Today I want to discuss a very good question that I was asked by a potential client: “Why should I pay you to handle this when I can do it myself?”

That’s a great question that is perhaps too easily dismissed by reciting the old canard: “a person who represents himself has a fool for a client.” Of course you can file your own trademark application. The USPTO has great on-line tools, they accept all major credit cards, and a reasonably intelligent person could crawl through the menu and have an application on file in a very short period of time. As Emeril would say: “Bam!” You do not need a lawyer for that. But, there is much more to it than the mechanics of e-filing. Here is a non-inclusive list of reasons to use a trademark lawyer.

1.      A trademark lawyer can tell you if your mark is likely to be registered. By that I mean that a trademark lawyer knows what the Examining Attorneys will be looking for when they review your application. He or she can tell you whether the proposed trademark is likely to be deemed generic or descriptive (and therefore not registrable), or primarily merely geographic or geographically misdescriptive (and not registrable), or whether there is another registered mark that is likely to be cited against your mark because it is likely to cause confusion. A good trademark lawyer will be able to suggest a strategy for minimizing the risk of these issues.

2.      A trademark lawyer can tell you if you are using the mark in a trademark sense. By that I mean that not all signs, words or symbols function as trademarks. If they do not function as trademarks as you use them, the Examining Attorney will refuse to register them.

3.      A trademark lawyer can tell you if the way you use the proposed mark is a proper specimen of the mark you have applied for. Your specimen must show use of the mark on or in connection with the goods or services for which you have applied. Without a proper specimen the Examining Attorney will refuse to register your mark. This can be a technically tricky area.

4.      A trademark lawyer can tell you if you have described the goods or services properly. The Examining Attorneys can be very fussy about this. Although you may look at the drop down menu on the USPTO web site and think you have the right goods or services, you are thinking like a reasonable businessperson and not like an Examining Attorney. This causes problems when you go through the process and submit your specimen, only to have the Examining Attorney tell you that the specimen does not show use on the goods or services you have claimed in your application.

5.      A trademark lawyer has a docketing system that tracks dates and deadlines. Let’s face it: you do not have this, you do not need this, and this alone should be worth paying a trademark lawyer.

6.      A trademark lawyer can keep you out of trouble. This is a reflection of the old adage: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Why in the world would you invest in a brand without doing the basic legal due diligence to determine whether it is available for use or registration, or whether you can protect it? A trademark lawyer can help you understand, manage, and avoid risk.

7.      A trademark lawyer is not that expensive. There are many very good solo or small firm trademark lawyers whose fees are relatively low. You do not need to pay the exorbitant rates of “Big Law” to get very good advice in this area. While no one likes to pay lawyers (or CPA’s for that matter), having a trademark lawyer do your clearance and filing work is very inexpensive insurance – less than what I pay each month for health insurance!

8.      Many trademark lawyers are brand geeks. Good trademark lawyers love brands, they enjoy branding concepts, and they are likely to share your passion for your brand and project.

9.      Don’t you have enough things to worry about? As a business owner you have a zillion things on your mind. While your brands are your franchise, you do not need to worry about the mechanics of registering them with the USPTO. Let a pro take that off of your plate, and spend your time worrying about QA, distribution, PR, cash flow, taxes, and all of other things in your business.

So that’s what I told the potential client. I sent him my fee schedule and told him that if he wanted to comparison shop I’d be happy to send him a few names of competitors. That was Friday afternoon, and it will be interesting to see whether he decides to go the trademark lawyer or the DIY route.

About Client Retention
Client Retention is a customer service company. Keeping businesses connected to their valued customers and clients is our passion. Our mission is to help business owners and entrepreneurs consistently follow up with and connect with their customers in an effort to build customer loyalty. We create and implement customized greeting card programs for you that promote business growth.
Helping you achieve loyal customers that continually reward you with repeat and referral business is our commitment. Individual connection and personal service are what business relationships are built on, and our fabulous cards achieve this.
Check us out online at www.ClientRetentionInc.com

Cash Flow - The Pulse of Your Business

Unfortunately, many small business owners do not fully understand their cash flow statement. This is shocking, given that all businesses essentially run on cash, and cash flow is the lifeblood of your business.

