Monday 31 January 2011

J is for

Just about everything.

When you start a business, you feel like you need to know just about everything.  Stop and think this through.  While is it advisable to have a basic knowledge (and I mean basic) in how a business should be run, it is not necessary to have skills in every area of the business.

I have a foundation degree in business but I do not know everything there is to know about running a business.  I would rather chose to concentrate on the things that I can do, and do them well, than struggle to do those things I find challenging.  tax returns scare me! Seriously, I have a mother who has burnt sets of saucepans due to forgetting about dinner whilst her brain was engaged in her tax return.  Making a mistake with my business finances also scares me, I would hate to owe any money to anyone and not realise it.  This is why I outsource my accounts and tax returns to a lovely friendly accountant known as Mrs A star! 

I also am not THE best when it comes to marketing. (This is more like therapy that me passing on my knowledge!!!)  So once again I get in help with my marketing and this is in the form of Mrs Smith.  I also like to go over my fears and concerns with Mr Welsh busy bee as he runs an empire of a business and built it from scratch and so if anyone knows whether an idea works, it is he.

You see, I don't profess to know everything, nor do I really want to know everything. I just want to do what I can do well.  So, lovely business starter uppers, don't be afraid to get help to achieve what you have in your head.

My suggestion today, is that you sit down and think of all the things you need in your business to make it work and then once you have a list put your name next to all the things you can do and then you'll be left with the areas that you need help in.  If you need help then your local business Enterprise centre would be the first place I would go. They will help you as they can and then pass you onto other specialists if you need extra support.  

To get to where I am today, I have worked with The Princes Trust, The Welsh assembly government, Venture Wales, Neath Port Talbot College, Innov8 and the University of Glamorgan women's entrepreneur hub.  All of the people behind these organisations have helped me and there are plenty out there that will help you to. 

If you need the place to start then let me know where you are and I'll find out your first port of call.  Let me know how you get on.

Saturday 29 January 2011

My top tip for the weekend

OK, so it's the weekend!! My top tips for the weekend are:

1. Take some time off away from your ideas and plans and have some fun!!!! It is so important to have me time, family time, couple time. Whatever you need right now, do it today.
2. Before we start again on Monday with our A to Z guide, grab a book (A4 is best) and write the heading on every other page. give yourself two pages for each letter than I have covered so far.  The letters we have covered so far are:

A- A great idea
B- Be yourself
C- Concentration
D- Doing
E- Energy
F- Financials
G-Goals
H-Happiness
I- Income

Now before I post again on Monday make some notes about each of these to help get you on your way. If you have any questions about any of the things we covered this week, then leave a comment and I will make sure I answer it for you.

Have a great weekend, and just think in no time at all you 'll have a great small business!

Friday 28 January 2011

I is for

Income

Being in business is all about making money.  So with your new business idea in place you need to start thinking about the amount of income you want to bring in. If you know how much you want to earn, it makes it easier to set and live by your goals.  
The best place to start is to work out how much you need to live on. Here is a calculator from the money secrets website that may be great way to start.

If what you earn is only going to top up the family income, then everything you do earn will be a bonus. The most important thing to remember is to be above the law and register for self employment. It may seem scary but it really isn't. It's one simple form and they do the rest. If you don't earn very much then you don't pay tax. simples.

Once you are registered then you are free to go ahead and make your idea into a great business and a money making scheme.

Don't forget I am always here to support you and if you have any questions please use the comment box and I'll be sure to answer them.

Thursday 27 January 2011

H is for.....

Happiness!

Now I bet your thinking what does happiness have to do with starting your own small business. Well actually, it has EVERYTHING to do with it.  If you are happy in your day to day life then it will have a positive effect in all the other areas of your life. If I am having a bad day, then I am grumpy with my kids, moody with my husband and everything looks half empty instead of half full.

The other thing about happiness is that you need to realise that having your own business won't make you happy. Happiness comes from appreciating what you have, not worrying about what you don't have. Happiness comes from seeing your kids come out of school greeting you with a smile (granted it doesn't happen every day but it still makes me happy).

So today's task is easy.  Before you go to bed tonight don't think of all the bad things you may have faced today, think of three good things.

I'll give you mine: 1) I was not happy that I had to do my accounting today BUT I created a simple recording system thanks to one of the mums at the BaM group and now I am sorted for the rest of the year.
2) I hate planning, I really do. I can write lists all day long but I never stick to them. Today I have written my plan for February and am already starting on it tomorrow. Yay a few days early!!
3) I am missing my carbs these last few days (I am on a high protein plan) but I got on the scales to find that I lost another 1lb so that made my day!

These are simple things that may not mean much to you, but for me they turned a potentially hard day into a better happier day. Let me know how you get on

Wednesday 26 January 2011

G is for....

