Most people use LinkedIn to talk about themselves.

But some of the most powerful posts are the ones that shine a light on others.

Benefits

• You strengthen relationships by showing genuine appreciation

• You expand your reach through shared networks

• You position yourself as a connector and leader in your space

Steps to Apply

1️⃣ Identify people in your network you genuinely respect or value

2️⃣ Create posts that highlight their work, insights, or achievements

3️⃣ Tag them meaningfully (not excessively or randomly)

4️⃣ Keep the focus on recognition, not promotion.

Where real value is built.

 

Revenue Isn’t the Win

Most business owners chase revenue.

It feels like progress. It looks impressive. It gives you something to talk about.

But revenue alone does not tell the full story.

Because a business can grow in sales and still be fragile underneath.

If everything depends on you, the business is not as strong as it looks.

What matters is what the business produces without you.

That is where real value is built.

Most business owners celebrate a big refund.

A large refund means you overpaid the IRS all year — and they kept your money interest-free while you could’ve used it.

The IRS doesn’t pay you interest.

Every dollar of your refund sat with the government for months, earning you nothing. That’s cash that could’ve been invested in your business or earning returns.

Your CPA never reframed this for you.

Preparers file the return and hand you the refund like a gift. Nobody tells you that proper planning would’ve kept that money in your pocket all along.

Stryde helps you keep money year-round.

Improve your results on Linkedin

One of the fastest ways to improve your results on Linkedin is to diversify how you communicate your message.

By using a mix of content formats, you can reach more people, keep your audience engaged, and make your content more dynamic and memorable.

Benefits:

• Expands your reach across different audience preferences

• Increases engagement by keeping your content fresh

• Positions you as a more versatile and authoritative communicator

🛠 Steps to Apply:

1️⃣ Plan 3–4 content formats each week (text, video, carousel, infographic)

2️⃣ Rotate formats across your posting schedule

3️⃣ Track which formats generate the most engagement and refine

The Truth About Work and Life

 

Balance” sounds good.

It’s easy to say. It makes people feel in control.

But most entrepreneurs are not dealing with a balance problem.

They are dealing with priorities.

There are seasons where you go all in. Long days. Late nights. Doing whatever it takes to build something real.

And there are seasons where you step back. Spend time with your family. Be present without distractions.

That is not balance.

That is control.

The problem shows up when success starts costing you the reason you started.

Reporting isn’t the same as planning.

Your CPA looks at what already happened and puts it on a form. That’s tax preparation. But nobody’s looking ahead at what’s coming — and that forward view is where the real savings lie.

Filing an accurate return doesn’t mean you paid the least amount possible. Your CPA captures history — they don’t shape what happens next.

Reporting isn’t the same as seeking your tax incentives for your business.

Filing an accurate return doesn’t mean you paid the least amount possible. Your CPA captures history — they don’t shape what happens next.

Every quarter has tax decisions in it such as hiring, equipment purchases, distributions, etc. which happen year-round. Without forward-looking guidance, every move is a guess.

You can’t drive forward by only looking backwards. You need the tax strategy roadmap your CPA was never built to provide.

A fear no one says out loud.

One question most business ownerss don’t say out loud, but it’s there in the background of every slow month:

What if my income becomes unstable?

Not because you’re greedy or need praise or even a bump in your ego.

But, because people depend on you.

Your revenue funds your family’s life. It protects your spouse. It pays for tuition, vacations, security, and the quiet confidence that you can handle what comes next. When income is steady, you think clearly. When it swings unpredictably, even slightly, you feel it everywhere.

Shorter patience. More pressure. More mental noise.

Feast and famine doesn’t just affect your business. It affects your sense of responsibility.

And here’s the uncomfortable part: most ownerss are still running businesses that depend heavily on timing, referrals, and outbound effort. That model has worked for years. Until it hasn’t.  Until markets tighten. Until AI increases noise. Until clients become more cautious. Until competitors get more visible.

At that point, caring deeply about the people you provide for requires more than working harder.

It requires positioning.

If your value is mostly demonstrated in private conversations, if your best thinking isn’t visible, if your process isn’t articulated, if your market can’t clearly describe why you’re different, then your income is reactive. It rises and falls based on effort and circumstance rather than authority and demand.

