From NIL to Generational Wealth: Money, Taxes & Legacy with CPA Diana Ingemanson
Mona Reza (00:03.232)
My guest today is Diana Ingemanson, the owner of White Wolf CPA. She is a CPA, a business and tax advisor to both athletes and traditional business owners, helping them grow and keep more of their wealth. Diana is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and she and I are part of a wonderful coaching group for women in all different industries seeking to share the gifts that we have in a way that can best serve our clients and customers. So believe it or not, we met for the first time in person just last week.
and I'm so excited to introduce all of you to Diana. Welcome Diana to the Not Your Lawyer podcast, where our conversation may be about some legal topics generally, but nothing either of us say is legal advice or tax advice because I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer.
Diana Ingemanson (00:50.15)
Thank you so much for having me, I'm so excited!
Mona Reza (00:53.038)
course, I'm so excited to have you here. Can you tell us all a little bit about your pathway to the business that you have now? Did you grow up always thinking, you know, I really want to be a CPA or was there something else that you thought you wanted to do?
Diana Ingemanson (01:10.098)
My youngest memory, I would say, I wanted to be a professional gymnast. And I loved gymnastics. Unfortunately, I had a bad fall and had to get out of gymnastics. And then I always wanted to be a veterinarian. And man, chemistry class in high school, the tests weren't good for me. But I was also in an accounting class and aced it and it seemed like second nature to me. So I thought.
Mona Reza (01:14.923)
Okay.
Diana Ingemanson (01:40.082)
good career path. I started out, I got my bachelor's of arts and majored in accounting and Japanese and looked to work for Deloitte and work with a lot of the Japanese owned manufacturing companies in Indiana. I stayed with Deloitte for a short time and did international, foreign national tax returns for the Japanese.
and people that were in Indiana. I moved on from there to a local CPA firm and then to a local family-owned construction company. And then from there, I worked at a family office where I helped manage about 55 million in assets. And there I really learned how I wanted my own practice to serve the community in that...
It's not just about the money that you make, but it's how you protect and grow that income after you've made it for not only your generation, but the next generation and the next generation after that. And I really model my business, my practice after that family office feel of really meeting my clients where they're at and
Helping them, like I said, not only they've, a lot of them have worked hard, either through sweat, being an actual athlete, or worked hard building their business as an entrepreneur and CEO. And I just believe that they're better stewards of their money than the IRS is. And we can optimize the tax code as it's to help them do that. And then once they've made that money and saved that money,
then we can work on growing it and protecting it so that, like I said, it's not only for their benefit, but their family's benefit, the greater community that they're in. And that's really where my heart is now, and seeing that transformation and that ripple effect that can happen when you just help one person.
Mona Reza (03:55.798)
Absolutely. Ready? It can change families. And I think this is where you and I had contacted. We feel very similarly about that responsibility to help people to be the best stewards of their money and to not talk over them or in a way that they don't understand, but to make sure that people who are focused on their genius zone can do what they do. So, and we can help them really have some empowerment over what comes next for their finances.
I think one of the really interesting things that you do, you know, and I, and I L is blowing up. It's everywhere. And a lot of, usually young people are put in a position where, you know, you had an allowance last week and now you have an LLC with your name, image and likeness. and that's an area that you are, your business is, is growing into and you're serving athletes at different levels.
I think, you know, one of the things we always think about with athletes in particular is, you know, that we worry about those of us in the financial and, wealth management, and preservation business is that there's such a short time, such a short time for you to make a lot of money and life is long. How do we help you keep this for generations and generations? But we, we don't always think that way about.
traditional businesses and it's true for that too, right? There are those seasons where, you know, everything's going really well and how to prepare for what's next. Could you tell me a little bit about how you advise young people who have never had this kind of money and show them the value of planning for the future and enjoying the present?
