Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It is a statistical fact: the most successful men in the world read and read a lot.

Bill Gates reads 50 books a year. Mark Zuckerberg at least one every two weeks (25 per year). Warren Buffet reads between 500 and 1000 pages a day from the age of eighteen. Elon Musk doesn’t keep an account, but he’s an avid reader; When asked how he learned to build rockets, he replied: “I read books.” Oprah Winfrey founded a book club that discusses one book a month and has millions of members.

Steve Siebold , a billionaire who has interviewed more than 1,200 millionaire and successful people, says there is a hobby that 100% of them share. It is not the golf, it is not the cars, it is not the mansions. You guessed it: everyone reads . And a lot.

Bill Gates always reads on paper. Richard Branson is a fan of the Kindle. Stephen King enjoys audiobooks. Are there differences? Many. Does it matter? In the end, no.
Nelson Mandela had to defend his right to read in court while he was in prison for twenty-four years. He didn’t ask for better food, television, or pillows; but books. Carlos Slim is a passionate reader of biographies and finances; Bill Gates enjoys books about the future; Barack Obama reads classics and history. Zuckerberg is a science fiction reader. Branson loves memories of great men and self-help. Everyone has their favorites: don’t feel obligated to read what others want. Read what you are passionate about and make you grow.

There is no doubt: the most successful men in the world read. It’s one of their definitive habits: they don’t read just for entertainment, but above all to learn and keep growing. They put aside the fad novel or the gossip magazine and look for something they are passionate about – and they keep learning.

From “education” to “self-education”

We have heard many – but many, many times – “Education is going to change Mexico .” And it’s true. But we also always imagine that this “education” has to do with governments, unions and educational projects. Actually, for all of us, it has to do with something simpler: what we have on the bureau next to our bed.

Bill Gates puts it very simply: if you had the opportunity to speak for ten minutes with the wisest, most successful, or most brilliant men in history, would you take advantage of it? What would you ask them? Now realize that you can do it, because they wrote what they think. Am I going to let only others take advantage of that wealth? He would have to be crazy.

Every New Year’s bell tolls, millions of people in the world make different resolutions: to run more; eat less; save more… And they are all good purposes. However, he has heard of few people who have set out to READ more .

That is why today I propose it to you. Why wait for the new year? Whether you’ve been kicking the habit or never had it, I’m sure you know that the habit of reading can transform your life in ways you’ve never imagined, expanding your horizon with endless professional, intellectual, and personal possibilities. Maybe you don’t know where to start, or maybe you have a lot of books that you want to read, but you haven’t had time.

Even though I love reading, I realized after the birth of each new child (I have four!) And with a lot of work in the office and at home, that suddenly days and weeks went by without my reading progress. . I had to make the decision to read again. This is what I did.

I propose this challenge to you. The habit of reading is like any other: we must consciously desire it and accustom our body and mind to do it “automatically”. The difficult thing is to start and then… the difficult thing will be to quit.

These are the ten steps of the LEE FIVE MINUTES challenge.

1. CHOOSE A BOOK THAT FITS YOU. It can be a novel or an interesting topic; but it must be a book that has an order and sequence from beginning to end (not a comic, a magazine, or an encyclopedia). The Hobbit serves the same as Little Capitalist Pig . Preferably not too long. If you don’t know where to start, I recommend: The Little Prince , Momo , The Prince and the Beggar or The French Delegate .

2. READ FIVE MINUTES A DAY. No more. Not less. You don’t want to run marathons before running a hundred meters. You will arrive.

3. TRY IT TO BE AT THE SAME TIME. I like to read in bed, before going to sleep; but you choose the time you prefer: after eating; when you arrive at the office or at the time you want. Try to keep it the same time, but if one day you can’t keep your schedule, just READ FIVE MINUTES at some other time.

4. DISCONNECT THOSE FIVE MINUTES. Don’t make the mistake of reading on your smartphone. Better put it in silence and, for a while, disconnect and let yourself be immersed in the book.

5. NEVER, FOR ANY REASON, STOP READING FIVE MINUTES A DAY. Even if you go to bed at one in the morning; even if you are traveling; Even though you’re busy, even if you’re sick I’m absolutely sure that five minutes you get them. For five minutes you are not going to stay up any more or stop doing your job.

