Independent contractors can be a viable resource for growing your business, fitting seasonal demands and often adding in-demand or specialized skills. However, it is vital to have a compliant process for engaging independent workers or risk wage and hour violations or tax reclassification. Typical approaches often make faulty assumptions, doing nothing to reduce your risk profile. Below are the top 9 misconceptions about independent contractor engagement.
Author: knjohn
What You Can Learn From 8 Kids Already Making a Million Dollars | Entrepreneur
There’s no age limit when it comes to being a millionaire these days, and a handful of kids have struck it rich well before they can legally vote. They’re small business owners, inventors and entrepreneurs. I started as an entrepreneur when I was around 11 years old with my first candy stand, which grew to four candy stands, but that was nothing compared to some of these kids!
There’s is no age limit, either, when it comes to learning from others. These impressive kids learned from their own failures early in life but determined to keep going and to do it better the next time around. If you haven’t made your first million yet, the teen next door might actually be able to teach you something.
Check out these eight kids who made a million, or more, and what you can learn from their success:
A small but important reminder of why net neutrality is a big deal | Mashable
Much of the Internet rejoiced when net neutrality rules were approved by the Federal Communications Commission last week.
The landmark vote will mean that the Internet is under the most stringent regulation yet including enhanced transparency, application to landline and wireless, and a the bedrock Open Internet principles.
But for all the hubbub, it would be hard to blame people who didn’t see why it was a big deal. The Internet worked the same on the days before and after the vote.
Critics of the move have said that the FCC is trying to fix a system that isn’t broken, and that the possible harms that the net neutrality rules seek to prevent are non-existent.
This is mostly true, but every so often there’s an example of why net neutrality advocates fought for the new rules with such fervor.
3 Ways To Market Yourself Without Sounding Like A Late-Night Infomercial | Forbes
My husband hates marketing. He thinks that it’s generally hype and BS, cynically calculated to manipulate you into acting, vs. an honest communication of value.
He’s not completely wrong. Most of us are pretty skeptical about the marketing messages we’re subjected to in the media, because so much marketing focuses on convincing us that product X is the answer to all our prayers (think Ginzu knives or Sham-wow), or on trying to terrify us into buying product Y in order to avoid some horrible consequence (home security systems and life insurance tend to rely on this approach).
But there’s another side to all of this. Many of my clients are well-intentioned, high-integrity branding and marketing folks who are honestly trying to figure out how to let people know, in a compelling way, that they have something great to offer. And my colleagues and I spend a good deal of time thinking and talking about how to communicate Proteus’ value in a way that’s both meaningful and true.
Business and Pleasure: The Winning Combination | Page19
The old adage, “separate your friends from your work,” is more outdated than VHS. Here’s how friendship in the workplace can boost productivity, and how you can help foster friendship in your team.
Who accompanies you to the cinema? Who’s on speed-dial in case of a major life crisis? Who does the back-busting work on moving day? Friends, that’s who, and they’re as key a component to a good life as professional satisfaction.
Innovation In Seating: Upgrading the Way We Sit | CoolBusinessIdeas.com
At first glance it seems entirely ridiculous that seating could be upgraded or innovated upon. After all the concept of a chair or bench is relatively simple, and the height is pretty standard. So how is it possible that there can be innovation in this industry?
Upon deeper investigation and diving deeper into the different types of seating available and its specific use, it is easier to check out the innovation taking place in the seating sector. Everything from airline seats, to recliner chairs, to church pews are being upgraded, with new features added that make them more comfortable, and suited to the intended use of the product.
Small Business Financing: Myths and Realities | All Business
Do you know everything you need to know about small business financing? Whether you’re a small business veteran or just starting out, obtaining capital is one aspect of entrepreneurship there’s a lot of confusion about.
In fact, it seems getting financing isn’t the only challenge entrepreneurs face. Simply learning about and understanding their financing options is a hurdle in itself for most small business owners. In OnDeck’s latest quarterly Main Street Pulse Report,
8 Deadly Ways to Kill Employee Motivation | Inc.com
If you want to make sure you’re providing your employees with an environment in which they can thrive, check your workplace for these motivation killers.
1. Toxic people.
If you’ve ever spent time with truly toxic people, you know how destructive and exhausting they can be. Toxic people spread negativity and suffocate the positive. Let them find a new home–or, if that’s not possible, make sure policies and supervision are in place to minimize their damage.
2. No professional development.
Everyone needs to know that they are learning and growing. Without that, the workplace grows static and dull. Professional development for each of your employees allows them grow in their careers and also to know that both the organization and you have an investment in their success.
What is the Marshmallow Challenge and Can Your Team Beat It? | Small Biz Trends
How can twenty sticks of spaghetti, a yard of tape, a yard of string, and one marshmallow help build a stronger team?
The Marshmallow Challenge has become a popular exercise in which small groups are asked to build the “tallest free-standing structure” out of the materials provided. The teams have eighteen minutes to complete this task including the entire marshmallow on top. It’s a fun and instructive exercise that allows teams to experience simple lessons in collaboration, innovation and creativity.
The Marshmallow Challenge has been conducted with business school graduates, CEOs, architects, engineers, and even kindergarteners. There have been surprising findings for which groups perform most successfully.
Weekly Economic Update | LAEDC
v.19 n. 10 – Released March 4, 2015
This Week’s Headlines:
- Port Slowdown in January
- Small Business Employment in the United States
- January Personal Income and Spending
- Events of Interest
- March 11, 2015: 2014 Otis Report on the Creative Economy (Los Angeles Event)
- March 18, 2015: 2014 Otis Report on the Creative Economy (Orange County Event)
- April 21, 2015: San Gabriel Valley Economic Outlook
