De Ann Constantino

You worked really hard to build this company from nothing. Late nights, tight budgets, a hundred small decisions that amounted to something concrete. But now you are contemplating passing on the torch. So, how do you make a smooth transition? What happens when you're ready to step away? There comes a time when many business owners contemplate this move; some will follow through while others get stuck thinking, “Where do I begin?” So, you’re not the only one to be at this juncture. Preparing...

There’s a peculiar problem that comes with growth. While revenue goes up and headcount increases, the culture that defined the company in its initial days slowly starts to fade. Before anyone can point it out, business owners are the first to feel the drift. If this is the case with your company, employee ownership is one way to address the problem. In no way is it a quick fix; it is not even a simple company bonus. It is a much more significant monetary benefit for the company’s staff that...

Forty million working-age Americans have no retirement savings. Not a small balance. Not a forgotten IRA from a job they left in 2004. Nothing. That number comes from the Survey of Consumer Finances, the Federal Reserve's triennial look at how American households actually sit financially. The median account balance across all working-age adults is $5,000. For those under 35, the median is zero. The shift that produced this picture started in the 1980s. Employers began moving away from...