Goals

I heard a great phrase today "good idea+hard work = money"  Not bad huh?

The thing about hard work is that you may feel like you are doing so much, but unless what you do has a structure and a plan, it's just hard work.  So I am always looking to set goals. I set goals in my personal and business life.  My goals this year are to get back to the weight I was before having my children, to make my new business venture a success, with return business every month and to gain back control of my physical self, which in the last ten years has been very much under the control of a muscular and neurological condition that I was born with. If you want to chart my progress then follow chocolate carbs and cmt .

So then on to setting business goals.

The first thing I would say is imagine where you want to be in 10 years from now, 5 years from now and 1 year from now.  All of those are your big goals.  so first of all write those down.
Mine would read like this:
10 years from now: multiple businesses all turning over £250,000 each minimum
5 years from now: living in a home I own that is suitable for my families knees
1 year from now: to be known as the company for tailored made gifts and confectionery in south wales

So lets just look at the goal for year one.  In order to achieve my goal, I am going to have to set myself monthly targets to reach.  Now I have sat down and looked at all the areas of my business and who the buyers for those products would be.  I have then looked at seasonal things such as summertime=tourism increases, Feb=Valentine's day, Christmas=businesses giving gifts.  I have then taken all of this into account and written a plan for who to contact, when to contact them and what services to offer them.

You need to think along the same lines.  What are you wanting to do, and how are you going to get there?

So start with your first year goal and if you have any questions why not leave a comment and I promise to answer you. Good luck!


Tuesday 25 January 2011

F is for

Financials

I am guessing that you are trying to set up a small business to make money? Granted there are plenty of other reasons but most people want to make money. Well to make money you need to watch what you spend.  

If you have a products based idea then make sure you are working out the right price to sell them for in order to make money and cover the cost of your time. I work out my time as £8 per hour and so if something just takes 15 minutes to make, then I make sure I include £2 in my costs.  A lot of people say that if you are making products such as gift baskets then you need to think along these lines 1/3 of the price is your products, 1/3 is your time costs and 1/3 is profit.  This is just a guideline and on many of my products I try to make 40-50% profit.

If you have a service based business such as a painter/decorator, then you need to decide how much you want to get paid each hour you work.  You must then add the cost of any products you use on top of this.

There is one thing that I stress to all the people who tell me that they are starting a business; GET A GOOD ACCOUNTANT. I have a lovely non stereo typical accountant who when I first started out took two hours out of her time to take me through everything over the phone.  I have studied business, and even I felt quite scared by the process of working out all the accounting stuff. This is one area that I really recommend you spend money on.  Get a good knowledgeable accountant who will be happy to take you through everything step by step. 

If you are wondering where to find one, then just ask the people around you. I am sure you know someone who is in business, who uses their services. Mine was recommended to me by Mrs Smith, and I have not recommended A Star onto others.  

If you are reading any of my posts and you come up with questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments box.  Meet you back here for G tomorrow!

Monday 24 January 2011

E is for....

Energy!!!!

I am writing this blog today with one eye open and the other starting to close.  I have more than one income stream, I blog, test products, write for others, freelance and have my own gift company . I have lots of strings my bow and that's just how I like it.  You see my mentor Mr Welsh Busy Bee has said from the first day we met that what has kept him in business throughout the downturn is that he has many parts to his business. There is however one down side to having multiple strands to your business, you run out of energy!

Even a small business needs some of your time, and as I guess you already know, there is always something else vying for your time and attention. It may sounds really basic but if you are going to be your own boss, make sure you eat a balanced diet and get a good nights rest.  This weekend, I have failed to do both really and today I am suffering for that fact.

You may be wondering why I am talking about health on a business blog, but think about it, if you are your own boss and you get sick or run down who is going to run your little business? Probably no-one!

For me having energy is vital to my ability to carry out my day to day work.  I have a progressive condition that affects my muscles and nerve endings and causes fatigue without given warning. (If you want to understand a little bit about it and have the time read THE SPOON THEORY) Now even though I have a full time carer, should i get sick or run down, he cannot look after my business and look after me.  This is why I make sure to pace myself, and share out my workload every week. One business appointment a day is more than enough for me.

Know your limit! Don't burn yourself out, otherwise your hard work will be for nothing. It's better to do a little bit every day to get your business on it's little legs rather than work hard and wear yourself out.  Give it a try this week, pace your work out.  Start by writing a list of what needs to get done, and mark in a diary the time you have to commit to it.  Just a quick note; don't forget to leave time for fun, friends and family.  One hour of time with them can give you all the energy you need!

Saturday 22 January 2011

D is for.......

Doing!

