A nonprofit that operates a day shelter for the homeless in Curtis Park has purchased another property on the block — a deal that has prompted an end to a yearlong negotiation with neighbors.

“My concern is that we just have a density of services that isn’t tenable. It doesn’t work already, and they’re talking about adding footprint,” said Ryan Cox, who lives nearby.

The St. Francis Center’s shelter at 2323 Curtis St. provides showers, mail and social services for roughly 500 homeless people daily.

On Feb. 18, the nonprofit bought an 8,000-square-foot office building down the street at 2347 Curtis St. for $2.56 million, according to public records.

CEO Nancy Burke told BusinessDen last month that SFC was interested in buying nearby property and pursuing a redevelopment in the future. SFC had been leasing part of the building since November 2023.

But the transaction came as a surprise to nearby residents, who have expressed concern about conditions on the block, which saw 140 crimes reported there last year.

For more than a year, residents had been negotiating with SFC in hopes of reaching a “good neighbor agreement,” in which the nonprofit would commit to certain security and cleanliness measures. The most recent draft included a clause that SFC “not expand their physical footprint within this immediate area without engaging in conversation” with the Curtis Park registered neighborhood organization.

Part of the problem, neighbors say, is that they don’t feel SFC is forthright about its activities. They point in part to the acquisition of 2347 Curtis St.

“They’ve been less than forthcoming about where they are and what their plans are,” Cox said.

A recording of a Feb. 5 community meeting obtained by BusinessDen shows neighbors and a city mediator asked Burke about the 2347 Curtis building three different times before she mentioned the organization was under contract.

First, mediator Steve Charbonneau asked if Burke had an update on her plans for the building.

“I do not have an update on the building purchase,” she said.

Moments later, one of the neighbors interjected, asking instead if Burke could share the “current status” of purchase negotiations.

“We are in a discussion with the owners to purchase this building,” she replied.

Much later in the meeting, another resident asked point-blank if the nonprofit was under contract to buy the building.

“Yes,” is all Burke said.

Burke told BusinessDen on Jan. 14 that SFC was not under contract at the time. But Jim Culhane, who along with Jawaid Bazyar previously owned the property, said Monday that SFC went under contract Dec. 16.

Burke declined to comment on the transaction. After BusinessDen informed her of the recording of the Feb. 5 meeting, she emailed neighbors to say its release was “definitely outside of any good neighbor processes I have seen.”

“We have determined that we are unable to continue participation in these meetings but remain open to individual contacts and concerns,” Burke wrote Feb. 28.

Councilman Darrell Watson, who represents the area, has said he supports SFC adding housing, but not expanding its services in Curtis Park. He said he also learned SFC was under contract at the Feb. 5 meeting, and added that he spoke with Burke privately after.

“I shared that with Nancy that communication would have been helpful if that came out earlier,” he said.

Bazyar and Culhane bought the quarter-acre 2347 Curtis property for $675,000 in 2011, public records show.

Bazyar, who declined to comment on the sale, previously voiced frustration with activity on the block. In 2019, Denver fined him for refusing to clean human feces left on his property; he told Fox31 that homeless people were defecating there nearly every day. In 2022, he told the local CBS affiliate he felt “under siege” on a “lawless” block.

Public records show Bazyar and Culhane are providing $2.06 million in seller financing on the deal.

In January, Burke told BusinessDen that she’s exploring paring down the existing day shelter model in Curtis Park. Instead, she’s interested in building housing on the block for the homeless, with services on-site to support them. She thinks this plan will decrease the number of homeless people in the immediate area.

“What if we served less people?” Burke said in January. “What if we did housing, which, by nature, would change what happens here? What if it was less people, doing something with these pretty dilapidated buildings?”

Cox and other neighbors say they support housing, but don’t fully trust that SFC would close the day shelter on the block.

“My concern has always been that they continue the services they have now and/or expand them, plus several hundred units, potentially, of housing on top of that,” he said.

The 2347 office building is separated from the day shelter by one single-family home, which the nonprofit doesn’t own. Documents SFC submitted to Denver in 2023 stated that the homeowner had expressed a desire to sell.

Cox said he feels “strung along” by the whole ordeal and hopes SFC will be scrutinized if and when it seeks to redevelop the block.

“I think it’s going to come down to City Council and HOST — they hold the purse strings,” Cox said, referring to Denver’s Department of Housing Stability.

