Colby
So I have a ton of LLCs. So how do you kind of work with all that? Do you almost just charge by the LLC or by the tax return or how do you kind of go about that route?
Grant Newell
No, so we typically will charge based on, like, workload. So if you have an LLC that doesn't really do anything, there's no point in us charging.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
You know, to me, like, I. I'm a Very fair person. Like I said, I'm an entrepreneur myself. So I'm like, how would I. By my accounting firm. I sign on with my own accounting firm and if the answer is no, then we don't, we don't do it.
Justin Colby
Yeah. Because I have a lot of LLCs that are there for one reason or another, but they don't produce anything.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
So you, all you have to do is just file to say it's going.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
But there's no real work. There's no income and expenses and P. Ls. It's just there.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And so I mean if it's a long like you know, like a trust or something like that, we'll typically do a one time filing fee. We don't charge ongoing.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
For that sort of stuff. But you know, I mean that's typically like I said, if, if I wouldn't buy for myself, then I don't, I don't do it.
Justin Colby
Is there a starter kit? Like here are the. For. For the per. For the person that you would want as a client.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Here are some things that if you're going to get a hold of Grant, have some semblance of organization for us so we can help you versus just saying, you know, jumping on a call with you.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
Like is there a starter kit that they should put together whether, whether it's just the entity docs, whether it's the personal tax returns, whatever, so that you can maybe talk to someone more educatedly at what they're doing.
Grant Newell
Yeah, I mean really, I say the biggest thing is have some sort of goal or vision that you're, that you're wanting to do. Don't start something if you don't have a purpose for it. Like you said, you know, you might have an llc, but it's just for one single purpose. Not super active, but at least as a purpose. So figure out does my business have a purpose and if it doesn't, we would dissolve it. But if it does, then we'll keep using it. But you know, have a purpose and you know, gather your previous stuff so we can see what has done previously. Which you know, a lot of people, if they come to us, it obviously hasn't been working previously. So we'll know. Okay, well most of us don't do.
Justin Colby
Anything until it's like almost too late.
Co-host
Yeah. Right.
Justin Colby
I remember for vast amount of years I just went out and said okay, I'll deal with it later.
Co-host
Yeah, right.
Justin Colby
I'm just gonna deal with this later.
Co-host
Yep.
Justin Colby
And it's a pain in the butt to do it that way because then you got to go back and deal with it.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
But I want to help people understand, like this is really important for nothing else than keeping more money you're already making.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
If you don't actually do it, like tax planning is really important. I mean even the one simple tip that you just even said to me that I'm like, I literally just went on vacation. I literally have an event. I went to that vacation. Not for vacation, it was a business trip.
Co-host
Right? Yeah.
Grant Newell
And a lot of it is, you know, especially I tell people like if you have like let's say a spouse that's not working and you're not paying them anything, which to me is crazy. I don't understand why people don't do that. But you put your family on the business. Now your whole family is traveling on a business trip for the event. And now you can write off that whole thing. You know, your kids travel, all of this, you know, your wife, all of it can be written off with like for example, I just had my son, he's just turned a little over a year.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
And I said, okay, I want to be able to pay my son, but he's an infant. Like what can he do? So I have a book that's about to come out called Genetics of Wealth.
Justin Colby
Nice.
Grant Newell
And I made his footprint from his birth as the logo on the back of the book. And I am paying my son a licensing for him. License his foot on my books so he doesn't, you know, I don't run into child labor laws, anything like that. But now my son, I have a legitimate business expense so I get that as an expense. Plus he gets paid tax free. Anything under $15,000 isn't that great. So you know, things like that to where you can layer in these things as entrepreneurs that if I'm just a W2 worker, I don't get those.
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Justin Colby
There's just so many benefits, it's insane. So we talked about cars, we talked about meals. Meals are 50 still?
Co-host
Yep.
Justin Colby
I take you to dinner, it's 50.
Grant Newell
Basically what they're saying is if you and me go to dinner, you're, it's your business, so you get 50 of it. You know, there's two of us. So they split it in half and say, okay, you can write off your expense, but you can't write off my expense.
Justin Colby
Now what if I took 10 people to dinner?
Grant Newell
Now that's different. You still only get 50% of that meal expense. But if, let's say it's 10 of your employees and it's, you know, everybody needs to be there. It's a business meeting you're going over, you know, like, let's say your upcoming event.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
You take all the people who are working at your event to dinner and you're talking about, okay, we're going to do xyz. People need to be there at this time. Here's what we're going to go over. That now can be 100 written off because it is an employee meeting or a contractor. Whichever one you're doing that all can be written off because mandatory for everybody to be there. And it's for business purposes.
