If you own a business, you may well follow a "do it now" philosophy — which is, of course, necessary to keep things running smoothly.

Still, you also need to think about tomorrow— which means you'll want to take action on your own retirement and business succession plans.

Fortunately, you've got some attractive options. For example, you could choose a retirement plan that offers at least two key advantages: potential tax-deferred earnings and a wide array of investment options.

Plus, some retirement plans allow you to make tax-deductible contributions.

In selecting a retirement plan, you'll need to consider several factors, including the size of your business and the number of employees.

If your business has no full-time employees other than yourself and your spouse, you may consider a simplified employee pension plan or an owner-only 401(k), sometimes known as an individual or solo 401(k).

Or, if your goal is to contribute as much as possible, you may want to consider an owner-only defined benefit plan.

If you have employees, you might want to investigate a SIMPLE IRA or even a 401(k) plan.

Your financial adviser, working with plan design professionals and your tax adviser, can help you analyze the options and choose the plan that fits with your personal and business goals.

Now, let's turn to business succession plans. Ultimately, your choice of a succession plan strategy will depend on many factors, such as the value of your business, your need for the proceeds from the sale of the business for your retirement, your successor, and how well your business can continue without you.

If your goal is to keep the business within the family, you'll need to consider how much control you wish to retain (and for how long), whether you wish to gift or sell, how you balance your estate among your heirs, and who can reasonably succeed you in running the business.

Many succession planning techniques are available, including an outright sale to a third party, a sale to your employees or management (at once or over time), or the transfer of your business within your family through sales or gifts during your life, at your death or any combination thereof.

Many succession plans include a buy-sell agreement. Upon your death, such an agreement could allow a business partner or a key employee to buy the business from your surviving spouse or whoever inherits your business interests.

To provide the funds needed for the partner or employee (or even one of your children) to purchase the business, an insurance policy could be purchased.

Your estate plan — including your will and any living trust — should address what happens with the business, in case you still own part or all of it at your death.

The best-laid succession plans may go awry if the unexpected occurs.

All these business succession options can be complex, so before choosing any of them, you will need to consult with your legal and financial advisers.

Whether it's selecting a retirement plan or a succession strategy, you'll want to take your time and make the choices appropriate for your individual situation.

You work extremely hard to run your business — so do whatever it takes to help maximize your benefits from it.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: Retirement, succession plans are 'must haves' for business owners

The adult coloring book craze that started at the beginning of 2015 shows no sign of slowing down.  Titles such as “Lost Ocean,” “Secret Garden” and “Enchanted Forest” are selling well.

Coloring can be therapeutic, and creating beautiful art is a soothing, stress-relieving activity. Even amateur artists can create something exquisite, as no drawing skills are required.

The Crestview Public Library recently added “Color Therapy: An Anti-Stress Coloring Book” to the collection. Teens and adults can check it out and color a page as a community art project. You may also sign and date your work if you wish.

Many stunning illustrations will lift your mood and focus your mind as you color your piece of art! 

Sandra Dreaden is the Crestview Public Library's reference librarian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DREADEN: Check out a Crestview library book you can color in

Now, we are entering the Christmas season.

You do remember Christmas, do you not? It is when we remember that the greatest gift ever given was from God to man. 

John 3:16 sums it up beautifully: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." 

The Christmas gifts we give are reminders of what was given to us — not a contest to see who gets the most out of someone else.

This holiday season, drastic  decisions need to be made.

We have allowed so many people to be "offended" by Christmas' very name, but we who are followers of Christ should be offended by those who wish to remove Jesus from our lives. 

Why not let the voice of many rise up and be accounted for in honor of our Father? 

I find it offensive that we have sin shoved down our throat by those who claim we should be more tolerant.  

Try that with a member of ISIL.

I am offended when others use vulgar language in public, and I have not been afraid to address that at times to the individuals. 

We talk about God's mercy and grace, wonderful virtues of our heavenly Father, yet we also forget that He is a jealous God.

When He has had enough, He will respond. 

I do not want to be one who sits idly by while all others fall for this garbage.

Our greatest decision that can be made this year can be summed up in the Bible, when Joshua demanded that God's people make a decision concerning whom they would serve and worship. 

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

Christian friend, make up your minds. Either be totally for Him, or quit pretending. 

My friend, if you do not know Jesus as your Savior, seek Him while He may be found. He still cares so much that this world is still going on, just so that you may come to God and have your sins forgiven.

Some will not like what I have to say. That is quite all right. I only have one to please, and it is not any man on this earth, nor my wife and children. 

We choose to serve the Lord, and have been so awesomely blessed because of it. 

Stand firm and be blessed.

The Rev. Richard Helms serves at Miracle Acres Ministries, 3187 E. James Lee Blvd., in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HELMS: Be 'all in' for God, or quit pretending

As an investor, you'll eventually need to make all sorts of decisions — and some will be difficult.

But there's one choice you can make that can be relatively easy: reinvesting stock dividends. It's simple to reinvest dividends — you just need to sign up for a dividend reinvestment plan. Once you do, you won't receive dividends directly as cash; instead, your dividends will be directly reinvested in the underlying equity.

Be aware, though, that you may incur a fee when reinvesting dividends.

By doing some research, you can find companies that have not only consistently paid dividends year after year but also increased those dividend payments regularly. (Keep in mind that companies are not obligated to pay dividends, and can reduce or discontinue them at any time.)

By reinvesting dividends, you may be able to realize some key benefits. First, you'll be building your share ownership, which can help you build wealth. No matter what the market is doing, adding shares can be beneficial — but may be especially valuable when the market is down. When share prices are low, reinvesting dividends — which don't typically fluctuate with share price — can help boost your investment reach further, simply because each reinvested dividend can buy more shares than at the previous higher share price.

Consider this: It took investors 25 years to recover from the Crash of 1929 if they did not reinvest their dividends — but it only took them 15 years to recover from the crash if they did reinvest dividends, according to Ned Davis Research. And we've seen the same phenomenon in more recent years, too.

Since 1987, according to Ned Davis Research, we've had three major market corrections: Black Monday in 1987; the bursting of the dot-com bubble from 2000 to 2002; and the bursting of the subprime and credit bubbles in 2008.

The S&P 500 rose following those market corrections. Investors who stayed invested during those corrections had the opportunity to participate in rising markets. Those investors participating in a dividend reinvestment plan may have been able to buy more shares at a lower price.

Of course, past performance doesn't guarantee future results, and the value of your stock shares can fluctuate, including the loss of principal.

While reinvesting your dividends clearly can be beneficial, you do have to be aware that, even if you aren't receiving the dividends as cash, you will be taxed on them.

But the dividend tax rate remains quite favorable — if you're in the 25 percent, 28 percent, 33 percent or 35 percent brackets, your dividends will be taxed at 15 percent.

If your taxable income is more than $400,000 (or $450,000 for couples), your dividend tax rate is 20 percent. If your adjusted gross income is $250,000 or more (for married couples filing jointly) or $200,000 or more (if you're single), you'll also have to pay a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on your dividends.

While taxes are a consideration when investing, they should never be the driving factor.

Consider also that investing in dividend-paying stocks does carry some risk — specifically, the value of your investment may fluctuate, causing you to lose some, or all, of your principal. But you may be able to reduce the impact of this possible volatility by sticking with quality stocks as part of a diversified portfolio.

As we've seen, reinvesting dividends can help you build your investment portfolio — so consider putting this technique to work in your investment strategy.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones financial adviser.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SHANKLIN: Reinvesting dividends can be a smart move