Some business experts even say that a healthy cash flow is more important than your business's ability to deliver its goods and services! That's hard to swallow, but consider this: if you fail to satisfy a customer and lose that customer's business, you can always work harder to please the next customer. But if you fail to have enough cash to pay your suppliers, creditors, or employees, you're out of business!

What Is Cash Flow?

Cash flow, simply defined, is the movement of money in and out of your business; these movements are called inflow and outflow. Inflows for your business primarily come from the sale of goods or services to your customers. The inflow only occurs when you make a cash sale or collect on receivables, however. Remember, it is the cash that counts! Other examples of cash inflows are borrowed funds, income derived from sales of assets, and investment income from interest.

Outflows for your business are generally the result of paying expenses. Examples of cash outflows include paying employee wages, purchasing inventory or raw materials, purchasing fixed assets, operating costs, paying back loans, and paying taxes.

Note: An accountant is the best person to help you learn how your cash flow statement works. Please contact us and we can prepare your cash flow statement and explain where the numbers come from.

Cash Flow Versus Profit

Profit and cash flow are two entirely different concepts, each with entirely different results. The concept of profit is somewhat broad and only looks at income and expenses over a certain period, say a fiscal quarter. Profit is a useful figure for calculating your taxes and reporting to the IRS.

Cash flow, on the other hand, is a more dynamic tool focusing on the day-to-day operations of a business owner. It is concerned with the movement of money in and out of a business. But more important, it is concerned with the times at which the movement of the money takes place.

Theoretically, even profitable companies can go bankrupt. It would take a lot of negligence and total disregard for cash flow, but it is possible. Consider how the difference between profit and cash flow relate to your business.

Example: If your retail business bought a $1,000 item and turned around to sell it for $2,000, then you have made a $1,000 profit. But what if the buyer of the item is slow to pay his or her bill, and six months pass before you collect on the account? Your retail business may still show a profit, but what about the bills it has to pay during that six-month period? You may not have the cash to pay the bills despite the profits you earned on the sale. Furthermore, this cash flow gap may cause you to miss other profit opportunities, damage your credit rating, and force you to take out loans and create debt. If this mistake is repeated enough times, you may go bankrupt.

Analyzing Your Cash Flow

The sooner you learn how to manage your cash flow, the better your chances for survival. Furthermore, you will be able to protect your company's short-term reputation as well as position it for long-term success.

The first step toward taking control of your company's cash flow is to analyze the components that affect the timing of your cash inflows and outflows. A thorough analysis of these components will reveal problem areas that lead to cash flow gaps in your business. Narrowing, or even closing, these gaps is the key to cash flow management.

Some of the more important components to examine are:

·         Accounts receivable. Accounts receivable represent sales that have not yet been collected in the form of cash. An accounts receivable is created when you sell something to a customer in return for his or her promise to pay at a later date. The longer it takes for your customers to pay on their accounts, the more negative the effect on your cash flow.

·         Credit terms. Credit terms are the time limits you set for your customers' promise to pay for their purchases. Credit terms affect the timing of your cash inflows. A simple way to improve cash flow is to get customers to pay their bills more quickly.

·         Credit policy. A credit policy is the blueprint you use when deciding to extend credit to a customer. The correct credit policy - neither too strict nor too generous - is crucial for a healthy cash flow.

·         Inventory. Inventory describes the extra merchandise or supplies your business keeps on hand to meet the demands of customers. An excessive amount of inventory hurts your cash flow by using up money that could be used for other cash outflows. Too many business owners buy inventory based on hopes and dreams instead of what they can realistically sell. Keep your inventory as low as possible.

·         Accounts payable and cash flow. Accounts payable are amounts you owe to your suppliers that are payable some time in the near future - "near" meaning 30 to 90 days. Without payables and trade credit, you'd have to pay for all goods and services at the time you purchase them. For optimum cash flow management, examine your payables schedule.

Some cash flow gaps are created intentionally. For example, a business may purchase extra inventory to take advantage of quantity discounts, accelerate cash outflows to take advantage of significant trade discounts, or spend extra cash to expand its line of business.

For other businesses, cash flow gaps are unavoidable. Take, for example, a company that experiences seasonal fluctuations in its line of business. This business may normally have cash flow gaps during its slow season and then later fill the gaps with cash surpluses from the peak part of its season. Cash flow gaps are often filled by external financing sources. Revolving lines of credit, bank loans, and trade credit are just a few of the external financing options available that you may want to discuss with us.