Justin Colby
What if it was for prospect? New club. So I'll use fake examples, but something I take out 10 of my best prospects for new clients. Like, let's just say I'm interviewing accountants and tax planners.
Co-host
Right? Yeah.
Justin Colby
So I get 10 of you guys and say, great, we're going to go to dinner. I want to chat with you guys. I want to have business conversations. I want to find out more. Is that a 50% or is that a 100%?
Grant Newell
So that is a 50%.
Co-host
Okay.
Grant Newell
I'll tell you where you can make it 100%. Let's say you have people that you want to be in your mastermind. Okay. And you're prospecting for the mastermind people to actually. So the real differentiating point here is people paying you versus you paying them.
Co-host
Yeah.
Grant Newell
So these are people that are going to be paying you.
Justin Colby
Sure.
Grant Newell
So that now can be used as a marketing expense. So you're enticing people that may not have talked to you if you had just said, hey, let me get on a call with you. But you're like, hey, let me take you out to this nice steakhouse. They're like, okay, I'll do that. It's more enticing. So it's now a marketing expense to draw them in. That's what, you know, marketing is used to draw people in. So now that is used as a marketing expense.
Justin Colby
And that would be 100 tax cutoff. So funny. I'm doing that Thursday night. I'm taking five of the prospects to dinner.
Co-host
Yep.
Justin Colby
And that dinner will be now very expensive.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
But it'll be 100 tax write off.
Co-host
Right.
Grant Newell
You know, I. I see a nice steakhouse.
Co-host
It.
Grant Newell
It can be any place. But that's like I said, the differentiating point is you paying them versus them paying you.
Justin Colby
So back to a personal brand. So, like, again, I come from the real estate space and I ventured into different. I'm in a tech now and I'm into obviously branding and content creation is the mastermind, but.
Co-host
Mm.
Justin Colby
I used to run in a real estate space. I used to run these little what we would call like a meetup.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
15 to 30 people in a room. Once a month, I'd rent a little conference room. I mean, they weren't very expensive. Let's call it five grand total.
Co-host
Right, right, right.
Justin Colby
That would technically be a write off.
Co-host
Yeah. Right.
Justin Colby
Because I'm prospecting to find people to pay me for coaching or bring me deals or whatever it may be.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
And that's the write off.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
There's not a reason as I'm sitting here talking. There's no. I don't care what industry you're in. You need to have your own entrepreneurship journey. Create the. So now let's talk about some of the tactical structures as we're wrapping up. Because I know everyone's like, well, do I just create an LLC or is an S corp or C corp? And I know some of these answers, but I'll let you kind of answer them. Let's remove what vertical is in. Whether it's cupcakes or hair or real estate, who cares? What do you usually advise for something simple to have the best tax planning scenario. Simple again, there's a lot of. It's common.
Co-host
Yeah.
Justin Colby
Obvious. That's why you guys get your diplomas in license. But talk to us about the simple way of kind of like if someone wants to get started or maybe they're already going and they're maybe not structured right. And they're questioning whether they're structured right. What's your advice?
Grant Newell
Yeah. So I say, you know, there's a lot of talk about S corporations. And you know, that is kind of the fad, I would say, of of it, which there are a lot of benefits. But if you make under 75,000, S Corporation is probably not right for you.
Justin Colby
Yeah. Because you're not really saving that 15% or whatever it is.
Grant Newell
Right, right. So once you get over that 75,000, what we usually do is we'll create an S corporation that is the holding company or the management company for all of the companies underneath it. And you know, we'll do Single Member LLCs that are 100% owned by that S corporation. So if you have tons of different businesses underneath it, they, you know, all pay a 10% management fee to the S corporation. You take your salary out of the S corporation and those other ones just run on their own. That's typically, I would say, probably our most common structuring. We honestly use all the, you know, single member LLCs, S Corporation, C Corporation, 501, C3S.
Justin Colby
You know, it just depends on what the person's doing at the end of the day. I think, I think, I think every one of my companies is set up in the the S corporation model just because the revenue is high enough that the extra 15 on employment tax is worth it. And I run pretty traditional businesses, right. Whether it's coaching, Mastermind, the real estate business, all pretty traditional. So I have not yet done anything with the C Corp. I guess my accountant hasn't seen any business I'm starting that that would make more sense.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
But I think there's options. Here's what I would tell everyone. If you're listening to this still, taxes can be sexy because it can actually help you keep more of the money you're making. So I want you to get a hold of Grant again. Go to. What's your Instagram at Grant G. Newel. At Grant G. Newel. What website can they go to and can they fill out a form or apply for a call so they could ask you guys more questions?
Grant Newell
Yeah. So we have a contact page on our website.
