Showing 18 results for:
self-employed
Popular topics
All results
Being self-employed can be a beautiful thing. You can set your schedule, take time off at your discretion, and even complete a full day’s work without ever leaving the house. However, without the structure of an office and a timesheet to fill out, it can be challenging to motivate yourself to get to work and stay focused. Here are a few tips for making the most out of every workday when you’re self-employed: 1. Set and Maintain a Schedule Maintaining a schedule is critical to getting work done consistently. Waking up, working out, and conducting business at a set time every day, helps you ensure that all your daily tasks get done and nothing slips through the cracks. When you have a daily routine, you don’t need to coax yourself out of bed because muscle memory will eventually take over and propel you through the day. 2. Establish a Workspace While it might be tempting to do all your work from the comfort of your warm bed, I’ve personally found this to be unsustainable. After a few...
Unemployment insurance (UI) is a critical safety net for workers. It’s designed to provide temporary financial assistance to people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. For startups , it’s important to understand the legal obligations around unemployment benefits, especially when navigating the challenges of hiring employees and managing payroll. While large corporations typically have well-established unemployment insurance practices, startups may be less familiar with the requirements. This article explores whether startups are required to offer unemployment benefits, how unemployment insurance works, and what employees and founders should expect. Understanding Unemployment Insurance And Employer Responsibilities Unemployment insurance is a joint federal-state program that provides financial assistance to eligible workers who are unemployed for reasons beyond their control. Each state administers its unemployment insurance program within federal guidelines. This...
The popular pop the balloon dating show concept will be making its way to Netflix. “Pop the Balloon or Find Love” is a hit dating show that started on YouTube . Hopeful romantics put their fate in the hands of potential matches. Contestants signal their interest, or lack thereof, by keeping their balloons intact, symbolizing a spark, or popping them to show disinterest. The YouTube series was brought to life by self-employed m ultimedia producer and musician Bolia Matundu (BM) and his wife, Arlette Amuli, a beauty and lifestyle creator. During an interview with Essence GU, BM admits that versions of the concept started to pop up in the wake of COVID-19 in 2020. “Around the pandemic, everyone was doing their own versions on YouTube, and I just wanted to create a version that I had a vision for,” BM told Essence GU. “So I wanted my wife to host…I wanted it to be more mature as well so trying to get people that are working class, people that have good jobs, and it just kicked off.” He...
Midway through the pandemic , in 2022, there were a small amount ( 19% ) of American workers who were working in jobs that were exposed to artificial intelligence (AI). Meanwhile, almost one-quarter (23%) of workers had the least exposure to AI. The remaining job industries varied with AI exposure. And while there are differing opinions about whether AI is taking away jobs from American workers or helping them to skip monotonous tasks, job seekers would arguably agree that they’d love to have an AI program that automatically filled in all of those little boxes in job applications. Even with a functional resume that focuses exactly on what the job description is looking for, some companies will still require filling out traditional job applications with your job history in sequential order. And this can quickly get tedious. Autofill sorta helps but not enough to avoid job seekers having to edit the automated info afterwards. So with all the extra work involved in using automated...
Social Security deductions are one of those topics that don’t really come up until two things happen: 1) our loved ones reach the retirement age where they can apply for benefits, or 2) we grumble about the chunk of money taken out of our (bi)weekly paychecks. With a presidential election happening now, the topic of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has come up more often than not. Specifically, Millennials and Gen Zers are being told that only 75% of the benefits will be covered by 2035, and younger voters want to know how either candidate plans to fix this. For those who are already receiving these benefits, there’s a new discussion on the table: the 2025 Social Security COLA increase. SSI benefits for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% next year. The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase will cover benefits payable to nearly 68 million SSI beneficiaries in January 2025. Additionally, increased payments to nearly 7.5 million SSI recipients...
Those seeking funding for their small business have the debt-free option of applying for startup business grants or small business grants. These grants are typically awarded by government entities, private organizations or corporations and, unlike loans , are not expected to be paid back. There are incentives for these companies and organizations to award these grants, as the new businesses could create economic growth or support a certain cause/research topic (like social or environmental) that one of these entities is interested in. These grants are highly competitive and have very specific requirements that must be met before they are awarded. Most likely, applicants will need to prepare by verifying the eligibility criteria, funding amount, application deadlines and any restrictions of a grant that their business aligns with. Also, ensuring the applicant’s business is specific enough to the grant’s requirements is very important . Doing so ensures the applicant has a better...
Women-focused private equity fund Alitheia IDF has raised $100 million to support “gender-diverse businesses” in Africa. This news follows just one year after raising $75 million, TechCrunch reports. Participating investors include the African Development Bank, Bank of Industry Nigeria, FinDev Canada, Dutch Good Growth Fund, and the European Investment Bank. Closing the round, European Investment Bank (EIB) committed $24.6 million. The goal of the funding is to combat the present financial gap for women-led businesses in the continent. According to a report, “Female single founders and female-only founding teams have raised less than 1% of the total raised on the continent this year so far.” “Globally, women have tremendous purchasing power as consumers and controllers of household economics. In the same vein, women entrepreneurs have a significant presence in Africa’s SME sector with African women making up 58% of the continent’s self-employed population. However, despite this...
