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.

February
5, 2021

4 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Although it is true that the pandemic has truncated opportunities for many, it must be recognized that it has also provided them to begin to do things differently, and learn to value strongly the most important asset that every company has: its employees.

We must never forget that a company is due to the effort, work and talent of those who make it possible for the different processes of the organization to be a reality.

Seeking the well-being of employees was an expectation for many, today companies are realizing that it is a “duty”, since generating structures that promote happiness and well-being in employees brings infinite benefits to any organization.

If a company maintains its strengths and never stops implementing good practices to achieve the happiness and well-being of its employees, it will generate trust, positive emotions and commitment in them. Let us remember the heliotropic effect of Kim Cameron, where he explains it clearly, by nature all living beings tend to go towards the light, towards a positive energy; and get away from the dark, negative energy.

What people need to flourish is precisely that light, that is the main ingredient that every organization requires for its successful growth, to preserve its garden of beautiful living flowers.

But it is not only that, the profiles of the employees also have interference to determine the environment or climate at work. We must pay maximum attention that they have well-established values such as empathy, compassion, honesty, tolerance, loyalty, among others. These soft skills are what will form an organization that alone, without planning, will help humanity.

In this life many times we have heard the phrase “You have to lead by example”, and it is true! If an organization has leaders who generate optimism, positive emotions, ideas to contribute, not to fulfill, in their work team, they will have greater success in their tasks or tasks.

Optimism has been shown to lead to higher learning and performance. The reason is, if you believe or think that you will do well, you will try harder.

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At Duke University, a couple of economists proved that optimistic people work longer hours, are more persistent, and end up making more money.

It is necessary to be clear that it is the responsibility of all the leaders of the organizations to attend to the psychosocial component of the behavior of the people who make it up, since organizational well-being is directly related to economic results, conflict management, customer satisfaction, and the achievement of organizational efficiency.

Organizational wellness

A company that demonstrates organizational well-being has significant competitive advantages, for example:

+ 300% Innovation -44% Diseases

+ 44% Sales -51% Turnover

+ 31% Productivity -125% Burnout

+ 37% Retention

But not only that, having a healthy and harmonious work environment allows business processes to flow, goals to be achieved in the shortest time and in the best way, the reputation of the company is benefited, because when the employee feels cared for the same, he will spread the word with his relatives.

To achieve organizational success, it is necessary to implement an organizational wellness and happiness strategy that contributes to aligning the business with strategic objectives and HR initiatives. Let us remember that well-being is a personal and collective responsibility for continuous improvement in organizations.

Boost the happiness of organizations

For more than five years LIVE 13.5 ° has offered consulting to various organizations under a complete and humane methodology. With it, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and financial balance is sought in people, which contributes to generating happy and productive organizations.

Large transnational companies such as Coca Cola Femsa, Natura, Danone, Starbucks, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, UPS, Cirsa, Santander, Chopo, Unicef, MetLife, Expansión, Kuehne + Nagel, among many more, have been participants in the experiences and certifications that offers LIVE 13.5 ° as consultancies in happiness and HR, training and integration events to form happier, productive, healthy and positive work teams.

It is time to listen and carefully observe the context that we are living, from all its angles, don’t you think that it is crying out for us to be better human beings and to do something for society itself?

It is necessary to start the year well, be more empathetic with what surrounds us, identify the observable behaviors that generate positive results and implement good practices.

Let’s find, work and promote that well-being of our second home, work.

February
5, 2021

5 min read

We changed, employers changed, and work itself changed. According to a survey by the human resources consultancy Mercer, 83% of employers in Latin America will continue to work remotely, once the pandemic is controlled. Additionally, for the National Association for Business Economics, in the United States, it is estimated that 80% of companies maintain their operations under the same conditions.

This implies that companies are assimilating the new labor paradigm and also opens up a great opportunity for all those who carry out activities virtually. Professionals dedicated to programming and software development have already seen a growth in demand thanks to the virtualization of the working day, so they can find offers around the world, with just a click. But how do you get these kinds of jobs?

