She breaks down business entity types and what it takes to run each one in DC, and what benefits each one carries. As a pro bono service provider, Christine and her organization hold education at a high level. They want the people they serve to feel equipped to make informed decisions for their businesses. “Do everything right from the beginning, understand what you’re doing, and plan for when things go wrong” so that you’re setting yourself up for success from the beginning. Best practices make your life easier down the line. If you’re in the DC area and need legal advice for your business, you can schedule brief opportunities with The DC Bar Pro Bono Law Center through their website. They also have written resource guides and archived training and webinars (new ones are coming down the pipeline, so make sure to join their mailing list for updates) without the fancy words or frills; they get you what you need to get your business on its way. All of their services are FREE of charge, so if you’re in the DC area, make sure to get connected with them.

Fish Food

Legal Best Practices to Protect Your Business

Today we sit down with friend of the show, and HR Heroine, Tiffany Williams, to talk about how she managed to marry her love for art and graphic design with her passion for writing. Tiffany is the Career Cultivation Enthusiast behind Pitch, a resume, ghost writing, and notary service provider based in Atlanta, GA.  She’s a master wordsmith with a passion for preparing working professionals to present themselves in the best light possible. Tiffany aims to equip her clients with everything they need to be successful in their respective industries. Need help adding some personality to your resume? Visit Pitch’s website to learn more about their offerings. You can also find them on Instagram @pitch.hrYou can also check out the conversation we had with Tiffany a while back about preparing for your next career move in these uncertain times on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Was this episode helpful? We’d love to hear your feedback. Visit us on Instagram and let us know via DM (@littlefishaccounting), or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.comLooking for someone to fill in the accounting gaps for you? Visit the Little Fish Accounting website to review our partnership packages or schedule a clarity call. Your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming.

When Art + Writing Collide: Staying Resume Ready with Tiffany Williams

Are you in a space where you know your business is evolving, but you’re getting leads that no longer align with that trajectory? Then this conversation is for you! Kat and the crew want to help you uncover your brand’s true purpose and attract a new caliber of clientele.  “I want Afternoon Culture to be that place that people come to once they’ve had their ‘Aha’ moment and are ready to pivot.” - Kat AraujoWhat did you think about this episode? We’d love to hear your feedback. Let us know via DM on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.comLooking for someone to fill in the accounting gaps for you? Visit littlefishaccounting.com/services to review our partnership packages or schedule a clarity call. Your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming.

Finding Community in Entrepreneurship with Kat Araujo

Takia McClendon is a running coach, personal trainer, and activist on a mission to debunk diet and fitness myths. As co-founder of City Fit Girls, a Philadelphia-based fitness and running community that aims to empower people to get moving on their own, Takia is constantly seeking ways to use running as an act of resistance for people who don’t have access to boutique studios and other pricey fitness resources. Traditionally, the face of running in this country is white and skinny. City Fit Girls challenges the culture of the sport simply by BEING. The initiative started through Takia and her co-founder’s willingness to share their own fitness journeys online. The more they shared, the more people wanted to be apart. Seeing a need to impact public health outcomes through overall fitness (physical and mental), City Fit Girls was born. To learn more about Takia and her virtual strength club options, follow her on IG @TakiaMcClendon . Ready to get moving in your city? Follow @CityFitGirls or visit their website www.cityfitgirls.com for more information on getting connected to a local chapter. Was this episode helpful? We’d love to hear your feedback. Visit us on Instagram and let us know via DM (@littlefishaccounting), or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.comLooking for someone to fill in the accounting gaps for you? Visit littlefishaccounting.com/services to review our services or schedule a clarity call. Your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming.

48 | Running as An Act of Resistance with Takia McClendon

So, you’ve reached the point in your entrepreneurial journey where you need help to function effectively. You find the perfect candidates, offer them the job, onboard them and they’re ready to get to work...and get paid. This week we discuss the two classifications of people who do work for you - independent contractors and employees. It is in the best interest of the employer to keep as many contractors on their team as they can. Employees tend to be more expensive, as they’re eligible for benefits (health insurance, retirement, stipends, and other perks) in addition to their agreed upon base pay. Even though contractors are easier to pay than employees, you can’t just classify everyone as such simply because it’s less taxing, literally and figuratively. Questions to ask in making the determination:•Does your company control or have the right to control over when and how the worker does the job?⁣⁣⁣• Does the company require that the worker show up to perform the work at a specific site or office location?⁣⁣• Will the worker receive benefits?⁣⁣⁣• Is the work engaged for a specific time period?⁣⁣⁣• Is the worker an individual or a business (including LLCs)?⁣⁣⁣• Can the worker take on other work outside of the work your company is requesting?⁣⁣Was this episode helpful? We’d love to hear your feedback. Visit us on Instagram and let us know via DM (@littlefishaccounting), or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.comLooking for someone to fill in the accounting gaps for you? Visit littlefishaccounting.com/services to review our partnership packages or schedule a Clarity Consulting Call. Your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming.

