How a Seven-Figure Therapist Actually Builds Wealth (It's Not What You Think)

Hey, hey, welcome back to the Thriving Therapreneur Podcast. Today's episode is one that I don't think we genuinely talk about enough in the online coaching space. We are very used to talking about making money, launching, scaling funnels, sales, all those things, but we don't nearly talk enough about what to do with the money once it comes in. How do you protect your money? How do you keep more of it? How do you grow it? How do you make sure the wealth that you're creating in your business is actually building a financial legacy for your family and not just passing through your bank account and then paying your taxes? So today I am pulling back the curtain completely on what I am personally doing with my money as a 7-figure business owner and a mom of almost 2. These are real strategies I'm actively using right now. Some I'm even researching and not actively using. I'm not a financial advisor. Please do your own research and work with your own EA, CPA, financial team. But my intention in this episode is to inspire you to think bigger about what is possible when you are intentional with your money and you're not just good at making it. There's a lot that we're gonna cover today. I wanna open and talk about something that took me longer than I'd like to admit to really understand. And that is that making a lot of money and building wealth are not the same thing. So I have watched coaches generate significant revenue and they have almost nothing to show for it because it went out the door just as fast as it came in, if not faster. Lifestyle inflation, taxes they were not prepared for. They have no investment strategy, no systems for protecting or growing what they earned. And I've been guilty of some of this too, especially early on, but I have been constantly researching even from the early days, especially tax saving strategies. And when you go from making $60,000 to even $100,000 a year as a therapist to generating multiple 6 figures and 7 figures, nobody teaches you what to do with the money. You're so focused on making the money that The managing of the money—it gets completely overlooked, or it's just nuanced and confusing. And again, nobody teaches us this stuff in school. I've really condensed all of the information that I wish somebody had given me a lot earlier on. None of this is complicated, and the intention with money is where the real wealth actually begins. You have to be smart with your money. You have to be intentional with your money. You have to understand it. So. I'm going to walk you through 19 strategies. Like I said, this episode is going to be loaded. Some of them I'm actively doing, a couple I'm exploring, and one I'm going to point towards as a future vision for myself. And when you're ready to scale your wealth into real assets, you can have all of these strategies. You can come back to them. So let's start with strategy number 1. This is a foundational strategy, and it's how your business entity And structure is set up. This is the foundation everything else is built on. I operate as an S corp. If you are generating consistent revenue in your coaching business and you are not structured as an S corp, this is your first conversation to have with your accountant. The simplified version, as a sole proprietor or a single-member LLC, you pay yourself self-employment taxes on all of your profit. Roughly, it's like 15% on top of regular tax income. But as an S corp, you pay yourself a reasonable salary and only pay self-employment taxes on that salary, not on the total profit of the business. On a 7-figure business, that difference is tens of thousands of dollars. So it's not a loophole, it's legal, widely used structure that exists exactly for this purpose. So when you are making a decent amount of money, then it usually makes sense to bump up to an S corp. The next strategy that I'm doing is the Augusta Rule. I've been doing this for quite a few years, and the Augusta Rule allows homeowners to rent their personal residence to their own business for up to 14 days per year, completely tax-free to you personally. My business pays rent to me personally for hosting business meetings in my home, video production. That payment is a deductible expense. For the business and tax-free personal income for me. You're legally shifting money from your company into your pocket with zero tax liability on that transfer. However, you do have to document it properly. You have to have a legitimate rental agreement. You have to record the meetings. So work with your EA on this, make sure it's done correctly. But this is a strategy that can add meaningful tax-free income every single year. Next up is having your family on payroll, even your kids, your husband. This one always gets a reaction, but it is completely legal and one of the smartest things I've done for my family's financial future. My son is on payroll. My second son arriving very soon, he will be on payroll too. My husband is part of the company, legitimate role. Salary structure is in place, which is key. You can't just put family members on payroll for the sake of it. They must perform. Real work and be paid a reasonable documented wage for that work. My husband has a genuine role in the business, so