Business Owner

It took me 20 years of trial and error before I achieved a multimillion-dollar net worth. Now, at 64, I draw income from the 18 companies I started and the 12,000 apartment units I own.But I wish I had known sooner how ultra wealthy people think about money. I've built relationships with many millionaires over the course of my investing career, and have spent years observing their habits. Here's what they do differently:1. They don't diversify their investments right away.It's generally good practice to diversify your…

When starting a business, it's sometimes hard to know what to prioritize, and going at it alone can be overwhelming. But there are strategies you can use to avoid common pitfalls.My mission is to teach people how to earn money from their passions. It's what I did: I went from living on food stamps to building two online businesses.Today, I run a music blog, The Recording Revolution, and a entrepreneurship coaching company. I work just five hours a week from my home office and make $160,000 a month in passive income.Here's…

With the Federal Reserve's latest rate hike adding half a percentage point to the cost of debt capital and reaching its highest level in 15 years, the majority of small business loans will hit the double-digit interest level for the first time since 2007.The cost of taking out loans, and making monthly interest payments on business debt already has been rising swiftly after successive mega 75 percentage point rate hikes from the Fed, but the 10% level is a psychological threshold that small business loan experts say will…

Inflation in the United States hit a record high in June 2022. Consumer prices soared by 9.1% compared with a year prior — the largest annual increase since 1981. While wages are rising, they're not keeping up with inflation. Wage growth has been consistent with an inflation rate of about 4.5%. Meanwhile, as of November, inflation was at 7.1%.Americans are feeling the brunt at the grocery store and gas station and with rent payments, too. Two-thirds of workers said their pay isn't keeping up with these higher prices. So…

The Biden student debt-relief plan remains stuck in legal limbo, but some borrowers have a saving grace: their employer.Companies have stepped up in recent years to help student loan borrowers throw off the yoke of debt. They are doing this in several ways, including offering direct assistance or through relief tied to employees' retirement savings. There's broad support for making student loan debt assistance more readily available as a workplace benefit, and retirement legislation being considered by Congress may soon…

A "Now hiring" sign is displayed on the window of an IN-N-OUT fast food restaurant in Encinitas, California, May 9, 2022.Mike Blake | ReutersWhen it comes to salary, small business owners generally don't play in the same league as larger companies.It's even trickier now in a tight labor market with rising wages and with more states and municipalities posting salary ranges, which stand to make small businesses look even less appealing from a salary perspective.The stakes are especially high given that small businesses are…

Many small business owners have trouble figuring out an appropriate take-home pay as the company expands, and some don’t pay themselves at all. These mistakes can easily come back to bite the founder and the business.Understanding how to pay yourself appropriately — even if it’s only a small amount that grows over time — is important for the long-term health of a business, according to professionals that advise small businesses. “It doesn’t reflect the true health of your business if you aren’t taking something,” said…

While some companies have slowed the pace of hiring due to concerns about an economic slowdown, the demand from small businesses for new workers has not yet shown signs of declining, Paychex CEO Marty Mucci said."We're still not really seeing any strong recessionary measures here for small business," Mucci said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.Hiring at U.S. small businesses with fewer than 50 employees has slowed for five straight months, according to data from Paychex and IHS Markit, but Mucci said that has more to do…

Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartpone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Intagram, Whatsapp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021.Dado Ruvic | ReutersWhatsApp is already widely popular with U.S. consumers. Now Meta Platforms is turning more attention to building its small business base.The Facebook parent company launched WhatsApp Business in 2018 with free, simple tools to help small businesses keep in touch with customers, offering a way for them to directly…

Filip Radwanski | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesThe retail battle narrative over the past few decades has cited one of two wars: Amazon and e-commerce against the big bricks-and-mortar retailers, and everybody big against small Main Street entrepreneurs. But in the current confusing economic environment — marked by inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and a volatile consumer changing spending patterns due to the high prices which followed Covid — small business experts say that Main Street should be more optimistic about the…