The City Council approves contracts for homeless shelters and services in town. It granted SFC nearly $1.2 million for its Curtis Park shelter operations last week. The organization, which also has operations outside Curtis Park, had a budget of $9.7 million last year, much of which comes from Denver contracts.

“These service providers, they are businesses now, and there’s a lot of money up for grabs,” Cox said.

This story originally published on BusinessDen.

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Coloradans will soon have legal access to psychedelic-assisted therapy with the first licensed psilocybin businesses expected to open this spring. This novel type of mental health treatment involves ingesting large doses of “magic mushrooms” under the supervision of a licensed guide.

People who are interested in trying a therapeutic dose in Colorado will need to go to licensed businesses known as healing centers and connect with accredited guides called facilitators.

In Oregon, the only other state where psychedelic-assisted therapy is legal, patients typically take a large dose of mushrooms before putting on an eye mask and headphones and lying down to experience the trip — which can take up to six or eight hours. The facilitators are there to help their patients navigate intense or challenging emotions and to assist should they need to move around while under the influence.

Sessions can be costly since individuals pay for a facilitator’s time and the drugs provided onsite. In Oregon, a psilocybin session costs upward of $1,000.

But some of Colorado’s prospective healing center owners have ideas about other ways to offer their services. That includes one who hopes to build a space for microdosing, as well as others seeking to pair psychedelic-assisted therapy with other wellness techniques like yoga.

We spoke with seven people who have applied for healing center licensure so locals can understand the variety of approaches coming to Colorado’s psychedelic therapy landscape.

Private practices

Psychedelic therapy is billed as a medical treatment, so it’s no surprise that existing mental health professionals plan to add it to their practices.

Alison Lee, co-owner of Reset LLC in Centennial, has been a licensed counselor for about 15 years, working with both kids and parents. During the pandemic, however, she decided to switch her focus and explore how psychedelics could help heal trauma, specifically generational trauma that gets passed down through families.

Lee is working on obtaining her facilitator license so she can guide clients through large-dose trips, as well as provide preparation and integration sessions to book-end those experiences. She and her husband Josh purchased the condo now home to Reset LLC and renovated it from a call center to a “cozy, safe space” where these journeys will take place. Lee plans to hire additional facilitators to expand the healing center’s client capacity.

Even though this treatment is now legal, Lee said there’s still a taboo around psychedelics. She hopes to help the public understand more about them and offer something new to her patients who have tried traditional approaches without success.

“I am excited for a tool in my therapy toolbox that I feel most confident is going to help the most amount of people,” Lee said.

Counselor Dori Lewis has been offering ketamine therapy at her group practice, Reflective Healing in Fort Collins, for several years. Lewis hopes to add psilocybin therapy soon because psychedelics make natural complements to transpersonal psychotherapy, which explores how individuals experience “interconnectedness to our environment, to our community and beyond,” she said.

While Reflective Healing does not exclusively offer psychedelic-assisted therapy, Lewis sees it as a valuable addition to other modalities. In addition to working with ketamine and psilocybin, Lewis is also trained to administer MDMA therapy, though it’s not yet legal. She participated in clinical trials by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

“My dream is that I will have MDMA, mushrooms, and ketamine available so that we can create treatment plans that meet the needs of the unique person sitting in front of us,” she said. “Psychedelics are a great tool, but in and of themselves are not enough. It’s a tapestry of healing that we hope to be able to provide.”

Additionally, Lewis co-founded one of Colorado’s approved training programs, called Elemental Psychedelics, so Reflective Healing intends to be a practicum space for aspiring facilitators.

Holistic wellness centers

Several Coloradans want to open healing centers that integrate psychedelics into other wellness practices.

Go Within Collective in Lakewood, for example, plans to be home base for independent facilitators who specialize in treating various health conditions. Co-founder and CEO Jillian Gordon’s expertise is in using psychedelics to help individuals experiencing chronic pain and creating healing spaces for men. Other practitioners in the Go Within Collective’s network specialize in end-of-life care and acute trauma, she said.

Gordon’s vision is to offer psilocybin-assisted therapy alongside other mindfulness and therapeutic practices, such as yoga, meditation, breathwork, and somatic therapy and movement. Retreats and mushroom cultivation classes are also part of the plan.

