We've become used to the idea that a fancy front desk, nice corporate stationary, and a bunch of stock photos - with smiling receptionists who are as wooden as those photos, is where you find stability. We've come to confuse polish with reality, and the evangelists of polish are always telling us the clothes make the company. For one thing, it's easier for us to feel we have … [Read more...]

If you're not aware of coworking, makerspaces, hackerspaces, etc. - these are collaborative coops that provide you space to work in an environment where other people are also working in a creative and independent way. The coop part of it gets you a chair, deskspace or table space, wifi internet, lights, electricity, a bathroom, and often free coffee, in exchange for a monthly … [Read more...]

One of the pseudo issues that we're instructed to be talking about now is whether to tax capital gains - and now everyone is quoting Warren Buffet. Partly, this relies on the average person not understanding how corporate taxes work vs. personal taxes - something Buffet understands very well. But when you and I are being handed our coffee shop talking points by the media, we … [Read more...]

Recent court cases have awarded judgments and settlements to contractors treated like employees by client companies, when they were not given employee benefits and protections. The latest tax laws account for the employee-contractor distinction in a more pronounced way than ever. The practice of deeming someone a contractor instead of an employee certainly reduces employer … [Read more...]