
If you’re one of the lucky ones, summertime means much more sunshine and much less perusing the web. But, while you’re blissed out with summer parties and fruity cocktails, the wheels of innovation will continue to turn. And we’re here to catch you up. Here are 10 recent Kickstarter projects that we wouldn’t want you to miss — and if you did, we have updates on how to pre-order the funded project. Come fall, these may be the hottest products on the market! Or a memory that we’re all glad to share… your funding might just draw the line.
1. Earin: Tired of spending the first five minutes of every workout untangling your headphones? How about the dreaded headphone and key tangle often found at the bottom of your overcrowded purse? Earin wants to fix that by offering the smallest earbud on the market. Not only is the design spectacular, but the Bluetooth audio makes them stand out, as well. Bonus: Backers get a discount off their first order!
2. CA7CH Lightbox: This recently funded project is set to give GoPro a run for its… content. The CA7CH Lightbox is a hands-free camera and video recorder designed for use with your smartphone. With a purpose centered on spontaneity and ease of use, it is now the world’s smallest live-streaming wearable. You can now preorder on their website if you didn’t make the list of backers in time.
3. Craft Your Own Bitters Kit: There’s no passing up a DIY Kickstarter. Tell your deskmate to pinch you now. This handsome craft kit includes everything you need (yes, even instructions) to make bitters for yourself and your guests. Described by the Hella Bitters crew as “salt and pepper” for your drinks, this is a sign to start inviting your friends to your next cocktail party now.
4. Hey Joe Coffee Mug: Fresh on the market and fresh in your cup, the one-cup brewing trend took off with the introduction of Keurig and the like, but you’ve never seen it like this. The Hey Joe mug brews your grounds on the go. You can regulate the brewing temperature, or warm up an old brew, so that it’s always ready to sip. Backers are being rewarded with fresh grounds, so you could say we’re in.
5. Edyn: Remember when we introduced you to Edyn, the connected garden, last month? Great news! The project has been successfully funded, and you can now preorder Edyn on their website. This smart garden system balances your garden’s condition by tracking changes in the environment and responding appropriately. Black thumb, you’ve met your match.
6. Leonard + Church: Born as an answer to the bloated luxury timepiece market, Leonard + Church hope to offer you a new way to buy a luxury watch. Simply put, some accessories are investments. However, market inflation put quality watches out of reach for many of us, which Leonard + Church credit to middle men and retail markups. This Kickstarter has big plans in store to redesign the process and the product. And by the looks of their prototypes, a Leonard + Church watch is likely to make our wish list soon.
7. Bellingcat: Calling all Zoe Barnes wannabes! Your ears should now be perking up. Bellingcat, a response to the ever-growing trend of citizen journalism, aims to level the journalistic playing field. Sure to stir up some controversy, this project will transform the marketplace of information into a horizontal and digital platform. This is certainly one to watch.
8. Wish I Was Here: Yes… the movie! DYK the whole project started on Kickstarter? Yeah, Zach Braff’s followup to Garden State is now in theaters. Braff, who has backed several Kickstarter projects on his own time, took to the crowdfunding platform in order to protect his creative license over this project. He raised over $3M to fund the film. *Opens Fandango app.*
9. Khink: Leggings for Change: There are two types of people in this world: People who believe leggings are pants, and those who do not. Whichever side you choose, these leggings are fighting a battle even bigger than that. Khink wants to bring you leggings out of Madrid, Spain that are a collaboration of locally sourced art and textile. Introducing themselves as a social enterprise, Khink plans to reinvest profits into worthy causes such as female empowerment, pit bull protection and more. Pick and choose your battles by backing their campaign, and you’ll even claim a reward.
10. Violet: Optimize Your Sun Experience: Like most things in life, sun exposure requires balance. We keep you up-to-date with chic sun protection hacks, but how about maintaining healthy exposure? After all, a few rays do boast health benefits, the most popular of which being vitamin D absorption. This new wearable tech by Violet will monitor your exposure and report back to you based on your personal skin type and sun tolerance.
Hip on a hot Kickstarter that didn’t make this month’s cut? Fill us in below.
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:
You X Ventures for Unsplash
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.
Kobu Agency for Unsplash
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