Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Get Creative, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Marketing Yourself, Motivational, Succession Initiative, Susan L Combs | Tags: Combs & Company, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Succession Initiative, Susan L Combs
So I have the pleasure of writing for the Succession Initiative for LifeHealthPro and they come to me with questions from their readers and I get to respond to them! Here is the latest one:
The Challenge…
Meeting The Challenge…
Hi Terry,
First off, I basically equate that to a mother not teaching her son how to cook and do laundry because she knows he’ll find a wife to do it for him! Learning how to prospect is a life skill in sales. You have to get it down pat in order to be successful in this career. Being handed leads are the reward after you have proven yourself, you know?
OK … now to get off of my soapbox and offer a solution.
Network.
Network with everyone and anyone if you are starting out. Book lunches, coffees and drinks with other salespeople and business professionals in different fields. Get your elevator pitch down and be specific about who you want to be introduced to that are good lead sources for you (CPAs, attorneys, etc.) Be specific about your ideal client, too; if you say “business owners,” they are going to hear Charlie Brown’s parents talking and you’ll go nowhere. Click here to read more!
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Giving Back, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing Yourself, Millennials, Susan L Combs | Tags: Broker Motivation, Combs & Company, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Susan L Combs
Dear New Millennial Broker,
So you know I love to give advice by now, right? I recently spoke at Baruch College, a business school in NYC where I serve as a mentor. I didn’t go to school there — I mentor there because the students inspire me.
The theme for the night was: Dream Big, Do More.
How powerful!
I find we so often start thinking about how to improve ourselves or start off the New Year right, but oftentimes we forget to go back to the basics of what got us to where we are today. Dream big, do more. To learn more click here.
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Exciting News, Marketing Yourself, Story Exchange, Susan L Combs | Tags: 1000 Stories, Combs & Company, Story Exchange, Susan L Combs
The Story Exchange is a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling the personal and professional stories of women business owners. They showcase the often-overlooked entrepreneurial women around the world who are contributing to their communities and collectively making an impact on the global economy. As an independent 501(c)(3) digital initiative, they aim to provide role models to other women who are pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. To learn more about The Story Exchange click here! If you would like to visit Susan Combs’s Story Exchange page please click here!
Filed under: Branding You, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Marketing, Millennials, Susan L Combs, Uncategorized, WIFS | Tags: Benefit Selling, Broker Motivation, Combs & Company, Get Creative, Innovative Broker Lab, Marketing, Susan L Combs
I was supposed to be heading back from Atlanta today, but Snowmageddon had a different idea of me and I was unable to leave NYC after about 30 inches of snow fell in my neighborhood. So I did the next best thing as a Millennial/Gen X-cusper and Skyped in for a two-day board meeting for WIFS, the national organization where I currently serve as the Immediate Past President. My biggest takeaway was the concept of Start Stop Continue, which was introduced to me by leadership coach, Whitney Siavelis.
Such a simple thing really, but I think will be tremendous in both my practice and my board work and I wanted to share it with you! It’s a way to be more intentional with what you are doing and realize what is working and what isn’t. Click here to continue reading.
Filed under: Affordable Care Act, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, HR, Important Notice, Obamacare, Reform, Susan L Combs | Tags: ACA, Combs & Company, Insurance Terms, National Healthcare, Penalties
So we are in the home stretch! Three more days to go and then Open Enrollment ends for 2016. From experience, I have learned that many people wait until the last minute to pick a plan and some people just continue to bury their heads in the sand. So for those of you that are wondering, how much it’s going to cost you if you don’t get your act together, take a look at this user friendly graphic that will show you what to expect!
Filed under: Affordable Care Act, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Obamacare, PPACA, Reform | Tags: ACA, Combs & Company, Insurance Terms
WHO? . . . ALEs must report.
For 2015 information reporting requirements, an Applicable Large Employer (ALE) is subject to the Affordable Care Act health coverage information reporting requirements. For more information on Employer Shared Responsibility and which employers are required to offer coverage, contact our office.
Please note that this applies to:
• Employers who had 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, in 2014
• Governmental, tribal, tax-exempt, or for-profit employers
• ALEs-whether or not the employers offered health coverage to employees
WHAT? . . . IRS reporting is required for health coverage information.