The growth of remote job opportunities led experts in the field to develop tools that help people understand this new way of working. One of them is Alexander Torrenegra, investor, Colombian businessman and shark of Shark Tank, the reality show of the Sony channel. Torrenegra set out to facilitate the meeting between employers, especially from North America and Latin American talent. This is how Torre was born, a platform in which Latino talent can access job offers beyond its borders, facilitating entry in international currency and expanding the labor market.

With more than a million people registered in just over a year since its creation, Torre uses Artificial Intelligence to generate successful recruits and organize hundreds of data from the profiles of each professional.

“All you need to work anywhere is a good internet connection and a computer. In addition, with platforms like Torre, you can find opportunities according to the level of income, skills, and even the professional culture of each one. Along with this, users can decide whether they are looking for a freelance job, full time or an internship ”, highlights the Colombian businessman.

How does it work? At Torre, you just create a profile with information that nurtures the “professional genome” of each person. This is like the work DNA of each person, with hundreds of data that gather skills, strengths, weaknesses and experiences; a much more complete resume and in total control of the applicants. This will serve to make the perfect match between the talent and the needs of each company. In addition to the support and service of this platform, there are other elements to take into account to be successful working remotely.

Have structure and organization

Offering services in a company that is located in a different country may require more planning, as you may work different hours. From the start, acquiring responsibility from a distance demands a great sense of organization and responsibility to accomplish tasks. By having a structure and complying with the established times you can not only guarantee more success, but also help to find more and better opportunities in remote work management platforms.

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Master other languages

If the interest is in working for companies in the United States, it is necessary to have a good command of English. This will facilitate communication with employers and open the possibility of having better job offers. The constant practice and knowledge of other languages will be a vital aspect to obtain jobs in different countries.

Acquisition of new skills

“Remote workers are self-taught and curious. They are always looking for new knowledge to overcome day-to-day obstacles and nurture their curriculum, in order to become more attractive to different global companies seeking remote talent, ”adds Torrenegra. Currently, there are many online learning platforms that facilitate the acquisition of new tools that will serve to diversify the skills offered on search sites like Torre.

Use of technological tools

To organize time and tasks, as well as income received, different available digital platforms can be used to make remote work more efficient. A person who works online must take advantage of the entire range of tools that exists on the internet. This is a fundamental characteristic of remote workers: being friendly with technology, since many of the employers they can find will give access to workspaces such as Slack, Drive, Calendly, among others.

“The pandemic erased the borders when it comes to working, especially for those professions that concentrate all their activities on the use of the computer, such as programming and software development. For them, the world opened up, giving them the possibility of living in Latin America, but working, for example, with the United States with pay in dollars ”, Torrenegra concludes.

February
5, 2021

7 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The pandemic changes the way consumers behave in all aspects of their lives. As they took refuge in their homes, they adopted new digital services at a dizzying rate. In addition to the growing health and hygiene concerns, the economic recession and the related decline in consumption , the change in people’s lives is staggering.

1. At home

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During the confinement, the house became a multi-universe. It is where various activities such as working, eating, playing and connecting with family and friends take place. Although general consumption decreases, the part allocated for the categories at home increases. Throughout the months of social isolation, the net intention of consumers to participate in a variety of activities at home changes, increasing cooking by 54%, home entertainment from 30% to 40%, and home entertainment by 22%. home improvement. The changes are similar around the world.

2. Shopping

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In general, consumption will decrease. A 17% drop in private consumption is expected as a global average in the next two years, with a recovery to pre-crisis levels only for 2023-24. Purchases change in all categories. One syntax is more basic products and less luxury: “less cosmetics and more flour.” A strong preference for global A brands was detected. After years of growth, consumption outside the home almost disappeared and many stopped going to the stores altogether. In many markets, the rise of e-commerce equates to several years of growth in just a few months.

