Author: tonynova
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Successful equity crowdfunding isn’t free
Yesterday I met with a owner of a web site design business who told a story about a person who came to him recently asking for services at no up-front cost simply because he had a good business idea that he felt was sure to be successful. I get some of this same attitude coming from those…
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Changing my political behavior
My lawyer and trusted adviser says that I can’t go around lashing out at everybody and then expect people to cooperate and work with me. It’s not like I have the charisma and charm of a folk singer. I have a tough time remembering that others do not have as high a tolerance for criticism…
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Beer without gluten
The gluten-free food trend has certainly been one of the most significant forces to affect the food industry in a long time. The trend has extended to adult drinks as reported this weekend in Wall Street Journal. There is considerable debate and uncertainty as to the underlying science behind it. I’ve had some training in food…
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US playing catch-up in small business crowdfunding
Other counties are still ahead of the US in small business crowdfunding. In the first half of 2016 Netherland alone, for example, raised almost $100 million (US) capital for over 700 purposes including small and medium sized businesses, social projects, creative projects and consumer lending. The majority of the capital raised went to small business…
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Top 10 things for a Philly native to do during the DNC
Top 10 things for a Philly native to do during the DNC: Be really careful about timing travel through the city. Use a traffic-enabled GPS before even getting into the car. Buy a drink at 3:30AM just because you can. Watch out for those wide Humvees with roof-mounted machine guns on the Schuylkill expressway. Listen for…
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When taxes get ugly
Today I had to advise a small business client – in the strongest and clearest words I could summon – that it was important for him to immediately write a $5,000 check to retain a tax lawyer. Yes, it is a lot of money. I agree that it is not fair that you have to do this.…
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Web promotion and crowdfunding for nonprofit organizations
If you are involved with leadership of a nonprofit organization then you are likely to be aware of the effort and expense to boost the online presence and branding of your organization online. It’s all the rage today. These efforts usually revolve around bolstering the organization’s web site and then outreach through social media. The real questions…
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Insurance mirage
Financial planning textbooks teach us that insurance is the prefered way to reduce the risk of devastating consequences of rare events. Yet real life experience has proven time and again that insurance is unreliable for such an essential purpose. Over 30+ years as a financial adviser and business owner, I can only conclude that purchasing…
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Forecasting the presidential election
Accurate forecasting of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election is important for a number of business reasons. Forecasting is an important part of financial planning and tax planning, for example. Forecasting the outcome of the presidential race does not seem to be a difficult task at this point: “Most nonpartisan political analysts currently see the…