Whether a person owns a billion-dollar business or works as a small-time freelance contractor, many business owners use the same account for personal and business, which is a mistake. Even though having more than one bank account can be inconvenient, a person should not use their personal account for business purposes, leading to legal liability.
According to business specialists, the first step towards a successful business is to open a business bank account. Cost is not a problem as most banks offer free business checking accounts, making it even easier for new business starters to open a separate account. Here are the reasons you should have a separate business account.
Legal Protection
Every time an owner sets up a corporation or a business, a primary advantage of doing so is the legal security from problems that come along with it. This is because the law looks at a business separately from the owner. Therefore, if a party wants to sue a company, they can’t sue the owner as an individual. However, in a financial association, a court can order an investigation regarding the owner.
Tax Benefits
Whatever the nature of a business, having separate accounts has many benefits, including tax benefits. It does not matter whether a person sets up a Corporation, an LLC, or a Partnership. Sustaining a proper yet separate bank account will help them avoid pointless difficulties that may occur for your business.
The IRS has specific regulations for working as freelancers or operating your business from home about what they can deduct as business expenses. If a person uses their personal account for their business, the IRS may audit those deductions, regardless of whether they are legit expenses or not.
Credibility
If you use your personal account to protect accounts payable, the suppliers or other entities you are making payments may question your business reputation. Using a separate bank account will make your business look more professional. A professional business account check will increase your credibility and legitimize you as a business.
Convenience
Having separate accounts and debit and credit cards specifically for your business will be convenient. You won’t have to calculate how to separate those expenses from your personal ones. Recording expenses can be daunting, especially for smaller businesses. When scrutinizing business expenses, having a credit card or bank statement exclusively for the business can prove to be beneficial. Using a card will also provide businesses with credit that won’t be an option with traditional banks.
These business credits and debit cards also offer many other benefits like travel discounts, higher credit limits, and a more streamlined billing process along with better interest rates. With that, many cards also give rewards like cashback on office supplies and other business expenses.
Processing Credit Card Payments for Business
Thanks to online shopping, customers rarely carry cash. So what does a person do when a customer shows up in your business with just a debit or credit card? Under these circumstances, a business account will be essential. A business account will make it possible to accept debit and credit cards connected to the account.
Accounting
Your business bookkeeping and accounting system need to be in place from day one of your business. If you don’t have your personal and business accounts separated, this can be an unnecessary challenge for your accountant or bookkeeper. If you are handling your accounting through accounting and bookkeeping software yourself, this can simplify the accounting process.
Conclusion
You should always have a separate business account, no matter the size of the business. Accounting and bookkeeping can be a challenge for any business, and as the business owner, you need to make the right choices on how to handle it.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
A reverse mortgage is a valuable retirement planning tool that can increase retired income flows by using your greatest asset: your home. A reverse mortgage allows homeowners to borrow against their home’s equity while still maintaining ownership of the home.
The best part of a reverse mortgage is that, unlike conventional mortgages, there are no payments involved. Instead, the lender makes payments to the borrower, either through a single payment, monthly payments, or a line of credit.
The reverse mortgage is paid when the borrower dies, permanently moves out of the residence, or the property is sold. Instead of paying the monthly bill and the value of your growing house, the bank pays you monthly, and equity can shrink. It is important to know that you must be 62 to qualify.
How can a reverse mortgage benefit me?
A reverse mortgage can be a powerful source of funding for people who need to increase their income to be comfortable in retirement. The biggest personal asset most retirees own is their home. In many cases, a retiree’s house is paid. A reverse mortgage increases income without increasing monthly payments and allows a retiree to stay in your home.
The amount you will be eligible to receive is based on several things, most importantly, your home’s value, age, and interest rates. You will be eligible to receive more money the older you are, the better your house is, and the current interest rates are lower.
The negative aspects of reverse mortgages
One of the negative aspects of a reverse mortgage is the costs involved. All mortgages have costs, but they invest in mortgage rates, which may include the interest rate, the loan formalization fee, mortgage insurance rate, appraisal fee, title insurance fees, and other closing costs, which are very high compared to a traditional mortgage. Costs vary but can be as high as $ 30,000 or $ 40,000. This cost is not paid out of pocket but rolled into the loan.
Another potential problem to consider is the obligation to repay the loan if you must move permanently out of the house. This may not sound like a problem now, but if you ever have to enter a full-time care center, the loan will be due if you left your home for a year or more.
The final disadvantage to the reverse mortgage affects your estate. The reverse mortgage will almost always lower your home’s value, which will leave less money to your heirs.
Reverse mortgage myths – and the truth
Misconceptions about reverse mortgages can cause owners to avoid consideration of these complex loans. Or, eligible seniors could proceed hastily without realizing all the possible repercussions of their financial decisions. Here are some misconceptions and realities about this real estate option.
Myth: The lender takes the title of the house.
