Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Importance of an Exit Strategy for Business Owners (Ep. 33)

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As a business owner, your company’s future depends on your actions today. And making the wrong action could end up costing your family, your employees, and your business more than you realize.

In this episode, Keith Beggs sits down with Nick Dupre, Board Certified Estate, Tax Planning Attorney and Managing Partner at Stanfield & Dupre, PLLC, to discuss the importance of trust planning, and why you need to have a plan in place should the unfortunate happen and you can no longer run your business. 

Keith and Nick discuss: 

  • The value of trusts specifically for business owners
  • How to ensure your business is synchronized and runs well without you
  • The importance of setting up a plan if you should become no longer able to take care of your business 
  • What the process of exit strategy planning looks like for a business owner 
  • An attorney’s perspective of areas of pitfalls and mistakes commonly made during the asset protection, and exit strategy planning processes 
  • And more! 

Resources: 

The Four Rs of a Business Owner: Recruit, Reward, Retain & Retire with John McDonough (Ep.30) 

Book Time with Keith Beggs: 

Schedule a Call

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About our Guest: Nicholas A. Dupre is a native Houstonian and worked for more than 10 years for two premier boutique firms in the Houston and Woodlands area before becoming an owner and partner in 2017. He is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate and concentrates on probate, estate and gift tax planning, business planning and taxation, asset protection, estate administration, charitable organizations, real estate transactions, tax controversies, and intellectual property transactions.

In 2004, Nick earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity University. In 2007, he earned his law degree (Juris Doctorate) from the Texas A&M School of Law, where he graduated cum laude. Nick is a member of the Houston Business Estate Planning Council, the Disability and Elder Law Attorneys Association, and the Woodlands Kiwanis Club.

In addition to his career as an attorney, Nick, his wife, Adryan, and their four children attend Berachah and C3 Christ Community Church of Magnolia. Nick is an accomplished pianist and regularly competes in marathons and other endurance events, recently completing his third full distance Ironman Triathlon.

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Tax Planning for Business Owners with Sarah Jones, CEO of Sarah Jones CPA LLC (Ep.32)

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Although tax season might be over, tax planning never ends.

Stay on top of your finances now to avoid penalties later that you weren’t anticipating or budgeting for.

In this episode, Keith Beggs talks with Sarah Jones, CEO of Sarah Jones CPA LLC, about her experience as a Certified Tax Planner, and what her and her company do for various types of business owners to save them thousands of dollars during tax season. 

Keith and Sarah discuss: 

  • Common mistakes business owners make when it comes to filing their taxes 
  • What is a self-employment tax and how it might affect your finances 
  • Why some business owners make the mistake of understanding what type of corporation they fall under 
  • The importance of proper bookkeeping
  • And so much more 

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About our Guest: Sarah Jones is a long-time Willis resident (Go Kats!) and is a WHS graduate. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas and is an Enrolled Agent; licensed with the IRS in all 50 states. She holds a Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accountancy, and a Master of Science In Finance. She also holds a Certificate in Financial Management from Cornell University. Sarah also holds the prestigious designation of Certified Tax Planner, available only to CPA’s, EA’s, and Attorneys. Her passion is tax planning and strategically setting her clients up for long-term success in building their dreams, protecting their assets, and growing their legacy. She has been married to Phil Jones for 10 years and together they have four children: Devyn Conner, a resident of Louisiana; Kloe Bailey, a student at Dallas Baptist University; Taylor Jones, a student at Texas A&M University, and Phil Jones III, a spunky 7 year old who gets spoiled by his older sisters. They are members of Over Under Fellowship and enjoy traveling, working out, and spending time with family.

 

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Retirement Finance with Patrick Kelly (Ep. 31)

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Planning for retirement isn’t a subject that we can tread lightly about.

One of the biggest questions people ask themselves is, “do I have enough money to retire and sustain my current lifestyle?”

In this episode, Keith Beggs interviews Patrick Kelly, best-selling author, and highly sought-after speaker and trainer. Patrick and Keith discuss how to ensure that you’re prepared for retirement so that you can live the lifestyle you want to.

