Dec. 2, 2024
That Solo Life Episode 277: Quick Things to Check Off Before the Year Ends
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That Solo Life, Episode 277: Quick Things to Check Off Before the Year EndsIn This Episode
In this episode of That Solo Life , Karen Swim, APR and Michelle Kane discuss a few simple tasks that solo business owners need to consider as the year comes to a close.
The co-hosts kick off the discussion with information about the Corporate Transparency Act and the necessity for business owners to complete their BOI filing. Karen emphasizes the ease of the process, sharing her own experience and encouraging listeners not to overlook this important legal requirement. Karen and Michelle also touch on the significance of health insurance during this time of year, urging our audience to consult with insurance brokers to find better plans that suit their needs and potentially save them money.
Transitioning into broader industry discussions, they address the noticeable decline in viewership for major news outlets and the cultural shift towards mental self-care. The co-hosts explore how this trend impacts PR professionals and the challenges they face in reaching audiences who are increasingly disengaged from traditional media. Karen highlights the need for creativity and agility in our communication strategies, suggesting that we look beyond conventional methods to connect with our clients and their audiences.
In the episode, Michelle and Karen also discuss the importance of community building in our marketing efforts. With people feeling more isolated than ever, they emphasize the value of creating spaces for connection and engagement. Whether through local events or user groups, listeners are encouraged to think about how they can foster community.
The episode wraps up with a reminder of the actionable steps you can take before the year ends, including completing your BOI filing and securing appropriate health insurance. Listeners are invited to share their thoughts and ideas for future topics, reinforcing the sense of community within the solo PR profession.
Join us for this insightful conversation as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in 2025 and beyond. Don't forget to check out Solo PR Pro for more resources and support in your solo journey!
Episode Timeline00:00:00 - Introduction to That Solo Life Podcast Join Michelle Kane and Karen Swim as they kick off the episode, discussing the countdown to the end of the year.
00:01:00 - Corporate Transparency Act and BOI Filing A discussion on the importance of the BOI filing under the Corporate Transparency Act and tips for completing it efficiently.
00:03:30 - Health Insurance Tips for Solopreneurs Karen shares insights on the benefits of working with an insurance broker to find better health insurance plans.
00:06:30 - The Impact of News Consumption on PR Exploration of the decline in news viewership and its implications for PR professionals in reaching audiences.
00:09:30 - Challenges in Media Engagement Discussion on the difficulties of engaging audiences who are tuning out traditional media sources.
00:12:00 - Creative Approaches to Storytelling The importance of storytelling in PR and how to connect with audiences on a personal level.
00:15:00 - Building Community and Engagement Strategies for creating community connections and engaging customers beyond traditional marketing methods.
00:17:30 - Conclusion and Call to Action Wrapping up the episode with reminders for listeners to complete their BOI filing and health insurance tasks, and encouraging community engagement.
Resources:
- Beneficial Ownership Information - Online quiz and filing
- Health Care information for the self-employed: Healthcare.gov
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Please leave a review here - even a sentence helps. Share and tag us (@SoloPR, @SoloPRPro) on social media so that we can thank you personally! Your support helps us keep bringing you insightful content every week. Thank you for tuning in!
That Solo Life, Episode 277: Quick Things to Check Off Before the Year Ends
Michelle Kane [00:11]-[00:25]: Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you?
Karen Swim, APR [00:25]-[00:30]: Hello, Michelle. I'm doing well. Thank you. How are you?
Michelle Kane [00:30]-[00:33]: Doing well. Doing well. We're all living the dream, right?
Karen Swim, APR [00:35]-[00:44]: We are counting down. I think there's like 36 more days left in this year as we record this broadcast.
Michelle Kane [00:44]-[01:43]: Yeah, that sounds about right. I tell you, yeah, you know, this will probably air in December, perhaps as we kick off December. But yeah, it feels like November was like. It just flew by. I don't know. Yeah. Time is flying, but you know, there's a lot going on. So today we're going to take a tiny peek back, but also look forward to things that are happening. And one of the things that are happening is your business filing. If you have not done the BOI filing yet. Do it. It's the Corporate Transparency Act. It's basically telling the government and FinCEN that, yes, I am who I say I am, as if they shouldn't already know that, but whatever, but we'll play along. But I know it's something that a lot of us who own our own businesses, it's kind of flown under the radar, this requirement. But apparently there's a hefty fine if you don't do it, so.
