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Fall 2001 Fall 2004
One month from delivering her third child, Jennifer Jackson Buckner boarded the elevator of her New York high rise holding the hands of her two young boys. Partway down from the twenty-ninth floor, a professionally dressed woman joined them. After watching the family for a few moments, the woman said as she exited the elevator with a smile, “Easier to start a company.”
This is the first of a five-part personal financial planning series sponsored by the Peery Institute of Financial Services. The next installment, addressing insurance, will appear in the Winter 2005 issue.
I want to describe a few of the people who surround me at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). My deputy has a PhD in Islamic philosophy. The person in the office next to mine is a former reporter for National Public Radio. A woman in our administration office is a concert pianist.
I own two small companies. It’s hard to pay myself benefits, let alone all my employees. The first thing to look at is making sure they are paid a competitive wage, then add vacation/holidays and keep within reason. Next, they might need health insurance, but if the spouse is working elsewhere and is covered, we can sometimes eliminate it. Finally, you might look at adding tax deferred savings plans and insurance. Since both my companies are retail, we offer very steep discounts to employees. It has been my experience that most people working for small companies do not expect superb benefits. Also, in order to keep costs down, you must do a lot of shopping.
Several weeks ago, I traveled to the north side of Chicago to visit my son. I drove from downtown Chicago to Lincoln Park, where he lives. As I turned onto Clybourn Avenue, I suddenly encountered a scene that I hadn’t seen or thought of in years—the Clybourn Gospel Chapel.
Over the next year, many of you will go through a performance review. your direct supervisor will evaluate the contribution that you have made to the success of the organization and help you develop a plan to build on your strengths and focus on opportunities you have to improve.