Truth: You still retain the ownership of your home. The reverse mortgage is just a lien against the property.
Myth: The loan may be more than the value of the property. You or your heirs the survival of a large bill when you finally leave your home.
Truth: A reverse mortgage is a “no recourse” loan, which means that you, your heirs, or your estate will never have to pay more than the appraised value of the home upon loan expiration.
Myth: You can not get a reverse mortgage if you currently have a conventional mortgage.
Truth: Although this is true, you can get a setback if you use the proceeds to pay off your existing mortgage at closing.
Myth: A reverse mortgage can cause you to be evicted from your home.
Truth: You leave your house when you choose. No one is going to force you from home. The reverse mortgage is not expected until your home is no longer your primary residence.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Mastering The Art Of Decision-Making For Better Outcomes
The art of decision making is the systematic approach to evaluating options and choosing courses of action that maximize positive outcomes while minimizing risks and regrets. This skill combines analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, and practical frameworks to help individuals make confident choices in both personal and professional contexts, ultimately leading to better results and reduced decision fatigue.
As someone who has built Complete Controller from the ground up over two decades, I’ve learned that successful entrepreneurship hinges on one critical skill: making sound decisions quickly and confidently. The statistics are staggering—85% of business leaders suffer from decision distress, regretting or questioning their choices, while 70% would prefer a robot to make their decisions. I’ve navigated thousands of crucial choices, from selecting the right technology platforms to determining which clients align with our values. This comprehensive guide reveals the systematic approaches, psychological insights, and practical techniques that transform decision-making from a source of stress into your greatest competitive advantage.
What is the art of decision-making, and how do you master it?
The art of decision making combines systematic analysis, emotional intelligence, and proven frameworks to consistently choose optimal outcomes
Master decision makers use structured processes like the DECIDE model to break complex choices into manageable components
Successful decision-making requires balancing logical analysis with intuitive insights while recognizing and mitigating cognitive biases
Confidence grows through practice, reflection, and learning from both successful and unsuccessful choices
Effective decision makers understand that perfect information is rarely available, making timely action with adequate data more valuable than delayed perfection
The Psychology Behind Confident Decision-Making
Decision-making operates through two distinct cognitive systems that shape how we process information and arrive at conclusions. System 1 thinking handles routine, intuitive decisions through rapid pattern recognition, while System 2 engages in deliberate, analytical processing for complex choices. Understanding this dual-system approach helps explain why some decisions feel effortless while others create mental strain and uncertainty.
The emotional component of decision-making serves as a crucial data points that inform our choices. Fear, excitement, anxiety, and confidence all influence how we evaluate options and assess risks. Skilled decision makers learn to interpret these signals as valuable information about potential outcomes and personal values rather than viewing emotions as obstacles to rational thinking.
Overcoming analysis paralysis and decision fatigue
Modern professionals face an overwhelming burden—the average adult makes 35,000 decisions per day, from minor clothing choices to major business strategies. This cognitive overload forces the brain to take shortcuts, either becoming reckless and acting impulsively or avoiding decisions altogether to conserve mental energy. The sheer volume creates decision fatigue that degrades the quality of important choices, particularly those made later in the day.
Strategic approaches to combat decision fatigue include batching similar choices, creating standard operating procedures for routine decisions, and protecting peak mental energy for high-stakes choices. Successful leaders often wear similar outfits daily or eat the same breakfast, eliminating trivial decisions to preserve cognitive resources for meaningful ones.
Building decision-making confidence through pattern recognition
Confidence in decision-making develops through accumulated experience and pattern recognition across similar situations. As individuals encounter comparable scenarios repeatedly, their ability to quickly identify relevant factors and predict outcomes improves dramatically. This expertise-based intuition becomes a valuable complement to analytical frameworks, particularly in time-pressured situations where extensive analysis isn’t feasible.
Essential Decision-Making Frameworks for Better Outcomes
The DECIDE model provides a comprehensive six-step framework for tackling complex decisions systematically. This approach begins with clearly defining the problem, establishing evaluation criteria, considering all alternatives, identifying the best option, developing an implementation plan, and evaluating results. Each step builds upon the previous one, creating a logical progression from problem identification to successful execution.
Only 57% of organizations consistently make high-quality decisions according to McKinsey research. However, winning organizations—the top 20% that make both high-quality and fast decisions—are twice as likely to report financial returns of at least 20% from their recent decisions compared to slower decision-makers. This stark difference highlights the competitive advantage of structured decision-making approaches.
The CSD matrix for uncertainty management
When facing decisions with incomplete information, the CSD Matrix helps categorize factors into Certainties, Suppositions, and Doubts. This framework acknowledges that perfect information is rarely available while providing a structured approach to evaluate what is known, assumed, and uncertain. By explicitly identifying these categories, decision makers can focus their research efforts on the most critical unknowns.
