Alternatives TLC, LLC

Directions Website Contact the business

Alternatives TLC, LLC I help people get organized. Personally and professionally. I'm an operational, organizational & HR

๐—” ๐—ท๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ. ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฑ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€, ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜.I'm on the last leg of an almost two-week journey, sitting in a beautiful ...
10/12/2026

๐—” ๐—ท๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ. ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฑ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€, ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜.

I'm on the last leg of an almost two-week journey, sitting in a beautiful home overlooking a lake in northern Michigan.

I'm visiting two of my dearest friends.

We met 55 years ago, shortly after I graduated from college and began teaching in Milan, MI. He was a school administrator, and I taught at the middle school where he eventually became the principal. She was a teacher of spinning and dyeing and did workshiops at Greenfield Village. Early on, the three of us became the best of friends. And we've remained that way ever since.

Today, he has Alzheimer's, and she is beginning her own journey with dementia.

I came because I wanted to see them again. Perhaps for the last time.

I also came to help their daughter and son by creating an inventory of their home and treasured, world-class antique spinning wheel collection, something that will make things a little easier for them in the years ahead.

When I arrived, he wasn't doing well. He didn't really remember me.

But something wonderful has happened.

He's perked up. He's helping me with the cataloging, just like we did in Ann Arbor, in their dining room, so many years ago. We're getting to know each other again. And everyone is amazed at how well he's been doing since I've been here.

In fact, this visit has meant so much to me that I extended my stay by two days. I'm just not ready to say goodbye.

Every morning, I sit and look out at the lake. I work at the dining room table, surrounded by the beauty of northern Michigan and more than half a century of memories.

I think about the young people we were, the lives we've lived, the laughter we've shared, and the extraordinary gift of a friendship that has lasted 55 years.

And sometimes, all those memories come flooding back.

๐—œ ๐˜€๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—บ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€.

Because some friendships truly do last a lifetime.

10/05/2026

๐—ช๐—ฒโ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ. ๐—ข๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฒ?

I met someone at a conference recently, and we agreed to have dinner the following evening.

She didnโ€™t have a business card. I didnโ€™t think much about it at the time.

The next afternoon, after the conference had ended, I emailed her to make sure we were still on for dinner.

But I didnโ€™t have her cell phone number.

I couldnโ€™t call her.
I couldnโ€™t text her.

I went to the hotel front desk and discovered she'd already checked out. And calling her room wasnโ€™t an option anyway. The hotel no longer had the kind of landline system we once took for granted because, of course, everyone has a cell phone now.

Except I didnโ€™t have her number.

So I went to the conference app. No phone number.

I went to her website. No cell phone number for her. Only an office number. And it was a Sunday.

I checked LinkedIn. No phone number.

And it struck me how much communication has changed.

There was a time when you exchanged business cards with someone you met. The card had an office number, maybe a direct line, sometimes even a home number.

Now we have email, websites, LinkedIn, messaging apps and cell phones, yet sometimes thereโ€™s no obvious way to actually reach someone when you need to.

Maybe the business card wasnโ€™t so outdated after all.

๐—›๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ป๐—ผ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ด๐˜† ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต... ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ?

10/01/2026

๐—ช๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ ๐—ท๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„?

Apparently, thatโ€™s become quite a debate.

A recent New York Times article, โ€œIs It Unprofessional to Bring Iced Coffee to a Job Interview?โ€, looks at the reaction to a recruiter who suggested that arriving at an interview with an iced coffee can appear too casual.

But I think the more interesting question is bigger than the coffee.

What does โ€œprofessionalโ€ mean today?

Workplace expectations change. Dress codes change. Communication styles change. Even where and how we interview has changed.

But employers still have expectations, whether theyโ€™ve clearly communicated them or not.

And candidates are making judgments about employers at the same time.

Thatโ€™s where this gets interesting for small and growing businesses.

How many of your workplace expectations are actually written down and communicated, and how many do you simply assume people should know?

Because what seems like common sense to one generation, manager, or business owner may not seem obvious at all to someone else.

