Healthcare Update

By now of course you've heard that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare."  In an unexpected twist, the Court ruled that the controversial individual mandate is constitutional, but under the government's power to tax, rather than to regulate commerce.

We don't need to go into the details of the ruling itself -- just turn on your television, and somewhere, somebody is opining on it right now!  But we do want to remind you the Court's decision means several new taxes will go into effect as scheduled:

•  On January 1, 2013, the Medicare tax will go up by 0.9% for individuals earning over $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers, $125,000 for married individuals filing separately).

•  Also on January 1, there will be a new "Unearned Income Medicare Contribution" of 3.8% on investment income, for those earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers).

•  Beginning on January 1, 2014, there will be a new $2,500 limit on tax-free contributions to flexible spending accounts, and employers with more than 50 employees will face a penalty of $2,000 per employee for not offering health insurance to full-time employees.

•  Finally, the threshold for deducting medical and dental expenses rises from 7.5% of adjusted gross income to 10%.  This will make these expenses even harder to deduct without help from advanced strategies like Health Savings Accounts or Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans.

So, while the constitutional issues may be settled, several planning challenges certainly remain.  We'll be following developments carefully in order to help you navigate these new challenges.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call us at 217-241-4597.

June 1, 2012 Client Newsletter

For more than 30 years I have been searching for the answer.  What are some small businesses doing to make them successful that others aren’t doing?  

I think I found the answer.

One of my favorite small business gurus, Dan Kennedy, writes in his book No BS Pricing Strategies, “One of my pet principles is that, whatever success you have, you get out of bed and earn it by your own successful behavior each and every morning.”

Another one of my favorite gurus, Michael Gerber, teaches that you should start with what your business will look like when it is done.  How many employees will you have?  What are sales going to be? What is your profit gong to be?  Where are you going to locate it?  Who are going to be your customers?  By figuring that out, what is your business is going to look like when it is done, you actually have set your goals for your business.  Now lets put together a plan to reach your goals.

The problems is that I am like most small business owners, to busy doing what my business does, to take the time to put together a plan, let alone follow it.  So like most of us, I stumble forward, and by accident customers find us, and we do the job or sell them the merchandise and move on.  I am so busy doing it, doing it, doing it, that I don’t have the time to work on my business. Almost all decisions are seat of the pants.  Certainly no well thought out. Guess what? I am doing the things that unsuccessful business owners are doing.  I am caught in that trap. Like a boat without a rudder.  Putting out fires on a daily basis.  I should know better. Managing my business by intention is the thing I really need to do to be successful.   But planning is really hard to do.  

Until I stumbled upon Chris Guillebeau.  Guillebeau is the author of the $100 Start Up.  The book is about finding value from your work and having the freedom from your work to do all the things that are important in your life. It takes stories from people literally all around the world, that maybe never thought about being entrepreneurs but through layoff’s and hard times were pushed into that role.

The stories are great because it’s people who started businesses with little to no money but with planning, hard work and hustle, found a way to make it work. They’re an inspiration to the average person because they are average people doing it in a way that we can follow.

Guillebeau has taken the business plan and stripped it down to the basics, one page to be exact.  I have included in this newsletter.  It is simple.  Takes a few minutes to fill out.  It allows us busy small business owners to really get to the meat of the matter.  What will my business look like when it is done.  Finally a chance to do the things that successful business owners are doing to be successful.  We have posted a link on our blog to his website.  You will find even more very simple easy to fill forms that will help you manage your business.  I challenge you to fill it out and use it.   More next month

Things you should be doing right now.

Rethinking your record keeping. Whether you are having us keep track of your books, you use the ubiquitous quick books, using a check book, or a spread sheet, the fact is your record keeping system is the key to a better April 15th.  We believe that a system that will accurately reflect your businesses income and expenses, yet not become so burdensome that you won’t do the things needed to do be on top of your record keeping  is not only crucial to your success but also easily obtainable.  Call us we can help.

Our staffed office hours have changed.  We are open week days with a much earlier closing time this based more on work flow than the clock.  We are still available to meet with you evenings and weekends.  The only thing we as