Tax Strategies, Business Lessons, and Law Firm Ownership with Tyler Dahl (Ep. 111)
If you’re a law firm owner looking to protect your profits and set your firm up for long-term success, understanding tax strategies and succession planning is non-negotiable. On this episode of The Lawyer Millionaire Podcast, we sat down with Tyler Dahl, founder of Dahl Law Group, to discuss actionable ways law firm owners can maximize their wealth and protect their legacy. Here are the key takeaways to help you grow your practice, avoid costly mistakes, and ensure your firm continues to be an asset—not just a job.
Why Proactive Tax Planning Is a Game Changer
As a law firm owner, taxes will likely be your single largest expense each year. Far too often, busy attorneys stay focused on client work, neglecting the strategic decisions that can significantly reduce their tax burden. Tyler Dahl highlights one of the costliest mistakes he sees: many attorneys remain sole proprietors far longer than they should.
Why does this matter?
Operating as a sole proprietorship may seem simple, but it can leave thousands on the table in unnecessary self-employment taxes.
By shifting to an S-Corporation or other strategic entity structure, law firm owners earning over $100,000 in net income can typically see immediate, ongoing tax savings.
Beyond business structure, many attorneys don’t leverage the tools available to them in the tax code—such as implementing retirement plans, deducting appropriate expenses, or using income-splitting strategies. A tailored approach, guided by an experienced tax attorney and CPA, can lead to tens of thousands in savings year after year.
Action Step:
If you haven’t reviewed your business structure or tax strategy lately, now is the time to do so. Don’t wait until tax season—proactive planning always yields better results.
The Critical Need for Succession Planning
Despite recognizing the value they build in their firms, many law firm owners postpone developing a succession plan. Tyler emphasizes that failing to put a plan in place is more than just risky business—it may be an ethical violation.
What does succession planning mean for you?
Succession planning ensures that if you’re ever incapacitated or pass away unexpectedly, your firm’s clients are protected, outstanding debts are addressed, and your family is not left struggling to untangle business affairs. In California, for example, there are explicit ethical directives for attorneys to have such a plan.
Additionally, strategic tools like irrevocable trusts and gifting can minimize estate taxes, ensuring you pass on your hard-earned assets as efficiently as possible.
Action Step:
Don’t let uncertainty or busy schedules delay your planning. Start the conversation with an estate planning attorney who understands law firm ownership. Taking this step is a selfless act that protects your clients, your team, and your loved ones.
Avoiding Common Financial Missteps
Tyler shares that one of the most common challenges for law firm owners is keeping personal and business finances separate. When finances are mixed, it complicates tax planning, exposes you to personal liability, and muddies the waters when it comes time to value or sell your firm.
Create clear boundaries between business and personal spending, and invest in professional help to bring order to your accounts. The upfront cost of hiring a financial planner or accountant is far outweighed by the peace of mind and tax savings you’ll achieve.
Building a Profitable, Future-Ready Firm
Tyler’s journey is a testament to perseverance. Starting out with no contacts in Sacramento, he leaned into networking, provided outstanding service, and built his firm one relationship at a time. The lesson? Focus on delivering value and building authentic connections—your practice will grow from there.
He also underscores the importance of investing in technology and leveraging resources from the broader community of law firm owners. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel or work in isolation—tap into professional groups, masterminds, and planning resources to help guide your journey.
Final Takeaway: Don’t Wait—Act Today
The difference between law firm owners who build wealth and those who simply earn a paycheck is the willingness to plan ahead. Whether it’s tax strategy, business structuring, or succession planning, don’t settle for the status quo. Seek out advice, engage experts, and treat your firm as the valuable asset it is.
Resources:
Connect with Darren Wurz:
Connect with Tyler Dahl
Linkedin: Tyler Q. Dahl
Transcript:
Please note the timestamp is synced with the audio player not youtube.
