We all get those solicitation emails for business funding and loan opportunities. This one in particular I had seen a few times and this time I decided to research it because “SETC” sounded familiar. SETC stands for Self-Employed Tax Credit and the email got my attention being well written, rather short, key bullet points, and to be honest it seemed pretty legit. TLDR: It’s misleading and you may want to just treat it like spam and delete the email.
Check out some of what I read from the email we received:
Here’s what makes the SETC Rebate so appealing: IT’S NOT A LOAN! You won’t have to worry about repayment or restrictions on how the funds are used. It’s a cash rebate directly paid to you. To check if ______ ________ is eligible, simply CLICK HERE to visit our website and complete a quick 1-minute online form. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity!
If you work for yourself as a self-employed individual in any of the categories listed below, you meet the requirements and could receive up to $32,220 through the SETC tax credit:
Sole Proprietors
1099 Contractors
Freelancers
Single-member LLCs
Gig Workers
Other self-employed professionals
We’re a small agency here at Design Theory and from humble beginnings where we wore all the hats and did just about all of the necessary paperwork. Claiming or filing an SETC did NOT sound familiar to me, and believe you me, we were always looking for ways to decrease our tax burdens. A quick Google search and I was immediately seeing an excerpt from the IRS website dispelling this “opportunity” and speaking to it in the form of how I received it (email or social media).
From the IRS
“Promoters and social media are marketing something they describe as the “Self Employment Tax Credit” as a way for self-employed people and gig workers to get big payments for the COVID-19 pandemic period. Similar to misleading marketing around the Employee Retention Credit, there is inaccurate information suggesting many people qualify for the tax credit and payments of up to $32,000 when they actually do not.
In reality, the underlying credit being referred to in social media isn’t called the “Self Employment Tax Credit,” it’s a much more limited and technical credit called Credits for Sick Leave and Family Leave. Many people simply do not qualify for this credit, and the IRS is closely reviewing claims coming in under this provision so people filing claims do so at their own risk.
“This is another misleading social media claim that’s fooling well-meaning taxpayers into thinking they’re due a big payday,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “People shouldn’t be misled by outlandish claims they see on social media. Before paying someone to file these claims, taxpayers should consult with a trusted tax professional to see if they meet the very limited eligibility scenarios.”
Click here to read the full article on the IRS Government website.
If you happen to receive an email like this from the same vendor or another, make sure to do your research before responding or sharing your personal or business information. It’s 2024 and chances are you’re not the only one to receive an offer or some exclusive business opportunity, and whether you check on Reddit or your local Chamber of Commerce, validate the legitamacy of a company or organization before you share your sensitive information.
There’s another option for giving access to your MailChimp account without needing to provide your account username and password. In our agency we prefer the following approach because we’re able to gain access to our client accounts at different levels, and access is relatively instant.
Follow These steps:
Log into your MailChimp account and click on your profile icon that is located at the top right of your screen
On this next screen you’ll see a menu listed under your account/profile name. Click on Settings and it will drop down a sub-menu, and then you can click on Users.
This next screen you may see a list of users if there was previous access already provided. So it’s a good time to check to ensure the right people should still have access and revoke access to any that no longer need it.
You’ll see a Invite User button on the right of your screen, click on that.
Now you’ll enter in the email address for whom you’d like to invite to your account to have access. You’ll see a list of options below for: Viewer, Author, Manager, and Admin. For most cases providing Author access will be sufficient. Enter the email address of the person you want to grant access to, then choose an option in the User type section. Add an optional message to share instructions or other information for that person. Once you’re done with your selections you can click on the Send Invite button located just below the entries.
The email invitation asks the recipient to join your account under the user level you selected. The recipient can create a new username and password, or log in with their existing Mailchimp account. To better protect accounts with multiple users, add 2-factor authentication to your Mailchimp account.
Let’s face it, we all live in a digital world. Some more than others, but still we all are faced with having to learn or navigate this online space for daily needs. Home Owners Associations (HOAs) are not exempt from the necessity of carving out their own space in the digital world. A dedicated domain name, like “myneighborhoodhoa.com,” is more than just an address on the internet; it’s a powerful tool that can enhance communication, streamline operations, and foster a sense of community. Let me explain the many advantages of an HOA registering and using its own domain name.