Applying the golden circle to decision-making
Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle framework—starting with Why, then How, then What—provides powerful clarity for values-based decisions. This approach helps choices align with fundamental purposes and motivations rather than being driven solely by immediate circumstances or external pressures. Organizations and individuals who consistently apply this framework report higher satisfaction with their decisions and better long-term outcomes.
Cognitive Biases That Sabotage Smart Decisions
Research across management, finance, medicine, and law reveals that overconfidence is the most recurrent cognitive bias affecting decision-making. In medicine alone, 90% of studies confirmed the presence of bias in decision-making, with strong evidence that overconfidence, anchoring, and availability bias were associated with diagnostic errors. This cognitive distortion leads individuals to overestimate their knowledge, abilities, and chances of success, resulting in inadequate preparation and risk assessment.
Confirmation bias causes decision makers to seek information that supports their preexisting beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence. This selective attention creates blind spots that can lead to poor choices, particularly in complex situations where multiple perspectives are essential. Recognizing this tendency allows decision makers to actively seek disconfirming evidence and alternative viewpoints.
The anchoring effect in business decisions
Anchoring bias occurs when initial information disproportionately influences subsequent judgments. In negotiation contexts, the first number mentioned often serves as an anchor that skews the entire discussion. Similarly, initial impressions of job candidates, investment opportunities, or strategic options can unduly influence final decisions despite additional information that should alter those conclusions.
Combating the sunk cost fallacy
The sunk cost fallacy leads decision makers to continue investing in failing projects or relationships simply because of previous investments. This bias prevents the objective evaluation of current circumstances and future prospects, often resulting in throwing good money after bad. Successful decision makers learn to evaluate situations based on future potential rather than past commitments.
Practical Techniques for Everyday Decision Excellence
The 10-10-10 Rule provides perspective by evaluating how you will feel about a decision in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. This temporal framework helps distinguish between short-term emotions and long-term consequences, often revealing that immediate concerns may be less significant than they initially appear. The technique proves particularly valuable for career decisions, relationship choices, and major purchases.
Creating decision deadlines prevents endless deliberation and forces action within reasonable timeframes. Without time constraints, many decisions suffer from perfectionism and over-analysis that rarely improves outcomes. Setting clear deadlines creates healthy pressure that leads to timely action based on available information.
The power of constraint in decision making
Limiting options actually improves decision quality by reducing cognitive load and analysis paralysis. When faced with too many choices, people often defer decisions or make suboptimal selections due to overwhelm. Successful decision makers intentionally constrain their options to a manageable number—typically three to five alternatives—allowing for thorough evaluation without cognitive overload.
Implementing decision journals for continuous improvement
Maintaining a decision journal creates accountability and enables learning from both successful and unsuccessful choices. This practice involves recording the decision context, available options, chosen course of action, expected outcomes, and actual results. Over time, these journals reveal personal decision-making patterns and help identify areas for improvement.
Building Organizational Decision-Making Capabilities
A Fortune 100 energy company struggling with decision bottlenecks implemented a structured decision-making framework that clearly defined roles and processes. Before the change, only 28% of employees believed decisions were made in time for effective execution. After implementing the new system, this number increased to 48%, with a 20% improvement in employees agreeing that decisions were made at the right organizational level.
Creating decision-making frameworks at the organizational level requires establishing clear criteria for different types of decisions, defining who has authority at various levels, and providing training on systematic approaches. Organizations with strong decision-making cultures typically outperform competitors and adapt more quickly to changing conditions.
Conclusion
Mastering the art of decision making transforms uncertainty from a source of stress into a competitive advantage. Throughout my journey building Complete Controller, I’ve learned that consistent application of systematic frameworks, combined with emotional intelligence and bias awareness, creates the foundation for exceptional outcomes. The techniques outlined in this guide—from the DECIDE model to decision journals—provide practical tools that any professional can implement immediately. Decision-making excellence develops through practice and reflection, not perfection. Start with small decisions, build your confidence through systematic approaches, and gradually tackle more complex choices as your skills develop. The investment in decision-making capabilities pays dividends across every aspect of personal and professional life. For entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking additional support in making critical financial decisions, Complete Controller offers the expertise and systematic approaches that help businesses thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Art of Decision Making
What is the art of decision-making?
The art of decision making is the skillful combination of analytical frameworks, emotional intelligence, and practical experience to consistently choose optimal outcomes. It involves balancing logical analysis with intuitive insights while managing cognitive biases and uncertainty.
How can I improve my decision-making confidence?
Build confidence through systematic frameworks like the DECIDE model, maintain a decision journal to track outcomes, start with lower-stakes decisions to build skills, and learn to recognize and trust your expertise-based intuition in familiar domains.
What are the most common decision-making mistakes?