Darren Wurz [00:00:00]:
Did you know that 15% of tax returns prepared by tax preparers contain errors, sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars? Welcome to the Lawyer Millionaire podcast, helping law firm owners go from grind to greatness. I'm your host, Darren Wirtz. Today we're talking with Tyler Dahl about taxes, estate and succession planning and what it takes to start and grow a law firm successfully. Tyler Dahl is the founder of Dahl Law Group, a Sacramento based firm specializing in estate planning, tax strategy and business law.
Intro [00:00:35]:
We are on a mission to help lawyers and law firm owners maximize wealth and achieve financial independence. Welcome to the Lawyer Millionaire with Darren Wurz from Wurz Financial Services.
Darren Wurz [00:00:49]:
All right, Tyler, it's great to be here with you today.
Tyler Dahl [00:00:52]:
Yeah, thanks for having me. It's great to be here with you.
Darren Wurz [00:00:55]:
Yeah. So I've got some great questions for you. We're going to start with the tough one. You ready for it?
Tyler Dahl [00:00:59]:
Yes.
Darren Wurz [00:01:01]:
So, you know, it's 2025, and the Tax Cuts and Jobs act of 2017 is supposedly set to sunset this year, barring the acts from Congress. And at the same time, we have a national debt that is ballooning past 34 trillion. So, you know, as a tax attorney, I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Where do you think tax policy is going in the future?
Tyler Dahl [00:01:25]:
That is a tough question. And you, you definitely led with the tough one. I, I think obviously tax policy is going to go with the, the administration. Right. Not to kind of draw party lines or anything, but, you know, usually Democrats are wanting, you know, tax cuts for business owners. Not necessarily Democrats don't want it, but you're going to see more drastic cuts with, with a Republican led Congress and presidency. Right. So, you know, I think a lot of this is going to, you know, politics aside, even though we're legitimately talking, or literally rather talking about politics, but I think a lot of it's going to be driven by the success with the tariffs.
Tyler Dahl [00:02:02]:
Right. I think the policy, the administration, their view is, you know, more terrorists can raise revenue for, you know, the federal government and sort of the consequence from that would be potentially a, you know, an income tax reduction. There's been so many things that have been floated by Congress in terms of the tax changes that it's difficult, it's dizzying to even keep track of. But I would imagine some sort of some extension of the estate tax exemption, you know, that high threshold and probably some, you know, some of that initial 2017 legislation being extended at the very least.
Darren Wurz [00:02:39]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, that estate tax exemption is a Big one. Are you having conversations with people about that?
Tyler Dahl [00:02:47]:
Yeah, absolutely. And it's a difficult one, Right. Because it's going to sunset in next year, right. In January. But I mean, if you plan right now, the exemption's basically $14 million per person estate tax exemption. Right. And so that'll almost get chopped in half if no legislation is implemented. So it's difficult to plan when there's so much uncertainty.
Tyler Dahl [00:03:15]:
We're definitely having the conversations. It's just very. Not many people are kind of pulling the trigger and moving forward right now just due to so much uncertainty. But, yeah, some that are over the 14 million or you're, you know, a married couple, you're at, you know, 25, you know, probably. Right. And dipping into the 20 million taxable state, you got to start doing something anyways. So, you know, those people certainly. Yeah, they're moving forward.
Tyler Dahl [00:03:41]:
Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:03:42]:
It's hard to plan when that's kind of a moving target.
Tyler Dahl [00:03:45]:
Yeah, it is. It is. I think, like I said, I think generally that the Tax Cuts and Jobs act, there's going to be some of those. There's going to be some things that are. They're going to be extended, right?
Darren Wurz [00:03:57]:
Yeah. I mean, if that sunsets, there's some major changes. Most people's tax bills would probably go up pretty significantly, especially business owners. So we'll see.
