S2 EP201: Profit Clarity in 2025 - Small Business in a Complex Tax & Trade World
Release Date: 06/21/2025
S2 EP203: Navigating The Stellar Brands™ Acquisition and What's Next For TBL®
Pay Play Profit
In this special roundtable episode of Pay Play Profit, host Jessica Mae Stafford, former Visionary of TBL and now Head of Sales & Partnerships at Stellar Brands, is joined by key leaders from both organizations to share the story behind TBL’s acquisition by Stellar Brands and what it means for the future. Marilyn Adkerson, CPA, Founder of TBL, reflects on her transition into retirement and the journey that led to this pivotal moment. Bobby Hoyt, Founder and Visionary of Stellar Brands, shares why acquiring TBL aligned perfectly with Stellar’s mission and long-term vision. Ariel...
info_outline
S2 EP202: CPA, EA, Bookkeeper, Tax Preparer... Who Does What — and Who Do You Really Need In 2025?
Pay Play Profit
Summary In this episode of the Pay Play Profit podcast, Jess Stafford discusses the essential roles within a financial team for small businesses, including CPAs, EAs, bookkeepers, and accountants. She emphasizes the importance of understanding each role and how they contribute to a business's financial health. The conversation also introduces the Profit First system, a cash management strategy that prioritizes profit to ensure sustainable growth. Jess shares insights on navigating business growth, the importance of hiring the right financial professionals, and the evolving landscape of...
info_outline
S2 EP201: Profit Clarity in 2025 - Small Business in a Complex Tax & Trade World
Pay Play Profit
Summary In this episode of Pay Play Profit, Jessica Mae Stafford discusses the complexities small businesses face in today's tax and trade environment. She emphasizes the importance of adaptability, strategic planning, and the role of technology, particularly AI, in enhancing business operations. The conversation covers various topics including tax strategy, the impact of tariffs, sales tax shifts, and the resilience required to thrive in uncertain economic times. Jessica encourages entrepreneurs to leverage tools like Profit First for better cash management and to maintain a human touch in...
info_outline
139: REPLAY: Multistate Income Tax: Understanding It and How to Get Prepared for It
Pay Play Profit
If you’re planning to or already starting to do business across states, you’ve got to know what’s going on from an income tax perspective. A multistate income tax is different from a sales tax. And a multistate income tax can have a lot of different names attached to it depending on the state. Joining us today once again is Chris Mahler, CPA who is also part of our TBL family strategic partner and compliance consultant. We dive into multistate income tax – what is it and how do we get prepared for it? A multistate income tax can be complex but it should not make you pay too...
info_outline
138: REPLAY: Key Areas to Consider When Dealing with High Inflation for Goals-Based Planning
Pay Play Profit
Inflation is here – and it's here to stay for a bit. Obviously, we have to deal with it, but how? In today’s episode, we discuss some things you have to think through to shield yourself from inflation, or at least mitigate its impact. Hindsight is a good teacher. And so, if you can capture those lessons and put them in your plans for your future, you're going to be better prepared when the next cycle comes around because there will be another cycle. Hopefully, you will also learn to figure out what specific information will help strengthen your ability to predict as a leader so you can...
info_outline
137: REPLAY: Direct Costs vs. Expenses & Why You Should Care About Knowing The Difference
Pay Play Profit
The best profit decisions are happening with your time, energy, and money, which means more pay, play, and profit in your business and life. And a huge part of that is understanding your financials. Your financials are three-dimensional – profit, tax, and cash flow. You also need to think about direct costs versus expenses in all these three dimensions. “Direct cost” refers to the cost directly tied to your sales. You incur them directly with your sales. “Expense” refers to the operation cost. These are the things you do and spend money on that are not directly tied to the...