6. SHARE YOUR OWN CHALLENGE WITH ANOTHER PERSON. Tell your wife, your mom, or your best friend what you’re doing, or better yet, both of you do it. Help each other not to miss five minutes of each day.

7. IF YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR BOOK, CHANGE IT. It is not punishment: it is an adventure. My usual mark is this: if on page 50 you haven’t caught me, I’ll quit. There are so many books waiting!

8. DO IT FOR THIRTY DAYS. Put a little leaf, if you want, behind the door of your room and mark the days you take away. Every day think what is five minutes? And do it.

9. ON THE THIRTY DAY GIVE YOURSELF A PRIZE, IF YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IT. Agree with your wife or your friend the award and, if you have achieved it, go to the movies or buy yourself that shirt that you love.

10. KEEP AHEAD. What else in the world would you like to discover? Planets, history, insects, politics? Find your favorite topics and authors – they are wonderful veins of culture.

How does it work?

The motor principle is very similar to financial savings. By saving small coins, you soon realize that, little by little, you save a lot. Books, at first, can be dry and seem long. But in reality they are not. On average, a medium book can be read, in a row, in three to four hours. It is very likely that in these thirty days you have read an entire book, almost without realizing it!

It is also very likely that, within a few days, you want to read MORE than five minutes a day. For the first thirty days, try not to read more. Staying with the desire will make you return to reading tomorrow with more emotion.

In the second month it goes up to 10 or 15 minutes. If you do this for a full year, by the end you will have easily read fifteen or twenty books. Once your brain is used to it, you can read for hours without a break and devour entire books in an afternoon. That’s very good. But remember: you will be a reader if you can read at least five minutes each day throughout your life. If you always have a book with you, you will find valuable time while you wait for an appointment or at the restaurant.

Then intersperse fiction books with books on other topics. There are also pages, clubs and spaces where you will find other readers and new recommendations. If you have to spend thousands of dollars and thousands of hours in gyms to maintain your body, isn’t it fair to do the same to exercise your mind?

So tell me do you have five minutes?

Do you read almost nothing today? Start with five minutes a day. Very little? Do you read junk? Don’t worry, but look for things that you are passionate about and get lost for a while. Not sure where to start? Classics are classics for a reason; Or you can also search the internet for lists of books recommended by all the people I mentioned. You have no money? There are literally thousands of sites and libraries where you can get free books. Don’t you like the book you are reading? Close it! There are too many great books to waste time on junk.

Habits become our destiny. Build a habit that allows you to always grow, always learn, and then choose content that will keep you hungry, curious, and passionate. You will see how soon it will be impossible for you to leave it. Welcome to the fifties club.

February
4, 2021

15+ min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Last Updated on February 10 at 6 p.m.

For the average small-business owner, it’s hard enough to understand how to get a piece of the latest round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money, let alone how to access the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC or “Credit”).

In fact, under the CARES Act (the first round of relief signed into law in March of last year), employers were not allowed to obtain both a PPP loan and claim the Credit. Thus, most small-business owners gave up on even learning about or considering the ERTC.

However, under this second round of overall coronavirus aid, business owners are able to get aid from BOTH provisions. Yes, you can tap into the PPP and claim the ERTC!

Thus, the ERTC is a critical provision in the massive 5,500-plus-page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 for small-business owners to understand and possibly utilize.

Which companies qualify?

• Any sole proprietor, limited liability company (LLC), S-Corporation or C-Corporation is eligible, if they meet the additional criteria to qualify.
• Any company with less than 500 employees (Full-Time Equivalent employees, FTE) as of December 2020 may participate in the program and apply for the ERTC. (Previously, only business owners with less 100 employees could participate.)
• In order to claim the Credit, a business must have experienced a decline in gross receipts by more than 20% in any quarter of 2020, compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Related: New Stimulus Bill Includes Second Round of PPP Loans for Small Business and Forgiveness Rule Changes Favorable to Borrowers

The following Diagram illustrates the five steps to compare and calculate if you qualify:

How much is the Credit?

