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steveroberts

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Posts posted by steveroberts


  1. My MS Office skills are out of date. I've been looking at various online courses, which vary from a couple of hundred pounds to almost two thousand pounds which I can't really afford at the moment. Can anyone recommend a cheap course that isn't just an online book. I need to be able to actually do the exercises rather than just read about them. I've had several books from the library but the screenshots are too small to be able to read easily.

     

    Have you looked at the xxx for Dummies series of books? They are very good and not that expensive.


  2. Absolutely, it's quite difficult to do anything about really. The only way is through international cooperation, but countries are in effect in competition with each other to attract the business of these multinationals.

     

    We could obviously alter our accounting rules as we wish, but it's really quite hard to rule out as an expense a legitimate purchase from abroad and a scheme to just move profit to a favourable tax area.

     

    And if corporations had to pay corporation tax on the same profits in every country where they trade, they'd go bust!


  3. No it isn't. Not even remotely.

     

    Set up your primary business in a tax haven. Set up subsidiary businesses, owned by this business in countries you want to operate in and a few tax friendly countries.

    License certain things, like brands, to the companies in tax friendly locations.

    Supply materials through same companies.

    Companies in the end countries, ie UK, purchase permission to use the brand and other IP, they also purchase supplies from the tax friendly companies.

     

    Result is minimal profit in the UK, corporation tax is levied on profit.

    Profit is high in tax friendly countries, but they're tax friendly, so corporation tax is low, and anyway from the UK point of view, not being paid to the UK.

     

    Profit is then repatriated to the parent company, or perhaps not (see Apple as a US based company not repatriating HUGE amounts of cash to avoid attracting US tax).

     

    Which is why higher corporation tax rates don't work. All it does is encourage companies to do exactly what you suggest.


  4. I'm not sure if it's because you're still working on the website or not, but none of the navigation links work.

     

    Also from the homepage I don't know where you are based, make sure your address is very easy to find.

     

    But I do like how easy it is to understand what services you provide, it's a great start!

     

    Good luck with it all!

     

    Absolutely agree with this; I'd never buy from a guy simply called 'Mick with a mobile'


  5. A number of things spring to mind:

     

    1. Rees and Daughters means nothing to the business you are promoting; are there any better and more relevant domain names you could use (for example B&Q is diy.com)

    2. The award at the top looks made up; who is it from and why would I care as a customer

    3. You should have a rolling headline banner with all your customers, it should not be tucked away at the bottom

    4. Some of the images are difficult to see and don't really explain how good you are at what you do

    5. I typed in 'sheffield window cleaners' into Google (which I would think is the obvious search term when looking for a sheffield window cleaner) and your website is nowhere to be found (have you registered the site with Google yet as you also don't appear in the map either?); have you thought of paying for google ads as many of your competitors are paying to get a ranking?

    6. Plus the site looks 'dark and danky'; if you are cleaning company, I would want lots of blue and white on the site

    7. There is no address; customers want reassurance that, if something goes wrong, they know where to find you (I'm sure nothing does go wrong but they would want that reassurance :))

    8. I would split domestic from commercial and have pages specific for each customer type (for example, commercial cleans might require specialist equipment; if you have the equipment, then promote it on your site as it will give your prospective customers greater reassurance)

     

    You asked for honesty; all the best for 2018 with it :)


  6. Just wondered what other small business owners thoughts were on the imminent 2018 introduction of digital tax accounting and quarterly returns on a suggested threshold of just £10,000

     

    All being done for our benefit of course?!

     

    Not sure at this stage. As long as HMRC give owners the tools to do it, I cannot see it being a problem. I recently started using their downloadable PAYE app and it is very good/useful.


  7. Hi Steve. Hmm, not sure if I agree or disagree with you here Steve, I will explain. People think we are the same as everyone else, wrong, we do have a genuine USP.

     

    We contact (cold call) people who may not be unhappy with their current service provider so they are not actively looking to change. If they are looking they rarely do a general Internet search so SEO would be a waste of money. I don't want to say more otherwise it may be seen as advertising. Hopefully I have explained why I'm not inclined to 100% agree with you.

