Self Made Archive

My best guess is that you may not even believe me in this week’s blog post, but here it is. I was on a plane from Los Angeles to Dallas today after a very long week. I was actually answering an NASE TaxTalk question about S Corporations right on line with the help of American Airlines’ in-flight internet connection.

From Yahoo's Marissa Mayer to Ursula Burns at Xerox and PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, women capture an ever-growing number of top spots at leading corporations -- internationally and in the United States. Compared to the 1960's when women were barred from certain jobs, we have made great strides in earning management positions at various levels to running the show. But despite the gains over the last fifty years, women still only account for 24 of the Fortune 500's Chief Executive Officer positions.

I love small business owners. I know this sounds kind of sappy, and as the President of the National Association for the Self Employed I probably notice this kind of thing more than most, but it really makes me proud when I see that entrepreneurial spirit. I was out yesterday and saw a local high school band having a car wash. I pulled in and let them do their best. But that wasn’t the sappy part. There were three kids, maybe 8 years old, who had set up lemonade and iced tea stand. Right there in the heat!

It’s August, which I guess means that we are in the dog days of summer; lots of hot weather but also lots of swimming pools and cold glasses of lemonade. The good news for me is that despite the season there are still lots of questions from NASE members that we get to answer every day. One NASE member posted a question regarding income earned during a speaking engagement overseas, actually in London, England. Her question made me realize all over again just how pervasive the influence of small business continues to be.

Posted by Katie Vlietstra-- By now, we've all heard about the challenges and the ups-and-downs of the new health care law. From cancelled plans to delayed programs and technical glitches in online applications, the Affordable Care Act has had its share of problems. However, in the end, the Affordable Care Act -- or ACA -- has turned out to help millions of Americans young and old. Far from perfect, the Department of Health and Human Services declared success with over eight million people enrolled, and over 30 percent being young Americans aged 18-34.