Or should we say a winter-related slow down? Many businesses have a slow season in winter, not just landscaping or retail, but also contractors and other types of businesses. If you expect your business to slow down over the winter, here are a few great ideas for using your time wisely to help you grow your business the rest of the year.
• Get caught up on your sleep — Always my first response! Arranging your business to start an hour later or close up an hour earlier to spend time with your family can help restore your energy and focus later in the year.
My favorite time to review my financial plan has always been right after Christmas and into the New Year. When I was a corporate employee, employers encouraged us to take off that week. As a small business owner, those clients who want to meet also suggest year-end as a good time for financial assessment. Take a little breather from the business pace to reflect what you’ve accomplished this year and want to accomplish next year for your family’s financial wellbeing.
You set out to build a business, not a 70-hour a week job. You love your customers and work really hard for them. But, do you find you are working for employee wages, not business owner profits? Here are the items you can review and improve upon every year in striving to grow your profits and your life. No kidding. I know you’re busy, but if you want to pursue the life you have dreamed of, set up a system to build on these key areas every year. There is a good chance your main competitor is!
As a CFP® (Certified Financial Planner™ Professional), much of my time is spent helping people pursue a very comfortable retirement as well as addressing their other lifetime goals. A comfortable retirement means having enough money to pay all your bills sustainably plus money for the fun things once you no longer need, want or are able to work. Goals along the way typically include paying for college and getting rid of all debts and sometimes second homes, gifting or other personal desires.
By now, your summer vacations have faded away into fond memories. You’re seeing the leaves start to change and probably realizing that the year is quickly marching on. With several months left in the year to work on achieving our goals, now is a great time to launch renewed efforts to finish the year strong. Since we’re all in business to build our own financial well-being, let’s use the rest of the year to help ourselves and our businesses. Here are some financial goals you still would have time to achieve before the end of the year.
Even though I was a tech genius in the ‘90s, I no longer pay attention to any technology trend unless it really makes my life easier, less stressful and better able to serve my clients. In serving my passion of helping small entrepreneurs have an amazing life way beyond merely making a living, I want to share a few productivity tools. While I hate technology that slows me down, I constantly search for tools that just plain work. Here are a few worth mentioning, if you have not already discovered for yourself. Not free, but will pay for themselves many times over.
Patrick and I have been married 25 years. In that time, I have started four businesses and my husband started two. Each time we tried to keep one predictable paycheck while allowing the other to grow a business. If you’re an entrepreneur, thank your wage-earning spouse today for providing a steady baseline income.
Business owners are some of the busiest people I know. They often start early and work late, juggling phone calls, emails, employees, projects and finances. Sometimes the only time that business owners get to sit and look at our personal big picture is when we finally go on vacation. During vacation, we sit down, enjoy the sunshine, spend time with our family, and see sites we want to experience. Whether it’s the mountains, the beach, or sightseeing; we get to enjoy the life we’re aspiring to build.
Most parents planning for college are familiar with the mainstream ways of saving and paying for college. These include 529 plans, savings accounts and life insurance among other common methods. Awesomely, business owners have a few additional tools in their arsenal. Here are a few ways savvy business owners can save and pay more easily for college.
Spring is in the air. Warm weather is approaching. Time to clean out any sluggish parts of your business so you can create growth and possibly more profits. Here are some items you should review and improve upon every year if you want to grow your profits and your life. I know you’re busy, but if you want the life you dreamed, set up a system to build on these key areas every year. You’ll be happy you cleaned up!
Normally this time of year I encourage all my business owner clients and faithful readers take a goodlook at what you’ve accomplished so far this year, to accelerate your efforts so you can finish the year strong, and to plan for what you want to have happen next year. This time I’m going to address how those plans can change wildly from what you thought was going to happen and applaud contingency planning.
Tax planning is the process of looking at various tax options in order to determine when, whether, and how to conduct business and personal transactions to reduce or eliminate tax liability.
There is a growing trend among companies to pay later and later. What was 30 days to pay is now becoming 45. Those previously at 45 are going to 60. Worse, small companies are typically targeted first. Here’s what you can do to speed up clients who pay slowly:
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. Sadly, Financial Planning only gets a day and it’s different in each state. That’s just not fair! But life insurance is important for your family goals, so here are the important things to consider before buying life insurance.
In case you didn’t already know, I have the travel bug. It started in College when I got the opportunity to visit my UK pen pal and her family in London. Even more than the tourist destinations, I love seeing how people live differently around the world. Staying with her family allowed me a front row seat to the daily activities of a different culture. Another example is the time I went with the Rotary to Guatemala to commemorate a well to provide fresh water that they had donated to an orphanage.
Perhaps in our grandparents generation retirement look like quitting your job, having a retirement party, then proceeding to a new phase of watching TV, yardwork, traveling to visit friends and generally being helpful to the extended family. In the generation of clients that I’m working with now, there is as many individual approaches as I have clients. I’ll share a few of their stories to spur your own imagination about your vision for retiring.
If you have kids in college, the Fall tuition bill is on its way to your mailbox in June-July. If you have a first time starting Freshman, this is your first REAL experience with paying for college. If your kids are younger, now is the perfect time to get serious with college planning how you and/or your kids will pay college expenses.
Although all families are different, here are a few ways families prepare:
In the lyrics of "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" by the famous Lennon, he says "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." As a financial planner, it’s amazingly rewarding to plan successful retirements, education, legacy and your other life goals. And it is also my job to help you mitigate for the things that might hurt those plans, like job loss, disability, business downturns, and death.
What happens to your stuff when you are gone? Usually when people pass away, there is a huge focus on the things they owned and who gets what. But a legacy isn't only about leaving what you’ve earned, but also what you’ve learned.
The notion that you can have a lasting legacy by handing down ideas and values may be a totally new way to look at it. Here are some ways you could pass on the things and ideas, as well as your wealth.
