The Story of Harry Pt 3

As I’m dealing with clients, and promoting our website with Google ads and other content, it came to me one day to offer settlement coaching services.  I make a mental note of such inspirations and watch for some signs of confirmation.

That leads me to Harry.

We spoke again.  The first words out of his mouth was “Steve, your information was GOLDEN! The more I face the more confident I am.  I can’t believe it was so hard to get answers from tax professionals, I feel like they are all snake oil salesmen trying to grab at my money.”  

His words, not mine.

He mentioned that he filed his offer in compromise but had some complications with taxes he owed for last year (which he hasn’t filed yet).

He said to me, “Steve, based on what I learned from your course, I think I know what I should do but I want to confirm it.  Can I pay you for an hour or two of your time to COACH me through it.”

There was my answer, and so the Settlement Coaching Services offering is being launched, as time permits.

Here is how I’m thinking it will work:

• This is not about me settling for you or anybody else.  This is about being a sounding board, and a strategic partner in your defense and settlement

• It is vital that you go through the entire course, fill out the calculator and work out your settlement numbers before you talk.  Before we talk you should be 75% or more on your way.  In fact, the vast majority should never need to speak with anyone else again, as the information is that clear

• An hour or two max is all a person should need over the course of settlement.  I will bill out in 30 minute increments as long as I have the time

Harry ended the call by saying, “Steve, I’m so relieved that I have you available as a resource.  I just want to reiterate that your entire course has been such a blessing to me.” 

Again, if I only wrote it for him (which I didn’t), I would be so satisfied.

I remember the fear.  I remember how alone and stuck I felt.  I remember how I felt like it was me against the world with nobody on my side.

I remember how frustrated I was with the people who said they would help me, and how delegating my financial future to people who really  didn’t care left me feeling even more powerless.

I also remember how relieved I felt when I had a plan and a solution.  I remember how empowered I felt when I was speaking with the IRS, negotiating with them and working down to my final number.  I remember being certain that my money was safe because I employed strategies to protect my assets.

I remember the miracle of settling myself.

I remember and it is my joy to offer the same hope to others!

The Story of Harry Pt 2

It has been a week since the fateful meeting with my friend.  As you may recall, in a previous blog, I met a work colleague.  We got to talking about personal projects and what we do outside of work.  He shared his passions and I told him about the IRS Self Defense and Self Settlement Advocacy Group.

He revealed to me that he had a large tax debt and was working through things but was completely frustrated with the lack of direction he had.  He was also totally completely disappointed with the work that the ‘tax settlement professionals’ he was engaged with did.  He even mentioned how they were looking for more money and a large monthly stipend to continue their work ($900.00).  He was paralyzed.

I was amazed at how much our stories correlated.  I was once in the same place, along with so many other people.  Frustrated, stuck, with a side helping of hopelessness creeping in.

I gave him access to my course, and I hadn’t heard from him in over a week.  I’ve been frankly waiting on pins and needles asking myself:

Did I waste my time with my course?

This is where the rubber meets the road, someone with debt who downloaded the book and is working his way through the course.  Will it actually help him?

Will I be telling him information he already knows?

Will my friend talk to me again?

It’s a Saturday and I’m walking my dog.  The suspense is killing me, so I decide it’s time to give my friend a call.

I call and he picks up on the first ring.

“Steve, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

My thoughts:  “Ok, this sounds like a guy who is going to break me some bad news.   ‘Steve, your program is stupid.  Steve, what a waste of my time, what were you thinking! Or Steve, I took one look at things and didn’t even get past the first page.”

NOPE.  That is not what he said.

What he said was (I humbly report) : “Steve, your program was an absolute lifesaver to me.  Every bit of it was unbelievably helpful.  Your tone in your book and in your course was just perfect.  It helped me see where I was at and helped me  build a plan forward.  I can’t believe how helpful it was and I can’t thank you enough.”

His response literally took my breath away.

I said, “Harry, if the whole effort of writing, recording and producing the program was just for this moment, I’m completely satisfied!”

I know the feeling of being stuck with nowhere to go, no one to turn to.  I know the hopelessness and fear that creeps in when your thoughts run wild about the steps the IRS can take to make your life difficult.

I then asked, “Harry, What did you think of the charts that show the path?!?  How did the calculator work out for you?!?!”

He said sheepishly, “I didn’t see the charts or the calculator yet.”  

I explained to him how these tools can really help him on the next steps and the negotiation process, and he promised me he would review them before the weekend is over.

What a victory!

The story of Harry Pt 1

I have a day job that I love.  I plan on doing it a long time into the future.

I was meeting with a colleague (who doesn’t work for my company)  during lunch, and after talking about some business, we went on to personal things.  We talked about family life, and this person mentioned that he had a unique podcast which covers old television shows.  It was really quite fascinating. 

He asked me if I”m working on anything interesting, and I mentioned that my side project and passion is The IRS Self Defense and Self Settlement Advocacy Group, the course, and the membership platform.  I told him about my previous tax debt issues, how I filed multiple Offer in Compromises with tax professionals to no avail and how I took matters into my own hands and settled my tax debt for 4 cents on the dollar.

My hope was to share my experiences and all of the knowledge I gathered along the way and in the process, provide people hope, encouragement and a strategy to take back control of their financial lives.

His face nearly turned white, as he said, “Steve, I’m embarrassed to say this, but I have a massive tax debt and am considering right now writing out a big check to a tax settlement firm, plus this firm is planning on billing me $900/month until the tax debt is settled.  

