Posts by Bill Wortman
Consultant’s Corner: Should I Buy a Company Car?
Question: As the sole owner of an LLC, what are the benefits and downsides of purchasing a company car through the business? There are many things to consider when it comes to purchasing a vehicle through your company. Business Vehicle Ownership We do not know the tax status of your sole owner LLC – sole proprietorship, C corp…
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Consultant’s Corner: Small Business Retirement Plan Options
Question: Would it be better as the owner of a sole proprietorship to invest in a 401k versus a SIMPLE IRA? There is not a single best approach to retirement planning for the owner of a sole proprietorship in every conceivable situation. Your business structure and other considerations, including the employee participation requirements, your expected…
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Consultant’s Corner: Drip Marketing
Question: How can I keep my customers engaged during a 1-2 year sales cycle? Certainly, one of the greatest challenges in sales is keeping the potential customer engaged with your company throughout the sales cycle. If you don’t keep your company and its product/service on the forefront of the consumer’s mind throughout the sales cycle,…
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Consultant’s Corner: Paying Employees’ Personal Health Insurance with a Business Check
Question: What are the tax problems with paying employees’ individual health insurance plans with a business check? Most insurance companies are telling me they do not allow this, can you explain why? State regulations may prohibit insurers from accepting payment for individual health insurance policies from parties other than the individual insured, or it may…
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Consultant’s Corner: Marketing Plan for a Restaurant and Catering Business
Question: How do I increase profits for my restaurant/catering business during a down economy? Increasing profits in a Recession We have provided marketing considerations and resources below; however, increasing profits can also involve menu pricing, cost controls, staffing levels, and other measures. We assume that the tight market and local competition will not allow you…
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Consultant’s Corner: Increasing Website Traffic
Question: What are some ways I can increase traffic to my website? Some business owners elect to implement search engine optimization (SEO) methods themselves; however, higher search engine rankings take time to develop and there is no technique that will produce quick results. Google, Bing, and other search engines have varying selection criteria and will…
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Consultant’s Corner: Company Car Coverage
Question: If our company is going to let employees drive a company car home at night, what coverage should we have in place to protect our business? While we can offer general business advice on insurance issues and you can research insurance requirements yourself, we recommend that you discuss the fact that your business vehicles…
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Retirement Plans
You can set up and maintain the following small business retirement plans for yourself and your employees. SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) plans SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) plans Qualified plans (including Keogh or H.R. 10 plans) SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plans offer you and your employees a tax favored way to save for…
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Types of Business Entities
Selecting a business entity is one of the most important decisions you will make when starting your business. There are many types of business entities that you can choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Go over this general overview of the different kinds of business entities, in increasing complexity, and see which…
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Replacement Cost Insurance
Question: What does the typical owner of a business expect to recover from a property damage incident? Answer: He expects to be left in the same position, with enough cash from the insurance settlement to operate his business in the same manner as before. Question: What does the typical policy provide? Answer: Settlements at “actual…
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