Month: March 2020

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Things to do During Stay-at-Home

If your state or city hasn’t issued an official stay-at-home order because of COVID-19, it’s likely only a matter of time before it does (or it is being run by a terrible leader, and you should stay in anyway). If your work is usually not at home or even if you are someone who usually works at home, you can make good use of this time “off.” I have some suggestions…

  1. Review your standard paperwork. Estimate forms, invoices, contracts, releases, licenses… if it’s paperwork that you use in business, now is a good time to review it and make updates and changes. Maybe you’ll need legal help for this, maybe it’s just a case of fixing the format so it reads more clearly; whatever, this is a great time to get your paperwork in better shape.
  2. Consider updating your business insurance. One thing lots of people have already learned in this crisis: not having business liability insurance or disability insurance (etc.) is unwise.
  3. Related to #2, inventory your gear and update (if needed) your insurance coverage. Whatever your gear is, take photos, update serial numbers, make sure you have enough coverage for your critical tools and gear, including computers and software. At worst, doing the inventory will give you a clean list you can have for later claims (keep a copy off-site!).
  4. Register a bunch of your work with the USCO. Now is a great time to play catch-up with your copyright registrations.
  5. Work on a (new) marketing plan. Eventually things will start to work again and you want to be top-of-mind with your targets when that happens. Now is a good time to look at what will get you there.
  6. Check in with clients. Don’t contact them to solicit work but rather call or email your contacts, personally, and wish them well. Simple, generous, kind human interaction now will be remembered later.
  7. Check in with your vendors/crew. Like clients, your vendors and crewpeople will appreciate the kindness, even if you can’t hire them or buy from them right now. If, though, you can buy something from them now, consider doing so to make sure they are around later.
  8. Give yourself a personal project to work on. I mean a creative project, whether that is in your usual medium or not. Some photographers and other creatives are using their art to document their experiences, which is fine, but I suggest something that is non-virus-related for this. You can do both, of course, but something creative that isn’t about the crisis would probably be good for your stress levels, too.
  9. Give yourself permission to do less. Lots of people are trying to work full-time from home and do all the other stuff that they now have to (like taking care of kids, for example) and are getting burned out fast. Give yourself a break and be flexible.
  10. Related to #8, give yourself permission to be imperfect. Too many people are trying to be perfect in this crisis–stop it. You’re going to have days where you won’t get any “work” done or that your kids won’t have formal lessons or the dishes don’t get washed… if you hold yourself up to your usual standards of perfection (like you do in your creative work), you will burn out faster. Embrace the suck, as a good friend says.
  11. (because of course it goes to 11) Do something specifically for your mental health. Meditate. Take long walks/runs (alone). Do yoga or other exercise. Watch a comedy film. Sing to the radio. Dance in your living room. Play with your dog/cat/kid/lover. Write a journal. Bake cookies. Eat cookies. Simply find something that brings you peace and equanimity, and do it. Yes, this is good for your business as well.

There are difficult times, sure, but they will not last forever. The suggestions above can help you feel more in control even when we seem to have little of that.

Wishing all of you well, safe, and happy.

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COVID-19 and Your Taxes

You may have already heard that your federal tax return is not due on April 15, as it usually is. The deadline is now July 15, 2020. You can file now, and probably should if you are due money back, but you don’t have to.

Relatedly, and maybe even more important for we self-employed folks, the first quarter federal estimated tax payments are also being deferred to the same July 15, 2020 date. Huzzah! Note, however, that (so far) it is only your first quarter estimated tax payment that gets deferred, even though the deadline is after the second quarter’s due date (June 15, 2020).

For more info, see here: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/payment-deadline-extended-to-july-15-2020

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Coronavirus: What To Do

No one teaches us what to do when there is a crisis like now. I’m not going to lie to you: it is very likely that your business is going to take a hit from the coronavirus. No one can effectively predict how big or how bad it will be, but there will be an effect. The worst part for many of us is feeling the lack of control we have over any of it, especially because creatives, like lawyers, are notoriously control freaks. 

I don’t have good legal-y advice to give you here. This is very much uncharted water for everyone. You can’t contract your way out of this (so to speak) so, as a lawyer, there isn’t a lot I can do to help you through it beyond my usual service offerings. But I do think there are things we can do now that will make this difficult time a bit better, both individually and for us all, so I’d like to suggest them here.

First, breathe. I know, that sounds patronizing but, seriously, take a conscious, mindful breath now and then. If you meditate, keep it up or even add some extra sessions. If you don’t yet meditate, consider starting a practice. Calm breathing and meditation help to reduce stress and does all sorts of good for your body and mind. This is science, not superstition (see, e.g., https://nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation/overview.htm). Exercise works, too.

