Resources

Protect Your Business

November 30, 2022 Mariela Reiss No comments yet

Protect Your Business (and Your Contractors) with Forms W-9 and W-8 BEN We are fast approaching the end of the year. Which, among other things, means we are fast approaching the time when accountants everywhere start gearing up to prepare client Forms 1099 for the 2022 tax year. So if your accountant starts asking you if you have W-9’s and W-8BEN’s for all of your independent contractors, know that they are thinking ahead to the year-end tasks that keep you, as a business owner, in compliance. Compliance isn’t the most thrilling concept. And remembering to collect all of those Forms [...]

Our Firm is 25 Years Old: What Have I Learned?

October 28, 2022 Jason Blumer No comments yet

We’ve just hit a pretty amazing milestone in our firm. My Dad started our firm in November 1997, 25 years ago now. And 6 years later, he let me join the firm to lead the firm into the future. It was so special to celebrate this anniversary with my Dad recently, with Julie, my wonderful partner and friend, and our whole team at our team retreat. I know it’s common to write the obligatory “25 Things I Learned from Leading our 25 Year-Old Firm” but I’m not going to. I’m just going to share two key areas where I’ve learned […]

We’ve Updated Our Key Agency Financial Metrics!

September 23, 2022 Mariela Reiss No comments yet

If you’ve been a Blumer client for any length of time, you know we are all about processes: consistent, regular, documented workflows that make client work flow smoother and allow us to hit a high level of quality in our financial support of our clients, day in and day out. What might not be so obvious is that we are also all about making steady, continual improvements in our processes. When we hear client comments or see trends that make us rethink what and how we do things, we get together as a team to analyze the issue, come up […]

How to Deal With A Slowing Economy Part 2

August 23, 2022 Mariela Reiss No comments yet

How to Deal (as a Business Owner) with Inflation, Recession, and Other Tough Times, Part 2 A recent article in the New York Times just last month had this headline: “Is Recession Staring Us Down? Already Upon Us? Here’s Why It’s Hard to Say.” Say what? There is no denying we are in for some interesting economic times ahead. I’m sure this is weighing heavy on the minds of most business owners right now. But, as I mentioned in last month’s blog post, there are certain fundamentals that will always be true when a business faces a crisis. We covered [...]

How to Deal With A Slowing Economy Part 1

August 2, 2022 Mariela Reiss No comments yet

How to Deal (as a Business Owner) with Inflation, Recession, and Other Tough Times, Part 1 Recession. Inflation. Stagflation. Economic downturn. Global slowdown. We’ve all read the headlines. We’ve all scratched our collective heads at the ever-changing predictions on an economic downturn. It’s something every business owner has on their minds right now: Are we going into a recession? Are we already *in* a recession? How do we deal with inflation? And what do we do if things get worse? The questions (and the worries) can be endless. So what are the answers? Are there any answers? I can’t tell [...]

Case Study: How a World-Class Agency Transformed for the Better During COVID

May 15, 2023 Jen Blair No comments yet

Challenges Bukwild is a 25-person design and technology studio based in Sacramento. Since its inception in 2001, some of the best-known brands in the U.S. have turned to Bukwild for help—Amazon and Pandora, DoorDash and CLIF Bar, California Olive Ranch and Coachella. But with the killer portfolio and millions in revenue came major growing pains. COO Donald Fierros recalled the challenges with business strategy and keeping everyone on the same page in 2018: “As a company, we were trying to be everything to everyone. We had a lot of communication issues as well. People holding different definitions of things in [...]

An Explanation of Our Discovery Process For New Clients

June 27, 2022 Mariela Reiss No comments yet

Our Discovery Process (aka The Financial Wellness Checkup That You Didn't Know Your Business Needed) Have you ever wondered if your business was humming along at optimal condition? Or whether the financial health of your business was more like that of a star athlete…or the average Joe? Well, there is a way to tell what level the financial health of your business is at. It involves a deep-dive into your systems by an objective outsider with the expertise and skill to examine your business quickly and thoroughly, and then give you a detailed report that guides you through the changes [...]

The Passion Economy, at SXSW 2022

June 19, 2022 Jason Blumer No comments yet

Watch as Jason Blumer, CPA, Adam Davidson, and Meghan Phillips discuss Davidson’s book, The Passion Economy, at SXSW 2022. Jason and Meghan were featured subjects in the book on what passion entails in the world of entrepreneurship.

What is Our Firm’s Internal Process for Creating Your Tax Return?

March 26, 2024 Mariela Reiss No comments yet

As the Financial Services Manager here at Blumer, I wanted to share with you a little information about our firm’s internal process for creating your tax return. Rest assured, there is a lot happening behind the scenes to ensure that your tax return is prepared carefully and completely. So let me pull back the curtain a little so you can see what is going on behind the scenes. The process kicks off when you fill in the questionnaire (also known as the Client Needs List) and upload any tax documents we don’t have to your Client Portal. If we [...]

How (and Why) to Hold a Leadership Retreat

April 26, 2022 Jason Blumer No comments yet

So you have a growing firm. And you have wisely created a leadership team to take some of the weight off your shoulders as an owner and to help manage the day-to-day activity of running the firm. But have you considered taking them out of the day-to-day activity of running the firm? Have you considered holding an annual leadership team retreat, with just firm owners and leadership team? You should! Why A Leadership Team Retreat? My partner and I say to clients we consult with “you can’t read the label on your own bottle.” In order to read the contents, […]