The iced coffee may just be the latest example.

Hereโ€™s the New York Times article that started me thinking about it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/style/iced-coffee-job-interview-unprofessional.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FVE._RMB.Qnb6DigIMxaE&smid=url-share

So, I have to ask:

Iced coffee at a job interview. Professional or not?

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ?I was reminded last night why that matters.We released t...
09/28/2026

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ?

I was reminded last night why that matters.

We released the new ๐—”๐—ง๐—Ÿ๐—– ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜ page on our website.

๐—œ๐˜ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

Then I opened it on my iPhone.

It was a mess.

Roughly 58โ€“65% of website activity happens on mobile phones, compared with about 32โ€“39% on computers and only 1.5โ€“3% on tablets.

Yet many of us build, edit and review our websites sitting at a computer.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต.

We actually turned the Toolkit page off for mobile visitors until we can optimize it properly.

Something that looks perfect on a large screen may be awkward, out of order, cut off, difficult to read or simply frustrating on a phone.

๐—ฆ๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ, ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐˜‚๐—ฝ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น.

Check the menus. Click the buttons. Fill out the forms. Read the text. Follow the links.

See your website the way most of your visitors do.

๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ โ€œ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐˜€ ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—บ๐˜† ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ!โ€ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด.

๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ.They should be exactly where you expect to find them.Unless, of cour...
09/25/2026

๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ. ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ.

They should be exactly where you expect to find them.

Unless, of course, you have them scattered all over the place.

With a norโ€™easter threatening the East Coast, recent severe weather in Hawaii, and elevated fire risk in parts of the West, this is a reminder that preparation isnโ€™t just about supplies.

๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€. ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป.

Before the weather turns, take time to:

โ€ข photograph important home and business items
โ€ข save serial numbers, receipts, and warranty information
โ€ข back up critical digital files and documents
โ€ข keep everything in one secure system

When something unexpected happens, the last thing you want is to be trying to remember what you own, where the paperwork is, or whether that important file was saved somewhere else.

๐—” ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฝ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ. ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†, ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—บ๐˜€, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€.

Thatโ€™s what Pinventory is for.

Pinventory is a secure online inventory and data management system for important home and business information, documents, and records.

๐—ง๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—Ÿ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ% ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ ๐—ฃ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—›๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ & ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€.

09/24/2026

Last night I joined a ๐—ก๐—”๐—ฃ๐—ข ๐—š๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ญ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป with a group of experienced professional organizers who have all been in business for more than five years.

Thank you, Jennifer Lava and Monica Ricci for helping bring together and moderate such a thoughtful conversation about growing a business, adding staff, working with independent contractors versus employees, and some of the practical issues that come with managing a larger operation.

What made the discussion especially valuable was the depth of experience in the room. Everyone had learned something different along the way. With over 17 people on the call, there were literally more than 250 years of business experience in one place!

Having spent more than 40 years in business myself, including running companies with employees, working with independent contractors and operating as a solopreneur, I enjoyed being able to contribute some of what Iโ€™ve learned, as well.

Two things the conversation really reinforced for me:

โ€ข Growth creates opportunity, but it also creates new operational and compliance responsibilities that are easy to overlook until they become a problem.

โ€ข We also spent a lot of time talking about the importance of knowing when and how to delegate administrative work, so the business owner can focus on the work only they can do.

Great discussion, and Iโ€™m looking forward to the next one!

๐—œ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜€' ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต๐˜€. ๐—œ'๐—บ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ.Nope.๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ป'๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ-๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ-๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ.Completing a Form I...
09/23/2026

๐—œ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜€' ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต๐˜€. ๐—œ'๐—บ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ.

Nope.

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ป'๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ-๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ-๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ.

Completing a Form I-9 when an employee is hired is only the beginning of the employer's responsibility.

Forms need to be properly retained. Some employees' employment authorization may need to be reverified. Corrections may need to be made when errors are discovered or requirements are reinterpreted. Forms for terminated employees need to be retained until the applicable retention period has expired.