Second, if business is slow, use your downtime well. Get up, get dressed, go to work, and create. I think one of the best things you can do for your business is create new work and this slow time is an opportunity to play creatively—take advantage of it! Creating new work now will make you more competitive when things start picking up, because you will have fresh work to show your targets. Besides, playing creatively will make you feel better now, when things are tough. It will give you something else to focus on, something you can control more, and keep your head out of the doom and gloom of the news.

Third, read books. Put down the news, the social media, and pick up a book—preferably a novel (at least occasionally). Most people complain that they want to read more—now is your chance. It also will help keep you out of the dark places our current reality inflicts. 

Fourth, and maybe I’m burying the lede here, but this is really important: support others however you can. It may sound counter-intuitive but, helping others will help you more. It’s easy to fall into the fear-based and selfish hoarding behavior, but you can’t buy enough toilet paper (or potatoes or milk…) to make yourself safe. During WWII, people understood that hoarding was one of the worst things you could do while buying war bonds, donating, recycling, growing victory gardens, and generally thinking about the greater good would win the war. They were right. It’s also right now.

You can support other small businesses now by doing things like buying gift cards for later use. The businesses get the revenue now, to support them while their customers can’t or won’t visit. This is particularly needed for small service providers like salons, spas, as well as artists of all sorts. You can buy music (actual vinyl, cds, or downloads—not streaming) and merchandise from musicians, who now can’t even make money touring. Buy books (or gift cards) from indy booksellers, many of whom will ship, to help support writers. Buy a subscription to a decent newspaper, to encourage and support their reporting. 

And if you want to get really massive karma points, buy (some of) these things and gift them to people working in healthcare right now. Those people are risking their lives for us. You could order some pizzas (or whatever, especially anything chocolate) for your local ER staff, just to thank them for being on the front lines. 

Things are going to be tough for many people. You won’t be alone if you struggle. But, if you keep in mind that we are all in this together and that the virus and its effects are not permanent, you’ll get through it. 

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You Are the Cause of Your Own Suffering

I heard a dharma teacher speak those title words on a podcast this morning. A related Buddhist phrase is “Pain is inevitable; suffering is a choice.” In my spiritual practice, I think about this idea often. It is, roughly speaking, that bad things happen to us all the time and we can never protect ourselves against all of these bad things (not even most of them); however, how we react to the bad things in our lives is directly related to the suffering we feel.

I also think about this idea often in my other practice, my legal one. What does this have to do with the law and, more importantly, your business? Lots! 

For example, when you find an infringement of your copyrights, like your art on someone else’s website, that is painful. The infringer has violated your rights and it seems perfectly reasonable for you to feel angry and upset. Instead, as an attorney, I counsel quiet acceptance of the way things are. This isn’t flakiness, it’s wise legally. I mean, you can’t control the infringer’s behavior and the infringement has happened already: no matter how angry or hurt you get, you won’t change those facts. But if you get angry and strike out, you’ll definitely feel worse, not better. So, take a breath and, gather your thoughts… and your emotions. 

If you strike out at the infringer in anger (even righteous anger), that will make things worse. You might send an email that amounts to legal threats/extortion, or publicly shame someone and later find out you had the wrong “bad guy,” or lose a client because you embarrassed it. But even if none of that bad stuff happens, attacking like that will not make the infringement go away or get you made whole. Instead, you’ll just suffer more because you’ve behaved badly and you haven’t made the pain go away or changed the reality of the infringement. 

Playing the victim won’t help either. It won’t make the infringement stop, it won’t punish the infringer in any way, and it won’t get you paid (if that’s what you want). You’ll just feel worse. There is your suffering, brought on by your own choices.

Now, “quiet acceptance of the way things are” doesn’t mean “do nothing.” Instead, after you take that breath and gather your thoughts, gather evidence. Here’s a post I wrote on that. Even if you decide to do nothing now (one option), you’ll have the evidence if you change your mind (you have three years from when you discovered the infringement, usually, to file suit). After you get the evidence, think about what will make you feel better, feel whole now. Then, take the calm and rational steps to make that happen, like hire a lawyer to get you money, ask the infringer for a credit line and payment yourself, filing a DMCA Takedown, whatever.  

As for protection, you can’t stop determined infringers. You can let go of feeling guilty, like it’s your fault they infringed–it’s not– and feeling guilty is choosing to suffer. However, you can make it easier to get satisfaction after they do their bad deeds if you take the right steps like using watermarks (especially in the form of proper copyright notices), registering your copyrights, using good metadata in your files, and getting good evidence.

Things like infringement are going to happen to you. When they do, there is no reason for you to suffer.

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