by eclewis | Mar 18, 2015 | Business News
Now that Spring is just around the corner, lets talk about one way of making an exciting new change to your business as part of some spring cleaning.
A while back there was some interesting speculation that turned out to become a reality, Google has launched a new program to comparison shop for auto insurance. The company set up an entity named Google Compare Auto Insurance Services Inc. and got licensed to do business in a majority of states (although they still appear to be working on their support for CO). Additionally, they built up relationships with several big-named insurance companies like MetLife, and Mercury Insurance. Google also appears to be working with CoverHound, an existing insurance comparison service. Google has already been offering insurance comparison shopping in the United Kingdom since 2012.
While Google is an enormous company, it is important to note how they have not lost their entrepreneurial spirit. Google has not been afraid to try new things and to diversify their company from everything from its search engine and web ads to developing cell phones and now getting into the insurance industry.
Understandably, smaller businesses may not have the resources or capital available to make big leaps or changes into other market sectors, but there are still important business principles and lessons to be learned. Fundamentally, that is that just like a good investment portfolio, diversifying may be key to your business’ long-term stable growth in the modern, dynamic economy. Even if you are not able to make big jumps into other business areas, you may be able to diversify in simpler or smaller ways that are less capital intensive and more closely related to what you already do.
Think about what your business does at its most fundamental level, then try to branch out into thinking about the areas that your does not do. Basically, what are your business’ current boundaries? Are there things that your business has to contract out to have done for it or that you have to refer your customers elsewhere to have accomplished? Remember that these areas can exist both vertically (such as part of your supply chain) or horizontally (such as related services). Try to evaluate practically what costs and concerns would be involved in branching out to some of these other areas. Which areas would be the easiest for you to try out?
After all, it was probably your entrepreneurial spirit that got you into starting your small business in the first place, and you should consider keeping that excitement alive by trying new things with your business. Nevertheless, it is imperative that you make these diversifying decisions carefully, after much thinking and discussion with your business partners, consultants, as well as legal counsel and other advisors, so you can get their opinions on the risks and other considerations involved.
If you are considering branching out to new areas with your business, do not hesitate to reach out for legal help and guidance from the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Mar 11, 2015 | Business News
Occupational Privilege Taxes
Occupational Privilege Taxes in Colorado are essentially a “head tax” that is levied on most workers within jurisdictions that have the tax. Simply put, this means that every employee that falls under the requirements in the jurisdiction has to pay it, and there is typically an employer match of this tax. The tax is levied on a city and/or county basis of where you work, even if the business is located outside of the jurisdiction. This can get complicated if a business is located in Glendale but the employee works in a satellite office or from their home located in Denver. In a situation like this, the employee should not have to pay the Glendale tax, but likely would have to pay the Denver tax.
Here is a breakdown of where the tax is levied, the amount of the tax (per month) for employees and employers, and the minimum amount you must earn in a month for the tax to be levied on you.
| City |
Tax for Employees |
Tax for Employers |
Income Threshold |
| Denver |
$5.75 |
$4.00 |
$500 |
| Glendale |
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
$750 |
| Aurora |
$2.00 |
$3.00 |
$250 |
Keep in mind that this is just the basic applicability of the tax and there can be more unique circumstances that can have an impact on your business and employees’ tax liability.
For example, if you have one job but work in more than one jurisdiction that has an Occupational Privilege Tax, generally, you would only pay the tax for the jurisdiction that you spend the majority of your time working in. Employees with multiple jobs in the same jurisdiction usually only have to pay the tax once and can fill out a form to be sure it is not withheld by their second job. Those who are self-employed may only have to pay the employer side of the tax, but it depends on the situation and jurisdiction.
In many cases, businesses without any employees are still required to pay the employer portion of the tax. Owners of a business may also be required for at least the employer portion of the tax, even if they are not paid. As you can see, there are a variety of circumstances that can complicate how the Occupational privilege applies to your business, so be sure that you seek out good advice about it.
If you have questions about legal matters for your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Feb 11, 2015 | Business News
As a way of celebrating Valentine’s Day in the small-business context, this post will focus on small business and loving it! That being said, a recent study found that adults who “feel younger” than their actual age lived longer. What does that mean to feel younger? It’s all about enthusiasm, excitement, and a generally positive outlook. The same kind of feelings as when you are in love! Owning your own business is an exciting opportunity that will no doubt spark that youthful enthusiasm, but even if your business has been around for a while, it is important to keep that love alive. Doing so may not only help keep your business around longer, but it may also keep you feeling younger.
