The Illinois Limousine and Bus Association (ILLBA) held their year-end Coffee With ILLBA educational session on Tuesday, December 19. Sponsored this month by Celeron Commerce, the mid-morning webinar welcomed operators from across the country. Guest speaker Becky Laramee of All Points Limousine (aka “Becky from Boston”) was on call for a presentation called Let’s Talk Money.
Becky Laramee Guest Speaker
To kick things off, ILLBA President Tracy Raimer of Windy City Limousine & Bus welcomed the online attendees, and introduced Will Foley, a senior account manager with Celero Commerce. A recent member of ILLBA, Foley spoke about Celero’s various services as a large credit card processor.
Will Foley Guest Speaker
Before introducing the ILLBA Board of Directors, Raimer discussed the upcoming ILLBA Holiday Party, being held January 9 at Carlucci’s in Rosemont, Ill. On hand at the event will be a photographer who will take complimentary head shots of the operators in attendance. ILLBA Executive Director and Secretary Paula DiBiasi of Chicago Coachworks said that the free photos offer a great opportunity to update business cards in time for upcoming trade shows.
Next came Laramee’s Let’s Talk Money presentation, which offered ways to minimize taxes while creating generational wealth. Laramee, in addition to running a transportation company, is also a CPA. She began by sharing several helpful best business practices, including performing monthly and annual reviews, creating the appropriate business entity, filing taxes on time, and building relationships with peers and business/financial advisors. Laramee emphasized the significance of planning for the future, noting the importance of having a will and power of attorney in place, as well as having “tough” conversations with your parents about their health and what happens if they should die suddenly.
A detailed discussion about tax strategies followed, including how operators can put their children to “work” in order to put money in a lower tax bracket.
“There are so many things you can do to change your tax destiny and keep the money you earned,” says Laramee.
She then fielded questions from attendees, which included topics such as ordinary income vs. capital gains; Rule 179 deductions; CERTS, PPP, and ERTC filings, and rental properties and passive income. Laramee concluded by sharing a bit about her success as an Amazon DSP.
David Eckstein from Valeria Global was then invited to speak a bit about the Limo Patriot Ride, which is scheduled for March 7 in Las Vegas (the day after the 2024 CD/NLA Vegas Show). Supporting the Semper Fi Fund, this relaxing motorcycle (and bus) ride takes participants through the beautiful Valley of Fire just outside of Vegas.
The webinar concluded with some news about Chicagoland airports, especially the efforts being made to eliminate ride hustlers at the baggage claims.
Visit illba.org for more information.
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