Articles by Jim Blasingame

Life Is Short; Enjoy Every Sandwich

12/28/2012, 11:02 am from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

In a former life, I sometimes counseled small business owners who were going through a difficult time in their business. The circumstances would be so desperate and the prognosis so dire that the... Read >>

Hug a scrooge today; they need love, too

12/26/2012, 3:46 pm from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

Some say I’m a scrooge; they might be right. But here are three exhibits in my defense: 1. The early part of my career was spent in retail, which is tough on the holiday spirit. There’s a... Read >>

Ask your business’s owner where it’s going

12/19/2012, 4:12 pm from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

Do you know where your small business is going next year? The best way to find this answer is to ask your business’s owner.  But do you know the right questions to ask yourself in order to... Read >>

What's Worse Than Evil?

12/18/2012, 11:46 am from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

My wife and I were driving on a road trip when we first heard the news about what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, CT. As the news came in over the radio, I realized there... Read >>

The “fiscal cliff” looms large for small businesses

12/17/2012, 12:05 pm from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

The only thing that exceeds the lack of leadership in Washington, D.C. these days is the level of partisanship. For most of the last two years, the political class has demonstrated proof of... Read >>

Smart Small Businesses Do December Cleaning

12/6/2012, 1:53 pm from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

Remember what your grandmother used to do after a long winter? She called it “spring cleaning.” The house was opened up to get the winter staleness out and everything got cleaned out, scrubbed up... Read >>

Recapping Jim Blasingame's 2012 Predictions: His Results And Score

12/3/2012, 4:35 pm from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

Here are my 2012 predictions, what happened and my score. Prediction : U.S. GDP will improve from 1.7% in 2011 to 2%.  Actual:  The most recent Dept. of Commerce report has 2012 GDP... Read >>

One Person Can Make a Difference

11/19/2012, 1:42 pm from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

As the 17th century dawned, cause-and-effect was merging parallel universes. In the Old World, a decision by a group of Leiden Separatists put them on a circuitous journey. Meanwhile, in the... Read >>

Redefining the title "Military Veteran"

11/12/2012, 11:20 am from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

America’s first military, the “Minutemen” militia, were shopkeepers, craftsmen, farmers, etc. Today we call them small business owners, but they were our first veterans. Defining a veteran today... Read >>

The stealth benefits of small business ownership

11/12/2012, 11:18 am from Jim Blasingame in Personal Finance, Small Business

The classic financial benefits derived from business ownership typically fall under two categories: 1.  Earned income – salary and bonuses as reported on your W2 form each year. 2. ... Read >>