Karen Swim, APR [01:45]-[03:34]: Yeah, it's interesting because again, I've heard about it since the beginning of the year and some of our solos posted about it. I first heard about it and learned through Hiscox insurance company. They sent out an email and they included the information. So I read about it. Of course, I didn't do it immediately, but I have done it. But I do agree with PR professionals who have said, the government's done a terrible job about making this information known to the many, many, many small business owners and business owners that are out there. Accountants have told their clients, but some are just hearing about it at the 11th hour. So please know that you do not have to pay your accountant to file this paperwork. If you use payroll processors, many of them will offer to do it for a small fee. You do not need to pay anyone to file this. You simply go online and we will have the link again in our show notes. and you fill out this online application, within about five minutes, you'll get an email confirmation that it was submitted. I actually then got my, “you're all clear, you're done” within about half an hour. So everything happened on the same day. And it takes about five minutes to fill out. It's no big deal. It's just you're registering your name, and your address and the, you know, who has ownership. And I believe you put in your EIN, maybe, or something, I think, I believe. I can't remember. But it was super-duper short. So you don't need to pay for it to be done.
Michelle Kane [03:34]-[03:41]: I'll know when I do it. It's on the list, along with renewing my health insurance and checking my Pennsylvania power switch energy rate. Oh,
Karen Swim, APR [03:44]-[05:20]: Health insurance, that's a good one to talk about because it's that time of year. Here's a quick tip for everybody who's not already doing this. Please do yourself a favor and meet with an insurance broker.I want to back up. If you buy insurance directly from an insurer or you buy it through the marketplace, those plans are not underwritten. Because they're not underwritten, they're lumping you in with everyone who has health issues. That means the premiums are so much higher. If you go through an insurance broker, they're going to try to get you plans that are better suited to you. And particularly if you don't have any underlying health issues and you're relatively healthy, that means you're getting an underwritten plan and your rates are going to be hugely different. So you can save a lot of money just by taking that extra step, working with an insurance broker. They don't even have to be in the same state as you. You can meet with them via video call or telephone. Give them some basic information and have them look for some programs for you. I promise you it will be well worth your time. And that old saying, knowledge is power. This is a number of those instances. Because you can save. For me, switching from buying direct from an insurer to going through a broker, wait for it, saved me $400 a month.
Michelle Kane [05:25]-[06:22]: Nice. Wow. That's a lot of money. Yeah, and yeah, and you know what and and it is tempting right because last year again, I felt rushed and I just said Okay, fine, and I went through the marketplace. The Pennsylvania marketplace is called Pennie and I'm like, all right fine. I found out though at tax time that my tax bill was higher than I thought it should be. Well, because you're subsidized and you're subsidized perhaps more than you should be, right? So that comes calling when you file your federal taxes. So be aware of that as well as you're making choices. If you can afford to pay a little more for your premiums, then at the end of your tax year, you won't be like me. Going, uh oh.. I forgot to think about that because as solos, we tend to think about ourselves as much as we can.
Karen Swim, APR [06:22]-[07:01]: These are very important things that you need to do before the end of the year and they're both really quick. It's not going to take you a lot of time. So don't push it to the bottom of that list that gets shoved into a corner until January. Just do it. Take a few minutes and do it today because one gets you legally compliant and saves you money because you don't get fined. The second one will save you money going into the new year. And I think that that should be the theme for all of us. You know, what ways can I cut unnecessary expenses and add to my revenues.
Michelle Kane [07:01]-[08:40]: Agree. Agree. So switching gears a little bit. Has anyone been watching the news lately? Because it sounds like a lot of us have given up watching the news. But seriously, I'm sure many of us have taken a bit of a break at the 24-hour churn. And it's showing up in ratings. Many of the cable news megastations have seen serious drop off in viewership. And I think part of that is it is interesting to see the shift into we're all like shifting into mental self-care mode, which I think is smart. But it's not exactly, I don't think, an entirely new phenomenon. I think could it be as a culture that we are tired of the 24-hour churn and the drama, the incessant drama being thrown at you where everything is breaking news when it's really not? And just the idea of having enough time pass with all of that because, I don't know, for me, I would tune in because I'm thinking, yeah, this is going to help me be productive and a better citizen, blah, blah, blah. And then you realize it really doesn't. It really doesn't. But how does that impact us as PR pros as we try to tell the stories of our clients? And I know we've talked about this a lot before, right? Of, well, we need to look at different avenues anyway because the earned media road has been increasingly challenging. Am I crazy?
