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Guidant Financial Group Blog
In today's economic climate, some may be afraid to open a business, but really now is the perfect time!
Guidant CEO and Co-founder David Nilssen has published an article noting the Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Business Right Now.
Read it here.
Follow Guidant on Twitter at @guidant.
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Steve Calderia
Wednesday
Consumer confidence appears to be rebounding in the midst of our volatile economy.
A report by USA Today indicates that holiday retail sales were up and entrepreneurs are starting new small businesses in spite of the credit crises.
These new ventures are stimulating the economy by creating more jobs and opportunities for the unemployed.
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401(k) Small Business
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business
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Friday
Despite economic uncertainty, the Labor Department reported a rise in payrolls during the month of September.CNN Money reports, "Employers added 103,000 jobs in the month ... And July and August were both revised higher, showing an additional gain of 99,000 jobs over the summer."
However, the increase still reflects a weak economy. CNN Money explains that "the economy has recovered only 2.1 million of the 8.6 million jobs lost since the recession began."
Read the full report here.
The Wall Street Journal reported some economists believing this growth is "Not weak enough to call it a recession, not strong enough to qualify as a healthy recovery/expansion."
Read the full article here.
Check out the profile of Guidant Financial on the inc500 list.
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create jobs
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Small Business
Those looking to start a business take note: in a recent study conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Washington state ranked No. 2 in entrepreneurship.
The State Entrepreneurial Index "measures a state’s percentage growth and per capita growth in business establishments, its business formation rate, the number of patents per thousand residents and gross receipts of sole proprietorships/partnerships per capita."
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business
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Washington state
National Small Business Week is officially underway today with events taking place from 2:30 - 8:00 p.m. in our nation's capitol.
Former Celebrity Apprentice winner Bill Rancic will start the day off with his presentation "Growing Your Business While on the Go – a Road Warrior's Perspective," which will be followed by a panel discussion. Panelists include Rancic along with Ebrahim Keshavarz, the Vice President of Small Business Management for AT&T, and Mark Dobosz, the Executive Director of The SCORE Foundation.
To view a webcast of this event, tune in here.
The kick-off presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Guidant exhibited at the latest Franchise Expo South show down in Miami, and we wanted to report that it was a tremendous success. We were able to meet with many folks looking to buy a new franchise, and educate them on their various financing options during our mini financing classes. Guidant even earned a mention in the local Miami news, where a section of our fancy new trade show booth was on display for the world to see. Here is the clip from CBS 4 Miami (our part is towards the end):
If you are in the market for a franchise, we encourage you to check out one of these franchise shows. Many clients have told us that these shows proved to be extremely valuable in their business search, as it allowed them to explore various franchise concepts all in one place. If you aren’t sure where or when these shows are, reach out to us and we’d be happy to provide you with a list of upcoming shows in your area.
If you are in the market for a franchise, we encourage you to check out one of these franchise shows. Many clients have told us that these shows proved to be extremely valuable in their business search, as it allowed them to explore various franchise concepts all in one place. If you aren’t sure where or when these shows are, reach out to us and we’d be happy to provide you with a list of upcoming shows in your area.
Thursday
Scott Halford's column, Brainy Business, was fantastic today! Found on Entrepreneur.com, Scott focused on How to Avoid Self-Sabotage. He points out three very great points to consider:
- Avoid the "yes but..." trap. Instead, try using "yes and" so that you're additive to the idea process, not a detractor. You'll create barriers for yourself if you allow "yes but" to infect ideas.
- Create separate from evaluation. Brainstorm ideas free from evalution will allow creativity to flow. You can always go back later and try to evaluate whether it's valid or not.
- Think first, speak second. If you verbalize a negative emotion...it's more likely to become true (even if it's not in the first place).
We found this article very interesting because many individuals talk themselves out of starting a business because they act emotionally rather than logically about the decision. In addition, some of the greatest ideas never get off the ground because they are evaluated too quickly.
So what is the real lesson? Let your steak marinate for a few days before you cook it.
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business
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entrepreneur
On April 27th, 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that franchising sales have declined due to the recession. Really??? Duh!It really shouldn't shock anyone but we decided to write about it anyway because there was a great point made...and then missed.
