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Financial tips and hacks for small business owners

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Lower Your State Business Taxes. Liability to Zero

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Finance expert Mike Periu on how to significantly reduce or eliminate your state business taxes. If your business is located in a state with a high income tax, there are options available to significantly reduce or even eliminate that tax liability. In order to entice businesses to set up or expand operations within their borders, state governments offer income tax credits. Over $10 billion per year in state income tax credits are offered. Many businesses qualify for these credits but don’t … [Read more...]

The Right Way to Deduct Business Use of Your Vehicle

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Finance expert Mike Periu on best practices  to Deduct Business Use of Your Vehicle Many small-business owners use their personal vehicles for business use. The expenses related to this use are a legitimate business expense and can be deducted on your income taxes. The IRS does, however, require proper documentation and failure to provide it could mean a denial of the deduction in an audit. They require “contemporaneous documentation” relating to expenses and mileage which basically means … [Read more...]

Los 5 países más caros para vivir en Latinoamérica

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Si estás pensando irte a vivir a otro país de Latinoamérica, hay muchos factores que debes de considerar antes de tomar una decisión final. Piensa en la seguridad, oportunidades de empleo, situación política, pero sobre todo en el costo de vida. Para determinar qué países son más caros, podemos utilizar diferentes indicadores como el Índice de Precios al Consumidor (IPC) o un método más simple como es el "índice Big Mac", popularizado por la prestigiosa revista The Economist. Este índice se … [Read more...]

Take These Steps to Ensure a Profitable Exit Strategy

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Finance expert Mike Periu highlights helpful steps to take to ensure a Profitable Exit Strategy before selling your business. According to the Chamber of Commerce, only 20 percent of small businesses transfer to a new owner successfully. This has important implications for owners who have on average 80 percent of their net worth tied up in their businesses. Marc Tepper, Founder of Strategic Wealth Partners, urges business owners to take these steps before embarking on a sale or transfer of … [Read more...]

Protect your money against future bank failures

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Finance expert Mike Periu on measures you need to take now to protect your money against future bank failures. The Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program extension bill has died in the Senate. This means that the TAG renewal program will expire at the end of the year. Beginning on January 1, non-interest bearing accounts at participating banks will no longer have the unlimited protection that the TAG program provided against bank failure. Small banks and small business owners lobbied for … [Read more...]

10 Steps to Keep Business Competitive

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Finance expert Mike Periu on best practices small-business owners can adopt to Keep Business Competitive. Citibank recently released the results of its latest Small Business Pulse Survey. The survey asked small-business owners about the steps they take to remain competitive. The answers ranged from radical reinvention to small tweaks. Some of the top strategies and tactics reported are: 1. Studying other industries. Adapting ideas from other sectors to apply them to the business.  Just … [Read more...]

Alternative Minimum Tax Nightmare Only Weeks Away

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the IRS' recent warning to Congress about the need to address the Alternative Minimum Tax issue. Steven T. Miller, Acting Commissioner of the IRS, has warned Congress that failure to address changes in the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) that would take place under the fiscal cliff will have devasting consequences for tax filers. The AMT is a second way to calculate your tax liability that limits deductions and ensures that more people pay more income taxes. Its … [Read more...]

Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will keep interest rates low

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Finance expert Mike Periu on the Federal Reserve's announcement that it will keep interest rates low to help spur job growth. Will Remain Very Low for the Foreseeable Future The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, announced that its main focus will now be on lowering the unemployment rate. It plans to keep interest rates at historically low levels until the unemployment rate is below 6.5 percent. The last time the country experienced that rate of unemployment was in late … [Read more...]

If You Want to Close More Sales Turn Off Your Computer

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When it comes to closing a deal, technology is still no substitute for face-to-face meetings. Finance expert Mike Periu explains why you should Turn Off Your Computer. Acclaimed business author Philip Delves Broughton implores business owners to turn off their computers and meet people face-to-face to improve sales. Too many sales professionals have become too reliant on technology as an intermediary between themselves and potential customers. Closing large deals, despite all of the … [Read more...]

New 63 USD Fee Announced to Help Offset Healthcare Reform Cost

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Finance expert Mike Periu on a New 63 USD Fee that is intended to help offset the costs of implementing Healthcare Reform. As the regulations for Healthcare Reform are formulated and finalized, small-business owners need to be aware of a new fee that will be assessed beginning in 2014. The fee will be collected for 3 years and is set at $63 per insured person in the first year and is supposed to decline after that. The fee is meant to help offset the cost for insurance companies as they comply … [Read more...]