Diana Ingemanson (05:22.674)
Thank
Diana Ingemanson (05:39.427)
Absolutely. So I'm just thinking about a recent trip to the University of Illinois and sitting in the linebackers room next to my client. And what I like to do is get their accounts connected with QuickBooks and actually show them where their money is going, like how it's coming in and where it's been going. And there's zero judgment or shame. It's just, is this where you want your money to go? And if not,
What can we do or what safeguards can we put in place in order to meet those goals for the next month? And I have beautiful software that I use that we enter in all the current year information and then be able to look at it and look at what tax strategies we can implement in the year that we're in. some of those, like you mentioned, they're now business.
And so getting the LLC structured and set up and then does it make sense to elect S-corp status for that to mitigate employment taxes if possible. And then having that S-corp set up opens up other foundational strategies that we could possibly use like an accountable plan or board of directors. And so we just opened the door to more tax strategies and more tax savings.
And then there are some tax strategies that require an actual investment or cash flow to go into it. But usually, well, always that cash flow that it takes to set that tax strategy up is minimal compared to what they would be paying the IRS and the savings that they gained, the cash flow coming out of their pocket to get that investment set up.
you know, usually yield something much higher than what you're putting in. And so just, we get up on the whiteboard and we draw it out and we draw pictures and do the arrows. And if we do this and this money goes here, and if we've saved like a $200,000 is an example that we've used is that $200,000 saved and invested this year at just a
Diana Ingemanson (08:03.73)
8 % is pretty general in the market. They're in their early 20s. You keep that invested at that 8%, 200,000 here. When they retire in 40 years at like 62, 63, 64, whatever that is, that's $6.4 million of just simple compound interest over that time in those annual yields. so showing that difference,
Mona Reza (08:30.071)
Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (08:32.964)
on the whiteboard and like showing that vast change, that really starts to lock in and work in their system of, okay, I think it would be fun to go like, you know, blow this money over here, buy these, you know, buy this chain or these fancy shoes or something. But they've seen already what that vision is if they save that amount of money.
And all the players I've worked with so far are much more on the track of saving that money because they want to not only help themselves and their families, but they also see the value of, like you mentioned, we don't know how long they're going to be playing sports. And we don't know when an injury may come. And so are you going to play five years or 10 years? And if we can save as much as we can in those years,
Mona Reza (09:17.709)
Thank you.
Diana Ingemanson (09:28.63)
then the real value is when you're no longer playing football, you have peace of mind and confidence that you're taken care of no matter what. You don't have a stress about what job you're going to get. And I'm speaking a lot about athletes right now, but also to your point of business owners, the same runs true. You can have a super hot multiple years in a row. And if you're not watching your cashflow,
it seemingly evaporates, your cash evaporates. And then it's like, where did that money go? I just started working with a business owner that has a $4 million business. It was at 14 and it's down to four, which is still amazing, but it's still a vast difference. So we're really taking a look at cashflow and how we can manage that. And then we also set up her personal finances.
to just look and see where her money is going personally. And again, no shame or judgment, but is that where you want your money to be going? And oftentimes, if you're not tracking that, like your mind loses track where all that money went. And then you're surprised that you spent $500 or $3,000 on meals, eating out. Yeah, Uber Eats, Door Dash. And you're like, what? I didn't spend that much money. And you look at it and you did.
Mona Reza (10:31.703)
Right.
Mona Reza (10:44.353)
Yeah. I was going to say Uber eats. That's where we find money. Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (10:56.402)
Then you just then you have that opportunity if you don't want to be spending that money towards meals Which I think we you know, it's great to eat out and support support that staff and that community as well But if you have different goals in life just making sure that your your cash outlay is matching the goals that you have and watching that on a consistent basis
Mona Reza (11:17.335)
No, absolutely.
Diana Ingemanson (11:20.048)
gives you clarity and where there's clarity, there's energy. And then where there's energy, you can focus on what you want to focus on and not feel like at the end of the year, where did my money go? Or now I have to write this big check to the IRS and I don't have that money.