Tyler Dahl [00:04:08]:
Yeah, we'll see. And I always tell people there's stuff that you can do, you just have to do it early. Right. Like if you're over the exact exemption amount right now, you can still do things, but it's better to get, you know, in several million below the exemption when you can see. When you can see the problem on the horizon rather than you've already passed it, right?
Darren Wurz [00:04:26]:
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Now, Tyler, you work with a lot of business owners and many law firm owners as well. What are some of the biggest, like, tax mistakes that you often see? I'm curious from your perspective.
Tyler Dahl [00:04:37]:
Yeah, I would say the biggest one would have to be staying in the sole proprietorship structure. Right. I think a lot of attorneys are really busy. They're working their cases. They're not really thinking about their business structure. The money's coming in and they're just staying a sole proprietor. Right. A lot of people think about setting up entities to protect from liability in the context of attorneys, you know, you have personal liability for all of your, you know, legal work that you're doing.
Tyler Dahl [00:05:05]:
So when we set up entities for our lawyer clients, it's not ne. I mean, there's some liability Protection with employment law. Liability for example, but not personally liability for the, for the legal work the client's doing. But if they're sole proprietor, they're making around probably, you know, net 100 to 120k and they're still a sole proprietor. Boy, they're starting to leave a lot of money on the table. So that would probably be the biggest tax mistake I see. Other than that it's just, you know, not leveraging the tax code.
Darren Wurz [00:05:42]:
Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:05:43]:
To work for them. Right, definitely.
Darren Wurz [00:05:45]:
Yeah, yeah, I see that a lot. It's, it's when, you know, when I first discovered that many years ago, that was kind of mind blowing that you could, you know, use the S Corp structure and shelter a lot of your income from those self employment taxes.
Tyler Dahl [00:05:59]:
Yep.
Darren Wurz [00:06:00]:
You know, a lot of times the biggest thing I see, you know, apart from, you know, just not leveraging the tax code is just having your finances just be a jumble. You know, personal finances on the business side and business on the personal side. Do you see that a lot as well?
Tyler Dahl [00:06:15]:
Yeah, definitely. I mean it's crazy because you know, here, here locally, at least there was, I don't even know the name but like, you know, the, the old, the old sort of saying goes with estate planning attorney specifically is like they'll do everybody else's estate plan and knock it out of the park and do a great job. But like when they pass away, do they even have an estate plan? Right. So it's like most often it's our personal affairs that are sort of left in the dust and left behind and we're prioritizing our clients over our own personal affairs. And I see that a lot as well. And you know, it's, it's. Yeah, it's tough.
Darren Wurz [00:06:49]:
I think I'm guilty of that myself. I need to have a meeting with myself as my financial planner.
Tyler Dahl [00:06:54]:
Right. I mean, I kid you not, Darren, I kid you not. I was working on my personal estate plan this morning doing some find some tune ups and some guardian shifts for, you know, I've got two young kids and like yeah, kid you not just this morning. So good for you.
Darren Wurz [00:07:11]:
Yeah, that's awesome. Well, you know, why should we care so much about taxes, Tyler? You know, I have conversations about people with people about taxes, but it seems like it's hard for people to really grasp it. And I'm like, I don't know how to get that across. Like reducing your tax bill. It's like dollar for dollar, it's immediate roi. It's like less taxes, it's More money in your pocket. How do you explain that to folks?
Tyler Dahl [00:07:32]:
Yeah, I mean, the simple explanation is, you know. Well, first of all, I think people, they sort of kind of. It's. It's difficult to understand what is a CPA's role and what is like an attorney's role. Right. Because there's sort of like what we reference is like a peaceful coexistence between us. Right. I mean, many CPAs will kind of do some tax strategy things, but they're not lawyers, so they can't sit down and look at a case and analyze the case law and what that really means with the overall, you know, strategy of their client.
