Category: Running a Business

Poor cash flow management has rung the death knell for many small businesses over the years, making successful cash flow management a very important part of building a sustainable business. Like many business owners, 20 years ago when I was running my own business, I didn’t take my entrepreneurial leap because I was particularly excited about bookkeeping and accounting, but it became a big part of how I spent a lot of my time. In today’s economy, effectively managing cash… Read More

As individuals and small businesses, as often happens in crisis situations like we’re faced with right now, scammers tend to rear their ugly heads to take advantage of people who are vulnerable and frustrated. Many of the tactics you may have even seen before, but because of the crisis, we are more susceptible because they promise information or remedies that we want to believe in. Here are some of the coronavirus scams to avoid. Don’t respond to emails, texts, or… Read More

This article has been updated with January 1, 2021 with information from the stimulus bill signed by the President December 27, 2020. The CARES Act creates three programs that offer unemployment benefits for the self employed that may provide financial relief to those who are contractors, gig workers or self-employed and can’t work due to coronavirus: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)  How does unemployment for the self-employed work, and how do you… Read More

My career spans almost 40 years. And, with the exception of a few years I spent in a publicly-traded company, I have spent the bulk of my career working in, managing, or owning a small business myself. Although I’ve worked through some hard times and a couple of difficult recessionary times, none have been as challenging or devastating as what we are facing right now. I share this because there are some things we can learn from doing business through… Read More

In the upper right hand corner of the PPP application, there is a box asking for your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). Although many sole proprietors or independent contractors who don’t have employees file taxes with their Social Security Number (SSN), there are many more small businesses that file with an Employer ID Number (EIN), also known as your Federal Tax Identification Number—the IRS uses this number to identify your business entity. Does Every Business Need an EIN? The quick answer… Read More