Mona Reza (11:36.077)
And so how much do you think your own background, right? Coming in as an athlete helps you to really connect and drive that message home. Because I feel like for both of us, when you're an entrepreneur versus, know, working for someone else, you start to see things when you're working with other entrepreneurs that might be missed by other proven professionals, right? We have a different perspective. almost like, you know, we, we talk about.
both you and I in our professions, part of our job is to help protect people from these choices that they may want to make. But as entrepreneurs, we also know that sometimes the value is in saying, yes, let's do it. Even if it seems crazy, because that's where some of the biggest gains are made. So how much of your experience as being a gymnast do you think has added to the authenticity you bring to working with athletes?
Diana Ingemanson (12:32.145)
Good question
Diana Ingemanson (12:36.998)
I think it gives me that comfort and relatability when I'm sitting next to them that I'm definitely no football player. But I do know what it means to dedicate a lot of hours of your life to a sport. And I think any athlete can attest that there are injuries that happen and how do you deal with that? Not only physically, but mentally.
Football is much more of a team sport. Gymnastics is team in a way, but it's much more individual. And so, but each individual athlete, whether they're in football or any other sport, I think from my point of view, it is how do I better myself on a consistent basis? If I'm at a hundred percent,
and or a little bit below that, how do I just keep getting better and better myself? And if I get better and better myself, then the collective, the team gets better and better as well. And I think just going and knowing that and having that empathy.
Mona Reza (13:47.917)
Sure. you know, one of the things I you know, I, I go in and you think sometimes, right? That am I always the bearer of bad news or do I, am I telling people these things that nobody wants to hear? Nobody wants to talk about the IRS or, but especially with young people, when you're talking about estate planning, one of the thoughts is who controls the money, right? And to understand what it means to give someone your power of attorney, you know, how serious that is and how much trust you have to have.
In that person, whether it's a parent or not a parent, you really need to think that, I want this person to have that authority over what happens to my money? and the same thing with healthcare decisions, right? Anything can happen. Who do you want making that call that may determine whether you're going to play or not for another season or ever? Do you find that there are a lot of those discussions happening at the same time? The money discussions are happening.
Diana Ingemanson (14:29.018)
Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (14:38.289)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (14:47.58)
That is part of the greater questionnaire that I asked going in to the conversations to just know the baseline of where we're at and what discussions have been had so far. And we do go into those discussions and start to think about even for the company, what board of directors you would have, and then personally, what people do you trust.
for those POAs. I will say that having discussions about money gets people in a very vulnerable and almost intimate place. And so in that space is a really good time to talk about those other important matters of POAs and who can you trust in your life.
A lot of players so far, their families are very supportive and their mothers or their fathers are involved. And then their agents and then financial advisors and tax strategists, CPAs like myself. I find that so far a lot of players have a solid team around them. And if it's not a parent and maybe a cousin or a brother,
And so they definitely have people that they trust in their lives, especially like even high school coaches still going into college and even in the NFL, that relationship with their high school coach is still really strong.
that really you see that whole team vying for the best of that player, which is...
Mona Reza (16:30.582)
Well, it's hard to get that far alone. It's hard to get that far alone. Diana, give me one second. I realized that my battery is dying. I'm going to grab my charger.
Mona Reza (16:42.548)
It is right here.
Diana Ingemanson (16:44.838)
Well that was fast.
Mona Reza (16:55.446)
they will edit.
Mona Reza (17:12.854)
Sorry about that.
Diana Ingemanson (17:14.386)
That's okay. I feel political. Am I answering your questions or am I? Okay. Okay.
Mona Reza (17:17.642)
No, they're great. The answers are great. I, you know, I think my goal is I want people, you know, not just the athlete part is interesting, but for all people, this piece, it seems so, you know, scary sometimes, boring, not what I want to do right now. But when you see how it really impacts all the other parts of your life, you know, my goal is always to help people.
plan for that. So you're not in a really bad position down the road, right? Because you're, it used to be embarrassing to, to, cringy to bring it up to people that, you know, you really should do your estate planning because X, Y, Z could happen. But I get two or three calls every week from someone who is the survivor, right? Their spouse, their parent didn't have any planning in place. And now we're looking at paying like 10 times more.