Tyler Dahl [00:08:00]:
Right. CPA's role is really for compliance, making sure that those estimated tax payments are being paid on time and in the proper amounts. The tax attorney's job is really, you know, again, making sure that the client within the parameters of the tax law is, you know, the client is saving money within the parameters of the tax law. And when you do tax strategy, which is really us proactively reducing the client's tax bill, the implementation is really where the attorney comes in. Because, you know, you have to implement these things according to what the case law and the regulations say is legitimate or not. Right. I think that people. I don't know, I think people lose sight of it because they're just.
Tyler Dahl [00:08:41]:
It's just sort of like been this thing that, oh, well, it's just I have to live with it. Right. I got to pay my taxes and there's nothing I can do about it. I think that's the big. That's one of the big things. It's just sort of, you know, sitting in with the status quo and then also thinking that it's complicated. It's only for really rich people. Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:09:02]:
No, I mean, you know, my. My argument is the less money you make, the more important it is because, you know, every dollar for you making less money means more, right? Oh, yeah. And I think those two things add to just the lack of attention that's given to it.
Darren Wurz [00:09:17]:
And actually, you have more that's available to you at those lower income tiers.
Tyler Dahl [00:09:23]:
Yeah, it's. It's kind of more bang for your buck. I mean, our foundational strategies that we implement, I mean, we're looking at anywhere from 10 to $20,000 per year of savings. And. And that's across the board. Like, it really doesn't matter how much money you're making. Again, if you're up towards that hundred to 120, 150 threshold, depending on your Geographic area like that, savings is going to be pretty much across the board for the most part. No guarantees.
Tyler Dahl [00:09:48]:
But. So if you're making half million a year, that maybe might be a drop in the bucket, but if you're making a couple hundred thousand dollars a year, that's going to start to add up. And we're talking year over year as well, you know, so.
Darren Wurz [00:10:00]:
Yeah, definitely.
Tyler Dahl [00:10:00]:
Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:10:01]:
On the subject of succession planning, many law firm owners don't have a succession plan. Why is it so critical to have a succession plan? From the estate and tax perspective?
Tyler Dahl [00:10:13]:
Yeah, I mean, I think. Well, from a tax perspective, if you do have a taxable estate, you know, there's going to be ways for you to minimize your taxes, you know, by setting up different types of irrevocable trusts and doing, you know, using different business entities, doing gifting and things like that. From, from a business law, like from a lawyer who's a business owner perspective, it is, it's really, really important because, I mean, if, if you're, you're a lawyer and you own your own law firm, I mean, I, I'm a lawyer. I own my own law firm. You put your heart and soul into this thing. It's like your baby, Right. And to have that all go to waste if you were to pass away or become incapacitated, I mean, that would be a real shame. Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:11:02]:
I mean, I know we talked a little bit, and I think even if you don't think that your law firm is valuable, every law firm has a value to it and a positive value. Right. If anything, you know, you want to have a succession plan in place to be able to service any debt that you've got. Right. You know, a lot of Eidl loans out right now, standing still, and you don't want to, you know, strap your family with that if something were to happen to you. Other than that, you know, and I know we've talked about this too, is the ethical implications. Right. I mean, just here in California, the state bars released some formal opinions, and basically what they say is that, you know, you are probably committing an ethical violation if you do not have a succession plan.
Tyler Dahl [00:11:46]:
And if you kind of think about, you know, lawyers, you know, let's say a family law lawyer, right. You've got court hearings and this and that. You get in a car accident, you can't go to that court hearing, your client loses. What does that look like? I mean, you're violating many, many ethical rules.
Darren Wurz [00:12:02]:
Yeah. And just taking care of your family. I mean, if you pass away and your Spouse is not an attorney, they're not going to be able to come in and run your law firm.
Tyler Dahl [00:12:10]:
Right, right, right, that too. I mean they've, I mean, here in California too. Like they, yeah, they have to be a lawyer. There's a little bit of a grace period the state bar will give you. But, but yeah, you know, I think you do the estate planning for. It's a very selfless act. Right. You're not doing it for yourself necessarily.