An ALE must file information returns with the IRS and provide statements to each employee who was a full-time employee for at least one month of the year about health coverage. The employer is required to indicate if they offered health coverage or did not offer health coverage.
WHICH FORMS? . . . Forms 1094-C and 1095-C must be submitted to the IRS.
• Form 1094-C. Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Return is used to report to the IRS summary information for each employer and to transmit Form 1095-C to the IRS.
• Form 1095-C. Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, is used to report required information to your employees and to report information about each employee to the IRS.
WHEN? . . . Prepare now for the upcoming due dates.
• Forms 1095-C must be provided to your employees by March 31, 2016.
• Forms 1094-C and 1095-C are due to the IRS by May 31, 2016, if filing by paper, or June 30, 2016, if filing electronically.
NEED HELP?
Contact us immediately for a solution that fits your unique filing needs.
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Happy Holidays, Uncategorized | Tags: Combs & Company
Click here to check out our special New Year’s video message from Combs & Co!
Filed under: BeadforLife, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Giving Back, Happy Holidays, Susan L Combs, Uncategorized | Tags: BeadforLife, Combs & Company, Happy Holidays
This year, in lieu of gifts and cards, Combs & Company is donating to
BeadforLife in our clients’ honor.
Combs & Co. has been a longtime supporter of BeadforLife – a nonprofit that works with women living in poverty to provide them with skills that enable them to become successful, savvy, and sustainable entrepreneurs. For over ten years, BeadforLife has trained women through their Beads to Business program – an 18-month course that teaches women how to make beaded jewelry out of paper, which they sell to earn capital to start businesses in their local markets. Since BeadforLife began, they have facilitated the creation of nearly 3,000 businesses, helping more than 40,000 people through the women and their families!
With help from supporters like Combs & Co., BeadforLife has already completed a rapid prototyping by training other women’s organizations on how to incorporate the Street Business School (SBS) model into their programs. These organizations provide SBS training to women in their own communities and help them become successful entrepreneurs! To expand globally, and ultimately reach their goal of having one million women trained in the SBS program by 2027, BeadforLife started the Ignite One Million campaign.
In November, Combs and Co. made a significant contribution to this campaign and unlocked a matching gift – making an investment worth $20,000! This money will help BeadforLife train more organizations around the world and evaluate their effectiveness to create the best plan to ignite the potential of one million women!
If you would like to join Combs & Co. in supporting BeadforLife’s efforts, and possibly have your own gift matched, please visit www.beadforlife.org/ignite
For more information about this wonderful organization visit BeadforLife at www.beadforlife.org
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
The Combs & Company Crew
Susan, Rachel, Jennifer, Colleen, Yahaira, Chris,
Anthony, Carol, Tish, Valerie & Hayley
Filed under: Co-Ops, Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Health Insurance, Innovative Broker Lab, Susan L Combs | Tags: Combs & Company, Farewll to the Co-Ops, Innovative Broker Lab, Susan L Combs
Talk about a cluster! If you are in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee or (insert state that has probably been added in the past hour) I am feeling your pain over the co-op shutdown.
In New York, we were under the impression we had until 1/1 to secure coverage for our clients, only to get an email around 4pm on Friday, October 30th that Health Republic of New York was being shut down as of 11/30 by the state of New York. As if it wasn’t busy enough during open enrollment! To add insult to injury, guess who hasn’t been paid by the co-ops since September? How we all love to work for free! Click here to continue reading.
Filed under: Combs & Company, Combs & Company Blog, Motivational, Penn Mutual, Susan L Combs, WIFS | Tags: Broker Motivation, Combs & Company, Susan L Combs, WIFS
No doubt about it, financial services is a great career for women. As the current president of Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS), I ought to know. Founded in 1936, WIFS is the only organization for women, by women, in the insurance and financial services industry. Our core mission is about attracting, developing and advancing women in this career.
My work with WIFS has connected me with women from all across the country. Some of them are veterans who have become extremely successful, while others are just getting started. I often get asked for advice on how women can be successful in this industry. Click here for my top tips to women considering a career in financial services.
combsandco 