The book, by the way, very bacchal it took me. Look,
I've been wanting the names or what have you. So while as going on
on the other shie, the insurance industry, independent insurance industry was undergoing a
really difficult time. You were listening to Carrie Letz's Financial Survival Network, where
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Survival Network now more than ever. And welcome you are listening to watching the
Financial Survival Network. I'm your host, Carrie Lutts. Well, hey got
interesting guest on now. As he says, most people's worst nightmare is a
problem with the IRS and the bank. Jim and Massillo, our guest had
both coming after him for tens of millions of dollars. He's widely known.
Jim, you are widely known as the founder of insurance giant SIAA and that's
Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance. Thanks for coming on. So after having banks in
the IRS come after you and publishing a book about it called screw you.
That's screw like the screw and you just the letter you writing the book,
go what do you learn from all your travails with banking and with the irs?
Well, well, thanks for having me on number one. It wasn't
a pleasant experience. But just let me let me set the parameters on the
book very briefly. It's really then I'll go into the data. But the
battles with the banks are going on simultaneously, were with my work on creating
SIAA, which is the natural program. What had happened. We did a
lot of building offices, residential whatever analogy as a side parting. And the
banks, the beds changed the tax code. It took several years to catch
up with us, but they changed it. They changed you couldn't take where
you could take losses before you had can work that appreciation. So instead of
taking a loss in the year that's occurred, now you've got to go seven
years, five years. I don't know what happened to be. So suddenly
the banks and the banks in New Hampshire they are five and the Resolution Trust,
which people all remember, they came in one day, took overall and
they have brought the big banks who didn't care anything about New Hampshire or businesses
or what have you. They just wrecking the commons. So one day I
started getting um these letters demand demanding you know, loan balance of performing loan
balance, um, and there was no way out. Thanks didn't care about
anything you want before. Fortunately for me, I've always said very solid counting
and tax advice. And my person at the type WI steal this way.
Um. You know, he just said, I don't know how you're going
to do this, but you're insolvent, so young insolvent, you can fall
bankers. A couple of things I'm going to add. One is a moment
bankers too. If I'm insolved, I can beat the hell out of these
banks because they can't get anything. So it sets up a perfect negotiation by
uh. And you know it was. It was the book, by the
way, very factual. It took me a long time. I didn't want
any names or what happing. So while ask going on on the other shy.
The insurance industry, the independent insurance industry was undergoing a really difficult time
and arvan act we call it hard market insurance companies more an appointing new agents
raising their rates significantly low in condissions and become very selective, wanting to play
just a very large regional urban type. So let it set up a perfect
situation, because I thought, we're even doing it in New Wayland's as a
matter of picking it up and taking it out on a broader geographic basis,
which is what we did very successfully. So I get the banks chasing me,
I arrested. Is the story under itself and lovell rely that and it's
the good and the bad, the positive and negative at all coming together one
time. It was very interesting time for me, I tell you. So
down the road we marched, and fortunately I was able to negotiate for the
banks. Having done that, we just tell them to go to house.
You're you what it's all in the book. You know there's no mystery bankers.
You know you have a tendency to always name an institution like that or
you know that bank. Well, there's people, and as the FEDS game
in more prominence, these people started displaying their competence. So I can't tell
you it was fun, because it wasn't fun, but they were satisfying moments
when I meet the banks one on one and I restricted the time that they
could contact me that they had real call the court, and by the time
we get the court, we were able to get the bank and agree position
relative. I didn't you know that? That's generally the essence of the books,
so you get parallel stories that really were occurring at some time. All
right, So how long did this fight go on? For? Three?
Two years? Pretty intense two years? Okay, he must have spent a
lot in legal for you. Huh. Now, now you're going in the
right direction. I had a former congressman who was an attorney with a close
friend who I had done some things for prior years him, I'll write my
own communications and I'll be able directly with the banks' bo it's going to have
you or whatever. Um. And I did that, and you know it
was it was pretty strong. I mean I could be in two chords in
the same day, one lend of look people a couple million dollars, another
Lendon looking another out. It was done. As I reflect on it,
you know, fortunately, good advice. You can't put a dollar side because
the good advice early on I see yeah and uh and and also attorney for
attorney they staid, and you need to put your operating businesses into the irredicable
price or your FAMILYM well, four year that's when all this happened. You
can't get out. My core businesses were going by you, growing them and
lead banks and the irs just to become a battle right probably of that?
Yeah? Interesting? Interesting? So what about the IRS? What how did
you deal with them? How did you beat them? Well, they came,
okay, Ellen, I don't meet people one on one. It's just
not my style. And so I had my my lead castle and my league
gain them powers of attorney to people. The I arrest and a drive.
Yeah, her sister meeting, he said, no, go to hell.
You know I've got but it's an authority with my representatives. One of the
members of that accounting firm had been an IRS manager. He called me one
day he said, look, Jim, I know that this isn't anything you
want to do, but I think it could be bad. Social said,
so can we meet? We meet in your office in your corfence room.
