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Key Considerations Regarding Money Purchase and Profit Sharing Plans
By Guy McPhail
Today, more than 60 percent of small business owners don’t offer any retirement plan for their employees and 47 percent are unsure about how they plan to handle their own retirement, according to a survey by Harris Interactive for ShareBuilder, an online brokerage company. Planning on working until you drop or relying solely on the sale of a business is a dangerous tactic. ...
Tax Tips for Small Business Owners
By Mollie Neal
It’s tax season again, and nobody wants to shell out more than their fair share to the government or miss an opportunity to boost the amount of their return. Unfortunately, many small business owners fail to take advantage of provisions that could result in substantial tax savings...
Is Mezzanine Financing Good For Your Business?
By Gary M. Stern
T2Systems, an Indianapolis, IN-based software company that specializes in parking management systems, wasn’t a prime candidate for a $3 million bank loan. ...
Year-End Investment Strategies
By Guy McPhail
Have you analyzed your portfolio to get a view of your 2007 gains and losses? This is an important task that you should pencil in on your annual financial to-do list every December. If you have gains for the year in your investment portfolio, you should seriously consider the tactic of “tax loss harvesting.”...
Retirement Plan Options For The Self-Employed: Solo 401(k)s vs. SEPs
By Guy McPhail
Experts estimate that Americans will need 60 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement income to maintain their current standard of living when they stop working. If you are the sole owner of a small business...
Knowing Your Credit Score Can Pay Off
By Gary M. Stern
Scott Walker launched Digital Golf, an interactive instructional website, in 2004. Like many small business owners, he relied on personal credit during the early stages of his operation...
Small Business Feels the Credit Crunch
By John Arensmeyer
The news is filled with stories about the sub-prime mortgage debacle and its effects on our economy and on overextended home buyers...
Defined Benefit Plans Offer Numerous Perks
By Guy McPhail
Most small business owners would like to reward steadfast employees by offering a retirement plan as a benefit. And, of course, they are interested in socking away money to fund their own future financial independence...
In my last column I introduced the strategy of budgeting for profit by starting a profits account for your business that should be funded monthly. As I noted, the key to making sure that planning for profits pays off...
Planning For Profit
Guy McPhail
If you are like many small business owners you find that some years are profitable and others are profitless. Have you been able to determine the reason for the disparity between profit and loss? ...
Is Venture Capital Right for Your Business?
Gary M. Stern
NTERA was developing several patents for its display technology for appliances that changes colors. The owners believed it had real promise but they were spending more money than they were earning and needed funding to turn the technology into marketable products. ...
Angel Investors Finance Small Businesses
By Gary M. Stern
The banks rejected your loan application because your business didn’t show three years of growth. Venture capitalists won’t return your call because your revenue hasn’t hit $20 million a year. And yet you need an injection of capital to grow your business...
Conserve Your Energy… and Money
By John Arensmeyer
Government policymakers are attempting to help small businesses become eco-friendly. ...
YOUR FINANCES
By Guy McPhail
A common question I get from our small business owner clients is whether they should buy or lease equipment. There is not a simple, one-size-fits-all answer to this question because there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration...
Your Money: Adding an Equity Partner, Part II
By Guy McPhail
(In the first installment of this two-part series, Financial Advisor Guy McPhail laid out the reasons for bringing in a new equity partner or putting employees on a path to equity participation. In the second installment, he provides a step-by-step guideline on how to do this correctly.)...
Your Money: How to Add An Equity Partner
By Guy McPhail
Recruiting a new partner can accelerate your company’s growth and help you achieve financial security—if you do it correctly....
YOUR FINANCES
By Guy McPhail
Take Advantage of a Vanishing Tax Break...
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