Keith and Patrick discuss:

  • Why there is limited information about life insurance and the benefits
  • How to make life insurance, annuities, and retirement planning more exciting
  • How baseball relates to building long-term wealth
  • The importance of being proactive instead of reactive in building long-term wealth
  • And more

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About our Guest: Patrick Kelly is the best-selling author of 7 books. Tax-Free Retirement (2007), The Retirement Miracle (2011), Stress-Free Retirement (2013), The 5 Retirement Myths (2015), Seven Secrets to a Happy Retirement (2016), The Life Insurance Dilemma (2017), and Tax-Free Retirement – 10th Anniversary Edition (2017). Which together have sold more than 1,000,000 copies nationwide. Patrick has been one of the industry’s most sought-after speakers and trainers, delivering his unique message to over 150,000 financial professionals from coast to coast since the release of his first book in 2007. One of his greatest passions is to help consumers understand they are able to step off the roller coaster of fear and loss and onto the peace-filled road of growth and stability. Patrick lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife of 28 years. Together they love spending time with their 4 children, their son-in-law, and their grandson.

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The Four Rs of a Business Owner: Recruit, Reward, Retain & Retire with John McDonough (Ep.30)

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Retaining top talent has always been a concern for business owners in all types of industries and company sizes. But finding ways to do this without breaking the bank can be difficult. 

In this episode, Keith Beggs interviews John McDonough, senior managing director at Cool Springs Financial LLC, about how to retain top talent in your company, and rewarding these employees without impacting your own company growth or monetary growth. 

Keith and John discuss: 

  • How to set up retention programs for your C-suite level employees that aren’t bonuses 
  • How the non-qualified benefit can give the employers more control but still satisfy the needs of your employees
  • Pros and cons of a ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Program) 
  • Why having your loan on the books can make you unbankable for future endeavors
  • Protecting yourself from the sudden departure of a top talent employee  

Resources: 

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About our Guest: John is one of the original four Managing Directors to take Cool Springs Financial’s Prestige Strategy to market focusing on business, estate planning and retirement solutions that utilize specialty financing.

In his business planning practice, John helps business owners, executives, and key employees with strategies for executive compensation, employee retention, bonus structures, etc., all designed with little to no cost to the company and little to no tax to the employee.  John’s experience with Cool Springs and his ability to structure designs uniquely to fit the clients needs has made him a highly sought after resource for the rest of the industry.  

John has spoken at national meetings as a product matter expert, has served in an advisory role, and has served on the board of directors of several national organizations.

John married his high school sweetheart, and the two are proud parents of beautiful daughters.  He is passionate about his faith, family, and friends.  In his spare time, when John isn’t golfing, he is helping those in need through philanthropic initiatives he and his wife believe in deeply.

 

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Getting the Most Out of Employee Benefits Packages with Adam Fineberg. Part 2 of 5. (Ep.29)

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If you own your own business and have employees, you know the costs of employee benefits, especially healthcare, has been rising.

In this episode, Keith Beggs speaks with Adam Fineberg, senior vice president at USI Insurance Services about how to keep benefits costs low, unconventional ideas to offer better packages to your employees and ways to grow your business and focus on what matters. 

Keith and Adam discuss: 

  • The importance of healthcare in the employee benefit package 
  • Why healthcare costs are so expensive and appear to only getting higher 
  • How USI uses their market leverage and underwriting to lower the price for an employer
  • Five tips for an employer to keep their benefits costs down
  • And more!

 

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About our Guest: Adam Fineberg is a Senior Vice President located in the USI Southwest, Inc.(USI) Houston, Texas office. He has served the benefits industry for the past 15 years. Adam serves as a lead consultant and provides strategic planning and guidance. He also coordinates the deployment of local and regional analytical and compliance resources, among others. He has been with USI since 2010.

He offers detailed knowledge of carrier underwriting, provider contracting, and all major carriers to benefit USI clients. He is an established negotiator and uses his leverage and product design. Adam has extensive focus on long-term relationships with technical skills to ensure USI clients receive favorable terms and conditions.

Adam is a certified Pharmacy Benefit Specialist (CPBS), which is a University of Kentucky accredited program focused on Pharmacy Contract Negotiation. Adam also holds a B.A. in Business from University of Houston-Downtown.

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The Benefits of Business Coaching with Doug Thorpe, Part 1 of 5 (Ep. 28)

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When you own your own business, you face unique challenges and hardships that can really put your entrepreneur skills to the test. 

But it can be difficult to be sure you are making the right decisions to benefit your company, your employees and yourself. 

In this episode, Keith Beggs sits down with Doug Thorpe, executive business coach, to kick off the series to discuss the importance of business coaching as a means to learn how to tackle the difficult situations all types of business owners face. 

Keith and Doug discuss: 

  • Some of the types of calls Doug experiences from small companies to Fortune 500 companies
  • How you can cut the emotional tie to your company to make sound decisions
  • How to overcome a fear of change in your company
  • The problem with hiring family members before qualified employees 
  • How business owners’ problems have changed over the past two years 
  • And more! 