Will limit who can be there, and you can meet this first. And
I, at first, I said I need to think about it. Said
okay, fine. Person walks in the dancer RS manager and it was a
she and she came up to me and we shook hands, and she said,
and mister mass say hello, I can't tell you he's dime to meet
you, not thinking that back in my head and you're a million that all
this pleased to meet me. So she said, you know, I have
to tell you, I am so crazy that you would do this for mean
man. This is an IRS agent. You don't know whether they're going.
You are in phoenix, and it's should she said, phoenix. I mean
that registered. You know in other ways. You may have problems now,
but you're going to come back. And when you come back, I'm gonna
be here with my hand. That's what the phoenix is. If during the
course of the meeting, this person said, well, have you considered filing
chapter seven? Finally, chapter seven. I didn't cause the problem. I
will, you know, I'll make these problems go away all the time.
But I'm not filing chapter seven. He said, well, that's pretty remarkable,
but if you did, I'm half of your that of what you all
would disappear. Now the person and we see the gap him I mentioned before
about went under the paper pages. You've never seen a film, yeah,
said, you don't have to pay me yeah, in fact, that just
doesn't happen. So um, she said, well would you she said,
I, whatever you tell me, I'm taking your words, and I know
I know you. So she said, would you agree to four hundred dollars
a month? There's a million? Five? Okay, one hundred dollars a
month or ten years and then I think it's going to give me ten years
to you know a little away. But ten he has paid or four hundred
dollars paid the high arrest dollars a month. You the math room, you
know it's uh eight thousand dollars. Yeah. So now we had about about
six months to go, and my councilor hes all right. At one point
he's probably like his office chapter payment when it's due. Jared revenue Way and
Cory and they came back said there is no battle, and uh called me.
I don't know what's going on. He says, but hi, resident,
you owe them anything? Yea for you have pinions? You Well,
that's certainly the anything. Well are you going and darroling? What happens if
you do a deal with the irs? You owe them money? They have
to both the process. It's called eighteen at you you individually and also what
they brought up skips, so they they never updated by statue. So at
the end of ten years, been paying forty eight thousand dollars, still old
them like about a million and four. They went away, Wow, and
that's like the irs that country western music song, uh saying take me off
your mailing list to the irs? Right, Well, it was, it
was interesting, and they are kind of an overly zealous agent working on us,
you know, to a point where I basically told him going to dowla
one bother than me. Yeah right, you can't tell travel refer you.
Is the end of that, all right. So, so what you learned
from all this? Damn lucky. Better to be lucky than smart. Uh
well, you know people use that word luck a lot when you're doing enough
stuff about that dumb blocks awhere. Yeah, well, you know what Thomas
Edison said, what some people call luck, I call overall and uh hard
work, right, that's what it is. Hard work. Enery's luck for
sure. So people starting out now in similar businesses or in any business,
what would you tell a young entrepreneur premire a vantage point experience? You know
it, this isn't this is a little bit pob I have to elaborate.
I'm never starting. I had my agency and I wanted to grow it.
Warps in small state, but you know where I was located at fifty my
alessil elevation, that market and experience and so you know, my agency is
doing very well. It was a bad time for insurance agencies and companies,
yet my reputation was strong and repossible business and our companies I asked them to
do something. They did it because the few organizations and I never started it
to cash out. I never started it. That's never my goal period because
I think that that then takes you off course. Last year, lucky h
doesn't, I don't know, you know, I started selling life insurance.
Uh. I worked seven weeks for PPG as bricklay Glass out of college manaking
trainee. This is a woman long too. I pittually left that one morning
again I had cat back, So you know, so I started selling life
insurance. As they stole life insurance out the opportunities one advice and well I
wouldn't fall into them because an opportunities, it's just it is that an opportunity
you can only you know, utilize it you any places. But I got
very successful and yeah, you know, if you start trying to starting,
I lost to be the type of you can get your get your personality and
relationship building. That is the Harry what uh you know ball and just persist
uh that And it appened. It's just a it's really hard to tell because
what I did is kind of ACU. I went against the green on most
stop and I loved it because the football situation, I never considered it difficult
forty years and I'm like Escort in the middle of maybe different called the lives
goodness and I would buy I can't tell you that the just stare at that
pot. Yeah, not saying here about what can you do? Get me
going? All right, Chance, It's been great having you on the show.
We'll have a link in the show notes to your book Screw You,
available on Amazon. If you've got a question her James or myself, shoot
me an email platcarry Lutz dot com and you'll find the link of the show
notes of the interview on Financial Survival Network dot com. And while you're there,
please please sign up and get your free newsletter. James wish you the
best of luck on the book and we'll talk to you again. Thank you.
Carry Thanks for listening to Carrie Lutz's Financial Survival Network, your solution to
today's trying times. For the latest, go to Financial Survival Network dot com.
Financial Survival Network now more than ever,