About Us
At AFASMARTBUSINESS.COM, a division of Adriaan Financial Associates, LLC, our mission is to enhance profits for S-Corps, C-Corps and LLC. I find Centers of Expertise from Big Business to enhance profits for small businesses at a price point that is affordable. We use our money to make your business more profitable. We have proprietary audit software, specialized tax incentives, corporate loans to $250 million and tax advantaged business exit strategies with tax advantaged income streams for life and tax advantaged sale of businesses. Consultations are free. Most feasibility studies have no upfront cost and no backend cost if not accepted.
How We Got Started
I have been in the mortgage, real estate and insurance and financial planning business for 30 years, mostly part-time while I worked in Corporate America. I retired 8 years ago and discovered that small businesses needed a lot of help. I found organizations that specialize in enhancing profits and decided to spread the word and find money for them in very easy done-for-you processes. I can typically find an average of $250,000 in benefits for most businesses with employees or buildings.
The products and services we offer
Recommendations Received (30)
"Fabulous business! Fabulous businessman!"
"Aldo provides expertise, incredible business support, and needed resources to help you with cash..."
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"Aldo provides expertise, incredible business support, and needed resources to help you with cash flow and save you money."
Products & Services
Go to www.gmg.me/276908 and calculate in a couple of minutes how much value we bring to your business. HOW MANY OTHER VENDORS COME TO YOUR BUSINES...
We estimate 14 million businesses will change hands in 8 years. This is a HUGE baby boomer led bubble. We prepare businesses to be competitive and ...
Educate your business clients how hiring 4-5 vets can net a $40,000 hiring tax credit. They can use that money to do anything with, like buy a car,...
Recommendations Given (36)
"Innovative Registered Investment Advisory Firm helping clients in many and varied ways!"
"Doug is a solid financial professional helping business owners access the capital they need in a..."
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"Doug is a solid financial professional helping business owners access the capital they need in a timely manner!"
Recent Activity
By filing later, gives you more time to get a cost segregation study or a Research and Development Section 41 study done if applicable to reduce your 2019 tax obligation. Have your CPA/tax pro talk to us to see if in considering everything it makes sense to delay. A recent client with a $1.4...
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By filing later, gives you more time to get a cost segregation study or a Research and Development Section 41 study done if applicable to reduce your 2019 tax obligation. Have your CPA/tax pro talk to us to see if in considering everything it makes sense to delay. A recent client with a $1.4 million dollar building received a $140,000 benefit by working with us, and he was able to use it two weeks after we analyzed his depreciation schedule. To learn more see www.afasmartbusiness.com/calculator
How to fill your pipeline with ideal profile prospects. How much time to devote to balance the pipeline filling vs the operational aspects of servicing. Knowing your positioning against your competitors and monitoring your competitors on an ongoing basis so that you stay current, relevant and...
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How to fill your pipeline with ideal profile prospects. How much time to devote to balance the pipeline filling vs the operational aspects of servicing. Knowing your positioning against your competitors and monitoring your competitors on an ongoing basis so that you stay current, relevant and balanced so that you know the size and type of client you need to work with, which will drive your service level, the dollar value of the clients you seek and your education requirements and the type and kind of office support and business partners you will need.
Here's my low tech 2 cents on this
Look back at the fluctuating expenses total for the most recent period you are concerned with and look at the low end number and the highest end number and determine the median. Look at the differential between the median and anticipated high and budget for a...
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Here's my low tech 2 cents on this
Look back at the fluctuating expenses total for the most recent period you are concerned with and look at the low end number and the highest end number and determine the median. Look at the differential between the median and anticipated high and budget for a suitable number of months per year you estimate that the high could be there. Assign cash/credit line to cover the gap. Setup the gap as a bill, you regularly contribute a payment to thus creating a savings/payment plan to cover just one line item, that you can draw upon to cover fluctuating expenses. Rank the probability of low, med high fluctuation across various expenses, so you have some idea of what % of the fluctuating expense pool will have a higher probability of fluctuating. Look at the why of the highest percentile of fluctuating expenses...and whether its under your control or not. Should you allocate effort to sales more to offset the expense, or can you defer, delay, renegotiate, stagger expense to lower expense months, or just continue to do iterations until your float or savings plan keeps it under control. What other expenses can you eliminate or reduce to offset the increase in fluctuating expenses, including bulk buys etc.
Hopefully this helps as a springboard to your eventual answer!
