Building Bright Budget: Cash Flow, Taxes, and Systems for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs with George Azar

Tim Melanson: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to today’s episode of the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast. Today I’m talking to the founding member and CPA of Bright Budget, and what he does is he helps self-employed entrepreneurs to understand the US tax code, which sounds like a big job. Really so excited to be rocking out today with George Azar.

Hey George, you ready to rock?

George Azar: I am ready. Let’s do it. Thank you for having me.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. So we always start off in a good notes. Tell me a story of success that we can be inspired by.

George Azar: Yeah, so I actually, uh, started my business with the intent of. Focusing on lower and middle class individuals. And so I, I worked at some of the big firms and was looking at internally how, you know, their practices, you know, really cater to the ultra wealthy. Um, so I was really inspired during the pandemic actually to go on my own fully and really embrace the self-employment journey, um, practice what I preach, you know, to my clients.

Um, and so ever since then, I’ve actually haven’t had to market [00:01:00] at all. I ended up. Building it up my client base from word of mouth. So it’s been, it’s been really cool when, ’cause I was able to identify what, what my mission was and what I was able to, to basically accomplish.

Tim Melanson: Wow. Okay. Right on. So now along the path though, sometimes things don’t all go as planned, and I do like to talk about the good note and the bad note. So I’m wondering, can you share with me something that didn’t go as planned and how you recovered?

George Azar: Yeah, absolutely. So when I started going on my own, um, I, it kind of was a, I would say a knee-jerk reaction. I was really disenfranchised, especially during the pandemic and really seeing where a lot of resources were being, you know, pushed towards making, you know, the, the, the people who, you know, had a lot of.

Money to be able to invest in those resources. And so I ended up, you know, really, it, it kind of was really choppy for me because even though I know the landscape with, with employment, um, it was kind of a rude awakening for me. So, you know, being able to, to comply with local and state, you [00:02:00] know, regulatory bodies, I would say, you know, my specialty is really in taxation.

So, um, I thought I could do it on my own and, you know, come to realize that I had. Formed my entity. Um, you know, from a tax perspective it was advantageous, but from a legal perspective, it wasn’t the, the correct approach. Um, so I had to basically, you know, spend a lot more money than I intended to, to, to get it right, to correct it, and make sure that, so, you know, it, it was a real learning lesson and, you know.

Being reliant on other people that are experienced in other, um, uh, you know, uh, I guess specialties, if you will, um, than, than me specifically.

Tim Melanson: Okay. Okay. And so have you made any changes since then to, to avoid problems like that in the future?

George Azar: Absolutely. It’s, it’s funny now I, you know, if I feel uncomfortable about something, like if a client asked me for specific requests, like I actually have, there’s this potential client who had, you know, multiple state, they were living in multiple states in a given [00:03:00] tax tier. And, you know, old me prior to that probably would’ve been like, let’s take this on.

Let’s figure it out together. Um. But now it’s taught me to, to really know what my limitations are, um, and being able to rely on, you know, tax attorneys, business attorneys, um, just making sure that I’m not trying to quote unquote save the world, uh, without having that equipped, you know, being well equipped for it.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah, I, that’s really good. A really good point is like, part of what the niching down, you know, thing is right. When you try to figure out exactly what you do and how you help people, the more specialized you become, the, the better you are at doing that. And it also makes it a little bit easier because you know exactly who you’re searching for, right?

George Azar: Absolutely. And that’s the thing is that, you know, knowing our limitations and, and not, you know, ’cause I, I, I, you know, it could be psychological, it could be, you know, uh, expectations, anything like that. Um, but, you know, we’re better equipped to serve our clients, our, you know, our [00:04:00] friends, all of that. When we know what our limitations are as opposed to trying to take it on.

I, I’m a fiercely independent person. I’ve always been a fiercely independent person. And so it was a really humbling experience to say, actually, no, this is my limitation. Um, I’m not going to one, you know, put my client in a bad position. Two, I’m not gonna put my credentials on in jeopardy for, for having a decision that ultimately, you know, I, I wasn’t well equipped to do.

Tim Melanson: And that, that is tough. ’cause I think as, uh, many entrepreneurs probably are problem solvers and they like that challenge. Right? And so it can be very tempting to jump into something going, yeah, I don’t know how to do that yet, but I I bet you I could figure it out, right?

George Azar: Absolutely abs, there’s been multiple experiences with that, you know, and, and it actually builds goodwill with your clients when you say, look, I know my limitations, you know, they trust you more because you’re not basically, you know, stringing them along and, you know, so they, they know that [00:05:00] you, you are taking, you know, due diligence and making sure that you are taking care of them in every aspect.

Tim Melanson: Right. So now you know on the, the money side and the tax side, I’m sure you deal with cash flow and you know, all that, those kinds of conversations all the time. Can you give us some tips, some, some things that we need to know about, you know, making sure that you have a positive cash flow and keeping the hat full.

George Azar: Absolutely this one I get all the time, especially for new entrepreneurs, you know, that are trying to figure it out. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have is that. Having multiple bank accounts hurts your credit score. That’s actually not true at all. Um, you know, credit is, is basically from borrowing, you know, whether it’s a loan or it’s a credit card or anything like that.

So what I started to do, and this is before I went on my own, I would open up multiple business accounts and I would fund those accounts. So I would say, okay, my Chase account is for my rent, and so I would make sure that there was enough money. You know, it’s, it’s kind of it, it forces you into budgeting without looking at a [00:06:00] spreadsheet.

Um. My Charles Schwab account is for my utilities. My, you know, Wells Fargo account is for my fund. So you’re basically like, you know, taking whatever you have and putting that into those bank accounts and making sure that you know that they’re fully, they’re funded in order to cover those expenses. So I, I think that’s my number one go-to is, is having multiple bank accounts to help me budget better.

Tim Melanson: Wow, that’s cool. Uh, so I do that as well, but I do it with virtual accounts within the same bank. But, uh, but what you’re saying is you get an extra benefit by opening up different BA bank accounts in different banks, right? Is that what you’re saying?

George Azar: Yeah, I see that. I love that approach too because it makes it easier. Like if you needed to do a transfer, it’s instantly like I have my business account and one of my rent account with Chase. Um, and I do love that ’cause like it allows you to like funnel that it, it’s an instant deposit. The different bank mentality is, you know, it’s kind of a, a, a leave it and forget it mentality.

So [00:07:00] like if I know that like that money isn’t there, I’m not going to use it for other things. So like, if, if you have a problem with like, you know, seeing, you know, $2,000 in a bank account, okay, I want to spend that as, you know, as quickly as possible, going to different institutions helps you say, okay, I’m throwing that money in there, I’m gonna forget about it.

Um, and so it, it essentially like, you know, prevents you from, from using that money for other things.

Tim Melanson: That’s funny. So I, uh, just a, something that I’ve discovered about myself, so I tend to work harder when my bank account is lower, so, so I actually use that exact same strategy that you just said, like I’ll move money out of it immediately into other accounts, as long as that one main account is low. Then I’m hustling because I did notice once it starts to balloon right up and I’ve got a whole bunch of money in there, I’m like, ah, I’ll take a day off, whatever.

George Azar: Yeah,

Tim Melanson: So, so it’s funny.

George Azar: re

Tim Melanson: Yeah.

George Azar: I resonate with that ’cause I’m the same way too. Like if it goes below a certain amount, I’m like, okay, you’re right. Like,[00:08:00]

Tim Melanson: I gotta get to

George Azar: can I find work? Yeah.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, and using those virtual accounts is enough. I mean, you’re, you’re, you’re moving it out. It’s, it’s, it’s out, it’s in some other account and it’s not the initial one that you see when you open up your bank app. Right. And it’s, it’s just the way it works. Mm-hmm. That’s

George Azar: No, that’s.

Tim Melanson: That’s a really good, that’s a really good advice. And, and uh, and I think, um, I mean also for the budgeting reason, I think that’s a great idea as well. I mean, you have all these different accounts that have different purposes for your budget, right? So you know how much play money you have left, you know, you know how much, uh, money you, you need for your, you know, utilities and all that stuff.

I like it. It’s a great idea.

George Azar: Yeah. I would say another thing too, and this is where a lot of self-employed people, especially if you’re just starting out, you know, having an account for taxes, like my general rule is, you know, depending on whether you have state income taxes or. Like that put aside 25 to 30% of your gross income. So like, you know, you get an invoice for $10,000, like instantly put, you know, [00:09:00] 2,500 to, you know, $3,000 inside of a, a separate account for taxes.

Because the biggest thing is, you know, income taxes are what we call a progressive taxes system. It incrementally increases as your income, so. As a CPA, I’m not as concerned about the income tax. What I am concerned about is that self-employment tax, which is the Social Security Medicare, 15.3% across the board on that income.

