Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Hello, my name is Noor Al Masary. Welcome to Echoes of Impact with Noora. We believe that everyone is capable of making an impact and changing the world.
So we challenge limitations and uncover stories that inspire a greater impact for you and the world.
Today we're going to talk about mindfulness. We're going to discuss different topics, but our main focus, our main focus is going to be about mindfulness. Are you being mindful when you're doing anything in your life?
Before we start getting talking to my guests today, we have two guests for you. We're gonna get there, we're gonna talk to them and they're amazing. We're gonna talk about mindfulness and a different aspect during the show today. So before that, we're going to start with our sponsored segments, the recurring segments that we've been doing it for the last couple of episodes. Today again, we're going to have the segments Save Taxes with Nura. The segment is sponsored by Nura's Books tax and accounting firm. I'm the founder of Nura's Books. And we're going to talk about choosing your tax professional. Who's that person that's going to help you to file your taxes. And this is very important because it's going to change the outcome. The outcome might be you get an audit and it become an ugly audit and you have to pay back a lot of taxes with penalties and interest.
Another outcome could be you pay so much in taxes that if you chose the right professional, you might not need to pay as much.
Maybe sometimes you even get a refund.
Even if it doesn't look like that you should get one for your tax professional or from your experience from filing a loan or filing with someone who doesn't really know the law or who doesn't spend the time with you to make sure they have your best interest in mind to optimize your tax position.
Yes, there's so not so much things that the tax professional like when they do the tax preparation, they can do after the fact, after the year ends, but they still can do what you, whatever you already can benefit from after the year end because there's some, some stuff, some, some tax law can apply to you, some deductions, some credits, some benefits that you can benefit from. But if the tax professional doesn't, do not know the tax law, it's going to be a problem for you.
Another outcome could be, and I've seen it with some people came to me after using some tax professionals who, they get very excited because a certain professional help Them get a lot of refund. Sometimes they go and amend their return. But unfortunately that professional do it wrong.
I would assume they don't know they're doing it wrong. They're just excited to save you money and they don't know the law. Exactly.
So they put you in a very bad situation and then you get audited and you have to pay the money back.
So like different situation you can be at if you are filing yourself or having a tax professional that do not know the tax law and just doing the data entry for your taxes. So this is why it is really, really important to choose the right tax professional.
As you know, I am a tax professional but of course I can't do it for everyone.
And I would be happy to serve you, but I know I do not have the capacity to serve the entire everyone. And there's a lot of great tax professional over there. There's a lot of great people who take your interest and their in the consensus into the consideration and do a great job doing your taxes. You just have to select the right one. Someone who you are happy to work with, someone you are comfortable with communicating with you. Like the way they work. For example, like me at Nora's Books we do everything online.
We do not meet one to one. So I do not meet my clients one to one in person, belly to belly meeting. We do meet online, we do meet on Zoom. Especially if it's. If you are new clients, you either meet with me or my and my team and then we ask you some questions and if we are good fit, if you like to work with us and we can help you, then everything happens through a secure portal.
Now other people like in person interaction. So they don't like virtual firms. They don't like to just submit their documents through a portal. They want to meet with their tax professional, they want to drop their paperwork and they wanted to get it done this way. There are a lot of people available to do that as well.
Now at Nors Books we don't do that. And the beauty of the virtual farm that we have that we can help you wherever you are, at any place, in any country, even as long as you're doing that the US taxes, not any other taxes, we can help you. So it is important for you to be comfortable and do the thing the right way. The thing the way that you are comfortable with. So this is why I want to help you choose the right professional for you.
So let's get three points, three things that you want to make sure your tax professional check them okay, so first thing, their education, second credential, and then the process.
So let's first talk about credential. Okay. Credential.
There is a habit everyone say like my CPA, my CPA. My CPA, my CPA. Most of these people are not CPAs. They are just doing the taxes.
They could be a CPA, but there's a lot of CPAs always also not necessarily do taxes and they don't like to doing taxes. So just having someone do the taxes for you, it doesn't mean they are a cba. It's not a good or bad thing. If they are a cpa. It could be a good person. It could be someone who does not take your, your, your, your position, your tax position in the, your best interest in mind.
So that's not something that will make you go with someone or not go with someone.
