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Author Archives: Jim Montgomery
Escaping The Corporate Cubicle
Escaping The Corporate Cubicle
Have you ever felt like you were trapped?
Trapped in the corporate cubicle…trapped in a job you may not enjoy…trapped doing something that consumes your life and is not getting you to your goals?
One of our mentors shared this story recently….
“I worked in corporate consulting in a forty-five story office building in New York City. I thought I had it made. I worked 60 hours a week, got 15 days of vacation a year and had a nice manager title, nice benefits and great people I worked with…
…but I felt trapped. I felt like the goals I really wanted in life were slipping away as I worked my tail off each week in the cubicle.
I had an aha-moment the day I shared my dream with one of my corporate mentors, who patted me on the shoulder and said: ‘The only security you will ever have in life is what you create for yourself’.
Reflecting on his powerful comment as I walked back to my cubicle, I understood that to achieve what I wanted long term, I had to prepare and condition myself mentally and emotionally, toughen up my belief and confidence, and bullet-proof my vision with the right skill sets and action steps for this new business and life direction.”
So how do you escape the corporate cubicle?
It all starts with a desire like my mentor above.
Then it takes ACTION.
You actually have to make a plan to get yourself out of that Rat Race and follow up with it.
Here is a list of some of the things you should have on your “Action Plan”
- Find an opportunity or business that you are going to start. Do your research and make sure that it is something you will enjoy doing but not only that…something that actually makes money. Too many times people embark on opportunities because it sounds fun…but they soon find the financial rewards were not as great as they thought in the beginning.Look at other successful people in that opportunity and find out what they are doing and how much they are making and importantly what they had to do to get there. Not all opportunities are equal. Pick one that is growing and will give you the opportunity to rise up with it.
- Create a business plan. Put realistic goals and expectations. You are in this for the long run. With a good opportunity it may take you a few years or more to get to the point where you can quit that job forever…but realize when you do YOU ARE FREE! So make a long-term business plan. People who fail, usually don’t have a business plan and they think success should be instant.
- Fill your mind with POSITIVE information and teachings. Read Thank and Grow Rich and As a Man Thinketh. Listen to the teachings of Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightengale, Denis Waitley, and Dale Carnegie to name a few. Let them become your coaches and mentors.
- TAKE MASSIVE ACTION! Decide what you want to do and GO FOR IT! Find the time in your life even if you are super busy. Work on your new business during your lunch hour, early in the morning, late at night. Find the time. You can do it because you know the rewards will be worth it.A few years of time sacrifice will be worth it when you break out of the cubicle and live a life of freedom!
It is very possible to reach your goals and escape the Rat Race if you really want it. Sure there will be bumps in the road and it may not always turn out exactly like you wanted and you may have to change courses a few time.
…but if you stay the course, work hard, and never quit… You will be rewarded.
Remember the day you walk away from your job and are carrying your box of personal items out to your car…not because you were fired or laid off…
…but because you QUIT!
(Don’t forget to have someone take pictures of you with your box of stuff as you walk to your car…it will be part of your story!)
If you are looking for a great opportunity that can help YOU escape the cubicle, watch the video below and see what I’m doing.
…and follow the simple steps. It’s working for me and thousands of others out there online.
To your success,
Jim Montgomery
Obamacare Warning!
I am attaching an urgent update from DEBS Insurance. They have been analyzing healthcare plans for like 40 years and have alerted me to a number of embedded penalties and taxes for employers that are not being publicized. Please pay close attention:
ACA and your Company’s impact
By: Diversified Employee Benefit Services, LLC
Multiple changes have occurred in the last few months that require your agent to inform each employee about their future options.
1) This is next piece of the ACA or National Health care Puzzle:
Employer must notify each employee via paycheck insertion or company email that there will be “..Marketplace health insurance” to purchase by an individual. The link, for those employees interested in reviewing that product should go to healthcare.gov
2) Federal and State exchanges should be available 1/1/2014 for all employers and their employees. Please note the following:
Employees should realize that employer contribution will be greater than the anticipated cost for exchange.
