You can get a couple of lessons out of the Bernie Madoff ponzi that a person with their own little business should pay attention to. The Madoffs made at one or two mistakes. (Actually, they made a lot of mistakes.) Most of what they did wasn’t mistake, it was just plain illegal, but there were mistakes made that legitimate businessmen shouldn’t be making. If you’re in business there are basic rules you had better follow for good asset protection. The rules are violated every day, because the owner always thinks the rules don’t apply to him or her.
Most little businesses are structured so that the husband is the president and the wife is the vice president / secretary, or it may be the other way around. Both spouses should never participate in the same business as officers and directors. One spouse can work in the business as an employee. I’ll call them the silent spouse. They shouldn’t be the office manager or CEO or any Chief anything – Just an employee. They may have huge influence over the company, but that influence should be in bed, not at the conference table.
