Author: Article Editor

A number of entrepreneurs realize that they face fines for breaking local business laws. These laws can differ depending on the city or even the street it is located on. What a number of entrepreneurs do not realize is that they could face criminal charges if found negligent in a number of areas. An entrepreneur has to be careful with the people that he surrounds himself with at the top of the company. These individuals can do the most damage if they are malicious or just not knowledgeable about laws/policies. The following are criminal risks that an entrepreneur faces when starting a business. 

Correctly Filing Taxes

The last thing that any business owner wants is to get involved with the IRS in a negative manner. Incorrectly filing taxes could be seen as tax evasion especially if the owner is keeping personal funds illegally in company accounts. Hiding income is quite common and can lead to a number of issues. There are a number of tax breaks but you will likely have to invest in a CPA to assist with this. The IRS is not an entity that will make very many mistakes so keep this in mind during tax season. 

Personal Spending of Investor Money 

There are so many stories of how investor money has been spent unwisely. This is not illegal although it can put an entrepreneur on an investor blacklist in a particular industry. You do not want to have to get a federal crime attorney due to breaking laws across state lines. Setting up meticulous systems to track the spending of the company is important. These might seem tedious at first but will be a lifesaver during tax season.

Fraud 

Fraud could be misrepresenting services or products. Products that are supposed to be sourced from one country but are knowingly purchased from another is a perfect example of fraud. There are some entrepreneurs that try to take shortcuts when it comes to product parts. There are certain countries that are not known for quality products but are far cheaper than buying them domestically. Fraud takes so many forms that it is important to be transparent with investors, employees, and management. 

Civil Issues Are Still A Huge Risk 

Criminal issues can be eliminated by simply having a compliance professional on your team. There are still going to be issues with terminated employees no matter how generous you have been in the past. Discrimination could be claimed and this is why it is important to document everything throughout all the employment of an individual. HR professionals can be a huge help as they understand what needs to be done to protect the company legally. Getting the right business insurance is important as the last thing you want is an accident to lead to the business closing. 

Criminal risks when you are an entrepreneur do exist whether you are using your own money to fund the business or not. Restrictions on businesses could increase so make sure you stay updated with all of this information going forward.

The freelance industry is extremely healthy with a number of people earning additional money in combination with their full-time income. Others have taken the leap of faith into freelancing full-time which can be stressful for some. You now only rely on yourself for your income whether it is selling your services or completing the actual work. Earning is not as difficult as many people would imagine if you are willing to slowly build up your hourly or per project rate. Below are tips to help you maximize your income when starting your freelance career up.

Don’t Quit Your Full-Time Job Yet!

Building up a consistent client base is going to be important during the infancy of your freelance career. Upwork is a great freelancer platform that helps connect clients and freelancers. Building up your reputation will allow you to ask for more hourly or per project. Driving up your rates is important before making any type of big decision on leaving your full-time job. There are some people that find that the extra work is something they enjoy as they directly profit from their time. You are truly paid for your performance freelancing which isn’t always the case at a traditional job. 

Be Detailed in Proposals For Gigs You Want 

You might enjoy writing about a specific topic or designing a webpage for a certain type of company. Being detailed about your experience is imperative but make sure you stay concise simultaneously. When working on a platform like Upwork, you will be asked specific questions about your previous successes. Others will ask for samples of your work or reviews from clients. Getting a few gigs that you truly enjoy can allow you to look forward to doing some work. If you have previous experience as a handyman and skills as a writer, you can write with authority on the topic. You could write up immensely detailed landing pages for cracked hole repair in Denver or any other large city. 

Understand That Jobs With Extremely Tight Deadlines Can Pay Well

Clients flock to Upwork to get things done at the last minute as another contractor has disappeared right before a deadline. A client asking for rushed content writing or a tight design deadline should be charged more than your usual rate. You will be pushing your current client’s work back where possible to complete this. Taking on large amounts of this work can lead to multiple long days of work in a row. The beauty of this is that working a few 15-hour days on projects at premium rates can allow you to take a few days off. Motivation is easy to maintain when you are earning more in income than you ever have while adding the freedom to work from anywhere. 

Understand You Need a Home Office 

A home office is going to be extremely important as you will be distracted if you do not live alone. Being able to knock out hours of work at a time can help maximize your work-life balance. Distractions might lead you to work longer hours while getting less done in terms of productivity. For those that work on a per project basis which is recommended for productive freelancers, this can drive up your income immensely. 

