Business Discussions

I have a client that is wanting to hire an independent contractor from Jamaica, but does not know the tax implications. This is what I do know: ----- "if a foreign contractor performs service in the US, certain conditions should be met to avoid tax obligations. Those conditions are:The nonresident alien performing labor services is present in the US for less than 90 days during the tax yearThe total pay does not exceed $3,000The pay is for labor or services performed for an office or place of business maintained in a foreign countryIf any of the above conditions are not satisfied, a principal has to report and withhold income of a foreign independent contractor. However, withholding and income tax for a contractor can be avoided if the country of a contractor has a tax treaty with US." I also know that the US and Jamaica do have a tax treaty, and the pay will exceed $3,000. Does anyone have any words of wisdom on this matter? 

Good Afternoon Everyone. I am looking for a a full time employee to help with one of my larger companies.  Someone who is detailed oriented, great with QBOA and familiar with Tsheets and expensify. I am in the Orlando FL area.  I need help ASAP.  

The power-packed metrics that will have a big impact on your bottom line. Data is a hot topic lately. If you sell online, you know that order information from your marketplace stores enables the massive big data feeds of Amazon and the like to predict broad consumer behavior and seasonality, manage prices and fees across the channel, and control their interests in the inventory and fulfillment industries globally. While you’re powering someone else’s data, it also seems like every day you’re told to climb aboard the big data bandwagon where you, too, can ride into the sunset of freedom and happiness of higher sales, profit, and success.   But when it comes to practical application of collecting data and understanding the insights they offer, you draw a blank. You’re not alone. Turns out, 94% of companies across all levels have experienced internal challenges when trying to improve their data quality. One could theorize that this dissatisfaction may stem from sheer size and that b

Longtime L.A. cyclist Gloria Hwang rarely used to wear a helmet, but she got her wake-up call when a close friend died in a cycling accident. Soon after she started Thousand, maker of sleek, stylish bicycle helmets that look cool enough for its fashionista founder to wear.       How does your business solve for a specific problem or need you see in the marketplace?

Hey Guys! I want to create an online marketplace platform. What are the main pros and cons of this business? I am a bit confused cause my friend told me that it’s not a very good idea. Maybe some of you can give me an insight?

  When you’re starting out in business, there’s just so much to learn -- including all the things you don’t yet know you don’t know! We believe a great way to save time, reduce stress, make smart decisions and avoid costly mistakes is by learning from others who have been there, done that. So here are some valuable insights from entrepreneurs in your QB Community who have already experienced the good, the bad and the ugly of starting a small business -- and who are happy to share what they would have done differently when they first started up their business.  Michael Koral, co-founder of Needls, a social media ad company: “Looking back, we should have made a long-term strategy. We didn’t necessarily plan a full road map for the next five years when we started. We worked month-to-month. All of us had experience building businesses before, so we figured we’d be able to roll with the punches. We’re a growing company that has customers and investors, but it would’ve been help

HiI want to integrate my QBO with Hubstaff any one please help me how to integrate.thankskhalid

Hi all I have just started my new buisness adventure and to be honest the physical side of the buisness is great, i'ts what I have done for the past 15+ years. I have not moved up the ladder by starting my own buisness and I am finding the books/accounts quite overwhelming. I am slowly finding my way arround Quickbooks but still quite nervous and unsure of what I am doing. (fuuny as it sounds). Would be greatful for a little advice. Thanks Jenrow76

Name: Muriel Bartol Business:  SWRVE Location: Los Angeles, CA Launched: 2005 Muriel Bartol and her husband, Matt Rolletta, have always loved biking for recreation, for transportation and to get to know their surroundings at a slower-than-a-car pace. But a few years back, Matt was struggling to find a single pair of pants that he could wear throughout his typically active day when he cycled to school, to work and out to meet friends. So Muriel and Matt designed a pair of functional, durable, stylish “knickers,” imagining they might one day sell a few pairs to friends. Instead, thanks to a mention in the New York Times, they were suddenly swamped with orders. Today, Muriel and Matt are still basking in the entrepreneurial glow of unexpectedly launching a successful outdoor apparel business. Muriel, you didn’t set out to become a small business owner. Tell us about your journey starting SWRVE. I had just finished grad school after previously running an art gallery and working in th

Can anyone refer an accountant to assist a start up recruiting firm with accounting, financial reporting, and tax work ?   

