If you're a business owner, your company is probably the most valuable asset you own. As such, growing and protecting the value of your business, and eventually monetizing such value, is enormously consequential to achieving your financial independence.

Business owners want to hire, motivate and retain good people. Even if they succeed in finding a "perfect" hire, they are not always successful in motivating them, much less keeping them around. We asked our trusted friend, Ken Jacobs, a seasoned executive and a business consultant, to share his wisdom on how to boost employee morale. Ken has held senior management positions at both public companies and private companies. His last position was President of ACE USA, a Private Equity-owned company.  He co-authored a book, Managing is Everybody’s Business, and now helps business owners increase enterprise values through his consulting company, Work/Life Tools, LLC.  

When small business owners want to step away from their business and retire, many may worry about the tax burden they’ll face from all their potential gains. Our professional colleague, Steve Parrish, Co-Director of the American College Center for Retirement Income, graciously gave us permission to post his article in Forbes that describes a tool called a deferred sales trust that may help to spread out gains over time and lower their tax burden. ​