Cortland Cofield is the owner and Financial Planner at Cofield Advisors. As a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), Cofield assists his clients with both their personal and business finances.
The main goal of Cofield Advisors is to help millennial business owners by taking the financial and tax planning burden off their shoulders so they can focus on growing their business. As a business owner himself, Cofield understands the difficulty of trying to get business and personal finances in line. Cofield Advisors helps its clients run successful businesses and plan ahead for the future.
Cofield shares his expertise and offers five recommendations to help millennial small business owners manage their affairs in a fiscally responsible manner.
Get a bookkeeper early
The most common theme I run into with small business owners is a lack of organized books. Without these records, it’s impossible to understand if your business is successful or not, or where to find areas in which you can improve.
Select the correct entity structure
I often see small business owners with the wrong entity for what their business is trying to accomplish. These can lead to paying a lot more in taxes than needed.
Set up a self-employed retirement account
As a self-employed person, you no longer have a 401k. However, there are various vehicles that you can use in place of this like an SEP IRA or Solo 401k.
Know your write-offs
Countless business owners miss thousands and tax savings by not realized all of the expenses that they can write off.
Don't be afraid to reinvest in your business
Reinvesting into your business is not only a write-off, but it's the only way to successfully grown. Many of our clients have a set percent that they reinvest into their business every year, and I think its a great way to continue steady growth.