Tyler Dahl [00:12:27]:
You' others and your clients if you're a lawyer.
Darren Wurz [00:12:30]:
So yeah, 100%. Well, Tyler, take us back to the beginning for you. What, you know, got you into this whole practice area? What made you start your own firm? Tell us about that.
Tyler Dahl [00:12:41]:
Yeah, that's a, that's a great question. Man, I feel like I could write a book about this. But. Yeah, so my history goes back. I, My undergrad was international business and management technology. Wanted to do international law. Actually a lot of my law school career I was in Guatemala, Uruguay, in Spain, coincidentally. Not coincidentally, but I'm fluent in Spanish, so I know I don't look the part, but so I did a lot of work in the business law area.
Tyler Dahl [00:13:09]:
Started with a law firm where they did trust in estates. I kind of gravitated toward that and I've always stuck with the business law interest in estates. And very, very early on in my career, I mean, I'm talking like year one to started realizing that tax law has a huge, huge impact on the decisions that our clients make. And so from there just sort of dedicated myself to the tax code. Which sounds boring and it sounds very boring and depressing, but I love it.
Darren Wurz [00:13:37]:
Yeah, no, that's great. When exactly did you start your practice in 20?
Tyler Dahl [00:13:41]:
Was it 2014, I believe. Yeah. Okay, so I've been here.
Darren Wurz [00:13:44]:
Were you at a bigger firm before or how did it go about.
Tyler Dahl [00:13:48]:
Yeah, yeah, I was with a smaller firm than a bigger firm and just kind of, you know, just didn't work out culture wise. I've always. My family comes from. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and I think that had a lot to do with it as well. Just sort of kind of going out on my own and you know, making money.
Darren Wurz [00:14:03]:
Okay, so your parents are entrepreneurs.
Tyler Dahl [00:14:06]:
So my grandmother, grandfather. I spent many, many days on a floral garden when I was a kid. We owned a. They owned a floral garden in central Wisconsin. Dolls Floral garden. My mother was a real estate agent and you know, they owned rentals and so did my grandm. And so I've kind of always been in that space like you know, re roofing the apartment building, you know, you know, going and working in the greenhouse, you know, kind of, you know, sticking your heels in and getting your. Your hands dirty.
Tyler Dahl [00:14:35]:
So. Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:14:36]:
Yeah. Literally, that's a lot of business ownership. Getting your hands dirty, for sure.
Tyler Dahl [00:14:40]:
Yes. Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:14:41]:
So what was that like for you, you know, launching out and starting your own practice? Was that everything you expected it to be, or were there some surprises?
Tyler Dahl [00:14:48]:
Yeah, it was pretty much everything I expected it to be, but very difficult. You know, I was here kind of. I'm originally from Wisconsin. I moved to Sacramento, where I am now, and didn't really have a whole lot of resources here and sort of did everything on my own. And that kind of plays into, like, what we want to be for our clients. Right. Like, you're not alone on this island by yourself trying to figure out the tax code or the succession planning or the estate planning or just general, like, business compliance. Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:15:11]:
I mean, you have somebody here that can help you and guide you. I don't want people to go through what I went through, which was. It was very difficult, but that was what was expected. Right. I mean, you know, again, from my family and life experiences, I knew business ownership was a difficult road and one that you can't and a road that you need to have thick skin on.
Darren Wurz [00:15:33]:
Yeah. How did you go about, like, getting your name out there? What was what worked for you initially?
Tyler Dahl [00:15:38]:
Yeah, we just. I just did a whole lot of old school, and I mean, I had nothing, Darren. Like, nothing. Right. And so I just kind of went out there, did a lot of networking, you know, act just, you know, when I started, I think there. I think now there's a little bit more, like, people run their law firms, like, businesses now. But back when I started, and I said, like, way back when, like, I'm an old man. Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:15:59]:
But. Right. You know, still, it was like customer service wasn't like, a top priority of, like, some of the law firms. And so I made that a point and just sort of. You start getting more referrals from your current clients and you just do good work. Right. Like, if you do good work, the community will notice, people will notice. And.