We do a joint venture with companies to reduce their merchant credit card,workers comp,waste mgt and fedex/ups bills. No change of vendors,no upfront cost,we manage your costs down and split the savings with you.We run these programs with you for 3 years for some services and permanently for...
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We do a joint venture with companies to reduce their merchant credit card,workers comp,waste mgt and fedex/ups bills. No change of vendors,no upfront cost,we manage your costs down and split the savings with you.We run these programs with you for 3 years for some services and permanently for others identifying overcharges and mistakes and you give us a letter of authority to get the overcharges back from the vendor on your behalf.We created proprietary software that manages the key issues...for example with merchant credit cards,there are 125 different fee types. We charge nothing up front,if we find no savings,there’s no charge. 15 minute survey to get ball rolling. Www.afasmartbusiness.com/calculator
For people that are hiring,see www.mywotccredit.com or call me for help with offsetting your hiring costs with hiring tax credits.
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For people that are hiring,see www.mywotccredit.com or call me for help with offsetting your hiring costs with hiring tax credits.
People want to be a part of a successful enterprise, but we all know there are ups and downs. Bottomline, they care about their own future, enhancement prospects and employment. Set targets for the year, and quarter and monthly. Share seasonality if appropriate. Show what activities by various...
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People want to be a part of a successful enterprise, but we all know there are ups and downs. Bottomline, they care about their own future, enhancement prospects and employment. Set targets for the year, and quarter and monthly. Share seasonality if appropriate. Show what activities by various departments lead to meeting the goals. Share mission, vision, service regularly so that it becomes a part of the DNA and makes those who dont buy in stand out for easier elimination Share wins, reward high performers and show how personal effort leads to more rewards Share ranking of similar companies and competitors, so you can create a game emvironment Dont share personal wealth, focus only on the business because that is appropriate. Share whats going on in your field, industry, economy. politics. organizations like www.NFIB.com make that easy as they have great data you can show. Show your strengths and borrow credibility from joint ventures with partners. Showcase them and have them speak at your employee events giving them a sense of being part of something greater than themselves. Add a featured employee segment, called a COG..where someone who is a cog in the wheel of a successful deal, says what their part was in support the deal. It educates the middle management as well as the CEO and peers. This knits the team well. Have socialization right after the meeting. We used to have beerbusts at 4pm on a friday, after execs came up, delivered the news, asked for continued support and focus, passed out rewards and we partied and had free cabs for folks who couldnt drive home afterwards. Cheers Aldo
Melaleuca, Dr Eric Berg, Puritans pride, Quantum Healing (coded for my energy frequency), Dr Mark Stengler. Depends which body system I'm working on.
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Melaleuca, Dr Eric Berg, Puritans pride, Quantum Healing (coded for my energy frequency), Dr Mark Stengler. Depends which body system I'm working on.
I have several years experience buying VA services from Upwork.com guru.com fiverr.com and Vastaffer.com Vastaffer has done a great job and has a course on hiring VAs Here's a typical service set from a Virtual assistant
https://vastaffer.com/virtual-assistant-services/
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I have several years experience buying VA services from Upwork.com guru.com fiverr.com and Vastaffer.com Vastaffer has done a great job and has a course on hiring VAs Here's a typical service set from a Virtual assistant
https://vastaffer.com/virtual-assistant-services/
Beware of the questions you ask yourself as they commit yourself to a path that may not take you where you want to go. Buying a lead is like being setup for a blind date at different tables in the same restaurant with the client not knowing why they are there. If however, you were given a...
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Beware of the questions you ask yourself as they commit yourself to a path that may not take you where you want to go. Buying a lead is like being setup for a blind date at different tables in the same restaurant with the client not knowing why they are there. If however, you were given a prestige introduction, saying why you could fulfil someones need, they would be willing to meet you at your table in the restaurant. Then you need the skill of connection. Most marketing material is devoid of emotion as its compliance's role to edit that out and leave the connecting to you, in an undocumented environment. Compliance approves imagery that suggest that emotion, but its overused and clients dont identify with pictures that are not themselves. Look at the macro result you want to achieve...x dollars that keeps you in business, excited and passionate,y experience with clients, z amount of time devoted to work and then ask..."What problem am I solving for my clients and what are the emotional hot buttons that drive my client and how much are they willing to exchange for solving that problem. Leads do not usually offer for sale the "emotional hot buttons" that you need to have for higher order sales. Your heart and mind are transmitters....INSTALL these "emotional hot buttons" in your heart and mind first and something equivalent to your reticular activation system will lead you synergistically toward the people that need you. But How do you install the "emotional hot buttons in YOU first and install them properly". You need to let these emotional hot buttons come out in a leading question form to dig deep into someone's being to ensure you understand the core of their desire for what you offer. If you sense a tearing up, or a breaking in their voice, then you are there. I provide a questioning resource to address this later. This Synergistic attraction to you is best described in Joe Nunziatas book, Spiritual Selling.