     

    It depends on the market you are operating in. I have to say it is very rare for me to receive a cold call these days and I suspect it is because of the type of business I run. Most purchases are 'distress' i.e. I have an issue and i need to make the purchase now. No cold calling in the world will second guess when I want to make that purchase.

     

    Whereas, for example, corner shops are different. They are constantly buying consumables (till rolls/POS etc) so it makes sense to constantly cold call them as there is a high probability of making a sale (the reason I know this is I used to be the Sales Director of such a company).

     

    Neither are mutually exclusive, but if you have limited resources, I would suggest the OP priorities based on the buying profile of her target customers.


  8. I've been here myself and I think the best advice I can give you is to have a very honest conversation with yourself first.

     

    What is it that you are really good at? I mean, better at than most people you've worked with in this field? This is not an easy question to answer necessarily. In my case I'd worked in big multi-national organisations and held a number of senior roles, across different functions. There's lots of things I could do - but was there one, or two things, maximum, that I really stood out at, or had specialist knowledge of?

     

     

    Then the next question is..."What is the gap in the market?". To put that in non-jargon, "Who are your potential customers and what is it they are looking for, that you can offer?". "Why would they be likely to choose you above others offering a similar service?". Also, "Why might they not choose you above others offering a similar service?".

     

    Can you do something better, faster, cheaper? Than your potential competitors? Who are your competitors?

     

    The first stage of setting up any business is to do some very thorough market research and understand your customers and the market needs.

     

    Excellent advice

     

    ---------- Post added 27-11-2017 at 14:49 ----------

     

    I'm a business. Pitch to me. (For realsies).

     

    Business consultancy to an awful lot of small businesses can be filed under snake oil sellers, or marketing. You don't just need to know what your business is, but mine as well. Can't speak for the big boys though.

     

    You'll need to PM tinfoilhat, pitching your business on the forum is seen as advertising

     

    ---------- Post added 27-11-2017 at 14:52 ----------

     

    Good advice above.

     

    It seems from your post that you have no experience of sales. You need to sell your services if you are going to work for yourself. I have a lot of experience at sales and find cold calling the best option. You need to find out where your target market 'go to' for their information. We found our target market still don't really use social media for business. They use trade specific publications which are too wide spread to make advertising in the cost effective.

     

    Cold calling is the most effective option for us. It is low success rate but is inexpensive. Make sure you CTPS check any numbers before you call.

     

    Hi Cheryl, I think cold calling depends on the type of business you are running. For example, if you are selling something someone needs all of the time, then cold calling is absolutely right. However if you are selling something that someone needs very infrequently, the cold call would have to be extremely lucky to find the right person at the right time. In this scenario you should look to SEO and other social media methodologies to help the customer to find you.

     

    ---------- Post added 27-11-2017 at 14:58 ----------

     

    Hi everyone,

     

    I've just decided to take the plunge and start working for myself. I've worked in learning and development at a senior level for nearly 20 years and finally decided to try and branch out on my own. I know it will be hard work and unpredictable but if you have any advice, I'd love to hear it. I've set up a website and am trying to engage with businesses. I am also considering offering free career choices workshops in local communities. I want to have a mixture of professional business consultancy and also to be able to give back and offer community/individual support where possible. Do you think this would be of interest for people?

     

    I need to try and get businesses more familiar with what I am offering but know from experience that cold calling doesn't prove very effective so any suggestions of other ways of promoting my business would be really helpful.

     

    Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.Tracy

     

    Have you asked Ken? :hihi: (Tracy, feel free to contact the forum and ask for this to be removed...I just could not resist!!!)


  9. My son has a job, but it's rubbish and he's capable of better.

    The job centre weren't much help, he's not actually unemployed.

    A national employment agency didn't seem interested, didn't ask about qualifications.

    He doesn't have a degree, nor enough A levels to start one. (A level maths and AS physics.)

    It's October, so too late to start many educational courses this year, besides, he's 21.

    He speaks some Russian, but no other foreign languages.