So that’s a big one, is that, you know, I would say that should be a a, a, a separate bank account in and of itself.

Tim Melanson: Agreed. And overfunded too. Yeah. ’cause I, I’ve gotten into tax trouble. I’m in Canada actually, so our, our rules are different, but probably very similar. And, um, and, and yeah, I mean, uh, it’s just that whole thing about taxes is just something that. Doesn’t get taught. Right. And you become self-employed. All of a sudden you start making this money and you don’t really understand how much, uh, you know you’re gonna need to pay.

Because, I mean, I don’t, I mean, you’re saying you’re helping people understand tax code. [00:10:00] Man, I’ve been doing this for, you know, almost 20 years now, and I still don’t understand them Exactly. I know what I need to put aside and, and that has, you know, come from trial and error. But I, I do like that idea of just.

Just put 30%, you know, or even 35% in another account, it’s gone. And then you can treat it as a tax return. Like when you were, when you were employed, I mean, they were, they were putting money away and then you’d get a tax return at the end of the year. Why not do it the same way and then at least it sits in your account and gains a little bit of interest while it’s sitting there.

Right? Eight.

George Azar: Exactly. Exactly. And that’s the thing, like, you know, non-traditional, you know, brick and mortar banks, like, you know. Not, you know, I’m not sponsored by any of ’em, but like Goldman Sachs, American Express, they have higher interest rates because they don’t have the overhead. So, you know, you could accrue three to four, 5% on that money just sitting there in that account.

So, yeah, exactly. You’re earning, you’re earning money on that money that’s eventually going to go to the government.

Tim Melanson: Yep. Exactly. Yep. Uh, absolutely. Uh, another one [00:11:00] that I, that I did, and I’m not sure if you recommended this, but I, I, like, I have my, uh, my credit card has lots of great points on it and I like to use it, but you can get in trouble using a credit card. So I just have another virtual account where every time I spend money, my credit card, it goes directly into that virtual account.

So there’s always a, an equal number in that account, ready to pay the, the credit card off.

George Azar: I, I love that. And that’s exactly it. You know, the, the credit card points only work if you’re paying off that credit card every single month. You know, the minute. If there’s a balance that carries over to the next month, you’re accruing interest. And so essentially, you know, in most credit cards you’re getting, you know, one point for $1.

So it’s, it’s 1%. But if you’re, you have an a PY of, you know, 26%, you’ve already eaten that up in that next month. So that’s very smart, is, you know, essentially having that bank account solely for credit card and put that credit card on auto payment. So, you know, essentially it’s, it’s taken care of so you don’t forget about it.

Tim Melanson: Because it’s even worse if you like miss that [00:12:00] minimum payment even like, come on, right now you’re in real trouble. Right. And it hurts your credit score and all that other stuff, right?

George Azar: exactly, exactly. That’s where people get in trouble. You know, utilization ratio, your ability to pay like credit cards are, are the number one reason why people have dings against their credit score. So absolutely.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. So tell me a little bit about working from home. Your, your jam room, your, your space, like how do you have that set up for you?

George Azar: Yeah, it’s evolved over the years. It’s funny, um, during the, the, the pandemic, I ended up, you know, having my, my room or, or sorry, my desk in my living room, and I, it, it’s interesting, I was actually reading some studies on this, you know, they said. Don’t put your office inside of your bedroom because you want to have that, you know, that bifurcation of, you know, work and personal and, and rest and all of that.

Um, so I actually ended up reorganizing my office to having, there’s a, there’s this, you know, this awkward wall that I [00:13:00] have that, you know, I had a bookcase there and I ended up moving my desk there and it’s really nice ’cause my back is to my living room. All I see is this wall. And so I decorated the wall with, you know, inspirational stuff.

I left up some, you know, Christmas lights, you know, just make it really like homey and really fun to be at. Um, and then, you know, essentially having a, a space in your home that is separated, you’re not looking at your personal. So when you do leave that desk, you feel like you’re actually leaving work like you would at, at a W2 job.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Yeah. I think that’s important as well, and having some sort of inspiration and being excited to be there and all that stuff. Right.

George Azar: Absolutely. Like I have my credentials up. I have some artwork. Um, I’m really into astronomy, not astrology, astronomy. So I have, uh, the, the, uh, Corona, um, uh, supernova up on my wall. I have, you know, different sci-fi stuff that I love to, to, to watch. So yeah, having that inspiration really does help you get through [00:14:00] the day.

