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{You Pick Six} An Interview with Co-Founder of New Grounds Food: Johnny Fayad

September 22, 2020June 25, 2016 by Lisa Johnson

As I mentioned recently, I attended Amplify, an event in Boston hosted by Branchfood. One of the local food companies there was New Grounds Food, makers of the CoffeeBar.

At the event, I was able to sample a CoffeeBar and (full disclosure) was given some to go. They are pretty good!

For those of you who don’t have time to drink your coffee in the morning, but still want the caffeine, you might just want to try one.

Johnny Fayad is a co-founder of the company that he started with Ali Kothari when they were freshman business students. They wasted no time!

So let’s learn a little bit more about Johnny in the 13th interview in the series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite dessert?
Trader Joe’s chocolate lava cakes with vanilla bean ice cream! Super quick and super delicious.

What is a favorite snack?
Pita bread with tomatoes and some veggies dipped in my mom’s iconic hummus with a little olive oil on top.

What is a favorite food movie?
Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I want to go there to eat one day (hopefully, while Jiro is still at the helm!)

What is a favorite quote?
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

– Dr. Seuss

What is the best meal you ever had and where was it?
Whenever my cousin comes to Boston for work, he’ll typically spoil me with a really nice dinner. One of the best ones was at a sushi restaurant called Oishii in the South End where we had so many amazing dishes from squid ink pasta to different preparations of uni. So good.

How did food become an important part of your life?
Food has always been a huge part of my life. Starting with my mom who is a macrobiotic chef and all she does is cook, so we were raised where delicious food was the norm and rarely went out to eat. My love for food definitely grew as I started serving at a sushi restaurant in high school and a seafood restaurant in my first couple years of college. More recently, after starting New Grounds Food, I’ve been able to see and experience all of the work that goes into bringing food to life, which has given me a deeper appreciation for the food in our lives.

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Thank you so much for participating Johnny!

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Photos: Provided by Johnny Fayad.

*Updated 9/22/2020* The company name and website changed, so several links in this interview were updated.

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Tax Day: Tax Tips for Bloggers

July 30, 2020April 18, 2016 by Lisa Johnson 2 Comments

*This post is not tax or legal advice. See full disclosure below.*

It’s Tax Day! At least for those of you not in Maine or Massachusetts. We have until April 19th to file our returns, because of Patriots’ Day today.

Back in 2012 and 2014, I wrote some posts with tax tips for bloggers. Since the subject of blogging income interests me and many readers as well, I thought I’d revisit the topic. There’s always a new crop of bloggers out there!

Generally, if you earn money blogging, that is considered income. You may have accidentally become an entrepreneur by turning your passion project into a job. Or maybe from the beginning, you wanted to earn money by blogging.

The way you think about your blogging work is key, especially when it comes to the IRS. Once you have the intent to make a profit and you treat your blogging like a business, then you may be considered self-employed.

While you may not be earning full-time money that you can live on, it doesn’t matter. You may be considered self-employed even with a part-time business. The threshold for earnings is surprisingly low according to the IRS.

You have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more. If your net earnings from self-employment were less than $400, you still have to file an income tax return if you meet any other filing requirement …

There are benefits to treating your blogging as work that you are doing for profit versus a hobby. Below is an IRS rule to remember.

In general, taxpayers may deduct ordinary and necessary expenses for conducting a trade or business or for the production of income. Trade or business activities and activities engaged in for the production of income are activities engaged in for profit.

If you are paying to eat at a restaurant, so you blog about your meal and you are earning advertising revenue on your blog, you might be able to deduct the cost of your meal as an ordinary and necessary expense for conducting the business of your blog.

These are just a few things to think about when you earn money from blogging. Below are links to some recent articles that go into more detail. You may find them interesting and helpful as well.

If you already filed for 2015, this post may come to late, but you can always start planning for next year!

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Tax Tips for Bloggers [Intuit Turbo Tax]

Travel Blogger Denied Tax Writeoff For European Backpacking Trip [Forbes]

Tax Time: What Bloggers Need to Know [Katy Widrick]

Business Expenses for Bloggers (What can I deduct?) [Brilliant Business Moms]

Taxes for Food Bloggers: Deductions. [Fervent Foodie]

The Blogger’s Guide to Tax Deductions [Kimi Who?]

