Recently, I was added to a group chat of single mom entrepreneurs. During our introductions, we all agreed on one thing: the flexibility we gained from running our own companies was key to making single parenting work. 

Whether or not you’re a caregiver, flexible work continues to be in-demand and one of your biggest advantages as a small business. 

McKinsey recently updated its 2022 study on Americans and remote work. TL;DR: we still want it. In particular, 38% of mothers with young children said flexibility is the only reason they’re able to continue in full-time work. Gallup reports 33% of frontline workers would change jobs for remote or hybrid work opportunities. 

BloombergBusinessweek recently reported that many of the gains supporting women in corporate spaces have been lost amid anti-DEI backlash. From that article: “A lot of women want something different in their workplaces,” says Marianne Cooper, a sociologist at Stanford University’s VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab. “They want them to be flexible, fair and inclusive and are willing to vote with their feet.”

How are your feet voting? 

Maybe you’ve started something that gives you that flexibility, or you’re growing your team in a remote or hybrid model to share that flexibility with others. 

It takes some strategic legwork and some extra budget to establish a functional, compliant remote or hybrid work environment. Below is a checklist of operating conversations to have as soon as you can. 

Nexus registrations: nexus can be any state or city where you have W-2 employees or goods (physical nexus) or sales or transactions above a certain level (economic nexus). 

As employees continue to work from their home addresses, remember you may need to register as a business and/or employer in the cities and states where your team lives. You’ll need to update their payroll status to reflect the permanent change of work address. Adding a physical nexus will impact your sales tax collection requirements.

Pay and policy updates: it’s time to refresh your handbook and update policies to reflect your new reality. If you did this in 2021, it’s time for a new look. Check your nexus-based compliance on wages and paid leave. Many cities and states have paid family leave and sick leave minimum policies in place. Overtime rules just changed nationally, and minimum wage and exempt salary can vary town to town. (See my recent newsletter with a summary of  July 1, 2024 changes across the US.) Even generally lawless Florida has a voter-approved annual minimum wage increase periodically through 2026. 

And remember that as of July 1st, the federal minimum exempt salary is $844 per week but many cities and states have a higher threshold. If your employee’s annual compensation from salary, commission, and bonuses doesn’t meet this standard, you’ll need to track their hours and pay overtime. 

Legal: consult your attorney about risks related to policy changes to employment, data, nexus, terms and conditions, privacy policies, and operating structure.

Accounting: update your accounting team on these changes so they’re accurately advising you on tax withholding and keeping the books in a way that facilitates a multi-state return.

Insurance: update workers comp to reflect new locations and home office environments. Evaluate any additional liability coverage needs, for example when people travel for offsites and periodic meetings. Your premiums may go up or down depending on where work is performed. As you become a multistate operator (you have employees in 2+ states), you may want to switch to a PEO for national health benefits and compliance support. (Our partner, Rippling, has a good one -- click here to schedule a demo with my dedicated representative.)

Data security: distributed work creates more data vulnerabilities. Even if you’re just working in coffee shops and on the road, it’s a good idea to evaluate where you could step up your security and policies. You may want to set up a “container” with your apps onto their phones and personal computers, use a subscription-based password manager, or mandate use of a VPN. If you’re using Google Workspace or GSuite, update your security settings for desktop and mobile apps. In lieu of password sharing, consider activating the Google or Microsoft Authenticator apps that come with Workspace and 365, respectively.

International work: if you’re popping out of the country for a couple of weeks, no big deal. But if you are considering that €1 house in Italy, understand how long you can stay and how much you can earn before you owe local taxes or need a specialized visa or business registration. 

If this feels like a lot, I’ll be real and say running small businesses is no longer simple, even if you’re a solopreneur. Use this time to research cost estimates for your 2025 strategic planning, benefits, and policy renewals. (I’ve already started 2025 plans with some clients.) More than ever, lean on your trusted experts for support in building a sustainable, flexible work environment that you love.

If you have no idea how much it will cost to do business this way or where to find the partners you need, try our Resources page. (My company may receive an affiliate fee when you use these partners. Thank you for supporting the newsletter!) Or, grab 20 minutes with me. We can talk about the strategic considerations specific to your business and get you on track.

August AMA 

A little change in plans! I got a bit overwhelmed between the holiday and my busy week in my parents’ basement, and canceled the July 11th AMA. But I’ve got you covered on Thursday, August 8th at 10 am PT for our next session. We’ll talk more about 2025 strategic planning. 

Submit your burning questions here and make sure to add the August AMA to your calendar below. It’s a date! Looking forward to seeing you.

Add AMA’s to your calendar

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Media Kit 

Everybody invests in women’s sports. The WNBA has reached a $2.2 billion, 11-year minimum deal with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon for broadcast rights. On Wednesday, Angel City was sold at a valuation of $250 million to new controlling owners Willow Bay and Bob Iger. ACFC is now the world’s most valuable women’s sports franchise. (And you thought our merch game was good. Hello, Disney.) While valuations have increased, there’s still plenty of upside for future investors. Get in on the action with upcoming league expansions, new pro league launches (softball, volleyball, hockey), or through dedicated infrastructure. Buy-ins start at way less than the cost of a 2-bedroom condo in Los Angeles.

A conference for your brain. Do you have ADD or ADHD? A recent study suggests 29% of entrepreneurs do. If you’re neurodivergent, or if you want to make your own business more accessible, consider joining next week’s free Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit, with three days of sessions on how to make your business work with your brain. The summit has been designed to work for your brain, too -- the organizers have offered a few participation tracks, including listening to the daily presentations as podcasts.

Because it made me giggle. A certain party in Milwaukee crashed Grindr on Monday, and continues to cause outages. I guess it’s true that you can’t fight city hall, a love like ours, or Downdetector.