The most frequent mistakes include analysis paralysis, falling victim to cognitive biases like overconfidence and confirmation bias, failing to set decision deadlines, not considering long-term consequences, and making choices based on sunk costs rather than future potential.
Should I trust my intuition when making important decisions?
Intuition can be valuable when you have relevant experience and expertise in the decision domain. However, it should be balanced with analytical thinking, especially for high-stakes decisions. The best approach combines systematic analysis with intuitive insights while being aware of potential biases.
How do I make decisions when I don’t have complete information?
Use frameworks like the CSD Matrix to categorize what you know, assume, and doubt. Set reasonable deadlines for information gathering, focus research on the most critical unknowns, and accept that waiting for perfect information often means missing opportunities. Make the best decision possible with available data.
Blumenthal-Barby, J.S. and Krieger, H. “The Impact of Cognitive Biases on Professionals’ Decision-Making.” PMC, National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2022, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8763848/
Farnam Street. “How to Make Smart Decisions Without Getting Lucky.” 2024, fs.blog/smart-decisions.
Galley, Jean. “The Art of Decision Making: Balancing Intuition and Logic.” Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences, vol. 27, no. 4, 2024, pp. 1-3.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud platform where their QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools are hosted in an efficient SSO environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Jennifer BrazerFounder/CEO
Jennifer is the author of From Cubicle to Cloud and Founder/CEO of Complete Controller, a pioneering financial services firm that helps entrepreneurs break free of traditional constraints and scale their businesses to new heights.
Brittany McMillen is a seasoned Marketing Manager with a sharp eye for strategy and storytelling. With a background in digital marketing, brand development, and customer engagement, she brings a results-driven mindset to every project. Brittany specializes in crafting compelling content and optimizing user experiences that convert. When she’s not reviewing content, she’s exploring the latest marketing trends or championing small business success.
Micro-investing is making investments in tiny increments. These investments are usually made with software, through an online source, or via a phone app. You connect your bank account or your debit card to the app, and it will automatically invest money into your checking or savings account.
Some of these apps or online sources allow you to start for as little as five dollars. Most of these also automatically invest your money into diversified investments and partial shares. Many of these also will go a step further and invest your spare change. This type of investment comes from rounding your purchases to the nearest dollar and investing that amount.
Micro-investments are an excellent way for a beginner to start investing. It is also the best way for someone who doesn’t have a lot of money to get into the investment game. Most everyday people can afford five dollars buy-in and using their spare change to invest. This investment will not make you millions, but it will be a great way to start investing and learn more about it without a high risk on your savings or income.
Micro-investing is essentially the poor man’s investing. It allows everyone to become an investor. These investments are popular among millennials, those on a budget, and stay-at-home moms. Here are some reasons micro-investing should be considered.
Make Investing Effortless
Most people find investing and learning how to invest is challenging. However, micro-investing eliminates the challenge. The online tools or investment applications make investing effortless, automatic, and ultimately comfortable. If you choose the right apps, you don’t even have to do anything once you get set up, especially for those apps that do spare change investing.
Grow Savings Over Time
Most savings accounts don’t have a great deal of interest and are not the best way to save. However, if you use micro-investment apps, you can get a higher return rate than a typical savings account. While you’re not going to make sure you wads of cash micro-investing, you can build a nice little savings account without even thinking about it. You can also brag that you’re an investor.
The interest rate from your bank’s saving account is hardly brag-worthy. Your money can grow at a higher return rate with micro-investment apps.
Beginner-Friendly
Because investing can be so confusing, micro-investing is very beginner-friendly. To become an investor, you usually have to have a lot of money and have practically attended college to invest appropriately. Most people who want to invest don’t want to spend that kind of time learning how. This is why micro-investing is so appealing to the beginner. You don’t have to understand what ROI stands for or what a bull market is. You have to fill out some information and set up your bank account to receive the returns.
Because the capital needed to start is so low, the risk is minimal, but the learning experience will have the maximum impact. Think of micro-investments as a gateway investment.
Helps You Build Your Portfolio
because most micro-investment apps have built-in portfolios, you only need to choose what portfolio you want based on your risk tolerance. Your risk tolerance may change as you invest more, or maybe you want to invest less, but again because the initial investment is so low, your risks are minimal. As you build your portfolio, you will learn about investing and may want to diversify your portfolio even more.
Once you have built up a more impressive portfolio and have some extra investment capital from your micro-investing, you may want to consider going bigger. This may be when you want to hire someone to help you with your investments utilizing micro-investing returns.
Conclusion
We hear throughout our adult lives that we should be looking into investing. However, many of us are apprehensive about investing because we don’t know what we’re doing. With micro-investing, we don’t have to know what we’re doing to become an investor. Micro-investing helps us learn and grow as investors with very little capital and risk.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
When starting a business, you must decide whether to be the sole proprietor or enter a partnership. Many people find partnerships to be the easiest way to go into business. The reason is that in a partnership, all of the burdens aren’t on your shoulders only. You will share the daily operations and burdens of the business with another person. Partnerships are not for everyone.
