Mostly sunny and seasonably warm; a nice early summer day. .

After more than 20 years of professional experience in the investing business, it only makes sense that I have some wisdom to pass along to investors. Most of it is rooted in simple (and often repeated) observation, while the rest I learned the hard way.

If I was able to offer only one suggestion, though, it would be this: Start building your portfolio as early as you can, even if it's a financial strain to do so. Starting with a few hundred bucks is still better than nothing.

Because in this game, time is your strongest ally.

Don't misunderstand. The other investing tips you so often hear are also valuable. These include keeping it simple, starting with index funds, erring on the side of leaving your positions alone, and not trying to time your entries and exits. The one mistake that can cost you the most, though, is postponing getting serious about investing in stocks.

And there's plenty of math to back me up. A comparison of three hypothetical investors, however, is the easiest way to explain it.

Let's start with Linda, who is 55. Her experience has earned her a good-paying job as a marketing manager for a car dealership. Although she now earns about $80,000 per year, Linda didn't start socking money away for retirement until she got her job with the dealership five years ago. Since then, she's been putting $7,000 into her company's 401(k) every year, and her employer usually chips in another $1,000 per year to bring the annual contribution up to $8,000. She enjoys her job, but Linda is also hoping to retire when she's 65 years old. How much will she have then, assuming she's investing in an S&P 500 index fund -- and reinvesting her earnings -- and getting an average 10% annual return on her investments? Her $120,000 worth of contributions spaced out over 15 years would be worth something on the order of $280,000 at the end. Not bad, but certainly not a figure that enables an unbudgeted lifestyle, even after Social Security income is added to the mix.

Frank's situation is dramatically different. His passion is painting, and as a full-time artist, he's sure he'll be able to sell about $30,000 worth of paintings every year. He also knows he'll be able to tuck away only about $3,000 of that annually in an IRA, but he intends to start saving early and will work as long as he can, perhaps until he's 70 years old. If he's earning the same 10% per year on an S&P 500 index fund, how much might Frank have after a 45-year career as a professional artist? Incredibly, despite contributing only $135,000 over his career, Frank should be sitting on a retirement nest egg of nearly $2.4 million.

Though Linda and Frank contribute similar amounts to their savings, the big difference between their final figures is that Frank's savings reflect the benefit of an extra three decades, which enables his portfolio to generate more and more growth on previously achieved returns. Half the value of Frank's retirement portfolio doesn't materialize until the last eight years of the 45-year span.

You don't need to invest a ton of money every single year between now and your retirement date to build a sizable nest egg.

Take Sally as an example. Sally earned good money right out of college, taking home $100,000 while in her mid-20s. Of that, between her Roth IRA and her employer's retirement benefits, Sally was able to put $10,000 into the market every year for the past 20 years. Now, at age 45, she's looking to make a major lifestyle change and do some writing while she travels the world. She thinks she'll be able to earn about $25,000 per year doing it, which will leave nothing extra to save for retirement when she's ready to call it quits at 65. How much will she have then, again assuming she earns an average of 10% per year on her investments? Amazingly enough, Sally should have something on the order of $4.2 million.

Once again, the bulk of the growth took shape in just the last few years of the time frame in question.

For perspective, even if Sally had socked away only $5,000 per year between the ages of 25 and 45 before becoming a traveling writer, she'd still have access to $2.1 million when she was through working and traveling at 65.

These numbers don't necessarily reflect retirement savings plans that will work for you, and the results certainly aren't guaranteed. You might not do as well with your portfolio, or you might do better. And don't forget, a dollar won't mean as much 20 years from now as it does today. There's also the not-so-small matter of the taxes you'll eventually pay on your gains, one way or another.

Regardless, what these numbers do accurately reflect is the power of starting earlier rather than later, even if you can't start with a ton of money.

Just keep in mind the S&P 500's average return of 10% per year is just that -- an average. Some years dish out much bigger gains, and other years are actually net losers. You may have to postpone your retirement or scale out of stocks at a peak if you want to kick off your retirement with a specific dollar figure at your fingertips.

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If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

· Surgery Center of Pottsville in Schuylkill County to close after June 28, 2022

· Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. Other amenities include a club room, fitness center, conference rooms and package lockers. Monthly rent starts at $1,575 with three-bedroom, two-bath units starting at $2,540.

· The former site of the flagship Hess's department store will soon be home to another company with local roots. Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St.

· While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30.

· If you're in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown.

· The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. has a new approach after making two big transactions. It sold its U.K. operations, taking a lot of risk and currency complications out of its business, and bought a major Rhode Island utility.

· Ownership at Martellucci's Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but the nearly half-century tradition there continues. Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. 

· Dr. Jacob Kasprenski's father and grandfather were both physicians in the Lehigh Valley, and now he's following in their footsteps of serving the community. His new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua.

· This longtime downtown Easton lunch spot closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could be making a comeback. A plan to split the space with a vegan deli did not work out, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at Josie's at 14 Centre Square. 

· Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants' menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. 

· Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. Services offered include facial cupping, and massages including targeted warm Himalayan salt stone and targeted facial massage.

· The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. The Jaindl family purchased the golf course last year, and worked with KemperSports Management to upgrade it. 

· Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, is the choice of Air Products and Chemicals to own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township. The industrial gas company said Prologis will use some of the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. for the warehouses, totaling about 2.6 million square feet. 

· Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital — a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility that officials billed as a "full-service community hospital." It's located at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township.

· Pocono Township commissioners voted to approve a plan to build Pennsylvania's largest solar field on a mountain slope, despite pleas by some residents to reject the project for environmental concerns. Commissioners voted 4-1 to accept Swiftwater Solar's preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels.

· Firetree Ltd., which is based in Williamsport and operates treatment centers for people with drug and alcohol addiction and other clients transitioning out of prison, wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville. To do that, it needs the Pottsville Zoning Hearing Board's approval regarding the use of the land.

· A Dunkin' in Schuylkill County has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. The remodeled store at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has replaced its traditional order counter with two in-store kiosks at which customers place digital orders and pay using a credit card or Dunkin' gift card.

· The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30.

· A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby's will be built on the site of the former Ahart's Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

· Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. The building was erected in 1847 and was once the home of George Hall Large, who served as president of the New Jersey state Senate.

· Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3.

· Dunkin' reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township

· Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township  will hold a grand opening June 4.

· Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg

· Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. 

· Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County

· Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St.

· Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven.

· Easton's new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday's through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School.

· Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St

· Ma's Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. 

· Bethlehem's Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city's historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and "go back to its origins as a wholesale business."

·The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations

· The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St.

· St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus.

· Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem.

· Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton.

· The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. 

· The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more.

· The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. 

· Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room

· Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. 

· Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. 

· Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. 

· Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs.

· The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.

· Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris's new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg.

· First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18.

· Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location.

· Pedro's Cafe in Emmaus to close

· SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location

· Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. 

· Elpedio’s Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday.

· Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. 

· Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. 

· Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. 

· King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches.  

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