Now there's only 67,000 around 67,000 CBAs around the US a lot of them do not do taxes. Okay. Now there is the other classification which is the enrolled agent, which is I am an enrolled agent technically, like I am an enrolled agent and also I'm qualified to do the CPA tests. I'm overqualified actually to do that, but I just have to sit for the tests and I didn't get a chance to do that yet. So this is. A lot of other people are have the same position and I know a lot of lawyers and a lot of accountants. They can take the CBA tests, but they didn't take it because they just don't have time to do it. But they are more than qualified to do that. So there's a lot of people like that. For me, I decided to start with the enrolled agent because I can help my clients. I can represent you, I can do that. I know the tax law. So I can actually apply the tax law and see what can you benefit from. I can do the preparation, I can do the tax planning, which is before the fact.
Now this is another thing. And there's a lot about 59,000 around the US who are enrolled agents. Now there's another not credential, but something, something that IRS give a check to the people. There is an annual filing season program. IRS have and a lot of people, they do that. An annual filing season program. They get updated, they get all of the, the knowledge and they go and do the taxes and they apply what they learn and they put your interest and first for them.
So not everyone who does any of these learning or get any of these credential do put that your your interest. And first, because it also depends on the person, what's their priority? Okay. The other thing is their process. Like I said, like how are their process? How do they work? Do they have you? Do they ask you a lot of questions or no. I know you might not like having our questions answered, but you kind of have to. If we want to know how much we can save you, if we want to know what law will apply for you, we need to make sure we have all the questions answered. Some people have an interview like in person interview. But this is, to be honest, this is not very efficient.
A lot of firms right now they have systems which we have also at Norris Books we have system like we ask you questions, you answer questions.
This does two things. So it help us know what tax law can apply to you and how can we make sure you are taking advantage of everything applicable to you. The other thing is protect us and you protect the firm and you. Because why if in case of audits, when the IRS officer comes and check, okay, let me see, how did you fill in this return? And we show them that the answers from our client, we show them the supporting documentation, we show them everything and we filled everything based on what we got from the clients. Then that's a great check. And that the audits will be easier. It will be saving the firm and it will be saving the clients. So it's better for you and for your tax professionals. So don't be bothered if they ask you questions. Actually you want them to do so. So whether it's in person and on Zoom or on the phone or if it's through a questionnaire or organizer they have for you in the system, you want the tax professional to make sure like they don't email you stuff, sensitive stuff. You want to make sure they either have a secure system or if you like something like to drop the paper for them. But they have an area to secure them. So not everyone have access to your files. So these are some tips you want to consider when you're doing your tax returns. So make sure you choose the right tax professional to do your taxes and to take advantage of everything that is available to you. Again, this segment is sponsored by numerous books tax and accounting firm. And this is your host, Noor Al Masri.
We'll be right back.
Foreign welcome back. This is your host Noor Al Masri. And this is Echoes of Impact with Noora.
I have a therapist, a transformation transformational healing guide guest today she is Arizona. So she is in a warmer place than where we are here and Houston and Illinois. So she is in a sunny place right now.
[00:13:27] Speaker C: So welcome.
[00:13:28] Speaker B: Let us. Let us welcome to Echoes of Impact. I'm very excited to talk to you today.
[00:13:35] Speaker C: Oh, thank you so much for having me. Yeah, I'm delighted to be here.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: Thank you so much. It was really nice to have you. And you were talking about. Tell us a little bit about Arizona. Like, what do you like about Arizona?
[00:13:49] Speaker C: Yeah, it's pretty wonderful place to live. So I actually grew up in upstate New York, which one of the factors that you could appreciate in Chicago is the sky is typically really gray all winter long. And so here it's actually really blue. Even in the winter and even when it's like cold weather, we may have snow, the sun will come out more often than not. And so that's really good for my spirits.
[00:14:18] Speaker B: That's nice because here, like, I think the winter in Chicago, the sun is there, but it's not really doing anything. But it's there a few weeks. Actually, like, we did not see the sun earlier, I think, in the the end of the year. And the first week, like, it was like, come on, like, can we see the sun? Even if it's like a picture, it's okay.
[00:14:40] Speaker C: I get it.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: I get it.
[00:14:42] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: So, like, usually I like to have my guests introduce themselves because I, like, no one can introduce you better than you do.
[00:14:52] Speaker C: So can you.
[00:14:53] Speaker B: Do you mind, like, introduce yourself to our audience?