do the kids, and this is what makes the strategy work legally and ethically. But what really excites me about having them all on payroll is I don't just let it sit there. I invest a portion for my kids on their behalf into a Roth IRA, into a brokerage account, and that money is going to compound over time. So after 18 years of investing consistently into the market, we're talking about a significant sum of money that will belong to him as an adult. So he's going to start his life with real financial assets because I'm making wise business decisions now when he's a baby, when he's a toddler. This is how generational wealth is building in real time. Next up is solo 401. It's maximizing your retirement contributions. If you're self-employed and you're structured as an S corp, a solo 401 is one of the most powerful retirement and tax reduction tools available to you. Unlike a traditional employer 401, a solo 401 allows you to contribute both as the employee and as the employer because you are on W-2. You pay yourself through your company, through your S corp. This means that you can completely shelter a significant amount of income from taxes every single year while simultaneously building your retirement nest egg. It's a win-win. Contributions reduce your taxable income dollar, the money grows tax-deferred, and you have control over how it's invested. It's not a complicated strategy. It's just a matter of setting it up, which takes all of 5, 10 minutes. So if you don't have a solo 401, bring this up with your EA at your next meeting. Home office deduction is absolutely something that you should be doing. If you have a dedicated space in your home, you use it regularly exclusively for business, then deduct it. This is one of those deductions that feels really small on paper, but it actually adds up very meaningfully over a few years, over one year. So document it, take it. HSA. This is one of my Personal favorites for me right now, 'cause I just max it out every single year. I'm in the era of having babies and having an HSA is one of the most underrated financial tools available. It has what's called a triple tax advantage. So contributions go in pre-tax, the money grows tax-free, and then it withdraws for a qualified medical expense that's tax-free. No other account gives you all 3 of those. So like I said, I max mine out every single year. Right now, being pregnant, working with the midwife, she is self-pay. HSA covers things that insurance doesn't cover— pelvic floor therapy, going to the chiropractor, even like prenatal supplements or any postpartum care. So you can use it for so much. I mean, like vision, dental, acupuncture, any type of medications, mental health services, fitness equipment. The list is very broad. So If you have an HSA and you're not maxing it out, then you're definitely leaving tax-free money on the table. Health insurance is another deduction that you can take. Typically people already know that, but if you're not already deducting your health insurance, make sure you do. It comes right off the top of your adjusted gross income. And if you are paying a significant health insurance premium and you're not deducting them, you absolutely should talk to your accountant immediately. Life insurance is another thing that I'm doing as a smart money move. This one doesn't get talked about nearly enough in entrepreneurship space. I think it's because people associate life insurance with something you set up maybe once you're older, but when you're building real wealth and you have a family depending on you, this deserves real attention. I actually have 2 life insurance policies. I stack them. I had a policy I took out years ago that was genuinely a great deal at the time, great rate, great terms, but As I've done more research over the years, I found a better company with a better structure that fit where I am now. And so I didn't swap one for the other. I actually just decided to keep the old policy. I reduced it, and then I added a new one on top of it. And this is very common to stack policies. It gives you flexibility. It gives you different coverage amounts. It gives you different term lengths, and your coverage isn't tied to one single policy or one carrier. It can be structured around the different seasons of your life. So if you're building something real, which you are if you're listening to this, you have somebody depending on you— family, children, spouse— your life insurance strategy deserves the same intentionality as everything else on the list, including tax-saving strategies. The next thing is making sure you're writing off business travel and food. So I travel for my business regularly, events, masterminds, conferences, in-person intensives. I write off that travel. So when a trip has a legitimate business purpose, the meals, those become deductible. The flights, the hotel, the transportation, those become deductible. Even a portion of the trip that combines business and personal, that can often be partially deducted. I've personally spent multiple 6 figures on mentorship and education over the course of building this business. So every mastermind, every high-level coaching program, every event that I attend, I'm also writing that off. So make sure it's not only travel that you're writing off, but education