What rule do you follow if there are no rules to follow?
As the owner of an S corporation trying to determine a reasonable salary to pay yourself, the question is important — and difficult to answer. The reason: At present, there are no specific regulations, safe-harbor provisions, or minimum wage requirements defining what amount of compensation is “reasonable” for S corporation shareholder-employees. (more…)
High unemployment, beleaguered stock values, corporate and personal bankruptcy — these headlines have become all too familiar. But the same factors that signal a recession can actually highlight a great opportunity for folks hoping to start small businesses. (more…)
For many small businesses, maintaining adequate cash flow can seem almost impossible. Customers are tightening their belts, lending institutions are rethinking their credit terms, and suppliers are struggling to maintain their own vendor relationships. In today’s economy, many business owners have seen their personal net worth plummet and some are facing bankruptcy. (more…)
When you think about protecting company assets, several things probably come straight to mind, such as land, buildings, machinery, inventory and vehicles. In many instances companies overlook their intellectual property, which can be one of their most valuable assets. By understanding the different types of intellectual property and how they can be protected against infringement you can help your business stay ahead of the competition. (more…)
If you buy a house this year, you’ll close the deal by signing a mind-numbing stack of papers. When that’s finished, don’t just file the documents away in a drawer. Hidden in there are some deductions you might be 
able to take this year, and others that could increase your profit when you sell. (more…)
Challenges that merely annoy an established firm often capsize a start-up company. This is especially true in the area of staffing. When a big corporation makes a hiring mistake, the company suffers, but survives. Committed by a fledgling firm, the same mistake may spell disaster. After all, if your company employs only five people, one wrongly hired employee will make up a fifth of your work force. That person’s incompetence or poor people skills can bludgeon the firm’s bottom line. (more…)
For many small businesses pricing products and services is more a matter of guesswork than logic. Mindful of competitor pricing, they make the mistake of simply undercutting to win business rather than carefully working out the price they need to charge – a price that not only covers the cost of doing business, but makes all the hard work worthwhile by returning a reasonable profit. (more…)