Tyler Dahl [00:16:16]:
And that's. That's really it. You just kind of, you know, stick with it and. Yeah, that's.
Darren Wurz [00:16:22]:
That's so funny because it's very similar to my journey. You know, I was a teacher for five years and then launched my own business. Didn't know a thing about business or, you know, what it took to start a business, run a business or Anything like that. And then I discovered networking, and that's really all I did. I was at everything, every chamber event, every networking mixer I could find. I just. And people would tell me, they're like, I see you everywhere.
Tyler Dahl [00:16:48]:
Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:16:49]:
But it works. It works for a long time and it can be very, very successful way to kind of, you know, get things running.
Tyler Dahl [00:16:55]:
It does, yeah. And the referrals you get from that networking, those relationships you create, I mean, the conversion rate on those is, you know, astronomical. Right. Because you've been referred by a trusted colleague or a current or past client who you've. Who you did really good work for. And it's just, It's a much easier conversation than just a. A Google lead off the streets. Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:17:16]:
Which, you know, we do have some of those here and there still, but. Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:17:19]:
And those, those relationships last so long. Like, I have clients still from, from that way back when. I have connections from way back when. I had a guy reached out to me who I met in a networking group like 10 years ago, reached out to me, wanted to reconnect. I was like, that's so cool. You never know how those things are gonna, like, spiderweb out for you and grow.
Tyler Dahl [00:17:39]:
Yes. Yeah. I'm in a, I'm in a similar situation now where I started down a path, exploring different ways to grow the firm. And yeah, right now it's. Yeah, it's. It's weird how, you know, life works itself out and, you know.
Darren Wurz [00:17:56]:
Yeah. What's one thing you know now about running a law firm that you wish you had known when you first started?
Tyler Dahl [00:18:03]:
Yeah, I honestly, I think that, you know, I, as a law firm owner, I mean, I'm very in tune with technology. We use, like, so we use decision bolt, gavel, Lamatics practice, Panther, you know, you name it. I mean, we use a lot of different technology. Preferably, I wouldn't have spent. I wouldn't have spent a ton of money on figuring out what works best for me. Right. But yeah, Yeah, I mean, I think, I think back a lot and the question I get, which I think is similar, would be like, if you could do it over again, Tyler, what would you do differently? And I think overwhelmingly the answer to be I would seek out more resources. Right.
Tyler Dahl [00:18:41]:
I would seek out more professionals like yourself. I would try to get into some, you know, Facebook groups, just try to try to, like, get connected with like minded attorneys a little bit more. When I first started, I was very business orientated with the law firm, but I didn't know that, like there was this ecosystem out there that existed of law firm owners who just also happen to love business ownership. And so. Yeah, just the resources and leveraging those.
Darren Wurz [00:19:08]:
Absolutely. You know, I wish I had known about like, you know, business planning and what that looks like, like strategic business planning, the EOS framework. I don't know if you're familiar with that. Yeah, I wish I had learned about that many years ago. That would have been so helpful.
Tyler Dahl [00:19:24]:
It would have. And I. And even. But even some of those are difficult to implement. Like the E. Myth book for attorneys. It's a great book, but it doesn't really give you the nitty gritty on how to implement.
Darren Wurz [00:19:34]:
And that's not super practical.
Tyler Dahl [00:19:37]:
No, it's not very, very frustrating. But it's, but it does, it's a good message and it gets you in the right mindset, right?
Darren Wurz [00:19:45]:
Yeah, certainly. Well, Tyler, what does the firm look like now and where do you see it headed in the future?