Over the last five years, Gordon has worked in the psychedelic underground, but she wants to transition into the regulated industry, firstly, so Colorado’s newly licensed facilitators have a place to work. (That was a challenge in Oregon, where the number of facilitators outpaced the number of service centers where they could be employed.) Gordon also hopes to inspire others to join the industry and raise the standard of care.

“I do feel a responsibility to a certain degree to make sure my community is held accountable,” Gordon said. “For me, honestly, it’s a calling.”

Elizabeth Cooke opened The Center Origin in Denver in 2023 with a roster of practitioners specializing in yoga, massage, breathwork and reiki. Her goal was to build a community and brand recognition in anticipation of psychedelic therapy becoming available.

While the business model will soon shift primarily to facilitated trips, Cooke plans to offer clients access to providers of the aforementioned services to enhance their therapeutic experiences, either as part of the preparation process or as part of integration afterward. She expects to offer one-on-one guidance, as well as group sessions.

Cooke, who previously worked as a social worker and co-founded cannabis edibles company Coda Signature, said part of her long-term vision includes being able to make and sell microdosing products, mushroom chocolates and gummies.

“Coming online with this, it seemed like a combination of everything – it’s bringing my entire career together,” she said. “To me, a healing center is able to provide the most to people.”

Spiritual retreat centers

Aside from the potential medical applications, many people use psychedelics for self-exploration or as spiritual and religious conduits.

Arvada resident Austin Mao has spent the last three years building a “church,” called Ceremonia, as a space for people seeking mystical or transcendental experiences using psychedelics. The church hosts multi-day retreats that include workshops and one or more psilocybin “ceremonies,” Mao said.

Ceremonia doesn’t offer one-on-one guidance. Instead, it brings together groups, which makes it more affordable for participants, Mao said, and offers them an embedded support system.

“In speaking with longstanding psychedelic therapists and leadership, the consensus that we have is that peer support and group work is the future of not only psychedelic healing but also therapy,” he said.

Additionally, Mao created one of Colorado’s approved training programs called Ceremonia Edu, so the church intends to be a practicum space for aspiring facilitators.

A microdosing coffee shop

While guided trips on large doses of mushrooms may be suitable for some, Jeff Parton and Manon Manoeuvre believe smaller dosing options are more approachable to a broader demographic. That’s why their Denver business, Vivid Minds Coffee & Tea House, will focus on microdosing.

Their concept includes two separate spaces. The first is a coffee shop serving drinks with non-psychedelic “functional” mushrooms, where the owners expect to host educational classes on psychedelics. The second is a lounge with stations for painting, games, and journaling so people can take microdoses and indulge their creativity. The plan includes having several facilitators on hand at any given time to accommodate both individuals and groups.

“That will just change the dynamic of mushrooms and psychedelic healing in so many different ways. The fact that you’re in a coffee shop, you get your little latte and your biscuit and you go downstairs and you can choose what activity you want to do and what medicine you want to try,” said Manoeuvre, who is working on obtaining her facilitator license.

“I see in the future psilocybin bachelorette parties,” she added.

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By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

A Minnesota farmer worries about the price of fertilizer. A San Diego entrepreneur deals with an unexpected cost increase of remodeling a restaurant. A Midwestern sheet metal fabricator bemoans the prospect of higher aluminum prices.

Businesses knew that Trump’s import taxes — tariffs — on America’s biggest trading partners were scheduled to take effect Tuesday. But many of them assumed they’d get a reprieve. After all, the unpredictable president had delayed the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days right before they were originally supposed to kick in on Feb. 4.

No such luck this time.

At midnight Tuesday, the United States imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, starting a trade war with its closest neighbors and allies. Trump also doubled his 10% levies on Chinese imports in a series of moves that took U.S. tariffs to the highest level since the 1940s. Canadian energy was shown some mercy, getting taxed at a lower 10%.

The three countries promptly announced retaliatory tariffs of their own.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said later on Tuesday that the U.S. would likely meet Canada and Mexico “in the middle,” with an announcement coming as soon as Wednesday. Lutnick told Fox Business News the tariffs would not be paused, but that Trump would reach a compromise.

The longer the tariffs stick, the more damage they can do, forcing companies to decide between eating higher costs and passing them along to inflation-weary consumers. If the tariffs and the retaliation last a year, economist Kathy Bostjancic of Nationwide estimates, U.S. economic growth will be more than 1 percentage point lower and inflation 0.6 percentage points higher than they would have been otherwise.