In the article, the CEO of FranChoice, Jeff Elgin partially blames the credit crisis. He said that is because many aspiring franchisees "who nine months ago would have gotten financing very easily are being held up." Well, that is true. What was missed in the story is that although there has been a decline in SBA and other lending products - there has been a significant increase 401(k) Small Business Financing vehicles. More and more individuals are seeing the value of investing in a business that they control and increase value in.
Guidant Financial Group is the only Inc. 500 business that allows individuals to invest their retirement funds into a business without paying taxes or penalties. Many of these clients are buying these businesses in cash (from the retirement plan) so that initial cash generated can go back into the business as apposed to being sent to a bank in the form of an interest payment! In Q1 2009, Guidant announced nearly 30% growth in it's business from 2007 to 2008.
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retirement funds
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sba loans
Guidant Financial Group is a leader in small business financing. The rise in unemployment can certainly be attributed to the spike in interest we have seen in small business ownership. Yesterday, Kiplinger.com published an article called, Laid Off? Start a Business. The article does a great job identifying that there are many opportunities in small business both big and small. An SBA economist, Brian Headd, was quoted as saying, "Non-employer firms have the highest growth when the labor market struggles and the lowest growth when the labor market is doing well." We were also excited to see that they gave exposure to SCORE. SCORE is a tremendous organization that Guidant has supported for years. In fact, we sponsor the Seattle Score web site. SCORE helps counsel individuals who want to get into business for themselves - but need a little extra help. While SCORE is great as entrepreneurship counselors, other firms can help those who want more information on franchising. Companies like The Entrepreneur's Source, Frannet and FranChoice help individuals identify, evaluate and purchase franchise opportunities. Franchising is particularly attractive to those that have years of business experience and just need a semi-predictable system to follow.
How do you finance a business? Kiplinger pointed out the obvious in SBA Loans. But unsecured loans, peer-to-peer lending and equipment leases are all acceptable financing options. Additionally, if you expect the business to be extremely successful, there is a way to invest your retirement funds into a business without taking a distribution. The Guidant 401(k) is the leading small business investment vehicle.
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unsecured loans
...just kidding. You can never really guarantee these things, but a recent Wall Street Journal article, Tips for Dodging an Audit, suggests that there are things that trigger audits...and the chance to win a FREE examination by the agency!
According to the article, the IRS audited fewer Americans last year than in previous years. However, there was a significant increase in auditees making more than $200,000 annually. The attention given to higher earners was a result of congressional pressure to crack down on tax-dodgers. The IRS audited over 130,000 returns from the $200K and up demographic, which is a 49 percent increase from 2006. There was particular interest in self-employed individuals who file a Schedule C (for sole proprietors) and deal in large amounts of cash.
What is triggering the audit? The article suggests that unusually high deductions in relation to income, discrepancies in data reported by you and your employer/financial institutions and tips by an ex-partner or spouse are common ways to get a personal meeting with the agency. Suspicion is also aroused by deductions taken on any activity that could potentially be from a hobby rather than business.
Here are a couple of suggestions:
• Don’t ignore the IRS if you get a letter from them.
• Hire a professional to help you through an audit.
• Most importantly—only take legitimate deductions.
According to the article, the IRS audited fewer Americans last year than in previous years. However, there was a significant increase in auditees making more than $200,000 annually. The attention given to higher earners was a result of congressional pressure to crack down on tax-dodgers. The IRS audited over 130,000 returns from the $200K and up demographic, which is a 49 percent increase from 2006. There was particular interest in self-employed individuals who file a Schedule C (for sole proprietors) and deal in large amounts of cash.
What is triggering the audit? The article suggests that unusually high deductions in relation to income, discrepancies in data reported by you and your employer/financial institutions and tips by an ex-partner or spouse are common ways to get a personal meeting with the agency. Suspicion is also aroused by deductions taken on any activity that could potentially be from a hobby rather than business.
Here are a couple of suggestions:
• Don’t ignore the IRS if you get a letter from them.
• Hire a professional to help you through an audit.
• Most importantly—only take legitimate deductions.
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business
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deductions
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IRS audit
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self employed
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taxes
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