Tyler Dahl [00:19:51]:
Yeah, well, we have, you know, we have myself another attorney. We're kind of trying to onboard another attorney as we speak right now. We've got, you know, a good solid team, about seven or eight people. And you know, we are not expanding outside of our practice. Like, we love what we do and we're passionate about what we do. We don't do any litigation. It's all sort of relationship based tax and business and estate planning. So, you know, I think the idea is just kind of grow the firm in the space that we're in and not extend out other than, you know, I do do a lot of tax strategy work like we talked about initially in, in this show.
Tyler Dahl [00:20:29]:
And with that comes a lot of demand for tax preparation and filing. And so I anticipate we'll probably bring on, you know, an accountant or some sort of a compliance person at some point to be able to help service those clients because the demand is just overwhelming.
Darren Wurz [00:20:44]:
Yeah.
Tyler Dahl [00:20:45]:
And you know, there's a, it's nice to have like, you know, I just reviewed a tax return yesterday that was missing a few things and it's like there's a 15% error rate among. Doesn't matter how good you are among all tax preparers. Right. And so having an extra set of eyes on there from the attorney's perspective, I think helps a lot. So.
Darren Wurz [00:21:03]:
Yeah, absolutely. That's, that's one thing that we, we do with our clients is review their tax returns and we find mistakes all the time, sometimes to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.
Tyler Dahl [00:21:13]:
Yep. I just, I just found one yesterday and it was, it was a Small one, but it was about $8,000. But hey, 8,000 is 8,000 is 8,000, right? And yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Darren Wurz [00:21:25]:
It's such a great value add for the clients. So, Tyler, we have a book club which you may know about. And right now we're reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the creator of Nike. And I'm curious, you know, a lot of law firm owners I know are big readers. Are there any books that you're like really excited about or reading right now?
Tyler Dahl [00:21:45]:
You know, I was earlier last year. I mean, my, my, my quick answer to that is not right now. I have a 7 month old kid and so my sleep has been a little, My sleep has been a little sparse. Some of the books that I was, I've kind of recently read, which, you know, I try to kind of to, to, to kind of break it up into different things. But like, the Rockefeller Habits was a good one. I, I read the Sales stampede one. Um, you know, there's the, the no BS direct marketing, like the no BS series books. They're kind of a little, they can be a little crude and kind of maybe slightly outdated here and there, but, you know, pretty good marketing stuff.
Tyler Dahl [00:22:29]:
Crucial, Crucial Conversations is another one that I really liked. You know, I think my, that one about. Yeah, so Crucial Conversations is just like, how do you have a potentially like heated, not heated, but how do you have a very serious conversation with somebody but have it in a very productive way? And that could be with fellow employees or with your spouse even. Right. Like, how can you take the animosity out of that conversation, Communicate better and take a conversation that would be very difficult into a productive conversation, essentially.
Darren Wurz [00:23:02]:
Oh, very cool.
Tyler Dahl [00:23:03]:
Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:23:03]:
Well, let's check that one out for sure.
Tyler Dahl [00:23:05]:
Yeah. And then I think, I mean, from a personal level, I've fluctuated in and out of, of mindfulness and meditation during, during, During COVID I read the book. I actually listened to the ebook the Power of Now.
Darren Wurz [00:23:24]:
Oh, okay.
Tyler Dahl [00:23:25]:
And so I think. Yeah, let me just check.
Darren Wurz [00:23:30]:
The Power of Now.
Tyler Dahl [00:23:31]:
Let me see here. Yeah, the Power of Now is the name of the book. It's kind of. I think it's. I think it's one of those books that you, if you listen to you, you could either like it or you're going to be like, this is some cheesy, you know, like I can't. Like this is too philosophical and cheesy and whatever. Right. But when Covid happened, we, our business, our law firm was like, we almost had our best year ever, I think.
Tyler Dahl [00:23:58]:
And you know, working from Home, I had more time and I was meditating in a consistent basis. And when I listened to the ebook during my strong meditation period, like, it was. It was pretty powerful. Yeah. And I think us as attorneys. Right. Like, especially me as a planning attorney. And I think any attorney, you're focused on all.