Becoming uncopyable isn’t about ego or attention. It’s about insulation. It’s about building a clear point of view, visible proof, and consistent authority so that trust compounds before urgency hits. It’s about making your value obvious enough that conversations begin earlier and close faster because the credibility is already there.

Stability in this market doesn’t come from optimism. It comes from clarity and visibility.

Prime times to post on X.

The best time, day, and post format for maximum engagement on X (formerly Twitter):

Posting times might not be as vital as they were in Twitter's early days, but they still seem to affect content performance on X. (We’ll use the names interchangeably here, as many folks still refer to X as Twitter.)

Peak posting time: Tuesday at 9 a.m. is the #1 time for engagement, followed closely by Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Best days: Wednesday, Tuesday, and Thursday are the highest-performing days.

Worst time to post: Saturday and Friday see the lowest engagement levels across the platform.

Consistency matters: Mid-morning (9 a.m. – 11 a.m.) on weekdays is the most reliable window for engagement.

The top three times for engagement are:

Rank Best Time to Post Day

🥇 1st 9 a.m. Tuesday

🥈 2nd 10 a.m. Wednesday

🥉 3rd 9 a.m. Wednesday

The best time to post on Twitter or X is 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Tweets posted at this time tend to have the highest engagement rates, according to our analysis of more than 8.7 million tweets.

The next best time to post on Twitter is Wednesday at 10 a.m., followed by Wednesday at 9 a.m.

On most weekdays, the peak hours are similar. Engagement tends to pick up in the early morning, peaking at around 9 a.m. on most days, and petering out in the early afternoon, towards the end of the workday.

Whether you're in EST (Eastern Standard Time), PST (Pacific Standard Time), or IST (Indian Standard Time), the times apply to you.

Who You Spend Time With Sets Your Pace

 

Most people think growth comes from learning more.

Reading more. Planning more. Thinking more.

That helps.

But real shifts happen when your environment changes.

When you are around people operating at a higher level, something different happens.

You see what is actually possible. You move faster. You tolerate less from yourself.

Standards are not taught.

The U.S. tax code is over 70,000 pages long.

It changes every 2–4 years. Your CPA files your return using a fraction of it — and the rest? That’s where your business savings are hiding.

Complexity isn’t the enemy — ignorance is

The tax code is packed with legal strategies for business owners. The problem isn’t that they don’t exist — it’s that nobody’s showing them to you. Your CPA uses the same pages every year Preparers stick to what they know. They’re not digging into depreciation rules, niche credits, or entity elections that could save you five figures annually. The tax code was written with business savings built in. You just need someone to find them. Stryde does that in minutes — not months. Show me what I’m missing

Great Instagram feature.

 

Instagram and TikTok now let you pin up to TWO comments on your Reels and TikToks.

Two!! And honestly?? Most creators are sleeping on this feature entirely. So, let's fix that 

Here's why this is such a big deal: your comment section is prime real estate. It's one of the first things people check after watching your video. So why not use it strategically?

Here are some of my fave ways to use both pin spots 

 If you're a creator:
Pin a top comment that adds to the story. Something like "this is so true, I did this and got 500k views in a week!". Social proof likethis builds  SO much trust and keeps people engaged longer.

Pin your own comment with extra value. Drop a link, a resource, or a "save this for later" reminder. You can even tease the next video here to drive people back to your page.

 If you're a business owner or selling something:

Pin a comment with your offer or link. Something like "Want the full tutorial? Link in bio!". This turns every video into a soft sales tool without being pushy.

Pin a glowing customer comment. Let your community sell for you! A real testimonial right at the top of your comments? That's powerful.

The combo that works SO well: Pin one comment for social proof (from a viewer or customer) and one comment from yourself driving people to take an action. Chef's kiss 

Seven strategies for marketing in a recession.

1. Clarify strategic direction

2. Focus on brand-building

3. Maintain stability

4. Meet the moment

5. Appreciate existing customers

6. Optimize your marketing channel mix

7. Learn from past recessions

The cardinal rule of recession marketing is keep going. Your marketing strategy might change, but you can’t stop trying to connect with customers.

See What You're Leaving on the Table

Think your business is already optimized? Maybe. But most businesses still contain untapped potential.