47 | Classification Matters : Contractors v. Employees

In our current social climate, the conversation around advocacy and allyship are on-trend across professional and personal spaces alike. At some point, most of us have probably had to carry the burden of serving as the BIPOC spokesperson to people in our network who say, “I want to support, but don’t know what I can do”. Well, diversity and inclusion strategist, Amber Cabral, has literally written the book on what to do. Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture provides a practical take on how to effectively occupy both spaces and fight for fair on all fronts. We sat down with her to talk all things diversity, equity and inclusion related.Allies and Advocates is a wrecking ball, knocking down barriers in the largely white, largely male publishing world, and affirming that black talent is worth investing in. You can order your copy on Amazon here . Visit ambercabral.com for all things Amber Cabral and find her on Instagram and Twitter as @BamCabral. This episode is jam packed with gems! We’d love to hear your take-aways. Visit us on Instagram and let us know via DM on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.comLooking for someone to fill in the accounting gaps for you? Visit www.littlefishaccounting.com/services to review our partnership packages or schedule a clarity consulting call. Your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming!

46 | Allies & Advocates: They Are Not The Same And We Need Both with Amber Cabral

In the age of COVID-19, many people are taking advantage of a slower-paced world by finding opportunities to grow their businesses. As a result, some have transitioned to a place where they may need to hire help and are seeking guidance on how to appropriately pay the people doing work for them. If you’re one of those people, do you know what payroll really means?If you’ve asked questions such as, ‘What is payroll? How and who can I pay? When do I pay myself? What about state and federal withholding?’, etc.-- we have you covered.On this week’s episode, we’re diving into:The DO’s  and DONT’s of payrollHow to select the business entity type that is most tax advantageous for youThe importance of documentation reflecting how you’re paying people in the event that you’re audited, and more!As always, thanks so much for being here – your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming. To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), on Facebook (Little Fish Acctg), or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com We also love hearing from our listeners! How’d you like this episode? Visit us on Instagram and let us know via DM or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.com .Episode Links and more:We recommend using Gusto, an all-in-one platform that supports small business owners with onboarding, payroll, and insurance. We especially like their payroll system as it’s so straightforward and intuitive. Here’s a link to check them out. Podcast Vocabulary WordsBusiness entity type We’ll be discussing these four - sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, & S corpPayroll taxesOwner’s draw

45 | Cash App is Not Payroll

“So Keila, what’s the difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper, and which one do I actually need?” This is a question that I’m asked almost every day both on and offline and since both accounting and bookkeeping play important roles in maintaining pristine financial records, we’ll be breaking it all down in this week’s episode and learning:The job functions and differences of both accountants and bookkeepers.What questions to ask your bookkeeper and/or accountant to fully understand how your business is running financially.Which service provider will be able to advise you on how to best spend any surplus funds you may come into. Always remember, financial reporting accuracy does matter when running a business. After you dive into this episode, tell us what you think! Visit us on Instagram and let us know via DM on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), or send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.comLooking for someone to fill in the accounting gaps for you? Visit littlefishaccounting.com/services to review our partnership packages or schedule a clarity call. Your support keeps Little Fish Accounting swimming.

What's The Difference Between an Accountant and a Bookkeeper?

Contrary to popular opinion, Millennials aren't the only ones doing side work and following their dreams, Baby Boomers are emerging as entrepreneurial spirits as well! This week, we get to hear from Generation X firsthand through a reluctant representative -- my mom. As a Program Analyst for the CDC she has a deep passion for African American genealogy research and shares:• Her experience discovering her passion• How to create opportunities to monetize it• The sometimes harsh realities that come with balancing full-time work and your passion project, plus more! I truly believe that our ancestors are calling out for their stories to be told. They lived through a time where they couldn’t speak for themselves, so we are in a unique position to speak for them by both knowing and sharing their stories. Let us know your thoughts once you’ve listened to this unique episode, we’d love to hear from you! For more information about your specific accounting needs, visit our blog at www.littlefishaccounting.com/blog. We love hearing from our listeners! Send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.com or visit us on Instagram to send us your feedback on our content. To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), on Facebook (Little Fish Acctg), or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com.

43 | Discovering Your Passion

To make the best strategic decision for your accounting needs, you need to understand the differences between accrual and cash accounting and how your choice may affect how you file your taxes. While the biggest difference may be easy to understand — deciding when to recognize income and expenses — there are other nuances that need a bit more explaining.  So, in this episode, we discuss:• The difference between cash accounting and accrual accounting.• How each type of accounting recognizes revenue.• Why choosing between the types of accounting matters to your business.• Our preferred accounting strategy for your business. For more information about your specific accounting needs, visit our blog at www.littlefishaccounting.com/blog. We love hearing from our listeners! Send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.com or visit us on Instagram to send us your feedback on our content.To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), on Facebook (Little Fish Acctg), or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com.

42 | Accrual vs. Cash Accounting: Why Does It Matter?