Manuel Sotelo, who runs a Mexican truck fleet that carries goods across the southern U.S. border, didn’t expect that Trump would roll the dice on $2.2 trillion worth of American trade with Mexico, Canada and China. Indeed, Mexico has already taken steps to address the ostensible grievances behind Trump’s Tuesday tariffs — the flow of illicit drugs and immigrants — including sending 10,000 troops to the border.

“I really did think last afternoon or last night Trump would have reversed course,’’ Sotelo, who has a Trump bobblehead behind his desk, said Tuesday.

But the president went ahead with the tariffs, and now businesses are scrambling to deal with them.

David Spatafore, who owns several restaurants in San Diego, said his businesses have already been pummeled by the surging price of eggs and dairy over the last month. Tuesday’s tariffs are just the latest blow.

“Everything across the board is impacted,” Spatafore said.

One of his restaurants has also been in the middle of a remodel, which has grown increasingly expensive as tariffs hit Canadian lumber and steel.

“We were in the middle of a quote for a custom oven being made,’’ he said, when the contractor added the cost of the tariffs to his estimate. Thin margins in the restaurant industry mean it’s hard to eat the higher expenses.

“Where are you supposed to absorb it?’’ he said.

At Mission Produce in Oxnard, California, which packs avocados and mangos and distributes them to supermarkets and restaurants around the world, co-founder and CEO Steve Barnard won’t need to raise prices right away. Mission Produce still has some inventory of Mexican avocados and other produce ripening in its U.S. warehouses.

But “if this thing lasts 10 days or more, our costs will be substantially different,’’ he said. “We’ll have to come to the table and figure something out.”

Barnard expects big retailers will resist price increases, while smaller, independent chains might have to raise prices sooner because they have less pre-tariff inventory on hand.

“My company will feel an immediate, detrimental impact as a result of these tariffs,” Traci Tapani, co-president with her sister of Wyoming Machine, a sheet metal fabricator in Stacy, Minnesota that relies on Canadian aluminum, said in a statement. Tapani is the vice chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council. “The threats and uncertainty have made it hard to make business decisions, and these kinds of tariffs will make it extremely difficult for small businesses like mine to grow.”

In Cannon Falls, Minneapolis, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Minneapolis, farmer Danny Lundell is particularly worried that Trump’s import taxes will drive up the price of Canadian potash fertilizer.

“We need potash to raise healthier crops,’’ he said. “And it doesn’t matter if you’re big, medium or small, it’s going to affect you.’’

Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, visited Lundell’s farm Tuesday to criticize Trump for jeopardizing relationships with his state’s biggest trading partners.

Higher costs aren’t the only consequence of Trump’s trade wars. There’s also the uncertainty as the president threatens, delays and actually imposes import taxes.

“Things are unfolding so quickly,” Brian Cornell, CEO of discount retailer Target, told reporters Tuesday. “We will watch this carefully and understand: Are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating.’’

Uncertainty can take an economic toll as businesses delay plans to make investments and sign up new suppliers until they know which countries and which products are likely to be tariff targets.

During Trump’s first-term trade battles, U.S. business investment weakened late in 2019, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate three times in second half of the year to provide some offsetting economic stimulus.

Adding to the uncertainty now are Trump’s plans for more tariffs, not least his call for “reciprocal tariffs” to raise U.S. duties to match higher tariffs charged by other countries. Trump could also impose more tariffs on the European Union, India, computer chips, autos and pharmaceutical drugs.

“Everything else that’s coming down the pipeline is what adds to the uncertainty,’’ said Antonio Rivera, a partner in the international trade practice at the law firm ArentFox Schiff.

The Whiskeyjack Boutique gift shop in Windsor, Ontario, has been getting some usual customers: Americans stopping in to apologize for Trump’s decision to start a trade war with Canada.

“They are mortified by what’s happening, and they don’t support what’s going on, and they don’t like how Canada’s being kind of dragged through the mud on this,” said Katie Stokes, co-owner of the shop.

Stokes has also heard Canadians planning to cancel plans to take vacations in the United States.

“It’s almost remorseful and sad, like people are upset, and they don’t love how this is playing out,’’ she said.

