"I'm just not a numbers person." I hear this phrase at least three times a week from brilliant entrepreneurs who've built incredible businesses from their creativity and passion. They say it with a shrug, like it's just a fact about themselves—like having brown eyes or being left-handed. But here's what I've discovered after working with […]

Let me paint a familiar picture: It's late at night, you're hunched over your laptop trying to reconcile bank statements while also answering client emails and planning next month's content. Sound familiar? As a creative business owner, wearing all the hats isn't just exhausting—it's actually limiting your growth. I hear it all the time: "I […]

At Bear, the most important thing to us is our clients. Yes, we want the books to be reconciled, the taxes to be filed, and the cash to flow. But we never want to forget that clients are the reason behind all of those priorities.  We pride ourselves in how we do our work as […]

Building a small business takes courage — especially when you haven’t broken even yet. If you’re still not paying yourself or just hoping to grow more, this post is for you.  Sometimes growing your margin isn’t just about increasing sales. Sometimes it’s about reducing labor hours, reducing costs, or even finding other revenue streams. We’re […]

Having the right tools can take your business from good to great! We have rounded up a list of our favorite financial management tools for business owners. These are products that we have used and love. If you use any of the affiliate links in this post, we may also earn a small commission.  Xero […]

Does this sound familiar? You’ve spent the year building your business. Bit by bit, you’re gaining freedom and independence. But when tax season hits, so does your anxiety. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by the number of forms to fill out. Maybe you find yourself wishing you hadn’t earned so much so you didn’t have to pay […]

Wow, what a year. With tax season now in full swing, we wanted to drop in to make sure you’re up to date on the updates that might be relevant for you as you prepare your returns.  Reporting Venmo, CashApp, or PayPal Payments Over $600 Let's start with a slight change that should not cause […]

It doesn’t take much to qualify for self-employment taxes. If you’re earning more than $400 from your business or freelancing, the IRS requires you to file a Schedule SE.  In those early years of qualifying, you may not feel like you’re running a real business. But that kind of attitude is self-defeating. First, it doesn’t […]

Your first year filing taxes as a business owner can be a bit intimidating. Suddenly, you’re looking at forms you would never encounter in your personal taxes. And as your company grows, there are new forms to learn and incorporate into your filing process.  As a small business owner and an accountant who serves small […]

Have you ever experienced a peaceful tax season? One where you knew (more or less) what to expect and felt more in tune with your business’s finances by the end?  Believe it or not, you can have that experience every year. Tax season can be an exciting affirmation of where your business is going — […]

  Susanna WatersDirector of Business DevelopmentGEM Technologies, Inc.  Working with the Small Business Administration (SBA), the US Government set a goal in 2021 that 5% of all federal contracting dollars be set-aside for Women-Owned Small Businesses. What does that mean for you as a female business owner, and how can you qualify for those set-asides? […]

The old adage “You must spend money to make money” is truer more often than not. To grow your business, to increase your sales, to expand your services, or to broaden your reach, you often need to invest money.  In our most recent blog post, we talked about what capital is, when you need it, […]

As a business owner, have you ever faced slow months or seasons? Have you ever wondered if your product or service sales would stretch far enough to pay all or even any of your bills? If you are like the business owners we know and have worked with, you probably have!  Dry spells happen in […]

Every business relies on capital. To make things simple, we could tell you that capital is cash. However, that is a somewhat misleading definition.  Capital is more than cash. It is money your business has available to cover its current expenses and its future growth.  Honestly, a better way to define business capital may be […]

Not All Debt is Created Equal: Leveraging Debt Going into debt can be risky.  But having debt is not shameful. Many people take on debt to buy vehicles, houses, and other high-cost personal items. Similarly, entrepreneurs often borrow money to buy equipment, space, supplies, and as working capital funds to open and operate their businesses. […]

Not All Debt is Created Equal: Defining Debt Teaching others how to get out of debt has become big business over the past two decades. In response to surging client debt and predatory lenders, financial experts began to teach people how to moderate their spending habits and pay off their existing loans as quickly as […]

Comparing Business Bank Accounts Over the past 10 years, I have used my financial expertise to help hundreds of small business owners with their bookkeeping needs.  I have reviewed and balanced thousands of business bank account ledgers, charts of accounts, Balance Sheets, and Profit and Loss Statements. In 2019, I even opened my own business […]

Make Money While You Sleep! Part II Money seems to make the world go around. In particular, business owners’ desire to make money seems to motivate their actions and consume their thoughts.  The amount of income business owners make versus the amount of expenses they have often affects or determines their ability to keep their […]

When to switch from an LLC to an S-Corp Election Starting a business can be extremely confusing with so many different options and choices spread out in front of you. Your head is probably spinning and you may have gone down a rabbit hole of the what-if scenarios of what could possibly go wrong. We […]

We have all been told that money has to be earned and that it does not indeed grow from a proverbial money tree, unfortunately. What is feasible, though, is to establish ways to generate residual income or passive income.  What is Income? We all need to make money on a regular basis to provide for […]

Meet Shelby Stennes! Hi! My name is Shelby Stennes, and I work for Erin Reece at Bear Financial Solutions. My passion is empowering people to become successful entrepreneurs and achieve financial independence. Ironically enough, the very reason I wanted to go into finance is also the reason I decided NOT to run my own business. […]

I don’t always know how to describe my entrepreneurial journey to others. It’s often labor intensive, sometimes overwhelming, frequently invigorating, generally exciting, and usually rewarding. My experience may follow a pattern similar to other entrepreneurs’ journeys, but it’s also unique and marked by my own mistakes and achievements. In fact, I think every entrepreneur experiences […]