When it comes to owning your own business, don’t forget that building a company from scratch isn’t your only option. In fact, buying an existing business and making it your own is often a much more efficient, economical, and prudent way to fulfill your entrepreneurial dreams. Given that roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day, and this trend will continue until 2029, when the generation’s youngest members reach Read More

There’s nothing like a major change in the economic climate to make you rethink your day job. “Business as usual” currently means a large element of uncertainty about what the future holds for your working life. Whether you've lost your job, had your hours cut, or have seen these things happen to people you know, your feeling of security has likely taken a hit. And, maybe that can be a good thing, something that Read More

COVID 19 has complicated most things that have to do with business, and that includes the rules about granting sick leave to employees. You may already know about the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), but what you may not have heard is that on April 1st of this year, the federal government enacted another temporary rule just for COVID-19: The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  While there are Read More

With the risks still posed by COVID-19, we all need to face the possibility that we could get sick, even if we take great care of ourselves through good nutrition, sleep, and exercise. And even if you don’t need to be hospitalized, if you do experience symptoms and test positive, you might have to stay quarantined for enough time that you’d lose income. These risks highlight the need for everyone, regardless of their Read More

When there’s a blow to your business, especially an unprecedented world event like the pandemic we are living through, you might feel paralyzed and unable to make a move. But when problems crop up, you as a business owner can’t afford to freeze. Or fight, or flee, for that matter. Freeze, fight, and flee are the three most common responses to trauma, and they are reactive states that can sneak up on us before we even Read More

The pandemic is causing us to consider a lot of things that we may not have before, even if maybe we should have. It brings to mind something a colleague of mine shared recently. One unremarkable weekend, she left her small children with a babysitter and headed out to enjoy dinner at a restaurant with her husband. But as she sat there, a thought crept into her head that she couldn’t let go. What would happen to Read More

Exiting your business isn’t a decision to be made lightly. It may have been something you were considering before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, or it could have been something that you’ve had to reckon with because of shelter-in-place orders. Maybe your business had already been struggling, and you’ve had to come to terms with your financial struggles due to long-term closures and loss of revenue. Or perhaps you want to Read More

Now that many business owners are starting to see Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) approvals and funds hit their bank accounts, you may be wondering how to ensure the loan is forgiven and what the tax consequences will be. We’ve got some of your answers. First of all, let’s talk taxes. Last week, some business owners were surprised to find out that payments for payroll, and other expenses paid using PPP money, Read More

In a previous article, we shared steps to understanding your parents’ estate planning and the nature of their assets, as well as how to ensure you’re not left with a mess when something happens to them. Today, we want to focus on one of the major risks of not being “in the know” when it comes to your parents’ estate planning matters: the undue influence of bad actors.  It’s an unfortunate fact that Read More

As we’ve "flattened the curve” of COVID-19 infection here in the United States, some states like Alaska, Georgia, and Minnesota, have started to slowly reopen the doors of non-essential businesses. Some have been eager to do so, others have been very opposed, but still others are on the fence. The exponential growth of the virus throughout the country seems to have slowed or leveled off in some places, but the threat Read More