The Dreaded Business Plan: Do You REALLY Need One?

Writing a business plan is an activity some of us absolutely swear by while others detest it. A bank manager, crowd funding collective or group of investors will want to see evidence of careful thought and consideration before investing hard cash in a business. 

On the other hand, a keen first time entrepreneur with nothing holding him or her back will prefer action over analysis.

Whichever camp you fall into, it is prudent to dedicate some time to seriously deciding what you want to achieve and how you’re going to do it.

Is Business Reality TV Responsible for Business Failure?

Last week I saw a trailer for the 2013 series of The Apprentice on the BBC. The contrived comedy and pretentious style caused me to briefly resemble Lord Sugar shown here on the left looking characteristically sour. I knew I was witnessing what heralds another 12 episodes of car crash television.

We all know The Apprentice stopped being about business and enterprise when it moved from BBC2 to BBC1 in 2007. It became a vehicle and means to get ratings from a carefully chosen bunch of narcissists, braggers and bullies generally representing the worst society has to offer. It hasn't always been this way though.

How Should Your Brick and Mortar Business Process Payments?

When running a brick and mortar business that is selling products, every manager and owner is looking for the cheapest ways to process payments. Percentages are high and as a business owner, every tenth of a percent is vital.

Business owners are constantly looking to cut corners when it comes to their business budget and expenses, even if it means introducing a new method of work.

Credit card processing fees are some of the highest fees and can be a headache. No business owner wants to have to hesitate when swiping a customer’s card due to the thought of their high processing fees.

How to Survive as An Online Freelancer

You can’t turn on the news without hearing about the unemployment rate, economic downturn, or the instability of the global stock markets. 

It’s no wonder so many people are trying to enter the world of online freelancing to sever their reliance on a traditional employment system they no longer have faith in.

Succeeding in the freelance market isn’t as easy as owning a laptop and declaring yourself a freelancer - there are a multitude of problems and hurdles you’ll face along the way. With a few conscious decisions you can survive as an online freelancer and enjoy a comfortable life while working from your couch.

Wasted Opportunities #5: Cold Calls, Hot Prospects & No Sales

This one of many retrospective accounts of a money making idea not followed up or blundered because of procrastination.


It serves as my own reminder and as a lesson for future reference.

Dear Diary…

Since starting my Ilkeston Web Design business I have made part of my daily agenda to prospect new leads and make sales phone calls. It’s something that we should all do but which many of us tend to ignore. Nobody likes rejection afterall, but I prefer it to no sales and no cash!

Part Time Business Ideas

In a previous article I talked about where to start with a business idea and how you can work it into your existing timetable of responsibilities. 

Apart from the organisation of time and resources, you may actually still be scratching your head over what kind of business idea to go for!

I have put together a shortlist of cash generators I am actively involved in or have knowledge of.

What you pursue is obviously up to you but remember to do lots and lots of research before parting with any seed capital.

Creating Business Partnerships Through Social Media (Infographic)

When most of us think of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, we generally think of personal use where we post happenings in our lives and rants about our day’s experiences. While this use of social media might be therapeutic for many, it is certainly not the only way to use these sites. If you are a business owner, you have a fantastic opportunity to create strong, long-lasting partnerships with other businesses, and business professionals, that can lead to greater success for your company. In fact, 56 percent of business owners who use social media sites claim to create and strengthen relationships with other companies.

Save Money By Declaring Your Business Premises Does Not Need a TV Licence

Those of you in the UK running a small business either from home or an office can save money by not purchasing a BBC licence fee. You'll be saving a paltry sum of £145.50 but if your business is not yet profitable this money can instead be used for something more useful.

I last wrote about saving cash on the BBC licence fee in 2010. I was visted by an agent and I explained my circumstances and the fact that I receive my BBC programming via the iPlayer and not the live television broadcasts. He made a note of my address and explanation and I was never bothered again.

Today I received a letter asking if my circumstances have changed, which they have not and was invited to confirm my non TV-watching status at through their website where a few boxes can be ticked and fields filled in. Of course, I watch the other commercial channels but the BBC is something I watch through catch up.

