Archive By Section - Business Columns
'Tis the season to harvest your tax losses
While the economic reasons for buying and selling in the stock market are critical, strategies to minimize your tax burden must also be considered.
What I learned about finance
One of the best educational experiences during my tenure in corporate America was the two-and-a-half years I spent crunching numbers for one of the largest consumer products companies in the country.
Couples need smart retirement strategies
The odds are overwhelming that a wife will live longer than her husband. She is also two and a half times more likely than the husband to live alone. Needless to say, she has to be self-sufficient and the money has to last longer.
Coping with the stock market decline
Stock market declines are an inevitable part of investing. We have all heard of strategies to stay the course and stay on track.
The great mystery of creativity
Why do the best ideas arrive in the shower? There you are lathering up, when, bam! Inspiration strikes. The perfect marketing plan, or the solution to your cash-flow problems are suddenly crystal clear and you go dashing through the house looking for a pad and pencil, dripping all the way. So what's the deal? Is there something magical about the water, the steam or the soap? Scientists have some theories about the phenomenon. One clinical ...
Ways to keep lid on expenses abound
Here are the next 12 tips for keeping your business expenses under control: n Invest excess cash in an interest-earning account. It's amazing how many businesses let their checking accounts build up to ridiculous levels. Big corporations manage their cash by keeping enough in the checking account for immediate needs and to waive service fees, but investing excess cash in interest-earning accounts. n Shop for the best terms on ...
Don’t let anger dictate legal strategy
There is a saying by an unknown author that "anger is one letter short of danger."
Is your trust account federally insured?
Due to recent bank failures and the overall economic climate, I have received several calls recently from clients wanting to know whether their bank accounts that are held in the name of a trust would be fully insured by the government if their bank failed.
Increasing taxes won’t rescue economy
With the presidential election approaching, we find one candidate wanting to redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor by raising taxes on the "rich," with the other candidate wanting to lower taxes across the board. As you may have surmised, I do have more financially conservative leanings. I did vote for George Bush and now feel betrayed by his spendthrift policies.
Stay true, succeed like Jerry Maguire
It's been said that movies are created with at least one, and up to three, combinations of plots. Those plots involve: man versus man, man versus the environment and man versus himself.
Tuition is expensive at tough times U
Imagine that your life as a business owner is going fine. Clients are buying and paying, your employees are happy and you've got money in the bank for rainy days and opportunities.
Federal bailouts: one for them, one for you?
Everyone else is getting a Federal bailout, why not you? If you are a small business owner, you may be able to enjoy an interest-free loan from the government. Employer contributions don't need to be made until the filing date of the tax return, including extensions. This means that for a calendar-year taxpayer with extensions, the actual contribution does not have to be made (depending on the type of retirement plan) until Sept. 15, 2009 ...
Common IRA mistakes: Part 3
This is the third and final part in a series of columns about 10 common IRA mistakes. Naming trusts as beneficiaries of IRAs may become a tax trap. Although it eliminates the spousal IRA option, estate planning attorneys frequently use trusts as beneficiaries of IRAs. If the trust is not structured properly, however, and does not qualify as a look through trust, the IRA assets will be paid out within five years after the owner ...
Put the lid on business expenses
One of the biggest mistakes business owners can make is saddling themselves with too much overhead.
Plan ahead - and plan your funeral now
Disputes among family members can arise when funeral arrangements are made after the death of a relative. Everyone may be trying to do the right thing, but disagreements and anger can continue long after the funeral. Families in our American culture don't want to talk about death, especially in advance.
Articles by Section - Business Columns
Ken Keller: Getting crystal clear about your business
There is a terrific exchange in the courtroom drama "A Few Good Men." Colonel Jessup, played by Jack Nicolson, turns from being a witness in a court martial to being the prosecutor when he asks Lieutenant Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise: "Have you ever spent time in an infantry unit, son?"
Disaster recovery — is your business prepared?
Is your business prepared for a disaster? While it is not something any of us like to think about, businesses should have a disaster plan in place.
Joe Klocko: The conundrum: supply and demand, wages and the skills gap
Most people understand the basic economic principle of supply and demand and incorporate it into their daily decisions. They may not do it consciously, but economic decisions are made every day by each and every one of us.
Ken Keller: Learning from the Pumpkin Patch
Last week I provided the Pyramid of Business Success, a nine layered structure. Layer seven was the Growth Plan.
Bob Khalsa: State’s pending sales at four-year high, share of distressed sales drops
The recent rise of pending home sales to the highest level in nearly four years supports experts who believe California's home resale market will achieve full bloom this spring.
Ken Keller: The Pyramid of Business Success
I've long admired Coach John Wooden's "Pyramid of Success." In business, whatever blueprint, instructional manual or paint by number kit being used before the enterprise launches is quickly tossed aside once the doors open. After that, it becomes a freelance-thing or a free for all, for those lacking mentors, a Sherpa or the time to figure it out.
Peter Bellas: Now that we’ve been forecasted
Once again we are upon the season of forecasts. A quick perusal of any investment website will turn up some very rosy and optimistic forecasts for the coming year and a least a few doom and gloom predictions.
Ken Keller: Keeping yourself motivated
One challenge of being a business owner or holding a position of leadership is keeping motivated.
Bob Khalsa: Real Estate Talk
January is typically a dormant time of year for the residential real estate market in the Santa Clarita Valley, yet this market recovery is so unusual that no one was surprised when statistics showed January posted the highest sales total for the month in six years.
Buying distressed properties
Real estate development during the Great Recession has proven to be a very challenging endeavor. Even seasoned professionals have found themselves struggling to service debt on projects that are producing monthly net negative cash flows.
Ken Keller: Do the right thing, quickly
Last week I wrote about the 2012 Gallup Poll where only 21 percent of U.S. adults rated business executives with high or very high in honesty and ethics.
Ken Keller: What is it that you believe in?
In the course of working with business owners and leaders, I have observed that the organizations that are the most successful over the long run are the ones that have a strong focus.