• The credit is 70% of Qualified Wages for the allowed amount, per quarter, paid between January 1, 2021 and before July 1, 2021.
• Each employee’s allowable wage amount is $10,000 per quarter in 2021, excluding any owner and their family member’s payroll with combined ownership in the company of 50% or more (more on this below).
• So, the maximum any employer may receive as a credit per un-related employee in 2021 is $14,000 ($7,000 per quarter). (This does not take into account coordinating this credit with PPP. More on that below.)
• But also, don’t forget about qualified wages paid between March 13 and Dec 31, 2020! The credit is 50% of qualified wages paid during this period, but only up to $10,000 per employee of annual wages paid (more on this below, along with the rules regarding owners and their family members’ payroll amounts).
• Thus, the maximum any employer may receive as a credit per employee in 2020 is $5,000. (More below on the possibility of going back and getting the credit for 2020.)

Example: XYZ Enterprises, LLC (taxed as an S-Corporation) plans to have two full-time employees in 2021 that will each be paid $9,180 ($18 an hour) during first and second quarter of 2021, including three part-time employees in the first quarter and five part-time employees in the second quarter that will each be paid $3,060 ($12 an hour) a quarter. The Corp will pay health-insurance premiums for the two full-time employees, pre-tax, of $500 per month, or $3,000 per quarter for both of them combined. Thus, total Qualifying Wages of the employees and the calculation for the ERTC is set forth below in Table 1 as follows:

* More below on how this amount works in conjunction with the PPP, and if an employer can go back to 2020.

What payroll is considered Qualifying Wages for the ERTC?

Qualifying Wages is a critical term to understand, in addition to what it includes when calculating the ERTC. It’s more than just gross pay. First, Qualifying Wages includes both full-time and part-time employees’ payroll amounts.

Next, you are allowed to add any qualified health plan expenses/premiums you paid on behalf of the employee to this figure. This generally includes both the portion of the health-insurance cost paid by the employer and the portion of the cost paid by the employee with pre-tax salary-reduction contributions.

However, the qualified health plan expenses do not include amounts that the employee paid for with after-tax contributions. More here at the IRS website on how to determine and calculate Qualifying Wages.

Can you the Owner get the Credit for your personal payroll or profit?

This is the golden question, isn’t it? Regrettably, the answer is somewhat in a gray area. All we know regarding this particular detail comes from the IRS.gov Newsroom and the FAQ section regarding the ERTC.  

For sole proprietors, the answer is no. The IRS in FAQ #23 makes it clear that they are not going to allow the ERTC for sole proprietors under their interpretation of the CARES Act. They also clearly state that the FAQ section has not been updated under the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, enacted December 27, 2020. Most professionals agree that the new legislation doesn’t change the rule for sole proprietors.

However, FAQ #23 does not address corporations, or more specifically, S-Corporation owners. In fact, FAQ #59 states that S-Corporations are allowed to take the ERTC for their employees (assuming the business owner complies with all the other rules, including not claiming payroll for the ERTC that was covered with PPP money).

FAQ #59 further states that payroll for “related individuals” of the S-Corporation owners cannot be used for calculating the ERTC. However, it conspicuously does not state that the “owner” is considered a related individual.

So, when it comes to the action owners of S-Corporations holding 50% or more of the stock, the safe bet is to consider them a “related individual,” and thus the owner cannot receive the ERTC on their own payroll. This cautious interpretation would fall in line with other rules in the code regarding self-dealing or prohibited transactions (i.e. Section 1372 of the Internal Revenue Code requires that 2% or greater shareholders be treated as partners in a partnership for this purpose, making them self-employed individuals instead of employees).

Thus, for purposes of this article and the advice we are giving our clients, until we see definitive guidance and a stance from the IRC on the issue of payroll for owners of an S-Corporation owning 50% or more of the entity, we would not claim the ERTC on their wages.

But what we do know, according to IRS FAQ #59, any and all payroll for a “related individual” cannot be used in determining the allowable ERTC in 2020 or 2021. These individuals include any of the following with a relationship to an owner of the company who owns 50% or more in value of the outstanding stock:

• A child or a descendant of a child;
• A brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister;
• The father or mother, or an ancestor of either;
• A stepfather or stepmother;
• A niece or nephew;
• An aunt or uncle;
• A son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

In summary, if you aren’t employing a third-party unrelated to you personally, it would be advisable not to try and claim the ERTC, even if you meet all of the other qualifications.

What happens if my company had a recovery later in 2020 or 2021?

