Soto Law Group - June 2021

Soto Law Group - June 2021

Soto’s Chronicles

June 2021

DeDe Soto

Protecting your most valuable asset — your family

FROM THE DESK OF DeDe Soto I hope you are as excited as I am that things are starting to open back up! As we slowly begin our new normal what is the first “to do” item on your list? What will your daily routine look like? Are there certain things you will continue to do that you learned from the pandemic? I suppose there will be life prior to pandemic and life after pandemic? I was able to travel to North Carolina for an estate planning event in May, and it was really wonderful to be at a live event and actually see people in person! Although, flying across country and wearing a mask for the entire flight was a bit tough, I felt comfortable and safe. As we ease back into our normal, remember to protect yourself and stay healthy. Of course, remember to protect yourself from your family having to deal with the probate court system, while you are alive and at your passing. But as always, if you need any assistance at all, we are here to walk you through the process.

Back to Basics Work ON Your Business — Not IN It!

Why did you become an entrepreneur? Really think about this beyond the circumstances that led you to where you are today. Many business leaders ascend into entrepreneurship because of family lineage, while others see a problem and aim to fix it. But that’s not really why you become an entrepreneur. You’re a business owner because you thrive on building something great. You’re a creator who’s passionate about elevating to that next level. That takes guts, and in order to succeed in business, you have to care about it enough to really dig into the monotony of it all. You have to care about quarterly sales numbers and the response rate you get from marketing campaigns. The minutiae of owning a business has to excite you, even if it can feel exhausting or overwhelming at times. When you’re focused on your business, you’re poised to grow. That old saying, “Work ON your business, not IN your business,” is the best-kept secret to success that most early entrepreneurs need hard lessons to learn, and it’s often a tried-and-true method of successful longtime business owners. But the pandemic changed everything. Business owners were forced to get in the trenches and once again do the work they normally hire employees to do. Because of the unprecedented nature of 2020, more business owners found themselves working in their business rather than on it.

Stay safe and healthy,

Until next time, Many Blessing,

For more information, visit our website at www.TheSotoLawGroup.com

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something? ( Pro Tip : Use the third and final action on this list to discover which systems are no longer serving your business.)

It’s difficult to climb out of a rut, but you won’t be sustainable if you are having to process orders, solve client issues, or make service calls on a regular basis. You have to trust your employees to stabilize the foundation of your business so you can work on progressively elevating it. I recently read an article by Dennis Hammer, who highlighted this idea in three easily digestible steps for Medium in his article “Work On Your Business, Not In It.” As Hammer explains, you have to figure out how to eliminate, automate, and delegate so your focus is on your business growth, not the monotony of tasks you have hired your employees to do. Eliminate: Be honest with yourself. Ideas, systems, processes, and other components of your company that no longer suit its growth need to be cut out. Remove these immediately and focus on the next two actions for the pieces you don’t eliminate. Automate: There are software programs that can do a lot of work for you, but you may not be using these programs as effectively as you could be. In what ways could you improve your use of your CRM or marketing management tool? Furthermore, look at your systems as a whole. What steps in the process could be condensed or eliminated? Is there an easier way to do

Delegate: Stop doing it all. Find employees who can manage some of the many, many tasks on your list. For example, you don’t have to craft social media posts, blog posts, or other marketing campaigns. Instead, hire or recruit someone to manage that for you and utilize your skills somewhere else. Working ON your business is a powerful method that has created many successful entrepreneurs. Don’t forget this vital piece of advice as we transition into our post-pandemic world.

A Fresh Cup of … Water in the Morning?

TIPS FOR DRINKING YOUR DAILY LIMIT

enough water to begin with, odds are good that when you go to bed, you haven’t had your daily intake.

In general, you should be drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. Morning is the perfect time to start that process. One trick is to fill a water bottle each night (bonus points for ice!) and leave it by your bed. That way, when you wake up thirsty at night, you don’t have to go anywhere — and your first few glasses of the day are right there as well. You may be tempted to reach for other beverages throughout the day to keep hydration up. But the reality is that most of your water intake should just be water. If you really need some extra kick to stay hydrated, you can try club soda or sparkling water, which can be purchased cheaply at any grocery store. It’s also important to remember not all water is created equally. Packaged water is an option for people who don’t have access to good drinking water at home, as are in-fridge filters, on-sink filters, or jug filters. You want the water to taste as good as possible to increase your odds of drinking enough. So, what are you waiting for? Fill a glass today and change tomorrow for the better.