Diana Ingemanson (17:52.209)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (18:09.458)
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (18:17.515)
than they would have paid just to have a simple will and a list of assets that that search for assets costs money filing for an estate of no will costs money. You have to file a bond here in Maryland. If you don't have a will, you can be someone's spouse and go in and you won't be appointed without a bond. has to be waived in the will. And so these are,
Diana Ingemanson (18:24.316)
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (18:44.991)
Things that people don't necessarily want to talk about, but I think it's so important to talk about it. and. You know, the discussion I had last week, I had spoken to a children's book author Hannah Khan, and we were talking about copyright, right? And those intangible rights. And when you sit down with someone and you go through that process of what do you own? People think about their shoe collection or their watches or their jewelry, but you don't think about the value of, know, your.
name image like length night, your name image likeness, right. Your public image. And, one of the things you and I had talked about is how hard it is to sit here in 2025 and determine what that's going to be worth. You know, when you die, hopefully 50, 60, 70 years from now, because that value is included in your gross estate. And so.
Diana Ingemanson (19:40.893)
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (19:44.716)
Part of planning for someone who has these intangible assets is to think about how to mitigate that. You know what that value is going to look like and how to pay that tax. If you haven't done that, you know, people do things like irrevocable life insurance trust where you've got those funds. They don't belong to you and it can be used to pay an estate tax. Or if you're in a position where you've had a great career, you know where it is.
Diana Ingemanson (20:07.172)
Thank
Mona Reza (20:12.721)
And you know that this has a value to assign that value to a child who is in a lower tax bracket. Have you done any of that planning? Has that been an issue that's come up with people or are they not quite thinking about that yet?
Diana Ingemanson (20:28.434)
Not yet. And I believe after this, the tax deadline on 10-15, and we get, we get all the 2025 tax strategies locked in.
in that October timeframe that leaves November and December to do the other part of the conversation of that estate and that that trust planning so that they're take well taken care of and there there are those already in the NFL have policies in place but for the for the college athletes there are life insurance policies that have been put in place as well so that and or injury policies and or
short-term disability policies and those sorts of things. But the greater trust conversation seems to be the last one to be had. But it's so important. Not that it's not important, it's just, right, my focus right now is that.
that 10-15 tax deadline and then making sure the tax strategies are in place for 2025 and then having that third link of the conversation, that third pillar of protection and having that conversation.
Mona Reza (21:42.762)
And I found, especially in recent years, business owners have become more savvy in that they understand that when you work with the team, All of these pieces come together, right? So with most of my clients, especially high net worth clients, they have an accountant, they have a financial advisor. So my part is my part. And there is a team who's been helping them with those taxes so that if we set up that irrevocable life insurance trust,
I know their accountant, so we know that those gift tax returns are being filed, right? Because it's so overwhelming to get all of these documents. So many people feel like they are now done. You know, they don't realize you have to now transfer the assets into the trust. You have to tell your accountant so they can do the appropriate filings to make sure that things work the way that you want them to work. And if you're working with a team of advisors that you trust and they're working together,
Diana Ingemanson (22:14.481)
Right.
Mona Reza (22:41.035)
Ultimately, it does save you money. You know, it feels like, Oh, now I'm going to pay for your time. this person's at the end of the day, if your advisors know what the other people are doing, it really builds a better structure for you down the road.
Diana Ingemanson (22:56.718)
Absolutely. And then, and then when that time comes, we don't want to talk about it, but we're all going to die. We're not, not immortal, right? Not Thor. So, so the time, the time will come and the more your team and or who you have in place has communicated and everyone's on the same page, that just makes your survivors next phase.
Mona Reza (23:03.231)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (23:26.744)
that much simpler and that much easier. I mean, it's already gonna be emotionally difficult to imagine. And so the easiest, like the smoothest that we can make it possible as your team members, as your trusted advisors that you have working in your corner, we can make it the smoothest possible after your passing.
