Newspaper Page Text
Business
Small business owners should
resist temptation to put every
last cent into company
By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - When a business
Lsinitsfifix)sty&rsofmsu:noc,' its very
tempting for an entrepreneur to put every
possible cent toward building the company,
often at the expense of a personal finandal
portfolio. Years later, many owners are still
i{dmmtdz{nedmam
company is
against this very common practice, which
can indude tapping an owner’s home equi
mnfiaindaaxnpany.lbamng' all your
ial resources on a business can jeop
ardize retirements, children’s education
funds and leave a family struggling in an
fiDayle.pmkhnofDqleWaldn
Management Inc. in St. Petersburg, Fla,, is
sympathetic to the fact that a business can
be so engrossing that an owner can make
personal financial decisions that arent the
most prudent —he noted that he's a small
Ourh:pt probably the value of
2 asset is
our business,” he said. “But I have a 401(k),
IRAs,invmnmtmmmrt” allh:sv
Doyle likened an owner’s pouring
or her funds into the business to owning
only one stock - ing that most
investors know is just . “Just as 1
wouldn't put all my money in Exxon Mobil
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Doyle Wealth Management,” he sai
ment accounts, which many owners do
ndndnnuyinguoboawfiunfi:v:k
and friends or when bank loans aren't avai
able. If the business goes south, so do retire
ment savings — not to mention the fact that
the government will take a big bite out of
early rctihl;ynmt munt withdrawals,
taxes and penalties.
o on their personal as
:‘gflufimaflm@itanbea
m&afimmdobod\.
ia Palmer and her husband, Steven
Samuel, started their business, 4Control
Media Inc., as a hobby, so they didn't mind
utting their cash into it. But when it
mmm :pafinrfi-mne business, one that
:}lzncedcdfi)rd\cirfivdihood,theiratti
changed _ they wanted the business to
support them, not vice-versa.
Once we realized our spcndfi was
smrtingtobc;n;gnifiant,wcmid,‘ is is a
real business and if we're not operating it as
;;mmmkf;o})hngmusdm"mm
id. “We cant spending money
not\mlanydungbadc
,the Jersey City, N.J.-based busi
ness became profitable and **we had con
aswna:_ismdytcvmw,wcmmddt
process our own personal money
in order,” mmd.
That has induded ing IRAs and
401(Ks, investing in mfimds and
making sure they are adequately insured —
income to one
M
times we need to be sure
wc’eOl(."gesaid.
Kathy Sacks, who owns Sacks Public
Relations in Phoenix, recalled being nerv
g o
©
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20s.
“We broke all the rules — you're not
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g pogseom ety VAR
as
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them to keep breaking some of the
they each have a business now, and are treat-
Brans media business bizSanDiego, as
into more traditional portfolios. Their
home, however, is no longer tied to the
Tot e i
e just
feel like, given the experience of having sold
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some exit k"
T ey
band, both in their early 30s, don't have
Sec Tomptation, page 16
1 v : IR g eD g e
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July 19, 2007