Business Strategies

Starting a business

The decisions you make in month one echo for years. Entity choice, bookkeeping setup, and owner-compensation structure are the three biggest.

• Choose the entity before you open a bank account — switching later costs money and attention
• Open separate business bank accounts and credit cards; never commingle with personal
• Set up bookkeeping from day one — QuickBooks Online or Xero takes an hour and saves months of cleanup
• Register for the right tax IDs (EIN, sales tax, unemployment) — don't skip any
• Establish reasonable-salary documentation from the start if you're an S-Corp owner

Running a business

Ongoing financial discipline separates businesses that compound wealth from ones that just generate taxable income. The core habits:

• Close the books monthly — not quarterly, not annually
• Maintain a rolling 13-week cash-flow forecast
• Benchmark key ratios (gross margin, labor as % of revenue, inventory turnover) monthly
• Pay estimated taxes quarterly rather than scrambling at April 15
• Fund retirement contributions early in the year, not in the final weeks

Growing a business

Growth changes the financial game. Hiring employees brings payroll complexity, workers' comp, and benefits decisions. Adding locations or states creates nexus issues. Taking outside investment has tax consequences years later.

Selling a business

The biggest tax event of most business owners' lives is the sale of the business. Good planning can save six or seven figures in tax. Critical decisions:

• Asset sale vs. stock sale — buyer and seller usually want opposite structures
• Installment sale vs. lump-sum — trades tax spreading for rate risk
• Allocation of purchase price across goodwill, equipment, inventory, non-compete
• Qualified Small Business Stock (Section 1202) exclusion — up to $10M tax-free gain
• Pre-sale restructuring to reduce tax on the above