Mona Reza (23:33.545)
Right.
Mona Reza (23:52.775)
Absolutely. You know, I kind of wish that we had this portal where we could show people that, you know, like it's a wonderful life. Like this is what it's going to look like. You don't want that. Do you? You know, what you want is for them to focus on the good times, focus on their feelings, focus on what's happening, not looking for the password to your phone or trying to figure out if you even had life insurance that should be done. That should not be something on their plate. So to transition to something a little happier.
Diana Ingemanson (24:16.518)
Right.
Mona Reza (24:22.023)
What are the similarities that you see? You know, this is kind of a more exciting business, right? Working with college athletes. but there's a lot of carryover and things that are so, similar when you're working with a solopreneur, for example.
Diana Ingemanson (24:40.498)
Right, would say with a solopreneur especially in comparison to a new college athlete is that you're somewhat new to money, you're somewhat new to being a business owner. And so knowing what that structure is and knowing when the right timing is to elect different statuses and or when to implement one strategy over another.
I think those are all very similar and I am a very literal and straightforward person. I mean, the financials are the same. We're going to have a P and L, we're going have a balance sheet, we're going to have cash flow, we're going to file a tax return, 1040 definitely for personal and then whatever business return we're doing perhaps and or trust return as well. You know, so like all those like finished products are the same across the board. It's just how many zeros
are on there. You know, and so maybe I oversimplify it, but in my mind, it's quite simple. Like everything ends or comes to those financial statements into those tax returns in my world. And so every one of my clients, it's the same checkbox for all of those. And so where was I going with that?
Mona Reza (26:00.606)
Yeah. And we, we plan for success. hope for success that there's that upward trajectory. but you know, like you said, we don't live forever and we don't work forever, hopefully. so even like an athlete, a solopreneur in particular, we had talked about this idea. get this question a lot. Why do I need an operating agreement when it's just me? Maybe do you want the state to dictate how your business is run and also what happens when you're not able to run your business?
Diana Ingemanson (26:10.108)
Right.
Mona Reza (26:29.802)
Who's going to make those decisions? Um, again, like intangible, your, your LLC interest is a probate asset. If you haven't planned for it and you know, it varies by state, but in Maryland, you can actually make that designation within your operating agreement. There's so much you can put in there and, uh, buy sell agreements for a solopreneur. you, if you have the kind of business that can continue without you, you want to make those decisions.
Diana Ingemanson (26:59.378)
Exactly, exactly. And plan. I know when you're a solopreneur and you're just getting started, you're not necessarily thinking of your succession plan or your exit strategy. But I would say as you grow and you look at that, I think that is part of how you can build your business for success is that succession plan, because then your clients have the
the confidence that whether you're here or not, the services can continue. And having that succession plan in place, and like you said, the importance of having that in your operating agreement so that the state doesn't dictate what happens, your will can. Perfect.
Mona Reza (27:41.309)
Absolutely. You know, or your operating agreement. And I think the other piece to that is, especially with married couples, a lot of times you see, businesses where they're not really working together. think my husband and I started working together out of necessity. but before that, I didn't know anything. didn't, I didn't need to know. I didn't want to know anything about his business. And then I got in there and I started doing what I do, but only because he needed me to. And.
Diana Ingemanson (27:48.55)
Hmm.
Mona Reza (28:11.004)
On the estate administration side, I'll see mostly widows come in and it's a business that a hundred percent you can continue to run like real estate investments. It just takes a little bit of encouragement and a little bit of training. And so I think with solopreneurs in particular, having that discussion about, you think this is something that you would want to take over if he's not able to do it?
Diana Ingemanson (28:21.776)
Mm-hmm.
Diana Ingemanson (28:26.94)
Mm-hmm.
