There is a moment of truth when you share your financial information with a trusted financial advisor. This is the “net worth” moment. How much do you really have?

Did you ever think that going out to dinner in a local restaurant helps drive our local economy?   Does checking out a show at the Gallo Center, State or the Fat Cat help create jobs and keep our community vibrant?

Alternative energy was once the darling of Wall Street and the promise all politicians made. The corn price boom was fueled by government tax credits and investor mania. Solar stocks soared. Bio-diesel aroused private investor interest and tales of vast profits to come. Then came a different kind of eco-disaster: the eco-nomic downturn. Alternative energy fell faster than a wind turbine rotates.

Embezzlers who get caught receive relatively light sentences because slashed law enforcement budgets force hard choices on judges and jailers. Restitution is often negligible because the fraudsters have spent the money and have few assets to tap. Business owners must protect themselves with insurance bonds on employees and bookkeeping checks and balances. The culprits may not get stout jail time but the business won’t be ruined.

Business owners understand the daily stress of operating a company, especially during a down economy.  Few, however, have to deal with the added strain of having a customer base that consists of criminals.

Angela Garcia, President of Garcia Family Bail Bonds, knows first hand the pressure and anxiety of running a bail bonds business.  That’s why she and her husband Mark decided to diversify and open a secondary family operation that offers a calmer, more genteel clientele.  They chose the wine business and the Most Wanted Wine Company was born.

Taxes and financial intricacies are a business constant and recession or no, Central Valley accountants continue to be busy and profitable despite the economic slump.

“Business has been pretty stable,” said Mark Croce, partner in Croce & Co., Accountancy Corp. in Stockton. “But real estate development and construction slowed down quite a bit.”

The basic question firms ask themselves in today’s economic marketplace is, “How’s business?” and in the case of payroll services, the answer is, perhaps surprisingly, “Business is good.”

Of course, how a payroll service company fares depends on those companies using payroll services during challenging economic times. Such considerations are on the mind of Bettye Smith, Owner/President/CEO of Payroll People, Inc. headquartered in Modesto.

An attorney’s work is never done and, thankfully for those who require their services, although somewhat buffeted by the recession, Central Valley attorneys remain unbowed.

The economic downturn forced change on every member of the legal profession and although some were hit harder than others, as a group they appear to have soldiered through with reasonable success.

Founded in Berkeley by entrepreneur Ken Sarachan in 1971, Rasputin Records has grown from the single flagship store on Telegraph Avenue into a nine-store behemoth spread throughout the Bay Area with relatively recent stores opening in Stockton and Fresno.