THE NEW FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED

For the self-employed not yet full-up with advice: savvy coverage of the financial basics from getting started through selling out. Chiefly, though, Ellis addresses those sufficiently on-their-way to profit from smart-money pointers. For instance: small firms that accumulate considerable income (typically, $150,000 or more)--in preference to paying out twice-taxed dividends--can incur severe tax penalties. Generous executive paychecks, one possible out, may not please the IRS either. So Ellis suggests creating a high-yield preferred stock issue that can be assigned to children or other dependents in low tax brackets. On another front, he notes that seven out of ten working men can expect to be laid up at least three months between the ages of 35 and 65--so disability/income-maintenance policies should be part of any freelancer's protection package. The premiums for such coverage are not deductible, true, but benefits are not taxable. Along similar lines, Ellis urges those in need of capital to investigate personal rather than commercial bank credit--to take advantage of interest rates that normally are lower as a matter of usury law or institutional policy. Time is money too, by Ellis' reckoning, and he offers a wealth of practical tips for beating the clock--from avoiding written correspondence to having tactful ploys ready for terminating phone conversations. Though not as comprehensive as McVicar and Craig's Minding My Own Business (p. 553), a valuable reference for those with a growing stake in a going concern.