  Guaranteeing your product will last for a lifetime is a bold business strategy, especially when your customers are rough-and-tumble outdoor enthusiasts. Yet, many outdoor outfitters pride themselves not only on the durability and quality craftsmanship of their products, they also stand by their promise to repair or replace broken or defective gear. That kind of assurance provides peace of mind for a customer base that tends to relax by dangling off cliffs, schussing down mountains or running class five rapids.   This got us wondering about lifetime warranties. Are they a good business strategy or an expensive promise? And what can small business owners take away from studying the warranties of these outfitters?   While exploring the product guarantees of these ten outdoor outfitters, we learned that some retailers do have a true lifetime guarantee, but others come loaded with conditions in the fine print -- so, if a guarantee is a factor in your purchase, make sure yo

Name: Gwen Sullivan Business:  Joyn Launched: April 2018 (congratulations, Gwen!) Location: Portland, OR Gwen Sullivan has spent years working in the sports and fitness industry, but she’s spent far longer feeling like she was a “fitness misfit.” As a kid, she played sports but always preferred the team element to the workout itself. Later, as a busy adult juggling working and parenting, fitness felt like a chore. When Gwen discovered she wasn’t the only one feeling resentful in the gym, she decided it was time to make a change. She’d stop focusing on reps and steps or minutes and miles and start finding activities that she simply enjoyed. This shift in thinking inspired Gwen to create Joyn, a website that curates community-oriented, inclusive group classes designed for fitness – but far more importantly, to promote movement and joy. Gwen, tell us more about the inspiration behind Joyn. I created Joyn because I wanted to change the conversation around movement by starting with jo

Name: Kelly Watters Business: Western Rise Launched: 2015 Location: Telluride, CO Kelly Watters is a 4th-generation entrepreneur, and her husband, Will, comes from three generations of business self-starters. So when they decided to start a sustainable technical-apparel business together, Kelly and Will knew they’d be working long hours, juggling multiple roles and responsibilities, solving unexpected problems and trying to stay positive along the way. Turns out, everything they anticipated about launching, running and growing Western Rise has come true. Also true? Kelly and Will love building an outdoor-retailing business together. As Kelly explains, “I’m the CEO, CFO and COO. Will is the creative director, and he manages all the product and works directly with the marketing team. We get more efficient at what we do every year – so we just keep taking on more projects! We love building something we believe is amazing.” Kelly, what inspired you and Will to launch Western Rise? Will an

  Fact: Outdoor activities keep our mind and our body health. Another fact: The gear and clothing we need for many outdoor activities often cause severe sticker shock. We’re not just talking about full-suspension hardtail mountain bikes and downhill skills with a titanium backbone. A good winter jacket and “breathable” T-shirts aren’t exactly cheap.   One reason for the steep price tag is that outdoor gear makers increasingly are trying to manufacture goods in an earth-friendly manner. It makes sense that an industry devoted to enjoying and, thus, preserving, the great outdoors is using natural, sustainable materials and non-toxic chemicals and dyes, as well as supporting fair labor and ethical trade practices. But all those great decisions mean higher costs for consumers.   In response, some forward-thinking entrepreneurs are finding ways to make outdoor gear more affordable while also being kind to the environment. The inspiration starts with a shift in mindset from

    Did you know that over 60% of the land in the United States is privately held and largely unused? That’s just one of the surprising facts you can learn from Hipcamp.com, an online platform that connects landowners to campers. Think of it as Airbnb for fans of sleeping under the stars. But instead of listing private rental homes, Hipcamp lists private land for camping.     Hipcamp aims to do more than just help people find a place to pitch a tent. The company’s parallel mission is to promote land preservation and conservation through peer-to-peer commerce. The intended audience? Wilderness lovers who like camping but despise crowded campgrounds. With interest in outdoor recreation soaring, the solitude and quiet of an untouched location is a prized commodity -- one that outdoor enthusiasts are willing to pay for.   The opportunity for enterprising entrepreneurs? Figure out how to give customers a rarified (or, at least, highly sought-after) encounter

As a kid fresh out of high school, avid skiier Ben Anderson learned the basics of ski-making from friends. Here's how the founder and CEO of Denver-based Icelantic Skis got his start turning a personal passion into a booming business.                     Does your business reflect a strong personal interest of yours? When did you decide that you were going to turn your passion into your profession, and how did you go about it?

    Many of the today’s most successful companies have been able to change and improve their business model thanks to instant, ongoing feedback from customers about what they like, love and loathe about the company’s goods or services. Business behemoths like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Waze can quickly glean insights about their customers’ experiences and practices so they can iterate and improve the user experience -- and offer more relevant product recommendations, too.   Companies in the outdoors industry as just as keen to tap into the instant customer feedback loop. But here’s an inherent conundrum: Since customers tend to be sailing the seas, hiking in the backcountry or otherwise off the grid when using their products, how can said businesses tap into that intelligence-gathering power?   To explore that question, Scott Galloway, digital marketing professor at NYU and co-founder of GartnerL2, a brand research and ranking firm, has come up with a “New

Name: Elisabeth Young Business: ElisaAnne Calligraphy Location: Atlanta, GA Launched: 2016 Elisabeth Young admits that she was never a great employee, as she was easily frustrated by unnecessary inefficiencies. Such frustration was a big factor in why she quit her corporate job and started working for herself creating custom wedding invitations. Initially, Elisabeth was excited to launch a new creative career. But, as many entrepreneurs have experienced first-hand, Elisabeth’s unquenchable passion for her business was almost squashed flat by the tough reality of working by herself day after day. Elisabeth opens up about her struggles with depression and anxiety during her first year of business and how she learned to cope and to heal. We appreciate her candid conversation about a sensitive topic. We hope others in our QB Community read this post and remember that they, like Elisabeth, are not alone in experiencing the ups and downs of running a business. [The following is based on a