Monitoring and managing your cash flow is important for the vitality of your business. The first signs of financial woe appear in your cash flow statement, giving you time to recognize a forthcoming problem and plan a strategy to deal with it. Furthermore, with periodic cash flow analysis, you can head off those unpleasant financial glitches by recognizing which aspects of your business have the potential to cause cash flow gaps.

Please call us to discuss cash flow management and analysis. We're happy to help you handle your cash surplus effectively and maintain adequate funds to cover day-to-day expenses.

The foregoing is provided by the Bosma Group which specializes in serving small and medium sized businesses.  The Bosma Group was founded with the vision of allowing emerging businesses access to same world-class expertise formerly only available to Fortune 1000 companies.

Ever notice all the music around you? 

It’s played in grocery stores, restaurants, elevators, doctors’ offices, nail salons, car dealerships, gas stations (yes, while you are pumping gas), business offices and even the parking lots!

Is music appropriate in the workplace? You bet it is.

Does music boost employee morale? Yes to that one too.

Music plays a positive role in most of our lives personally and professionally.

Music acts as an important component in building a customer service culture in the workplace.

• It improves alertness
• Creates team interaction
• Increases employee morale – break out in song once in a while and see what happens!
• Stimulates productivity
• Music makes us happy! (We love happy)
• and the beat goes on

Your favorite music automatically puts you in a good mood. And most importantly, an employee’s good mood means a happy customer!

Back in the corporate days on my way to work, I would pop in a CD and listen to, ”We Are the Champions”  by Queen for quick motivation.  Don’t know why this song had the impact it did, but it helped me motivate my team for sales contests at work. (Really, crank it up and see!)

If you know you have a tough day ahead, try listening to some of your favorite songs before you get to work or right before an event. Seriously, this works.

We recently attended a workshop and observed our speaker putting on a headset just prior to starting the event.  Watching as she moved to an unpopulated area, we instantly knew she was listening to a song(s) that moved her mind and soul into the motivation and energy she needed for a long day ahead.  Wow, the impact and power of music. By the way, it was by far one of the most informative workshops we have ever attended.

We are big believers that starting off your day with music can set the tone for the entire day.  We would be remiss if we didn’t make a comment of how it has its place at home too.  Being Motown gals, Aretha and Smokey continue to be our constant motivator for some serious house cleaning!

About Client Retention
Client Retention is a customer service company. Keeping businesses connected to their valued customers and clients is our passion. Our mission is to help business owners and entrepreneurs consistently follow up with and connect with their customers in an effort to build customer loyalty. We create and implement customized greeting card programs for you that promote business growth.
Helping you achieve loyal customers that continually reward you with repeat and referral business is our commitment. Individual connection and personal service are what business relationships are built on, and our fabulous cards achieve this.
Check us out online at www.ClientRetentionInc.com

Internal Revenue Code section 162(a) states that all ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on a trade or business are deductible.

An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in a particular field of business, trade or profession, a necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for a particular business trade or profession.

For individual taxpayers, business expenses are usually deducted either on schedule C for sole proprietors’, or single member LLC owners, or on form 2106 attached to schedule A (miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to 2% of adjusted gross income), for W-2 employees.

In our experience, the most contested business expenses, by the IRS, are travel, meals and entertainment, and automobile deductions.

Action item:

Use a log to track auto, meals, and entertainment deductions.

Meals and Entertainment: The cost of entertainment a client, customer or employee can qualify as an ordinary and necessary business expense. To qualify as a deduction the expenses must be directly related to or associated with the active conduct of a trade or business or for the production or collection of income. The deduction for meals and entertainment expenses are usually limited to 50% of the amounts that would otherwise be deductible.

Travel: Expenses for transportation and lodging are deductible for business travel away from the taxpayer’s tax home. The tax home is the main place of business where most of the time, income or degree of business activity occurs. To deduct lodging costs, taxpayers must be away from their tax home longer than an ordinary work day, and must be away long enough that they cannot reasonable be expected to complete the trip without sufficient sleep or rest. There are also additional rules if the primary purpose of a trip is not business.

