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- 7 Big Changes That Could Impact the Way You Do Payroll This Year
- Building Community Is the Key to Retail Success: Interview with Entrepreneur Nichole MacDonald
- 4 Types of Crowdfunding: Which One Is Right for Your Business?
- How to Stop Micromanaging Your Employees
| 7 Big Changes That Could Impact the Way You Do Payroll This Year Posted: 14 Dec 2019 10:40 AM PST Payroll penalties are severe, my friends. And these penalties impact employers who accidentally make mistakes. That's why it's important to know about changes to payroll laws and tax rates beforehand. Here are seven upcoming 2020 payroll changes you should familiarize yourself with before the year comes to a close—and going into the new year. 1. New DOL overtime ruleThe DOL new overtime rule is probably the biggest payroll change going into 2020. The change in salary threshold has been in the works for quite some time, with a 2016 overtime rule failing in the last hour. What is the updated overtime law, and how does it affect your small business? The new law goes into effect January 1, 2020, and will make 1.3 million more Americans eligible for overtime pay. Starting in 2020, the new salary threshold for classifying a worker as exempt from overtime will increase from $23,660 to $35,568 per year. If you have exempt employees in your business, you'll need to take a look at them and determine if they are now nonexempt due to the new ruling. And if they are newly nonexempt, you'll need to classify them as such and start paying them overtime. 2. Social Security wage baseAnother payroll change is one that is subject to change annually, and that's the Social Security wage base. An employee's income is subject to Social Security taxes up to a limit. The Social Security wage base determines when you stop withholding and contributing Social Security taxes for an employee. In 2019, the wage base was $132,900. But in 2020, that wage base increases to $137,700. If you have some high-earning employees, you'll withhold and contribute Social Security taxes until they earn $137,700. Then you'll stop. That means the maximum amount you'll withhold for Social Security tax is $8,537.40 per employee. And, the maximum amount you'll contribute is $8,537.40 per employee. It's a little more than the 2019 maximum contribution amount of $8,239.80, but it won't affect you if your employees earn below the 2019 wage base. 3. Federal income tax withholding tablesTo withhold federal income taxes from an employee's wages, you need to collect Form W-4 and use the income tax withholding tables in IRS Publication 15. And by now, we all know that tax rates, including federal income tax withholding parameters, tend to change from year to year. Plus, with the new Form W-4 redesigned for 2020, there might be some other changes you need to be on the lookout for. Unlike past versions of Form W-4, the new form does not ask employees for withholding allowances. The 2020 form is divided into five steps. Here's a sneak peak of the how the new form layout looks:
4. Changes to benefitsNon-tax deductions, like benefits, are an important part of payroll. And some benefits, like retirement plans, flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and health savings accounts (HSAs) have limits that are subject to change annually. For example, HSA limits are increasing from $3,500 to $3,550 (individual coverage) and $7,000 to $7,100 (family coverage). In addition to contribution limit changes, there are a few new benefits that the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury are rolling out: Individual Coverage HRAs (ICHRAs) and Excepted Benefit HRAs. Both brand-new HRA benefits are available to business owners of any size, provided you meet a few requirements. The ICHRA lets employers reimburse employees for the cost of their health insurance coverage. If you set up an ICHRA, you do not need to offer employees a traditional group health insurance plan. In fact, you can't. If you offer an employee a traditional plan, you can't also offer them an ICHRA. Excepted benefit HRAs are a little different. You can offer these HRAs in conjunction with traditional health insurance plans. An Excepted Benefit HRA covers things not included in a traditional group health plan, like dental coverage. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
5. State- and local-level changesFederal payroll changes aren't the only things you need to keep an eye on. You must also know about state and local-level changes that will impact payroll. I'm not going to name off every potential payroll change by state and locality. A number of them depend on special circumstances. So, what are some things that could change?