Example published by Kaiser Insurance Co. average monthly premium to be $ 440
If an employee’s income is below $ 22,800
Then the employee may qualify for subsidy assistance, how much is that assistance, it is expected to be 50% or net cost of $ 220
Per month.
3) Another twist to Employer charging employees for a portion of the group medical premium states, employer cannot charge more than
9.5% of an employee’s gross income for their portion of the employee only medical premium.
Example: Employee income below $22,800 X 9.5% = $ 2,166 a year
Or, employer may charge employee monthly $ 180.50
So if employer is charging less than the employee should stay under the employer’s benefit plan.
This is an employer nightmare! Employers will have many multiple of employee hourly wages that could change the contribution per employee to the group medical benefit plan
4) Employer benefit plan cannot have out of pocket expenses or employee liability to exceed $ 8,250
This directly refers to deductible and co insurance.
5) Pre existing limitations are eliminated effective 1/1/2014
6) Employer penalties will not be implemented until 1/1/2015
Note: Information from ACA, DOL, Kaiser Insurance Co. and multiple carriers.
Disclaimer: The information above is the opinion of Diversified Employee Benefit Services, LLC and should be reviewed by each employer from additional professional services
800/990-3427 Diversified Employee Benefit Services, LLC
What to Do with an Inherited IRA
What to Do with an Inherited IRA
IRAs are among the largest assets inherited by heirs and beneficiaries. These accounts have been able to grow to such large amounts because income taxes are deferred until the owner begins to take distributions, usually after reaching age 70 ½.
Those who inherit an IRA must be very careful to follow the rules, which are complicated and often confusing. It is possible to keep an account growing tax-deferred for decades, but an innocent error can cause the recipient to lose the tax-deferred advantage and force her to pay tax now on the entire account balance. As a result, it is critical to talk with an expert before making any decision or taking any action, and to understand all available options. Here are some to consider.
Cash Out Option
Anyone who inherits an IRA can cash it out and withdraw the full amount. But because income taxes must be paid on the full amount at one time, this is not usually the best choice.
Spouse Options
A surviving spouse who inherits an IRA from his/her spouse can roll it into a new IRA or merge it with his/her own IRA. In either case, the account can continue to grow tax-deferred and the surviving spouse can continue to make contributions until he/she must start taking required distributions (after age 70 ½).
If it is rolled into a new IRA, the surviving spouse will name new beneficiaries. It is highly advantageous to name someone who is much younger (e.g., children and/or grandchildren) because after the surviving spouse’s death, distributions will be based on the beneficiary’s actual life expectancy. This will allow the account to continue to grow tax-deferred for decades. Under IRS rules, this rollover and stretch out can be done even if the original owner spouse had started taking required minimum distributions before he/she died.
Non-Spouse Options
If the original owner died before beginning to receive required distributions, a non-spouse beneficiary can establish a Beneficiary IRA and start taking annual distributions based on his/her own life expectancy, with the option to take a lump sum at any time. (This is called the “life expectancy option.”) This must be done by the end of the year following the original owner’s death. If the first distribution is not taken by then, all of the IRA must be withdrawn by December 31 of the fifth year after the owner’s death. (This is called the “five year rule.”)
If the original owner died after beginning to receive required distributions, a non-spouse beneficiary must take a distribution equal to the owner’s required minimum distribution for the year he/she died if one had not been taken. For subsequent years, distributions can be based on either the new owner’s life expectancy or the original owner’s remaining life expectancy (whichever is longer).
The original owner’s name must be listed on the title, but the inheriting beneficiary will name new beneficiary(ies). A non-spouse beneficiary cannot roll an inherited IRA into his/her own IRA or make contributions to an inherited IRA, as a spouse can. But when distributions are stretched out over a longer period of time, the tax payments are also stretched out. And by keeping more money in the IRA for as long as possible, the tax-deferred growth can be maximized…which will result in a much larger balance.
