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

Retirement Planning - Part Three Retirement Investing and Setbacks

Whether a person has many years until retirement or it is just around the corner; investing

for long term growth is essential. In an earlier article, it was mentioned that proper balance

between the basic asset classes - stocks (equity assets) and bonds (fixed income) - helps to

decrease market risk. Essentially, the higher the allocation to high quality bonds the lower the

market risk. In addition, diversification within those basic asset classes further decreases risk and

provides the best potential for above average returns.

5 Steps to Building a Retirement Income Plan

Modern thinking has taught us that, as the average life expectancy continues to climb (Could age 90 be the new 70?), our real concern should be more than a magic number for retirement savings. It should be creating a retirement income plan that ensures we will have income in retirement that lasts as long as we will.

By building a strong foundation of assets and implementing strategies first to grow them, then to protect and preserve them, you are setting yourself up for retirement income success. Here are some key steps that will help you get there.

How Digital Marketing Companies Fill in the Gaps and Help You Focus on Your Core Competency

The buzz around increasing organic traffic is sufficient to let everyone know why it’s important.

But are you aware that it plays a major role in the success of any business?

The entire SEO industry is built around organic search traffic to improve the organic ranking of the websites the SEO company has been entrusted. In fact, research shows that organic traffic represents more than 60% of the total traffic on any website.

Retirement Planning - Part Two - What savings vehicles are available to prepare for financial independence and retirement?

The amount of assets needed to sustain cash flow, as well as, where and how it is

invested must be carefully considered when planning for financial independence and retirement.

People with a plan tend to be more confident that they will be comfortable throughout retirement.

Saving and investing to provide for the future may be in the form of pre-tax payroll deductions

that grow tax-deferred, or after-tax contributions to tax-deferred or tax-free vehicles, or

contributions to a taxable account, or any combination of all of these vehicles.

Did you pay too much in taxes for 2017?

Problem: If you earned over $300,000 last year you probably paid way more in taxes than you should have!

Many professionals--doctors, dentists, lawyers--and small business owners often find they have spent so much time and effort developing their thriving practices and growing their profitable businesses that they just didn't have the time to plan for their own personal retirement situation.

Retiring Soon? Don't Make These 9 Mistakes

There is plenty you can do to avoid running out of money in retirement. Whether you are newly retired or retiring soon, planning is key. Some retirees just plunge in and get into trouble.

Mistake 1: Not planning for medical expenses

Retirement Planning – Part One -What amount of assets do you need to be financially independent enough to retire?

What amount of assets do you need to be financially independent enough to retire? A long time ago, the assumption or a starting point was that most people needed about 70 percent of pre-retirement income to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. The reality in my experience is that most people need 100 percent of pre-retirement income to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. It seems that even though there are a few financial obligations that disappear, such as, mortgages and paying for college, a few new obligations appear impacting financial security in retirement.

Over Organic Traffic from Search Engines or Purchased Traffic/Followers?

The New York Times recently ran a story about actors, athletes, politicians, TED speakers, comedians and so-called influencers who purchase followers for their Twitter accounts, and who use amplification bots to retweet their missives.

The Newsweek website was caught purchasing fraudulent traffic as well.

Why?

SEO & Social Media Trends to Look Out for in 2018!

Google has been known to roll out a few big changes throughout the year, each year.

While some updates are larger than the others, it’s worth keeping a track of and knowing what each update is about.

Merely responding to the changing SEO and social media trends is passé!

If you’d like to stay ahead of your competition and always have an edge over them, predicting how the face of SEO will look in the coming months is equally, or may be even more crucial than staying in line with the current trends.

Investment Management: Building Wealth

Sound investment management requires clearly defining your goals, knowing your risk tolerance and understanding various investment options. Building wealth requires patience and a strategy appropriate for your personal situation and objectives. Frequently, investors have a high-risk tolerance when the stock market is increasing and a low-risk tolerance when markets decline. Clearly, the best strategy is one that does well in good times and mitigates loss during market declines.

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.

I Pick Pottstown — A Vehicle to Tell the Story

What do leaders do when they know there is a positive story to be told? They collaborate with one another and hire a professional.

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?

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?

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