Author: Tony Novak
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Book review and highlights: “How Successful People Think” by John Maxwell
Originally published as ‘Thinking for A Change’ in 2003. I purchased the book in September 2024 at the book store at Cumberland Mall and focused on reading it February and March of 2025. The book is largely an effectively arranged collection of quotations and citations of other writers. I think the most value I can…
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Who wins and who loses under the new IRS?
The IRS is reducing its work force, adding new AI enforcement tools, while the Criminal Investigation division is shifting its resources, agents, and focus from the nearly $700 Billion small-business tax gap enforcement to combating border-related crimes. Without the threat of criminal prosecutions, the behavior of other taxpayers is likely to shift. While there is…
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QuickBooks and Mailchimp integration in microbusinesses and small nonprofits
Intuit, the owner of QuickBooks, acquired Mailchimp in 2021. Since then, the firm encouraged its Proadvisors to boost their knowledge of the integration between the two platforms. I spent some time learning but have not found it so effective for my businesses, my clients, or associated nonprofits outside of periodic newspaper use. (That is another…
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Coping with Financial Insecurity Caused by Government
A lot of us learned this past month that our lives are not as financially secure as we believed. Today’s news and emails are buzzing with fears of individuals facing strongly worded government demands to pay back money that they never received. Small business farmers in our South Jersey region had spring contract payments cancelled,…
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Who pays $1500 for a simple tax return?
Last year I stopped charging for tax returns and worked since then to repackage my messaging. This post continues that effort. Almost nobody pays $1500 for just a simple tax return. That’s the point of this post. Yet lots of people want the confidence gained from the benefits of a strong relationship with a versatile…
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AICPA update: relevant for us?
The new head of the AICPA, Mark Koziel, shared his thoughts about the profession. These are not issues that have much affect sole proprietor firms like mine serving the small business market. Still, I pay attention to understand larger industry trends. A few takeaways:
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Ten tips to prevent bad gas
Smart handling of gasoline is part of many small business operations and a disaster preparedness plan. Gasoline contaminated with water can significantly impair engine performance, resulting in rough idling, reduced power output, higher fuel consumption engines that just won’t start or stay running. These problems not only compromise the efficiency of autos, boats, and equipment…
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38 years of small business struggle
In February 1987 I left one of Wall Street’s richest and most successful firms of that era, Drexel Burnham Lambert, led by junk bond king Michael Milliken, because I saw how this was destroying middle income Americans, small businesses, and our local towns. I set up a company Freedom Benefits that eventually became an early…
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After-the-fact payroll 2025
After-the-fact payroll is common necessity in micro-businesses doing late tax planning. There are a few points that complete the process easier.