The human body needs water. We are , in fact, 60% water, so we require replenishment on a daily basis! And first thing in the morning, when you haven’t had any water for at least eight hours, it’s important to start rehydrating as effectively as possible. So, before you go for that cup of joe, go for a glass of water. You might even end up skipping the coffee. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, dehydration may be a part of why we feel groggy and disoriented in the morning in the first place. Mild dehydration has been linked to lower brain function in general, with a wide range of effects on our cognition and performance. Can all that really happen overnight? Yes and no. By itself, an eight-hour period isn’t usually enough to cause mild dehydration. But coupled with the fact that most Americans aren’t drinking

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AN EXPERT’S RECOMMENDATIONS! 4 Kitchen Gadgets That Work a couple of pulls to finely dice your veggies into a delicious salsa. Formosa especially loved how compact it is for storage. Coco Jack Eating coconut can be a healthy treat, but it might be intimidating for most home cooks — how are you supposed to open it? Enter the Coco Jack. It requires some force, but it’s much easier and less dangerous than using a knife, especially a dull knife. Just align the circular tool on your coconut and slam with a hammer to create a hole. Chef’n Strawberry Huller Let’s say you want to remove the pithy center and leaves of a strawberry to create a whipped cream-filled strawberry. Why? Well, why not? This strawberry huller tool is easy to use and highly effective for dessert makers or anyone who wants to make attractive and creative strawberry treats. ICU Egg Topper and Cracker Do you want to present a soft-boiled egg to your guests in an aesthetically pleasing way? With just a pull of a handle and release, this tool cracks the top of the egg so cleanly that you can lift it in one piece with your hand! Then, add your toppings and serve. Kitchen gadgets are best when they help us make our food preparation just a little easier and fancier, and these definitely get the job done. We hope you love these as much as we do!

A great kitchen gadget (like a food processor) should save you time and effort. But not all kitchen gadgets deliver that, especially for people who suffer from dexterity problems or arthritis. Thanks to kitchen product design expert Dan Formosa (his past designs include many OXO products), here are a few gadgets he’s tested and loves — and will definitely make anyone’s life a lot easier. ZYLISS Easy Pull Food Chopper and Manual Food Processor Hate the noise of traditional processors? This manual food processor works like a charm: Put food in its 26-ounce container, close the lid, and pull the cord with its easy-to-hold handle (which connects to a blade inside the container). Voila! Your food is chopped. It only takes Take a Break!

Grilled Chicken Shawarma

Inspired by FeastingAtHome.com

A spice-filled marinade and time do all the work in this recipe that features Middle Eastern flavors.

Ingredients • 2 tbsp ground cumin • 2 tbsp ground coriander • 2 tsp kosher salt • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper • 2 tsp turmeric • 1 tsp ground ginger

3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Grill thighs for 10–12 minutes on each side, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 F. 4. Serve with rice, vegetables, or pita bread with tzatziki. • 1 tsp ground black pepper • 2 tsp allspice • 8 garlic cloves, minced • 6 tbsp olive oil • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Directions 1. To create marinade, whisk all spices with the garlic and olive oil in a medium bowl. 2. Add chicken to the bowl, coat well with marinade, cover, and let sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes — or up to 48 hours. Strain off excess marinade before cooking.

Adventure Camping Father Gemini

Hiking Juneteenth Park Picnic

Pride Sandals Sunburn Swimming

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The Soto Law Group 1101 Dove Street Suite 200 Newport Beach, CA 92660

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of DeDe PAGE 1 Don’t Work IN Your Business; Work ON It PAGE 1 A Nice Cup of Water in the Morning? PAGE 2 4 Kitchen Gadgets — Expert Recommended PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Grilled Chicken Shawarma PAGE 3 Have You Explored a National Forest? PAGE 4

While parking and day-use fees to access national forests tend to be relatively modest, fee-free days open up the opportunity to all visitors. The U.S. Forest Service has a great interactive map tool that prospective park-goers can use to learn more about the forests in their area, amenities and activities, and accessibility. Visit FS.fed.us/ivm to access the map and see what’s near your hometown!

Many people in the U.S. and across the world have a national park trip on their travel bucket list. While Zion, Yellowstone, and the Great Smoky Mountains are all awesome locales, outdoor enthusiasts often overlook a resource that is less busy, less expensive, and usually right in their backyard: national forests. All but 10 states have a national forest (or more than one!), so if your home state doesn’t have one, it’s very likely a neighboring state does! And there’s no better time to hike, bike, forage for mushrooms or berries, or camp at a nearby national forest than this month. The tree-filled landscape will provide shade and help you beat the summer heat, and to further incentivize visitors, the U.S. Forest Service (the organization that oversees the national forests) is offering a fee-free day on Saturday, June 12, in honor of National Get Outdoors Day! Explore a National Forest for Free On National Get Outdoors Day

If you’re dreaming up travel plans beyond your state’s border, consider visiting these notable U.S. national forests.

• El Yunque National Forest: Located in Puerto Rico, El Yunque is the only tropical rainforest in the United States.

• Tongass National Forest: Spanning 16.7 acres and several islands across Southeast Alaska, the Tongass is the country’s largest national forest. • Salmon-Challis National Forest: This Idaho forest is the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 and contains the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. • Cibola National Forest and Grassland: Spread across north-central New Mexico, west Texas, and Oklahoma, this forest and grassland area is notable for its diverse ecosystems and wildlife. The Sky Islands portion of the park is also home to over 200 rare plant and animal species.

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