While this statistic can seem discouraging, it’s important to remember that over two-thirds of the small businesses that were open at the start of 2020 were still operating 11 months later. Some likely experienced financial problems similar to yours but were able to overcome them. If your business is facing financial challenges and you want to avoid closure, here are some steps you can take to keep it up and running....

How to Cash a Check The simplest way to cash a check is to go to a bank or credit union that you have an account with. If you don’t have a bank account, there are several alternatives described below. Once you’re at a bank, follow the steps below: Where to Cash Checks The best places to cash a check are either your bank or the bank for which the check is drawn on (that’s the bank listed on the face of the check—or the financial institution that the money will come from)....

In reality, it’s not necessary to put up with bad customer service from a bad insurance agent. It’s possible to switch insurance agents without affecting your current insurance policy. Let’s look at how it works. Reasons for Switching Insurance Agents A lot of different reasons can motivate you to make a change to your car insurance agent. A few common ones are: Terrible customer servicePoor availabilityPersonality conflictsMoving within your state...

A savings account can be a great place to keep your emergency fund, as it’s liquid and easily accessible. If you save in a high-yield savings account, you can earn a competitive annual percentage yield in the bargain. Savings accounts are also useful when saving for short- or long-term goals, such as a vacation or down payment on a home. The challenge, however, may lie in making new additions to your savings....

That means including an appropriate closing and an email signature with your contact information, so it’s easy for the recipient to get in touch with you. Because so much business correspondence is handled by email, it’s essential to write and format your messages as carefully as you would a printed letter. Tips for How to End an Email Here are some sample email message closings, as well as some advice on which closing to choose, how to format your closing, and the best way to end an email....

If you’re lucky, you’ll have a mentor—or several—who will help you throughout your career, from your first roles through to retirement. What Does a Career Mentor Do? Often, but not always, a mentor may be a supervisor. A really great manager may demonstrate—or directly tell you—how the business world works, and how to be successful in it. How a Mentor Can Help Your Career Here are some of the ways that mentors can help throughout your career: Showing or telling you the best way to communicate with colleagues, customers, and clientsServing as advocates for your career in your current role—that is, a mentor may help you move up the ladder at your workplaceHelping with your job search Providing advice, insight, and wisdom...

What Is Home-Sharing? Home sharing is a fairly new term and refers to situations where people share their entire home or portions of it in exchange for compensation by using a home-sharing network. Some home-sharing network examples are Airbnb, Flipkey, HomeAway, and VRBO. A 2015 study by Pew Research showed 11% of adults in the U.S. had used a home-sharing network to stay overnight in a private residence. That number is conservative, given how popular these options are becoming....

When Your Business Needs an EIN Your business will need an EIN when: You have employeesYou are starting a business that is registered with a state, like a partnership, LLC, or corporationYour business must pay excise taxes, or you are subject to alcohol, tobacco, or firearms regulationsYou withhold taxes on income, not including wages, paid to a non-resident alienYou use a Keough Plan or tax-deferred pension planYour business works with certain organizations like nonprofits, trusts, estates, and farm cooperatives...

What is a Work Permit? There are two types of work permits for minors. If you need one to get hired will be determined by the law in your state. Employment certificates (example) include the minor’s age and proof of eligibility to work. An age certificate provides documentation that the minor meets the minimum age requirements to be hired. There are no federal requirements that mandate minors get working papers before starting employment, but some states require them....

Working capital, also known as net working capital, refers to the amount of funding owned by a business that is currently available and may be used for production or other operating activities. It is calculated by deducting the business’s current liabilities from the current assets. Businesses aim to maintain their working capital to cover debts and potential financial issues, and to invest back into their business to potentially increase their profit....

What Is an Informal Interview? Many hiring managers now begin the interview process with a low-key, informal conversation, rather than a more structured interview in a conference room. Hiring managers or recruiters may invite candidates for a cup of coffee, for instance. Instead of calling it an interview, the conversation may be framed as an exploratory or informational session. Informal interviews are particularly common when hiring managers are actively recruiting a candidate....

Panama’s global trade was seriously affected by the pandemic and the country’s gross domestic product (“GDP”) contracted 17.9% in 2020. However, the country remains well-positioned over the long run with its dollarized economy and strategic ownership of the Panama Canal. In this article, we will take a look at some of the benefits and risks associated with investing in Panama, as well as some strategies for investors to buy equities and real estate in the country....

It’s much harder to invest in private companies. Many of these options are limited to high net worth investors and people who have connections. However, there are some options for everyday people who want to invest in private companies. How To Invest in Private Companies in 4 Steps To start investing in private companies, follow these steps. What You Need To Know Before You Invest in Private Companies Investing in private companies is very different from investing in public ones....

There are a few ways a card can become inactive. If you haven’t used your credit card in several months—or years even—the credit card issuer may deactivate the card. Or, if you’ve fallen behind on your payments, your purchasing privileges may be suspended. The credit card can also become inactive upon expiration with no-issuance of a new card. An inactive credit card will be declined when you try to use it....

Know What Goes Into a Good Credit Score Five key pieces of information are used to calculate your credit score—your payment history, credit utilization ratio, credit age, mix of credit, and new credit. Unfortunately, the credit scoring system does not always accurately portray a person’s lending risk, especially for those with lower incomes, many of whom are people of color. Current scoring models have been criticized for perpetuating bias inherent in the financial system by, for instance, incorporating mortgage payments but typically not rent, which works against racial minorities who have not been able to enjoy homeownership at the same rate as White people because of redlining....

Understand Why Credit Card Companies Negotiate If you’re going to try and negotiate with a credit card company, then you should know what often motivates it to do so. Credit card companies, many of which are owned by banks, have several priorities. The first is to generate profit for the parent company and its shareholders. When it becomes evident that someone may be unable to pay his or her balance, a shift in the credit card company’s priorities happens that can work to your advantage....

Expanding your credit experience is a common and smart move under the right circumstances. Keep these criteria in mind as you begin your search for the best second credit card. You’re Aiming for Better Credit In many ways, building credit is like building your career: the more experience you have, the more qualified you’ll be for future opportunities. If you have years of positive credit experience behind you, your credit score is likely to reflect your good habits....

Unless you want to do your own payroll by hand, you have two options for doing payroll: Using payroll accounting software or an online service Using an accountant or payroll service provider In either case, you’ll need to know the basics of payroll processing so you can discuss options and deadlines and input the original information. This article details the process of paying employees and collecting, reporting, and paying payroll taxes for those employees....

This centuries-old charting style was developed in the rice markets of Japan. The style’s name refers to the way each time period is represented by a rectangle with lines coming out of the top and the bottom. This shape resembles a candlestick with a wick. The Japanese market watchers who used this style referred to the wick-like lines as “shadows.” On the chart, each candlestick indicates the open, high, low, and close price for the time frame the trader has chosen....

Finding and Reading Exchange Rates You can find exchange rates in a number of different places, ranging from banks to websites like XE.com. If you’re traveling, you can often find rates posted at airports or local banks. If you’re trading in the foreign exchange (“forex”) market, look at your trading platform for real-time information. Quotes themselves are always given in pairs since currency values are always relative to one another. Not surprisingly, the U....