https://www.amazon.com/Spiritual-Selling-Attractor-Abundance-Business/dp/0470133937/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=spiritual+selling&qid=1557244318&s=gateway&sr=8-1
I used to sell life insurance under several models...Buy term and invest the difference, then tax shelters for the middle class and now Business Exit strategies for small to medium sized Business owners. My commissions varied on that journey from a model of getting paid $150 per to a model of multiple $150,000 per client/partner. But one thing never changed...you are connecting and exchanging your energy and resources to fulfill an emotional need of a human being. My new sales model has me not closing the client, but someone who is expert at engaging that type of client at a deep emotional level doing the closing, but me getting paid 1000 times more than when I did the original closing on early sales. But my role now is to help someone gain awareness of my service and grab their attention via a tight borrowed relationship/prestige introduction, where somebody else edifies me and introduces me to a prospective client, then I engage deeply in a short period of time with questions that hit at the heart of a critical problem area that the business owner recognizes as his exit and the sum total of the efforts of his entire life and I offer a 20 minute relationship introduction and facilitate a conversation with masters/experts in an area that deliver a proprietary consulting experience you can only get via an exclusive prestige introduction, definitely not a commodity. Leads are commodities. Move away from leads without emotional content, otherwise you commoditize your business and will get ignored due to lack of differentiation. Focus instead on migrating to a strategy and sales experience where a client says "You get me..you understand exactly what I want" and within 3 feet of you are all the leads you need, if you can reach out and touch them emotionally. My suggestion is this: 1) Build your confidence by going for THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP in your industry or your neighborhood, so you can have interesting conversations with clients, influencers, partners and community leaders Infuse yourself with passion for your craft. EMOTIONAL HOT BUTTON - Smart person, someone worth of engaging conversation - a thought leader - not a pitcher/social parrot. People allow SMART folks to take them on emotional rides, but SMART with emotional intelligence who can relate deeply. Focus not on features and benefits, but focus on situational IMPACT. Life insurance in the typical term scenario is continuation of lifestyle for those left behind. It is Temporary Lifestyle Insurance. Life insurance in a permanent scenario is Lifetime Lifestyle Insurance with huge tax benefits if executed properly. Beware that the words you say do not send your clients minds into pigeon holes of past experiences. That is why using their phraseology is key as they are averse to being sold to and averse to hearing old stuff, whihc is why thought-leadership elevates you. Follow two people...the top two in life insurance https://vanmueller.com/ for life insurance and www.tomhegna.com for annuities. Your clients may occasionally see them on TV, but mostly not. Adopt their tried and true phraseology. Read The Power of Zero to learn from David Mcknight about tax diversification and getting to a Zero Tax Bracket as it leads to a differentiating conversation that shows the true power of life insurance solutions. Ed Slott, the king of IRAs does NPR shows and is the advocate for "NEVER TAXED". Give THE POWER OF ZERO book to clients as a gift and borrow credibility in that action rather than write your own book. Another book idea you can implement in less than a week is TAX-FREE Retirement by Patrick Kelly. Give it to a client and include a simple note such as "Please read Chapter 12 "The Story Of Bill" and call me to learn how we can put this unique concept to work for you". The first time I used that I sold a plan for $900,000 with the client committing $70K a year for 7 years and happy to do so because of a huge tax burden and longevity in their family. But the BOOKS are NOT ENOUGH. There must be a genuine deep connection that makes the client WANT to read the book or simply even a chapter. 2) Do 60 minute interviews with various people from various walks of life to get at their Phraseology of their hot button issues. Do this to determine what the emotional impact of your vocation and your niche/focus is and the words clients use to describe their situation. Dont let clients translate your industry jargon to their emotional needs . If you can get a burly man to tear up about wanting a college funding solution for his son, you got to get him to "I dont want my son to go through all the back breaking labor and struggle I had to go through because I didnt do well in school". Thats what he is buying from you, not the name of the company and some product. If you sold insurance, you know most people dont know what they own or even why they bought it, except that it was a good idea at a time. The level of emotional connection relates to the size of the deal. I have witnessed SMART and PASSION as an emotional hot button many times. I've seen multi-million dollar deals