[00:14:56] Speaker C: Sure, absolutely. Yeah. So my name is Lotus McClatchy and I work as a therapist and also a transformational guide and retreat facilitator.
And yeah, you know, I help people who are really looking for support in being able to get closer in touch with their heart and with their soul and who are really ready to do some deeper work in their lives. And, you know, I've been at it for a really long time and over 25 years in the helping professions, and I just love it. I love what I do so much. It's really an honor to get to be doing this work. So I have my own private practice called Many Mindful Moments, so specializing in actually teaching people about mindfulness meditation and really a host of other healing modalities, breath work.
And then I also am a co founder of Sanctuary Bridge Transformations, which is a business that I own with my dear, dear friend and co facilitator of these transformational healing retreats. And then I have one other hat that I wear and that is that I work with people on having a more conscious and intentional relationship with the plant medicine cannabis, which is as, you know, so much more widely available. But there's not really a guidebook for how to work with the medicine in a good way. And so it's easy for people to fall into habitual use. That can be problematic. So I help people find a little bit more balance and harmony with that.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: So what's your favorite thing from what you do?
[00:16:55] Speaker C: You know, I feel like my favorite thing and maybe it's a gift that I share as well as my, my business partner. Her name is Angeli Jenna Israel. We both have a knack for helping people to feel accepted, for helping people to feel like they're not being judged and that they're welcome and that we're on the same level. You know, a lot of times when someone sees a professional, there's almost like they're, they're the professional and I'm down here, you know, and there's some kind of a discrepancy or a power dynamic. And so she and I are really motivated to not work from that paradigm and instead to come from the heart and to really help people know that we care about them. No matter what flaws they might have, what mistakes they may have made, it doesn't matter. You know, we all have flaws, we all have made mistakes. And so it's through the, through that authenticity and willingness to meet people right where they're at that I think really helps people feel comfortable and safe and enjoying of working with us.
[00:18:12] Speaker B: Awesome. So I want to take you back to the connecting with the heart. Because when people hear connecting with the heart, it can mean different thing for different people.
[00:18:21] Speaker C: Sure.
[00:18:22] Speaker B: So like some people even it's very foreign. Like, how do I connect with my heart? Like, yeah, well, my heart is here. Like, how do I connect with my heart? So what can you say to help people, like, more like, understand that and really help them connect to their heart? I know, like, we don't have much time and this is a long process, but just like some tips that can help them to start.
[00:18:47] Speaker C: Yes, yes, yes. I love that question.
So I think one way to understand it is actually to think about it from the mind first. So so many of us have a struggle because our thoughts are just going at 100 miles an hour, non stop all day long. And we're worrying about the, the future and what hasn't happened yet, or dwelling on things in the past.
And it causes us to be swept up and only in our thinking mind. And so we're not actually feeling in our heart.
So when we can stop and actually pause, take a breath and Even place a hand on the heart. This is actually one of my favorite things to do, because as soon as you can even just try it right now, as soon as you place a hand on your heart, there's like a connection there and a feeling of presence. And so it kind of wakes up that part of us. And this is the place in our body where we feel the feelings of kindness and compassion and caring. And it's almost like you could picture. If you have a pet or a child that you really love and care about, you can picture them in your imagination, in your mind, and then feel the feeling that comes up when you picture them. You know, that warmth and that feeling of almost a lot of times for me with my dogs, it brings me a sense of joy when I picture them. And so part of the work that we do is just helping people to learn how to quiet the mind so that we can actually feel those other feelings in our hearts. Because so much of the time, people are feeling really isolated and alone and often, you know, depressed and sad and worried and stressed. You know, all of the things, especially during these times. So to be able to quiet the mind and just rest in the present moment is really something that can be so beneficial. So to place a hand on your heart and then take a nice, long, slow, deep breath. I really feel like this is a superpower. A deep breath in through the nose with a long, slow sigh of an exhale.
Take two more of those and you will feel better. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
[00:21:20] Speaker A: Ah.
[00:21:24] Speaker C: And one more time, breathing in and breathing out.
Yeah.
[00:21:37] Speaker B: Yeah. That's awesome. I. I love that.
It's really simple, yet, like, it's very powerful.
[00:21:47] Speaker C: Yes, indeed, indeed. I love it because you could. You can practice that basically anytime, anywhere. You know, my only recommendation is if you're in a conversation with another person, I don't recommend sighing your exhale because it can be misinterpreted.