3. Work

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For many workers, the office is now in the living room. For those who can still work during the pandemic, the work is largely remote and digital, with a sharp uptick in the use of digital collaboration tools. Zoom’s daily user base grew from 10 million people to 200 million in three months, and customers who pay team communication tools like Slack, for example, doubled. There is a high unemployment rate in the world.

4. Health and wellness

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Public health and uncertainty about the duration of the pandemic became the main concerns for consumers during lockdown, with 68% saying they were very concerned. Here, too, digital plays a larger role as the use of electronic pharmacy and electronic medicine accelerates. Of consumers who had to cancel medical appointments during lockdown, 44% accessed telehealth options, and online searches for telemedicine increased more than ninefold.

5. Education and learning

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Learning and study became virtual. The adoption of new tools was promoted. The user base for remote learning services grew 120%. The shift in learning from outside the home to indoors blurred the lines between learning and leisure.

6. Entertainment

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Consumers are spending less money on their entertainment as the trend toward digital options accelerates. Game app downloads increased more than 30% while 45% of consumers report using more online streaming services at home. Popular out-of-home activities are trying to adapt to this new reality and Nascar and NBA launch product offerings online while cultural centers like the J. Paul Getty Museum create virtual tours, and streaming performances like the one in Metropolitan Opera.

7. Travel and mobility

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Consumers are staying home in droves. Tourism takes place almost entirely on land. Air travel is down 90% overall. At the same time, there is an emerging preference to avoid public transportation and high-density transit hubs, lowering consumer demand on the go. While international travel could take years to recover to pre-crisis supply and demand levels, domestic travel could increase much sooner as consumers start their summer vacation.

8. Communication and information

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In general, media consumption is increasing on almost all channels. 43% of consumers watch more television, 40% use more social networks and 28% listen to more radio. The online news reader increased 39%. What is not winning? Print media, where the ongoing decline slows with a 33% drop in readership.

In the new normal, nothing is uniform

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While a new digital world is portending in general, the pace at which we reach the next normal, and the routes we take to get there, will not be uniform. The behavior changes are likely to continue for the next six to 24 months, with frequent starts, stops and restarts.

Whether the new behaviors fade or last in the next normal will depend on a series of factors, among which the experiences of the consumer, country, consumer segment and values stand out.

A) Consumer experience. How attractive and satisfying the consumer behaviors they displace are will determine how long they stay in the market. Even if they become permanent or not.

B) Country. Although the trends are similar across countries, their strength varies. In general, we see that four country archetypes emerge:

• Temporary setback. In China, the economic impact of COVID-19 is likely to be just one more bump in the road, so trends such as downward trade or declining discretionary spending will be less intense than elsewhere.
• A great impact. In developed countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, the economic impact is great. Similar to the Great Recession of 2008-09, we expect to see large long-term cuts in consumer discretionary spending and a significant number of operations will be reduced.
• Big shock , less digital adoption. In the developed countries of continental Europe, such as France, Germany, Italy and Spain, the economic impact will be as great as in the United Kingdom and the United States, leading to a decrease in discretionary spending. Furthermore, countries with companies that depend on foreign tourism revenue, such as high fashion stores in Paris or Rome, will suffer disproportionately.
• Digital acceleration. The impact on developing markets such as India and Brazil is less clear and will largely depend on how well these countries manage the crisis in the months to come. However, COVID-19 is very likely to accelerate the trend towards digital, albeit from a low base.

C) Consumer segment. Consumers generally adopt new behaviors but there are significant socioeconomic status and generational differences.

D) Values. Behaviors driven by personal values, such as sustainability or a desire for personal interaction, can vary in their long-term adoption rates between countries and regions, depending on local infrastructure and other conditions.

February
4, 2021

5 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

No matter how sustained it is, any business needs innovation. Sectors such as consumer electronics (entertainment and communication), for example, know that if it is not presented at least every six months, its permanence may be threatened.

