The Importance of "What is Missing"?

Posted By: Larry Stone ICOR Blog & News,

No matter what industry they are in, successful businesses have many common elements such as advisors/coaches, processes, systems and a continuous exploration into what is missing. Not necessarily what is wrong. When something happens that is unexpected or they want to improve their results, successful entrepreneurs look for what is missing, which if it were present would make a difference.

This endeavor applies to everything—processes, systems, and human interactions. Yes, when having a conversation, one may want to look at what was missing, which would make a difference so they can have an opportunity to obtain different results the next time it occurs.

We believe that you should follow this principle with your tax planning and preparation. That is the reason we review your tax returns with you to look for anything that might be missing. This is a practice that you should follow no matter who prepares your tax return. As an aside, we review your tax return for quality control purposes 3 times prior to reviewing them with you looking for mistakes and missed opportunities It matters to you that it is correct and that you are doing everything, you are legally allowed to reduce your taxes and save cash.


Sometimes I hear statements like:
• I trust my guy
• I am comfortable with what we are doing
• I am not interested in looking at different ways

Though these statements may be true, I would encourage you to look and see if something may be missing in your tax planning and preparation that if it were present would make a difference. You work hard to earn your money; you should put the same effort into keeping it. You may want to use it for something that matters to you—paying off your mortgage, sending your children to college, building your retirement, or simply paying your bills.


To this end, we are discussing the “Top Ten Mistakes That Cost Real Estate Investors Thousands” on Thursday, February 17th beginning at 10:00 AM as a component of our Community Q&A program for ICOR (Investment Community of the Rockies). We do request that attendees join 5 minutes early as we plan to start the event on time. We invite you to join us for this conversation and encourage you to share the invitation with your friends and associates. To register for this event, please go to http://stonewealthstrategies.eventbrite.com . This program will provide you with an insight into some of the common missed opportunities to reduce your taxes and save cash.

But what if you are not interested in learning about it? You do trust your guy and are comfortable with what you are doing. I would encourage you to follow the advice of President Ronald Reagan. During the negotiations with the Soviet Union at that time considered a potential aggressor, he stated the following approach “trust but verify.” Using this philosophy, he was able to reach a nuclear weapons disarmament agreement with them. A significant accomplishment achieved during the “cold war.”

Rather than not discovering something that you may be missing, I would encourage you to attend because knowledge is power, and I want you to be powerful about what you do.