And employers need to stay current with Form I-9 requirements, instructions and guidance.

๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ต๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ.

A Form I-9 that was put in a binder years ago shouldn't simply be forgotten because someone assumes it was completed correctly at the time. And an internal review may identify errors or omissions that weren't caught when the form was originally completed.

๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜. ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ ๐—œ-๐Ÿต ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€.

A Form I-9 is a federal form that virtually every employer must complete for every employee hired to work in the United States, regardless of the employer's size and nationality and the employee's nationality.

๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ ๐˜-9. ๐˜๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฎ. ๐˜๐˜ต'๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด.

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐——๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐˜†๐—œ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ...
09/22/2026

๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐——๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐˜†

๐—œ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ปโ€™๐˜.

Employees look to their leaders for direction, stability, and communication when things become uncertain. They want to know:

โ€ข Whatโ€™s happening?
โ€ข What does it mean for me?
โ€ข What are we doing next?
โ€ข Who can I go to with questions?

Strong leadership during difficult periods doesnโ€™t mean having every answer.

It means communicating clearly, making thoughtful decisions, staying consistent, and giving employees confidence that someone is paying attention.

A Forbes article on leading through uncertainty highlights many of the same qualities:

โœ… Clear communication
โœ… Support and empathy
โœ… Calm decision-making
โœ… Stability and consistency
โœ… Resilience and adaptability

For small businesses, these things matter even more because employees are often much closer to the owner and leadership team.

People may not remember every detail of a difficult period.

๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜†โ€™๐—น๐—น ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€.

That matters long after the uncertainty is over.

In times of criss, your organization is looking to you for answers about not only what to do but also how to feel and treat each other.

"Don't worry... I put it somewhere safe."๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—น๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป. ๐Ÿ˜„Somewh...
09/18/2026

"Don't worry... I put it somewhere safe."

๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—น๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป. ๐Ÿ˜„

Somewhere safe could mean:

The file cabinet.
The desk drawer.
The box in the closet.
The other box in the other closet.
The kitchen drawer where apparently important things go to disappear.

And then thereโ€™s:

โ€œI know we still have the receipt.โ€

โ€œIโ€™m pretty sure I took a picture of it.โ€

โ€œThe serial number must be on the back.โ€

โ€œI know we own one. I just donโ€™t know where it is.โ€

Thatโ€™s the problem with relying on memory instead of an inventory.

You donโ€™t need to remember everything you own or need to keep track of, where you bought it, what you paid for it, where the paperwork is, or which โ€œsafe placeโ€ you chose five years ago.

๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜†๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚.

๐™๐™๐™–๐™ฉโ€™๐™จ ๐™ฌ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™‹๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™ซ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฎ'๐™จ ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง.

www.pinventory.com

โ€œ๐— ๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ'๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต.โ€Nope.A driver's license may establish your employe...
09/16/2026

โ€œ๐— ๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ'๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต.โ€

Nope.

A driver's license may establish your employee's identity for Form I-9 purposes.

๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—น๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ณ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฑ.

When completing a Form I-9, an employee must provide documentation that establishes ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป.

An acceptable driver's license is generally a ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—• document. List B establishes identity.

If the employee chooses to present a List B document, they must also present an acceptable ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—– document, which establishes employment authorization.

Or the employee can choose an acceptable ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—” document, which establishes both.

๐—”๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ: ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ.

A Form I-9 is a federal form that virtually every employer must complete for every employee hired to work in the United States, regardless of the employer's size and nationality and the employee's nationality.

๐™๐™ค๐™ง๐™ข ๐™„-9. ๐™„๐™ฉ ๐™ž๐™จ๐™ฃ'๐™ฉ ๐™Ÿ๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™– ๐™›๐™ค๐™ง๐™ข. ๐™„๐™ฉ'๐™จ ๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™ค๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™˜๐™š๐™จ๐™จ.

Address

Ridgewood, NJ
07506

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alternatives TLC, LLC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Alternatives TLC, LLC:

Shortcuts

Share