Justin Colby
Abundantx.com abundant x.com abundant x.com yep, form. Fill it out. Get on a call with you guys, learn a little bit more about what they're doing and how they're doing it. I'm with you. I'll probably start to involve you in more of the Mastermind because I think people just also don't know what they're doing. They're. I'm helping them make money and create the brand to go do that. Create credibility, influence and authority and income.
Co-host
Right.
Justin Colby
But then they probably don't know this side and or if they do have an accountant, they may not be that well versed. This is your vertical. You do tax planning and accounting, personal brands, entrepreneurship. You are looking at all ways through the law to say here's how you can float through the river and miss the. The rock, so to speak. Right, Exactly. I love that. Guys, this guy is a guy you need to know. If you're here, if you're a part of the entrepreneur DNA family, get with Grant. Get with his team. Abundantx.com I appreciate you coming on.
Grant Newell
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Justin Colby
And if this has been noteworthy, if you think a couple people might need some of this advice, please share with those two people and we'll see you on the next episode. Peace.
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The Entrepreneur DNA: How to Pay Nearly Zero in Taxes as a Personal Brand | Grant Newell | EP 79
Released on July 14, 2025
In Episode 79 of The Entrepreneur DNA, host Justin Colby engages in an insightful conversation with Grant Newell, founder of Abundant X, a tax planning and accounting firm tailored for personal brands and serial entrepreneurs. This episode delves deep into strategic tax planning, leveraging personal brands for tax benefits, and structuring business entities to minimize tax liabilities. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing the essence of their discussion.
Justin Colby welcomes Grant Newell, emphasizing his expertise in helping personal brands and entrepreneurs retain more of their earnings through effective tax strategies.
Notable Quote:
"If you're a personal brand, if you're a hard-charging entrepreneur and you want to understand how to keep more of the money you're already making, this episode is going to be for you."
— Justin Colby [02:11]
Grant discusses recent changes in tax legislation, highlighting the potential reinstatement of certain deductions under the new administration.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
"The entertainment deduction... is set to expire at the end of this year and it was not in there to extend."
— Grant Newell [03:34]
"Meals it is currently a 50%, it would go to 100%."
— Grant Newell [04:38]
The conversation explores how entrepreneurs can maximize deductions related to entertainment and meals, distinguishing between personal and business expenses.
Key Points:
Notable Quote:
"Now you can go and write that off if it gets excluded. So I'm, I'm being cautious about saying this on camera because we don't know where it's going to land."
— Grant Newell [04:12]
Grant elaborates on the advantages of leasing vehicles versus purchasing, especially concerning tax write-offs.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
"If it's leased, you can write off the full expense of that every month."
— Grant Newell [08:22]
"Leases right now I would say are the best, best option because you can lease a luxury vehicle for advertising, marketing, whatever."
— Grant Newell [09:27]
Grant emphasizes the importance of establishing a personal brand to unlock various tax advantages, drawing parallels with high-profile influencers like the Kardashians.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
"Everybody has a personal brand. Some are just more well-positioned than others."
— Grant Newell [28:18]
"Personal brands are the best thing for you because you basically are opening your entire living expenses to tax write-offs."
— Grant Newell [22:13]
The duo discusses optimal structures for businesses to facilitate effective tax planning, outlining when to use different entity types.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
"Once you get over that $75,000, what we usually do is we'll create an S corporation that is the holding company or the management company for all of the companies underneath it."
— Grant Newell [43:02]
"If you make under $75,000, S Corporation is probably not right for you."
— Grant Newell [43:05]
Grant provides actionable strategies for entrepreneurs to implement effective tax planning, emphasizing documentation and purposeful business activities.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
"Just document what you're doing... there's no murky waters if you have documentation to back it up."
— Grant Newell [30:05]
"If you have like let's say a spouse that's not working and you're not paying them anything, which to me is crazy. But you put your family on the business."
— Grant Newell [35:18]
Justin and Grant wrap up by encouraging listeners to take proactive steps in their tax planning and personal brand development, highlighting the services offered by Abundant X.
Key Points:
Notable Quotes:
"Taxes can be sexy because it can actually help you keep more of the money you're making."
— Justin Colby [44:30]
"Guys, this guy is a guy you need to know. If you're here, if you're a part of the entrepreneur DNA family, get with Grant. Get with his team."
— Justin Colby [45:17]
For entrepreneurs looking to optimize their tax strategies and build a robust personal brand, this episode offers invaluable insights and practical advice. Grant Newell's expertise provides a roadmap for minimizing tax burdens while fostering business growth and personal brand development.
Connect with Grant Newell:
If you found this summary helpful, consider sharing it with fellow entrepreneurs looking to enhance their tax planning and personal branding strategies.