Tim Melanson: Nice man. I’m fascinated by both astronomy and astrology. I find they both are fascinating to me, but, uh, but tell me, so now, uh, let’s talk a little bit about practicing and, and you know, I mean, for you, I mean, it must be so difficult to keep up on all the changing rules as things go on. Like how do you stay sharp at what you.

George Azar: Yeah, great question. So, as A-C-P-A-I am required to do minimum educational requirements to keep my certification in good, in good standing. So that, you know, is, is kind of a barrier for me. Um, I. Uh, join a couple organizations to, they’ll send me like newsletters every time, you know, a tax code changes or something along those lines.

Um, and then essentially, you know, I’ll, I’ll dive into that. Um, you know, the other thing is software or, uh, uh, practice management software. So I have a CRM tool that really helps me, keeps, you know, I, I’ll set a deadline and it’ll notify me when that deadline’s approaching, making sure that [00:15:00] you know, my clients when they upload files that I’m getting a notification for that.

So. Having a strong CRM tool has saved me. I used to use Google Drive and I used to do a go, you know, uh, an Excel tracker, and it really didn’t motivate me like it does with like a, having a professional service, paying that extra, you know, $20 a month to, to, it’s almost like a virtual assistant of sorts because it, it allows my clients to have a portal.

It looks a lot more professional. They could pay their, I could create invoices and submit invoices in there. I can, you know, upload their tax returns, share files, and obviously, you know, I’m sharing sensitive information, so I need to make sure that it’s protected, you know, and so making sure that you’re, you’re signing up for those systems that set you up to succeed and, and make those deadlines, uh, as opposed to having your, your work scattered everywhere.

So like. It’s reduced a lot more of my efficient, you know, are giving me more time for efficiency, for analyzing and preparing tax returns by just knowing that I have a system that keeps me accountable.[00:16:00]

Tim Melanson: Right on. So which one do you use and how did you find it?

George Azar: Yeah, so I actually tested out, uh, five different ones. I was actually, there’s a lot of like, you know, there’s like Asana, there’s Monday, there’s all these, you know, general ones like, but I have a, a, a tax specific one. It’s called. Canopy and, and there’s a, there’s a couple others out there that are specifically for tax practitioners.

So, you know, signed up for the demos. I did all of the demos. I, you know, I watched it, I was able to play in the system and it really comes down to your process. And what are, what are the most. Important aspects of those, you know, those features that they provide. ’cause like, you know, Asana has really good features, but they were limited as far as like, you know, especially being a tax practitioner.

They’re, you know, sharing information, all of that. So really testing out. Those CRM options and seeing what specifically helps you. And if you have, if you’re in an industry where there is a practice management tool that is specifically catered to your industry, I would say prioritize those over, uh, the [00:17:00] others.

Um, and, and just test them out. Go through their demos and it costs nothing to do that.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, a lot of these, uh, tools do have free trials and all that stuff, and I mean, what, what I find cool about using some of these tools. Is that okay, fine. You might have a process that you’re trying to follow and all that stuff, but you also get ideas, right? Because you start to see how it’s set up and you’re like, oh, okay, so that’s how everybody else is doing it.

And you might have, you know, some good nuggets there, right?

George Azar: Exactly like there’s templates in there and you know, specifically as a tax practitioner, we have specific steps that we have to take in order, you know, we, uh, send out the engagement so they have an engagement. You know, uh, template, you know, you could modify that and it gives you that flexibility to be able to modify it specifically to your practice.

Um, and then there’s, you know, also with task management, like they have other templates in there. They’re specifically for, you know, specific types of tax returns. And so it allows you, you could do automation. So once. You know, the, the engagement is signed, it sends out an [00:18:00] email saying, Hey, here are the next steps.

Um, and it allows the client to go in there and check off their, you know, their, their steps and all of that. Like, I don’t utilize all of those services, but knowing that they’re there is awesome. Knowing that it has, it’s like a buffer for me to not let something slip through the cracks.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. So let’s talk a little bit about, I’m wondering do you like outside of your, your, your business practices, do you have any like personal practices, like any routines that keep you motivated or anything like that?

George Azar: Yeah. To be honest, I haven’t been great with that. Um, one of the things I’ve been, yeah, it’s, uh, I’m starting to get back into it, like, you know, stretching in the morning. Grabbing my cup of coffee, taking my dog out, you know, for a walk, um, leaving my phone behind. Um, you know, one of the things in the last several months I’ve been, you know, uh, I guess, you know, chronically on social media, and so, you know, I.