Karen Swim, APR [08:40]-[10:07]: You are not. It's a crisis for us in so many ways. It's big money media. And I do believe that there's a huge difference between big money media and independent journalism. The popularity is declining. And our audiences are going other places. And it used to be so easy. Remember the old days where a morning show was a huge win. But who's watching the morning shows anymore? Even the broadcast stations are decreasing salaries of those big personalities on morning shows because they realize, and this kind of happened when the scandals happened a few years ago, that when your program is done because of a big personality leaving, but then you come out the other side and you're like, huh? actually didn't hurt us at all. Then you start at, well, why are we spending all of this money when we don't have to? Which has, you know, we're going to just continue to see more shakeups. We're going to see more billionaires wanting to own media companies because it gives them a platform. But from our crisis, I think the real thing is how do you reach people that are tuned into nothing? Right.
Michelle Kane [10:07]-[11:54]: That's, wow. That's a good one. I think I'm speechless. But yeah, I mean, that that really is our challenge, because we do have a great segment of society that doesn't pay attention to the news, whether they know it's just gonna mess with their head or they're just, there's the mistrust, right? And there's so many reasons why they don't go to the usual suspects anymore. And I think it does make me think of one of my dearest friends who had made her career in experiential marketing. And I think maybe that's perhaps more of the way, right? Going out to people, giving them opportunities to have a little fun or engage in a way. Of course, this depends on your client work, right? That's not gonna be for everyone. But I do think, and I'll tease one of our upcoming guests, we have Lisa Berger coming back, Gerber coming back. Storytelling, what's your story? Everyone has a story. And that comes down to businesses too, of what you do, how you help people, how you serve people. And I think in this place that we're in, I think that is where you are going to engage most deeply. First of all, gaining trust and engaging on a personal level. That doesn't mean you're going one-on-one to every person, but you need to engage at points of commonality, common need, common sense of what's good and what can be helpful. And that's often not really, it's not
Karen Swim, APR [11:56]-[14:49]: Sometimes it's just not easy, but it's true. We've exhausted social as well. People are turning away from Meta properties because they don't like the tie to billionaires and they don't like the way that information could potentially be shared and the protections around it. So people are looking at alternative sources. So again, how do you reach people that are tuned into nothing? And I think we as communicators really have to start to get a little more creative again and not rely on the try and true. So we know that the trade media still exists, although they've undergone a shift to many have gone to paid formats because you have to survive. But we forget about, you know, it's interesting, I don't know about in your town, but we have like this little local free paper that comes to our mailbox and people read that thing from cover to cover because they want to know like, oh, when's the Christmas lighting and when's the, you know, the dog luau at the park and what's going on. So, you know, don't forget about local markets. And when you have national clients, you can have campaigns that target local markets where they have a huge demographic. Because we do, we think, you know, if we have a local client, then we think about local markets, but we don't think about that for national. Think about alternative media sources, you know, think about, dig deeper for stories that can cross across industries. So for example, you may be a tech company, but perhaps there's a tie in to a sports theme. And you could, you know, pitch a sports publication. So I think that we just have to use AI to be more efficient so that you have more time to think and to brainstorm and start to think beyond the old tools because we're going to have to really be agile and we have to be really creative. You know, another idea is to bring your audience to you. We don't talk, I think, enough to our current customers, and we don't really give them the tools to talk to other people. You know, we send emails about sales or new features, but we're not really engaging them. What about, you know, bringing in your, you know, trying the Harley Davidson approach and bringing your best customers or, you know, opening up customer events? What, you know, if you're a B2B, do you have customer councils? Are you using that as a tool for marketing? So we do have to think differently. These are all things that we all know. But we've been busy doing what works. But what used to work is not going to work in the new.
Michelle Kane [14:49]-[15:48]: Now, but that is something you touched on creating community. I think creating community will always work. It's just how do we do it? When social media came about it was really hot. That was a great way to do it and then they over monetized it and now we're done with it. But people still want to gather. I think even more they definitely want to gather so if you have, you know something of a common interest, I mean look I have a car dealer client. They have a car show every year and you would think of course Well, no, not of course. It's not a given that people are gonna come but they do, because they love things on wheels. And of course, we have a charity angle to it. And they love doing good and spending time together in their community. So think of the different, you know, industries that you deal with. And there's, trust me, I would say in most, if not all industries, there's a way. There is a way.
