Creating a Profitable Business with Ilona and Takaya Brunner – 037

Taxes Shmaxes. Taxes dont have to stink!

Being smart with you you plan for taxes is what it’s all about!

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President, and various professionals, one or more of which are or have been Krane Financial Solutions clients. However, nothing stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Our podcasts are interviews between Justin Krane, Krane Financial Solution’s President and various third-party professionals. Noting stated within the podcasts should be considered a testimonial or endorsement of Krane Financial Solutions or Justin Krane, and the professionals have not been directly or indirectly compensated for being interviewed.

Ilona Brunner is the founding partner of Brunner Accounting Group. Her passion for serving business owners and individuals fueled her desire to open her own practice after spending 8 years in Big Four public accounting and 3 years at a local CPA firm in Burbank. Her services include tax return preparation, tax planning and consulting, IRS and state audit assistance, bookkeeping, and business management. She’s had experience working on companies in entertainment, financial services, trucking, healthcare, retail, and professional services to name a few. In addition, she’s assisting a wide range of clients ranging from start-ups to well established companies with revenues exceeding $100M.

Takaya Brunner is a partner of Brunner Accounting Group. He helps individuals and companies draw insights from their finances and data. For the last 10 years he has used his experience as a CPA to execute on initiatives with C-level executives by bridging the gap between finance, IT, development, analytics and business operations. He specializes in helping organizations analyze their financial statements to improve its products, processes and governance. Takaya started his career in 2007 at Semler Brossy Consulting Group where he helped large companies retain their key executives through appropriate compensation packages. After that he moved on to KPMG where he worked in their Forensic Advisory practice focusing on large forensic investigations and litigation consulting engagements.

**SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE VIDEO!**

 

 

Best Practices in Partnerships

• Choosing a business partner should be like choosing a mate (in Ilona and Takaya’s case it is one in the same).
• Choose someone you trust completely and choose someone for the long run.
• In a partnership it is best to work within one’s strengths than spend time being mediocre in another area. The strengths and weaknesses of each partner should complement the other.
• Set targets in chunks to discern what the business goals are and at what time each phase should be completed.

 

Comprehensive Financial Planning

• Every expense should be accounted for even if there are variables. Both controlled expenses and uncontrollable expenses should be assessed.
• Ask three questions. One: How is my business doing? Two: How is my entire life doing, both business and personally? Three: How am I doing on a cash basis?
• Most business owners are very knowledgeable on the business profit margin, but when it comes to how that profit is being spent on the personal side it becomes challenging for many entrepreneurs.
• It is important to be solid in several areas of business; sales, operations, products, services…and the back office. If the back office and financials are sturdy then you can get ahead of competitors easily.

 

What to Look for in an Advisor

• Financial advisors are important in monitoring cash flow so you can be certain that expenses can be covered, and how much cushion there is in case something goes wrong.
• In an age where so much is commoditized, it is important to find a financial advisor that cares about your specific problems and collaborates with you on how to solve them.
• A good advisor should also go through tax returns in great detail and explain what really matters on the return.
• Setting definite goals serves as a reminder for smaller decisions to enable you to live within your means. Stay focused on the end goal.

 

Best Quotes:

 

“You want to be good at what you’re good at, as opposed to always trying to be mediocre at what you’re not good at.”

“So if you ask them about margins of profitability, someone who has their thumb on their business and understands what’s going on, can answer that question quite quickly. What’s challenging is how that’s taken in this funnel to fund your personal life.”

“It really comes down to this idea that if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

“I always tell clients that sometimes I don’t think the best tax decision is the right business decision. And they’re a little taken aback by that, but it’s important because when I talk to someone I’m not only going to be thinking about the tax implications, I really want to think about the other implications of a decision.”

“If you compare yourself to everybody else’s best moments you always feel like you need to catch up.”
 

 

Connect With Ilona and Takaya

Website

 

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