Diana Ingemanson (28:35.25)
you
Mona Reza (28:39.21)
Which of your children do you think would be capable of doing this? Because that's not a game time decision. It has to be planned for ahead of time. That training has to be put in place and really building that confidence. Um, you know, I had one of my pivotal moments in my career was I had a widow come in and her husband had multiple, um, parcels of land, you all over. And, you know, we're looking at it I told her, you know, absolutely you can do this. These are rental properties.
You can get a management company to help you. You don't have to sell it all. Let's talk to your accountant." And she said, no, I don't want to talk to him. She said, whenever we went in, he would never look at me. He only talked to my husband. I don't like him. I don't want to talk to him. And, know, and the good news is he doesn't have to be your accountant. We can find you somebody who can talk to you, you know, in like a human being. And if you're having those, you know, meetings, that doesn't have to be every meeting together.
But if that's your plan and you start bringing your spouse or your children in, you know, early, then you can prepare them for that next step. If that's what you want.
Diana Ingemanson (29:44.273)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (29:48.142)
Exactly. have a client story that dovetails on that. Is that okay to share now? So a client here local in Indianapolis and her husband passed and she took over operating the
Mona Reza (29:52.458)
Please, please.
Diana Ingemanson (30:02.47)
was about 20, 21 properties and she had been with him and managing and operating them before he passed. And then she took over and then their son has started to learn the process and really helped her out, is helping her out. And then her stepson has also come in and started helping out. But you start to see, and I have a couple other examples like that, but you start to see the
the family trajectory and like how that impacts the family and how excited they are and really kind of like honored that dad got this set up and like really set up his whole family for success to be able to just carry on this tradition and live their lives the way that they can. I know the son is...
has disabilities that would be difficult to work an eight to five job. And so for his father to be able to set up an empire in my mind that will help minimal effort to like maintain it for him. And he can live off of that his whole life and never have to worry about where that money is coming from.
or be stressed out that he can't do those normal tasks in an eight to five job and he's well taken care of.
Mona Reza (31:32.906)
Yeah. And that's generational wealth, right? Like we all, you'd want, how do you build it? Just one generation can blow it. And so the best way to really ensure it, you know, you've got your trust, you have all of those protections, but really is to prepare your family for that future. And some of that is financial preparation, certainly, you know, for what's next. When we were, um,
Diana Ingemanson (31:41.617)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (31:54.066)
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (31:58.35)
When I got back into my, into my husband's business and I was helping and he was a physician. So none of us could actually do his job, but to kind of balance things, I'd bring the girls in and my, know, once we had a snow day and everybody called out and like snow day in DC is like, there's a quarter of an inch, you know, maybe there might be snow. And I was like, this is ridiculous. I'm going in patients need to be seen. And I brought the girls and I had one, she was the medical assistant. The other one answered phones. and.
I texted everyone. said, Hey, my kids are here. Don't worry. And you better believe everybody came in, you know? And so it gives you a different also, perspective on what mom or dad does. If you are involved in that family business.
Diana Ingemanson (32:32.039)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (32:39.73)
Exactly. And I would add on to that with a different client that that just elicited a story from is that this client medically was not able to, he's a dentist and was not medically able to serve his clients for a five to six month period. And instead of shutting down, his wife helped run it and then they brought
contractors in and his dad was able to come in. So they were able to run the business and still serve the community and the clients while he took care of himself medically. And then when he was able to come back, I mean, the business has done twofold what it was able to do with the contractors, but still it didn't shut its doors. It helped it continue to help the community and hired in contractors that wouldn't have otherwise had a job. And so I would say even for
Mona Reza (33:17.342)
Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (33:36.966)
You know, in your case, you're not a physician, you can't do that. But I know you, you would still find somebody and find a way for that practice to continue on if that's what you chose to do to serve that community that your husband grew.