Karen Swim, APR [15:49]-[17:58]: I love that and I think you said something, I read something recently about how Snapchat has been, how they've taken their whole concept to go into community building. Here's the one thing that we all know, regardless of what industries you serve and who your audiences are, people are lonely. We do know that, we have statistics to back that up and that loneliness has been increasing year after year. So when you provide people a way to connect, when you are the connection point, you're solving a problem that's happening to society that is also working for the better good of your clients. So think about more than just selling them something and more than just telling your story, but think about how we can use our platform to broaden that community, to bring people together with shared interests? Sometimes it's even through creating a user group like the banks. I've gotten a slew of invitations to join panels, to become part of a community that helps to drive new features and products. So there's polls and prizes for that. But really, the banks that are doing it well are pushing, interact with people. You get to do your profile, talk to people, because if you're all interested in doing something for this bank, and being a part of a panel and having a say in what works and what doesn't work, maybe you have other interests that you can share. And it seems really silly and it's stuff again that we've been doing for years, but I think the stakes are different today and we have to really start to pull more things out of our toolbox and think about even the older tactics. How can we make them more relevant? What more can we do with them? What can we change and tweak a little bit to make this even more effective in 2025?
Michelle Kane [18:00]-[18:39]: Agree. What a great note to end on. So we hope, so don't forget, listeners, you've got your things to do, your BOI filing. Make sure you get good health insurance. And let's start to think toward 2025 with open minds and just keep doing the good work that we all do. And we hope if you've got value out of this, you will share it with your friends. Because solo PR pro is a wonderful community. So check us out on solo PR pro calm because it is a great place to be. Let us know what you want to hear from us. We'd love to dig in on a topic idea from you and until next time. Thanks for listening to “That Solo Life.”
Michelle Kane [00:11]-[00:25]: Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Kane with Voice Matters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you?
Karen Swim, APR [00:25]-[00:30]: Hello, Michelle. I'm doing well. Thank you. How are you?
Michelle Kane [00:30]-[00:33]: Doing well. Doing well. We're all living the dream, right?
Karen Swim, APR [00:35]-[00:44]: We are counting down. I think there's like 36 more days left in this year as we record this broadcast.
Michelle Kane [00:44]-[01:43]: Yeah, that sounds about right. I tell you, yeah, you know, this will probably air in December, perhaps as we kick off December. But yeah, it feels like November was like. It just flew by. I don't know. Yeah. Time is flying, but you know, there's a lot going on. So today we're going to take a tiny peek back, but also look forward to things that are happening. And one of the things that are happening is your business filing. If you have not done the BOI filing yet. Do it. It's the Corporate Transparency Act. It's basically telling the government and FinCEN that, yes, I am who I say I am, as if they shouldn't already know that, but whatever, but we'll play along. But I know it's something that a lot of us who own our own businesses, it's kind of flown under the radar, this requirement. But apparently there's a hefty fine if you don't do it, so.
Karen Swim, APR [01:45]-[03:34]: Yeah, it's interesting because again, I've heard about it since the beginning of the year and some of our solos posted about it. I first heard about it and learned through Hiscox insurance company. They sent out an email and they included the information. So I read about it. Of course, I didn't do it immediately, but I have done it. But I do agree with PR professionals who have said, the government's done a terrible job about making this information known to the many, many, many small business owners and business owners that are out there. Accountants have told their clients, but some are just hearing about it at the 11th hour. So please know that you do not have to pay your accountant to file this paperwork. If you use payroll processors, many of them will offer to do it for a small fee. You do not need to pay anyone to file this. You simply go online and we will have the link again in our show notes. and you fill out this online application, within about five minutes, you'll get an email confirmation that it was submitted. I actually then got my, “you're all clear, you're done” within about half an hour. So everything happened on the same day. And it takes about five minutes to fill out. It's no big deal. It's just you're registering your name, and your address and the, you know, who has ownership. And I believe you put in your EIN, maybe, or something, I think, I believe. I can't remember. But it was super-duper short. So you don't need to pay for it to be done.