Before the end of the year, check with your state to determine if there are any upcoming payroll changes that will affect your small business. 6. Bank holidaysYou know the days that some bank holidays land on change every year, but knowing about them ahead of time can help you plan payroll. What happens if payday falls on a bank holiday? If payday lands on a day that the banks are closed, your employees cannot cash their checks or receive their direct deposit. They'll have to wait until the next business day after the holiday to get their wages. Or, you can pay them earlier. Regardless of how you decide to handle payroll when a bank holiday throws it off, you need to have a schedule and notify employees when pay dates are shaken up. Here are the 2020 bank holidays that could impact your payroll:
7. Tax deposit scheduleHow often you deposit taxes can also change from year to year, depending on your tax liability during a lookback period. Employers either deposit Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes monthly or semiweekly. Again, this frequency is determined by your tax liability during the IRS four-quarter lookback period (for Form 941 filers). Employers who reported a tax liability of $50,000 or less during the lookback period are monthly depositors. Employers who reported a tax liability of more than $50,000 during the period are semiweekly depositors. So for example, just because you were a monthly depositor in 2019 doesn't mean you'll be a monthly depositor again in 2020. You'll have to use the lookback period (that stretches from 2018-2019) to figure it out. To determine your 2020 deposit schedule, look at the tax liability you reported on Form 941 from July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019. Is it $50,000 or lower? You're a monthly depositor. Is it over $50,000? You're a semiweekly depositor. You can read more about lookback periods in IRS Publication 15. RELATED: How an Accountant Can Save Your Business Money at Tax Time—And All Year Long The post 7 Big Changes That Could Impact the Way You Do Payroll This Year appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post 7 Big Changes That Could Impact the Way You Do Payroll This Year appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Mike Kappel.  |
| Building Community Is the Key to Retail Success: Interview with Entrepreneur Nichole MacDonald Posted: 14 Dec 2019 10:27 AM PST By Felena Hanson Launching a new direct-to-consumer handbag line is more than a long shot in an extremely crowded marketplace, never mind attempting to change how people shop online. But Nichole MacDonald, founder of The Sash Bag and online sales channel Lash.Live, has done both. Get inside the mind of this San Diego-based creative business genius to find out how she did it. How did you get started?I came up with the idea one day when I was at Legoland with my son, who was five at the time. I didn't want to carry a purse around the park, but I didn't have a better alternative. During one of the frustrating moments with my handbag, I had a vision for a better way to carry our stuff. The idea literally popped into my mind. I saw something that wrapped around the torso with pockets up the front and back. After making a handful of them and getting feedback, complete with wearing one myself and having strangers asking me in public where I got the bag, I knew I was on to something. But I wanted to start slow and steady because I had learned the hard way on a previous business venture how easy it is to quickly rack up debt and stress if you aren't approaching the market the right way. For the first three years, I was hitting the pavement and selling at many farmers markets and fairs as possible—sometimes four or five times a week. This allowed me to have face-to-face conversations with my potential customers, getting the Sash Bag on bodies and receiving important feedback. So, by the time we launched our online marketing campaigns several years later, we knew exactly who we were targeting. How did you find your place in the handbag market?When I founded the company in October 2012, we knew we wanted to go direct to consumer. This was partially due to my experience launching another handbag line, Bagonia, several years before. What I've struggled with, and know others do too, is how to find your voice and really connect with the customer. Right now, retail is very fickle. Brick-and-mortar stores are closing down every day. And online marketplaces like Amazon are very crowded and competitive. Even though there are a lot of people shopping, they are mostly focused on the lowest price and convenience. We've had to really hunt for that customer who cares about a high-quality product and great customer service. The way we found them was by just meeting them where they're at—literally. Why have you been successful?Our high customer service standards and customer touchpoints have made a big difference—we don't just pump out bags. It was important to us that each bag be handmade and include a handwritten thank-you note in each shipment. Those are little touchpoints that people crave and miss, especially with technology shopping. Customers think of us not just as a product, but as a lifestyle and family. What was a pivot point in your business?Our first Kickstarter campaign in 2016 put us over one major hump. It made us get savvy with video and helped us reach a new level of eyeballs. Our threshold was to raise $29,000, and we exceeded that by over 250%. After raising the money, we ran into massive manufacturing issues and almost lost everything. I decided I needed to be very visible, just as I had been when selling face-to-face. So we applied the same type of communication: a lot of transparency, updates along the way about things going right and things going wrong. We were vulnerable, open, and communicating with our customers every step of the way–treating them as an involved party in the development of the business. Luckily, it worked. Out of the hundreds of orders received, we only had a few order cancellations. In 2018 we launched our second Kickstarter campaign, which took us to a whole new level. We used this opportunity to really galvanize the community around launching a product they had been asking for: an expandable bag. We hit our funding goal in just 36 minutes and ended up raising over a million dollars!