info_outline
136: REPLAY: Discovering How to Live Your Ideal Entrepreneurial Life
Pay Play Profit
What kind of entrepreneurial life do you want? Many people loosely exchange words like freelancer, sole proprietor, small business owner, and entrepreneur but really, they’re not the same. Entrepreneurship is a long journey and has its different seasons. For instance, you may have been freelancing for a while to get some extra money on the side. Then you probably caught the entrepreneurial bug and decided to make it official and become a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC, which eventually turns into a small business. Indeed, there are levels of entrepreneurship. You can be small...
info_outline
135: REPLAY: How To Attract New Clients & Set The Right Expectations From The Start
Pay Play Profit
How can you attract new clients and make sure you’re the right fit for each other? There's so much to talk about when it comes to client onboarding, and part of that is learning how to attract new clients and set the right expectations from the start. A partnership is a two-way street, which means your clients also need to know how they can help you serve them better. The magic happens when there’s transparency and you’ve set those expectations upfront. When you get dialed in because people are looking for an accountant or a tax person, those are not relationships that people just walk...
info_outline
134: REPLAY: How to Help Kids Build Wealth with IRAs
Pay Play Profit
If you are a small business owner with children, putting your kids to work in the business is a great way to start helping them navigate some financial decisions. You’ve got to teach them to put money on the strong side of the table and one of the ways to do that is by getting them to invest in a Roth IRA. A lot of people struggle with financial literacy and it's important to start teaching and training your kids how to understand and utilize money while they're still young. In this episode, learn how you can help your kids build wealth with IRAs. Find out what they need to do to set up...
info_outline
133: REPLAY: Your Ideal Teammate with Trivinia Barber
Pay Play Profit
You’ve probably mastered knowing your customer avatar, but have you taken the time to really figure out who your ideal teammate is? Imagine, this is somebody you’re going to spend 2 to 10 hours a day, depending on the season of life you're in with this person. You’ll perhaps engage with them more than you do your partner or your children sometimes. And yet, people make these decisions on who they're going to hire based off of a 30-minute interview. In today’s podcast, Trivinia Barber, founder of Priority VA, talks about the value of an executive assistant, and how we, as business...
info_outlineSummary
In this episode of Pay Play Profit, Jessica Mae Stafford discusses the complexities small businesses face in today's tax and trade environment. She emphasizes the importance of adaptability, strategic planning, and the role of technology, particularly AI, in enhancing business operations. The conversation covers various topics including tax strategy, the impact of tariffs, sales tax shifts, and the resilience required to thrive in uncertain economic times. Jessica encourages entrepreneurs to leverage tools like Profit First for better cash management and to maintain a human touch in their business interactions.
Takeaways
- It's essential to stay flexible and adapt to changes every two weeks.
- Small businesses are crucial to the economy and should not be overlooked.
- Tax strategy involves planning and compliance, and it's vital to have a knowledgeable partner.
- Tariffs are a significant concern for many small business owners today.
- Understanding sales tax shifts is crucial for compliance and business operations.
- Resilience in business is intentional and requires grit.
- AI should be used as a helper tool, not a replacement for human interaction.
- Profit First is an effective cash management strategy for small businesses.
- Every decision made in business should be viewed through the lens of profitability.
- Maintaining a strong client experience is key to successful marketing.
Sound Bites
"Tax is strategy, planning, and compliance."
"Tariffs are hurting small business owners."
"Resilience is intentional."
"Your client experience is your marketing."
"AI is a helper tool, not a replacement."
"Don't remove the humans from your business."
"Every decision is a profit decision."
Chapters
00:00 Welcome Back to Pay Play Profit
03:01 Navigating Small Business in a Complex Tax World
05:54 Understanding Tax Strategy and Compliance
09:11 The Impact of Tariffs and Trade on Small Businesses
11:50 Sales Tax Shifts and Economic Nexus
14:57 Resilience and Opportunity in Uncertain Times
18:04 The Role of AI in Business
21:08 Tactical Playbook for 2025 and Beyond
23:58 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
Call To Action
Schedule a Discovery Call with The Bottom Line® today - yes, Jess actually hosts the calls with our client prospects to ensure we have the best fit. Let's talk! Schedule your call now.