Substantiation Requirements: IRC section 274(d) sets forth specific requirements for substantiating deductions for travel, meals and entertainment. Taxpayers are required to maintain an account book, diary, log, trip sheet or similar records as well as documentary evidence such as receipts, cancelled checks. The importance of substantiation cannot be overemphasized, as the IRS puts more weight on contemporaneous documentation than only documenting the item after a taxpayer has been notified of audit.

You might consider a full-featured accounting software to track income and expenses. We highly recommend these programs for small businesses. Using accounting software will help you monitor the health of your company, and provide an audit roadmap for the IRS.

Consider regularly preparing a balance sheet and profit and loss reports. These reports help you analyze how your business is doing, whether you are profitable, and how you are spending your money.

This article was written by Kelsey Hernandez. EA, CPA, a manager at Bosma Group who specializes in small businesses taxation. Bosma Group is a CPA firm dedicated to serving closely held growing businesses. Call Kelsey at 775-786-4900 or by email atkhernandez@thebosmagroup.com.

What determines a bully?  Bullies purposely try to make people feel uncomfortable OR purposely put people down.  Some also have a habit of keeping you in a state of “psychological emergency.”  This makes them feel important by continually keeping you in a scrambling mode. You are constantly walking on eggshells around them and they love it.  This is one of the worst forms of bullying.

Here are some other tactic bullies at work use:

1. Condescending or demeaning language
2. Flaunt their authority
3. Talk about others behind their back
4. Use the “silent” treatment
5. Yell, shout or insult
6. Dirty looks or negative eye contact  -  rolling their eyes
7. Belittle someone’s opinion - such as, ”What a stupid idea.”
8. Purposely choosing not to respond to emails or calls

What can you do about bullying at work?

First of all, you must stop being silent. This is tough on many levels but you must speak up or this unacceptable bully behavior will continue.  Confront that person on neutral ground. Restrict to basic behavior and don’t try to analyze.  During this conversation, specify what behavior change you want from that person. Something like,  “you not only embarrassed me but you also embarrassed yourself.” If there are any specific issues that need to be addressed, state that you would appreciate the respect of talking about them privately.

In addition, don’t give your personal power away. Regardless of the setting, stop listening to their lies and insults and walk away.  This actually is very powerful because it defuses the bully and he/she does not know what to do.

For additional support, you may want to recruit some allies.  Check with co-workers and ask if they are experiencing the same thing you are.  Talk openly and stand together.  Listen to others, but trust yourself.  If you have an option, you may want to move to a different area or department.

Something else you must do is document each and every incident. Keep your opinion out of it.  Document the date, time, witnesses and the facts.  Hold on to this information in the event you need it for further action.  You can also email this information to your boss and/or talk to someone in HR.

You may also prefer to talk to a counselor or someone objective.  If the bully happens to be your boss, you may have to make a tougher decision.

Remember . . . People cannot bully you if you don’t allow it!

About Client Retention
Client Retention is a customer service company. Keeping businesses connected to their valued customers and clients is our passion. Our mission is to help business owners and entrepreneurs consistently follow up with and connect with their customers in an effort to build customer loyalty. We create and implement customized greeting card programs for you that promote business growth.
Helping you achieve loyal customers that continually reward you with repeat and referral business is our commitment. Individual connection and personal service are what business relationships are built on, and our fabulous cards achieve this.
Check us out online at www.ClientRetentionInc.com

Sometimes we need to talk here about costly taxpayer mistakes that could have been avoided with professional consultation. Take the recent case of a securities firm owner doing business as an S corporation. An S corporation's income is directly taxable to its owners, and its losses pass through to owners for deduction on their tax returns. S corporations are like partnerships in this respect, and the problem we'll describe arises with partnerships, too.

In the recent case, the S corporation had heavy losses during the year. Its owner filed for bankruptcy on December 3, 29 days too soon.

What do we mean "too soon"? When someone files a bankruptcy petition, their assets, with a few exemptions and exclusions, pass immediately to the bankruptcy "estate," to be used to pay creditors who are, for the most part, unsecured. In this case, the owner's S corporation stock was such an asset passing to the estate. With it went an asset (the law calls it a "tax attribute") of great value: the year's tax-deductible loss.

In the owner's hands, the loss would have been enough to eliminate current tax and generate a big net operating loss. Such a loss can be carried to other years, eliminating or reducing tax in those years.