A recent study published by NBC News revealed that North Carolina is the best state to start a business in. But which state is the worst? LendingTree provided their research to NBC News, and their studies concluded that three of North Carolina’s top cities — Raleigh, Charlotte, and Durham — offer the best places for small businesses to get started. Raleigh takes the top spot, while Charlotte is at No. 3, and Durham is at No. 4. “54.8% of Raleigh’s population is in their prime working years between ages 25 and 54, ninth-highest among the 100 metros,” reports the study. Austin, TX, meanwhile, takes the No. 2 spot. In fact, according to the study, the South holds five of the 10 top ten spots in the United States to open a small business. Aside from North Carolina, states like Idaho (with Boise, ID, coming in at No. 5) and Tennessee (with Nashville coming in at No. 9) also made the top of the list. But, which states are the worst states to open a new business in? At the top of the list...
Uber Eats has had a problematic history with how it treats its drivers, but a recent viral video demonstrates how many issues their behavior really raises. Uber Eats driver Smithson Michael, as he’s been identified from his TikTok account, recently went viral after he posted a video of himself crying after receiving a measly $1.19 tip. This tip was received after driving to a client for over an hour. After receiving $1.19 in a tip, and $2 from the app, Michael netted a little more than $3 for over an hour’s worth of work. (The federal minimum wage, as of this writing, for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour. Many states also have minimum wage laws — in New York, for example, the minimum wage starts at $12 per hour, and a $15 minimum — already in place in New York City and its five boroughs — is expected to be enacted statewide by October 2021.) However, Uber Eats drivers are considered self-employed contractors for the company, not actual Uber Eats employees. “I got a...
It’s been a challenging year, and you may have found yourself with less free time than ever. But you can keep up with your interests and learn new things by listening to podcasts on your smartphone or smart speaker while you work, run errands, and handle household duties. Here are some of the best podcasts for aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners. Black Tech Green Money Hosted by AfroTech’s own, Will Lucas, Black Tech Green Money highlights successful black technologists and marries their professional profiles with practical entrepreneurial wealth-building insights that inform and inspire. The Black Techies Podcast Interested in consumer tech? Then check out The Black Techies Podcast , which examines new developments in the consumer tech space and how those developments intersect with the black community and black culture. Confessions of a Werkaholic This weekly podcast focuses on Black female entrepreneurs, with each episode spotlighting a different Black business owner....
The beauty industry has taken a huge hit since government officials have ordered all non-essential businesses across the country to close to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Hair salons and nail salons have halted their services to the public leaving many of them without income and business altogether. Both beauty professionals and the public were quickly hit with the reality that social distancing leaves many without beauty care and others without jobs. However, beauty app Cherie is showing their dedication to the beauty community by providing funding through the Future Beauty Fund Initiative for small beauty businesses and local beauty professionals based in Los Angeles. View this post on Instagram A post shared by cherie (@cherie) “Our vision with Cherie is to build a community around beauty lovers. Like every industry, our community has been affected by COVID-19 and we just want to play our part in supporting them during this difficult time,” said Kelly Chen, co-founder of Cherie....
Small business owners are anxiously waiting to see if Congress will inject more money into the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the federal rescue program that failed to reach the vast majority of small businesses it was intended to help the first time around. A new LendingTree survey found that just 5% of business owners have received a PPP loan, though 60% had applied for funding. Survey respondents were eager to submit their applications once the program opened, but many struggled to communicate with bankers as the entrepreneurs’ financial situations further deteriorated — and then the $349 billion emergency funding ran out of funds after 13 days. Many of the 1,260 small business owners surveyed expressed their frustrations. “I’ve kept my employees on payroll even though we closed because it is the right thing to do,” one respondent said. “Unemployment in our state is only $275 per month. They can’t live on that. Now, I’m in limbo waiting for the PPP money. I have no idea when,...
The stark reality between the employed and self-employed is all too apparent as we all find ourselves living in the unknown. The only thing scarier than this pandemic is not knowing how you’re going to provide for yourself over the next week, let alone the next few months. We’re now seeing the detrimental effects of what COVID-19 means for our global economy and how most of all it’s impacting a very vulnerable part of our population — freelancers. In 2019, Fast Company reported that 57 million people in the U.S. worked as freelancers, making up 35 percent of the U.S. workforce. Freelancers all take a risk in their respective line of work and there’s always a gamble with having an unstable income and no employee benefits. Over the past three weeks, we’ve seen the coronavirus pandemic grow at an alarming rate, so much so that the entire world is seemingly shutting down. It started with large-scale events across all industries and quickly trickled down to closing all non-essential...
As the calendar year ends and business tax season looms, entrepreneurs must start gathering documents and calculating their income, expenses and deductions to determine how much the IRS expects them to pay in taxes by the April deadline. A small business tax preparation checklist could help ease the process. Whether you’re getting ready for your first business tax season or you’re an experienced veteran, continue reading to brush up on what you need to prepare. When is business tax season? Small business tax preparation checklist Steps to take next tax year When is business tax season? Personal tax returns are due in April every year, and springtime is often thought of as tax season, especially for pass-through entities, which we’ll discuss in greater detail, below. But business owners may need to pay taxes throughout the year. Because business owners don’t have an employer who withholds tax from their earnings, they typically make quarterly estimated tax payments. Self-employed...
Entrepreneurship is a Black millennial’s American dream. The ability to work on the projects that matter to you and on your terms is freedom. However, businesses need more than just loft ambitions and fancy mission statements to be successful. Here are basic administrative tasks every entrepreneur should accomplish in the early stages of the business: 1. Determine What You Are Selling The concept of entrepreneurship can be glamourous. Although sometimes, young entrepreneurs can get into trouble because they haven’t clearly defined the products and services they are offering. While you might have multiple interests and talents, it’s essential to know precisely what services you are offering and why people should care about it. Determining your product may require extensive research and analysis, but time invested up front may save you years of working on an unsellable product. 2. Open a Business Checking Account Separating business and personal finance will save you a world of...