Associated Press Staff Writers Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles; Anne D’Innocenzio in New York;, Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Mike Householder in Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Megan Janetsky in Mexico City; and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs are here, plunging the country into an escalating trade war with China, Canada and Mexico.

Trump’s 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, along with a heightened 20% levy on Chinese goods. In response, all three countries announced retaliatory measures.

Experts say consumers and businesses will be the hardest hit. Companies big and small will face higher costs on the goods they buy from other countries — and could have little recourse but to hike prices themselves. For consumers, that will likely mean more expensive price tags on everything from cars, appliances and other big-ticket items to smaller, everyday purchases including electronics, gasoline and groceries.

How are Canada, Mexico and China responding?

Canada, Mexico and China all declared on Tuesday that they would impose retaliatory taxes on many U.S. products.

China is imposing tariffs of up to 15% on a wide array of key U.S. farm exports, including American-grown chicken, pork, soy and beef. It also expanded the number of U.S. companies subject to export controls and other restrictions by about two dozen.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. And Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country will respond with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Unlike Canada or China, however, she said she would not announce specific tariffs until Sunday — possibly indicating that Mexico still hopes to de-escalate the trade war.

“All of the economies involved in the tariffs will see a loss in their real GDP (gross domestic product) and increasing consumer prices in general,” said Wendong Zhang, an assistant professor of applied economics and policy at Cornell University.

Canada and Mexico will suffer considerably more than the U.S. because of the U.S. economy’s size and strengthening dollar, Zhang added. For the U.S., the combined tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico could result in about a 0.4% GDP loss, amounting to over $100 billion, he said.

The tariffs may be short-lived if the U.S. economy suffers. But Trump could also impose more tariffs on additional countries such as India or EU nations, and more products such as computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs. The president has injected a disorienting and unpredictable volatility into the world economy, leaving it off-balance as people wonder what he will do next.

What is the impact on US businesses?

Manufacturing companies and retailers for a wide array of goods will feel the impact.

“International trade is critically important to our business and industry,” Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said on an earnings call Tuesday. “The consumer electronics supply chain is highly global, technical and complex. China and Mexico remain the No. 1 and No. 2 sources for products we sell, respectively.”

At Target, sales and profits slipped during the crucial holiday quarter as customers held back on spending, and there will be “meaningful pressure” on the company’s profits in early 2025 because of the tariffs and other costs, CEO Brian Cornell said at the company’s annual investor meeting Tuesday.

Car companies’ supply chains that cross the borders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico could be disrupted — in addition to auto parts that come from China.

What impact will the tariffs have on consumers?

Tariffs on China could impact a variety of consumer products, including cellphones, children’s toys and clothing that Americans buy every day.

Some companies have been working to delay or lessen the blow on consumers by stockpiling what they can or shifting manufacturing and suppliers back to the U.S. or other countries not impacted by the new levies.

Still, it’s easier to stock up on some goods than others. And even some “made-in-USA” products may contain plastics or packaging from China, for example. Wider supply chain shifts are also complicated and far from easy to carry out.

When it comes to consumer electronics, “We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely,” Best Buy’s Barry said.

And with the U.S. spending billions on fruits and vegetables imported from Mexico and Canada each year, shoppers could face additional sticker shock in the grocery aisle. The new tariffs could also hike prices of tequila, mezcal, whiskey and other spirits made in those countries.

Tariffs add another “mental calculus” for consumers on top of other price pressures today — such as soaring egg prices due to avian flu, Zhang says. He adds that shoppers will need to watch prices for everyday items more closely.

When will customers see prices go up?

Exactly when consumers will see prices rise isn’t clear, but perishables will likely get hit first.

Especially during colder months, retailers rely on foreign imports for fresh fruit and vegetables, and long-term storage isn’t an option. Shoppers could start seeing the prices of produce such as avocados, which come from Mexico, go up industrywide as early as in a few days, Target’s Cornell told reporters on Tuesday.

But he added that the extent to which prices will increase depends on how things play out over the next few weeks.

“I think things are unfolding so quickly,” Cornell said. “We will watch this carefully and understand, are these long-term tariffs? Is this a short-term action? How will this unfold over time? I think all of us are speculating, and I think we’re going to listen and learn and make sure that we can control the things we can control. But we don’t want to overreact right now to one day and one headline.”