Name: Christina DiEdoardo Business: Law Offices of Christina DiEdoardo Founded: 2006 Christina DiEdoardo was just a few months out of law school in Las Vegas when her boss, an attorney with a solo practice, left for maternity leave. Unsure if or when her employer would return, Christina figured she might as well start her own practice. For the next few years, working on myriad “weird and interesting” criminal and bankruptcy cases helped her build a reputation as an attorney to be reckoned with. So, too, did Christina’s willingness to be a pioneer in her industry. She was the first student at her law school to undergo a gender transition, and she remains the only openly transgender licensed attorney in the State of Nevada. Today, Christina runs her solo practice from her adopted home of San Francisco, where she drives her business forward with passion, dedication, determination and humor. In short, Christina does it her way. Christina, you built a successful law practice in Nevada. Whe

Name: Ben Cleaveland (CTE director) and Maggie del Castillo (CTE board co-president) Business: Conservatory Theater Ensemble at Tamalpais High School Location: Mill Valley, CA Founded: 1962 Question: What do students in a high school theater program have in common with small business owners everywhere? If you’re a student in the Conservatory Theater Ensemble (CTE) at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, CA, the answer is, well, everything. CTE is a student-operated organization, and the 350 teens currently enrolled are learning about far more than Shakespeare, script writing and scene blocking. Effectively serving as “owners-employees” of a small business, they’re also getting first-hand business training on managing money -- including budgeting, P&L and invoicing – as well as how to raise capital, market a product, grow their customer base and, sometimes, deal with unexpected fiscal constraints. Intrigued? So were we. That’s why we sat down with CTE director Ben Cleaveland and

  All this month we're taking a look at how our outdoor environment is creating new opportunities for small business. Lucas Zhao skated into the photography business - literally. Inspired by the great outdoors and his love of skateboarding, he's turned his passion into his profession.     How about you? How have your surroundings guided your small business journey? What inspires you when you look around your workspace (inside or out)? Want to weigh in but not yet a QB Community member? Click HERE to sign up in a flash!

We are using DMS as our document management in our firm. I’m looking for a Cloud one that integrate with lacerte. Any suggestion? Not fan of SmartVault. Thanks!

  Nani Waddoups has more than two-decades experience as an entrepreneur, and that doesn’t even include her past six years running a private therapy practice in Portland, OR. As a seasoned small business owner and a professional counselor, QB Community member Nani is uniquely positioned to offer up self-care strategies for staying centered and grounded -- something particularly important for entrepreneurs working around the clock to build a successful business. Beware the Red Dot Syndrome As Nani explains in this profile, the high-tech age we live in has created not just connection, but, for many of us, a sense of over-connectedness. The dot in “Red Dot Syndrome” refers to the notification icon alerting us that someone or something needs our attention. Nani points out our addiction (yes, she uses this word deliberately) to instantly responding to anything and everything is disruptive, to say the least. “When we see a red dot icon, we immediately stop what we are doing, stop what w

Name: Ben Gucciardi Business: Soccer Without Borders Launched: 2006 Located: Boston, MA (national office), Oakland, CA (largest US program) plus cities throughout the United States and overseas Ben Gucciardi was earning his M.A. in global educational leadership, working in youth development for underserved families and playing a lot of soccer when he had an idea. The California native realized soccer could be a tool to help struggling kids learn to better communicate, connect and collaborate with their peers, parents and teachers. Could he build a program around his favorite sport (at one point, Ben played soccer semi-pro) to help disadvantaged youth? Over the next year, Ben kept thinking and writing about his idea. Then his partner (who is now his wife) pointed out there were almost no summer programs for refugee kids arriving in Oakland from places like Burma, Afghanistan and Iraq. Maybe Ben could develop a soccer-based program designed specifically to help those students? Ben could

  Name: Michelle Kagarmanov Business: Mystic Hills Hideaway / Mystic Trails Rentals Location: Black Hills, South Dakota Launched: 2013 (bought the existing business from previous owners) Before Michelle Kagarmanov moved back to her home state of South Dakota, she was the program director of a non-profit working with refugee students in Minneapolis. She and her husband were ready to start a family of their own, so when her dad, aka “Pops”, called to ask if she’d run a newly purchased Black Hills RV resort with cabins, a restaurant/bar and off-road vehicle rentals she saw it as an opportunity to be near family, as well as to make her own schedule. With motorized sports ranking as the number one outdoor recreation activity in the U.S., their Mystic Hills Hideaway caters to a year-round clientele of ATV, UTV and snowmobile enthusiasts who come for the 500 miles of US Forest Service trails directly accessible from the campground. We spoke with Michelle about how they balance the seas