Resources: 

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Connect with Doug Thorpe:

About our Guest: Doug Thorpe is a performance-driven Senior Executive, Entrepreneur, Board Member, Thought Leader, and Consultant with more than 40 years of success in the financial services, executive coaching, oil & gas, and healthcare industries. Leveraging extensive experience in guiding business transformation for growth-oriented organizations, he is a trusted guide for mid-cap companies to large global enterprises requiring expert assistance with leadership development, team performance, employee engagement, culture shifts, and change management. 

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27. Understanding the Current Supply Chain World with guests Jay Calavan and Emily Andrews from Trucks for You

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For the last few months, every time the news is turned on all anyone can hear about is the supply chain problems not only affecting the United States but also the rest of the world. 

In this episode, Keith Beggs sits down with Jay Calavan, owner of Trucks For You and Emily Andrew, senior director of sales and marketing and driver recruitment for Trucks For You to talk about supply chain issues and what their company is doing to stay on top of the game. 

Keith, Jay and Emily discuss: 

  • Current problems occurring in supply chains and how Trucks For You is handling it
  • The effect COVID has had on the shipping and receiving industry 
  • What changes could happen to help alleviate some of the bottleneck 
  • The staffing situation when looking for long haul and other truck drivers 
  • How Trucks For You recruits new drivers 
  • Trucks For You’s strategy to stay on top 
  • And more!

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About our Guests: 

Jay Calavan is the Owner of Trucks for You, starting there in 2005. Previously he was a Sales Manager for Cintas Corporation, and a Service Manager for Cintas. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1997. 

Emily Andrew is the Director Of Sales & Marketing for Trucks for You, as well as the Driver Recruitment, with experience in the transportation, medical & hospitality industries. Starting with Trucks For You in 2018, Emily is skilled in Negotiation, Budgeting, Sales, Customer Satisfaction, and Sales Operations. She has a special interest in data mining to increase efficiency and improve outcomes.

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26. The Facts About Indexing You Need to Know with Laurence Black

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When dealing with finances and the markets, you want to be sure you know everything that can help you make money and stay on top of what is going on. 

In this episode, Keith Beggs talks to Laurence Black, founder of The Index Standard and Index Advisor to Professor Robert J Shiller. Laurence shares everything an advisor needs to know about indexing and recent changes with the S&P 500. 

Keith and Laurence discuss: 

  • Benefits for the client when it comes to indexing
  • Reasons for the recent shift towards favoring indexing
  • How carriers price indexes to get the capsule participation rates they have
  • Why volatility has such a major effect on pricing 
  • Expectations for bond portfolios in the next 10 years 
  • And more

Resources: 

Barclays.com 

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About Our Guest:

Laurence Black is the founder of The Index Standard and an index advisor to Professor Robert J Shiller. The Index Standard is an information portal providing ratings, forecasts and guides unmasking the mystique behind indices and making finance more approachable. Earlier in his career Laurence instigated the Shiller Barclays Index family with Barclays and Professor Shiller. He has appeared interviews with the Financial Times, Bloomberg and Structured Retail Products and is a frequent contributor on index thought leader pieces.

Prior to this, Laurence was a Managing Director at Barclays where he held the position of Global Head of QIS Origination & Development. He had responsibility for developing the QIS index range, for index partnerships and for working with clients to deliver multi asset solutions based on their needs. Laurence instigated and led Barclays’ index partnerships with Professor Shiller, Nouriel Roubini, Novus and GAM.

Laurence was the Head of Indexes at ABN AMRO before joining Barclays, where he built the index business over a seven year period. He has previously held trading and client account management roles at Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. He holds an MBA from the University of Warwick, UK, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

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25. How to Overcome Spender’s Guilt

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Do you ever feel guilty about spending money? Are you worried about how inflation is going to impact your financial plan? In this episode, Keith Beggs talks about inflation, and how last year’s hyper-inflation has led to paranoia surrounding people’s money. Keith also talks about spending guilt, and what you can do to overcome it.  … Continue reading 25. How to Overcome Spender’s Guilt →

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24. The Importance of Your Involvement in Your Children’s Quality of Education with Lucas Scanlon

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The election for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s Board of Trustees’ seats 5, 6 and 7 is approaching, and the candidates are eager to show off their plans for your child’s education to better their academic future.  In this episode, Keith Beggs sits down with Lucas Scanlon, candidate for position 7 on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD’s Board of Trustees, … Continue reading 24. The Importance of Your Involvement in Your Children’s Quality of Education with Lucas Scanlon →

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