Sheltering his business: James Wiley uses tax strategies to build wealth

Black Enterprise, June, 2005 by Nicole Lewis

* Network. Network. Network. You must belong to trade associations and attend trade events on a regular basis. "You should network at least twice a week. You should be meeting someone somewhere," says Wiley, adding that it is also important to develop mentoring relationship with well-established business owners.

Declaration of Financial Empowerment

From this day forward, I declare my vigilant and lifelong commitment to financial empowerment. I pledge the following:

1] To use homeownership to build wealth.

2] To save and invest 10% to 15% of my after-tax income

3] To commit to a program of retirement planning and investing

4] To engage in sound budget, credit, and tax management practices

5] To measure my personal wealth by net worth, not income

6] To be aproactive and knowledgeable about investing, money management, and consumer issues

7] To provide access to programs that will educate my children about business and finance

8] To support the creation and growth of profitable, competitve black-owned enterprises

9] To use a portion of my wealth to strengthen my community

10] To ensure that my wealth is passed on to future generations