Finally, be aware that if your company actually had a significant business recovery before the end of the 2020 or has one in 2021, your eligibility for the ERTC may end.

Under the new Covid law, a business owner is no longer allowed to take the ERTC in the quarter immediately following a quarter where their quarter gross receipts exceed 80% compared to the same calendar quarter the year before.

For example: If a business has a 2020 second quarter where revenue is down 33% compared to the same quarter in 2019, the business qualifies for the ERTC in first and second quarter of 2020 and would continue to qualify for the rest of the year. However, in fourth quarter, revenue in the business is up by 82% compared to the same quarter in 2019. At this point, the company no longer qualifies for the ERTC in fourth quarter 2020. In fact, the company only qualifies up to the point where sales increased above the 80% threshold and is limited to claiming the ERTC for qualified wages in first, second and third quarter 2020. See the following illustration Diagram 3.

Additionally, this same rule applies into the first and second quarter of 2021. Thus, if you have a dramatic upturn in sales (80% rule) in second quarter 2021 compared to second quarter 2020, then your eligibility for the ERTC would end with first quarter 2021.

How does the ERTC work with PPP?

The good news is (and it’s significan), under the new legislation, business owners are entitled to both the first and second round of PPP and the ERTC. However, PPP funds and ERTC cannot be used to cover the same payroll costs. But all is not lost; it just gets tricky.

If a business owner plans carefully and does good record keeping and accounting, they should be able to maximize the benefits of both PPP and ERTC, creating thousands of dollars in tax-free money!

First, let’s assume a business owner qualifies for the second round of PPP under the new 25%-reduction-in-sales rule. 

Next, since the threshold to qualify for the ERTC is lower than that of the PPP (a 20% rule), it’s then obvious the business owner would thus qualify for both.

NOTE: Stated otherwise, if a business owner qualifies for PPP under the sales comparison test, then they automatically qualify for the ERTC. They also need to then “coordinate” the two benefits in taking advantage of them both to the greatest extent possible.

In order to exploit both benefits, it’s important the business owner take into account the following points and then a three-step strategy:

• The application deadline for the latest round of PPP is March 31, 2021. (It might behoove a business owner to delay applying for PPP up until the deadline in order to maximize their ERTC benefit.)
• Remember, 40% of PPP monies can be used for items other than payroll, such as mortgage interest, rent, utilities, worker protection costs related to Covid-19, uninsured property damage costs caused by looting or vandalism during 2020 and certain supplier costs and expenses for operations. (Thus, it’s critical to use no more than the 60% of PPP money for payroll since those payroll dollars can’t be used for the ERTC).
• Next, PPP money must be spent on payroll and qualified expenses over 24 weeks from the day the disbursement is received. This is referred to as the ‘”Covered Period.” (A business owner will more than likely want to use every week of this period rather than spend the PPP money quickly, in order to get the most out of the ERTC.)  
• Finally, keep in mind that the ERTC is up to 70% of $10,000 of qualified wages paid to each employee in each of first and second quarter 2021 only — not in third or fourth quarter. (However, PPP money can be spent in third and fourth quarter because of the 24-week period.)

Strategy:

1. The business owner should only used 60% of their PPP funds for payroll (if possible) and the rest on qualified expenses.
2. Next, they should spread out the PPP money used for payroll as long as possible (within the 24-week period), and if they haven’t already applied for the PPP, maybe wait until the end of March, but not miss the application deadline.
3. Then, the business owner should max out the ERTC credit in the first and second quarter with payroll expenses not used with PPP money.

Here is an example to illustrate how this strategy could potentially be used.

For example: Assume a business owner (not in the accommodation or food service industry) qualifies for both the second round of PPP and the ERTC. They receive $80,000 in PPP funds on February 1, 2021. Presumably, since they received $80,000 in PPP funds, their average monthly payroll would have been $32,000 ($80,000/2.5). Their 24-week Covered Period would also then be from February 1–July 19, 2021. Further, we want to assume that the business owner has the ability to spend 40% of their PPP money on other expenses than payroll. This would require that only $48,000 (of the $80,000) must be spent on payroll over the 24-week period. Thus, the business needs to spend approximately $8,000 a month on payroll out of the PPP money over that period. If it can meet this minimum, then the entire PPP loan should be forgiven. Finally, we need to know the number of employees and their expected payroll over the time period they are eligible for the ERTC and need to spend the PPP money. See the table of employees below (Table #2) and the diagram of allocating payroll during the time periods (Diagram #3).  

I think it’s important to recognize that placing any PPP monies received into a separate bank account and carefully tracking what expenses they are used for is absolutely critical to staying out of hot water in a potential audit.

Also, one last nuance to keep in mind when coordinating the payroll expenses for PPP and the ERTC: Qualified Wages include payroll costs for group health-care benefits paid pre-tax by employees, such as the employee share of their health-care premium. Moreover, ERTC guidelines do not prohibit including in Qualified Wages expenses accelerated for group health benefits paid in first or second quarter. These are different rules compared to the PPP program and need to be taken into account when calculating which payroll costs for the ERTC and which ones are paid for with PPP money.

Can a business owner go back and claim the ERTC for 2020 if they didn’t already do so?

How do I receive this credit?

Let me first start by stating what you don’t do to get this credit:

• You don’t apply through your bank.
• It has nothing to do with your PPP application process.
• You don’t apply through the Small Business Administration (SBA).
• You don’t even send the IRS a specific application for the ERTC (unless requesting an advance).

The ERTC is a refundable tax credit that is typically claimed when eligible employers report their total qualified wages for purposes of the ERTC for each calendar quarter on their federal employment tax returns (Form 941: Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return).

However, employers that want to reduce their payroll deposits in anticipation of receiving the credit, or want to receive a payment in advance from the IRS, may submit a Form 7200. This means potentially having the ability to get the tax credit back early in the form of a check from the IRS.

The IRS has a dedicated web page, “How to claim the Employee Retention Credit FAQs,” explaining how and when to file certain forms. Nonetheless, it’s advisable you speak with your tax advisor or payroll company to make sure you coordinate the application and payments, especially if you also plan on utilizing PPP funds.

Presumably, if a business is going to go back and claim the ERTC for 2020, it would need to first determine which payroll was paid for with PPP funds and then calculate which qualifying wages would be eligible.

Next, the business owner would go back and amend the appropriate quarterly Form 941s for 2020 and claim the credit. However, the IRS has not given specific guidance on this procedure.

Related: The IRS Increases 2021 Contribution Limits to SEP IRAs and Solo 401(k)s for Business Owners

In summary, the ERTC is an opportunity for business owners with W-2 wages for employees to obtain some significant help from the government. A business owner should carefully determine if they qualify and seek out professional guidance from their tax return preparer and/or payroll company to make sure the proper forms are filed. Be careful to not leave any money on the table under this new legislation if you can help it. Get involved in the process. You are the captain of your ship!

Mark J. Kohler is a CPA, Attorney, co-host of the Podcast MainStreet Business and author of the The Tax and Legal Playbook- Game Changing Solutions For Your Small Business Questions, 2nd Edition, and  The Business Owner’s Guide to Financial Freedom: What Wall Street isn’t Telling You. He is also a partner at the law firm Kyler Kohler Ostermiller & Sorensen, LLP and the accounting firm K&E CPAs, LLP. 

February
10, 2021

8 min read

Netflix costume drama Bridgerton smashed viewing records and projections when it debuted in December, quickly becoming the streaming service’s most popular original series ever. The first Shonda Rhimes project to come out of her $100 million deal with Netflix, Bridgerton explores the dynamics of courting and marriage in 19th-century England.

Bridgerton’s Christmas Day release was timed perfectly for Netflix viewers who needed an escape — and perhaps something to occupy their time as they spent the holidays alone, or with a smaller group than usual. And what an escape it is: A light, frothy retreat from the real world into a place where an unwed couple walking alone in a garden is enough to set tongues wagging and lead to social downfall. The escapism wouldn’t be complete without Bridgerton’s opulent set designs and costumes: Designer Ellen Mirojnick and her team of 200 were tasked with creating more than 7,500 costumes in five months for the series’ eight episodes.

Netflix could have predicted that Bridgerton would be a hit, but few anticipated it would become a full-blown cultural phenomenon, capable of providing a much-needed boost to the fashion industry. Fashion and retail have been among the industries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic — after all, why get dressed up with nowhere to go?

But months of sitting at home have started to take their toll, and consumers are looking to spice up their sweatpants and slippers uniforms. So where are they looking for inspiration? To the shows that have captured their imaginations for the past 11 months, of course. 