[00:22:03] Speaker B: Absolutely not.
So I've been, like, for a few years now, like, practicing that deep breath, like, having meditation, sometimes guided, sometimes just like, just with me, like, stopping my. My. Like you said. And it does make a lot of difference during the day or in the morning. Morning. This is a must for me now and does make a difference during the day. But whenever you feel like you maybe, like, bothered or angry, like, it's a very good practice to come into that now. And I'm great. Like, there's people like you teaching practices, because, like, I think about it sometimes, like, why should we have someone teaching us that? But we really, like, don't have that realization if no one else teach us that. And this is just the start. I know there's a lot more that you do like to help people, but continue this conversation after the break. This is back to Nura. We'll be right back.
[00:23:32] Speaker C: Foreign.
[00:23:36] Speaker B: Welcome back. This is your host, Nura Masri. And this is Echoes of Impact with Noora. We're back with my friend Lotus, and we were talking about meditation, being mindful and connect with your heart.
[00:23:50] Speaker C: Welcome back.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: I'm glad you were able to come back with us to talk more about what you do to help people connect with their part and really have that transformation and being mindful on whatever they're doing.
I know, like, you talk a lot about mindfulness.
So how does that make a difference when in people, business and people everyday life?
[00:24:22] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a really good question. So mindfulness for me is one of those really key ingredients for living a life that is meaningful, that has a depth to it, that has a feeling of connection.
And oftentimes it's missing for us because our attention is so fragmented. We are constantly being distracted by so many different things. And when that happens, it leaves this feeling of like, I'm not even sure really where I am or what's going on. It's like you're just going through the motions and trying to keep your head above water. And it leads to this feeling of stress and dissatisfaction in life. And so when we can just slow down and actually really notice what's happening in the present moment, it brings such a feeling of satisfaction into our lives. So, for example, when I actually put my phone down and look into the eyes of the person that is talking to me and take a deep breath, and this is what I do with all of my clients. I never allow myself to think about anything, accept what they are bringing to me. And so I just bring 100% of my presence to that moment. And it's so pure and it's so full, you know, it's so complete. And they can feel that connection and really know that I care about them, that I'm listening and I'm giving them my full attention. And so we can apply that to a million different moments all day long to when we're eating our food, drinking water, when you're outside in nature. Like, so much of the time, people go for a walk to de stress and all they do is think, think, think, think, think, think, think. But if you can actually just pause and say, gosh, you know, let me just notice five different things Right now, what can I see? What can I hear? What can I smell? What can I feel feel? What can I taste?
And to just let yourself drop into your body and into your senses, maybe notice your breath, the way your body's moving, what it's like to breathe fresh air. And just by tuning in that way, it lets the mind calm, it lets the mind and the body relax and lowers that level of stress.
[00:27:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. So a lot of people complain sometimes, like, I can't do that. A hundred different things jump into my brain. So I cannot stop that from coming to my brain. So what do I do? So what, what's your answer for that?
[00:27:23] Speaker C: Yeah, great question. And you know what the good news is you don't actually have to make those things stop happening. You could just let them kind of fade into the background so your mind can keep thinking. And yet you can really notice that you're also reaching for a glass. You can feel the glass in your fingertips. You can really taste the water as you drink it. And for that moment, your attention is on the water and on drinking. And so it's just a little teeny moment. It's not like some big huge half an hour meditation sit. But the more that you can piece together these little moments when you can actually tell, taste that bite of food or notice when your head hits the pillow or what it feels like to hug your child, you know those moments, they all add up.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And I guess with the training, like in the beginning when I started practicing meditation and mindfulness, I felt like, oh my God, like I was, I was annoyed like, because I can't stop my thinking. And then with practice, I was able to stop my thinking more longer and longer. And now like, I still like things bass, like through my mind, but I can like, okay, bass, bass and focus. So yeah, like everything I think we can do with practice and when someone try to being mindful, this is something like really, really great, you know, great thing and valuable to learn the same skill.
I want to ask you about fun fact. Your name is not Lotus. Like, your name was gifted to you. And I thought, like, this is a great story to share with the audience. So if you would like to mention that like, story that would be fun for our audience to learn from you, learn more about you.