According to experts, having a partnership is the best way to accelerate the growth of the business. When owning a small business as a sole proprietorship, it is harder to grow the business when handling it alone. This is why many consider entering a partnership rather than going at it alone. Also, having a partnership will lessen the risks of the business because it is shared. There are many advantages to having a partnership.
While the advantages of being in a partnership are many, there are some drawbacks to having a partner. You may not always see eye to eye, and sometimes making business decisions when you can’t agree can be difficult. However, despite this drawback, the advantages of being in a partnership outweigh the disadvantages. Here are the benefits of having a partnership.
Building Trust and Respect
Trust and respect are the backbones of any relationship, whether in business or real life. You must respect and trust your partner’s temperament, decisions, competence, and vision. Divide responsibilities and respect the qualities of each other. Listen to each other to share your point of view and make decisions with mutual understanding and consent. When you both trust each other, a business will show results, and your success will blast a remarkable revolution when it works.
Partnerships also build trust and respect more quickly when it comes to the business’s customers. New customers or investors are more likely to go with a company that has a partnership. The reason for this is that partnerships are generally business strengthening.
Branding
In a partnership-based business, both parties must know how their brand is received in the market. Branding your business as a partnership will increase your standing in the market. Customers and investors often look for stability and strength in the business or brand. Partnerships quickly support any branding efforts in the market.
Shared Values
Partnerships don’t always have to be two individuals starting the business. Two or more business owners can partner or join their businesses together through shared goals and values. These types of partnerships can be for one moment or the business’s lifetime. Shared values strengthen both businesses.
More Return on Investment
A strategic partnership can give more return on investment with excessive profit, even at the time of difficulty. Partnership leverage other businesses to grow with full financial wellness and help make a great stand out in the market. Whether your partner is already famous or struggling with that, your constant support and efforts for your associated business will bring you to the highest rank in the business world.
A single entrepreneur can’t handle a massive business alone with many tasks and perplexities. As the firm’s owner, you need to arrange a team of well-experienced experts. Then, give each person responsible and set their daily, weekly, and monthly targets according to their departments’ positions.
Strategic contracts let partnership businesses attain the highest rank. The partnership contract between Luxottica and Google is one of them. The world’s famous tech company GOOGLE is popular due to its search engine’s efficiency, allowing various businesses to make connections. Luxottica is an eyewear company with luxury and stylish products of high quality for fashionable clients.
Google is the company that welcomes every eligible business for a partnership to do business in the market. Similarly, it signed a contract with the Luxottica company to increase its sales. Then, the product became famous as the invention of Google glass. Like them, businesses are finding reasons to grow their businesses.
Conclusion
A partnership has many advantages, but these are the main ones, as other advantages can vary from business to business.
Access to business-related information with competitive leverage
Increase business credibility and image
Enhance and advance the client base
Timeless business stability
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Read this guide for the best advice before applying for a loan from the bank or any other financial institution.
Applying for a loan online can be quite a simple process; however, it can become extremely complicated and expensive without the proper research and knowledge. There are several basic concepts that you should keep in mind before applying. We want to help; that is why we have highlighted a few of these concepts to facilitate the process:
Analyze your financial situation
Before even beginning the transaction, calculate how much money you spend each month and your income. Analyze which expenses are mandatory and which are optional. Once you know how much money you spend, you will be able to know how much money is left for incidentals and whims.
There are always unexpected expenses, so take care to leave a monthly margin for uncertainties. It is okay if this margin is small; unforeseen events do not happen every day. If you’re struggling to track your expenses, there are plenty of free online applications that can help.
Analyze the amount you need and when you can return it
Before asking for a loan, analyze the amount you wish to borrow and determine when it can be returned. Do not choose a return period that is longer than necessary. The later you return the money, the more interest you will pay. It is also wise to resist establishing a very tight depreciation period since unforeseen events may arise. Establish the return of the loan according to your income. If you have a problem with this decision later, contact the lender. They will help guide you to the appropriate decision. If your job is at risk, do not apply for aloan with a long-term repayment term. You also have the option of microcredits whose return can be between 10 and 60 days.
Make a comparison
Make a comparison to find the entity that offers the best interest. Compare the interests and commissions of each lender. Investigate all possible options, from loans offered by your traditional bank to loans announced online. The market is full of financial entities, and each offers different incentives to attract the customer. Take advantage of these offers. Equally, it is very important to find a loan that best suits your circumstances. Some credit entities may have a higher interest but will be less rigorous in terms of confirmation.
Save for future economic emergencies
Analyze your economic situation coldly. What pleasures do you allow yourself, and what excessive spending can you suppress?
Do you eat every day in restaurants?
Do you make leisure trips every weekend?
