By Margo Land Hirons, J.D., vice president, trust officer at The Bank of Tampa “Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.” – Lemony Snicket From the moment you looked into your baby’s eyes, you knew you were going … Read more
By Stacey Pittman, CFA, CFP, CPWA, Managing Director, BT Wealth Advisors As a wealth advisor and the mom of a college freshman (Go Gators!), I am acutely aware of the challenges of planning for college. In speaking with clients, I emphasize that education planning is often the most challenging of the areas of financial planning. … Read more
By Jeff Servais, principal, and David Laugtug, principal, CLA In the life of a business, ownership transition is inevitable. Whether selling to private equity or to the next generation of your family, someone else, at some point in time, will own your company. Most owners don’t realize how this process, often highly emotional, balances a … Read more
By Dawn Morgan, CPA and Kathleen Martin, CPA Many entrepreneurs in Tampa Bay entered 2020 with new business ventures in motion or expansions of existing business—opening new locations, new entities or a combination of the two. Despite hits from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tampa Bay area saw a trending increase in new business applications, according … Read more
In this economic climate, financial literacy is a pivotal issue that can determine a person’s quality of life. The Florida Council on Economic Education, a nonprofit group on the front lines of the state’s educational system, is preparing young people for personal and financial success. It achieves this initiative through educational programs in economics, the … Read more
First Horizon Bank has appointed Jim Donatelli as market president for the Tampa Bay region. As market president, Donatelli will lead the consumer, commercial and wealth banking teams and is responsible for the company’s growth and expansion plans for the Tampa Bay market, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Bradenton and Sarasota, a statement said. “As First … Read more
In my last column, I covered the importance of knowing your numbers as a way to grow your business and make it more profitable. We explored the closing ratio. This month, we’ll look at two other key performance indicators, customer lifetime value and customer churn rate. Customer lifetime value, or CLV, is sometimes referred to … Read more
The Bank of Tampa announced a significant change in its executive leadership in January, but the bank had been planting the seeds for succession long before the announcement hit the public. T. Corey Neil, a 19-year banking veteran at The Bank of Tampa, was named president and chief executive officer, with Bill West, previous CEO, … Read more
As Marcus Lemonis, the businessman and star of The Profit says, “If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business.” Today, you will begin to know your business better. The Small business Administration states that only about 50% of small businesses make it to their fifth anniversary. There are several reasons for this, … Read more
Dixon Hughes Goodman, an accounting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina but with a presence in Tampa Bay, has announced it will merge with BKD CPAs & Advisors. The merger of the two firms creates a national top-ten firm that will have a combined $1.4 billion in revenue, a statement said. Tom Watson, current chief … Read more