The Story Exchange
March 2, 2016, 1:45 pm
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!
Start. Stop. Continue. By Susan L. Combs
February 1, 2016, 1:24 pm
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.
So what’s my penalty if I don’t enroll?
January 28, 2016, 11:44 am
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,
PenaltiesSo 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!
2016 DEADLINES – ACA IRS HEALTH COVERAGE INFORMATION REPORTING FOR ALEs
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.
Happy Holidays from Combs & Co!
December 22, 2015, 5:35 pm
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
Farewell to the Co-Ops By Susan L. Combs
December 14, 2015, 1:47 pm
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.
My Advice to Women Looking for a Career in Financial Services
November 25, 2015, 6:05 pm
Filed under:
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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.
Quit complaining about PPACA and get creative
October 21, 2015, 1:09 pm
Filed under:
Affordable Care Act,
Combs & Company,
Get Creative,
Innovative Broker Lab | Tags:
ACA,
Benefit Selling,
Broker Motivation,
Combs & Company,
Get Creative,
Innovative Broker Lab,
Marketing
I have been traveling and speaking at many conferences this past year and often attend seminars on PPACA. The thing that perplexes me is how my colleagues who are spending thousands of dollars to attend these conferences are still bitching about it. Get over it people… If you are still going to church and lighting a candle that it is going to be repealed, in my opinion, you are wasting time that could be better spent educating yourself and helping your clients.
When I’m faced with a challenge the first thing I ask myself is: “What would it look like if…?” Click here to take a step back and do that.
Decoding the millennials
September 24, 2015, 10:15 am
Filed under:
Combs & Company,
Get Creative,
Innovative Broker Lab,
Marketing,
Millennials | Tags:
Combs & Company,
Get Creative,
Innovative Broker Lab,
Marketing,
Millennials
So I recently spoke at the Mutual of Omaha National Sales Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska and one of their keynotes was Jason Dorsey. If you’ve never heard him speak, he’s high energy and a lot of fun. He’s basically the “magic decoder ring” when it comes to figuring out millennials.
I’ve always thought that I just missed this generation, but I was informed that Jason is almost exactly a year older than me … and I was annoyed to learn that at age 36, I’m part of this group. He also enlightened me with the knowledge that most Gen Yers feel like they are special and don’t belong in this group. Ho hum…
Click here for some of the key takeaways from his talk that really gave me some “aha” moments.
combsandco 