I couldn’t believe my ears frankly.  

I was struck by the fact that someone close to me, in my circle is facing the same problem as me, and how we’ve had multiple communications together and this never came up.  It reminded me that people are embarrassed and will rarely discuss their tax woes, certainly not with work colleagues.  It is one of the reasons people with unsettled tax debt feel so alone, and one of the reasons why everyone rushes to the tax settlement firms to solve their issues.  

They feel like it is their only solution.

I shared with him the way to access my course and he gratefully received it.  He also had a spark of hope, like “Man, I’ve been looking for some answers and I couldn’t find them.”  I could see he felt like this could be the break he was looking for, or the life line that he needed.

As I left, I thought to myself:  If all I did was write and produce the course to help my friend, it was all worth it.  I felt the supreme sense of satisfaction that I was able to help someone I knew.

My colleague is hopefully studying the course as we speak.  The suspense of knowing his reaction is getting to me a bit frankly.

We’ll see what he has to say.  Stay tuned!

How Do Accountants Feel About People Who Owe the IRS, Like Us?

As we are building and growing the IRS Self Defense and Self Settlement Advocacy group, we are employing a two pronged strategy.  One is with search engine optimization, simply because most people with tax debt are not going on about it on social media, or talking about it around the water cooler.  Why?  Speaking from experience, most people are embarrassed, and if you owe the IRS, most of your friends are not in the same boat, so they really can’t help anyway. All this to say that most people with tax debt wind up leveraging an online search engine (like Google) to find relief from their tax debt.

The other strategy is through grass roots; introducing ourselves to financial planners and maybe even CPA’s.  My first call was to an old friend who has invested forty years of his life helping people plan for retirement.  I spoke to him about our plan, our program and our passion to help people defend their income and assets and settle their IRS tax debt themselves for the lowest possible amount.  He knew me when I owned my previous company in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and was aware that I had owed the IRS after my business failed.  He was flabbergasted that I was able to settle my debt for the amount I did, and also was quite impressed as he reviewed what we have to offer.

After a few days of thinking about things, he gave me this feedback:  “Be careful when you speak with accountants. They may not be enthused to speak with people who haven’t paid their taxes.”

This may not be true for all CPA’s, but it is true for many.  

All the more reason why we, as taxpayers, should take matters into our own hands, defending ourselves vigorously and understanding what it takes to negotiate and settle with the IRS for the lowest possible amount.

In the course of my years of owing the IRS, I’ve met and worked with many passive CPAs who had poor negotiation skills and terribly low expectations about what can actually be done in terms of an offer in compromise with the IRS.

Also, isn’t it funny that after running a business which generated profits and paid hundreds of thousands in taxes, I would still be labeled and viewed as someone who ‘didn’t pay his taxes’ by some professionals.

Part of the stigma of owing the IRS is that  you may not feel comfortable protecting your income and assets, and you may not feel comfortable legally negotiating a settlement which will amount to less than you owe.  

I’m a God fearing man, and I’m here to say fuck that.

We’re here to help fortify and empower you to fight for your family, your financial future, and to settle for the lowest possible amount…all legally!

This is not the time to roll over and hope for the best.  This is the time to step up, educate yourself and take action!  Let’s go!

Owe the IRS and You Want Help? Get Out Your Checkbook!

I was thinking the other day about the walls that surround a person with tax debt.  The walls are high (seemingly insurmountable) and close in as the debt clock ticks.  

The first wall you have is  the IRS itself.  They write the rules, they have unlimited resources to enforce their laws and decrees, and they have endless experience. 

The second wall I would call the ‘scarlet letter’ effect, or the financial circumstances you face daily.  Whether it be trying to open a bank account, apply for a job, try to establish credit again, you are always confronted with your IRS debt.

The third wall would be the ‘who you can turn to’ wall.  More than likely, you don’t have a single soul in your social circle who has dealt with the problem you have, and if they have, you don’t know that they did so they do not qualify as a resource for you.

So, you have the IRS breathing down your neck, you have your financial circumstances, which serve as a constant reminder to you, and you don’t have anyone in your friend or social circle you can turn to.  With those walls closing in on you, you become desperate.

This leads me to the fourth wall, which I will call the tax pros.

I worked with three separate tax professionals to help me with my debt.

The first one cost me $2500.  The second one cost me almost $8800 (I did get a refund once they admitted they didn’t do what they said they were going to do). And the last one cost me $5000.  All said, between paying tax professionals and settlement attempts, I was in for $20,000 + and my debt was nowhere closer to being settled.  

It used to be that the tax professionals would offer you a ‘free consultation’ and then break the news to you while you are sitting there that you have to pay them a large retainer.  Now, I see them boldly place on their website that ‘settlement fees start at $3,000.00’.

So with the IRS barreling down, your financial life in disrepair and no friends to turn to, we wind up writing a check and hoping that they can provide the help you need.

It reminds me of the scene in the classic movie, “American Hustle”, where Christian Bale’s and Amy Adams’ characters are hustling desperate entrepreneurs who need money in the form of a short term loan. The cost, if you remember, is 5 grand.  Their promise, “They never took a deal they didn’t close”.  Of course, people were dying to write them a check because they needed the money badly, had no one to turn to and felt stuck.

Of course there are always other options and other solutions, and our program is designed to serve as a GPS, telling you where you are at, and guiding you in the direction you should be going.

My recommendation: Go from helpless to empowered.