Mona Reza (33:52.326)
Absolutely. You know, and we were actually, we had gone on a cruise and he was playing basketball with my younger daughter, went up for a shot and his arm started turning blue. So we've already taken like the longest vacation we've ever taken. We've got 10 days off and now he has torn a bicep in the arm that he does colonoscopies with. they said, you know, overuse. We come back, he's got surgery and now he's out again for six weeks and really
For solos, it's hard, but if you're a service based business where you are the business, it is really hard to keep going. if that primary person is not there and to jump in at that point, to understand the business would have been impossible, but to have enough of an understanding of what's happening and how, how to shift things to get through it is crucial. nobody, you know, nepotism gets a bad name, but really, truly.
Diana Ingemanson (34:24.306)
Mm-hmm.
Diana Ingemanson (34:31.121)
Mm-hmm.
Diana Ingemanson (34:35.815)
So thanks.
Mona Reza (34:49.019)
If you have family members that you trust and who are competent and can be trained, they are the best employees to have and the best people to have on your team.
Diana Ingemanson (34:58.62)
They have that vested interest.
Mona Reza (35:00.421)
Absolutely. So are you going to the game on Saturday, Illinois versus USC?
Diana Ingemanson (35:09.436)
Good question. I went to the last game this weekend. So the short answer is no, I'm not going to that game. This weekend, I was able to find some tickets for the Zach Bryan concert at the Big House in Ann Arbor. So my husband and another couple are going with us. And so we're going to another football stadium, but not for a football game.
Mona Reza (35:23.802)
nice.
Mona Reza (35:33.725)
Well, good, because we would have had to be on opposite sides. My younger daughter is the director of football operations at USC and they will be in Champaign, Illinois this Saturday morning.
Diana Ingemanson (35:43.748)
Are you going to be there?
Mona Reza (35:45.254)
No, I'm going to be in LA. I'm in a conference in LA. So I'll be in her city while she's in Illinois. And then I'm staying Monday and Tuesday for an IP conference and she'll be back on Saturday. So I'll see her Saturday night.
Diana Ingemanson (35:56.722)
Nice.
Nice, nice. I will be on campus on Monday to sign some documents in person.
Mona Reza (36:07.113)
It's fun, right? It's fun to be on college campuses. I love it.
Diana Ingemanson (36:10.692)
It's fun to be on college campuses and although I love Zoom calls and I love that one of the positives I think that came out of COVID was business over the internet and the availability to help more people, but I'm still a person that loves to be in person and sit next to my client and answer those questions and.
Make sure that they're really comfortable and understand what's going on. And not just as I'm never going to understand the playbook, their football playbook and like the calls that they know to that level of detail. But they could explain a couple of things to me where I'd understand what's happening on the field. And same thing in the tax world. Like I want, I want to, I'll walk in as the expert and know, but I want them to have that.
Mona Reza (36:51.87)
Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (37:01.008)
that comfortability and understanding so that, like, I hope that I get to work with them their whole careers and their life and help their kids. But if that doesn't happen, I hope that I've set them up for success where they have that basic understanding or maybe even a more advanced understanding of their money, taxes, tax strategy, and the importance of having trusted advisors in their corner.
Mona Reza (37:25.809)
And maybe even spark a second career, right? When this one's over to go on and maybe become a tax advisor, because you're in a great position to understand how it all works. you're so right about being in person. had a client who elderly gentlemen couldn't fill out the online forms and it's fine. It's fine to go and sit together and just draw a family tree because like, no, no, that's my other sister. You're like, okay, let's lay it out.
Diana Ingemanson (37:35.762)
Right.
Diana Ingemanson (37:45.222)
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (37:53.99)
Every sister, every brother, birth order, let's do it. Let's draw it like a family tree. And it just, clarifies for the client and it clarifies for you what they're asking for and why, you know, there's nothing like in person. How great was last week?
Diana Ingemanson (38:02.972)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (38:10.448)
It was great.
Mona Reza (38:11.155)
That was so much fun. That was so much fun.
Diana Ingemanson (38:14.124)
What was your biggest, like, top two takeaways from the event?
Mona Reza (38:18.147)
I think, one was that you really have to, you have to immerse yourself. You have to be in it. You have to prioritize if you want to get value. because every, you know, it's online most of the time and there's always something conflicting that comes up. so to get on those calls and to do the reps and to really, you know, get that value, you have to put in it. We like with anything.
