Business Update – January 25 2022

The rapidly spreading Omicron variant is causing worker shortages across the entire economy as employees are out sick or quarantining. At Delta Airlines, 8,000 employees contracted COVID-19 recently, contributing to more than 2,200 cancelled flights. Grocery stores and many other businesses are cutting back on their product lines. A shortage of truck drivers means shipments are delayed, so store shelves are empty. Children are taking public buses to school because…  Read more

Business Update – December 1 2021

Over the weekend, several countries reported their first cases of the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. While little is known about the new variant, genetic sequencing indicates it has at least 30 mutations on the spike protein, which it uses to bind to human cells, so it could be even more easily spread than the Delta variant. In response to the uncertainty, Israel has banned all foreigners from…  Read more

Business Update – September 22 2021

Even before the pandemic, some restaurant owners were challenging the model of paying servers only $2.13 an hour and depending on tips from customers to make them whole. Today, as restaurants and bars struggle to find enough workers to stay open, a few are making further changes to their business model. Some are raising wages and offering signing bonuses. Others are adding service charges to every bill, and others are…  Read more

Business Update – July 21 2021

Three weeks ago, new COVID-19 cases were averaging about 11,300 new cases a day, but that rate has now doubled to 23,000 cases per day. According to the CDC, nearly all recent COVID-19 cases and deaths have been among unvaccinated people. The more contagious Delta variant is now the dominant strain in the US, and appears to be more severe. A Scottish study found that the hospitalization rate is about…  Read more

Business Update – July 14 2021

In the wake of the pandemic, many families may find themselves with medical debt from COVID-related hospitalizations. This article from Acorns has four steps to take to reduce damage to credit scores from medical debt. First, review the bill to make sure it’s accurate. See if you can set up a payment plan with the provider. Try to negotiate with the provider to accept rates that are closer to Medicare…  Read more

Business Update – June 30 2021

As the pandemic recedes and businesses reopen, millions are quitting their jobs rather than return to their pre-pandemic routine. Some are seeking out positions where they can be fully remote, while others, particularly in the leisure and hospitality sector, are seeking better work-life balance, higher pay, or a less stressful work environment. The lengthy experiment with remote work has changed what people think about where and how they want to…  Read more

Business Update – June 2 2021

How will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Scientists who study global pandemics of the past observe that previous pandemics have subsided over time, generally in 18 months or so. The virus itself seems to become less deadly, and becomes more of an endemic seasonal illness. At the same time, our immune systems become better able to fight them off. At least that has been the pattern in the past. It is…  Read more

COVID-19 Business Update – April 28 2021

A year into the pandemic, and we’d all like to see it behind us. But there are disquieting signs that the virus may part of our lives for longer than we want. The longer the virus can spread through a non-immunized population, the more chances it has to mutate into strains that are more contagious or more dangerous. Although vaccination rates are still far below what is needed to slow…  Read more

April 15 2021 Is Not Like Other Years

April 15 2021 Is Not Like Other Years Today is usually the day for people to have filed their individual tax returns without extensions. It is also the due date for California Corp and LLC min tax of $800. And the due date for the Q1 tax estimates if you have those to pay too. But – we are still addressing the issues with Covid related changes, and so the…  Read more

COVID-19 Business Update – April 14 2021

We’ve been spending more of our time staring at electronic screens all day, and rumors abound about the possible negative consequences of that, as this piece in Lifehacker explains. Eyestrain is real, but the blue light from our screens won’t damage eyes. Simply holding your device a bit further from your eyes may reduce just as much blue light as expensive blue-light-blocking glasses. Practicing the 20-20-20 rule may help alleviate…  Read more

COVID-19 Business Update – March 3 2021

Congratulations! You got the COVID vaccine! Now what can you do? As an article in The Atlantic describes, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but “When deciding what you can and can’t do, you should think less about your own vaccination status, and more about whether your neighbors, family, grocery clerks, delivery drivers, and friends are still vulnerable to the virus.” While the vaccines do help keep the vaccinated people from getting…  Read more

COVID-19 Business Update – 3 February 2021

Keeping people safe in the pandemic requires a comprehensive approach, as explained by Aaron E. Carroll, a pediatrics professor at Indiana University. By taking the pandemic seriously, “far from posing a risk to its host city or town, a university could become—by supplementing behavioral measures such as masking and social distancing with widespread surveillance testing—a model for detecting and suppressing the virus.” By the time IU’s 87,000 students return to…  Read more

COVID-19 Business Update – 23 December 2020

Because we know you’re busy, we’re keeping this issue extra short. Just in time for Christmas, Jupiter and Saturn appear in close alignment this week, forming what some have called a ‘Christmas Star.’ The last time this happened was in the spring of 1226, when Notre Dame cathedral was under construction. Their closest connection will be on the Winter’s Solstice, when they will look like a double planet. To see…  Read more

Year End Agreement Reached on Covid Relief – A Little Bit of Info

Some big questions answered. A little bit. Ok – Congress finally passed a bill to deal with the pandemic relief, stimulus and extenders. And, I hear, it is the 2nd largest bill (by page count) ever to be considered by Congress. So – this post is not nearly as detailed and won’t have all your answers. But – I want to get some info out that has been keeping me,…  Read more

Small Business Saturday Blog Post

The National Spotlights Shines on Small Businesses The Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 28, 2020, the national spotlight will turn on an often overlooked engine of our country’s economic growth: small businesses. Small businesses, or those with less than 500 employees, now comprise 99% of all U.S. employer firms. Over 23 million strong, small businesses is a sector of our economy that continues to grow rapidly. According to the Small Business…  Read more

Beyond COVID-19 – How to build value in your business

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – this has been an extremely difficult few months (well, year) for all of us, but there is no better time to think seriously about your business. In this article, we have compiled a few tips to create value in your business. The key to building value in your business is to plan the process in a systematic way, whether you’re…  Read more

4 Payment Options Your Small Business Should Consider

When customers make a buying decision, they’re not just considering the quality and price of your products or services, they are also evaluating the ease and convenience of the whole buying process. As a business owner, you should offer different payment options to provide the best customer experience and to ensure you receive timely payments Here are four ways your small business can accept payments in 2020: ● Credit and…  Read more

Business Owners: There’s No Time Like the Present

I’ll figure it out when I’m ready to retire, which is the day after never …. That is the response we get from small business owners when we ask how much their business is worth. The wealth of nearly two-thirds (70%) of all small business owners is tied up in their business. For many of those individuals, the business becomes the personal retirement savings vehicle. Those individuals, however, could be…  Read more

Small Business Owners: The Future Might Not Be All That Uncertain

If you are like most small business owners, you find it difficult to plan because your future has more unknowns than your non-business-owning counterparts. You might not know how much your business is worth when you should sell, where to find the right buyer, how to fetch the best price, or even how much insurance to carry. If you have a family business or operate with a partner, you also…  Read more

Healthy Business Practices for Entrepreneurs

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost Starting your own business can be like having a baby — a very important life decision that might not always be a rational one. 9 months into your 9-5 insipid job and you might decide to take the proverbial exit from the freeway, onto the smaller…  Read more

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