
With the 50 Days of Lettering Challenge under way, we are practicing with all sorts of tools, from Crayola markers to flowers and feathers. Now we want to throw it back to our days on the playground and take a shot at hand lettering with chalk.
INTRO TO CHALK LETTERINGÂ ONLINE CLASS
This course is perfect for anyone who has swooned over chalkboards at restaurants, coffee shops, weddings or on Pinterest.
If you’ve wanted to learn how to make your own pieces of chalk art, but you’re not sure where to start, you’re in the right place. The best part? Good handwriting isn’t a prerequisite! Even if you’ve developed a style of hand lettering with other mediums, this class will introduce you to the nuances and unique features of working with chalk. And hey, if you mess up, you can always erase!
In Valerie’s chalk lettering class, you’ll learn how to:
- Make your own chalkboards
- Write out words and phrases in three basic lettering styles
- Draw simple chalk illustrations and embellishments to complement your lettering
- Design, finish and polish a chalk art layout with shadows and dimension
After taking the class, you will be equipped with a new set of skills to help bring out your inner chalk artist. And like we said, chalk is a stress-free medium, so this class is all about relaxing and having fun! Plus, we make it SUPER easy to get started. Just grab the class’s companion supply kit, which includes a chalkboard, white chalk, felt eraser, microfiber cleaning cloth and more, and follow along as you learn chalk art with Valerie. You’ll save 15 percent when you buy the class and kit together.
The class doesn’t launch until mid-April, but if you pre-register today, you’ll get the class for $25 (originally a $29 value). Just fill out the simple Typeform below, and we’ll soon follow up with an email letting you know the class is live (and available at a discounted price). Hooray!
PLUS, to sweeten the deal: One lucky early bird will get a signed copy of Valerie’s currently sold out The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering for FREE. So make sure to pre-register today!
Pre-registration for this class has closed as of April 12, 2016.
Can’t wait to try out lettering techniques with chalk? Then make sure to check out our Calligraphy 101, Brush Calligraphy and Hand Lettering courses today!
What favorite quote do you want to chalk letter? Tweet us @BritandCo and let us know!
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