Michelle Kane [03:34]-[03:41]: I'll know when I do it. It's on the list, along with renewing my health insurance and checking my Pennsylvania power switch energy rate. Oh,
Karen Swim, APR [03:44]-[05:20]: Health insurance, that's a good one to talk about because it's that time of year. Here's a quick tip for everybody who's not already doing this. Please do yourself a favor and meet with an insurance broker.I want to back up. If you buy insurance directly from an insurer or you buy it through the marketplace, those plans are not underwritten. Because they're not underwritten, they're lumping you in with everyone who has health issues. That means the premiums are so much higher. If you go through an insurance broker, they're going to try to get you plans that are better suited to you. And particularly if you don't have any underlying health issues and you're relatively healthy, that means you're getting an underwritten plan and your rates are going to be hugely different. So you can save a lot of money just by taking that extra step, working with an insurance broker. They don't even have to be in the same state as you. You can meet with them via video call or telephone. Give them some basic information and have them look for some programs for you. I promise you it will be well worth your time. And that old saying, knowledge is power. This is a number of those instances. Because you can save. For me, switching from buying direct from an insurer to going through a broker, wait for it, saved me $400 a month.
Michelle Kane [05:25]-[06:22]: Nice. Wow. That's a lot of money. Yeah, and yeah, and you know what and and it is tempting right because last year again, I felt rushed and I just said Okay, fine, and I went through the marketplace. The Pennsylvania marketplace is called Pennie and I'm like, all right fine. I found out though at tax time that my tax bill was higher than I thought it should be. Well, because you're subsidized and you're subsidized perhaps more than you should be, right? So that comes calling when you file your federal taxes. So be aware of that as well as you're making choices. If you can afford to pay a little more for your premiums, then at the end of your tax year, you won't be like me. Going, uh oh.. I forgot to think about that because as solos, we tend to think about ourselves as much as we can.
Karen Swim, APR [06:22]-[07:01]: These are very important things that you need to do before the end of the year and they're both really quick. It's not going to take you a lot of time. So don't push it to the bottom of that list that gets shoved into a corner until January. Just do it. Take a few minutes and do it today because one gets you legally compliant and saves you money because you don't get fined. The second one will save you money going into the new year. And I think that that should be the theme for all of us. You know, what ways can I cut unnecessary expenses and add to my revenues.
Michelle Kane [07:01]-[08:40]: Agree. Agree. So switching gears a little bit. Has anyone been watching the news lately? Because it sounds like a lot of us have given up watching the news. But seriously, I'm sure many of us have taken a bit of a break at the 24-hour churn. And it's showing up in ratings. Many of the cable news megastations have seen serious drop off in viewership. And I think part of that is it is interesting to see the shift into we're all like shifting into mental self-care mode, which I think is smart. But it's not exactly, I don't think, an entirely new phenomenon. I think could it be as a culture that we are tired of the 24-hour churn and the drama, the incessant drama being thrown at you where everything is breaking news when it's really not? And just the idea of having enough time pass with all of that because, I don't know, for me, I would tune in because I'm thinking, yeah, this is going to help me be productive and a better citizen, blah, blah, blah. And then you realize it really doesn't. It really doesn't. But how does that impact us as PR pros as we try to tell the stories of our clients? And I know we've talked about this a lot before, right? Of, well, we need to look at different avenues anyway because the earned media road has been increasingly challenging. Am I crazy?
Karen Swim, APR [08:40]-[10:07]: You are not. It's a crisis for us in so many ways. It's big money media. And I do believe that there's a huge difference between big money media and independent journalism. The popularity is declining. And our audiences are going other places. And it used to be so easy. Remember the old days where a morning show was a huge win. But who's watching the morning shows anymore? Even the broadcast stations are decreasing salaries of those big personalities on morning shows because they realize, and this kind of happened when the scandals happened a few years ago, that when your program is done because of a big personality leaving, but then you come out the other side and you're like, huh? actually didn't hurt us at all. Then you start at, well, why are we spending all of this money when we don't have to? Which has, you know, we're going to just continue to see more shakeups. We're going to see more billionaires wanting to own media companies because it gives them a platform. But from our crisis, I think the real thing is how do you reach people that are tuned into nothing? Right.