Associated Press writers Anne D’Innocenzio in New York and Paul Wiseman in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

February brought a thaw to what had been a chilly start of the year for metro Denver’s housing market, with more homes listed, more homes going under contract and more sales completed, according to an update Wednesday from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.

“Inventory and mortgage interest rates are the two variables we continue to watch closely. Rates have fluctuated since the first of the year, but a general downward trend has been noticed. Still, rates above 6.5% mean it is a significant part of the calculation for buyers,”  Amanda Snitker, chairwoman of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and metro Denver Realtor, said in comments accompanying the monthly report.

Sellers listed 4,828 properties, an 11.2% improvement from January, and 13.8% higher than February 2024. That resulted in 8,554 homes and condos available for sale at the end of February versus the end of January, an 11.3% increase in inventory.

Compared to a year earlier, the inventory of homes for sale is up 55.2%, but remains below the historical average for February of 12,492 homes in records going back to 1985.

Falling mortgage rates appear to be encouraging more buyers to step forward. The number of closings rose 8.5% to 2,573 in February, although the pace is down 17.3% from the same month in 2024. Pending sales, properties under contract but not yet closed on, rose 22.4% from January to 3,516. Those are up 9.3% on the year.

The median price of a detached home sold last month rose 1.5% on the month and 2.47% on the year to $645,575. The median price of a condo/townhome sold rose 1% on the month and 1.14% on the year to $400,000.

In a sign that the spring selling season is on its way, a listing spent a median of 29 days on the market in February versus 45 days in January. That is higher than the median of 23 days a year earlier, but a month-over-month improvement.

The condo and townhome market, however, remains more sluggish, with listings spending twice as long on the market as a year ago — 42 days versus 21 days.

How Small Businesses Win on Reddit in 2025 written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Jim Squires

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Jim Squires, Executive Vice President of Business Marketing and Growth at Reddit. We explored how small businesses and marketing agencies can tap into Reddit’s communities to build authentic engagement, run effective Reddit Ads, and grow their brands through community-based marketing. Whether you’re looking for tips on Reddit organic engagement or want to maximize Reddit advertising for your business, Jim shared actionable strategies every small business owner and digital marketer should know.

During our conversation, Jim highlighted how Reddit marketing strategies differ from traditional social media marketing. With over 100,000 active Reddit communities, businesses can reach highly engaged, niche audiences in ways that simply aren’t possible on other platforms. From interest-based targeting to upvote/downvote dynamics that prioritize authentic content, Reddit for businesses offers a unique opportunity to build community trust while driving both awareness and conversions.

Chapters:

• [00:09] Introducing Jim Squires
• [00:56] How Does Reddit Differ From Other Platforms?
• [04:20] Impact of Search on Reddit
• [05:54] Best Practices for Businesses on Reddit
• [08:17] How Does Advertising Fit in on Reddit
• [10:52] Getting Organic Reach on Reddit
• [13:05] Small Business Mistakes on Reddit
• [15:47] How to Measure Success on Reddit
• [18:34] Meeting People Where They Are

More About Jim Squires: 

• Check out Jim Squires’ Website
• Connect with Jim Squires on LinkedIn

This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by

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Both “Suits LA” and “Grosse Pointe Garden Society” lost considerable steam in week two opposite The Academy Awards on ABC.

By James Royal, Ph.D., Bankrate.com

It’s the dream of many to become a millionaire, and even those with just a little dough to start can achieve this goal with careful planning. While selecting the right investments is important, one other factor is still more important if you’re starting out with a relatively small nest egg: time.

Bankrate spoke with a wealth adviser to get her take on how to turn $1,000 into $1 million.

How to turn $1,000 into a million dollars

You can sum up the process of turning a thousand dollars into one million in three simple steps.

1. Let time work its magic

Even more than picking the right investment, time is the most important element in turning small money into big money. A few extra years of compounding your money can really have a huge impact on the total snowball you can roll up.

“Start investing as early as you can,” says Andrea Zoeller, wealth manager and partner at Merit Financial Advisors. “There are several studies that show an investor that starts early and saves often can end with a portfolio value larger than one who starts later in life.”

How powerful is starting now? Let’s use a simplified example, where you invest $1,000 each year to show the value of starting early.