If you’ve been tuning into our podcast for awhile or hanging out with us on Instagram, you’re not surprised when we say this: You should be charging more for your goods and services. Yes, you!When you undercharge for your service or product, you’re not only sending a clear message to existing and potential clients and customers about your value, you’re also telling them how to perceive your worth as well. But this decision to undersell yourself doesn’t just affect you and your business, but others as well. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about:• How undercharging actually takes away from the growth of your business.• The example you set for your team when you undervalue and undercharge.• How resentment builds toward your clients, leading to unnecessary conflict.• How the community suffers when you don’t have the resources or time to reinvest in it.We know your value and we want you to know it, too. So, if you’ve been on the fence about raising your prices and nervous about how your clients and customers will respond, you’ll definitely want to tune into this episode. And as always, we love hearing from our listeners! Send us an email at podcasts@littlefishaccounting.com or visit us on Instagram.To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), on Facebook (Little Fish Acctg), or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com.

41 | How Many People Are Affected When You Don’t Charge Enough?

Entrepreneurs are no strangers to isolation — we often work alone and make most of our decisions by ourselves. And while we’re used to going at things solo, it doesn’t mean we thrive in that environment. That’s why we’re so excited to get to know and introduce you to people who are making moves to not only grow their businesses, but working to grow the community of entrepreneur networks. Meet Stephen Miller, co-founder of Locale. Locale hosts pop-up co-working days in non-traditional spaces in New York and Washington, D.C. to connect remote-working entrepreneurs while promoting travel and diversifying work locations. In today’s interview, we talk about:• Some common obstacles entrepreneurs face while working remotely.• The power of pacing yourself in your business.• Separating the urgent from the important.• Giving yourself time to think abstractly about your business. As always, thank you for tuning in to the podcast! If you want to find out more about Locale, you can visit www.localeworkspace.com or find them on Instagram - @localeworkspace.  To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram (@littlefishaccounting), on Facebook (Little Fish Acctg), or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com.

40 | How Diversifying Co-Working Spaces Fosters Community Among Entrepreneurs

The past quarter of the year has been unlike anything we ever anticipated for our businesses. The pandemic has introduced a new level of complexities to our ventures, but thankfully, state and federal agencies have been aiming to help businesses like yours navigate the change in sales numbers. For those of you who are running the show solo as sole proprietors, you may have taken advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program. You probably also have some questions about it. Well, we’re here to answer them! In this episode, we talk about:• How to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program.• How much you can get from the program.• What you can spend your PPP money on.• How to request PPP forgiveness.Thanks for tuning into this week’s podcast! If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section or on Instagram — we’re always looking for ways to better serve you. Related Links:Schedule C formPPP forgiveness application To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram - @littlefishaccounting, on Facebook at Little Fish Acctg, or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com. 

39 | Everything a Sole Proprietor Needs to Know About the Paycheck Protection Program

There’s a gap in society — those who were taught financial literacy early on, and those who weren’t. We feel like we should be managing our finances well, but we don’t know the first place to start. As a result, this lack of knowledge is a pain point for many, leading to shame, feeling overwhelmed, and guilt. Because we know so many of us struggle with these feelings on a daily basis in our businesses, it’s nice to have someone on the podcast who understands. Meet financial coach, Keina, founder of Wealth Over Now. Her target demographic is passionate, single women who need help creating financial goals, saving more money, and stressing less. Using her personal finances knowledge, today on the podcast, we discuss:How mindful spending is something everyone should practice. The importance of knowing where and how you spend your money.Prioritizing what you value instead of going without.Why Keina prefers “spending plans” instead of “budgets.”When it’s time for you to secure your own financial coach.As always, thanks for tuning into our podcast! To find out more information about Keina and Wealth Over Now, visit www.wealthovernow.com or visit her on Instagram - @wealthovernow.  To learn more about us, visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram - @littlefishaccounting, on Facebook at Little Fish Acctg, or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com. 

38 | How to Save More and Stress Less with Keina of Wealth Over Now

So, you’ve made the leap and you’ve decided the world needs your product or service. Congratulations! We’re so proud to support you on this journey — it’s both rewarding and incredibly challenging, at times.As a way to support you, welcome to the Accounting for Entrepreneurs Workshop, which will help you understand and set up your business’s personal accounting. During this workshop, you’ll learn:• Why accounting is necessary to your business.• How to properly report your finances.• The difference between various financial reports.• The importance of keeping your personal and business finances separate.• Types of taxes and the top challenges business owners face. • Types of deductible expenses.• The difference between a payroll employee and a contractor. You’ll definitely want to tune into this workshop. To learn more and to contact us, you can visit www.littlefishaccounting.com, find us on Instagram - @littlefishaccounting, on Facebook at Little Fish Acctg, or email us at hello@littlefishaccounting.com.

37 | Accounting for Entrepreneurs Workshop

Little Fish Accounting presents Fish Food, a podcast with bite-sized accounting advice and discussions for freelancers and entrepreneurs. Hosted by Keila Hill-Trawick, CPA, MBA