If you are entrepreneurially inclined, owning your own business can be an excellent and exciting way to build up your assets and establish a revenue stream that can extend well into retirement years.  Retirement today is vastly different from that of our parents and grandparents.  We are not only living longer, we are also working longer.  Some of us choose working beyond 65 because we love the work, the involvement with people, and the sense of accomplishment; but for many, it is a necessity.  In today's economic conditions, meager savings and social security are not sufficient to maintain a quality life.  Consequently, we must either learn to maximize our savings and investments throughout our working years or create an ongoing source of income to support ourselves and our families as we age.

Success is not guaranteed in small business, but for those who master this skill, it can be very rewarding.  Corporate America has abandoned any commitment it ever had to offering job security.  Employee compensation and benefits are the highest costs of any business.  Younger employees are in the bottom half of the pay range and have significantly lower health care premiums.  Thus it is not surprising that corporations prefer their older employees retire earlier rather than later.  If you own a business, the choice of when to retire is yours alone, and can be done when it is financially feasible for you.  I see examples of this every day.  I'm a small business owner working with other small business owners providing accounting and bookkeeping training and support.  One of our biggest clients is a prominent St. Paul company whose owners are two brothers in their late 80's.  We've not heard them mention the idea of retiring.  My mother is 80 years old and has been a hairdresser since her early 20's.  She closed her shop 15 years ago, but continues to provide services to the seniors in her community including doing their hair for the final time in the funeral home.  She prides herself on earning enough to pay for all her groceries without asking my sister for her social security money.  Her work and her social life are one and the same.  She would be completely bored if she gave up her work while she is still physically able to do it.  Not only do many successful small business owners extend their work life, they usually earn more than they would working for someone else.  It is not uncommon for an established small business owner to earn between $100,000 and $200,000 per year.  In these examples, investing in their own businesses has proven a wise investment and a rewarding lifestyle choice.

If entrepreneurship is a path you've chosen, regard it as you do other investments.  Honestly assess your knowledge, interests, skills and priorities in managing and developing the business.  In all likelihood, you won't have all the answers.  The secret to success is knowing when to seek advice and help.  The failure rate for small businesses is still high, but you can minimize that risk by ensuring your business finances are in order at all times and knowing how to use the information your accounting system provides to manage your investment effectively. 

There are several types of professional services available to help you build a strong fiscal foundation.  Your CPA will help with tax planning and preparation and advise you on various financial strategies, but bookkeeping is your responsibility.  Often we see business owners filling their bookkeeping positions with employees inexperienced and untrained in accounting and accounting software.  There may be a lot of turnover in this position.  Other owners try to lessen expenses by doing the bookkeeping themselves or asking a spouse to do it.  A good bookkeeping service can be a much more effective solution to managing your business finances.  You can count on their high skill level to keep your books accurate.  They will train you or your employees to do part or all of the daily bookkeeping.  They will set up and train you in the use of QuickBooks^R or other accounting software.  They will periodically review your books to ensure everything is accurate.  Perhaps most importantly, they will design reports to give you all the information you need to make wise business decisions and maximize your success.  Their rates are lower than those of CPA's and you can only use them when  needed, thus controlling your expenses.  Almost all the reasons for business failures are related to accounting in some way.  Getting help when you need it will prove to be one of the best ways to protect your investment and maximize your return.