Enhanced Communication and Community Engagement
Imagine having a centralized platform where community residents can stay up-to-date with neighborhood news, upcoming events, and important updates. An informational website under your HOA’s domain can serve as this hub, ensuring that all residents have access to timely and accurate information. This not only improves transparency within the community but also fosters a stronger sense of belonging among residents. Most HOA’s have neighborhood documents, rules and guideline packets, and even the convenience to pay dues online.
Use Case: Community Event Planning
An HOA plans to organize a summer barbecue and wishes to gauge interest, collect RSVPs, and disseminate event details. How long do you think it would take to canvas a whole neighborhood, house by house, to attain even 75% of the residents feedback? By utilizing their website, they can easily share this information, update it in real-time, and even create an interactive platform for residents to volunteer or ask questions.
Professionalism and Security in Communications
Custom email addresses (e.g., president@myneighborhoodhoa.com) not only add a layer of professionalism but also ensure security and privacy in communications. When board members communicate with service providers, third-party businesses, and residents using their official HOA email, it elevates the association’s credibility and establishes trust. We’ve seen it in some cases where personal email accounts are being used by governing Board Members (Hunk1975@hotmail.com) and you can imagine how off-putting seeing that address in your inbox may be. Or imagine an outgoing Board Member having to comb through a year or two of sent and received emails to forward them to the next Board Member taking their place? Or worse the new Board Member never getting access to any previous dialog that happened and having to start from scratch with no prior discord knowledge.
Use Case: Contract Negotiation
When negotiating contracts with service providers, an email sent from a custom domain (myneighborhoodhoa.com) carries more weight and professionalism than a generic one at Yahoo, AOL, Gmail, or Hotmail. This can lead to better service terms and reinforces the seriousness of the HOA in upholding community standards.
Seamless Transition and Data Sharing
HOAs often face the challenge of transitioning duties and information from outgoing board members to newcomers. A domain with integrated cloud storage solutions can simplify this process, ensuring continuous access to essential documents, contacts, and historical data. This digital continuity is crucial for maintaining the integrity and smooth operation of the HOA.
Additional Benefits
Increased Visibility: A well-designed HOA website improves the community’s visibility online, attracting potential homebuyers and elevating property values.
Online Payment Portals: Simplify dues collection and financial management with integrated payment solutions on your domain.
Feedback Mechanism: Implement forms and surveys on the website to collect resident feedback, making them feel heard and valued.
I hope this short article helps explain the many advantages of an HOA having their own custom domain name. If you have questions about how to get one set up, get custom email accounts, and maybe even setup a website, click here to contact us and we’d be happy to listen to your use case and provide you a solution that will certainly make you feel at ease and be the hero for your neighborhood or organization!
These are the slides from a recent presentation on Email Marketing. A video of the presentation will be available later, but in the meantime the slides are available for you to view and download below.
If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur and you’re looking to learn some ways to grow your email list and also learn marketing tips to help reach and grow your audience, this is the presentation for you. Now it’s nothing too technical or hard to follow. It’s mainly concepts and best practices along with some statistics to help you design, engage, and even automate your email marketing efforts. This presentation is high level and so anyone from any industry can take from this and put aspects of it into practice immediately. If you’re looking for a custom solution or strategy for your email marketing efforts, please be sure to contact us so that we can help.
This is a quick two minute tip on how to increase your email open rates for your newsletters. When it comes to managing your business, there’s a bunch of outbound marketing efforts that you have to plan for. Email is still a great medium of transmitting information. The key though is to curate valuable content that your readers will come to expect and be able to take action on. The challenge that many businesses face with email though is that, people may be used to getting a lot of emails and not really paying attention to most of them.
You’ve gotta put yourself in the seat of an email subscriber, and imagine what their perspective is on their email inbox. Typically, when getting a bunch of emails from different sources, we tend to identify the senders that we know provide the best emails. Whether it’s because we anticipate some sales or deals, free stuff, exclusive information, data, whatever. And so because of that, we’ll usually skim through all our recent emails and go directly to those that we know and are familiar with to have value. This is how you have to position your email newsletters.
Using the 80/20 Rule, you’ll want to send out great content that is readily useful to your audience 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time is where you can promote your products and services. People know that you’re trying to sell to them, and they’re used to that. The key is to be more of a transparent source of information in a bite size or easy to consume way for your readers that are interested in your industry or products. Take a look at the video below and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us for a Strategy Session.
![Increase Your Open Rates With Your Email Marketing [VIDEO]](https://jpdesigntheory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mans-finger-on-email-envelope-1080x675.jpg)
