Like many business owners, you probably have much of your wealth tied up in your company. And this fact may be creating a conflict between the desire to transfer ownership to the next generation and the desire to stay in control. One potential solution: Recapitalize your business into voting and nonvoting shares. From an estate [...]
You probably track a variety of data to determine where your business stands. Monitoring both financial and nonfinancial key performance indicators (KPIs) — such as debt to equity ratio and customer service response times — can help you spot problems and set objectives. But a great way to take your business data one step further [...]
As a business owner, you shoulder many responsibilities — but have some perks as well. One benefit worth considering is setting up your own retirement plan that allows you to make larger contributions than you could as an employee. For example, the maximum 2015 employee contribution to a 401(k) plan is $18,000 — $24,000 if [...]
When you start envisioning all of the potential threats to your company, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. A good way to get a handle on risk management is to break down the overall task into focus areas. Examples include: Competitive risk. Identify your top three to five competitors. Then devise the strategy it will take [...]
When you started your business, or otherwise assumed ownership of it, you more than likely created a business plan. This critical document provides management, investors and lenders with an overview of the company’s game plan as well as an assessment of current operations. Complete plans traditionally include six components: Executive summary, Business description, Industry and [...]
If your company wants to acquire another business, you’ll need to anticipate many challenges. To improve your odds of success, it’s important to devote resources to intensive tax planning before — and after — your deal closes. During deal negotiations, you and the seller will likely discuss issues such as to what extent each party [...]
Many employers with long-established 401(k) plans hesitate to add automatic enrollment. (Under an “auto-enroll” feature, eligible participants automatically join the plan unless they affirmatively elect otherwise.) Employers’ hesitation may arise from unfamiliarity or just a reluctance to rock the boat. Yet there are several good reasons to “bother” with auto-enroll: Broader participation. First and foremost, [...]
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking about a succession plan as being about only two people: you and your successor. But a truly graceful passing of the baton to the next leader hinges on total staff buy-in — or, at least, acceptance. Getting managers and key employees involved in the planning can [...]
Year-end tax planning for businesses often focuses on acquiring equipment, machinery, vehicles or other qualifying assets to take advantage of enhanced depreciation tax breaks. Unfortunately, two “classic” depreciation breaks expired on December 31, 2014: 1. Enhanced Section 179 expensing election. Before 2015, Sec. 179 permitted companies to immediately deduct, rather than depreciate, up to $500,000 [...]
Skilled workers are invaluable and often difficult to find. Increasingly, well-qualified job candidates in today’s workforce are “Millennials” — that is, between the ages of 18 and 35. As you welcome this generation into your organization, you’ll get more out of them with the right management approach. Winning moves include: Plenty of feedback. Generally, Millennials [...]