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What Would Warren Buffet Do?
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just
pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more
than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible
for re-election.
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds)
took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple!
The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail,
cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year
or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to
a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask
each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will
have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed
around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2012
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social
Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the
Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into
the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the
American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all
Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and
participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the
American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void
effective 12/1/12. The American people did not make this
contract with Congressmen/women.
Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in
Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers
envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their
term(s), then go home and back to work.
Is your access control or time system like swiss cheese?
Is your access control or time system likeswiss cheese? |
|
Here is your solution. Watch Ed Harris in “Man On A Ledge” use Facekey’s facial recognition and fingerprint technology to gain access to his “super vault”.
Listen to a local company tell how this new system saved them 39 days of an executive’s time just in documenting time for payroll. The savings alone made this new system almost pay for itself! This system is way less expensive than swipe cards and nobody can lose or steal a face or fingerprint. Watch the video – less than a minute. Get the “3 Things That Make Your Access and Time Control Like Swiss Cheese” |
The Monkey Story – Developing Procedures
The Monkey Story
It seems that there was a research project in which the scientists used four monkeys, a ladder and a banana. They put the four monkeys in a room with the ladder and put the banana on top of the ladder.
As monkeys will, the first monkey smelled the banana and started up the ladder. When he got half way up, the scientists turned on a water cannon filled with ice cold water. The cannon knocked the first monkey off the ladder and then iced down the other three monkeys. The monkeys huddled in the room shivering from the cold bath.
After a while, once the monkeys had warmed up, a second monkey smelled the banana and started up the ladder. Again, the water cannon came on, knocked her off the ladder and iced down the other monkeys for good measure.
When the third monkey started to go up the ladder for the banana, the other three monkeys grabbed him and beat the “you know what” out of the errant monkey. The scientists were quite surprised to see that behavior. They decided to introduce a new element into the experiment.
One of the monkeys was removed from the room and replaced by a new monkey. Before long, the new monkey smelled the banana and headed up the ladder. Sure enough, the other three monkeys grabbed the new monkey pulled her down and beat the tar out of her.
The scientists again replaced one of the first group of monkeys and the scenario repeated itself. They kept replacing monkeys until all of the original monkeys who had been iced down were gone.
When the new monkey went for the banana, guess what happened? That’s right, the rest of the monkeys taught the new monkey not to go for the banana! And none of them knew why they did it any more!
Is this how procedures are developed at your business?
Need help? Call us at 210-690-3700 for a free no obligation consultation. Get twice as much for your business or fire yourself and keep the money coming.
Learn about the Obama Tax Increases
Are you ready to pay more taxes?
Here is the Obama Tax Plan (not to mention the Supreme Court’s disclosure of the Obamacare Tax Plan) announced 2 years ago:
- It plans to increase individual tax rates to a 39.6% plus 3.8% which equals 43.4% annual tax rate.
- Increase capital gains tax rates to 28% plus 3.8% = 31.8%
- Dividends will be taxed at 39.6% plus 3.8% = 43.4%
- Increase the amount of healthcare costs to individuals.
- Reduce itemized deductions by 30%.
San Antonio Business Attorney
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“After literally taking business transactions apart in the courtroom for years, clients (and opponents) began asking me to work on the transactions from the beginning to prevent the problems . . .”
San Antonio Business Attorney James Montgomery |
Business owners and entrepreneurs choose to work with me because I guide them to solve problems and systematize their business in a relationship of respect, integrity and creativity.
What that means is that I focus you on what matters most to you, your family and your business to realize your dreams.
The benefit is the feeling you get from a sense of security and peace of mind from accomplishing your goals and protecting those for whom you care the most.
________________________________________________________
After buying and selling over $180 Million in businesses in the last five years, as a business owner, former banker, and business attorney, I have seen and solved the major sticking points that most businesses encounter, including getting more customers who will spend more per transaction and buy more often . . .
Please Note That We Are A
By Referral Only Practice
We allow some exceptions under special circumstances on a case by case basis.