Shopping app LTK compiles images from thousands of influencers’ Instagram feeds, serving as both a way for users to find inspiration and a way for influencers to make a commission when followers buy something they post about. Since Bridgerton’s debut in December, LTK has seen a 1,900% week-over-week increase in people searching for “Bridgerton” fashion, a 25,000% increase in people searching for “nap dresses,” a 3,900% increase in searches for silk dresses, a 1,000% increase in searches for embroidery and a 1,000% increase in searches for corsets. (The show might seem stodgy, but it’s anything but. It is based on a series of bestselling romance novels after all). 

“[This year] saw an unimaginable increase in consumers spending more time indoors than ever before, and they consumed content at record-breaking rates as a result,” says Dave Murray, European managing directory of LTK and its parent company RewardStyle. “With physical retail spaces, pubs, restaurants, and the arts closed, event gatherings canceled, and office attendance minimized, consumers turned to online and streaming content as a primary source of inspiration. In the LTK shopping app, we have seen this mirrored in a dramatic increase in searches for topical trends including interiors and fashion, as well as search terms from TV shows such as Emily in Paris, Sex and the City and Bridgerton.”

The data LTK compiled shows certain search terms spike when a new show is trending. When Emily in Paris debuted in October, searches for houndstooth jackets, the main character’s signature look, increased by 2,900%. When The Queen’s Gambit was all anyone could talk about, searches for 60s style spiked. And when HBO Max announced a Sex and the City reboot was coming, searches for Carrie Bradshaw’s beloved Manolo Blahniks surged by 1,000%.

All this browsing isn’t just for fun, either. According to Google, when searches for Bridgerton were spiking in early January, they were happening in the Google Shopping tab — not the main Google Search tab. That indicates consumers were searching with the intent to actually buy, and both anecdotal and quantitative data from fashion brands supports that.

Take luxury lingerie brand Fleur du Mal for example: In one of its first scenes, Bridgerton features a character being laced into a corset. Starting in December when the show launched, Fleur du Mal saw a 102% increase in people viewing corsets and bra tops on its site, and those searches led to a 30% increase in corset sales starting in December, with multiple items selling out. 

“While many brands saw an uptick in casual styles this year, we were excited to see increased interest in our sexier offerings even before the show was released,” says Fleur du Mal founder and CEO Jennifer Zuccarini. “The success of Bridgerton definitely added momentum, and I think had people fantasizing, in more ways than one, about dressing up and undressing. Our whole team was watching the show, and we often discussed it in our morning marketing calls, so we were following it pretty closely.”

For Afshan Abbas, founder of Seattle-based Fuchsia Shoes, a surprising post-holiday spike in traffic to the site caused her to dig deeper into how people were finding her company’s hand-embroidered flats. “While most of our organic traffic comes from search terms around ethical, sustainable, made-to-order, juttis, or artisan-made shoes, Google Analytics revealed many of our new searches were coming from search terms around embroidered shoes,” she says. “I’d already heard of the show, but I didn’t put two and two together until I noticed a thread about Bridgerton and embroidery in our private Facebook group of core Fuchsia fans.”

Image Credit: Fuchsia Shoes

Fuchsia’s shoes do bear a striking resemblance to the embroidered and beaded clothing Bridgerton heroine Daphne Bridgerton wears throughout the first season, so much so that Abbas decided to produce a limited-edition Bridgerton-inspired pair to build on the momentum. 

“We partner with incredibly talented artisans in Pakistan who use centuries-old techniques to hand-embroider every Fuchsia shoe,” she says. “Every pair of our shoes is made-to-order, so this gives us the flexibility to produce limited quantity batches of shoes and test new designs, textiles and patterns. After studying Bridgerton‘s incredible outfits, we decided to release a shoe inspired by some of Daphne Bridgerton’s dresses. We’re working with our designers to nail down the exact pattern, textiles and colors, but right now we’re looking at a shoe that will have elements of our Crown and Mohagny. It will be ornate, light blue and embellished with pearls and metallic beads. We’ll be releasing this new shoe in about three weeks.”