[00:29:12] Speaker C: Sure, absolutely. Yeah, so. So it's a pretty fun story. And I, I guess, you know, the main thing about it is, is part of my own personal healing journey. Has been sitting in many meditation retreats, which is day after day of meditation, as well as many plant Medicine ceremonies. And that's actually trained me to be someone who works in the realm of the sacred as well as the everyday life. And so this was just a really special day where I was gifted by an elder, this name. And it happened to be the same day that I was. I was out in the woods in Colorado and I saw a bear only 30ft away. And I also went to this ceremony where, I know this sounds really crazy, but they had hot coals and people actually walk across the hot coals. It turns out you can do that. Oh.
And it was under a full moon, so it was just the most amazing day ever. And what I love about the name, though, is the symbolism of it. The lotus flower grows in the underneath the water and in the mud. And that is really our lives in many ways, we are tumbling around with all of the struggles of being human being. One of my favorite teachers says the leading cause of old age, sickness and death is being born.
There's just no escaping it. Like, our lives are filled with challenges, but what we can do is start to learn how to work with those challenges, how to use our skills to be able to meet them with more grace and more ease. And that's basically the growing of the lotus flower into its beauty and radiance so we can have more of an open heart, open mind, generous spirit, and learn how to be, you know, kind and loving towards ourselves and towards others.
[00:31:17] Speaker B: Awesome. What a lovely name. I love lotus. I like they come back every year in the spring. Like, I love them. So thank you so much for sharing that. Before, I want to make sure that we mention your retreat. You have an upcoming retreat and I want to, like, if you can, tell us a little bit about it. And also, how can people join your retreats if they can?
[00:31:41] Speaker C: Sure, yes, absolutely. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited about it. So it's coming up soon, in March, mid March, and we're actually traveling to this beautiful little retreat center in Mexico. It's right on the water. We have the whole place to ourselves. We're going to be doing daily meditation and yoga and sound healing and cacao ceremony and a sweat lodge, and we're going to go snorkeling and go to a waterfall. Like all of these amazing activities and they're all designed to help people begin to learn how to heal, release, let go, and hopefully be able to just take a break from everyday life where it's just so hard to make a change and really step into this loving, supportive container of other people who are just as motivated as you are to be happy. And so, yeah, this will be our 11th one. And there really are just the most amazing, wonderful experiences. So people can learn about that on our website. It's called Sanctuary Bridge Transformations.
And we also have a beautiful video. We had a videographer come to our last retreat and he captured some of the preciousness of the experience. Experience. And so I'd be happy to share that with your viewers as well.
[00:33:02] Speaker B: Oh, that's beautiful. So how long is the retreat?
[00:33:05] Speaker C: Like, how many days? Great question. Yeah, so it's seven days. Seven days, yeah. So there's a really good amount of time to be able to. To really feel like you're going through a process and.
And that you can feel a transformation when you.
[00:33:24] Speaker B: The process.
[00:33:26] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah. So Angel Lee, my business partner, and I, we both do. We're there right alongside you. So that's the other thing that's kind of unique about us. We don't just come in and do a talk for here and there all the time, but we participate in the sweat lodge, we participate in the yoga, we participate in the breath work. And so, you know, we just are right there sharing in the experience with everybody else.
[00:33:49] Speaker B: Beautiful. That's really exciting. And, you know, hopefully, who. How can people know that is for them?
[00:33:56] Speaker C: That's a good question as well. So I think one way is, is that there's going to be something inside of you that feels a longing, a calling for something deeper, more meaningful in your life. Maybe there's just a feeling of disconnection from yourself or from other people, or maybe there's like a longing for that sense of, like something more, like, what is my purpose?
And then also, one of the things that's really unique about our retreats is that we are sober. And so that's really inviting for folks who are working with overcoming addictions. And we also encourage people to come with their friends and their family. And we do a lot of intergenerational trauma healing as well as create the foundation for these relationships to have a shared dialogue of conscious communication and connection that's often missing in people's lives. So when you go back home, you and that person now have this shared experience to bring you closer together and to support one another in your ongoing integration and growth.
[00:35:09] Speaker B: Awesome. Thank you so much, Loris, for sharing all of this great information.
People, like, go ahead and check out the retreams and sign up if you feel you need it. And now we came to the end of the segment with Lotus, but we'll be back with another guest. So Stay with us. This is Echoes of Impact with Noora. And this is your host, Nura Masri. We'll be right back.