Why did you decide to sell on Amazon?Up until this time we had been primarily marketing and selling through Facebook and found that some people saw this as "risky." We realized we could reach a different audience by selling on Amazon. Believe me, it was not simple. It took a couple of months to learn the system. Just getting registered as brand on Amazon (so no one else can sell the Sash Bag without getting approval) was arduous. It's like a communication vortex at Amazon. Then the process of adding our products to the platform set off a whole chain of tasks. For example, we usually show our product on a dress form because you can't really tell what it is when it’s lying on a flat surface. They require the main product shot to be on a white background, so we had to get all new custom images to meet the requirements. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
Then there's another lengthy process to get products to their numerous distribution centers, with each requiring clockwork-like precision. We ended up hiring a consultant because it was taking up so much of our time to provide the details and specs. Finally, we had to learn how to advertise under a completely unique campaign management system, yet another steep learning curve. You have done an incredible job leveraging video to connect with your audience. Why was that important to you?Some entrepreneurs are afraid of doing video and/or Facebook Live, but live video gives you the ability to interact with people in real time, which has been such a critical part of how we've built community. One of my philosophies is to just be myself. It doesn't matter that I don't have on makeup, or haven't showered that day—nobody cares and that's normal. People want to interact with people they can relate to. One time I did a live video for over an hour before realizing I had something in my teeth. Instead of being embarrassed, I just joked about it. Also, for a unique product like ours, people want to ask questions in real time, see how it works, see how to use it. How have you created such a loyal fan base?By really listening to and engaging with our customers. Because we were having so much success with Facebook marketing, in 2017 we started a private Facebook group for "Sash VIPs." It includes special deals and communications for our top customers. People really like to get inside scoop and be part of deciding where to go with new products (through polling). This involvement keeps them excited about what we're doing. They have the inside track and invite their friends to join. What are some of your tips for cultivating a community?Start with the enthusiasts (the most excited and engaged customers) and provide value. If you're providing value, people will show up. In my latest Kickstarter campaign, we created a special "Sash-mania" level. We had a contest—whoever got a group together and ordered the most bags received a personal visit from me. Not normal stuff to have a CEO of a multi-million dollar company go "hang out" with their customers. The winning group was in Canada, so I flew up and spent a weekend in Ottawa with dozens of raving fans! We also created another incentive: if we hit the million-dollar mark in our fundraising, we told everyone we would throw an all-inclusive party in San Diego that any backer could attend. We threw that party in February 2019 and had over 200 people attending, from all over North America! It's events and incentives that have really helped people bond—in fact they call themselves "Sash Sisters." You've now created your own sales channel, Lash.Live. How did this come about?Because we were now selling 100% online (versus in-person at fairs and markets), we had a difficult time moving products with minor defects. So I decided to turn to Facebook Live where we could show each product and explain why it was being discounted (for example, a zipper put on backwards). The first time I used this platform, I had 114 bags, which sold in 45 minutes—$14,000 in revenue. This was awesome but it then took my staff three days to process sales! They had to get in touch with each person via their Facebook profile, get their shipping address, send the invoice, wait for the payment, and do follow up. After doing that a couple of times, I realized that live video is a great way to sell products, but a logistical nightmare. So, I decided to create a proprietary platform that would allow me to sell through live video, while also being sure we had payment/shipping info. It took about a year to fully build out the Lash.Live software and we now have a fully functioning platform with dozens of other brands and over 5,000 users. In addition to our normal business, we also generate clearance and special offers, and we're doing an average of about $20,000 per sale. We still use Facebook Live for general updates and previews, but the actual sales all take place on Lash.Live. Think of it like a DIY version of QVC, where approved sellers can easily set up their sale, flip on the live video, and buyers can purchase a product they want in just one click. It's a competitive shopping environment, so buyers have to be there with their full attention. At the end, the seller receives a full report of all purchases and shipping information. All they have to do is fulfill. To have this interaction with customers is so valuable. It's this, along with our unique, high-quality products and relentless dedication to customer service, that has made The Sash brand successful. RELATED: So You Want to Sell Things on the Internet: How to Start an E-Commerce Business Photo credit: Nichole MacDonald The post Building Community Is the Key to Retail Success: Interview with Entrepreneur Nichole MacDonald appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post Building Community Is the Key to Retail Success: Interview with Entrepreneur Nichole MacDonald appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Guest Post.  |