that you're writing off as well. Everything you invest in for the purpose of improving your skills, growing your business, and staying ahead in your industry, that is generally deductible. Courses, programs, masterminds, coaching, books, conferences, subscriptions to professional tools and platforms. That is all deductible. You should absolutely be writing that off. Meet with your EA. I have an EA, which is the top. Some of you might just have a CPA. Whoever is helping you be proactive with your tax strategy, do not just meet with them around tax time. Most entrepreneurs only talk to their accountant at tax time and they're shocked by what they owe. Meet with your EA regularly. Not even just quarterly. Like, I like to meet with my EA minimum once a month, sometimes twice. We go over everything— revenue, expenses, projected tax liability, strategies to implement, where we are relative to where we should be, where we were last year, decisions coming up that have tax implications. When you know your numbers throughout the year, you make better decisions. You are proactive instead of reactive, and you can identify strategies that maybe you missed. You can avoid surprises. So make sure you're hiring the right tax strategist. Meet with them regularly. It will absolutely pay off and you don't have to be stressed when tax time comes. Hey friends, quick pause. Because you're listening to this episode, I want to give you something special completely on me. I'm gifting you my 23-page Cash Infusion Playbook. This is the exact playbook I use in my own business, hand directly to my clients. It is packed with money-making, needle-moving activities you should be doing every single day to generate revenue and make easy sales. Too many entrepreneurs are spending their time on the wrong things— busy work that feels productive but doesn't pay— and this playbook cuts through all of that, gives you the exact revenue-generating activities that actually move the needle forward in your business. Click on the link in the show notes Drop your email and I'll send it straight to you. It is my gift to you for showing up, doing the work, and listening to this episode. Let's get back to it. Another smart thing that I'm doing— I told you this episode was loaded, okay? I'm like, another one, another one. I'm only on strategy 11. I have a lot more. The next one that I'm doing is an automated brokerage transfer. This is so stupid simple. It took me like 5 minutes to set up, and now I genuinely forget about it. I don't have to think about it. So make sure you're paying yourself first, then automate the transfer. Let it compound over time. You don't have to wait for the right time to do this. Just a small amount automatically leaving your account every month, going straight into your brokerage account. This is a wealth-building strategy. Vehicle write-offs. This is another write-off. Okay, we're currently in the market for a new vehicle. We've been car shopping. So under Section 179 of the tax code, certain vehicles purchased for business can Qualify for significant deductions. Some cases, the full purchase price and the year of purchase even qualifies for the deduction. The key qualification is generally vehicle weight. So many SUVs and trucks over 6,000 pounds, then they would qualify. So if you are buying a vehicle, talk to your accountant before you sign anything because you could have a substantial deduction that you take just from— Interesting. Getting the vehicle. Another thing is having fringe benefits. This is probably one of the most underutilized categories for business owners. It's a health reimbursement arrangement that allows your business to reimburse you and eligible employees for medical expenses tax-free. This is separate from your HSA, and you can layer it on top of your HSA. So beyond that, fringe benefits like wellness stipends, continuing education reimbursements, professional development support for your team. Those are all legitimate deductible business expenses. So if you have a team and you're not thinking about fringe benefits as part of your compensation strategy, then you're probably leaving deductions on the table. R&D credits is one I'm actively exploring. This has been mentioned to me before. It is not something that I am actively doing. Like I said, I am exploring. Typically, R&D tax credits are for like tech companies, but also businesses that are developing new processes such as software systems, AI tools, proprietary platforms, they can potentially qualify. And so I have built my own software. I have Carly AI. It is a proprietary AI agent, and I have R&D credits available to me that I probably have not taken advantage of. So if you're building anything innovative in your business— custom tools, even new curriculum development, AI systems, proprietary processes, IP— I think this is worth bringing up to your EA or a specialized R&D tax credit firm. Typically, the EA will refer you out to an R&D tax credit firm, and then they will do an eligibility assessment, which is the process that I'm in. So it's Worth a conversation. Next thing, going back to kids, is 529 plan education, Roth IRA, Trump accounts. 