Welcome back. This is your host Noora Masri. And this is Echoes of Impact with Noora.
We came into the last segment and we're going to talk about something. I'm sure a lot of talk over there is about it. A lot of people are worried about it. A lot of people got like a panic about about it and we have the perfect person to talk about it. We're going to talk about TikTok. I know some of some people were happy that TikTok was gone for few hours or for a day. And some people were panicked because, oh my God, my business, oh, I'm used to TikTok or whatever. I get my clients on TikTok or all of these things. So. And some people, oh, my kids, I'm glad Tik Tok is gone because my kids always stay there. So I'm glad it's not there. So we're gonna talk about that with my friend Tellin Taline. Welcome back to Nura. No, well, I'm mixing to Echo of Impact. Welcome back to Echoes of Impact and we'd love to talk to you since you are the personal brand expert and you're all about social media and building our personal brand on the available platforms. So I would love to hear from you, like, what do you think about what happened on TikTok?
[00:37:22] Speaker A: Yeah, thank you so much. It's lovely to be back, Nora. And hey, I noticed that we're both wearing red, so I had to comment on that.
Yes.
So the TikTok thing is, is a little bit messy because, you know, the last administration put a ban on it for foreign policy reasons because TikTok, as many of you know, is owned by a Chinese company. And as a result there's a lot of data security issues with, with that. And millions of Americans are using TikTok for personal reasons. A lot of small business owners rely on TikTok to get their clients to get leads, to grow their audience, to grow their personal brand. So when TikTok went down yesterday. So at the time of recording, this is the 20th of January 2025, everyone is freaking out and Instagram blew up.
So in Instagram there was a lot of talk of how the TikTok refugees are going to be coming to Instagram and if anyone's on Instagram, they need to start getting ready and amping up their content on Instagram because the Tick Tock audience will be coming and then Taking over. So there's a lot of chatter around what to do about Tick Tock. But then within 12 hours, tick tock was back and now I don't know if you saw a notification. All right, and your audience, anyone who went on Tick Tock said, well, because of President Trump, Tick Tock is back for about three months to figure out who can take over Tick Tock. So they're in negotiations now. So there's a lot of political propaganda going on with Tick Tock.
[00:39:05] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, propaganda like that. That was my daughter told me, like, I feel this is all about propaganda. Why would I have to mention, like, thank you to the residential.
[00:39:15] Speaker C: Right, so.
[00:39:16] Speaker B: Right.
[00:39:17] Speaker A: And I'm speaking as a. As a former diplomat turned personal brand expert. So this is, you know, he just got inaugurated yesterday and this is the thing that he's focused on. It's getting back on TikTok because of what the last administration did and using this as a platform to get someone like Elon Musk involved and a whole lot of other, like, corporate stuff. It's very messy. But then where does that leave small business owners? That's the thing that we should be focusing on.
[00:39:48] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. So what do you think people should do now? Because now it feels like we don't know after three months, what's going to happen? Is it going to stay there? Is it not? Should people, like, just abandon TikTok and move to Instagram or other platform, or should they just stay there? What do you think?
[00:40:05] Speaker A: Yeah, so I have a. I actually have a live case that I can share with you. There's someone that I'm working with who has 132,000 followers on TikTok, but they don't have a very good website. They have zero Google reviews. They are on Instagram, but they're not active on Instagram. They don't have a YouTube channel whatsoever. And as a result, they've put all of their eggs in one basket. And what that means is when TikTok goes away, the entire business vanishes. So my advice as a personal brand expert is have omnipresence. And what I mean by omnipresence is if you're going to be posting on TikTok or on Instagram or on Facebook, do it in all of the platforms. Even though you are concentrating on creating videos, your videos can be seen on LinkedIn, it can be seen on your website and your blogs. It can be seen on other, any, literally any other social media platforms. So if you do have a large following on TikTok, get your followers to start following you on other platforms that they don't lose access to you. But it also means that if you have a large depository of content, just copy and paste it, add it somewhere else, and that leaves you probably with a year's worth of content that you don't have to redo again. So you're actually saving a lot of time. So focus 2025 on building your personal brand outside of one platform.
[00:41:36] Speaker B: Awesome. So how many platforms do you think people should focus on? Because sometimes like, oh, I mean, I don't have time to post everything everywhere and I don't want to be focusing on different ones. So what's your idea? What do you think? Your other ideal number or the ideal platforms for everyone?
