Small Business Finance Blog

Financial tips and hacks for small business owners

You are here: Home / Archives for finance

Top Resources for the Novice Investor

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on the books and resources top investment experts recommend for the Novice Investor. U.S. investors have over $10 trillion in retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s. These accounts require investors to make decisions about what to do with their money. Unfortunately, financial literacy tests generally show that we as consumers simply don't know enough about finance and investing to make good decisions. In general they make the point that it's unrealistic to try to … [Read more...]

Cost of Health Care Reform Start to Emerge

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on the cost of health care reform under the Affordable Care Act. Several independent organizations, including the Kaiser Family Foundation, have released new data on the expected cost of heath insurance under the Affordable Care Act regulations soon to go into effect. In their view, most families have an unrealistic expectation of how much assistance they will receive in government subsidies and are not aware of how much health insurance will continue to cost. A … [Read more...]

A way to save on your investment income before rising taxes

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on a way to save on your investment income before rising taxes take effect next year. 3.8 Percent Tax on Investment Income is a Certainty for 2013 Even though reports of a framework for a fiscal cliff deal are starting to emerge, we know one tax that will go into effect next year regardless of what happens with that negotiation: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) provision will tax "unearned net investment income". This will … [Read more...]

How Consumer Spending Patterns Change With Age

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on how shifting consumer spending patterns can help inform your marketing strategy. As consumers get older, how they spend their money changes significantly. Economic forecasting firm HS Dent performed an extensive analysis of consumer expenditures across 35 categories of products and services and then graphed the changes by age. Small-business owners should consider the age of their existing customers to determine if there is a good fit between what you sell and to … [Read more...]

Mobile Payments Will Soon Reach $1 Trillion Annually

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on the evolution and growing use of mobile Technology as Mobile Payments Will Soon Reach $1 Trillion Annually. According to a new study, payments made from mobile devices will reach $1 trillion annually by 2017. For many companies, this will mean overhauling the way they sell and accept mobile payments. The traditional point of sale transaction may soon become obsolete as consumers switch to new payment technologies which will be embedded into their mobile devices. The … [Read more...]

Twitter Offers $1M in Free Advertising for Small Business Saturday

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on Twitter's $1M in Free Advertising for Small Business Saturday. In support of Small Business Saturday, Twitter announced that they will be offering Free Advertising for 10,000 small businesses $100 each in free advertising credits on the new Twitter advertising platform. Small businesses can use the credits to send "promoted tweets" which reach a broader audience. They can also be used for "promoted accounts" which help small business Twitter accounts gain targeted … [Read more...]

Play It Safe With Your Investments

By

Finance expert Mike Periu on why it may be wiser to play it safe with your investments in the short term. Starting in July of this year, the major U.S. stock markets, as well as some foreign ones, started a rally that is now starting to fizzle out as stock prices decline across the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Leading economist Nouriel Roubini, who believes it's about time this happened, says its better to play it safe with investments during the short-term, offering several reasons … [Read more...]

Municipal Bonds Offer Good Risk Reward Balance

By

Municipal bonds are issued by state and local governments to raise money. General obligation ("GO") bonds, the safest type... Municipal bonds are issued by state and local governments to raise money. General obligation ("GO") bonds, the safest type, pay lenders from tax revenues. Revenue bonds are used to finance specific projects like a stadium or highway and lenders are paid from the revenues that the project generates. Since states cannot declare bankruptcy and it's extremely rare for a city … [Read more...]

Protect Financial Files from Inadvertent Data Leaks

By

When trying to borrow money from a lender or raise capital from an investor, it's expected that you make certain financial files ... When trying to borrow money from a lender or raise capital from an investor, it's expected that you make certain documents available, including a business plan, income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and of course your projections. If you send these files electronically, then you run the risk of revealing more information than you would like to … [Read more...]

retirement savings as financial goal

By

According to a recent study by T. Rowe Price, over 70 percent of investors aged 21 to 50 list retirement savings as their numer one financial goal Retirement Concerns Not Translating into Good Decisions According to a recent study by T. Rowe Price, over 70 percent of investors aged 21 to 50 list retirement savings as their number one financial goal. But when compared to how they actually spend their money, there is a clear mismatch between what they say is their goal and how they actually … [Read more...]