Do you buy clothes weekly or monthly?
If your job is volatile and you do not have a linear monthly income, be careful when applying for a loan. If, for example, you are autonomous, there will be months that you will spend more than others. Our advice is to apply for the loan with the lowest possible amount of interest and save as much of your income as you can. Put this money in a savings account to use when you have less income or in the case of unforeseen events.
Should you apply for the loan?
Be honest with yourself and ask yourself the question: why do I need this loan?
Do not apply for a loan for impulse purchases.
Do not apply for a loan to repay another loan.
Do not apply for loans to pay for night outings or special occasions.
Read the conditions of the contract
Always check the payment conditions and policies on default and delay. Contact the entity if necessary and request all information in writing.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Investing is all about risks involved in generating returns. Take a look at some common risks you face when investing in commodities and some steps you can take to minimize these risks.
The Geopolitical Risk
One of the risks inherent to commodities is that the world’s natural resources are located on different continents. The jurisdiction over these products is from sovereign governments, international companies, and many other entities. For example, to access the large oil fields located in the Persian Gulf region, the oil companies have to deal with the Middle East’s sovereign countries with jurisdiction over this oil.
Negotiations for natural resource extraction can be quite tense fairly quickly, and disagreements arise over license agreements, fiscal structures, environmental concerns, employment of indigenous workers, access to technology, and many other complex issues.
International disagreements over the control of natural resources are quite common. Sometimes, a host country will kick out foreign companies that produce and distribute the country’s natural resources. In 2006, Bolivia, which contains the second-largest natural gas field in South America, nationalized the natural gas industry and disposed of the foreign companies involved. In a day, several companies such as Petrobras of Brazil and Repsol of Spain were left without a mandate in a country where they had spent billions of dollars on developing the natural gas industry. The investors of Petrobras and Repsol paid the price.
So, how to protect yourself from this geopolitical uncertainty? Unfortunately, there is no magic wand that you can shake to eliminate this type of risk. However, one way to minimize that is to invest in companies with experience and economies of scale. For example, if you are interested in investing in an international oil company, go with an established international track record. A company like ExxonMobil, for example, has the scale, scope, and experience in international markets to manage the geopolitical risk they face. A smaller company without this kind of experience is going to be more risk than a bigger one. In the raw materials, the size does matter.
The Speculative Risk
Like the bond or stock markets, the commodity markets are populated by traders whose main interest is in obtaining short-term profits by speculating whether the price of a security will go up or down.
Because speculators, unlike commercial users who use markets for hedging purposes, are interested in making profits, they tend to move markets differently. Although speculators provide much-needed liquidity to markets (especially in commodity futures markets), they can also increase market volatility. Because speculators can get out of control, as they did during the dot.com bubble, always be aware of the markets’ speculative activity. The amount of speculative money involved in the product markets is constantly fluctuating but as a general rule,
Too much speculative money entering the commodity markets can have detrimental effects. There may be times when speculators drive commodity prices above the basics. If you see too much speculative activity, it’s probably a good idea to get out of the markets.
If the merchandise trade constantly checks the pulse of the markets, find out as much as possible about who the market participants are so that you can distinguish between commercial users and speculators. One source is the Merchants Report Commitment extended by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This online report gives a detailed look at market participants.
Corporate Governance Risk
As if there were not enough things to worry about, you always have to look out for simple fraud. Although the Commodity Futures Commission (CFTC) and other regulatory bodies do a decent job of protecting investors from market fraud, there is always the possibility that you will become a victim of fraud.
One way to prevent someone from taking advantage of you is to be extremely vigilant about where you are putting your money. Make sure you thoroughly research a company before handing over your money. Unfortunately, there are times when no amount of investigation or due diligence can protect you against fraud. It is just a fact of the investment game.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
When you dream of running your own company, many of us likely dream that you can afford to open and operate our company without any help or outside funding. The truth is, unless the company you are starting has a low operating cost or you have some savings to put towards opening our company, you will need to drum up funding to start and operate our company until the revenues cover your business operations wholly.
There are numerous choices for financing your small company, but the choice that gains the most startup funding is investors and stockholders. In other words, those who will invest in your company will get back their investment through profits, but once their initial funding is paid back, they will continue to get a piece of the revenue. This share in the revenues means these stockholders also share in risks and consequently need to be kept apprised of its operations. Here are six ways to keep your investors and stockholders content while you grow.
Communication
Communication is crucial to any relationship you have in your life, whether company or personal. Your Stockholders will want to see tangible results; however, while your company is developing and growing, you will require great communication with your shareholders. Keep them up-to-date on development and changes in projections. Even if there are downturns in the company, don’t hide this from your investors and Stockholders. They need to know the reality. This communication, particularly when it comes to slumps, could create more funding if investing more will spark growth and revenue.
Treat your investors and stockholders like anyone else who has a vested interest in you and communicate openly and often.