A DIY Database for Small Business Customer Management

Any small business owner who hasn’t already made friends with Microsoft Excel (or a free alternative) is losing sales. It really pays to get organised when it comes to managing your prospect and/or customer database.

Every phone call you make, every conversation you have, each person you serve needs to be logged and recorded for the sake of smooth business operations.

It may be tempting to think you can remember who you spoke to by scribbling vague details or names on a scrap of paper. That's fine if you're away from your computer, but that is not a system. Getting to grips with the dreaded spreadsheet is an investment because you will become so much more efficient and economical.

Where to Start with Your Small Business Idea

It’s not unusual for employees to take up a second job or extra earner to spread risk and diversify their income. Getting a side gig is becoming increasingly common as more and more of us have decided to build our own business from scratch.

A spare time business is a great way to go about starting and testing money making projects. You should not suddenly quit your job and attempt to replace your income on a whim. Rather, create something manageable in your evenings and on weekends to grow it to profitability.

If you end up facing the unfortunate reality of redundancy (as I did) you will at least have an established foundation to which you can dedicate time.

Are You a Busy Fool?

The next time you tell someone you're "busy", ask yourself if you're simply disorganised, bored, or looking for a feeling of importance.

It's a harsh blanket thesis and one that will not go down well with the jugglers and plate spinners of the world.

But I still wonder if the said supposedly-busy-person is creating unnecessary feelings of stress otherwise avoided if they would only operate at max efficiency.

When I prospect new clients for my web design business I am sometimes told that they would not benefit from internet marketing and that they are "already too busy".

Do You Know Your Own Business?

Something that has irritated me lately is business owners (and sometimes employees) being unable to provide the simplest details about their products or services when I've requested them over the phone.

First off, I should say the information I asked for was arguably in my own interests because I was prospecting potential new clients for my web design services. Needless to say, the conversation I have just had left me amazed.

I just got off the phone with a guy who was clearly an employee - a badly trained employee too. I rang his company to find out if they had a website.

This is a simple enough question for which he had no response, even making light of the fact that he is not a "technical" person. Okay...

My Loss Leader Passive Income Strategy

The early days of running your business will likely involve long hours, high costs, low sales and no profits. It’s usually a given that this initial period involves giving more than you get back.

When we talk about losses, most of us assume poor judgement or error have resulted in a bad business.

This is not always the case and in fact many very good businesses deliberately factor in early losses (or costs) as a tactic.

Special offers, discounts, free trials and other “leader” tactics are designed to raise brand awareness, generate interest and grow the business to a critical mass. Real monetisation can occur when enough potential customers use, like or become aware of the product.

Invoice Finance: How to Borrow Against Customer Bills

Invoice Finance is a service offered by a range of financial organisations to help businesses plan and manage their cash flow more effectively.

The service allows the business to gain access to their funds due from their invoices, prior to the customer having even paid it. To do that, the business borrows a portion of the value from its sales ledger via a finance company. Effectively, all the unpaid sales debts act as collateral for that borrowing.

The service helps a number of businesses across a range of sectors and industries. Forth Wines is one of those businesses who have found benefits from the service.

How to Make Money with Easy eBay eBooks

I’d like to share my eBay eBook selling methods and show you how to create a modest income from relatively little work.

How much you make depends on you working the system set out below and how many products you sell.

The eBay selling limits are something to contend with but can be overcome with a certain finesse. Let's talk about that first.

Create and Sell a Voucher Code Service to Local Businesses

I am selling a voucher code service powered by Twitter and auto scheduling apps to businesses in my town.

Using the Twitter widget you can display a single Tweet on a business website in the form of a custom discount code. It is powerful, free and flexible.

As a web designer, you could market this service to other businesses, or if you are a business, you could implement it yourself.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #10: Never Stop Learning

Schools teach us to read, write and add numbers. In my experience it is a stepping stone to the quest for real knowledge.