Diana Ingemanson (38:27.378)
Mm-hmm.
Diana Ingemanson (38:44.914)
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (38:45.093)
And so I came back, you renewed that I'm really going to do it. And I think the other piece was, you know, especially for people like us, we're so technical and there's so much you want to share with your clients. You want them to know it. People don't really need all that. They're trusting us to just do the thing. What they need to know is that, you know, you care about them, that you know what you're doing and you are going to help them get to where they want to be.
Right. How about you? What were your two top takeaways?
Diana Ingemanson (39:16.99)
I would echo what you said. I, I've been on, in the online container and it's, it's been great. but it was kind of like that analogy of having the puzzle pieces, but not the puzzle box. And so being there and being immersed in it, I was really able to embody.
all the principles and everything that we talk about. And so I feel like it's really like locked in and I've got it now. Whereas before it was somewhat elusive, you know, like it. And being in person and having the conversations and having the at the table and or at lunch or at dinner at night and just
Mona Reza (39:49.681)
Absolutely. Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (40:07.866)
I love conversations and just getting to know people and like what their dreams are, what their visions are, what drives them. like, there was a couple of conversations that were deep, you know, and got some tears rolling. And when you're in a space like that of what, 70 plus powerful entrepreneurs of all different ranges of income,
Mona Reza (40:21.928)
Yeah.
Diana Ingemanson (40:37.275)
It can be so inspiring and...
and a bit uncomfortable because you're pushing your limits, which is what I went there for. so again, it creates this like vulnerable and intimate space where you're trusted and you can have some really deep, meaningful conversations.
Mona Reza (40:49.565)
Yeah.
Mona Reza (41:03.236)
Absolutely. You know, and I think it flows through, I got, one of the women there, Wendley did those mini photo shoots and I wasn't planning on doing it, but for the podcast, I w I needed new pictures and we were both there. didn't have the right clothes. didn't have anyone to do my hair or my makeup. And she's like, let's just do it. So one night, were so tired, right? It was so intense. I went back to the room and I got ready and I met her and she was at my table. And so we really connected and got to know each other and.
Diana Ingemanson (41:09.49)
Thank
Diana Ingemanson (41:24.688)
Right.
Mona Reza (41:32.914)
They are maybe my favorite pictures I've ever gotten done because you, you know, my sister said to me, I have never seen your real smile captured in any of these pictures before, you know, and it was that deep connection in such a short time with other women who are so inspirational. And, know, and really that's one of my goals for this podcast as well, because I believe that my biggest business asset has been my network and you know, women like you, people that I've met from all over.
Diana Ingemanson (41:44.998)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mona Reza (42:00.892)
because I'm willing to meet people and I want to get to know them better and I want to learn from them. And everyone doesn't have that privilege. Everyone's not able to leave their kitchen table and go out and meet other people. And so if we can bring some of that to everyone to get, know, the, call it the free advice crowd, the people who remember you every six months when they just happen to have a legal question. It's fine. I get it. Here's a,
a quick way to get into the people that I think really know so much that you may never meet. And you get a chance to, you know, be in on those discussions too. Thank you so, much, Diane. I really appreciate your time. And I look forward to seeing you before next year, definitely next year, but before that.
Diana Ingemanson (42:35.73)
Absolutely.
Mm-hmm.
Diana Ingemanson (42:48.228)
Yes, hopefully, yes. Thank you so much for having me on and thinking of me. I enjoyed seeing you in person last week and wish we had more time and wish I got one of those shoots with Wendelie. Timing didn't work for me. So I'm glad that it worked for you and that it just shows that she is in her zone of genius, right? And she was able to capture that smile of yours.
Mona Reza (42:53.105)
Of course.
Mona Reza (43:12.828)
really is.
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Diana. Take care. Bye.
Diana Ingemanson (43:18.066)
Thank you. Bye bye.