Earning a great income while working from home is the dream for a number of individuals. Stay motivated and maintain a work-life balance to avoid burnout. Long hours can be required but this need decreases as your rates skyrocket over time.

The world was turned upside down by COVID-19 leading a number of people to work remotely. Others might have lost their jobs and turned to freelance writing work to stay afloat financially. The truth is that a freelance writer can earn a healthy income if they dedicate their time to writing. Long hours are usually required to get a freelance writing business off of the ground. Taking on too much work does happen as a writer would rather have too much work then not enough. Freelance writers understand that a client might not need content for a few months a year which opens up their time. Below are tips to start a successful freelance writing business in 2021. 

A Home Office Can Completely Change Your Work Output 

The misconception that you can work around the house remains prevalent. This might be possible if you live alone but for those with a family, you are asking to get distracted. You want to be able to knock out large amounts of work in short periods of time to maximize your income. A home office is going to be essential to do this so you can achieve that work-life balance. You might have extra room on your property where you can have a shed or detached garage constructed. Finding quality sheds for sale in Fayetteville is easy if you stop by Shed Depot or visit their website. You might find that sheds can be an extremely versatile space that you won’t regret investing in. 

Hone Your Writing Skills While Getting Paid 

The beauty of any form of art is that you can improve over time with practice. This means that you might be charging a certain price for a piece of content that will eventually increase. For those writers that have expert knowledge of a topic, you can earn immense amounts of money for a single piece of content. A writer that has done technical medical writing in the past will have a steady flow of work coming in. Getting feedback on your work and utilizing writing apps online will allow you to improve the quality of writing you send to clients. 

Create Contracts For Clients 

Freelancers and even small businesses have trouble collecting money from clients from time to time. Creating contracts for clients that detail the payment schedule and methods acceptable is imperative. Adding interest or a fine for each day that a payment is late after a week is an option. As a writer, you respect the client enough to hit their deadlines so they need to hit your payment deadlines. Dropping clients that are always a nightmare when it comes to payment is an option. Charging these clients more for a project is another way to profit more from the stress the client creates. New clients need to have strict payment terms as it is common for a client to disappear after an introductory project. 

Take the time to establish a business plan for your freelance writing business. Create a checklist to make sure you set yourself up for success for years to come.

Running a business can be stressful as managing a number of employees takes experience. Pushing employees to become more productive has to be done carefully. The last thing that you want is top employees to experience burnout due to expectations that are unrealistic. Creating an office environment where employees have fun while being highly productive will take time. You need to foster an environment of working hard but also enjoying what you do. Constantly reprimanding staff can lead employees to look elsewhere for a job. Employee retention staying at high levels is important as training new employees takes time and money. The new employee might not work out long-term while you already know the potential of current staff. The following are tips to create an office environment that drives productivity to new highs. 

Providing Lunch Can Work Wonders

Perks at a job can allow employees to feel truly appreciated. Providing lunch once a week can be a great way to build a team that enjoys the company of one another. Make sure this is not an unhealthy lunch as you might see a drastic drop in productivity after lunch. People that are recent graduates or have a lot of student debt will really appreciate this. This is not something that you should have to do daily but once a week should be enough. 

Remote Work Opportunities For Top Producers

Top performers should be able to work from home one or two days a week. You want these employees in the office as they can act as a great example to others. Top performers can also help train people that might be struggling to hit their productivity goals. Full-time remote work is an option for long-term employees as you do not want to lose an employee to another company that is offering a full-time remote position. 

Revamp The Office as a Whole 

Doing a few renovations to the current office space can truly make a difference. Employing professional services like ‘Office Cleaning Services Cambridge‘ can contribute significantly to this overhaul. Something as small as doing bathroom refinishing can make the restrooms as good as new. A fresh coat of paint in a vibrant color can change the energy in the office. Getting rid of cubicles is also important as a number of people dread sitting in this type of space all day. The collaboration in the office will also increase with the elimination of cubicles as communication can be seamless. 

Holiday In-Office Parties

Being able to take a few hours to celebrate holidays is important. This can help build rapport among staff and can be fun. Holiday parties outside of the office at times feel required. A Halloween party is a great example as it can be fun to have a costume contest. Make sure employees are given realistic weekly goals for these weeks as the party could cause more stress than it is fun otherwise. Cookoffs are another event that can break the monotony of the office. 

Creating an office environment that stresses productivity and fun is important. Most top employees will not look elsewhere if they love their job and those that they work with.