I, I go to therapy and, you know, talk to my therapist about best practices and, you know, so I’ll leave my [00:19:00] phone behind. I’ll spend the first hour, or at least try to spend the first hour, you know, waking up and being present and just making sure that, you know, I’m mentally preparing for the day as opposed to where I used to just come, you know, wake up, walk my dog, come in, sit at my desk, and then start answering emails like it just.

It, my energy levels were starting to dip. So having that hour to really take care of yourself, that’s the beauty of being self-employed is that, you know, our calendar is, is we could, we could do that for ourselves. So I block off two hours during the lunchtime to do a workout, I’ll workout from home. And so just making sure that you’re taking care of yourself.

’cause it is hard, especially when you’re self-employed, you know, you’re not reporting to anyone. But your clients. And so having those boundaries and having, you know, making sure that, like, I won’t answer an email unless I’m in busy season after 6:00 PM uh, because it sets a precedent for my clients that if I respond at nine o’clock at night, that they [00:20:00] expect me every time that I’m gonna respond to that time.

So just making sure that you have, you know, those, those boundaries in place that you’re taking care of your personal life, um, so you can dedicate that time to your, your work life.

Tim Melanson: I love that. And now. Just outta curiosity now, how, how do you feel that the clients respond to those types of boundaries? Do you think they’re upset or do you think that they, like what? What do you think?

George Azar: Yeah, initially, ’cause I, when I first started, I would be responding all the time. And so what I did was actually, I. I bought another line on my, my cell phone plan and bought another phone and dedicated it only to business. And so, you know, and then I would update my hours and I would put in my, my signature line that look, these, you know, this is my time that I respond and all of that.

And at first, you know, because I had set that precedent that, you know, I’m available 24 7. There were a couple clients that were annoyed by it. Uh, but as I started to like. Really enforce that [00:21:00] and, and protect my boundaries. People started to really, you know, adapt to adapt to that. Because that’s the thing, like, we set the tone.

If, if we’re, you know, constantly doing that, you know, they, they do expect us to respond. Um, but you know, there’s, you know, there’s a handful of clients, I have monthly clients that I have, you know, that I’ll respond to more, you know, outside of those boundaries. That’s only reserved for those monthly clients.

And so yeah, it’s really, you set the tone and the client eventually will, and, and that’s the thing too. Look, if you’re gonna lose a client that is, is not respecting your boundaries, that probably is a client that you don’t need to work with.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. And I mean, uh, you know, now, especially if it’s, if it’s by email, I mean, you can always set the email to be sent in the morning. Like, because, I mean, there are times maybe you just are feeling inspired to work at 7:00 PM or whatever. It is, and you, like you say, you don’t wanna send that email out right then, because now they’re gonna expect it [00:22:00] every, every time.

But you could just set it to send it the morning at 8:00 AM or whatever it is, and go to bed, right?

George Azar: exactly, exactly. Like in my signature line, especially during the busy season, I put a, I put a note, as I say, I say, you know, please note that during busy season, I don’t respond as quickly as I normally do. Thank you. You know? Thank you for your understanding. Not like, you know, giving permission, but saying this is what, what the boundary is.

Tim Melanson: Right on. So George, it’s time for your guest solo. So tell me what’s exciting your business right now.

George Azar: Yeah, it’s, it’s really interesting. I’ve, the, the more so I started off my practice in, in doing tax preparation and over the years I’ve been getting more into education. Um, I started teaching part-time temporary at a local university. And really, like, I, I’ve. Over the last five, six years, I’ve discovered that like my passion is really in education.

So I ended up, uh, starting Bright Budget a couple years ago. I actually wrote the script for the [00:23:00] self-employment 1 0 1 course back during COVID. Um, and thankfully because of my practice, I was able to have the resources to be able to build this course out. Um, but yeah, what’s really exciting right now is that I’ve gotten to a point where I, again, I don’t.

Advertise I, it’s all word of mouth. I’ve had to turn down people. So I’m in a position now where that I could really like pivot myself away from the stuff that I don’t necessarily find much passion in and pursue my passion of teaching and guiding people and giving them the tools to be able to do that.

So that, I would say in the last couple of years that’s really been exciting for me is that I’m diving into these educational opportunities.

Tim Melanson: Right on. Cool. So then how do people find you?

George Azar: Yeah, so my website is bright budget.com. I’m on, uh, Instagram and TikTok. Uh, my TikTok candle is Bright Budget on Instagram, it’s Bright Budget Media. Um, and then, yeah, I have opportunities where people can book, uh, a 15 minute free [00:24:00] consultation to see if we’re good to, you know, work together. Again, like I’m not taking on tax preparation.

