by Leif Jensen | Jun 27, 2018 | General |
When I have someone coming in explaining that they want to start a business, I like to meet the prospective entrepreneur along with their spouse. If I am lucky and they both come in, when I am asking questions of the would be entrepreneur I am looking at the spouses...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 26, 2018 | General |
Does your business have a value statement? Should your business have a one? The broad definition is: A declaration that informs the customers and staff of a business about the firm’s top priorities and what its core beliefs are. Companies often use a value...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 25, 2018 | General |
I was meeting with a client and they brought up the ZTE problem. Their take on the issue was slightly different from the news. They believe that any and all information and data from an ZTE device was collected and is now in the possession of the Chinese government....
by Leif Jensen | Jun 20, 2018 | General |
Have you thought of having your IRA lend money to your father? If so know that this is a prohibited transaction. In 2013, a woman attempted to roll over her IRA assets into a new retirement account (probably a self-directed IRA). The assets of the IRA consisted of...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 19, 2018 | General |
I have a client that was looking to the outside for their first non-family member for their C-Suite. I had a small part of the process during the interview process; it was interesting seeing the process from my viewpoint. I challenged the applicants on their require...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 18, 2018 | General |
In 2018 loans to small businesses backed by the SBA have risen 4% this year and are on pace to beat the tally from 2017. Personally I am not a fan of the SBA, the costs are huge and they are designed to protect the banks not the borrowers. The SBA’s flagship loan...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 13, 2018 | General |
I was having lunch with a banker and they were telling me about the problems they were having with a nameless client. It seems that their client works in a perceived specialized field; it’s actually not, its retail with a small educational component. So they were...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 12, 2018 | General |
Do you know how active is that “actively managed” mutual fund you’re invested in? Probably not, and yes that is typically a rhetorical question. But in the not too distant future you should have a clearer picture for many funds. Large asset managers, including T....
by Leif Jensen | Jun 11, 2018 | General |
When I am working with my client’s and I let them know that they are in the top 10% of the country they typically are aghast. The threshold for the top 10% of earners is just over $138,000. That could easily be a married couple both making $70,000, with a mortgage,...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 6, 2018 | General |
Size does matter to some. There are those who become entrepreneurs to be world class, the best of the best, leaving all others in the dust. Then there are those who want to basically create a job for themselves to cover their bills and provide for their families. ...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 5, 2018 | General |
I am approached by financial advisors regularly; they are prowling only for high net worth clients. Now every high net worth client that I have, has at least one financial advisor and a few have a couple. Some even run their own investment accounts as well. Now,...
by Leif Jensen | Jun 4, 2018 | General |
Europe rolled out costly privacy regulations in May, with strict privacy and security mandates for sites collecting personal data and big fines for violations. Other countries are also looking to tighten privacy rules and forcing more online censorship. In spite of...
by Leif Jensen | May 30, 2018 | General |
I meet an investor that only believed in investing in real estate only around colleges and universities. He knew that with these locations he would always have people interested in renting his properties. This made all the sense in the world to me so to see an article...
by Leif Jensen | May 29, 2018 | General |
Hardware and/or software, who will be the winners and who will be the losers of the Internet of Things (IOT)? For the internet of things to work there will need to be specialized chips loaded into everything. Those chips will need software to be written to make the...
by Leif Jensen | May 28, 2018 | General |
I recently found myself underwater on my office. The prices fell sharply during the “Great Recession”, then all open units were sold at discounted prices, led by me buying the neighboring unit. But now no one is looking to leave. So the prices are deflated on...
by Leif Jensen | May 23, 2018 | General |
Have you been watching? Online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and so on are both helping and hurting specific brands. Is you brand one of these that is being impaired? If so are you ready to take control of your brand online? There are known brands that are losing...
by Leif Jensen | May 22, 2018 | General |
We as a firm believe that we are dedicated by professional responsibility to assist our clients achieve better results for their customers and be more profitable. We learned early on that our product was not to sell time, but rather our skill and knowledge. Creating...
by Leif Jensen | May 21, 2018 | General |
If you want to start a business but don’t know where to start, don’t worry…you are not alone. This is not a unique situation. We have had appointments were we have discouraged would be business owners from getting started, others have great ideas and...
by Leif Jensen | May 16, 2018 | General |
We live in litigious times. It’s just an unfortunate fact of life, especially in Illinois. So we need to arm ourselves with the basics of doing business legally and ethically, so you can avoid the headaches later. That along with our insurance company is why we...
by Leif Jensen | May 15, 2018 | General |
Social media is necessary to branding, building and growing your business. But alas contrary to popular belief social media not free. It requires the investment of time. I am currently spending a Sunday morning working on multiple posts. But with some technical...