—You start investing at age 22 and invest $1,000 annually with 10% annual returns. If you retire at age 62, you’ll have saved $40,000 over those 40 years, but that money would have compounded to more than $440,000, assuming no taxes.

—You start investing at age 32 and invest $1,000 annually with 10% annual returns. If you retire at age 62, you’ll have saved $30,000 over those 30 years, but that money would have compounded to more than $160,000, assuming no taxes.

“The money has been invested longer when someone starts earlier in life and will have more time to generate compounding interest in the lifetime compared to someone who didn’t start until later in life,” says Zoeller.

The tax laws favor investments, too. You won’t pay any taxes on your capital gains until you sell the investment, meaning you can compound your wealth for decades without the drag of taxes.

Does 10% sound like too high of a return? In fact, every investor can purchase an investment that’s returned about 10% on average over time.

2. Pick a strong investment

You might think that you need to trade in and out of the market with the very best investments to build a million dollars. Sure, it’s better to have the best investment, but you’ll do just fine over time with a consistent performer that delivers solid returns in most years.

The best solution? Invest in a low-cost index fund, says Zoeller.

A stock index fund provides the weighted average return of all its stock holdings. A fund based on the S&P 500 index, which includes hundreds of America’s top companies, has returned about 10% per year on average over long periods. These kinds of funds are accessible to anyone with a brokerage account, and you don’t need specialized expertise to purchase them.

Low-cost funds keep more money in your pocket and working for you, and you have many choices among them. The best S&P 500 index funds charge low fees — typically less than $10 annually for every $10,000 you have invested, and some even just $3 — so you invest in a solid index fund and enjoy strong returns over time at a low cost.

3. Hold on over time

It can be easy to overlook, but you are your own worst enemy when it comes to investing. That’s because you’ll sabotage your progress by doing things that you think are safe or smart. For example, it’s easy to sell when the market is rocky and the economy looks rough.

“Time in the market is more important than timing the market,” says Zoeller. “Missing out on the best positive days in the market because you are trying to time the market has shown to erode investor returns over time even when staying invested during down markets.”

So if you’re looking to achieve the returns of the index funds you’re invested in, you’ll want to stay invested. Plus, staying invested allows you to avoid paying capital gains taxes on your profits. If you sell a winner, you’re guaranteeing that your bankroll will decline in value.

“Be patient,” says Zoeller. “Building wealth is a marathon, not a race. It takes a lot of time and consistency.”

While our example uses $1,000 as a starting point, if you can add money to your portfolio over time — especially when the market falls — you can continue to earn attractive profits.

Other tips for building wealth

So that’s how you can turn $1,000 into a million — give yourself plenty of time, buy a strong index fund and then hold on. Here are some other tips for building wealth.

—Avoid selling after the market has gone down. “This is the No. 1 mistake that will erode your returns over time because there is no telling when you will get back into the market,” says Zoeller. “Oftentimes, by the time you get back in the market, it is after the recovery has happened, so you are consequently selling low and buying back at the top before possibly seeing another fall in the market.”

—Take advantage of tax-free accounts. If you’re investing for retirement, it makes sense to use a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Both accounts allow you to defer or avoid taxes on gains, allowing you to compound your money even faster. Your employer’s 401(k) plan may also pay you matching funds if you make a contribution, and it’s the easiest return you can ever make.

—Watch out for emotional decision-making. When the market becomes volatile, it can feel safe to sell first and ask questions later. “Be careful about making irrational decisions based on emotion or what other people are doing before understanding the meaning of what is happening in the markets,” says Zoeller. If you sell a winner, you’ll lock in taxes and you’ll slow your ability to compound your money.

—Work with a professional. Working with a financial adviser can yield a ton of benefits. “A professional can guide you through market volatility and educate you on how to make smart investing decisions and avoid the mistakes in investing,” says Zoeller.

You can find a financial adviser to consult in your area through Bankrate’s AdvisorMatch.

Bottom line

Time is your biggest ally when it comes to building wealth, but you can really help yourself out by finding a strong index fund and then holding on to it. You’ll also grow your wealth faster if you’re able to keep adding to your account each week or month and get more money working for you.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

With natural disasters and homeowners insurance costs making headlines, many homeowners may find themselves dwelling on “what-ifs.” In at least one area, turning that anxiety into action could help ease some concerns.

