While driving to the office for a Zoom meeting that included my wife, a car in front of me on the highway spun out of control. She bounced into my car crushing my rear door. As a State Trooper approached my car, I realized I wasn’t going to make my meeting. Without much forethought, I texted my wife the following […]

13,000 people responded to the Faith at Work: An Empirical Study funded by The Lilly Endowment. One question asked was, “Do you agree that skills and habits you have learned from your faith community help you succeed at work?” 58% agree that what they have learned from their church has helped them succeed at work. For evangelicals, that percentage soared […]

When Kathy and I finished our last estate plan, we had a son with autism whom we believed may never be able to work, an immature teenage daughter and no grandchildren. Now we have grandchildren, our son has a job, and our daughters are married and more mature. It’s time for us to update our will based on our changing […]

Years ago, a brother and sister inherited a small business when both parents died suddenly. Both siblings worked in the business, but the brother inherited control of the company. Suddenly he became the executor of the estate, the chairman of the board and the acting CEO. He had to manage three different roles while grieving the death of his parents […]

When Scholastic Corporation CEO, Richard Robinson, unexpectedly passed away, his estate plan surprised the world. According to the Wall Street Journal, Robinson left controlling interest of his $1.2 billion publishing business to his Chief Strategy Officer and former lover, Iole Lucchese. Robinson’s two sons and ex-wife are now at the mercy of his former romantic partner’s wishes. Robinson’s oldest son, […]

A friend has been helping me develop a succession plan for the ministry of Unconventional Business Network. One of the first steps he recommended was to consider the vision I have for the ministry 10 years down the road. To help with that step, I began developing a futuristic organizational chart. Asking the question, “What kind of people will we […]

According to an article on investmentbank.com, roughly 40% of family-owned businesses will have leadership changes over the next 5 years. Succession planning has never been more important! Most adults do not have a will, so it’s not surprising that many business owners have no succession plan for their business. Our mortality is not a subject on which many of us […]

One of the biggest reasons for business failure is due to being undercapitalized. Starting a business almost always costs more than expected. Starting a business usually costs more than many entrepreneurs have in available cash. This typically leads to the entrepreneur trying to borrow significant sums of money, often requiring more trust in the lender than in God’s provision. I’ve […]

Most people who start a new business have technical skills in their industry, but frequently have little or no bookkeeping experience or knowledge. Since bookkeeping costs money and does not create revenue, it’s usually the last thing an entrepreneur wants to consider. Wise business decisions can only be made with good information. If you do not know whether your company […]

Every year around April 15th, many new entrepreneurs receive shocking and unexpected news from their tax preparer. They owe a lot more tax than they have cash available. Why does this happen? When you receive a paycheck, taxes are withheld automatically, but as an entrepreneur you are paid a gross amount of money without accounting for taxes. The IRS wants […]