I can't lie to you! I won't give you any spiel that results in you making an absolute idiot of yourself. It makes me feel good if you succeed.
The thing is if YOU succeed and I am sure you will, its because you got up and did something about your current situation.  Have you heard of the famous phrase " Don't wait for opportunity to come knocking"? Well, firstly let me tell you that if you do, nothing will EVER happen. You have to now take the idea you came up with and go and make it happen.

If you are offering a service to people how are they going to get to know about it unless you do something?  If you use twitter, face book, linked in etc then this is a great place to start.  Why not post little flyer's around your local streets and see what response you get.

My motto is "if you don't try it you can't see it happen."

 So this week go and DO something that will make your great idea become a reality. Let me know how you get on! I am always happy to answer questions.

Friday 21 January 2011

C is for.......

Concentration

Ok So you've thought of what you can do, and you are going to be yourself whilst doing it, now you have to concentrate on DOING it! Take some time every day if you can to work on your idea. Even if you can find 30min to 1 hour somewhere in the day, you'll be onto a winner.

A great idea is only just that until it has another A added to it Action! So if you have decided to offer dog walking in your area, whats your next step?  You need to create a little flyer to pop through doors.  You don't have to pay someone to create a masterpiece. I am guessing that you being on the internet and finding my blog, means you have some knowledge of the computer.

A quick way to create the flyer is in Microsoft Word or Publisher simply add a picture of your dog (in the case of dog walking) and then open a little text box next to the picture and write a little advert.

" Hi! I'm John and I live in your area. I love taking my dog for a walk and wondered if you have a dog that needs walking to?" call me on xxxxxxxxxx to book my services

Suddenly you have a great flyer! It's straight to the point and easy to understand. Here's one I create using publisher.

All I did was find a border and typed in the middle. It took me 10 minutes. If you really don't like the idea of having to fuss with flyers then why not use a company such as Vistaprint.  They have great offers on postcards and business cards and most of the time  you only pay the P&P     SIMPLES!!! Give it a try this week.

If you've got any questions then please feel free to leave them for me.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

B is for .........

Be yourself

There is nothing worse than trying to keep up appearances. When starting out with a new business idea, just be yourself. People are great at detecting someone who is not being their true selves or trying too hard to be liked.

The biggest mistake when I tried to start my own business was being honest about my strengths and weaknesses. If I didn't know something I would just try to gloss over it, cover it up. I soon learnt that it didn't get me anywhere, because the questions I had were then left unanswered and I was none the wise.

Being yourselves means people get to see the real you from the start. And don't forget you can't please all of the people all of the time. My first rule in business when I meet someone is to take in everything about them and use my gut instinct, my intuition to build an opinion of them. I do this especially at trade shows when I am looking for new suppliers. You just know if you are going to be able to work well with someone or whether you'll just butt heads all the time.

I am lucky to have a few mentors that I get on really well with. They are becoming more like friends every day. Mrs Smith is a bright bubbly brunette who is such fun to talk to, that she makes business and especially marketing enjoyable. I know, enjoyable!!! Mr Welsh Busy Bee is an idea's man! He's been there and done it, gone from nothing to a successful business. His zest for business is infectious and he is an entrepreneur in every sense of the word.

So this week, be yourself, why not write a list of the things you do well and those things you don't do so well. Make the most of what you do well and find people to help you with what you don't do so well. Let me know what you come up with.

A is for....

A great idea.

All little businesses starts with that Eureka moment, where the light bulb comes on in your head and you realise "hey I can do that".

You may be thinking right now that you are rubbish with ideas but I bet you could think of at least one little idea before this week is out.

So then lets show you how it is done. What do you do possibly every day or every week that you can turn into a money making idea. Remember I'm not talking about becoming a massive over night success I am talking about an idea that will generate some little pocket of income. Once you do it once you'll think of lots of things.

Take my friend S who has a houseful of pets, she loves to walk her dog. Her village would be a great place to start to see if anyone else needed a dog walker. Our main reason for not getting a dog is because when the MR is away, I can't walk it. Somebody like S would mean we could have a dog and the problem would be eliminated. All she would have to do is print small flyer's and pop them through the doors in her village. She could get her clan to join in and promise them a burger in return for their support! Simples.

Why not spend this week making a list of what you can do for payment that you already do. Ironing, cleaning, gardening, book keeping, style advice, painting, proof reading, jewellery making, knitting, the list goes on and on and on. It could be anything that you are good at or that you enjoy doing.

Let me know what you come up with.

Monday 17 January 2011

Hello lovely new followers!

Hi there, I am a mum, a business woman, a freind, sister, daughter, daughter in law and this list can go on and on and on. The aim of this blog is to bring an a to z guide for starting your own business. Every week I'll post the next letter in the alphabet guide for starting your own business. Why not follow the blog and then you'll be able to get details of the new post as I post it up.

Looking forward to seeing you here this week for the A in how to start a business