Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | Janaury 25, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 19 10) Stay in contact with your trusted advisors. Your CPA, lawyer, and banker are typically on top of all the benefits, requirements, and everything in be- tween on the Paycheck Protection Program. AAFCPAs anticipates a flurry of new applications. 9) There is likely no benefit to applying for for- giveness right now. There will be a right time, but the Small Business Administration, Internal Revenue Service, and other governmental agencies are busy writing up new procedures. The new legislation provided streamlined methods and may make the process easier for borrowers who wait. 8) Simplified forgiveness for loans up to $150K. The SBA has been mandated to come up with a one- page application for loans up to $150,000. 7) New eligible expenditures. There are new costs your PPP loan may be used for, including expendi- tures on software, cloud computing, HR & account- ing, personal protective equipment or other safety alterations. Group insurance benefits are included in payroll costs eligible for forgiveness. 6) It is complicated. Certain rules in the new stimulus package are retroactive, meaning they apply as of the CARES Act (March 27). Others apply as of March 27, but only if you have not applied for forgiveness yet. Other rules apply as of Dec. 27. And, certain programs (I'm looking at you employee retention credit) have different rules in 2020 than they do in 2021. 5) The EIDL advance does not reduce forgive- ness. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance grant ($1,000 per employee limited to $10,000) will not reduce PPP loan forgiveness. For those who already received their loan forgiveness and it was reduced for the EIDL grant, hang tight. 4) New eligible entities. 501(c)(6) organizations are now eligible for the program, and while they have their own requirements for lobbying, they do not need to meet the 25% decline in revenue test. 3) Choice of covered period. You can now choose any period no shorter than 8 weeks and no longer than 24 weeks. This is retroactive, but only for those who have not filed for forgiveness. 2) The PPP eligible expenditures are tax de- ductible. This was likely the best news out of the new act. Congress has overridden the IRS's position that forgiven expenses should not be an allowable deduction. 1) Having a PPP loan no longer disqualifies you for the Employee Retention Credit. The new stim- ulus package makes those with a PPP loan eligible. Further, the ERC changes its rules from Jan. 1 to June 30; it becomes easier to qualify, and the credit is more beneficial. K N O W H O W How to legally market your cannabis business W orkplace bias might be overt (a comment such as, "You do such good work for a woman") or less so, such as a team member surprised an older colleague is adept at technology. We know it impacts retention, with a Center for Talent Innovation study showing those who perceive bias are three times as likely to say they are planning to leave their job within the year. ese workers tend to be disengaged (three times as likely) and withhold ideas and market solutions from their employer (2.6 times as likely). Here are ways to fight bias at work. Get data. Acquire numbers showing how oen bias is happening at your company, Deb Muller of HR Acuity – a human-resource soware management firm – tells SHRM.org. "For creating inclusive workplaces, there is no substitute for data and analytics," says Muller. She said companies should understand where their organizations stand today with incidents of bias; how they compare against similar organizations; and know if the incidents are specific to any particular areas of the company or managers. When hiring, don't rely on your gut. Use structured candidate evaluations, not free-flowing chats, writes Charlotte Blank at HRtechnologist.com. She suggests identifying skills for vacant roles with an objective scale for each. "Aer each candidate interview, rate them on each of those skills. When it's time to make your decision, compare the candidates 'horizontally' … down the list, and make your decision based on an objective overall score," she writes. Take workplace training to the next level. It's not enough to train employees on non-discrimination laws, writes Ruth Mayhew at SmallBusiness.Chron.com, without expanding the definition of characteristics creating attitudes of bias. To make a difference in workplace bias, team members will need to look past characteristics like race, colors, sex and religion and realize that class, generation, language, work style, personality, tattoos, place of residence and many other factors can create differences that can lead to bias as well. 1 0 T H I NG S I know about... ...How the December stimulus impacts PPP borrowers BY KHAM INTHIRATH Special to the Worcester Business Journal T he cannabis business is exploding. e worldwide market will grow to $57 billion by 2027, up from $9.2 billion currently. Despite this growth, the legal landscape remains complex, and business owners struggle to market their organizations. Here's legal ways you can market your business effectively. Where can you market your business? Traditional marketing • Newspaper and print. is is an excellent option. Look for alternative non-mainstream publications. • Billboards and outdoor advertising. Brands like Weedmaps and Leafly have already made use of billboards. Leafly, for example, has used billboards throughout California to drive a massive user-generated content campaign. • Radio. It is illegal to market a cannabis firm on the radio. You can, however, participate in guest segments. • YouTube. Currently, YouTube's guidelines don't mention cannabis marketing, although they prohibit harmful content. Only medical marijuana providers can advertise. Niche marketing Niche marketing is an excellent way to generate leads and avoid regulatory issues because the audience is already established and restricted. Digital Marketing Focus on mediums not vulnerable to regulation, including: • Facebook. If you're going to use Facebook as a social media marketing platform, follow these Facebook rules: Avoid using images of smoking paraphernalia Don't use images of recreational or medical marijuana CBD also not permitted • Twitter. You cannot advertise recreational drugs on Twitter. e platform does allow organic tweets with the word like marijuana, weed, and cannabis, marijuana, and hemp. • Pinterest. Pinterest allows you to advertise hemp and CBD-only products. • Snapchat. is platform allows content about marijuana as long as it doesn't promote illegal activity. • Reddit. You cannot advertise recreational drug use on Reddit. You can, however, share educational information. • Google. You cannot use Google for advertising recreational cannabis use. You can blog about cannabis as long as it doesn't encourage illegal activities. Earned media Earned media is voluntary, and includes awards, appearances, and speaking opportunities. Content marketing Content marketing allows you to drive traffic to your website by boosting your standing in search algorithms. Content marketing is less regulated. Mobile/text marketing In a world where the average consumer checks their phone once every 12 minutes, mobile marketing provides personalized, actionable marketing. Improve your cannabis marketing e advertising market for cannabis is complicated and ever-changing. Don't: • Market to minors • Infringe on existing brand copyright • Start marketing without first consulting federal and state regulations that may apply to your company Do: • Research your target audience and create a customer persona • Invest in skilled digital marketing assistance • Create a brand identity that offers more than just sales pitches • Be informative about different strains and options Kham Inthirath is the founder and president of Worcester marketing firm InThink Agency, which has a cannabis marketing division: Indicative Marketing. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal By Brittany Besler Brittany Besler, MBA, CPA, Esq. is a tax consulting attorney at Westborough accounting firm AAFCPAs. 10 1: W O R K P L A C E B I A S W W W

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