• GOODYE 2012! A clever and humorous quickie recap: http://www.jibjab.com/originals/2012_the_end_is_here? utm_campaign=2012_12_21_JJ_INFO_Year_in_Review&utm_term=email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=StrongMail&utm_content=Fri%2C+21+Dec+2012+08%3A52%3A44+-0800

• “TACTICS IS KNOWING WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S SOMETHING TO DO. STRATEGY IS KNOWING WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S NOTHING TO DO.” Make 2013 an optimally productive & profitable year with guided focus from Duitch Consulting. Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

• AS 2013 SETS IN, THE WORLD IS TRENDING TO “A VERY POWERFUL AND DISRUPTIVE CHANGE IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR. “Consumption 2.0 (aka pay-per-use and Collaborative Consumption & Sharing)… involves using things without ‘owning’ them… In a culture of fast obsolescence, for the eager consumer there is no great attachment to stuff – it’s only a matter of using it and throwing it away, like chewing gum.” Driving factors include consciousness for environmental conservation and also the burden of ‘carrying costs,’ but mostly it’s about a “new perspective that virtual lasts forever. Most things we value today, like knowledge and reputation are not physical. Most web top-users tend to trust absolutely in the cloud.” Business model impacts include renting residences versus buying homes; shared-working facilities; shared transportation rather than owning a vehicle; utilizing online info for local food & services; pay-per-listen or digital-access-reading versus owning media libraries; and disappearance of most paper documents. “From a macro perspective, Consumption 2.0 will have a great impact in mobility and globalization, making borders meaningless… increasing talent war between countries… and massive immigration with (the potential for) improvement of social equity between nations.” [THE FUTURIST – Jan/Feb 13]

• E-COMMERCE IS RAPIDLY GIVING WAY TO M-COMMERCE, as Mobile-commerce is forecast to exceed $30 billion annually by 2015. “Smart phones are displacing credit cards the way plastic once toppled cash.” AT&T, Verizon & T-Mobile are now collaborating to challenge Google Wallet; Square already allows smart-phones or tablets to swipe cards; Dwolla cuts out cards altogether and allows direct fund transfers between bank accounts for a flat fee of 25 cents (and zero if transaction is below $10). For sellers, the transition from credit cards means “getting paid a lot quicker, easier and cheaper.” [INC – Dec 12/Jan 13]

• ‘SUCCESSION’ PLANNING FOR PRIVATELY-OWNED BUSINESS is about orderly and pragmatic transfer of owner- ship and management, usually to the next generation. When handled effectively, the business is optimally positioned for ongoing success, and adverse taxation as result of the transfer is minimized. The process encompasses eight fundamental steps: (1) Personal financial planning for the departing owner; (2) Family planning to assess the roles, rights and expectations of family members; (3) Strategic planning for the business future direction and risk manage- ment; (4) Assessing legal, tax and governance structure; (5) Evaluating tools for tax-efficient transfer of ownership; (6) Estate planning; (7) Assessing transition issues including communication, conflict, leadership, customer impact; and (8) Managing dysfunction. DCG is a one-stop-shop for efficiency and effectiveness. [TAX ADVISER – Dec 1, 12]

• THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing” – Jean Baptiste Colbert [French Minister of Finance in the late 1600’s]

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from
foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, “the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” ~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006