The Short Version

Dave Rindfleisch can tell which agents have a plan and which ones don’t, and he can tell before they finish the sentence. The ones without a plan always need it tomorrow.

Dave owns Minuteman Press of Gilbert. He’s been in printing since 1986, he bought the Gilbert shop in 2013, and he’s seen enough agent marketing orders to know what the order says about the business behind it.

This one isn’t a printing explainer. It’s what the person behind the counter knows about your business that you haven’t admitted yet. We get into what agents consistently over-order, what they under-order, what a rush job actually costs beyond the rush fee, and how far ahead you really need to be thinking if you want your January marketing to exist in January.

Then we turn the table and talk to Dave as a business owner, because he’s running the same play you are. He took over a shop that was struggling, added equipment as the work showed up, and built the thing on relationships rather than on being the cheapest. Different product, same math.

Takeaways

Your print order is a confession. How often you need it tomorrow says more about your plan than your plan does.

A plan isn’t a document. It’s a lead time, and most agents have never asked what theirs are.

Rush fees are the smallest part of what last minute costs you.

Buy the equipment when the work is already there, not when you’re hoping it shows up.

Thirty years of showing up in the same community compounds in a way no ad spend does.

Chapters

00:00 Why a printer knows whether you have a plan
05:58 What a print shop actually does now
12:04 What agents really need, and what they keep over-ordering
17:59 What last minute actually costs
23:51 Dave the owner, and the numbers behind growing a shop
29:51 Thirty years in the Chamber, and whether networking really works

About the Guest

Dave Rindfleisch owns Minuteman Press of Gilbert. He’s worked in printing since 1986, including running a plant with 300 people across three shifts, and he bought the Gilbert shop in 2013. The shop does printing, signage, promotional products, and apparel, including embroidery and direct to film, serving the east valley. He’s been a member of the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce for about thirty years.

Find Dave

Website: impgilbert.net
Facebook: facebook.com/IMPGilbert

Come Talk to Me

If you want a second set of eyes on your numbers before you set next year’s marketing budget, grab a free consult at Apex Accounting and Advisory. No pitch, just a look at your real numbers with somebody who speaks business, not accounting.

Episode summary

Most agents are 1099 themselves, so when it’s time to get help, 1099 feels like the obvious answer. You bring on a transaction coordinator, or a showing assistant, or your spouse, and you pay them the way you get paid. Nobody sits down and prices it first.

Shelby Henning owns Payroll Vault here in the East Valley, and cleaning that up is her whole job. We get into who actually decides whether somebody’s a contractor or an employee, and here’s the short version. It isn’t you, and it isn’t the agreement you both signed.

From there it gets practical. What a W-2 really costs compared to a 1099 once you add everything in. What changed in the rules. Whether putting your spouse or your kids on payroll is smart or just a good story. When the S-corp conversation is worth having, and what reasonable salary means before somebody else decides it for you.

It’s the last thing most agents want to think about in October, which is exactly why October’s the month to do it.

Takeaways

• Classification isn’t a preference. It’s a test, and how the work actually runs is what answers it.
• A W-2 costs more than the wage, and most people have never added up the difference before they hired somebody.
• Family payroll can be a real move or a mess, and which one depends on details people skip.
• The S-corp question has a wrong time to ask it, and that time is April.
• Reasonable salary is the part people guess at, and guessing is where the exposure lives.
• Payroll run well is boring. Boring is the goal.

Chapters

00:00 Why payroll is a planning problem
02:58 Employee or contractor, and who actually decides
05:59 What a W-2 costs that a 1099 doesn’t
09:01 What changed in the rules
12:00 Putting your spouse or your kids on payroll
14:50 When to stop doing payroll yourself
17:46 The S-corp conversation
21:03 Reasonable salary, and how people get it wrong
23:50 Payroll myths worth killing
26:56 Making it boring on purpose

About the guest

Shelby Henning owns Payroll Vault in the East Valley serving Queen Creek, Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler. She grew up in Gilbert, played golf on a full ride at the University of Iowa, and worked in human resources, accounting, and business strategy at her family’s company before she opened Payroll Vault.

Payroll Vault Gilbert

(480) 992-5581

One housekeeping note

This whole conversation is general. Classification, entity elections, and reasonable salary all depend on your situation and your state, and the rules move. Nothing here is legal or tax advice. If something in this episode made you uneasy about how you’re paying somebody right now, that’s the point. Go get your own situation looked at.

Come talk to me

If you want a second set of eyes on your numbers before you set next year up, grab a free consult at Apex Accounting and Advisory. No pitch, just a look at your real numbers with somebody who speaks business, not accounting.

In this conversation, Steve Stowe and business performance coach Dave McGhee discuss the importance of proactive planning for real estate agents, emphasizing the need to shift focus from merely grinding to strategic growth and actionable steps. They explore common pitfalls in goal-setting, the significance of long-term vision, and the necessity of engaging with potential clients to ensure sustained business success.

Takeaways

• Proactive planning is essential
• Focus on long-term vision

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Proactive Planning
• 03:00 Understanding Business Growth Stages
• 06:03 The Importance of Long-Term Vision
• 09:01 Goals vs. Wishes: Setting Targets
• 11:55 High Leverage Actions for Agents
• 15:01 The Role of Conversations in Real Estate
• 17:45 Assessing and Adjusting Missions
• 21:01 Revenue vs. Profitability in Planning
• 23:56 Planning for Future Success
• 26:49 Identifying Pretending vs. Planning
• 29:55 Final Thoughts and Action Steps

Contact Dave McGhee: dave@themcgheegroup.com, CoachDaveMcGhee.com

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://closing-the-gap.apexbusinesspros.com