When a small business is faced with the need to bring in additional human resources, the proprietor has two choices. He can hire employees, or he can contract or outsource the needed services. Hiring an employee allows the manager/owner complete oversight of the employee’s activities. Hiring an independent contractor allows the business the flexibility of contracting the work done on an as-needed basis. Some business owners see independent contracting as an attractive alternative because it absolves them of the responsibility of paying payroll taxes; however, the Internal Revenue Service has clear guidelines of who qualifies as an independent contractor and who must be treated as an employee. Download a brochure on this topic at Independent Contractor or Employee. If an employer/business owner incorrectly classifies an employee as an independent contractor, the owner could be held liable for the unpaid payroll taxes in addition to a penalty.
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What is the difference between an employee and an independent contractor?
Last Updated: January 19, 2007
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Youth Entrepreneurship
What do kids know about business? You'll be surprised!
E-Commerce Learning Modules
- Direct Marketing for Specialty Food Products. Learn strategies to direct market and sell specialty food products.
- Electronic Retailing. More and more of our communication and social behaviors involve computers and networks. Nonetheless, it is not as simple as it might appear to connect the dots on electronic retail and turn it into a successful venture.
- Going Global: A Guide for e-Commerce Expansion. A worksheet driven learning lesson for the established e-commerce business exploring export/import opportunities.
- A Primer for Hispanic Small Businesses. In both English and Spanish, this module was founded in the belief that e-commerce education should not only be available to Spanish Speaking business owners but also that small business stand to benefit greatly from the patronage of the Spanish speaking consumer.
- Marketing Food Specialty Products OnlineThe purpose of this learning module is to assist food retailers in making decisions on the use of online technologies in their marketing and planning strategies.
RESOURCES:
Build Your Business
- Online Tutorial on Farm Leasing
- Strategies to Improve Farm Business Management
- Visual Merchandising: The Silent Salesperson. View a recording of a marketing workshop conducted by Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University. The workshop covers some key aspects of display as a sales tool. The workshop is approximately 45 minutes long.
Building Entrepreneurial Communities
- E-Commerce Module:Connecting Rural Communities
- Strengthening Competitive Advantage of Rural Businesses with e-Commerce and Experience Economy Strategies
- Mini-Course: Developing Diversified & Value-Added Agribusinesses
Blogs to Watch