Tyler Dahl [00:24:20]:
Like I say that I'm a pessimist by trade. Like, my job is to worry, like literally. Right. And so I think in our personal lives we can sometimes not do a very good job at, you know, being present with our family, being present in whatever hobby you're interested in, whatever. I think that. I think overwhelmingly any attorney really needs to consistently work on that in order to improve their personal lives.
Darren Wurz [00:24:45]:
So important. We're so distracted by so many things around us, you know, that being present in the moment factor is. Is rare and valuable.
Tyler Dahl [00:24:55]:
Yeah. And easier said than done. Right?
Darren Wurz [00:24:57]:
I mean. Well, thanks so much for that reminder, Tyler. It's been great having you on the show. Tell us, is there any last words of wisdom you want to leave for our audience and then tell us where our audience can find you if they want to learn more about you?
Tyler Dahl [00:25:11]:
Yeah. So any last words of wisdom would be just don't wait. You know, like, I know this is a self serving statement, but get your planning done. Right. Prioritize it, really. I think reaching out to an attorney to get it done and engaging with an attorney is the best way to do that. Again, I know that's a self serving statement. I'm an attorney that does this type of stuff.
Tyler Dahl [00:25:31]:
But as soon as you pay a little bit of money and you get the ball rolling, our job is to keep that ball rolling and keep you accountable and get that planning done. So that would be my last parting words. You can reach out to us by. Our URL is www.tqdlaw.com. dal Law Group is the name of the firm and we're going through a domain transition there. So you can follow us on social media too. OlawGroup. And we've got a bunch of, you know, we send out a paper newsletter every month.
Tyler Dahl [00:26:01]:
If you want to get on that reach out. And we do a weekly email as well. Tons of blog content on our website. I mean, tons there. And like you want to know about, like I just recently issued a blog on how stake rewards for cryptocurrencies are taxed. Right. I mean, tons of wealth of information there. So check that out.
Tyler Dahl [00:26:19]:
And I think that would be it. Yeah.
Darren Wurz [00:26:22]:
Yeah. Awesome. Well, thanks, Tyler, so much for being on the show.
Tyler Dahl [00:26:25]:
You're welcome. It was Great chatting with you. Thanks for having me.
Darren Wurz [00:26:29]:
Big thanks to Tyler Dahl for sharing his insight on what lies ahead in the world of tax law and telling us about his journey in growing his practice. If you want to learn more about Tyler and the Dahl Law Group, check the Show Notes for all the links and resources mentioned today. You might not think that tax planning is such a big deal, but taxes are likely your biggest expense as a law firm owner. Taking a more proactive approach to tax planning can dramatically improve your profitability. This kind of strategic planning is exactly what sets the Lawyer Millionaire Founders Network apart. You're not just running a practice, you're building a valuable asset and that means playing offense, not defense when it comes to taxes, succession and long term wealth. Proactive tax planning is just one of the many benefits of being a member of the Lawyer Millionaire Founders Network. Want to learn more about becoming a member? Schedule a call with me using the link in the Show Notes and if you're not a member of the book club yet, join.
Darren Wurz [00:27:27]:
It's free. Our current book selection is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. You won't want to miss out. It's a great way to connect with like minded law firm owners in a fun and engaging way. Our next book club discussion is in June, so you have plenty of time. Check the link in the Show Notes to join. That's a wrap for this episode of the Lawyer Millionaire podcast. Remember, your law firm should be an asset, not just a job.
Darren Wurz [00:27:52]:
Take control, build wealth and create the future you deserve. See you next time.
Outro [00:28:02]:
Thank you for listening to the Lawyer Millionaire. Click the follow button below to be notified when new episodes become available. This content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. This content is not intended to represent investing or tax advice. Always seek the advice of a qualified investment or tax advisor with any questions you may have regarding your own financial circumstances.