Self-Employed Couples

Running a business together and staying married: roles, money, decisions and leaving work at the door.

The BRO Code. What to do, what not to do, and a few laughs on the way.

Do's & Don'ts: Husbands Do's & Don'ts: Wives Do's & Don'ts: Business Owners

The phone call that empties a family's savings

It starts polite, it starts urgent, and it ends with somebody at a Walgreens buying $500 gift cards. The defense takes four minutes.

GuideStartupsRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Your Farmers Market Stand Isn't a Hobby, It's a Business

The Saturday math that decides whether the market pays you or quietly bills you, and why half the stands are gone by September.

Ask BRO

Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

Ask it

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Hang a ceiling fan that doesn't wobble, hum or fall

The whole job hangs on a part you can't see from the floor, and most failed fan installs fail right there.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

Money6 min read

The side income tax bill nobody sets money aside for

You cleared $11,000 detailing cars on Saturdays. Roughly a third of it was never yours. Do the arithmetic now, not in April.

Poll

How many days a week are you actually training?

GuideBusinessRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Negotiating with suppliers when you're the small account

You don't have volume leverage. You have four other kinds, and most small operators never use any of them.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

How to get a fire going when every stick is soaked

Wet wood isn't wet all the way through. Here's the order of operations that turns a soggy woodpile into a fire that stays lit.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideMoneyRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Retirement accounts and the one question that sorts them

401(k), IRA, Roth, HSA, SEP. Strip the alphabet soup and it comes down to who taxes the money and when.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideStartupsRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

One Hour on Friday Is All Your Books Need

Do your bookkeeping in a fixed weekly hour and you'll always know three numbers that decide whether your business lives.

GuideSkillsWes Dunbar23 Sept 20266 min

Finding north with a stick, a watch and the Big Dipper

The sun gives you west in twenty minutes, Polaris gives you north in ten seconds, and neither one needs a battery or a signal.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

Ask it

$The rent versus buy math nobody runs before they sign$

GuideMoneyRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

The rent versus buy math nobody runs before they sign

A $350,000 house, an $1,850 rent, and five years of arithmetic that doesn't flatter either side.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

PartnerDude.com

GuideBusinessRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Write the job post so the wrong people don't apply

Most hiring problems start with a posting that could belong to anybody. Put the pay in, name the hard part, and watch your applicant pile get smaller and better.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuideSkillsCal Brennan23 Sept 20266 min

Burns, Sprains And Deep Cuts, Handled In The Right Order

Cool water for twenty minutes, pressure you don't peek at, and a short list of things that mean you stop treating it at home and get in the truck.

GuideMoneyRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20265 min

Negotiate your raise with a page of evidence, not nerve

Courage doesn't move a budget line. A one-page file with numbers, dates and a market range does, and you can build it in a few evenings.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideBusinessRay Okonkwo23 Sept 20266 min

Handing the family business over without blowing up the family

Most successions fail years before the lawyer gets involved. The fix is a date, real authority, and a number everybody agreed to while things were calm.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.