Michelle Kane [10:07]-[11:54]: That's, wow. That's a good one. I think I'm speechless. But yeah, I mean, that that really is our challenge, because we do have a great segment of society that doesn't pay attention to the news, whether they know it's just gonna mess with their head or they're just, there's the mistrust, right? And there's so many reasons why they don't go to the usual suspects anymore. And I think it does make me think of one of my dearest friends who had made her career in experiential marketing. And I think maybe that's perhaps more of the way, right? Going out to people, giving them opportunities to have a little fun or engage in a way. Of course, this depends on your client work, right? That's not gonna be for everyone. But I do think, and I'll tease one of our upcoming guests, we have Lisa Berger coming back, Gerber coming back. Storytelling, what's your story? Everyone has a story. And that comes down to businesses too, of what you do, how you help people, how you serve people. And I think in this place that we're in, I think that is where you are going to engage most deeply. First of all, gaining trust and engaging on a personal level. That doesn't mean you're going one-on-one to every person, but you need to engage at points of commonality, common need, common sense of what's good and what can be helpful. And that's often not really, it's not
Karen Swim, APR [11:56]-[14:49]: Sometimes it's just not easy, but it's true. We've exhausted social as well. People are turning away from Meta properties because they don't like the tie to billionaires and they don't like the way that information could potentially be shared and the protections around it. So people are looking at alternative sources. So again, how do you reach people that are tuned into nothing? And I think we as communicators really have to start to get a little more creative again and not rely on the try and true. So we know that the trade media still exists, although they've undergone a shift to many have gone to paid formats because you have to survive. But we forget about, you know, it's interesting, I don't know about in your town, but we have like this little local free paper that comes to our mailbox and people read that thing from cover to cover because they want to know like, oh, when's the Christmas lighting and when's the, you know, the dog luau at the park and what's going on. So, you know, don't forget about local markets. And when you have national clients, you can have campaigns that target local markets where they have a huge demographic. Because we do, we think, you know, if we have a local client, then we think about local markets, but we don't think about that for national. Think about alternative media sources, you know, think about, dig deeper for stories that can cross across industries. So for example, you may be a tech company, but perhaps there's a tie in to a sports theme. And you could, you know, pitch a sports publication. So I think that we just have to use AI to be more efficient so that you have more time to think and to brainstorm and start to think beyond the old tools because we're going to have to really be agile and we have to be really creative. You know, another idea is to bring your audience to you. We don't talk, I think, enough to our current customers, and we don't really give them the tools to talk to other people. You know, we send emails about sales or new features, but we're not really engaging them. What about, you know, bringing in your, you know, trying the Harley Davidson approach and bringing your best customers or, you know, opening up customer events? What, you know, if you're a B2B, do you have customer councils? Are you using that as a tool for marketing? So we do have to think differently. These are all things that we all know. But we've been busy doing what works. But what used to work is not going to work in the new.
Michelle Kane [14:49]-[15:48]: Now, but that is something you touched on creating community. I think creating community will always work. It's just how do we do it? When social media came about it was really hot. That was a great way to do it and then they over monetized it and now we're done with it. But people still want to gather. I think even more they definitely want to gather so if you have, you know something of a common interest, I mean look I have a car dealer client. They have a car show every year and you would think of course Well, no, not of course. It's not a given that people are gonna come but they do, because they love things on wheels. And of course, we have a charity angle to it. And they love doing good and spending time together in their community. So think of the different, you know, industries that you deal with. And there's, trust me, I would say in most, if not all industries, there's a way. There is a way.
Karen Swim, APR [15:49]-[17:58]: I love that and I think you said something, I read something recently about how Snapchat has been, how they've taken their whole concept to go into community building. Here's the one thing that we all know, regardless of what industries you serve and who your audiences are, people are lonely. We do know that, we have statistics to back that up and that loneliness has been increasing year after year. So when you provide people a way to connect, when you are the connection point, you're solving a problem that's happening to society that is also working for the better good of your clients. So think about more than just selling them something and more than just telling your story, but think about how we can use our platform to broaden that community, to bring people together with shared interests? Sometimes it's even through creating a user group like the banks. I've gotten a slew of invitations to join panels, to become part of a community that helps to drive new features and products. So there's polls and prizes for that. But really, the banks that are doing it well are pushing, interact with people. You get to do your profile, talk to people, because if you're all interested in doing something for this bank, and being a part of a panel and having a say in what works and what doesn't work, maybe you have other interests that you can share. And it seems really silly and it's stuff again that we've been doing for years, but I think the stakes are different today and we have to really start to pull more things out of our toolbox and think about even the older tactics. How can we make them more relevant? What more can we do with them? What can we change and tweak a little bit to make this even more effective in 2025?
Michelle Kane [18:00]-[18:39]: Agree. What a great note to end on. So we hope, so don't forget, listeners, you've got your things to do, your BOI filing. Make sure you get good health insurance. And let's start to think toward 2025 with open minds and just keep doing the good work that we all do. And we hope if you've got value out of this, you will share it with your friends. Because solo PR pro is a wonderful community. So check us out on solo PR pro calm because it is a great place to be. Let us know what you want to hear from us. We'd love to dig in on a topic idea from you and until next time. Thanks for listening to “That Solo Life.”