The Seattle Paid Sick Time and Paid Safe Time Ordinance goes into effect on September 1, 2012. The Ordinance will require that employers with more than 4 full time equivalent employees provide to employees who work in Seattle specified amounts of accrued, job-protected paid time off for personal illness, family care and other purposes. Every... View Article
Our Equinox Focus Event last week “Tax Update: What You Need to Know for 2012 (and 2011, too)!” was quite a success with raves from our participants. I wanted to share some of my key takeaways from the program. – Pre-Opening Costs. For folks starting or launching a business, certain pre-opening costs are tax deductible. In... View Article
Our guest blogger this week is Mary Marino, Partner at Clifton Larson Allen. Mary’s practice specializes in planning and compliance for closely-held businesses and their owners. Mary will also be our guest presenter at our upcoming Equinox Focus Event on January 25. There is a potentially lucrative tax credit that applies for the six year... View Article
Although it seems early, January is the start of tax season… Now’s the time to begin conversations with accountants about last year’s business activities and plans for the current year. It’s time to pull together documentation to support deductions and gather 1099s. Most of the work here is done with your accountant and CPA. From... View Article
Our guest blog post comes from Tom Andrew of Northwest Business Advisory. Tom was a speaker at our Equinox Focus Event on September 28. ————— Consider the following scenario: You have built up a successful business from scratch. You have labored to establish a loyal customer base that can rely upon your product or service... View Article
The term “succession planning” most commonly describes a company’s planning for its future. The issues typically discussed revolve around who will take over the company’s ownership and management upon the retirement of the current owners or partners. These are critical planning elements for any company but succession planning must also address the unexpected events that... View Article
Our guest blog post is from Bert Holeton, President of The Mastermind Group (www.the-mastermind-group.com). ————————– When it comes to choosing the right individual to join your organization, or the right individual to promote into a key position, or the right combination of individuals to form a team – it’s all about performance and fit. To... View Article
Our guest blog post comes from Julia Robinson, Managing Partner of Steller Solutions, a Seattle-area consultancy that helps clients implement changes that produce rapid bottom line results, allowing their business to beat out the competition while using fewer resources. “People don’t leave companies, they leave managers,” a colleague and mentor recently shared with me. The more I... View Article
Business owners know the value of hiring and developing a strong workforce – a workforce that can accomplish the business’ goals efficiently and effectively. Yet much of the hiring that’s done is informal. The process of selecting the employee typically includes interviews focused on whether we “like” the person and the person’s hands-on experience, more... View Article