One of the annual traditions of business ownership is making some tax planning decisions, usually late in the year. It includes things like buying equipment or vehicles to take advantage of accelerated depreciation through a Section 179 tax deduction or some other accounting jargon. But those aren’t really the surprises we’re talking about. We’re talking about those surprise tax bills you get from your CPA where you have less than a couple of weeks to come up with significant cash to pay your bill.

So with all the changes going on in 2020, we are now up against some of the final changes as the year comes to an end. Gone are all the holiday get togethers with friends and family and business associates. And while many of you may be celebrating not having to attend your spouse’s company holiday party, just as many are probably missing out on that white elephant gift! This got us to thinking, what’s everyone doing to celebrate the holidays in their businesses?

We all have doubts. It’s only human. Some of us are just better at hiding those doubts than others. One phrase that is often difficult for business owners to utter is “I don’t know.” There can be a pressure as an owner to know all the answers. Whether that pressure is real or perceived doesn’t matter because you still feel it. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for a few weeks or several decades, chances are there are times when you feel like you’re in over your head. So what’s a business owner to do about it?

Well, it’s almost here. 2020 is nearly finished. And there’s promising news on the vaccine front with COVID so things are looking up heading into 2021. But there are several changes we’ve all had to make in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we head fully into the planning season, the question becomes what changes do you keep from this year going into next year? What changes are happening worldwide that are going to impact you and your business?

We all have lots of things to be thankful for, even in this crazy pandemic COVID year of 2020! Part of the beauty about this time of year is we get the chance to reflect on the year that was as we pull together our plans for the year to come. So our question tonight has to do with how you show your thankfulness to people. Because it’s good to be thankful, but it’s even better to show your thankfulness.

Nothing like burying the answer in the headline! Yes, keep it simple. The best way to get things done is to get started! Get started in pulling together your plan. We have found too many people who are stuck in neutral. This has been exacerbated during this year of the COVID pandemic.

Are you more comfortable asking for permission or forgiveness? Not sure? Do you tend to just do what you think is right and deal with the consequences or do you try to get everyone else on board before doing stuff?

We have been blessed to not only achieve success in our own personal lives and careers, but we’ve also had the benefit of working closely with many other successful people in all walks of life. This includes people in everything from business to politics to non-profits.

We have been blessed to not only achieve success in our own personal lives and careers, but we’ve also had the benefit of working closely with many other successful people in all walks of life. This includes people in everything from business to politics to non-profits.

Some days it’s easier to stay positive than others. For instance, those days when you land a big new customer or finally bring on board that key new hire. But there are other days when it’s really tough to keep that positive outlook. Simply flip the scenarios mentioned before where instead of landing a big new customer you instead lose a customer that makes up 25% of your business. Or that key employee gives you two weeks notice.