529 plans, this is a tax-advantaged saving account for education. Contributions grow tax-free. Withdrawals for qualified education expenses are tax-free. So if you have kids, just start contributing now. Even small amounts compound into real tuition coverage. If you're having birthday parties, you can put on the invitation, just Contribute to the 529 plan if you insist. No gifts, please. And then have a Roth IRA for the kids as well. So once a child has earned income, which mine do through payroll, then they can contribute to a Roth IRA, but they do have to have earned income. After-tax contributions grow completely tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. So starting a Roth IRA for a child and letting it compound for 60+ years. That's one of the most powerful financial gifts that I can think of for your kids. Trump accounts. This is brand new. Also took me like 5, 10 minutes to sign up. I am not banking on any of this coming through. I don't know why I don't have high hopes, but it's free money if it does. So every US citizen born between January 1st, 2025 and December 31st, 2028, they're going to receive $1,000 Government seed contribution into a tax-deferred investment account. And then you can contribute— I am not personally going to be contributing— up to $5,000 per year on top of that. And then the money is gonna grow tax-deferred until the child turns 18. And then at 18, you can decide what to do with it. I'll be withdrawing mine and then putting it into the Roth, but it can be used for education, first home, starting a business, whatever the case is. Okay, so it'd be silly not to set it up because it's free money. If you're thinking about launching a podcast or taking yours to the next level, Juliana and her team are the experts you need. They take care of everything from episode funnel design to production and marketing, so you can focus on creating content that connects with your audience. Check out the show notes on how to get access to their team. And just mention that I sent you. Happy podcasting. Real estate is something I'm going to be doing in the future and taking advantage of bonus depreciation and cost segregation. Not currently doing this, but it is on my radar as I continue to grow. Real estate is one of the most powerful wealth building and tax reduction vehicles available to high income earners, which is why you see so many high income earners having multiple properties. It's not just to have multiple properties and to have another income stream. It is really for a tax write-off and strategy. So bonus depreciation allows you to deduct a large portion, sometimes even 100% of the cost of a real estate investment in the year it's purchased rather than spreading it over decades. And that's going to create that significant paper loss to offset your business income. And then cost segregation, that takes it a step further. This accelerates the depreciation by identifying components of a property that can be depreciated faster. So I'm not into real estate yet, but I am paying attention. And as this business continues to grow and I look for places to shelter income and build assets, real estate is absolutely in the plan. So if this is of interest to you, talk to a real estate CPA, somebody who is specialized in bonus depreciation and cost segregation. So we covered a ton today. I'm going to give you a quick recap. We talked about S corp structure, Augusta rule, family on payroll, legitimate roles, solo 401, home office deduction, HSA, maxing it out. Make sure you're deducting health insurance. Make sure you're deducting business travel and write-offs. Make sure you're deducting education and mentorship. Meet with your EA, CPA, accountant regularly. Set up an automated brokerage transfer. Just set it, forget it. If you're in the market for a new vehicle, know that you could possibly write it off. Fringe benefits, HRA, RMD credits, those are all worth exploring. For your kids, 529 plans, having them on payroll, Roth IRA, a Trump account. Real estate is a wealth-building vehicle. Oh my gosh, 19 strategies I think we covered, maybe even more. None of them are super complicated. All of them are very intentional. Again, making money is just step one. Keeping it, protecting it, growing it— that is step 2. Most entrepreneurs are skipping this step 2 completely, entirely. So please work with your financial team before implementing any of these. Every situation is different, but I hope this episode made you curious enough to ask better questions because the right questions are going to lead to the right strategies and having the right knowledge can absolutely change everything. Knowledge is power. Hopefully this condensed all of your research that you have to do and gave you some new ideas that maybe you're not already implementing in your business or future-paced you into the ideas that you will implement knowing that your business is about to blow up. If you need help blowing up your business or starting it, growing it, scaling it, check out the link in the show notes. There's plenty of ways that we can work together. Not only do I teach my clients these wealth-building strategies, but I'm also teaching them how to get paying clients, set up funnels, have a marketing strategy, figure out their niche, the whole nine yards, so they can do step one, which is actually making money in their business. My love is with you, and I'll see you in the next episode.