G-mail and business

A hundred years ago,  when I started this business, I met with an entrepreneur who told me in no uncertain terms to lose the Hotmail e-mail address. If I wanted to be treated as a professional I should present myself as a professional.  Like I said, it was a hundred...
Republican individual taxes proposal

Republican individual taxes proposal

According to Kiplinger the Republicans are starting to position themselves for the “goring of the bulls” tax plan that I was informed would occur for 2017.   Kiplinger is attempting to present this as a positive, but if the details that were shared with me...
Republican business taxes proposal

Republican business taxes proposal

According to Kiplinger the Republicans are starting to position themselves for the “goring of the bulls” tax plan that I was informed would occur for 2017.   The plan that Kiplinger lays out would have C-Corporations pay tax at a flat 20% rate, down from the 35%...
Start-up mistakes

Start-up mistakes

I was having a chat with a banker who was rolling his eyes when we were talking about some start-ups that were looking for loans and lines of credit. Now he is an aggressive banker who is always looking for new clients and enjoys assisting clients get those loans and...

Madoff concerns

Typically people use a single financial advisor.  For most people the use of a financial advisor is recommended, let alone multiple advisors.  I also don’t mean a husband and wife team as two advisors.  I mean a financial professional from whom some guidance can be...

Plan your time

I have written about being busy versus being productive.  In my mind the way to make sure that your time is productive instead of being busy is to plan.   Do you plan out your year, with a budget, projection or cash flow?  Do you set your goals and measurable and...

What keeps you up at night?

I was attending a presentation by a financial advisor and the question was asked what keeps you up at night, or better yet what wakes you up in that cold sweat in the dead of night with the tightening grip of fear in your chest.   Where are running short of...

Dumb phone revolution

Is there a dumb phone revolution in the making?  I have been hearing more and more about people wanting to unplug from the system and giving up the smart phones for plain generic old flip phones.   With the computer revolution switch by some industries away from...

Buy a job, buy a business

I was having lunch with a client the other week and he mentioned that he wanted to buy a business within the next 5 years.  I found this to be an intriguing thought because it was suggested to me by another client earlier in the year to buy a business for one of my...
Death

Death

Death has an immediate impact in more ways than most think.  I wrote that a friend and client passed away recently.  Beyond the immediate impact on his family or on me personally.   I think the biggest impact was on the company he worked at.  He was the sole IT...

The Top 1% High Net Worth Advisor Team

As I was discussing over lunch with a financial advisor; there are times when clients have special needs or requests.   Beyond the fact that all clients have their preference on how they interact with us, or the similarities of the requests.  Our wealthier...
Profits

Profits

In my continuing quest to learn the answer, to the question how can I further assist my clients better, I stumbled over these statistics. They seem odd to me.  Seemingly 22.7% of the profits realized in the US come from the financial services industry, I am including...
Mileage

Mileage

Surprise the IRS and the courts are sticklers on allowing business mileage write-offs. In a recent case a taxpayer used his personal auto in his business of marketing petroleum properties.   For some activities, he kept a meticulous log with the exact miles...

Insider Problems

In another case an insider trader does not get a tax write-off for the forfeiture of  his profits.   A former executive was convicted of insider trading and sentenced to jail. He was also forced to return the stock sale gains that were derived from his crime, the...

Qualified Plan Audits

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of Qualified Plan audits?  Uncle is looking for large participant loans are a key examination issue.   During an audit, the IRS checks how plans handle loans, such as the time they allow for repayment and what happens upon...

E-Commerce and Sales taxes

At this moment e-commerce sales are not now subject to sales tax collection for small out of state vendors.   The basis for this is a Supreme Court decision that shields out-of-state sellers with no physical presence in the buyer’s home state from having to...

Surviving market changes

How would you alter your business model if your main source of income was now illegal?  You state it could never happen?  Well remember prohibition? It may not be a real option that it could not happen, but are nimble enough to switch gears and stay in business?...

Reasons for estate planning

I was introduced to a unique way looking at rationale for estate planning.  The advisor quoted that there are only four reasons people typically do estate planning. Predators – sons and daughters in law, keep the cash away from them Outlive wealth – do not wish to run...

Beneficiary change forms

When I am meeting with clients to do their tax planning for the next year, one of the items that I ask about is how up to date their estate planning documents are.   It is surprising who has their done and who does not.  If you do not have valid or up to date...

Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)

This is becoming a growing topic of concern.  I have been to two presentations where the accuracy calculations have been stressed.  If you are working with a financial advisor they should be well informed on the rules and regulations.   How the funds are titiled...

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