Yearend Personal Update (reprint)

To my clients…

I don’t often share much about my business or my life with clients, because our work is about you and not about me, but I spent some time at the end of December reflecting on 2020 and planning for 2021, and I wanted to share a few thoughts with you. I hope you don’t mind. ;)

Although I’ve been a Financial Planner for 16 years, I launched my new planning practice in February of 2020, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the work I’ve had the opportunity to do with clients since then. Truly thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me the opportunity to partner with you and help you gain clarity and make meaningful progress towards your goals.

Although 2020 was a heck of a year as a working mom in the midst of a pandemic with two wild boys at home, getting to work with you has been incredibly rewarding and was such a bright spot for me in an otherwise challenging year. There are no words to express just how much that means to me and how grateful I am.

And even though I launched the business right before COVID hit, the business has taken off super quickly and grown much faster than I ever anticipated, in large part due to referrals from clients. Thank you so much for trusting me to take care of you and the people who matter to you.

As I look to 2021, my top priority is to continue to take great care of clients, and serve new clients as well.I served 40 families in 2020, and I have capacity to serve 35 additional families in 2021.In order to do so, I’ve eliminated fintech consulting work(I previously consulted for companies like SoFi, Ellevest and LearnLux), and I’m growing my team.I will close the practice to new clients as needed to protect both your client experience and my commitment to myself and my family to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

So with that in mind, I’d like to formally introduce you to my paraplanner, Cyndi Hall, CFP®.I’ve known Cyndi for more than six years, and I am so honored to have her on my team. She is an experienced Financial Planner and was a phenomenal team member during my years at LearnVest. Cyndi has been helping behind the scenes since the practice launched last year, but she’ll be taking on more responsibilities to support the continued growth of the practice. Cyndi will largely continue to help behind the scenes with planning and operations, but don’t be surprised if she reaches out to you to gather data, help with an account transfer, or get a meeting set up on my calendar.

One last thing to share… If you happen to be curious, I was interviewed recently on a podcast to share my career journey and discuss my approach to business, what I learned from being in fintech, and how I approach financial planning. Give it a listen if you’re interested (or bored while doing the dishes!).

As uncomfortable as it is for me to ask for space in your inbox to talk about what's going on in my world, it felt weird NOT to share it with you, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to let you know how much you've impacted me and how grateful I am to you.

Happy New Year!!!!

Best, Natalie

Government Programs for the Self-Employed

I’ve spoken to several freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners over the last two weeks who either weren’t aware of the government programs available to them, or weren’t sure how to navigate them. From journalists to attorneys to Airbnb hosts to coffee shop owners to daycare providers, I’ve spoken to all kinds of business owners looking for clarity. 

Whether you’re a sole proprietor, an LLC, or an S-corp, there are programs that can help you if your income has dropped due to COVID-19. The three primary programs (although there are others, too) are the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and Unemployment. 

Many of us self-employed people aren’t used to having a safety net, but right now, we actually do. 

Unemployment: Typically, self-employed people don’t qualify for unemployment benefits. But due to recent legislation, we now qualify! And unemployment benefits are higher than they’ve ever been before. That’s because the federal government is increasing unemployment benefits by a flat $600 per week through the end of July! If you qualify for just $1 of unemployment benefits, you get an extra $600 per week. 

Benefits vary from state to state, but in general, if you make less than about $50,000 per year through your business, and your income has disappeared (or substantially dropped) due to COVID-19, you’ll likely make as much if not more on unemployment than you were making previously. Yes, you read that right. 

Paycheck Protection Program: The PPP provides loans to self-employed people that are potentially 100% forgivable. You can borrow up to 2.5 times your average monthly income from last year (up to $100,000/year). So if you made $48,000 last year, that averages out to $4,000/month, which means you could borrow 2.5 times $4,000, or $10,000. Interest rates are super low on these loans, but that’s not the best part. The best part is that as long as you use the loan money to continue paying yourself (and any employees you have), the loan is FORGIVABLE. You don’t have to pay it back! 

Now, there are details to understand and additional requirements for the loan to be forgivable, but this is a great option, especially if you make more than $50,000 annually or want to retain a team member. 

Economic Injury Disaster Loan: The EIDL program provides low interest loans to self-employed people. There’s also a possibility of receiving an upfront grant of up to $10,000 that DOESN’T HAVE TO BE REPAID. But before you get too excited, it appears that the grant amount will be related to the number of employees you have, so if you’re solo, your potential grant is likely much less than $10,000. 

Okay, are you still with me? Hopefully your brain hasn’t turned to mush yet. Here’s where things get a bit more complex… These programs can be combined in some cases, but it takes some planning to stay above board. And to be clear, I’m 1,000% in favor of utilizing programs you qualify for, but I’m completely against bending the rules.  

For example, you might use the PPP loan to continue payroll for yourself for eight weeks, have that loan completely forgiven, and then transition to unemployment. 

Or, you might combine an EIDL loan and a PPP loan to cover different expenses and still be able to have the PPP loan forgiven. 

There’s a lot to think through, but it’s worth the time - I promise! If you need help navigating these programs and figuring out what makes sense for you, or you know someone who needs help, I’m here.