Tax Filing Tips for Freelance Bloggers in the US, UK and Canada [Be a Freelance Blogger]

Home Office Tax Deductions for Small Business Owners [NerdWallet]

Favorite tax deductions of personal finance bloggers [PolicyGenius]

Blogging and Taxes – What You Need to Know [Making Sense of Cents]

Tax Tips for Freelancers in 2016 [Artisan Blog]

Blog Tip Thursday: Tax Tips for Bloggers, Part 1 [Healthy Living Blogs]

Blog Top Thursday: Tax Tips for Bloggers, Part 2 [Healthy Living Blogs]

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Disclaimer: While I am a Massachusetts licensed attorney, I’m not in private practice and not seeking clients. This post is not meant as legal or tax advice. Every individual has unique circumstances and questions. While I love comments on this blog and emails, no tax or legal questions will be answered here or via email. Please consult an attorney or accountant licensed in your jurisdiction for specific questions. The information contained in this post is for general informational purposes only and geared toward bloggers in the United States.

Photo: Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Food Blogger: El from Fresh New England

July 30, 2020September 28, 2015 by Lisa Johnson 2 Comments

As a lifelong New Englander and someone with a serious sweet tooth, finding El’s blog was like finding the holy grail.

First, take a look at her Instagram feed. See what I mean? Some of you may have been swept away for more than a few minutes. You’re probably hungry now too!

Her baking skills, photography and love for New England are self-evident. Plus, her writing is not only about food. She always has a takeaway message that will leave you thinking.

I can’t speak highly enough about El. So I’ll let her do the rest of the “talking” and share some thoughts with us for the fifth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
It’s more of a snack but it can be eaten any time of the day. Lightly toast a big, thick slice of crusty bread, smear it with soft goat cheese and top with spreadable jam. It tastes best when you use good quality New England made ingredients.

What is a favorite quote?
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
-William Morris

What is a favorite food movie?
Babette’s Feast. It’s a Danish story that portrays the centrality and meaning of food in our lives. It explores the notions of bringing people together over a meal and creating a meal for the sake of the meal. It also has strong themes of selflessness and generosity, which are typically present when we make food for others.

What is a favorite cookbook?
I love Bo Friberg’s Professional Pastry Chef. It’s well-researched and well-written. It addresses the fact that most desserts are made up of core, classic components. If you can master the components, your dessert repertoire is only limited by your imagination.

What do you think that most people don’t understand about food?
That local food isn’t necessarily more expensive than supermarket food. I spent a day visiting and recording prices at supermarket chains, organic farms and regular farms in the Greater Boston area. Do you know what I found? Almost consistently, per pound, the food from local farms – including organic farms- was cheaper than the food from the chain stores. Add that to the fact that local food is more nutritious, saves our beautiful and historic New England landscape, and supports the local economy and it’s easy to see that buying local food is the way to go.

Tell me about what you’re working on now.
As you know, Fresh New England has always been a great place to find information about New England’s culinary treasures. Now there’s a brand new companion site called Fresh New England Eats. The site is beautiful, searchable and has geolocation built in so can find the best local food in New England no matter where you are or what you’re doing. There are already over a thousand businesses listed on the site and we’re just getting started. The food community is really excited about it.

Basically, I’m on a mission to unite the New England food system into a single digital space. We have some of the best local food in the world and it’s time to give it the recognition it deserves.

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Thank you so much for participating El!

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Photo of Lemon Madeleines Dipped in White Chocolate provided by El.

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Public Relations Consultant: Chris Lyons

July 30, 2020September 21, 2015 by Lisa Johnson 3 Comments

If you’ve enjoyed learning about the latest restaurants, recent grocery store openings, and generally all things food related in the New England area, Chris Lyons Communications might have been behind the news.

She is a public relations consultant and entrepreneur who knows how to get things done and spread the word. She gets us bloggers involved and sometimes feeds us too!

I always enjoy learning more about the local food scene from Chris, so let’s learn a little more about her for the fourth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
Make your favorite meatloaf recipe, but instead of just pushing it into a pan, flatten in into an oblong (on wax paper) and layer on whatever vegetables and cheese you have in the fridge. Last week I used whole leaf spinach, sauteed leeks and burrata. Using the wax paper, roll the meat into a thick cylinder, seal the edges, and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Slices prettily and is good cold too.

What is a favorite dessert?
Anything made with cooked milk: dulce de leche, caramel, butterscotch.

What is a favorite snack?
I always crave sugar, never salt, and prefer things that are chewy. I love fruit leather, gummies and gumdrops, salt water taffy, DOTS.

What are some of your pet peeves in the kitchen?
I hate peeling things — apples, potatoes, cukes, etc.

What is a favorite cookbook?
Anything written by Cathy Walthers, a private chef and multi-cookbook author based on Martha’s Vineyard. Her “Raising the Salad Bar” is a minor classic.

Tell me about where you grew up.
I was born in Brooklyn and grew up mostly on Long Island, so the foods I feel most connected to emotionally are deli meats (I still adore olive loaf), full dill pickles, seeded rye bread, bagels, diner breakfasts and halvah. I’m the most Jewish WASP you’ll ever meet.

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Thank you so much for participating Chris!

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Photos provided by Public Relations Consultant Chris Lyons.