Tips - Owning a Small Business

We have been trying to keep our new office space immaculately clean. The goal is having a space that our staff feels really good about working in and our Clients are impressed when they come over. In order to accomplish this, we bought a robotic vacuum that runs daily. We’re also using some of our “junior” staff, Bryan’s Kids, to clean bathrooms, dust, take out the trash, wipe, mop, water plants, etc.

As a small business Owner we try to keep up on strategies to minimize taxes, and employing your kids is a great strategy for a business owner! You can pay your kids up to $12,000 per year tax free (they have to legitimately be doing work and paid a reasonable salary). Besides the tax benefits, it also teaches kids a work ethic and it helps pay for their college/trade school.

Besides cleaning, Bryan’s kids are being trained in other design related assignments. They’ve produced 3d scans of buildings, helped with design research, and produced concept sketches. We see this as a valuable training for these awesome kids and Bryan gets the added benefit of being able to hang out with them while they’re working! That’s some great father/child bonding time!