The better you treat your employees, and the more you do for your employees, the better staff you will generate, and it is easily the recipe to success; having continuity and consistency in your employees.
Mr. Glenn Sandler, founder of G.I. Tax, specializes in Forensic Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Business Consulting, Income Tax planning and Income Tax Preparation. Throughout his career that spans more than three decades, Mr. Sandler has advised hundreds of individuals overcome challenging tax related situations. Professionally, he enjoys listening to the needs of business people and the challenge of identifying and solving problems. With private industry experience, Mr. Sandler’s knowledge and services extend beyond that of a CPA. His passion is to promote small businesses and encourage the small business owners to approach taxes efficiently and generate profits. He is dedicated to helping clients achieve their own version of success.
Mr. Sandler earned a B.A. from Florida International University and an M.A. from Florida Atlantic University. Currently, he is enrolled in George Washington University’s Executive MBA Program and is working on a doctoral degree at the University of Phoenix.
Where did the idea for GI Tax come from?
I’ve been a CPA since 1982, and when the economy crashed back in 2008, I had a motorcycle dealership that had $12 million worth of inventory. Unfortunately, at that point in time, I had to decide to close the store, and I wanted to get back to my roots. So, I figured I might as well start a business that has no inventory.
I mentor a lot of young adults, and I wanted to start a company called Monster Tax Service to cater to the Generation X and Y populations. Unfortunately, Monster Tax trademark was taken, so I went in a different direction.
I do a lot of work with Veterans in town, so I decided to shift my focus on them. I started a company that caters to Veterans. I could sell tax franchises to men and women who serve in the military so that when they get back, they can own their own business.
What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?
I start my day by waking up early and going to the gym. I have two offices now. This year for tax season 2018, which is the 2017 tax year, we’ll probably file close to 4000 tax returns.
I have approximately ten employees that work during tax season and six employees that work after tax season. We have 700 returns on extension right now.
Our day consists of contacting customers, working on customer files, and doing whatever we possibly can to save them as much money as possible. We do a lot of research. The tax code is really simple; it says that everything is taxable and then it has 79,000 pages of exceptions. Our job is to go through the 79,000 pages of tax code and find out ways we can help our customers.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Leadership and being the owner or top manager of a business is all based on a vision. As a leader, you need to be able to see what the end picture is going to be. For some reason, I’ve been given a gift where I have the ability to see how the future can look. I then hire the best people, put them to work and I don’t get in their way. You gain success by hiring great people, giving them a path, and then letting them work.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The trend that excites me the most is consumer confidence. We have about 4,000 customers who are all middle to upper middle class. The excitement and the prospect of their future is better than I’ve seen it since before 2008.
The world fell apart in 2008, and a lot of people aren’t aware of it because they were young. People don’t realize before 2008 the mid-2000s were like the Wild Wild West. People were buying Rolexes, Lamborghinis, houses, traveling and all kinds of stuff. From 2008 to 2015 that lifestyle was gone. Finally, in the last year and a half people are no longer borrowing money from the 401(k) anymore. People are working harder. They are again buying cars, homes, and going on vacation. The economic outlook as a trend is amazing now compared to what it has been since 2008.
What advice would you give your younger self?
If it is not fun, don’t do it.
Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.
Taxes are fun.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Take care of your people. Take care of your people like you take care of your customers. The better you treat your employees, and the more you do for your employees, the better staff you will generate, and it is easily the recipe to success; having continuity and consistency in your employees.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?
Work hard.
What is one business idea that you are willing to give away to our readers?
I have a client that had four kids, and they couldn’t afford to feed their family. They came up with a computer program, not an app, to help them generate business by selling memberships to their customers. They have 40,000 customers, and they charge $10 a customer. They basically won the lottery by volume of sale. The best way is finding anything you can do and sell it in volume.
What is the best $100 you recently spent?
The best $100 I spent was taking my wife to dinner.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
Business Plan Pro is an incredible business plan program. I prepare business plans for customers. I charge from $10,000 to $25,000 to do this. The program first asks you details about your marketing plan. For example, “What is the ownership going to be like?” or “Who is your customer?” The questions make you think about the information surrounding your business. If you are serious about running a business, you would be crazy not to make one of these business plans.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand. No matter what you associate yourself with, whether it be liberal, conservative, etc.; if you read the book, you’ll understand what is going on in the country right now.
Do you have a favorite quote? If so, what is it?
“Disappointment comes from expectations“.
Connect:
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Steve (Stefan) Junge hails from Germany and helps with the day-to-day publishing of interviews on IdeaMensch. While he and Mario don’t share a favorite soccer club, their enthusiasm to help entrepreneurs is a shared passion.