Small Businesses: Are first-year depreciation write-offs right for you?
Under today’s federal income tax rules, your business may be able to claim big first-year depreciation write-offs for eligible assets that are placed in service in the current tax year. But that strategy might not be right for every small business every year. Here’s what you should know before claiming 100% first-year bonus depreciation or first-year Section 179 deductions. CARES Act Changes Rules for NOL Carrybacks...
IRS issues guidance on Employee Payroll Tax Deferral
The economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt by businesses and individuals across Chicago. Not only have unemployment numbers spiked to new highs, but the impact on economic output has been hit. It was reported by Crain’s Chicago Business that Illinois is expected to take a $76B reduction in economic output due to the pandemic. These numbers reflect the need for another federal stimulus package to help...
Eleven tips for creating work/life balance in the virtual workforce
When you work remotely—as so many people are doing in the age of COVID-19—there’s no natural boundary between your workday and the rest of your life. Jackie Gaines shows you how to build and maintain greater balance so work doesn’t take over everything else According to a recent report, the average “pandemic workday” is 48.5 minutes longer than before. It also shows we are attending about 13 percent more meetings and sending 1.4 more...
The World of Dealership Finance
The World of Finance at this moment is in a state of flux and will probably continue to be through 2021. I am preparing this column on July 27 just before the Cares and PPP program stimulus is set to expire at month-end. So far, the $600 per week stimulus has fortified consumer spending. The PPP program has done the same by keeping employees on the payroll. What happens if these stimulants go away? There is little doubt that jobs that...
Powerful thoughts for relationship selling
Here’s the rock, paper, scissors game of selling: The relationship is more powerful than the price. The relationship is more powerful than delivery. The relationship is more powerful than quality. The relationship is more powerful than service. The quality of your relationships will determine the outcome of events when there is a problem or issue with price, delivery, quality, or service. I’m NOT saying that if you have a great...
Diminishing returns
Now, more than ever, our industry is trying to leverage their existing assets, and get more production out of fewer resources. This is not news. Nobody looks for ways to waste money. Our efforts however are even more pronounced in an economy besieged by a pandemic none of us saw coming. Planned initiatives we envisioned in the fall of 2019, may have included targeted marketing, data mining, and rental investments. It’s amazing how...
A new approach To differentiation
Every organization wants to stand out from their competitors, but very few are truly successful at it. Outside of the frequently lauded names such as Apple, Amazon, and USAA, companies continue to do a lot of ‘talking about’ and ‘studying’, yet struggle to capture the same magic. The problem is these same organizations are using an old set of tools for a new set of challenges. The complexity of the customer has...
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