And it applies to brands or companies of all types and sizes. Even the already consolidated SMEs require new ideas, or renew their products or services to stay in the minds of consumers, always eager for the new who, if they do not find it in your offer, will turn to the competition.

Antonio Ono, Vice President of Innovation and Analysis at Great Place to Work®, talks that there are different tools to know if innovation is present in your business.

Market studies, brainstorming (to evaluate the involvement of your people) or establishing a research and development department where those who devise an innovative product or service are concentrated, is common.

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But for it to work, you want to have an organizational culture that encourages innovation. From all levels and in all jobs. It does not matter who proposes it, or from what area, but that the proposal is there for everyone.

Kodak, as you may recall, had a very, very expensive time ignoring the engineer who came to propose to review the digital camera issue. The company’s organizational culture was not yet designed for innovation.

But innovation does not happen by spontaneous generation either.

Based on the Great Place to Work ® For All model, Antonio Ono states that it is more likely to occur when:

• You work closely with people.
• If the leader is open to listening.
• If humility is shown to attend to what someone, whoever it is, needs to share.

Otherwise, your collaborators will learn to be silent or will take their proposals to another place where they do want to pay attention to them.

Jump out of the frame

The first key is to break paradigms. Yes, those that you learned at work, in university classrooms and in the experience itself. When things are taken for granted, the mind conditions itself and sets itself up or pretexts that prevent it from seeing new horizons.

The second key is if you initially think that an idea is too primal, naive or silly, you are making the first mistake to attract innovation.

By underestimating the proposals of your people, you will end up with the confidence they may have to share them. Remember that trust is something that is built over time but, if not taken care of, it can be lost in minutes.

The third key is to formalize the practice so that your team presents ideas in the meetings by area, every so often, and listen carefully to what someone wants to say to you.

Antonio Ono ensures that the best proposals are born when you connect people from all areas, from all levels and hierarchies, not just from market research or senior management.

Salesperson can communicate to technology what they have heard from their customers about the product; parcel can suggest to logistics how to design a better delivery route and so on.

Be the promoter

It is not enough that you open a forum for everyone to contribute ideas. Your leadership skills must reach you to inspire people to participate, humbly thank and find ways to recognize your collaborators.

Innovation stays alive. So when your idea is giving good results is the warning that you should look for a new one.

Antonio Ono, from the research of the Great Place to Work® institute, describes the five barriers that arise for innovation in companies.

• Labor terrorism . It occurs in authoritarian organizations, where the focus is on numbers; people live in constant anxiety, with no incentive to propose.
• Gaps in purpose . If employees do not feel part of the company, the mission and the vision, they will practically feel excluded from the innovation.
• To demand disproportionately . If people do not have the necessary tools and resources to do their tasks, they will hardly want to participate in any innovation.
• Neglecting your managers. Area leaders drive innovation, but if they are overwhelmed by management, feel neglected or poorly supported, they will hardly be able to pay attention to innovation.
• Stagnant minds. When people feel that they no longer have the capacity to grow professionally, they stagnate, thus blocking any attempt to contribute new ideas.

Open a trusted channel with all your necessary leadership skills: acknowledge, collaborate, appreciate and be humble. Open the door to innovation.

February
3, 2021

7 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Would you introduce yourself to a client without bathing, without combing or with shoes in two different colors? The way you write your email is part of your extended image , just like your social networks, your car, your office or the background of your Zoom meeting. They say a lot about you, and make a favorable or unfavorable impression that can result in different attitudes and results.

Take the number 236 and then add nine zeros. It’s a gigantic number: 236,000’000,000. Two hundred thirty-six billion emails are sent every day around the world. The vast majority of these are business emails.

But not all emails are the same. Some are better than others – they are well written and serve their purpose effectively and elegantly.