For other brands, the Bridgerton craze and accompanying surge in sales was simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Hill House Home, a direct-to-consumer home and fashion brand, debuted its line of “nap dresses” in 2019, and they were already wildly popular pre-pandemic. But in an era of Zoom meetings, the polished-yet-comfortable design became the unofficial WFH uniform for a certain group of mostly millennial women. “It’s a dress that you feel really presentable in, and that you can tackle anything in, but that’s still comfortable,” says Hill House Home founder and CEO Nell Diamond. “The nap dress name is a bit of a misnomer. Nobody’s napping — certainly not our customers. I have not had time to nap in years. It’s the idea that the comfort that’s inherent to the nap dress makes it possible for you to theoretically take a nap anytime.”

The Caroline Nap Dress. Image Credit: Emma Craft

An October Wall Street Journal article compared the dresses to the costumes from the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma. That comparison was remarkably prescient: Bridgerton is set in the same era, and searches for nap dress style inspiration on the LTK app in January jumped a whopping 25,000%. 

“Where I really saw the Bridgerton effect was on social media,” Diamond says. “I saw people at home fully doing a dress-up with our product, and that made me so happy. We have this one dress called the Caroline, and it has a high neck and is very Bridgerton. We saw people wearing a headband and the Caroline with a cup of tea in front of their TV just having a night. And I’m like ‘Yes, you deserve it. What a year. Do that.’”

In a stroke of fate, Hill House’s new line of nap dresses, dubbed the English Garden Collection, debuts today. “We definitely love a good floral and proper Regency vibe, but it’s a happy accident,” Diamond says. “I’m not in with Netflix — would love to be, that’d be great.”

February
3, 2021

8 min read

When Medium Rare co-founders and partners Joe Silberzweig and Adam Richman connected with me via Zoom earlier this week, all I could focus on were the palm trees outside the window of their production office in Tampa, Florida. Here in New York, it was snowing several inches per hour and pretty miserable, so my envy was palpable. Still, I wouldn’t have switched places with the duo, who were six days away from the launch of their latest high-stakes, elaborate, live-streaming production, The Shaq Bowl, which is being simulcast over Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch and LiveXLive (among numerous other platforms) from 3-6 p.m. ET this Super Bowl Sunday. 

The event — a successor to last summer’s Shaquille O’Neal and Rob Gronkowski-starring Shaq v. Gronk — boasts multiple major sponsors (Pepsi, Papa John’s, Bacardi, Mercari, etc.) and will feature celebs ranging from Diplo and Tim Tebow to Offset and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre performing and/or competing in intramurals like dogdeball and tug-of-war. Producers Silberzweig and Richman pulled all the threads together and will be watching with fingers crossed that the logistics go off without a hitch.

So it seemed like a good time to catch up with the pair about staging yet another huge spectacle amid the limitations of an ongoing pandemic, as well as the process of courting sponsors otherwise reluctant to make big ad buys this year and hedging their bets that folks want an alternative to what Silberzweig describes as the typical pre-game purgatory of “watching the CBS countdown show with guys in suits, talking football.”

Related: Want Millions of Views for Your Virtual Event? Just Add Shaq and Gronk.

What was it like figuring out how to one-up Shaq vs. Gronk while still being mindful of Covid protocols?

Richman: Yeah, it’s funny you say that, Kenny. Right after Shaq vs. Gronk, which was filmed in Orlando, we went straight to Tampa to come look at venues [for a Super Bowl event] and met with the city and the mayor, thinking we were doing an in-person event. Obviously that wasn’t in the cards. What we’ve realized since Shaq vs. Gronk is how great these live streaming and virtual events can be. Since then we did Black Entrepreneurs Day and the Sports Illustrated Awards. And now with this one we’re like, we never want to do a live event again. I say that half jokingly, but we love the space and the power of it.

Silberzweig: In early December, that’s when we really started sitting down with Shaquille and said, “Listen, We’re not going to be able to do this live and in person. How do we keep the brand alive? It took some time, but we all landed on this realization that there is a true need and actual market opportunity to create a fun Super Bowl countdown show right before kickoff, especially this year when everybody’s at home with no Super Bowl parties and all of that.

What makes a virtual event more operationally manageable?