But the owner didn't own the loss. An S corporation's loss for a year is determined when the year ends. At this year's end, the S corporation stock was owned by the bankruptcy estate. By filing for bankruptcy before the end of the year, the owner gave the bankruptcy estate the loss.

The estate acquired the right to carry the year's loss to other years, including back to a prior year when the owner had profits. With this right, the estate could obtain a refund for the taxes the owner had paid in a previous year, even if the owner had made no claim - and didn't know such a claim existed. Alternatively, the estate can carry the loss to future years to offset income arising during bankruptcy from the owner's assets now held by the estate.

The owner argued that since he had held the stock 11/12ths of the year, he should be entitled to 11/12ths of the year's loss. This is not a bad argument, since the law prorates an S corporation stockholder's share of the corporation's loss on a daily basis throughout the year. But the tax rules for bankruptcy trump those for prorating the loss. When the estate took ownership of the stock on December 3, it received all the rights attached to that stock, including the right to claim all the loss determined at year-end.

Note: The court acknowledged that the owner had made an honest mistake, so no penalties were imposed. That must have been some relief. Still, the mistake squandered tens of thousands of tax dollars.

Tip: Here are two ways the owner could have salvaged the loss and its tax value:

Wait until the new year, say January 2, to file for bankruptcy.

Sell the S corporation stock, if possible, before the bankruptcy filing. This way the owner could get his share of the year's loss (once determined), prorated for the period he owned the stock - here, about 11/12ths of the year's loss.

Note: The transfer of a debtor's assets to a bankruptcy estate is tax-free and not a sale.

The same fate will befall a partner who files for bankruptcy during a partnership's loss year. His or her partnership interest, and that interest's share of partnership loss, will go to the bankruptcy estate. The estate can carry the loss to other years.

Tip for Partners: As with the S corporation stockholder, waiting until year-end before filing will give the partner his or her share of the partnership's loss for the year. Rules for determining share of loss are trickier than with S corporations, where a partner sells his or her interest before the bankruptcy filing - too tricky to summarize here.

If you're at all unclear on how filing a bankruptcy petition could impact your taxes, let us know. We can advise you on the best course of action.

The foregoing is provided by the Bosma Group which specializes in serving small and medium sized businesses.  The Bosma Group was founded with the vision of allowing emerging businesses access to same world-class expertise formerly only available to Fortune 1000 companies.

Clients ask me this question regularly.  Sometimes it is for an application they filed themselves.  Other times it is for an application that I filed for them (which can be somewhat embarrassing to explain.)  The general answer is the subject this week’s blog.

A trademark application must clear two hurdles at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  First it must be approved by an attorney in the Trademark Office (called an “Examining Attorney”).  If it clears that hurdle it must survive the thirty-day publication and opposition period without being opposed by someone.  (And if it is opposed the Applicant must win or settle that proceeding).

The Examining Attorney checks the application against a long list of things.  First there are the formalities.  These are the technical things about the application: were the goods stated correctly; was the declaration signed; was the exemplar of use satisfactory; were the fees paid; etc.

Then the Examining Attorney looks at the substance of the trademark in the application.  The first thing that is reviewed is the list of “absolute grounds” for refusal.  These are things like genericness (“vino” for wine), descriptiveness (“red” for wine”), scandalous and immorality (“FCUK” for clothing) and other statutory bars to registration.  Then the Examining Attorney looks at “relative grounds” for refusal, such as whether the mark is confusingly similar to another registered mark.

If the Examining Attorney believes that that application is deficient or that registration must be refused, they will write an “Office Action” explaining the reasons for refusal and what must be done to fix the problem. You have six months to respond to the Office Action.

When you file the application yourself, you are in some sense “flying blind” because you do not know the list of things that the Examining Attorney will be looking for.  You might have done a basic trademark search to see if someone else had registered your proposed mark for identical goods, but the Examining Attorney’s review is much broader.  When you use a trademark attorney to “clear” your proposed trademark, you will get the benefit of their insights into how an Examining Attorney might view the application.  But as Benjamin Franklin might say, nothing in life is certain except death and taxes, and even the best trademark attorney cannot predict with certainty how an Examining Attorney might view an application.