    He doesn't want to do a Tesol trainer course (I don't know why), or a degree (too costly, might need foundation year, 1.5 A level not enough), nor work in Sainsbury's/Tesco (not a big jump/not a career/no branch in Moscow...)

    I'm retired, so I'm a bad example.

     

    Any suggestions? Blue-sky thinking welcomed, we/I have thought of many options, but he might receive them better from an external agency, who could be more "neutral observers". And I'd welcome new ideas or "where to go" / ""these guys can help" etc.

    Offers of employment for a smart lad with high numeracy skills also welcome.

     

    If he has A level Maths and AS Physics, an apprenticeship in Engineering is certainly a viable option.

     

    My only advice is, like said earlier in this thread, he has got to want to do this for himself. ATB.


  10. Hi , I just wondered if anybody else is experiencing a supply drought. Supposedly there is a crisis in teaching retention. I worked in primary schools so I thought there would be loads of work. I have had a total of a couple of days and just wondered is it only me ?! I know supply is poor at this time of the year but I am scrapping the dregs from the bottom of the barrel. Anyone experiencing this ? If you are dining at the table of milk and honey please share. I would love a little taste....

     

    I suspect it is because there is very little shortage of teachers in primary education compared to secondary (particularly in the subjects of Mathematics and Physics); if you have experience in this sector and/or subjects, I'd be looking at the secondary sector.

     

    Hope it works out for you.

     

    ---------- Post added 16-10-2017 at 09:06 ----------

     

    The sad truth is that with funding as it is, many schools cannot afford supply staff to cover sickness and make do with TA's and other support staff. That's the issue in the school where I work anyway.

     

    I am a Trustee/Director of Brigantia Learning Trust. If it is one of our schools, would you be kind enough to PM me with the details please? The Trust is well funded so I would be very concerned if we have TAs managing the classrooms.


  11. I think there may be quite a few of us around croat77!! :P

     

    muddycoffee, my question was more along the lines of which may be the best line of training to go down to ultimately improve my income? I'm hoping there may be some people on here with the experience and past to possibly answer that one, or at least give their thoughts and impressions.

     

    This is very difficult to answer without knowing your entire circumstances.

     

    Sadly Universities have hijacked the entire job market creating barriers to entry for a vast swathe of our population who lack a 'degree'. Because of the vast expansion of University courses, employers use a 'degree' as a filtering mechanism.

     

    My wife nearly suffered a similar fate. She now runs a 40 man engineering business but has no formal qualifications beyond 'O' level. For years there were senior management jobs she could easily do but they all had a 'degree' requirement; but through hard graft and being in the right place at the right time, she has overcome this set back.

     

    Have you considered an apprenticeship (age should not be a barrier)? It may be a short term financial loss but might get you the qualifications you will need (and, at least, you won't accrue debt).

     

    Whatever you choose, I wish you every success for the future.


  12. There is no legal requirement for any notice for change, other than anything in the contract.

     

    There is provision in law to protect childcare rights if you have a disabled child.

     

    Working Time Regulations must still apply.

     

    If contracts are not clear and changes are considered unreasonable, you could treat it as constructive dismissal.

     

    Excellent, free telephone advice is available from ACAS. Google for contact details.

     

    Good advice.


  13. It's not that rigorous, I had some work done by one company who at the time were part of the trusted trader scheme, I had to take them to court for problems I had and trading standards got involved due to the large number of previous complaints against them, they were removed from the trusted trader scheme, and a few weeks later were part of the which scheme.

    Which have approached my company to be part of there scheme, I made them aware of the above and they said they were aware of the companies previous history and would monitor them, it didn't fill me with much confidence as a consumer as to the criteria of the scheme and how trust worthy some companies one the scheme can be.

     

    It's why I always go with recommendations from people I personally know and trust...makes it hard for a new start up (unless they have set up on their own after already having dome work for me already through someone else!).


  14. Get stripped to the buff, put a sign round your neck advertising whatever you want people to sign up to and get photographed. Pref on the city hall steps.

     

    You will either get on the front page of the star or get arrested. Either one would be good.

     

    hth

     

    LOL Sharpend :hihi:

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