| 4 Types of Crowdfunding: Which One Is Right for Your Business? Posted: 14 Dec 2019 09:03 AM PST So you could use a little cash injection for your small business, but you're not sure you can get a traditional small business loan. Short of winning the lottery (or draining your personal savings), what options do you have for funding? Crowdfunding may be for you. If you're not familiar with the concept, crowdfunding essentially allows you to fund your business through a variety of people who want to be a part of what you're doing. Depending on the type of crowdfunding you choose, you may need to repay a loan or provide some sort of incentive to those who invest in your campaign. Let's walk through the four types of crowdfunding and look at the benefits and drawbacks to each. First, a general look at crowdfundingBefore we dive deeper, let me explain why crowdfunding is so important to small businesses and startups right now. It's expected that, by 2025, the crowdfunding market will be worth $300 billion. In the United States alone, $17.2 billion was raised in 2017. This equaled about half of the volume of crowdfunding around the world. Globally, Europe sits at the top of the list of funds raised, with over $6.48 billion. South America is at the bottom of the list, with just $85.74 million raised. The average campaign is $7,000, and campaigns that can reach 30% of their goal within the first week are more likely to succeed in raising the full amount. Clearly, crowdfunding is growing and is now a worthy contender to more traditional forms of business financing. Four types to considerIf you're sold on the idea of raising funds this way, realize that you have a few options. Surely, one will speak to you louder than the others. 1. Debt crowdfundingJust like a traditional business loan, debt crowdfunding involves raising money that you pay back. The most well-known example is Kiva. While Kiva is known for its focus on helping entrepreneurs in developing countries, it is also available to American-based business owners. A benefit of platforms like Kiva is they usually don't look at the same factors to qualify a borrower that a traditional bank will. They care less about your credit history than they do what industry you're in, how long you've been in business, and the level of risk you present to lenders. The larger the loan you want to take out, the more qualifications you'll need to meet. 2. Equity crowdfundingAnother option when it comes to crowdfunding involves giving investors equity in your business. Yes, it's a little like seeking angel investment or venture capital, though a bit easier if you're willing to put in the marketing effort to spread the word about your campaign. Wefunder is a great example of equity crowdfunding. The site is open to pretty much every type of business, from the corner cafe to the biotech company exploring the benefits of glowing plants. There are different options for the equity someone will get in exchange for her investment, but stocks (with and without dividends) and convertible notes are an option. The benefit here is you set the terms about how much equity you're willing to give up. And you don't have to pay back a loan. If there's a drawback, it's that relatively few people know about equity crowdfunding as opposed to the other types, since it's still pretty new. You may find it easier to attract investors through the other crowdfunding options. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com:
3. Reward-based crowdfundingThe next type of crowdfunding is interesting because, rather than paying back funds raised or inviting others to share a stake in the company, you're rewarding backers with incentives. That might be as simple as sending a thank-you card for a small donation. It could also involve giving early access to your product or flying out a top contributor for a VIP day with your company. You've probably heard of Kickstarter: 10 million people have funded projects there (maybe you're one of them). Whether you are looking for funding to help launch your video game, publish your book on feminism, release your eco-friendly shoes, or something else entirely, anyone who finds your campaign compelling can contribute. The benefits of reward-based crowdfunding are you don't have to pay back a loan, and your backers who will have exclusive access to your product should be pretty excited to spread the word about it. The drawback is you'll have a lot of pressure to raise funds quickly, and it can become dispiriting to get lots of $5 or $10 contributions when you really want the big bucks. 