Although most of the Office Actions I have seen were predictable (if not predicted), some were just from left field.  For example, I had one recently where an Examining Attorney was adamant that my client’s application for a mark that was for a pharmaceutical preparation for veterinary use was confusingly similar to a mark that was registered for skin lotions for human use.  You look at those kinds of rejections and ask yourself: does she really believe that doctors of veterinary medicine, who are the only people who could purchase or prescribe a pharmaceutical for animal use, will mistakenly use a human skin lotion instead?

The good news is that if your attorney can make a good argument as to why the Examining Attorney is wrong, in many cases they will withdraw the objection and pass the application for publication.  That’s what happened with my veterinary client and his mark eventually was registered.  But sometimes Examining Attorneys dig in, in which case you will have to appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board or abandon the application.

The bottom line is that applications can be rejected even if you work with a trademark attorney before adopting your mark.  You can always make arguments in response to the Examining Attorney and you have a right to appeal, but sometimes you must decide whether to fight or move on to another name.

Definition of a Hobby vs Business

First, the IRS defines a hobby as an activity that is not pursued for profit. A business, on the other hand, is an activity carried on with the reasonable expectation of earning a profit.

The tax considerations are different for each activity so it is important for taxpayers to properly determine whether an activity is engaged in for profit as a business, or is engaged in as a hobby.

Simply stated, you must report and pay tax on income from almost all sources, including hobbies. It is in the handling of expenses and losses that the two activities differ.

Note: Internal Revenue Code Section 183 (Activities Not Engaged in for Profit) limits deductions that can be claimed when an activity is not engaged in for profit. IRC 183 is sometimes referred to as the "hobby loss rule."

Is your hobby really an activity engaged in for profit?

If you are not sure whether you are running a business or simply enjoying a hobby, here are some of the factors you should consider:

• Does the time and effort put into the activity indicate an intention to make a profit?
• Do you depend on income from the activity?
• If there are losses, are they due to circumstances beyond your control or did they occur in the start-up phase of the business?
• Have you changed methods of operation to improve profitability?
• Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business?
• Have you made a profit in similar activities in the past?
• Does the activity make a profit in some years?
• Do you expect to make a profit in the future from the appreciation of assets used in the activity?

An activity is presumed for profit if it makes a profit in at least three of the last five tax years, including the current year (or at least two of the last seven years for activities that consist primarily of breeding, showing, training or racing horses).

The IRS says that it looks at all facts when determining whether a hobby is for pleasure or business. The profit test is the primary test. If you can show that the activity earned income in three out of the last five years, it is for profit. If the activity does not meet the profit test, the IRS will take an individualized look at the facts of your activity using the list of questions above to make the determination business or hobby. It should be noted that this list is not all inclusive.

Business Activity: If the activity is determined to be a business, you can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses for the operation of the business on a Schedule C or C-EZ on your Form 1040 without considerations for percentage limitations. An ordinary expense is an expense that is common and accepted in your trade or business. A necessary expense is one that is appropriate for your business.

Hobby: If an activity is a hobby, not for profit, losses from that activity may not be used to offset other income. You can only deduct expenses up to the amount of income earned from the hobby. These expenses, with other miscellaneous expenses, are itemized on Schedule A and must also meet the 2 percent limitation of your adjusted gross income in order to be deducted.

What are allowable hobby deductions under IRC 183?

If your activity is not carried on for profit, allowable deductions cannot exceed the gross receipts for the activity.

• Deductions for hobby activities are claimed as itemized deductions on Schedule A, Form 1040. These deductions must be taken in the following order and only to the extent stated in each of three categories:
• Deductions that a taxpayer may claim for certain personal expenses, such as home mortgage interest and taxes, may be taken in full.
• Deductions that don't result in an adjustment to the basis of property, such as advertising, insurance premiums and wages, may be taken next, to the extent gross income for the activity is more than the deductions from the first category.
• Deductions that reduce the basis of property, such as depreciation and amortization, are taken last, but only to the extent gross income for the activity is more than the deductions taken in the first two categories.

If your hobby is regularly generating income, it could make tax sense for you to consider whether it is a business or not. You may be able to save on taxes.

The foregoing is provided by the Bosma Group which specializes in serving small and medium sized businesses. The Bosma Group was founded with the vision of allowing emerging businesses access to same world-class expertise formerly only available to Fortune 1000 companies.