Listen to Concerns
In the world of business investment, it is rare to have partners who put money in your company and stay out of the operations. Most investors and stockholders will want a say in the object of their investment. As a company owner, you should take their feedback and ideas seriously and listen to their ideas and concerns.
Though some ideas may be unreasonable, most investors and stockholders are company savvy and have the experience that you, as a new company owner, have yet to know or experience. Remember, they have a stake in the company’s success, so every idea or suggestion they give you is with the company’s best interest at heart.
Manage Expectations
Before you communicate successfully or actively listen to your investor and shareholder’s ideas, you must manage their expectations. If you have a well-written company plan, the company outlooks should be controlled for the most part. However, you should make sure the outlooks are set at a range of high expectations to lower ones. While confidence will never be gained by presenting worst-case scenarios, setting their expectations in the middle on the lower end will give you space for some lesser desired results.
We all set expectations on every aspect of life in our personal and company lives. It is important that as a company owner, you set reasonable expectations for your investors and Stockholders.
Show Leadership
Investors and Stockholders in a company are generally confident and strong leaders in their sphere of influence. When someone invests in your company, they aren’t just investing in operations and startup costs. They are investing in you. While profit projections and company potential may have heavily influenced their decision, seeing you as a strong leader and your potential is likely what had them saying, “take my money!”
Investors and Stockholders aren’t the only reason you should show strong leadership. Your staff and customers need to see you as a strong leader to get your company’s most successful results.
Set Goals
Before you even have your grand opening, you should consider and set service goals and expectations when your company starts. These service goals and expectations may need to be changed. It would be best to meet with your investors and Stockholders to discuss what these service levels should be, and an agreement should be put under contract.
Service level agreements are standard practice in companies that have investors and Stockholders. The advantage to the shareholder is that they will know that you are striving to meet this goal and give them peace of mind. As an owner, the benefit to you is that an investor can’t move the line or push for higher service levels, which shields you and your staff from arbitrary goals.
Understand Investors
The greatest thing you can do for your investors and stockholders is to understand they are people just like you. They are not on some other plane because they have money to invest in your company or maybe more company savvy from experience. They are a person that is looking to make strong investments and who wants to see success and growth.
Investors and stockholders are not different from you, so don’t treat them as though they are. Use the golden rule with some company modifications, treat and inform your investors like you want to be treated or informed.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Producing your album is a lot of work, and often we tend to underestimate the time and energy needed. The key is that the better we are prepared and the better we know where we are going, the faster and more efficiently we can go. Here are the six essential steps to produce your album effectively and in the best possible conditions.
Phase 1: Pre-Production/Preparation
This is simply the phase during which you will choose your titles, determine the tempo of each title, their instrumentation, fix their arrangement, etc … You will probably also record guide or witness tracks that will allow the recording musicians to find their way in each piece.
It’s super simple: if this phase is sloppy, you will have problems because you will find yourself in the studio having to decide quickly if you will record a second rhythm guitar if you record chorus and how much, etc. … You will find yourself discussing with your colleagues about the arrangement, arguing over the instrumentation, and finally losing valuable time.
If this phase is neglected, you will have to think. And think, it’s not good! At least, not when your time and money are at stake, and you’re here to record.
To stay productive, you have to separate the decision-making from the action. This phase is purely a decision-making phase. From the moment you enter the studio, you do not think (at least much less), and you run: you are there to record what you have decided to record.
Phase 2: Repetition
Once the arrangement is fixed, the instrumentation is decided, it is necessary to work. Again.
If you arrive at the studio without having REALLY prepared, it will feel. You will be tense, you will get your notes, you will be hesitant, and therefore the performance will suffer.
For this phase, it is better to train with the control tracks in the ears. This avoids surprises during the actual recording.
Phase 3: Sound Recording
It’s D-Day. You’re ready, so you have to take out the microphones and record your tracks.
It is during this phase that the instruments are recorded, usually in succession. Recording the instruments one after the other helps to keep more control over the performance and helps prevent the musicians from disturbing each other. It could happen.
It also allows you to focus on the choice and placement of the microphone to capture the best sound possible from one instrument at a time and therefore avoid scattering.
Spend some time testing two or three different mics and placements, and make sure you get the best sound possible. Once in the box, you can not go back. If you have poor tracks to mix, you will spend more time correcting defects than improving what already sounds good.
Phase 4: Edition
The tracks are saved. It’s time to prepare them for the mix. This phase is quite painful because you do not make music, but you have to go through it.
Editing is to clean the tracks to mix them better. You will cut the silences, adjust the timing of the tracks, make fades in opening and closing to heal transitions, tuning a little song, etc …
It’s tedious, but it will allow you to mix clean tracks and clear, without clicks and pops, without the noise of amps, without the singer’s coughing fits, etc …
Free from potential distractions, you will be able to mix.