I’m take it on more consulting and educational, uh, side of things.

Tim Melanson: So what type of person would get the most outta working with you then?

George Azar: I would say anybody who is considers themselves self-employed, that includes freelancers, contractors, um, whether they’ve been in the game for, you know, several decades or they’re just starting out, um, you know, it, it really is anybody who, who’s in the United States that considers themselves a self-employed individual, that that’s really my niche.

Tim Melanson: Okay. Right on. And I do recommend that people do reach up to somebody who’s got a little bit of a experience if you’re first getting started. ’cause I mean. The tax bills, especially if you’re making a lot of money. I think that’s the, that’s the, the issue I came into was on the years that I had exceptionally well, especially early on, didn’t know how much I was gonna need to pay tax.

Right. And that’s, I mean, it’s an odd problem, right. [00:25:00] But my best years were my worst ones when it came to not being prepared properly. And that might be surprising to people I think. Right.

George Azar: Absolutely. And a lot of times, you know, uh, people get information just from social media and, you know, there’s con there’s a lot of information and, you know, it’s, it’s important to realize that, you know, people who are creating content on social media do have a monetary, uh, incentive. And so, you know, I often get.

You know, tiktoks or Instagram reels from clients that say, Hey, can we do this with our taxes? And then I have to explain it, you know, like, no, yes and no. Like, these are very specific. So there’s a lot of information out there, but it’s, it’s a whole other thing to get good information. And it’s specifically for your situation.

That’s the thing. It’s it taxes is not a one size fits all. Where like one person may benefit from an S corporation, another person might because of how their businesses are structured.

Tim Melanson: Yes. And that’s, and that’s what you hear a lot of too, is that every situation is [00:26:00] somewhat different. And so, yeah, you’re right. I mean, you, when you, when you see a, a TikTok and go, oh yeah, that this looks awesome. You try to implement in your business, it’s not gonna work. Uh, and sometimes it will. I, but, but I mean, that’s, that’s the benefit of having someone like you, that you can fire off that TikTok and see what happens, right?

George Azar: Absolutely. Like, and that’s the thing like, you know, SCORP, I became an SCORP specialist because of people who got information from TikTok, either to create an S corporation or not to do one. So it’s like, you know, exactly like, it, it’s always good to have a professional, like look at your specific situation, um, and not just, you know, one size fit takes a, take a one size fits all approach.

Tim Melanson: Right on. Okay, last question. Let’s get into the music a little bit. So tell me who’s your favorite rock star?

George Azar: Oh my gosh. It’s, it’s vacillated, so I, it used to be Taylor Swift. Now it’s, um, I, I, I love, um, Sabrina Carpenter. I’m, I’m more of a pop person. Yeah.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Right on. That’s awesome. [00:27:00] Yeah, my, my band, we, we’ve got two new, uh, Taylor Swift songs that we’re adding for this weekend’s gig. We is quite excited about it.

George Azar: Oh, nice.

Tim Melanson: yeah, just from her, from her new album. We’re gonna do, we’re gonna do, uh, uh, the Fable, Ophelia, and Alite.

George Azar: Oh my gosh. Those are so good.

Oh my gosh. I wanna hear,

Tim Melanson: Yeah.

George Azar: are you record them?

Tim Melanson: I don’t know. Uh, well, I won’t be recording it myself ’cause I’ll be on stage, but, uh, I’ll, I’ll see what happens. Maybe someone will record it for us. But,

George Azar: I would love to hear ’em.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I’m excited for those ones. Uh, we’ve got a really great singer in, in the band, and, uh, so we, we just played those on Monday at the practice and they went so well, so I’m

George Azar: I love that.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, we try to do like the newest, the new stuff too, so, and sometimes the, it can be quite difficult to do, like the production is different now than it was in the sixties. Right. But, um, but, but some of them translate pretty good. Yeah.

George Azar: Covers are amazing. I love covers. I love an artist. Just like take other artists stuff [00:28:00] and reimagine it or you know, different genre, different vibe. It’s, it’s amazing.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Right on. Well, thank you so much, George for Rocking Help me today. This has been a lot of fun.

George Azar: Thank you so much for having me. It’s been amazing.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. And to the listeners, make sure you go to workathomerockstar.com for more information. We’ll see you next time on the Work At Home Rockstar Podcast.