closed in 5 minutes with the use of chocolate coins (selling multigenerational IRAs, Chutes and Ladders games to sell Fixed Indexed Annuities and flip charts/napkin presentations intertwined with leading emotional hot button questions. Review VanMueller and you'll experience PASSIONATE and review TOM HEGNA and you'll experience SMART. The combination of the two is very powerful. Rainmakers are good at asking questions to get to the choked up responses quickly...find the emotion. There is a question staircase that takes you there, and that sharing forms a tight consulting bond with you and the client. Now YOU know your purpose and it drives you to find better solutions, better value, more manageable,covering more risks. Now you know your client, their circumstance, what they can pay. Then you understand how many clients you need per year to meet your revenue goals and number of hours you can dedicate to actual sales. If time off is key to you digest this excellent work by a former coach of mine, Brian Tracy
https://www.briantracy.com/catalog/double-your-productivity-double-your-time-off
A great book on using that leading question staircase is "How to Double Your Sales by asking a few more questions" by Sidney C Walker - a former coach of mine
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=How+to+double+your+sales+by+asking+a+few+more+questions&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss This understated book is an easy way to master this technique. His website
http://www.sellingwithoutwrestling.com/
You will find that the interview exercise, done well, will help your marketing message, but just this process can net you new business. Just getting through the interview and hitting the hot buttons without a sales pitch and letting the client share deep feelings with you and not pitching anything is key. Ask your clients questions about what they would like to see from a business such as yours, what they hate about your industry, and also what they like. You will be hitting two key emotional radio stations in their being...WIIFM and MMFI Whats In It for Me and Make Me Feel Important. Caring deeply for your clients and serving them and pushing yourself to grow to the next level to be a lighthouse for your clients is key to a successful business and career. Birds of a feather flock together. Once you have made this emotional connection, the potential client views you in a different light and will want to share your name and this bond with others. A simple question at the end of the interview, such as "Thankyou for your valuable insight. Is there anything you would like me to take a look at for you? Is their anyone you would recommend I have this same discussion with? Every person knows at least 250 people, but there are about a dozen people they feel comfortable sharing various levels of deep feelings with. Master this transition and you can renew client relationships with 3 of their closest friends/family members. Reference Material: The interview I mentioned can be garnered from this book
https://www.amazon.com/Effort-Less-Marketing-Financial-Advisors-Moeller/dp/0967205905
The interview strategy "Research to Discover New Opportunities" has questions you can use. Overall this is an amazing book. The next resource is by the greatest master for Prestige Introductions(proper way to say referrals)...Wayne Cotton 40 years of being top of any measure in the Insurance Industry. This is a "forensic assessment of your sweet spot"
http://cottonsystems.com/Best_Case_Scenario.pdf and can drill down on your market in an afternoon. Once you have worked your way through these things..you understand your business, who you are looking for, are confident with your message, your speech is passionate, confident and selective, who you serve is well defined and describable to a lead company, who can use AI to find people who are exhibiting the types of behaviors or can respond to targeted messages as well defined as "Does your left toe hurt" We are the leaders in Left Toe gel that provides instant relief and we can have a drone deliver it to your door in 30 minutes for $9.99. Yes, this is a joke, but the part that is not a joke, is that we all in our instant gratification society are in a head space that expects a lead to do that from a lead company, without having to do the work to properly define the lead. After having done the work, we realize, WE DONT NEED LEADS, we have to fill our day with meaningful conversations with people we know and we connect with at a relevant and mutually beneficial manner. And yet, we are all marching to online lead systems and seminars that will magically deliver clients using a "spray and pray" model, but its just more spend, that doesnt connect and clients inboxes fill up with overly confident strangers and they have to duck for cover yet again! And the online lead generation will spew garbage out if fed garbage in, in not properly emotionally targeted clients. Ask your clients one simple question....when has somebody from the insurance industry actually connected with you on a personal level about your most important insurance needs?....long pause.............We cant expect clients to make the emotional leap between our products and their deep set needs. Hope this helps your overall business flourish!