For over 23 years, GMG has helped businesses uncover more than $37 billion in tax savings through engineering-based Cost Segregation studies.

A quick 4-question survey helps determine whether moving forward makes sense—no pressure, just clarity.

Let’s see about what’s possible.

Slammed one month. Starving the next.

Most business we are either slammed or starving.

When searches are coming in, marketing stops. Who has time? There are clients to update, offers to negotiate. The business is moving and that feels like winning.

Then the searches close out.

The calendar goes quiet.

And suddenly you're back to cold outreach, chasing leads that went cold three months ago, wondering why no one is calling. So, you pick up the phone. You send the emails. You post a couple times. You get a placement. You get busy again. Marketing stops again.

Rinse and repeat.

Here's the hard truth most business owners don't want to hear: the feast/famine cycle is not a market problem. It's not a timing problem. It's a positioning and infrastructure problem.

When your pipeline depends entirely on who you're actively talking to right now, you have no compounding. Every month starts at zero. Every slow period feels like a crisis, because it is one. You're not building anything between searches. You're just surviving them.

The astute who break this cycle aren't working harder. They aren't making more calls.

They've built something that works while they're on searches.

A clear point of view the market recognizes and repeats. A network stocked with the right buyers; not just random connections accumulated over time. Content that builds trust before the first call ever happens. A follow-up engine that stays warm whether they're slammed or slow.

When those four things are in place, the math changes completely. Busy periods don't just produce revenue. They produce pipeline. The work you do today is still paying off ninety days from now. That's the difference between competing and compounding. One resets every month. The other builds.

If you're in another slow period right now, or you can feel one coming, this is worth your time.

Can One Hire Change Everything?

 

Most owners spend too much time thinking about cost when they hire.

Salary. Benefits. What it will do to payroll.

But the real question is different.

What happens when you bring in someone who actually moves the needle?

Someone who finds opportunities you did not see. Someone who connects people and ideas quickly. Someone who solves problems without waiting to be told what to do.

One A player can change the speed of an entire company.

These post are crushing it right now on Linkedin.

Here is what’s quietly effective, what’s a waste of time, and where people are actually getting traction.

And here’s one you probably don’t want to hear…

LinkedIn posts with photos, especially selfies, are crushing it right now.

Recent algorithm reports show that LinkedIn favors posts with images more than almost any other type of post.

So yes. Bust out your phone and snap a selfie of your beautiful mug with your next LinkedIn post.

Then let me know how it performs.

Larry

Got grandchildren?

 

Personally, just a few years ago, I started with $5 and the current balance is $1,580.57

Take a second and see how!!

You can get your grandkids (or your self) started with as little as $5

Speed Wins Deals

 

A lot of people believe the biggest advantage in business is intelligence.

Or capital.

Or connections.

Those help.

But one of the biggest advantages I have seen over the years is something much simpler.

Speed.

The people who move first often get the deal.

The people who hesitate usually end up watching someone else take it.

I have seen deals, tax benefits, and opportunities disappear simply because someone needed another week to think about it.

Meanwhile someone else already moved forward.

Tariffs went up.

So did freight. 

So did everyone’s blood pressure. 

See how business owners are actually modeling these costs instead of just absorbing them and hoping.

Understand the Tax Details When Starting a Business

If you’re thinking about starting a business, make sure you understand your federal tax responsibilities before opening your doors. IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records, covers the basics. Your business structure (such as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company or corporation) determines which forms you must file and which taxes apply, including income, self-employment, employment and excise taxes.

You may also need an Employer Identification Number for tax purposes, and you should be aware of your recordkeeping requirements. Starting a business is exciting, and getting the tax details right is important. Contact the office for assistance.

Businesses Regain Immediate Deduction for R&E Expenses.

If your business conducts research or product development, a significant tax law change could unlock tax savings. The 2025 tax legislation, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), reinstated the ability to immediately deduct domestic research and experimental (R&E) expenses.

This change reversed a key provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that required businesses to capitalize and amortize domestic R&E expenses over five years and foreign R&E expenses over 15 years. As a result, you may have new tax-saving opportunities as you prepare your 2025 tax return and plan for 2026.

What the Change Means for Your 2025 Filing

Beginning with eligible 2025 expenses, businesses can once again deduct U.S.-based R&E costs in full in the year they're incurred. This can significantly reduce taxable income and improve cash flow.

