Self Made - The Archive

In the next few months, thousands of small business will file their tax returns across Delaware. But this year, on top of the myriad complex tax liabilities and unequal deductions forced onto small business owners, they now face another unfair tax by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS): a penalty for offering health care support to their employees.

We all know that branding for your business is important… However, have you created an actual "voice" for your company that reflects its branded style? ​It’s a fact. Branding is a very important marketing tool that every business or organization should think about. Why? Well, simply put – it’s the personality that identifies a product, service, or company. In addition, it's been proven time and time again that proper branding can result in higher sales (OK, now we’re talking)! But, what’s even more interesting? Truly successful branding is obtained when someone can remember a brand without being exposed to the company name, but rather through visual or audible signifiers.

Every savvy business owner loves a great deal, and we’ve got one for you. As we approach the holiday season, I want to share with you about an amazing event that NASE is proud to be a part of. The Abounding Business Conference is a day of empowerment for small business owners, coming to 10 cities across the US in 2016 and we are excited to be a part of it. I would like to invite you to come out and hear our President & CEO, Keith Hall, along with several other business leaders.

Worker classification is front-page news these days as companies like Uber, FedEx, and Lowe’s face misclassification lawsuits. If you engage with freelancers, consultants, or any type of independent contractor, proper classification is critical. Unfortunately, the rules around classification are not easy to interpret. The NASE’s President & CEO Keith Hall is joining an expert panel for a free webinar where listeners will learn information to help protect their business from massive fines, unnecessary hassles, and lawsuits like the ones you've heard about in the news.

It is no longer just a good idea for small business owners to create and maintain a presence across several social media platforms; it is a necessity. Thanks to the internet and social media, it has never been easier to start a dialogue with your customers. This is especially beneficial to small businesses with miniscule marketing budgets.

The United States Supreme Court’s recent, historic decision in King v. Burwell, upholding the right of federal premium assistance, guaranteed millions of Americans the right to keep their healthcare. Last month’s ruling, along with the previous 2012 Supreme Court decision affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, was a profound victory for the ideal that healthcare should be a right of all Americans – rich or poor, individual or small business owner. These decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court mark the existence – and importance -- of the nation’s new healthcare system by keeping the law in tact and establishing a precedent for future debates regarding healthcare in America.

Business credit cards are a popular and valuable resource which, when used responsibly, can help you make purchases and organize your spending, all while getting some perks on the side. Most issuers offer credit cards for small businesses and freelancers in addition to their regular cards, and there are 3 important things you need to know about them.

The best apps are the ones that give business owners and entrepreneurs flexibility. Whether they sell services or merchandise, rely on employees or work alone, an owner's talents and energies should be concentrated on the things that count. The best apps are the ones that use automation to free up an entrepreneur's already limited time. Here are six apps that help business owners manage their money, their merchandise, their marketing and more.

You most likely have used Uber to get you where you want, or NoWait to snag a reservation at a hot, new restaurant, or bought gifts through the online marketplace Etsy. These services, and many more like it, are part of a growing and on-demand business demographic called the "freelance economy." From sharing rides to purchasing items online and even providing accommodation on sites such as AirBnB, individuals can set up their own small business and operate from their driver's seat or couch.

Being self-employed, managing your own business and financials as an entrepreneur can be very rewarding, but at other times is challenging. Small businesses are still the backbone of the American economy with over 50% of them being operated from homes rather than traditional office environments. There are more than 22 million self-employed in the US with no additional employees or payroll expenses other than their owner.

Bill is responsible for sales at his company and considers himself a tenacious worker. Whenever he discovers a new prospect, he enters him or her into the system. From there, he will attempt to contact that person by phone, through email and even via office visit if possible. However, after a number of failed attempts, Bill is likely to toss the person into the sea of dead prospects.

With just days until the midterm elections, you can definitely count on one demographic group to show up at the polls: women small business owners. By an overwhelming margin -- 86 percent -- women entrepreneurs intend to go to the polls to cast their ballots across this nation. And who will win their support? They plan tovote for candidates who have a pro-business agenda that supports policies to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

The small business community, including self-employed and micro-businesses, welcomed a major benefit this tax year: a new, streamlined IRS home office standardized deduction. The new, standardized deduction is available to small business owners and the self-employed as an option for the 2013 tax year (returns filed in 2014).

As the first inside salesperson for PTC, a Needham, Mass.-based software company, Brian Halligan got his start cold calling until his “fingers bled,” he quipped during a recent interview with me. Later, when a venture capitalist enlisted him to bring the PTC playbook to a host of portfolio companies, he realized that old industry standbys needed a drastic overhaul if marketers hoped to cut it in an increasingly social-centered world. So in 2006, he and Dharmesh Shah, a classmate from business school, launched HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company that Halligan touts as the accessible solution for “normal” marketing guys like himself.

You do your best as a self-employed professional, but some days you are simply swamped by too much competing for your attention. When a flood of items compete for your attention, each item can loom larger in importance than it actually is. Here is a classification system to help you maintain perspective:

My best guess is that you may not even believe me in this week’s blog post, but here it is. I was on a plane from Los Angeles to Dallas today after a very long week. I was actually answering an NASE TaxTalk question about S Corporations right on line with the help of American Airlines’ in-flight internet connection.

From Yahoo's Marissa Mayer to Ursula Burns at Xerox and PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi, women capture an ever-growing number of top spots at leading corporations -- internationally and in the United States. Compared to the 1960's when women were barred from certain jobs, we have made great strides in earning management positions at various levels to running the show. But despite the gains over the last fifty years, women still only account for 24 of the Fortune 500's Chief Executive Officer positions.

I love small business owners. I know this sounds kind of sappy, and as the President of the National Association for the Self Employed I probably notice this kind of thing more than most, but it really makes me proud when I see that entrepreneurial spirit. I was out yesterday and saw a local high school band having a car wash. I pulled in and let them do their best. But that wasn’t the sappy part. There were three kids, maybe 8 years old, who had set up lemonade and iced tea stand. Right there in the heat!

It’s August, which I guess means that we are in the dog days of summer; lots of hot weather but also lots of swimming pools and cold glasses of lemonade. The good news for me is that despite the season there are still lots of questions from NASE members that we get to answer every day. One NASE member posted a question regarding income earned during a speaking engagement overseas, actually in London, England. Her question made me realize all over again just how pervasive the influence of small business continues to be.

Posted by Katie Vlietstra-- By now, we've all heard about the challenges and the ups-and-downs of the new health care law. From cancelled plans to delayed programs and technical glitches in online applications, the Affordable Care Act has had its share of problems. However, in the end, the Affordable Care Act -- or ACA -- has turned out to help millions of Americans young and old. Far from perfect, the Department of Health and Human Services declared success with over eight million people enrolled, and over 30 percent being young Americans aged 18-34.