The process of truly thinking for yourself begins when you have left formal education and are actively practicing your vocation.

The great thing about learning is that it really is free. After I left university I began studying and actively engaging in business by devouring books and audio on the subject. I got a loan and grant free and attended mentor workshops to get things moving.

A Broker Checklist for any Forex Trader

If you ask any experienced Forex trader about the one thing that is most important in the Forex trading process, you will be told that it is the choice of the Forex broker.

This is because there are a large number of services that a Forex broker provides that you will need in order to be profitable in the long run.

While this is a one-time task, the process of evaluating a Forex broker should not be taken lightly.

British Arts Council Funding: Cash for Creatives

Do you run a small business in the creative industries? If yes, you might be eligible for a chunk of cash provided by a lottery funding pool.

Arts Council England, the non-profit entity that provide information, support and money on UK arts grants, can help you find out if you qualify for a slice of the £2b public money available to grow or support your business or organisation.

They support many activities in the arts and humanities such as design, reading, dance, literature, music and more.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #9: Realise Salespeople are Made and Not Born

“He’s just a natural born salesman.”

I'll bet you've heard this cliche many times.

Has it occurred to you whoever “he” is may well have started out as a bloody awful salesman? For that matter what IS a salesperson? Do you not sell ideas every day of your life? When you want the kids to pick up their toys, when you want your spouse to agree with you, when you want a pay rise, a cheaper deal, and more meat on your plate, you are selling yourself.

The difference between an amateur and a professional is that someone who makes a living from the practice is doing so consciously.

Working Tax Credits Entitlement for the Self Employed

If you live in the UK, are aged 25 or over, work at least 30 hours a week and are on a low income you qualify for government benefit payments known as Tax Credits. You may also qualify if you have a child.

The higher your income, the less Working Tax Credits you are eligible for. This is something you definitely want to look into if you’re starting a business because it gives you some money even if your business isn’t yet turning a profit.

Ways to Grow Your Business in the Current UK Economy

News that Blockbuster has become the latest high-street retailer to fall into administration casts a dark cloud over the business world. 

The UK shifted officially out of recession last year and many people thought that meant we’d see a steady rise in business growth again. But, despite this encouraging sign, the UK economy is still in considerable trouble.

Although the government has implemented a series of initiatives to help, small businesses are still struggling to get banks to start lending to them again. Well-managed businesses need loans to promote their growth and start creating more jobs for the economy. But, at the moment banks are failing to meet the needs of small businesses. Smaller financial lenders and quick cash providers are happy to help businesses in need of extra funds to keep up with payments. A small cash loan will relieve your immediate financial strains, but it may not be enough to cover the very large expenses associated with growing a business.

Link Bait Specific CommentLuv Blog Posts to Market Your Content

CommentLuv is an RSS enabled comment system designed to fetch the link of your latest blog post and add it below your text comment. This has potential for marketing a website or products available for purchase.

Assuming your comment is approved by the site owner, your link will be permanently displayed as a footnote of sorts.

The link does not change when you update your blog; that particular post title will forever be associated with the comment you entered even when your blog feed is updated with new content.

CommentLuv is popular because readers are incentivised to engage and leave comments.

Finance Apps: Could They Benefit You?

Are you looking to get your bank balance in order throughout 2013? If so, a finance app or two might be just what you need.

They’ll help you stay on top of your bills, including home insurance, utility charges and affordable boiler cover and give you the peace of mind you need. Here are a few you might want to check out.

Improve Your Sales Pitch #8: Create a Personal Brand

Each of us carries a personal brand – or to be more specific – a preconception held by others. You ARE your business whether you represent a company and answer to someone else or operate by yourself as both owner and sales department. Branding should not be confused with marketing and advertising. They are different though they do have a relationship.

Think about the message you project when meeting others. Talk is cheap and branding goes much deeper than words coming out of your mouth. A brand can be characterised as a subtle promise or relationship formed between two parties, systematically enhanced and buffed to communicate two important pieces of information:

• Who you are personally.
• What you do.