Running a business is an exhilarating journey, but it can also be fraught with financial challenges. To thrive in the competitive landscape, it's crucial for business owners to be aware of common financial mistakes and take proactive steps to steer clear of them. In this article, we'll delve into the top 10 financial mistakes that business owners often make and provide valuable insights on how to sidestep these pitfalls. Let's embark on the path to financial success!

A well-crafted buy-sell agreement provides essential protection and peace of mind for business owners. It creates a framework for managing ownership transitions, maintaining fair value, and preserving the continuity of your business. By controlling ownership, determining fair value, and ensuring smooth transitions, these agreements safeguard your business, your personal and family interests, and offer stability to customers, creditors, and employees.

As a business owner, it's essential to understand your tax obligations and stay on top of your tax payments throughout the year. One aspect that often confuses entrepreneurs is the requirement to make quarterly estimated tax payments. In this comprehensive guide, we'll break down the process of calculating and making these payments, as well as provide insights into meeting tax requirements and safe harbor rules.

Planning your exit strategy and preparing for a smooth transition is vital for small business owners. By evaluating your options, preparing your business for sale, increasing its value, assembling a transition team, preparing documentation, and effectively marketing your business, you can navigate the exit process with confidence and maximize its value.

Cassandra Smalley, CFA, CFP® will donate 50% of book sale profits from her new book “The Why of Wealth” to the Lucy Shair Foundation in June. Show your support for empowering other women to financial success and increasing the inclusion of more women in financial services to serve them by purchasing your copy.

Thriving as an executive working mother is an ongoing journey that requires intentional actions, support systems, and self-care. By clarifying your goals, cultivating a strong support network, continuously developing your skills, and embracing work-life boundaries, you can successfully navigate the corporate ladder while finding fulfillment in both your career and personal life.

Involving your kids in your business as a solopreneur not only brings financial benefits to you as the business owner, but also fosters a sense of responsibility, instills valuable financial skills, and creates a legacy for future generations.

When it comes to looking out for your employees' financial well-being, offering a retirement plan is a fantastic move. One option worth exploring is a Safe Harbor 401(k) plan. It comes with perks for both you and your hardworking team. With increased participation, simplified compliance requirements, and flexibility in plan design, it's a win-win for all.

Switching from a corporate job to entrepreneurship is an exciting and transformative decision. By following these essential steps and preparing for the transition, you can increase your chances of success: define your vision, build a strong financial foundation, develop a comprehensive business plan, build a supportive network, acquire relevant skills, and maintain a resilient mindset and you will enjoy the fulfillment and freedom that building your own business can bring.

What happens when our purpose and our passions overshadow our fears? What happens when fearless women lead? On this International Women’s Day, we celebrate and empower others toward an equitable and inclusive future.

Creating a lasting legacy requires communication among members of the family unit. We typically think about our estate plan as a way to best carry out your wishes. But our legacy is not only for the moment we have checked out from this earth. Our legacy is now.

Our goals in life, our career, and the things we wish for our family all go back to this single word: values. Values act as the guiding principles that help bring a deep sense of purpose, fulfillment, and joy to your life. Most importantly, values explain your WHY.

Cassandra Smalley Wealth Management celebrates its new financial planning and wealth management firm specializing in empowering women and their families to design their best life.

A fiduciary is someone who is required, by law, to act in the best interests of their clients.

A financial planner collaborates with you to organize your financial life and helps you understand how your resources can help you achieve your goals. More than just the numbers, a financial planner is a partner you can trust to take the stress and overwhelm out of your financial life.

Cassandra Smalley Wealth Management began with a belief that wealth management and financial planning was more than just striving to reach for some magic retirement number and that clients deserved more attention to uncovering their unique needs and goals that allows them to live out their best life both now and in the future.