The law also provides flexibility for prior-year R&E expenses. You can potentially accelerate deductions that previously you would have had to spread over multiple years.

Strategies to Maximize R&E Tax Benefits

Businesses should consider the following when assessing R&E expenditures:

Amend returns for prior years. Small businesses (generally those with average annual gross receipts of $31 million or less over the past three years) may be able to apply the rule retroactively. If eligible, you can file amended returns for 2022, 2023 and/or 2024 to claim immediate deductions for domestic R&E expenses previously amortized and, potentially, receive a tax refund for those years. You must file the amended return(s) by July 4, 2026.

More quickly claim remaining deductions. Businesses of any size that capitalized and began amortizing R&E expenses in 2022, 2023 and/or 2024 can accelerate their deductions for the remaining unamortized balance. You can deduct it entirely on your 2025 return or split it ratably between your 2025 and 2026 returns, rather than continuing amortization over the original five-year period.

Bring research activities back onshore. The immediate deduction makes domestic research activities significantly more attractive from a tax perspective. While under prior law, U.S.-based R&E already benefited from shorter amortization periods, the difference between an immediate deduction and a 15-year amortization schedule for foreign research further strengthens the incentive to locate R&E activities in the United States.

Consider the research credit. A tax deduction reduces your taxable income, while a tax credit reduces your tax bill dollar-for-dollar and is generally more valuable. You may be eligible for the credit for "increasing research activities," but fewer types of expenses qualify for the credit than for the R&E deduction. While you can benefit from both, you can't receive a double tax benefit for the same costs.

Seek Guidance

The return of the immediate deduction for R&E expenses can bring planning opportunities for businesses.

People who've never built anything love telling builders how to build.

Back in the 1950s a business owner named Sam had a small mom-and-pop store but wanted to open multiple discount stores in small towns.

Everyone around him told him it was stupid. They said small towns couldn't support it.

But Sam had done the research and wasn't flying blind. He ended up opening the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas anyway. Population 5,700.

That same year, Kmart launched in big cities with all the money and advantages. 

By by 1991, Walmart was the largest retailer in America.

Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002. While Walmart has around 5,000 locations in the US as of 2026.

Sam didn't ask the peanut gallery for permission. Others laughed at him but he bet on himself anyway. And the research he did early on is why his stores are still going strong today.

Unfortunately most business owners listen to the wrong people.

They get in your head when you're already stressed out and pretty soon you start doubting everything.

You need discernment. Listen to people who understand risk vs recklessness. Who've been where you're trying to go. Who understand setbacks, where to pivot but also when to push even harder.

Everyone else? Noise.

Stop taking business advice from people who've never run a business.

Who Are You Listening To?

 

When you run a business, everyone suddenly has advice.

Friends. Family. People who have never built anything.

They mean well most of the time.

But opinions from people who have never carried the risk of ownership can quietly destroy your confidence.

Entrepreneurship requires judgment.

You need to know the difference between reckless advice and experienced guidance.

The voices you listen to will shape the decisions you make.

3 go-to strategies when your prospect isn’t actively shopping.

 

1. The Comparison Bomb

Still missing key incident alerts. Want a side-by-side breakdown?”

Create a little FOMO. You're not saying they're doing something wrong, you're hinting that others are doing it better.

This works especially well with execs. Because what do execs care about more than anything?

What their peers are doing that’s new, cutting-edge, and just might make them look behind.

You can’t get on their priority list if they aren’t in the right awareness stage. But you can make them think they’re missing something that already is.

2. The Invisible Cost Angle

“CPA engineers spend 5–10 hours a week untangling codes and chasing down undocumented benefits, but that time never shows up on any report. It just quietly kills sprint velocity.”

The best problems to highlight in outbound aren’t always the loud, obvious ones — they’re the silent ones your prospect has learned to live with.

3. The “Why Now?” Trigger

“Google’s phasing out third-party cookies, and marketing teams without a first-party data strategy are already seeing weaker retargeting performance. The gap’s only going to widen this quarter. Want to see how others are adapting?”

This works because it:

References a clear, time-sensitive shift Creates urgency Positions the solution as part of what top performers are already doing

Thanks for reading!