Local Business Columns Section
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Consider naming a corporated trustee for your trust The most important decision to make in establishing a trust may be the selection of the trustee. The trustee's role is to carry out the terms of the trust and fulfill its objectives. While there are several different types of trusts, this column will focus on the most common type, the revocable living trust, and the selection of a successor trustee. |
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Priorities mean better time management Keeping a handle on our lives and time are key to being able to succeed. Many of us make "to-do" lists, but few of us take the time to weigh the things on that list for their relative importance, both professionally and personally. |
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Funding college savings Saving for college can be intimidating. Added to this necessity is the current crisis we are facing in our personal lives due to the financial and energy markets. |
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Employers only required to lead the horse to water Most of us are familiar with the old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” |
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New business math: Addition by subtraction Last week, the Super Bowl-winning New York Giants traded tight-end Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints. Shockey had been a Pro Bowl pick for a number of years and had solid statistics, including having 371 catches for 4,228 yards and 27 touchdowns in 83 regular season games with the Giants. |
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Leaders lead organizations to success True go-getters do not amass power by worrying about their titles or the size of their offices. Instead, they know how to lead and keep loyal employees. |
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What you need to know when you turn 18 At 18, you are now an adult in the eyes of the law. You can enter into contracts, buy and/or sell property, real estate or stock, marry, sue and/or be sued, make a will, inherit property, vote, serve on a jury, control your own medical treatment and join the military, but still have NO rights with alcohol. Your parents no longer have to support you. You are responsible for your own taxes and insurance and ... |
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Baby boomers transitioning to retirement The nearly 80 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 may pride themselves on being different, but they have at least one thing in common: They are all “baby boomers,” the largest generation in American history. The oldest of them are now reaching an age commonly associated with retirement, and each day over the next two decades thousands more will follow. |
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Don’t forget to pay the nanny tax on help around the house If you hire someone to help around the house or to watch your children, you may be subject to the often overlooked “nanny tax.” Simply put, the nanny tax is a payroll tax due on certain household employees’ wages. |
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Two who discovered and used their strengths Research suggests that people will be more engaged, more productive and considerably happier at work when they use their strengths. |
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How to decide what to archive and what to toss When it comes to record-keeping, entrepreneurs fall into two categories: “Neatniks” who toss every piece of paper that hasn’t been handled in the past week, or “Ratpackers” — those who save every scrap of paper and receipt they ever see. When running your business we all know there are certain documents that should be filed for a certain length of time, but we never can seem to remember which is what. |
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Minimizing the emotions of a down stock market If you have wondered how to survive in a down market, you are not alone. Many investors worry about selling out too soon and then having trouble getting back into the market. |
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Even small businesses have to consider securities laws Have you had a legal compliance check-up for your corporation or limited liability company lately? Did you use one of those online services to form your own corporation or LLC and wonder if you did everything that was necessary to properly organize your business entity? Are you covering all of the legal bases in the organization and operation of your company? One frequently missed area for small businesses is compliance with securities laws. |
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The six responsibilities of every manager Countless books and articles have been written about the tasks of those in management. The majority concern themselves with planning, organizing, controlling, coordinating and leading, which means everything in theory and nothing in practicality to the manager responsible for getting things done. |
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Family or friends aren’t good bankers For start-up entrepreneurs, hitting up family and friends is the most common way to get started but it’s often the riskiest. This method, however, accounts for more than 70 percent of all venture dollars for start-ups. |
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How to deal with the current slump in stocks Wall Street just announced this week that we are in a bear market. I think this is old news. Anyone who works for a living, drives a car, has a mortgage or buys groceries came to that conclusion some time ago. For most of the past decade, stocks and mutual funds, the primary investment vehicle for most Americans, have been bogged down. |
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Mid-year review for California employers It has been a busy year for the courts and the legislature when it comes to changes in employment laws, and we have only completed the first six months. With additional landmark cases on the horizon, and a number of pending pieces of legislation, we could see a number of additional changes in the law over the last half of 2008, as well. The following are just a few of the new rules that employers should be aware of. |
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Maintaining communication in the workplace There is a tremendous amount of space between the official mission statement and what NASA did leading up what took place in 1969. The gap is a competitive advantage that has stood for the last 39 years. |
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Beware career killers that can cost you your job You're at your desk at 8 a.m. every morning, you wouldn't think of pocketing even one paper clip, and you haven't worn flip-flops to work since you were a lifeguard, but there's more to getting that promotion than reading the employee manual and hitting deadlines. There are some mistakes that can put you on the manager's hit list the next time layoffs roll around, so let's see what they are: |
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How to make it less likely that anyone will contest your will Emotions can run high at the death of a family member. If a family member is unhappy with the amount received (or didn’t receive) under a will, he or she may contest the will. |
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Framing your future while avoiding these 4 pitfalls A lot has changed since you were a kid. Retirement has changed as well. The way you picture yourself in retirement is probably quite different from your parents’ retirement. It is no longer about a few years of rest and relaxation. It is about pursuing your lifelong dreams, or discovering new ones. |
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Raising prices is a balancing act for businesses As climbing energy and other underlying costs continue to erode the profit margins of many small businesses, owners are again considering whether they should raise prices. If you raise prices, you risk losing clients to competitors. If you don’t, rising costs can capsize your company. |
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Lessons to be learned from American presidents Just over four years ago, I wrote a column on leaders and leadership entitled, "14 Traits of Successful Leaders." |
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Disclosing your economic interests You are a civic-minded person. You live here, you work here and perhaps you own a business here. You want to help make Santa Clarita a better place to live. So, when the opportunity to serve on a city commission, committee or advisory board comes along, you volunteer your talent and your precious time, all with the best of intentions. |
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Using the affordability index to determine if you are ready to retire With the current economic problems and energy costs Americans are faced with currently and for the immediate future, it is making it harder than ever to make or continue retirement planning contributions. |
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What to do to reduce the chance of an IRS audit This is the final part in a two- part series about being audited by the IRS. Last week, I presented information regarding your chances of being audited. For certain taxpayers, the odds are not getting better for you. So what can one do to reduce their chances of being audited? |
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What can be done to reduce interruptions at work For many people working in a business, days are filled with activity. At the end of each day, however, it might be difficult to remember what, if anything was actually achieved. |
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Your retirement money and market volatility Market volatility is a fact of life. Stock prices fluctuate from day to day, and markets move up and down over time along with the economy and business cycle. As a student of Jeremy Siegel of the School of Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, over time the market will return 8 to 9 percent over the cost of living. |
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Reasons why many companies incorporate in Delaware How did Newhall Land and Farming Company - the renowned, 125-year-old California real estate owner - end up in a bankruptcy court in Delaware? In 2004, nationwide homebuilders Lennar and Lennar Property Corp. acquired it, then merged with some other major real estate concerns to form a business complex under the parentage of an entity called LandSource Communities, LLC, a limited liability company established under Delaware law. |
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IRS publication gives clues as to who gets audited This is the first part in a two-part series about being audited by the IRS. I have had several of my tax clients call me recently, with fear and trembling, to tell me that they have received that dreaded notice from the IRS that their income tax return was being audited. I tried to tell them that this wasn't the end of the world and that they should come out of this OK. Well, there ... |
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