How many emails do you write per day? How many do you get? Do you want to take your emails to the next level?

1. The “issue” matters

In most emails, we develop the content and only think about the “subject” or title of the email until the end. The amount of emails with definitely boring, generic or useless subjects is impressive.

The subject is the first thing the person receiving the email sees: it is what is in their inbox and what helps them decide whether to read that email in the moment, leave it for later or, outright, send it to the trash can.

Avoid generic titles like “hello” or “I hope this interests you.” Whether it’s for clients or partners, prefer a title that talks about content without being highly technical. Do not write either: “Subject: P 44518 11/21/2020”

Instead, write: “Subject: South grid budget, November 21, 2020”, or “Work plan, Madrid trip”, or “Promotions for printing, July 2021.”

Think short, clear, informative, and engaging. Don’t leave it to chance!

2. Greeting and farewell

E-mail is done digitally, but it is still, at its core, a message between two people, two human beings who like to be treated as such. The least we expect – and rightly so! – is a friendly and personalized greeting and farewell.

Avoid generic greetings, which “feel” forced or said in a hurry. Whenever you can, address the recipient by their first name, saving, if applicable, the protocols and titles: doctor, teacher, professor, etc.

The farewell, like the entrance, should set the human and cordial tone without abusing clichés and clichés. You can add some personal detail (“Say hello to Marcia, your wife”, or “I hope you are getting comfortable in Monterrey”) that generates a greater connection and greater trust.

Today’s networks are created and reinforced with each message. Take advantage of each email to connect with people; not just to convey information or get out of trouble.

3. Get to the point!

That said, emails are not made to convey huge amounts of information. Nobody wants to read an entire novel in their inbox, or on their cell phone between meetings!

Keep the content short and to the point, using dots or numbers to sort the ideas if necessary. An email should be no more than two or three paragraphs long. Five? Okay, but no more than that.

If there is more to include in the same shipment, I recommend you keep the content of the text short, and add a document with the complete information: it is easier to print, read and share. Everyone hates excessively long emails; especially if they are part of a longer chain.

Never (but never) try to resolve a problem, discussion or complex issue through emails. The written word can never encapsulate the details of a live conversation or, even more, a meeting. In the middle of an argument, written words are easily misunderstood, and in a complex project, the same will happen. Better pick up the phone, fix the problem, and finally send a short email with the agreements reached.

^{Everyone hates excessively long emails / Image: Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk via Unsplash}

4. Find the ideal shade

Remember: a written communication is a mechanical substitute for a real conversation, between two real people, with their real characteristics and circumstances. That is why there is no single correct shade, no single style. You would not talk the same with your boss as with a client, with a friend or with a colleague.

Are you talking about “you” or “you”? Do you greet him formally or with familiarity? Are you overly serious, or too casual? Try to imagine that you are in the same room, how would you do it then? Try to imagine what information he would need and find the best way to say it. And of course: say it well.

Bad spelling is bad business breath. No one will tell you, but trust me: everyone notices.

By the way: an email is not an SMS. An email does not admit misspellings or simplified language (at least, not in a business environment). Take care of your spelling and syntax: write correctly and completely and save the emojis and contractions for another time. Completely avoid WRITING WITH CAPITAL LETTERS and do not abuse the exclamation marks !!!!!!!!!!

5. Always reread your email

Oh, how much trouble we could avoid if people reread what they just wrote! Not only to correct the spelling or complete what is missing, but above all to understand if the message makes sense , that is, if it is clear and concise in all its points.

In important emails, I recommend that you read the email aloud , to “prune” the text and eliminate the too confusing, long or unnecessary parts. Sometimes, for the sake of looking “formal,” we overcomplicate things that may be simple.

Nine times out of ten, a new read before sending will help you find areas for improvement and (sure!) Embarrassing mistakes that would look terrible on your customer’s tray.

By last…

6. Don’t forget to attach the files!

It’s a bit … amateur , don’t you think?