Richman: With the [in-person] event, there’s so many of these crazy variables: dealing with the permitting process, which is never fun; the weather is not in your control; dealing with the Fire Marshall last year at Shaq’s Fun House. All those curveballs are thrown out the window. Concert promotions have always been one of the riskiest businesses. You book all the talent, you pay for the venue and marketing, and you’re like, “I hope we sell enough tickets and sponsors.” When it comes to broadcasting, we don’t need to start actually laying out costs until we know there’s proof of concept, meaning there’s brands that want to participate. If no sponsors want to come on board for the Shaq Bowl, then we know we’re not going to spend a few million dollars to produce it. If we know that Mercari is interested in presenting and Pepsi wants to do the halftime show, now there’s a certain level of investment and it sort of removes that guessing game and the financial risk.

Image Credit: Medium Rare

Speaking of sponsors, Pepsi was among many big companies that opted out of an in-game ad this year. So did they come to you saying, “Hey, we need to allocate marketing spend differently, and maybe Shaq Bowl is it?”

Silberzweig: You know, I think with Shaq Bowl specifically, we provide a really interesting alternative to the traditional Super Bowl ad, which is priced at $5 million-plus for 30 seconds. What we’re building with Shaq and Gronk is the opportunity for [brands] to activate in a big and experiential and meaningful way with that social component. And obviously our partnership pricing starts well below $5 million. 

Richman: These are the contacts and brands that we would deal with for a festival or live event, and now they’re adapting to come into the broadcast world with us, which is pretty incredible.

The question, then, is how you do all this brand integration while still allowing audiences to enjoy it without feeling barraged with ads and sponsorships?

Richman: Yeah, and look, that’s the balance. It’s really difficult, but obviously the brands want to achieve that, we want to achieve that and, more importantly, Shaq wants to achieve that. He doesn’t want to put something out there like a NASCAR car with sponsors all over it. That’s why we don’t sell commercials or salvage traditional advertising. It’s saying, “Hey, what would be fun?” With Jack Link’s, Joe and I brainstormed for a few days and we’re like, “Their character right now is Sasquatch. What if Sasquatch comes and arm wrestles Shaq? The viewers at home are going to love that. It’s hilarious, it’s fun, and it achieves something really cool and viral for the brand without feeling like you’re watching a commercial for 10 minutes. 

Silberzweig: And if it’s not something that Shaq is going to think is cool, or adds value to the show in mine and Adam’s eyes, we won’t do it.

You guys had backgrounds in promoting live events before launching Shaq vs. Gronk. But when did all these huge brands and celebrities see Medium Rare as a credible production outfit to partner with?

Richman: We’ve built out Medium Rare over the last few years with the live events, but it’s insane that we could pull off for major events for broadcast [since last June]. When we called partners for Shaq vs. Gronk, we convinced them, but it was difficult, and it was a sale, and it was trying to really get them to jump in the pool with us. And the fees have basically doubled from what they were back in June, because partners didn’t know what it was then. There were no metrics. Now we have all this data to point to from the three [previous] events. That made the fourth one an easier sell.

Silberzweig: Black Entrepreneurs Day and the level of press we got on that one was really the proof in the pudding that Medium Rare is a lot more than just a live-event company and is capable of all sorts of things at the moment and can really adjust to figure out how to reimagine these properties in today’s world.

Everyone from MTV to WWE to Animal Planet has plotted Super Bowl counterprogramming over the years. Why are you sure Shaq Bowl will stick? 

Richman: I wouldn’t say we’re looking at it as counter-programming, because we’re really owning that space up until the game. We know at 6:30, you’re not competing with the Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter what you have. It’s actually pretty notorious that three to six [on Super Bowl Sunday] is the worst television programming of the year. We’re not saying the Puppy Bowl’s not steep competition, but you know, with all the celebrity talent and Shaq and the great marketing and press, all of that combined is a recipe to get people’s attention.

Should live-event promoters and venue owners be worrying about their obsolescence? 

Richman: Joe and I were actually talking about this last night. The live-event industry is going to come roaring back. People cannot wait to get out of their house and be with people again. We imagine next year’s Shaq Bowl not only being an unbelievable broadcast, but having 10,000 people in the stands.

Silberzweig: We’re really bullish on the return of live [events]. I think people need that connection. When it’s back, they’ll be back stronger than ever, but for Adam and I, like you mentioned, this has been a blessing. We’ve been working hard and were forced to get creative, and we see broadcast as another vertical of the business, and it should stay that way for a long time.