Entrepreneurship is a journey that transforms a society by creating wealth and value for improved well-being. To battle the societal challenges, catching the pulse of daily activities is essential. Also, addressing the constant ebb and flow of the market is a prerequisite for entrepreneurial success.
While entrepreneurs are pioneers of bringing new changes and innovation to the forefront, a successful entrepreneur is a leader with a blend of different personalities. In fact, good leadership welcomes inclusivity, humility, and unpredictability.
One such leader that has been pivotal in making notable differences to thousands of families is Stan Samole.
Stan Samole is the CEO of Family Tax Recovery Inc. and is on a mission to rightfully reclaim the wealth of Canadian Taxpayers.
Stan has consistently driven his company to great strides and is determined to scale further. He is also the six-times winner of the Profit Magazine Award for Canada’s fastest growing company and bagged several other accolades including the Winner of the Source Innovation Award and Consumer’s Digest Best Buy Award.
Framing the right mindset
Fluidity, adaptability, and scalability are the three magic ingredients to ensure any company is propelling towards success.
Stan’s early years were a period of developing these traits along with self-exploration. In the late 1970s, he played the guitar and joined his brothers in Miami when he came off the road as a musician. A couple of years later, he ran a subsidiary distribution company with nearly 30 employees.
Later, he had the opportunity to be the most sought-after Canadian distributor of consumer electronics. Consequently, he moved places starting from Canada in 1984, and launched Fidelity Electronics Ltd. After a few years, the company formed a joint venture association with Nintendo of Canada for distribution to Canada’s national retailers.
These series of events led to Fidelity being sold to Standard Broadcasting in 1994 and Stan Samole becoming a habitual entrepreneur.
Mastering the circumstances
Challenges are opportunities that unlock success in unexpected places. But it requires perseverance and nerves of steel to navigate through these major phases of transition.
Stan’s confidence nosedived after losing most of the personal assets in an 8 year-long business investment. He had to reshape his ideologies and find a new sense of purpose and direction. Gradually, he decided to look around with fresh eyes and find opportunities for early wins and make small strides in securing them.
Finally, he regained control and drove the division of a medical distribution company. But he had a constant urge to start another business. And just then, as fate would have it, things took a different turn when his friend insisted, he undertake a personal tax review for a refund.
To Stan’s surprise, he had never heard of a 10-year tax review, let alone a possibility of refund. Also, he held nearly no assets, had limited earnings in recent years, and was convinced to let go of this idea.
However, his friend persisted, and Stan eventually gave in and agreed to undergo a tax review. “The accountant that did the review was brilliant. I didn’t have to email any information or make a photocopy of anything. The accountant found only one error after pouring over 10 years of tax returns, and he amended just that one item,” he recalls.
Three weeks later, Stan Samole received a refund check of a surprising $21,640. He then decided to meet the accountant and soon realized that conducting a 10-year personal tax review for refund purposes could be a thoughtful business idea while providing a valuable service to thousands of Canadian taxpayers.
In the wake of conducting nearly a hundred thousand tax reviews, Stan confidently estimates that about $30 billion — money that belongs to taxpayers — is safely tucked with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Leading the team to success
On one hand, a product quickly determines whether an organization will propel forward, and on the other hand, it’s the people that create a virtuous cycle of achievement and confidence.
Stan believes that Family Tax Recovery’s services and people are uniquely helpful and rightfully bridge the gap in the market. He says, “Everybody wants and needs more cash. It’s also cash that’s tax-free because it already belongs to the taxpayers.”
Additionally, to ensure the best experience, each client also has a personal digital page where information is shared and communicated. “We keep them apprised of the tax review process, status and results every step along the way. Clients also have access to our corporate partners for additional financial services,” he shares.
He is a firm believer of following an ethical process to ensure optimal client satisfaction. He thrives on making a difference in people’s lives, be it $250 or $25,000, and the response from his clients warms his heart and solidifies his resolve to keep going.
Stan also feels blessed with his amazing business partner and two sons in the business. For him, age is just a number as he started this company when he was 65, and now that he is 72, he enjoys working a few hours a day, and not 80 hours a week like in the past.
“I am also quite occupied with family, religion, and music. I meticulously watch the daily activities and am on the lookout for anomalies, errors, and slowdowns. I ask a lot of questions. I also participate with our corporate partners,” he concludes.
Discovering the perfect melody
Great leadership and music are all-consuming. Every time you hear a song, you relive a moment and bind yourself to a particular memory, feeling or person. This is something every leader aspires to do as well: to inspire and touch people’s hearts and heads; like great music does.
Stan’s life has always been guided by music that further cascaded down to his leadership style. As a curious 12-year-old, he started to pursue his journey as a professional guitarist just two years later. “I started the Jazz Guitar program at the University of Miami in 1972 and eventually performed on the road, in studios and released a number of CDs,” he recalls fondly.
In fact, he still plays the guitar and music impacts everything in his life. He delved into the topic of music theory that served him well in his business decisions too. According to him, music theory can involve complex study of scales, chords, harmony, counterpoint, and analysis of different periods like baroque and classical. It is very mathematical, and breaking down compositions is like breaking down business, parsing into pieces and enjoying the beauty and rhythm of the complete unit in a business or music composition.
Looking back at his journey, Stan has a treasure of lessons to carry and share. While his previous businesses were inventory and employee-based, Family Tax Recovery is his only establishment that is a service-based business with no inventory.
Moreover, his employee functions are either automated or farmed out. He adds, “Many entrepreneurs with high inventory and employee costs have the potential for stress, grief, worry and negative cash flow,” and this motivates him to plan better for the long-term.
Advice on right alignment
Stan’s principles reflect his business values. His advice for aspiring and emerging leaders is: Always tell the truth and learn Accounting 101.
He feels that relying on an accountant or bookkeeper to understand the numbers can dramatically increase the potential for failure. “Entrepreneurs stand a much better chance to succeed if they can understand their own balance sheet, their sources of expenses and earnings along with the financial norms, ratios, and terms,” he shares.
He further suggests working hard ruthlessly. “Work like a dog. Love it or hate it because there’s nothing in between. And if you don’t love it, then get out as soon as you can because it can get a lot worse. If you love it, it can get a lot better.”
A promising direction
Stan believes that the future of Family Tax Recovery Inc. looks fabulous, thanks to the blessings of the Lord Almighty. “So far, we’ve produced around $60 million in refunds, which isn’t even a drop in the bucket considering what’s available at the CRA,” he says.
As no other established companies are conducting a 10-year personal tax review, there’s only a fraction of competitors in the space that are ex-employees and licensees. “Frankly, most accountants aren’t even aware the government allows Canadian taxpayers 10 years to adjust their tax returns,” he comments.
He also emphasizes on the technological leverage that his firm holds. “Working manually, an accountant can conduct two or three reviews a day. But with automation that number increases dramatically,” he adds.
Stan believes that wealthier clients are highly strung about a tax review by being afraid of ‘rattling the CRA’s cage’, ending up getting audited, or worse. His firm focuses on the middle and lower-income earners that are in need and are more willing to have their taxes reviewed. “I’m pleased to say that since we started in 2015 there hasn’t been one tax audit. The reason is because we’re not filing taxes, just amending a line on previously filed taxes,” he claims.
The dynamic entrepreneur feels fortunate to have the majority of his clients as middle and lower-income earners. Since Stan’s firm conducts tax reviews on a contingency basis, it’s clear most clients wouldn’t have a chance at retrieving their funds and that’s a very satisfying deed for his firm to address and deliver.