4. Donor crowdfundingThe final option to consider is donor crowdfunding. With this type, you aren't required to pay back the funds nor provide any rewards to donors. GoFundMe is a well-known donation-based crowdfunding tool. The appeal is obviously not having to pay back funds, so you can put the money to work for your business. If there is any drawback, it may be that sites like GoFundMe are primarily known for raising money for personal reasons. Therefore, donors may not be in the mindset of supporting businesses through these channels. What you need to knowWhichever type of crowdfunding you decide is best for your business, know one thing: the success of the campaign will rely entirely on the marketing power you put behind it. Investors and donors love a good story. You'll need to tell that story through your content on the project page, a video, and outreach through social media, your blog, email, and every other avenue possible. This is probably the most overlooked component of crowdfunding for businesses. Some entrepreneurs think it's easy money—they post a project and then are baffled when the dough doesn't roll in. But just like anything you want to sell, you have to market it. You have to convince people to part with their money (with no guarantee they'll get it back in repayment or rewards). You have to entice them to think your business is worth helping. Some business owners hire crowdfunding marketing experts to ensure their campaign’s success. But if you do put the effort into spreading the word about your campaign, crowdfunding can be an excellent resource, whether you're launching a new product, looking to expand operations, or just trying to take the pulse of your audience. RELATED: These 5 Startups Ran Wildly Successful Kickstarter Campaigns—Here's What You Can Learn from Them The post 4 Types of Crowdfunding: Which One Is Right for Your Business? appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post 4 Types of Crowdfunding: Which One Is Right for Your Business? appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Gerri Detweiler.  |
| How to Stop Micromanaging Your Employees Posted: 14 Dec 2019 08:43 AM PST One of the most common struggles a new leader faces is learning to delegate and let go of the “little things.” While you may feel like you need constant oversight into your team’s work, micromanaging employees damages morale and drives away your top performers. It also prevents your team from doing truly creative or innovative work. Part of solving this problem requires establishing healthy communication routines with your team members or leads. The rest comes down to gaining—and keeping—their trust. To help you break any micromanagement tendencies, we asked members of YEC Next this question: Q. What is one way to encourage leaders to stop micromanaging?1. Focus on better communication
2. Prioritize time for yourself
3. Force your team to come up with their own solutions
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4. Encourage people to manage up
5. Focus on ‘firing yourself’
6. Remind yourself that micromanaging isn’t good leadership
RELATED: Is Micromanaging Your Employees Hurting Your Business? The post How to Stop Micromanaging Your Employees appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post How to Stop Micromanaging Your Employees appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about YEC Next.  |
Micromanagers worry that if they let things proceed with just a little less control on their part, the team won’t get it done. The necessary trust can be formed by encouraging better communication between leaders and their teams. If employees freely communicate and share their progress, managers can feel more secure knowing that work is getting done without their micromanagement. —
Time is a limited resource and you only have so much of it in a day. You can do more if you create more time for yourself. If you micromanage your team, they will always need you for everything and you will never have time. However, empowering your team and working through them will help them to learn and grow. It may take a year or two, but if the team has the desire, they will come to you less. —
It’s hard to let go of your “baby” but it has to be done. You have to trust your team that they will care as much as you do, and put in the same effort you would on a given task or project. It may not always happen, but it’s a learning experience that both parties can benefit from. If you force people to come up with their own solutions, by design you’ll be forced to micromanage less. —
Leaders often micromanage because they lack sufficient knowledge about the project. Have employees ask their manager if they have a preferred method for being informed and then apply that preferred method to keep the communications channels open. For example, providing managers with a weekly update report could be all it takes to help them feel more confident that team members are on task and will meet the requirements. —
Whether you are the leader yourself or have a team of managers, getting leaders to focus on “firing themselves” is critical. Leading from this perspective means you’re doing your job right, coaching and empowering employees to succeed. Operating from a leadership position that trains and coaches your team to function without you is literally the opposite of micromanagement and hence prevents such behavior. —
When leaders get the notion that they aren’t being good leaders when they micromanage, they tend to back off a little. Once a person in a leadership role steps back and can see their employees being successful, they will realize that it isn’t necessary to micromanage them 100 percent of the time. People with a tendency to micromanage will lose employees faster. —| You are subscribed to email updates from AllBusiness.com. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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