[00:41:55] Speaker A: Well, it's all about your messaging. So if you know what your messaging is and you know who your target audience is, there's no harm on scheduling your posts everywhere. So there's a lot of social media schedulers. I use Zoho Social, for example. One click is everywhere. So you're not doubling your work, you're just on more platforms. But you should really focus on what content you're providing. So are you doing audio only? Are you doing video only? Are you doing written content? Because written content is not going to work so well on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. It will work really well on Instagram, but even Instagram is now prioritizing videos, so it's recommended. Stick with video content as much as you can, but don't just post on social media. Add it to your website because that's really where your main content should live on. And then once it's on your website, it could be anywhere else. But you need a home. Just make sure that you're, you're not relying on a corporation to be your home. Make sure your home is something that you have 100 control over.
[00:43:06] Speaker B: Absolutely. This is very important. And because you know, like for me, when Tick Tock was gone, I'm like, I don't have a lot of followers on Tick Tock, but I did get few prospects through Tick Tock. People schedule an appointment with me through Tick Tock and I don't think they are following me anywhere else. I was like, well, I want to message these people. Especially now, tax season. I was like, I was a little annoyed. I was more annoyed, to be honest, like, for our freedom. Because I was like, okay, like, it's not about the business, not about the kids, because you can teach your kids what to watch and you can have control over it.
But for Our freedom. If we start this way really like why would then other countries should have any of our platforms like Facebook or, or Instagram. They are American owned if owned. So that is really what was really scary and sad for me. So I'm glad it's back. I hope it's gonna stay on. And we do not banned, ban anything from access to the Americans because this is a really, really a threat. I feel it is. But also like a lot of people like I said like in for small businesses they do, they do rely on it. I do the same same thing like you mentioned and telling like for those of you guys who do not know, like I worked with telling few years ago and she helped me build my brands and my personal brand for my business. And this is one of the advices she gave me. And I do post all the shorts I do like in TikTok on YouTube, on Instagram and they go to my website as well. So this is was her advice and it's not a lot of extra work like she said and this is working fine. So it, I did not feel the threat for my business when Tick Tock went down. Well, thank you so much Taline for this. Like what other tips you want to give people before we finish this segment? Because we're almost running out of time but I feel like we still have a lot we can cover. Like what would you like to say to the audience here?
[00:45:08] Speaker A: Yeah, I think use this as a lesson learned. You know, we, you don't have control of your brand, someone else will. And now we are in, in a process where another company owns your brand right now. Because if you're, if you are on TikTok then you know that TikTok may disappear. Just don't bet that it's going to stick around because we don't know at any moment Facebook and Instagram and any other social media can go down. We've had instances where in the past Instagram went down for like 48 hours and that locked down a lot of businesses. A lot of businesses lost money that day. So how else are you getting your leads? If you are relying on social media for leads, just make sure you funnel them back to your website and that's where the main sales are happening outside of social media. Because then that way you're not relying 100% of your business or even 50% of your business with social media. Just grow your personal brand in other ways so that your reputation doesn't fall apart. When you don't have Instagram, TikTok and Facebook giving you those reviews and relying on people to be your voice box. You should retain 100 of your personal brand. And if you don't know how to do that, I guess talk to Nora and talk to myself because we've been there, we've done that and my specialization is helping individuals, small businesses grow their personal brand outside side of social media. So social media is a platform that we use to funnel our leads. Just don't rely on it on 100%.
[00:46:43] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you so much for all the tips for everything that you are providing the audience with. It's always valuable information and I'm sure if you follow Taline's information you will see your business in another place by the time by the end of this year. Just follow what she is here to tell you and you can watch prior prior episodes when she speaks and different topics about personal brand. You're gonna get a lot of value of that. You can find all the episodes and NOW Media TV under Echoes of impact. Just find Tally and you can find it Also on your YouTube for now media like follow Tallinn at Post Diplomat and she has a lot of content in a daily basis like great videos, great information. So make sure you build your personal brand. Then whatever you do, your personal brand will follow you as Taline always tell us. So thank you so much Taline. It's always great to have you here. And you guys, I'm really, I'm really sad that this episode came to an end. We love being here with you. But until next time, keep making an impact.
[00:47:55] Speaker C: This has been a NOW Media Network's feature presentation.
[00:47:59] Speaker A: All rights reserved.
