
Ayesha Curry seems to be everywhere these days — including in Sonoma, CA for a photoshoot, where we hung out with her last week. With all the buzz from her husband Stephen Curry’s team being in the NBA playoffs to the buzz she’s created herself with her strong, public support of him after he was ejected from Game 6, Ayesha has a lot going on right now. Here’s what we learned from spending all day on a shoot with Mrs. Curry and daughters Riley (three) and Ryan (one next month!).
1. Ayesha is a walking, talking Pinterest board (in a super good way). The creative momma was buzzing with cooking hacks, beauty tips and recipe secrets all day; her mind is like IRL Pinterest. It’s kind of amazing. One tidbit she shared was figuring out a last-minute meal to make when she hosted her brother’s new (vegan!) girlfriend for dinner. Her description of the eggplant succotash she whipped up with ingredients she had around the house had us all straight up salivating.
There are def celebs out there who portray a Pinterest-perfect image of themselves in public, even though they really aren’t that creatively minded IRL. Ayesha is not that person. The food blogger/wonder woman mom/amazing wife/lifestyle lady is not just a persona she’s playing up — it’s who she really is.
The Brit :60 with Ayesha Curry
Cookbook author, mom and blogger Ayesha Curry dishes on her fave family meal, the weirdest thing she's ever eaten + more!
Posted by Brit + Co on Friday, June 17, 2016
2. Ayesha is responsible for Steph’s (and the Curry family’s) healthy habits. Ayesha is pretty proud of refining Steph’s junk food ways. “When we first started dating back in college, he was a pizza and chicken tenders kind of guy,” she told me. “Now he’s broadened his palate. I feel like I have something to do with that.” We bet.
We could see that health was a clear priority of Ayesha’s on the shoot and in her and her family’s lives beyond. The project she’s working on with Sonoma Brands, an innovative food incubator local to the Bay Area, is health-focused, so the food on set was suuuper healthy. It was definitely not typical of what’s usually served at all-day photoshoots — there were no potato chips, cheeseburgers or soda at this craft service, y’all. Think coconut chips, prosciutto-wrapped honeydew, fruit salad, fresh veggies, coconut water and juice.
3. The Ayesha Curry you see on TV actually looks glam by accident. Ayesha is not a lady who has a ton of time (or interest, TBH) to primp and prep — she’s more of a 10-minute makeup routine kind of gal. When you do see her looking extra gorg, it’s probably a total coincidence. “I luck out on days when I have my makeup done,” she told me. “I’ll go to a game and be like, ‘Oh yeah, I got my makeup done, I look like this all the time!’” I loved that she was real about not “waking up like this.”
4. The Currys are kind of the perfect fam. Okay, no one is perfect — but they are the most creative famous fam we’ve hung out with in a long time/ever. It’s unlikely you’d find the Curry clan binging TV shows and being couch potatoes. Ayesha told me that she and her family love playing the app Heads Up!, a techy twist on charades, but we barely saw Riley with her mom’s phone in hand. Get real, that’s rare for a three-year-old these days.
During the shoot, Riley was coloring nonstop, super intent on trying to stay inside the lines to create a fridge-worthy masterpiece. When she wasn’t busy coloring, Riley was flexing her musical muscles by tickling the ivories on a piano that happened to be at the shoot while singing the ABCs. It was hard not to melt, trust me.
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5. Family means EVERYTHING to Ayesha. At the shoot, Ayesha’s (stunning) mom was on set all day, doting on Riley and Ryan when they weren’t on camera — it was really touching to see how natural it was for the whole family to be involved in Ayesha’s project. The girls were playing together, learning (I overheard Ayesha giving Riley a mini math lesson) and genuinely having fun during the day.
Steph also made sure to show his support for his wife and girls even though he wasn’t physically there — it was, you know, kind of a busy/important week for him with the playoffs and all. He FaceTimed Ayesha before lunchtime, and when she saw him calling, she got giddy. It was seriously adorable to witness.
Throughout our interview, it was sweet to hear her bring it back to Steph in so many different parts of our conversation. Whether we were discussing date night in the Curry household (which, after Game 5, was super low-key and involved their favorite *other* game, old school Mario Kart), Ayesha’s favorite meals to whip up or how she preps for a game night, it was apparent that Steph (and her entire family) is everything to her and always top of mind. Seeing her Tweets from Thursday night in defense of her husband mirror her always supportive attitude when it comes to the Curry clan. Her passion for her family, shown by steadfastly having Steph’s back after he was ejected from the game on June 16, comes from her being a praiseworthy mom and partner. After seeing this genuine side of her, I can honestly say I’d expect nothing less than to see her say and do anything to support her husband. (Can we talk about that Father’s Day message on Instagram? <3)
6. Riley is destined for stardom. It’s good that Riley has a strong family foundation, because we would not be surprised if we see her own name in lights some day. You guys have seen her at press conferences, so just imagine her at a photoshoot. The girl is a total natural in front of any camera — from my iPhone camera where I snapped her playing the piano to a pro camera that had her posing on command. Somehow, at three years old, she can smize (smile with your eyes, duh), strut her stuff and totally captivate on camera.
Even though Riley looks ready for her own show on the Disney channel any day now, throughout the shoot, she was also the best big sister to little Ryan. All day, I never witnessed a meltdown during the shoot (a day that can make your average adult crew member a bit cranky). She went with the flow without any of the — let’s be real — brattiness that can be associated with kids that age. Whether she was literally jumping up and down next to the photographer to get Ryan to giggle on camera or playing with her while Ayesha was busy, their bond is precious and TOTALLY adorable.
Whether she’s supporting Steph at a game, playing chauffeur to her daughters or whipping up pan steaks in the kitchen, Ayesha is an admirably well-rounded boss who balances being a wife, mom and entrepreneur well, but clearly never forgets what is most important to her: family.
Do you follow the Curry fam off the court? Are you tuning in to Game 7? Tweet us your thoughts @BritandCo!
(Featured photo via JB Lacroix/Getty, Parade photo via Stephen Lam/Getty)
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures