Business

The Art of Crushing It by Omer Del Villar

Published

5 years ago

July 2, 2020

If you need the motivation to overcome the obstacles before you, then the story of Omar Del Villar should be all the motivation that you need!

Regardless of where you come from or how you started in life, success is always available to you if you have the right motivation and follow the correct principals. Omar Del Villar is the living proof that if you work hard and strive to achieve success, then you can reach your goals! As the successful owner of Echelon Smiles and co-owner of Go Giveaways, he has been kicking goals since he started down the path of entrepreneurial success.

Any startup is going to take a massive amount of hard work. Movies and television have made the idea of creating and managing a startup to be something like finding the perfect idea and then sitting back and watching and counting the money as it starts rolling in. The truth is somewhat more complicated, but that doesn’t mean that the dream is no less achievable.

Although creating a brand, a company, or a startup is fulfilling and rewarding in its own right. You’re going to have to invest a lot of blood sweat and tears into the venture before you see it become a success. Success is never guaranteed either. Failure is always lurking just around the corner, and you can’t afford to sit back and just relax until the project is complete.

Success isn’t always a success; how you imagined it would be!

You can succeed in life but still, fail in your goals. Startups and businesses may seem like a success from the outside, but when you speak to the people that started them and poured their blood, sweat, and tears into them, they would call them a failure. It’s easy to become so involved in the new business that you lose

Many startups and businesses look successful from the outside, but if you spoke to their original founders, they would consider them a failure. Why? Because of the long hours, the money invested, the toll that they took on their friends and families. It’s essential that you don’t lose sight of your goals during any new business venture.

To help make this a little easier, Omar has come up with his guiding principals that he has used successfully on his rise to the top and during the successful creation of his businesses. No two companies are the same, but hopefully, through utilizing his advice, your next business venture or startup will go much smoother and be a huge success!

Start off by defining your personal goals before you set the purposes of your business!

It’s vital that your personal goals drive your professional goals and business goals, not the other way around. If you aren’t happy with your personal life, then what hope do you have of achieving success and happiness in your professional life? There are a few simple ways that you can define your personal goals.

You want to start off by writing down your personal goals. This will allow you to own the decisions you make along your journey and ensure that you don’t lose track of them along the way. If you have them written down somewhere, you’re less likely to ignore them. It’s easy to disregard them or change them to suit your current situation if you haven’t got them written down somewhere.

Focus on your strengths rather than always trying to fix your weaknesses!

It’s easy to develop tunnel vision on your idea or business, assuming that you’re the only one who can take it to the next level. You can get hung up on different parts of the process that need to be fixed or changed and assume all the responsibility for making those corrections or changes.

Surround yourself with people that are strong in their own rights. Look for people that can help you build-up the areas of your brand or business that you don’t have all the technical know-how for. If you struggle with the business but have a great idea, then look for people that have the business knowledge and experience that you lack.

Would you rather sit and watch your dream never come to fruition, or would you prefer to see that dream become a reality? If you’re a great people person and fantastic at making connections, then focus on that and allow other people to utilize their strengths.

Create realistic goals along your journey towards success!

If you wanted to make a million dollars, would that be your only goal? If you wanted a million followers on social media, would you make that figure you’re only goal? Of course you wouldn’t! You need to set yourself realistic goals and milestones along your journey to keep pushing and rewarding yourself for your hard work.

One way to keep you motivated throughout your rise to the top is to set yourself realistic and achievable milestones. It’s important to reward yourself when you achieve your milestones to keep you motivated to reach the next one. Otherwise, you can lose your focus and drive along your journey. Small rewards are a great way to keep your motivation high as you strive to achieve your dreams.

Be honest with yourself, and always follow through when you make decisions!

It’s always easy to talk the talk, but when it comes to practicing what you preach, are you following through? If you’re the leader of your company, then people look up to you and expect you to lead by example. A weak leader is never going to inspire his team to go above and beyond in the tasks that they complete.

If you want your employees or team members to thrive and flourish through healthy work-life balances, then it’s crucial that you do the same. Never neglect your personal life in exchange for your business, as this is time that you’ll never be able to get back. Many successful entrepreneurs look back and wish that they could have some of the time they put into their businesses back, but time is one thing you cannot buy.

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work hard, but always remember what it is that you’re working hard for!

Don’t be afraid to learn and celebrate your success

There is always something to learn. A new skill, a new hobby, or a new way of doing things that you hadn’t been aware of before. Never be afraid to learn new things and embrace new ideas; you never know if it’s one of those new ideas that could be your greatest success and achievement!

Hopefully, by following the above principals, you’ll enjoy as much success in business and life as Omar has! Good luck with your business or brand, and never lose sight of your goals.

Business

Why Multi-Province Payroll Compliance Is the Hidden Challenge Canadian SMBs Face and How Folks Solves It

Published

5 days ago

November 6, 2025

Matthew Wiles

Photo courtesy of: Folks

Byline: Shem Albert

Running payroll in Canada can feel like crossing a country stitched from many different fabrics. Each province weaves its own pattern of tax rules, leave policies, and benefit requirements, creating a landscape where a single misstep can ripple through every paycheck. For small and mid-sized businesses, the challenge often remains hidden until growth pushes hiring beyond provincial borders or brings remote workers into the fold. What seems like a routine back-office task quickly becomes a test of accuracy, timing, and local knowledge. This is the gap that Folks set out to close, offering a way for employers to navigate Canada’s regulatory patchwork without slowing their momentum.

Provincial Rules Add Complexity

Canada’s payroll environment varies sharply by province. Federal rules set the foundation, but provincial tax rates, deductions, statutory leave entitlements, and benefit premiums add layers of complexity that employers must monitor carefully. Small and mid-sized businesses with staff across provinces or remote employees face different tax tables, reporting deadlines, and leave calculations that directly affect pay accuracy and remittance schedules.

Folks built its payroll module to address these differences. The platform calculates the correct provincial tax rates and deductions for each employee, applying updates automatically so employers avoid misapplied withholdings or late filings. Multi-location tax management allows a company with workers in Ontario, Quebec, or several other provinces to process payroll without creating separate accounts for each jurisdiction. Bilingual functionality in English and French and secure Canadian data hosting support compliance while keeping employee records accessible across language and regional boundaries.

Unified Records Improve Accuracy

Payroll errors often stem from mismatched employee data. Changes in pay rates, banking details, or benefits eligibility may not align between HR and finance systems, creating incorrect deductions or delayed payments. Smaller teams juggling separate platforms spend valuable hours reconciling information instead of focusing on strategic work.

Folks resolves these issues by combining HR and payroll in one platform. Updates to wages, hours, or tax information entered on the HR side flow directly into payroll without re-entry. This single, verified record strengthens the accuracy of every payroll run and ensures employees receive the correct pay and deductions. By removing the need for repetitive administrative work, HR staff can redirect their time to tasks that support growth and employee engagement.

Automation Keeps Provinces in Step

Each province sets its own requirements for holiday pay, pay frequency, and statutory benefits, making manual calculations both time-consuming and error-prone. Businesses that expand or hire remote employees must keep pace with shifting provincial regulations or risk penalties and audit issues.

Folks address these demands with automation designed for Canada’s regulatory landscape. Pay statements, deduction calculations, and custom pay schedules follow the applicable provincial rules without extra configuration. The system’s automated updates mean that a company hiring staff in British Columbia or Quebec can meet local payroll standards without adding new layers of setup or monitoring. Employers gain the ability to expand into new regions while maintaining accurate, on-time pay.

Reporting Strengthens Compliance

Changing tax rates and reporting requirements require ongoing attention from HR and finance teams. Companies that rely on disconnected systems risk missing a provincial update or submitting incorrect remittances, which can lead to fines and interest charges.

Folks provides detailed reporting tools that compile payroll, deductions, and benefits information across all locations. Employers can generate clear remittance and deduction summaries, simplifying the process of meeting provincial filing requirements. For organizations that want additional guidance, Folks also offers a payroll management service that brings in-house specialists to assist with configuration, compliance, and regular updates. These reporting features help companies stay audit-ready and avoid costly compliance gaps.

Scalable Payroll for Expanding Businesses

Many small businesses begin in a single province, where local tax and payroll demands can be learned over time. Growth into new provinces or the decision to hire remote staff adds a level of complexity that manual processes cannot handle efficiently. Errors multiply, compliance risks rise, and payroll teams spend more time correcting mistakes than supporting expansion plans.

Folks provides payroll that scales with company growth. Provincial tax logic, automated deductions, bilingual support, and secure Canadian data storage are built directly into the platform. By maintaining an accurate employee record and applying province-specific rules automatically, the system allows Canadian SMBs to expand with fewer administrative surprises and more predictable payroll operations. Companies gain the stability of compliant payroll across provinces while controlling the time and costs that typically accompany multi-jurisdiction growth.