Business

Michel Valbrun Shares Tips With Firms About Asking The Right Questions While Hiring CPA

Published

4 years ago

June 23, 2021

Michel Valbrun, CEO & Founder Of Valbrun Group Brings In Value Based Learning For Firms/Entrepreneurs

Michel Valbrun, a reputed CPA, helps entrepreneurs and businesses understand the importance of saving money on taxes and use it as a tool to create wealth. This has helped many of his clients create generational wealth. His multiples of experience in the corporate and accounting firms helped him start his own venture ‘Valbrun Group’ – where he opened his own accounting firm. He is sharing some tips with the firm owners and brand owners on how to ask the right questions when they hire a CPA.

Question #1

Afraid of the IRS? Not suitable then. An individual with the CPA role should be absolutely comfortable and work willing, and try to engage with the idea of handling an IRS audit.

If they are overly nervous about the IRS audits or how they work, find someone else to do the job for you. Some of the tax preparers often advised: “Don’t take this deduction, even though it’s legitimate, because it might raise a red flag and get you audited.” This is a statement that comes from a place of insecurity and unpreparedness.

Question #2

Are you ready to handle IRS communications, if necessary? Hire the best tax advisor who is highly capable to deal with an IRS auditor, not you. Michel shares, ‘I cannot emphasize this point enough. It is highly advisable that you as a business/brand owner don’t converse with the IRS directly. No means no!.’

Be it a simple request or an extensive audit, the IRS could easily flood you with too much information as you are a common man who is unaware of the depth of the knowledge they hold. Your CPA should know this depth even more than the IRS.

Question #3

Have you experienced an IRS audit before? Listen to them carefully. How was their experience with the rendezvous? Ask them a few examples if you don’t understand something. Also feel free to understand how it ended at the end. There can be 100 different scenarios in your case, however, it is necessary to understand how they react in such instances.

Losing an audit means losing a huge refund for the client. In some cases, it means a huge tax refund if the auditor won. In fact, it is better if the taxpayer was better off losing when you combine the two years of tax paid.

Question #4

Do you know how to build a relationship with an IRS auditor? This is a moment changing answer usually. CPA with good people skills can make the IRS auditor feel comfortable and really do their best to coax them. Auditors usually have a really tough job, and building rapport with them can make a big difference in the results.

Keeping proper documentation of expenses can keep the tax return in check. Always ask for a list of the documents you need to keep for emergencies. It’s critical to keep good records. Led and mentored by Michel Valbrun, most small and medium-size businesses can easily reduce their tax burden legally and ethically. To get some tax or finance saving advice from the genius himself, check out Michel’s website and save all your money to create wealth for the upcoming generations.

Business

Scaling Success: Why Smart Habits Beat Growth Hacks in Modern eCommerce

Published

1 month ago

July 26, 2025

Matthew Wiles

There’s a romanticized image of the eCommerce founder: a daring risk-taker chasing the next big idea, fueled by late-night caffeine and last-minute inspiration. But the reality behind scaled, sustainable brands tells a different story. Success in digital commerce doesn’t come from chaos or clever hacks. It comes from habits. Repetitive, structured, often unglamorous habits.

Change, a digital platform created by eCommerce strategist Ryan, builds its entire philosophy around this truth. Through education, mentorship, and infrastructure, Change helps founders shift from scrambling for quick wins to building strong systems that grow with them. The company doesn’t just offer software. It provides the foundation for digital trade, particularly for those in the B2B space.

The Habits That Build Momentum

At the heart of Change’s philosophy are five core habits Ryan considers non-negotiable. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the foundation of sustainable growth.

First, obsess over data. Successful founders replace guesswork with metrics. They don’t rely on gut feelings. They measure performance and iterate.

Second, know your customer deeply. Not just what they buy, but why they buy. The most resilient brands build emotional loyalty, not just transactional volume.

Third, test fast. Algorithms shift. Consumer behavior changes. High-performing teams don’t resist this; they test weekly, sometimes daily, and adapt.

Fourth, manage time like a CEO. Every decision has a cost. Prioritizing high-impact actions isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Fifth, stay connected to mentorship and learning. The digital market moves quickly. The remaining founders are the ones who keep learning, never assuming they know it all.

Turning Habits into Infrastructure

What begins as personal discipline must eventually evolve into a team structure. Change teaches founders how to scale their systems, not just their sales.

Tools are essential for starting, think Notion for documentation, Asana for project management, Mixpanel or PostHog for analytics, and Loom for async communication. But tools alone don’t create momentum.

Teams need Monday metric check-ins, weekly test cycles, customer insight reviews, just to name a few. Founders set the tone by modeling behavior. It’s the rituals that matter, then, they turn it into company culture.

Ryan puts it simply: “We’re not just building tools; we’re building infrastructure for digital trade.”

Avoiding the Common Traps

Even with structure, the path isn’t always smooth. Some founders over-focus on short-term results, chasing vanity metrics or shiny tactics that feel productive but don’t move the needle.

Others fall into micromanagement, drowning in dashboards instead of building intuition. Discipline should sharpen clarity, not create rigidity. Flexibility is part of the process. Knowing when to pivot is just as important as knowing when to persist.

Scaling Through Self-Replication

In the end, eCommerce scale isn’t just about growing a business. It’s about repeating successful systems at every level. When founders internalize high-performance habits, they turn them into processes, then culture, then legacy.

Growth doesn’t require more motivation. It requires more precision. More consistency. Your calendar, not your to-do list, is your business plan.

In a space dominated by noise and novelty, Change and its founder are quietly reshaping the conversation. They aren’t chasing trends but building resilience, one habit at a time.