Too often, those facing an unimaginable loss aren’t aware of how insurance payouts work with mortgaged homes — or that they’ll need to work with their mortgage company as well as their insurer.

“When you have a family that’s just lost everything, they don’t have the mental capacity to take that on,” says Brittnie Panetta, a personal injury lawyer with Matthews & Associates who has worked with California wildfire victims. “You’re just trying to get back on your feet.”

Understanding this process before you ever need to can prevent adding stress to an already difficult situation. Here’s what happens to your mortgage if your home is destroyed, how you might have to work with your mortgage company, and the steps you can take now to ensure you’ll have the resources you need in the event of a disaster.

First steps

Even if your home is a total loss, “the mortgage still lives on, unfortunately,” Panetta says — and you’re still expected to pay it. That’s why, in the wake of a devastating event, one of the first calls you should make is to your mortgage servicer. The servicer is the company you make payments to, whether it’s your original lender or a different firm.

If you need the money you would have spent paying your mortgage to cover other immediate costs, you’ll want to ask about forbearance. A mortgage forbearance temporarily puts your loan on hold, allowing you to skip payments without facing late fees or damage to your credit score. Forbearance is temporary, and it’s not forgiveness — you’ll have to make up the missed payments. But the short-term relief it provides could be invaluable.

Even if you can continue making payments, you need to inform your servicer about what happened. In fact, most home loan documents require you to inform the lender or servicer. That’s because the company that holds your mortgage has a claim on your home. That relationship can influence what comes next.

Rebuild or pay off

Homeowners faced with a total loss have to make a difficult choice: Whether to use their insurance money to rebuild or pay off the mortgage.

“It’s really tough,” says Jennifer Beeston, a branch manager and senior vice president at Rate who worked with Tubbs and Camp wildfire victims in California. “This is a horrible, emotional time. But unfortunately, it’s also one of those times where really understanding the math, looking at your options, weighing pros and cons… is critical.”

Mortgage documents are often filled with complicated language about insurance and rebuilding, but it generally boils down to a few key points. As noted above, the lender must be notified of the loss. Later, the homeowner and lender have to agree on whether the insurance payout will go toward paying off the mortgage or rebuilding. If the homeowner chooses to rebuild, the rebuilt home needs to be comparable in value to the one that was destroyed — and the lender manages paying out the insurance money.

For many homeowners, signing over the insurance check to their mortgage servicer is an unpleasant surprise.

“That was one of the things that people were really angry about,” Beeston recalls of the Tubbs fire. “Because they don’t want someone controlling their money, which I understand, but that is standard across the industry.”

During the rebuilding process, the homeowner continues making mortgage payments. That can mean paying a mortgage for a home that’s unlivable while paying for other accommodations. Loss of use coverage, which is a standard part of most homeowners insurance policies, can help defray those costs; FEMA housing assistance may also help with this expense.

A homeowner who can’t afford to — or doesn’t want to — rebuild would need to use their claim funds to pay off the destroyed property’s mortgage in full. It’s important to know that insurance policies may pay out smaller settlements for mortgage payoff than for rebuilding.

“It’s becoming a less desirable option to just pay off the mortgage with these prices,” Panetta, the personal injury lawyer, says. “Your policy may say you’re insured for $500,000 if you want a payout, but up to a million if you want to rebuild. It’s a huge discrepancy in value.”

Planning ahead

While you can’t control when disaster strikes, you can put yourself in a better position to face it. There are a couple of key preparation steps you can take now.

Make sure you can easily access key information about your mortgage, like your loan details and the servicer’s contact information. In the past, that might have meant keeping these documents in a fireproof safe, but today, storing them in the cloud or a secure app is probably more handy.

Additionally, keep documentation of your budget or regular expenses. These figures may be needed if you have to file a loss of use claim, since that’s calculated relative to your normal expenses.

The second — and admittedly much more difficult — step is to reevaluate your homeowners insurance. If you have a mortgage, you’re generally required to have homeowners insurance. But you want to be sure your coverage would be enough to rebuild at market rates and that you have the disaster coverage you need.

Putting these pieces in place now can provide some reassurance that if the worst happens, you’ll have the resources to recover.

The article What Happens to Your Mortgage If Your House Is Destroyed? originally appeared on NerdWallet.

Peter Engel, an executive producer of “Saved by the Bell” and other teen-oriented comedies, died on Tuesday. He was 88.