Phase 5: Mixing
Mixing is the moment of truth. That’s when you will take your recorded tracks separately and build a coherent, clear, and punchy whole.
The mixer is a crucial step, but the ease with which you will mix and especially the quality of the final result will depend on the quality of your work on the previous steps.
If you did well upstream, mixing would be a pleasure, and you will hardly need to resort to extreme movements, such as a boost of 10db in the bass drum track or an overcompression battery or other.
Phase 6: Mastering
Mastering is an important step in which you will take your mixes to make an EP/album. You will adjust the volumes of the songs between them, add a little compression, adjust the mixes’ tone, boost the general volume of the EP, etc …
Mastering is the final touch that will allow you to release a product a little more “licked.” This is the frame around the artwork—the last finishing touch.
Once your songs are recorded, mixed, and the mastering is done, you can distribute your titles. The easiest way is to sell a digital album / EP on your own website. You can also duplicate your EP and sell the CDs at the end of your concerts.
The most important thing is that now you have a pro record in your portfolio that will allow you to sell yourself and increase your credibility. This is more important than the money that will be able to generate the only sale of your songs. Producing your album opens doors and offers opportunities that must be seized to boost your group.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
Stakeholders tend to prefer concise summaries of the company or project’s advance. Keep meetings to the point and focus on progress and value. These people do not have time to sit in long meetings, so reporting to them regularly, in short intervals, works best (in keeping them interested). Do not go into details with them: it could frustrate them, and it does not bode well for you, either.
Changing orders can easily change a project’s aim into something else. This is even more reason to keep stakeholders’ focus on the objective of the project. This is extremely important for the success of the project.
Here’s how to have a healthy relationship with your stakeholders. A relationship built on trust and honesty.
Distinguish stakeholders: A project manager can begin a relationship with the stakeholders by pinpointing the key stakeholders. Admit the importance of communication with different levels of contributors. Identify the stakeholder groups, their requirements, and what roles they play. For example, some stakeholders want to be kept informed of progress. There are others still who can influence the results of the project.
Determine desired outcomes: Figure out what the project’s goals will be before initiating the project. Have meetings with stakeholders that answer their questions and help your project as well.
Arrange meetings: Schedule meetings with shareholders in short intervals so that you can inform them of the progress and value of the project. It would be best if you had a clear picture of what you need. If the project needs modification, you should also know how changing the project will help achieve the goals set out earlier. It’s important to have a clear picture of what you need to accomplish before you start.
Adjust expectations: You should have the ability to modify expectations when the need for modifications arises and enter them in the issues log and the change log.
Share information with stakeholders: Discuss all issues and changes in a transparent manner. You establish trust by doing so. Good communication is crucial to sharing your vision with everyone involved in the project. Give the big picture and insert timelines and key milestones.
Listen to participants: This communication skill is extremely important. Analyze the feedback they are providing, and make sure that you understand the different perspectives, suggestions, and concerns. Stakeholders must feel that they are being heard, as this goes a long way towards establishing trust.
Provide solutions: Rather than insisting on a single solution to an issue, offer a compromise or several positive outcomes. Providing the participants with symbiotic choices is a powerful strategy.
Make realistic promises and keep them: Do not promise them the moon and the stars. Keep your promises realistic otherwise, you will set up the project for failure. If changes are needed, let the stakeholders know. Keep your promises.
Use the stakeholder’s favorite method of communication. By using the most preferred method of communication, you guarantee that the stakeholder remains happy in communicating with you. If you mistakenly employ the wrong method, it will lead to the stakeholders having little confidence in you as it will show you did not consider their likes or dislikes.
Classify the level of communication for each stakeholder. Pinpoint stakeholders who require a lot of assurance and who demand on receiving all the details. Find out which stakeholder is satisfied with a basic occasional overview and who requires daily or weekly communication.
The fashion in which the project attains its goals is extremely important, not just adhering to required specifications. Stakeholders will recollect how the goal was achieved. Their measure of success is not just the finished product but how it was attained.
Summary
Having a good relationship with the stakeholders of the company is crucial for the project to succeed. How this can be attained is simple: be transparent and open to other perspectives.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
About Complete Controller® – America’s Bookkeeping Experts Complete Controller is the Nation’s Leader in virtual bookkeeping, providing service to businesses and households alike. Utilizing Complete Controller’s technology, clients gain access to a cloud-hosted desktop where their entire team and tax accountant may access the QuickBooks™️ file, critical financial documents, and back-office tools in an efficient and secure environment. Complete Controller’s team of certified US-based accounting professionals provide bookkeeping, record storage, performance reporting, and controller services including training, cash-flow management, budgeting and forecasting, process and controls advisement, and bill-pay. With flat-rate service plans, Complete Controller is the most cost-effective expert accounting solution for business, family-office, trusts, and households of any size or complexity.
