Route 422 Business Advisor

From the Editor's desk at Route 422 Business Advisor — Relevant news and information of interest to business owners and operators along the Route 422, Route 100 and Route 30 corridors in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Please visit www.422bizmag.com

 

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Should you payoff debt or save more for the future?

The answer is “it depends.” It depends on your goals, income, expenses, stage of life, the interest rate on your debt, the term of the debt, the return you are receiving on your cash in the bank, the return you are receiving from your long term investments and other various factors. Consider that the best case scenario is doing both in order to get ahead financially.

Many Applications for “Chatbot” Automated Assistants

Hureka has built a new app for restaurant owners. Talking with Roopak, I hear the excitement in his voice when we discuss the new chatbot. From many conversations we’ve learned the average restaurant owner is having a tough go of it — miniscule margins, high rent, staff retention, spoilage and numerous challenges to keep the customer engaged and to encourage repeat customers. The new restaurant app can solve these issues. Consider it an automated service executive, with zero downtime which takes milliseconds to answer customer queries.

Starting a Business, What You Need to Consider

If you’re thinking of starting a business, congratulations, as this can be one of the most rewarding experiences you could ever have. However, to have a successful business there are several factors to seriously consider before taking that first step.

You should consider a team of professionals to help your business get started on the right foot.  A good accountant and lawyer are critical in the beginning. 

Here are a few initiatives that you want to get right… from the start.

TAX & ESTATE PLANNING Charitable & Gifting Strategies

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017 preserved tax benefits associated

with charitable giving to qualified charities. Common charitable organizations include:

❏ Religious - church or other affiliations

❏ Charitable - hospitals, Alzheimer's association, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, etc..

❏ Education - private high school, college or university

❏ Scientific - medical research, such as the Cancer Research Institute, etc..

❏ Veterans - Wounded Warrior Project, Hope for the Warriors, etc..

What is Sequence of Return Risk?

Greg Koch's picture

Submitted by Greg Koch Wed, 08/29/2018 - 23:10

Sequence of returns risk can affect your long-term income the most in your early-retirement years. That is the timespan just before and right after you retire. You may have heard of that period called the “retirement red zone,” or generally the 10-year spread prior to and after retirement.

Thinking About Owning or Growing a Business?

Owning or growing a business is certainly challenging. The level of responsibility on the business owner is tremendous, increasing as the business grows. Availability and accessibility are key and absolute critical elements in growth. Hiring employees to help diffuse the pressure by means of delegation brings on its own new set of challenges and difficulties.

How Machine Learning Can Improve Small Business Operations?

One way is real time advertising.  Ads served up on Facebook or the same ad showing up on the next website you visit… because of your search behavior moments ago.

Hurekatek.com recently listed five ways to use chatbots for marketing to assist any business regardless of size. Customer support, digital assistant, research assistant, marketing automation and email marketing were covered because of published research indicating the need for all businesses, large and small, to take some form of action to employ at least one of the methods named.

Retain Clients — Grow Your Business

How much time and money do you spend trying to get new customers? How much time and money do you spend keeping your existing customers? Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds was quoted as saying “It is much more profitable to sell multiple products to one customer than to sell just one product to many customers.”

What is a 1035 Exchange?

Greg Koch's picture

Submitted by Greg Koch Mon, 08/06/2018 - 11:45

Do you have a current annuity or insurance policy that doesn’t fit your needs? If you are on the lookout for a new policy, a 1035 exchange may be a good option for you.

How a 1035 Exchange Works

Do you have a Roth IRA? Should you have a Roth IRA?

Greg Koch's picture

Submitted by Greg Koch Wed, 02/07/2018 - 11:55

The Roth IRA is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. It started January 1st 1998.

The Roth IRA is growing stronger than ever. You may be already reaping the tax benefits of owning your own Roth IRA or, did you hesitate to open one?

Here are 20 ROTH IRA Facts you need to know:

SEO vs. PPC

Assuming you have a website, your 24/7, three-hundred-and-sixty-five day per year online brochure is up and running. The question is what now?

This article will attempt to educate the reader on the advantages and disadvantages of Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Both will require a monthly investment, in either time, effort and the pocketbook.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Why Mobile Marketing Needs to be Part of Your Digital Marketing Strategy

The hype and fanfare surrounding the recent introduction of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X are proof that smartphones are an integral part of our lives.

According to comScore, an American media measurement and analytics company, smartphone penetration in the United States has crossed 80 percent in 2016. When the iPhone was launched in 2007 only six percent of the population had a smart phone!

Cash Management: Enhance your financial position and take control of your finances

A fundamental building block of financial planning is cash management. Effective financial planning requires the accurate examination of cash inflows and outflows and the examination of assets and liabilities. The process of monitoring and examining cash flow allows people to prioritize and address financial goals and monitor progress. 

Cash Inflows: Sources of Funds 

• General income sources, for example, salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, alimony, child support, rents, royalties or trust distributions. 

Tax Reform Proposal Unveiled

Greg Koch's picture

Submitted by Greg Koch Fri, 12/01/2017 - 17:16

The much-anticipated Republican proposal for tax reform has been released in the form of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, an over-400 page long major rewrite of the Tax Code.

Individual Retirement Accounts

IRA rules are left largely untouched by the Act. Contribution limits and requirements are unchanged, stretch IRAs remain in place, and favorable treatment for Net Unrealized Appreciation remains available as before.

Health Insurance: Executive Order

On October 12, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order. What does this mean for health insurance? What changes will take place in the health insurance market now? What changes might happen to health insurance in the future?

What If You Could Pay Health Care Costs in Retirement with Tax-Free Dollars?

Greg Koch's picture

Submitted by Greg Koch Fri, 11/03/2017 - 12:38

As medical expenses continue to increase, planning for them in retirement takes on greater importance.  One approach is to shift thinking of the Health Savings Account (HSA) as an account to defray medical expenses annually to an account with pre-tax dollars and tax-free earnings to defray medical expenses years from now in retirement.

Consider this planning strategy to help insulate your lifestyle dollars from medical expenses:

• Fully fund an HSA to the maximum annual contribution allowance, potentially to age 65.

Processing Workplace Incidents

In the last article, we reviewed Workers’ Compensation file basics. In this article, we are looking at processing workplace incidents. Workplace incidents include workplace accidents and "close-calls." There were approximately 2.9 million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses reported by private industry employers in 2015, which occurred at a rate of 3.0 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that more than a dozen workers died every day in American workplaces in 2013.

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