Think about this. People that are working for themselves or even for small businesses generally take a lot of pride in the work that they do, and that is because they can directly see the results of their hard work. They get a chance to see their satisfied customers and are able to feel like they are a meaningful part of the company. Many who work for large companies miss out on this same satisfaction. Small business owners or their employees get more variety and flexibility with their daily work, which can help keep you interested and excited about what you are doing and loving what you do.
A survey found that people who own or start their own businesses are happy with what they do and want to keep doing it. One study showed that newly-minted MBAs are happier starting their own company or working for small business than their big corporate counterparts. Another survey found that entrepreneurs are among the happiest people in the world.
Sure, starting a business and keeping it going can be very challenging but keep thinking about these exciting positives to small business and you will start to love your business even more, which will no doubt bring benefits to you and your employees in both their careers and personal lives.
If the business you love is in need of some legal assistance, or if you are ready to start your own, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Feb 4, 2015 | Business News
Recently, oil prices have seen a significant drop in prices, leading to low costs for energy and gasoline across the country. These lower prices are putting more money into the pockets of consumers to spend more money elsewhere in the economy and also for many businesses. It is expected that this will lead to an increase in hiring in many areas of the economy, especially if these low prices continue.
For example, hiring is expected to increase in the areas that will see direct benefits to these lower oil prices such as automotive manufacturers and dealers and also trucking and other shipping companies. Additionally, hiring is rising for restaurants, likely due to consumers now having more money in their pockets because of the lower gas prices, which they can now spend eating out. Restaurants related to both areas like drive-ins are especially showing increased sales as a result.
However, these lower prices are not good news for hiring in other areas. Naturally, the energy sector is facing the biggest losses due to these low oil prices. Energy companies have had strong growth over the past few years due to the increased oil and gas drilling that has been going on, but with these lower prices they are already experiencing large layoffs of their employees. This is clearly concerning for those working in the energy sector, which represents about 1.4% of U.S. employees.
This news, like most economic news, is good for some and bad for others, but at least this time the economy overall is expected to see increased employment, wage growth, and other expansionary benefits like lower inflation because of the lower energy prices, which will hopefully keep the economy and businesses overall in good health.
If you are considering hiring new workers for your business, there are many legal considerations that you may need assistance with, do not hesitate to reach out for legal help and guidance from the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Jan 28, 2015 | Business News
If you are having trouble finding a mentor or if you have found a good mentor that does not have the ability to give away their time for free, then it may be a good idea to consider investing in paid mentoring.
Many people still look at mentoring in a very traditional way and imagine a promising young new hire being mentored by a seasoned executive. However, as we saw when talking about reverse mentoring, modern mentoring can exist in a variety of ways. Some people may seem hesitant about paying for mentoring but is it really so odd? Think about it this way, if you know someone who is an expert with Quick Books and you want to have them come teach you how to use it, you wouldn’t think twice about paying them for their time would you? Is mentoring necessarily so different?
These kinds of transactions are really a form of mentoring in and of themselves. As useful as these transactions are, some people provide this kind of assistance to people in much the same way as a mentor would but do it professionally as what is known as a business coach.
A business coach is someone that can help you develop yourself and in turn, your business. They will hold you accountable and as someone who does this professionally, you can hold them accountable as well. This sort of relationship can also help ease the initial tension or intimidation that may exist in a traditional mentor-mentee relationship, where the mentee may be too timid to ask questions because of the mentor’s position or because they are helping the mentee for free and may find it difficult to ask for more from them.
Just as we have discussed the numerous benefits that mentors can provide in our previous posts, you know that they may be well worth the monetary investment. Even if that great potential mentor that you know is not a business coach and is someone who might be difficult to arrange a paid-mentoring arrangement with, consider buying them lunch to see if you can develop a relationship with them that way. You may very well find that in the long run, these can be some of the best investments you have ever made for yourself or your business.
A mentor-mentee relationship does not have to meet any particular parameters and is always mutually beneficial. Mentoring is really just about investing in yourself and each other to grow personally and professionally, no matter how they come about.
This concludes our series on mentoring as part of January as Mentoring Month, and we hope you have enjoyed it and are either looking for that great mentor, have one that you show your continued appreciation for, are ready to make the jump to star mentoring someone else, or are working to improve yourself as a longtime mentor, with the help of these posts.
If you need legal help with your business matters, do not hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, PC, home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
