Are you voting? Have you voted? Are you over all of it? 

Election fatigue is real. Not just the ads, texts, and new barrage, but anticipating the what ifs that we can’t know for at least six more days.

This week, I had planned to write a nice long email with all the evidence of the US economy’s health. New reports showed full employment, inflation near the target of 2%, and growth near the target of 3%. That is a pitch perfect execution of the Fed’s role. 

While my wonky self can marvel at this minor miracle, these facts don’t matter if you feel like you’re struggling or worse off.  Up to 70% of Americans feel that things are getting worse economically. Your feelings are yours to feel. If you want to read some economic stuff, I recommend this, this, and this.

Let’s do two things instead: enjoy this achievable checklist and some news I hope you’ll help me celebrate.

As I promised last week, here’s 2025’s version of my 10 Weeks to Close checklist. I don’t like surprises. I do this annual close process with my clients to make sure we have a handle on budgeting, compliance, taxes, and team needs, and make a strong revenue start to the next year. 

Evaluate your list of key activities to finish before December 24 so you can enjoy a delightful, quiet final week of the year and a peaceful, orderly start to 2025. Well, at least financially and operationally.  

Line items are linked to supporting blog posts, videos, and resources. To make a copy you can edit, go to File > Make a copy and add it to your own Drive or File > Download and export as XLS. 

Download it, print it out, make it your screen background, convert it to a Notion board, train ChatGPT to give you weekly recommendations about it. It is all yours. 

This week, your things to do:

• Communicate your benefits intentions to your team. Y’all, I cannot stress enough how quickly your generous win will turn into a raging loss if a member of your team pays $500 - $1,500 in nonrefundable healthcare premiums. If you plan to offer corporate benefits, or you’re exploring it, please tell your team to sit tight for a couple of weeks until you can host an open enrollment meeting. If you already offer health benefits, please give your team a heads-up that you plan to continue, and a timeline for open enrollment if you have one. 

• Update your 2025 PTO, holiday, and paid leave policies. Same goes if you’re changing any policies in 2025. Check your company holiday calendar, any local changes to minimum sick leave or paid time off rules, and revised paid leave policies. Keep in mind, if hourly employees work on federal or state holidays, you may be obligated to pay them time and half or double time.

Upcoming events

November 12 webinar

Quick reminder: join me for Decoding your 2025 Health Insurance Choices on November 12 at 11 AM Pacific. This webinar is specifically for the self-employed and small business owners. I’ll review the highlights of individual and small business plans and take live Q&A. The cost is $27. Learn more and register here. 

And please feel welcome to share this info -- this event is open to everyone. 

November 14 AMA

My free subscriber AMA is back on Thursday, November 14 at 10 AM Pacific. Bring your end of year and benefits questions for live support. If you can’t attend live, submit questions here.

A bit of good news

I am a real estate voyeur. I have a standing Redfin search for local listings. I review a few dozen properties a week and drop into open houses. 

A few months ago, my search yielded a reduced-price new construction in an up-and-coming area of Los Angeles called East Hollywood. My realtor Alison agreed to meet me there within a day, and we made an offer. After a long process of city permitting and the financial colonoscopy that is self-employed mortgage underwriting, that home is now mine.

I knew that my condo was a stepping stone back into a single family home. But with the pandemic spike in Los Angeles home prices, I didn’t expect to be able to do it just four years from my date of separation. But here I am, writing from my dining room table as I look out at the Hollywood sign and Griffith Observatory.

Thanks to the team at Arcstone Financial for armwrestling my assets to make the loan work, and Alison and Jason from Home Sweet Huddy for keeping on top of several months of permitting, multiple inspections, and some truly odd happenings.

It’s not easy to rebuild your financial life in an expensive city as an entrepreneurial single mom. It’s a little scary to make a purchase this big on my own. I’m also really proud of myself for managing my corporate cash flow and using my tax and money management knowledge to get here. Thank you to the friend and family army that has entertained and fed my kid when I needed extra work or travel time. Thank you to all of you for reading my writing, sending referrals, working with me, and providing moral support. And thank you to my team that has been super-understanding about my atrocious schedule during this longer-than-advertised process. Everyone accepted the assignment and made sure I ate lunch. 

It takes a lot of people to run a small business. Thank you for being on my team.

Media Kit

The Guardian: Do we defer too much to the fan army? And at what cost? Legendary comics writer Alan Moore penned an op-ed about why our goal should be to cultivate supportive communities instead of frenzied, entitled super fans. If you’re building your customer base through community or social media, this is a great read.

CNBC (Correction): Thanks to the eagle-eyed reader who noted that I provided the wrong 2025 maximum tax rate breakpoint last week. The correct numbers are available here.

Medium: Do you use demographics to define your ideal customers? I had a chuckle at this example of why we want to take care to ask the right questions  and get beyond demographics in strategic marketing work.  

WSJ: Are your kids as obsessed as mine with Squishmallows? Turns out, those perfectly mushy pastel lumps are at the center of a huge lawsuit. If you want a fun way to learn about intellectual property law and how to enforce your IP protections, this is the story for you.