For questions email jemlaw@mac.com.
Buying a business? as a San Antonio business attorney (and Texas) firm, we can help you with mergers and acquisitions.
Looking for an Exit Strategy? The succession plan for your business is your road map for success – is it a cashflow machine, a sale, family succession, employee stock ownership plan? We can help you.
Ready to sell your business? Want to get the best sales price? We can help you.
Looking to start your own business? We know what not to do (and what to do). Our San Antonio Business Attorney firm can help you.
In financial trouble? We can help you chart a course out.
Need a General Counsel? We have a set fee arrangement that will meet your budget. We do not bill by the hour. Our goal is to help you make more than your investment for our advice. We have three memberships available: Regular client, Outside General Counsel, and General Counsel with fixed monthly billing.
San Antonio Business Attorney – Former Litigation Specialist
For thirty years, Mr. Montgomery tried cases for plaintiffs and defendants in State and Federal courts from California to Delaware, with Texas as home base. The firm has been the advocate for individuals and small companies as well as companies in the Fortune 100. Those litigation cases have ranged from representing thousands of homeowners for broken plastic pipe in their homes to oil royalty disputes to breach of confidentiality agreements.
After literally taking business transactions apart in the courtroom for years, clients (and opponents) began asking Jim to work on the transactions from the beginning to try to prevent the problems from ever occurring. In that stance, the firm has helped buyers and sellers in the sales of businesses ranging from large retail stores and manufacturing facilities to insurance agencies. We have helped clients buy multi-million dollar, multi-story office buildings and negotiate commercial lease agreements.
Mergers & Acquisitions – Buy/ Sell Business -Business Planning
Asset Protection – Family Wealth Planning | Wills | Trusts
As a San Antonio business law firm, we help design corporate structures and business transactions to increase profit, minimize taxes, and make sure that assets are protected from lawsuits. Having filed many suits and obtained judgments, we have learned where the potholes and sticking points will be.
We believe in long term relationships based on trust. We believe in regular review and meetings in order to get to know the client’s business and plans in more depth than is possible in the normal “hire a lawyer only when in trouble” mindset. It costs much more to get you out of trouble than it would cost to keep you out of trouble in the first place. Unlike most law firms, we rarely bill by the hour. We believe in fixed fees.
Mr. Montgomery has been named a Super Lawyer in Texas and featured in Texas Monthly.
Lawyer peers have granted Mr. Montgomery a rating of “AV” which is Martindale Hubbell’s (rating agency) highest peer rating for lawyers.
We have presented papers and spoken to audiences that range from service clubs to the State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education seminars.
Mr. Montgomery was recently named Individual Finalist, San Antonio Ethics In Business Award, 2009 by the San Antonio Business Journal.
Is your business building equity or are you just creating a job that looks like a business?
“In fact, there is ultimately only one reason to create a business of your own, and that is to sell it.” Michael Gerber, The E-Myth Revisited.
Most people create a new business so that they can do what they love to do They think they can make a business out of their talent. The new business owner may not realize that there is much more to creating a business than just doing the technical work.
Financials, marketing, ordering, collecting, etc.
Here’s the question?
Is your business building equity or are you just creating a job that looks like a business?
Here is the audience participation part
1. If you take off all of next week and do nothing in your business, what will happen to the income of the business?
2. If you take off all of next week and do nothing in your business, what will happen to the flow of new business?
3. Do you have a written business continuity plan?
4. Do you have videos or audios of your plans for the business over the next three years?
5. When someone calls your office to schedule an appointment, does someone different answer the phone and/or do they have a set script to use to answer the call and close the appointment?
6. Who is your favored buyer for your business?
Do you have a name ready or do you have no clue whom the buyer would be?
7. If you do not come back from your next appointment, ever, who will sign checks at your company?
8. Will your death cause your company’s lines of credit to be called due?
9. Do you have a checklist to be followed if you are suddenly disabled and unable to care for the business?
10. And the magic question: