Category: Running a Business

The CARES Act creates three programs that offer unemployment benefits for the self employed that may provide financial relief to those who are contractors, gig workers or self-employed and can’t work due to coronavirus: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)  How does unemployment for the self-employed work, and how do you apply?  Please note, the material contained in this article is for informational purposes only, is general in nature, and should not be… Read More

My career spans almost 40 years. And, with the exception of a few years I spent in a publicly-traded company, I have spent the bulk of my career working in, managing, or owning a small business myself. Although I’ve worked through some hard times and a couple of difficult recessionary times, none have been as challenging or devastating as what we are facing right now. I share this because there are some things we can learn from doing business through… Read More

In the upper right hand corner of the PPP application, there is a box asking for your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). Although many sole proprietors or independent contractors who don’t have employees file taxes with their Social Security Number (SSN), there are many more small businesses that file with an Employer ID Number (EIN), also known as your Federal Tax Identification Number—the IRS uses this number to identify your business entity. Does Every Business Need an EIN? The quick answer… Read More

Update: The President has signed the PPP Extension Act which extends the deadline to apply for PPP loans to August 8, 2020 If there’s a silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that people and organizations have quickly banded together to provide support for one another. Given how hard this is hitting small businesses, it’s great to see organizations, both at the national and local levels, jumping to provide aid and guidance to entrepreneurs. Below is a list of COVID-19… Read More

With new “stay in place” orders being executed in more cities and states every day, employers like you are, understandably, concerned about how they will continue to pay employees. And given that your employees might be twiddling their thumbs with no customers able to come to your location, are you on the hook to continue to pay them if there’s nothing for them to do? Here are the answers to some employer questions about COVID-19. While you may not have… Read More