Privacy – a cautionary tale

There are often news stories about the internet and privacy.

Clare Lauwerys aka The  IT Fairy built up a pretty full profile of a stranger just from a phone message and using Google.

Find out how she

• Knows who he works for
• What his hobby is
• And his “romantic” intentions

All this and more  – see “Privacy – it’s not just cookies and Facebook you need to worry about”

Karren Brady shares her 6 Ingredients of a Leader

Bridget Greenwood, our Norfolk co-ordinator, shares this from her own blog

Karren Brady shares the 6 key ingredients she believes makes a Leader, what qualities would you add to the list and why?

Leadership – A real leader faces the music even when they don’t like the tune, how do you behave when you don’t know what to do?  The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort, but where he stands in times of challenge

Ambition – Nobody ever started anything without ambition, although it’s hard work that usually finishes the task.  Sir Alan Sugar when working on The Apprentice is the first one  in in the morning and last out at night.  His ambition continues despite his success, there is a real sense of pride, a sense of who you are.  If you don’t champion your career who will?

Determination – the ability to pick yourself up when you’ve been knocked down.  The importance to keep going.  What ever has knocked you down, learn from it and move forward.

Attitude – If you don’t like something then change it – for the better.  And if you can’t change it, change your attitude.  Karren Brady recommends you think “if I accept this challenge – what is the worst thing that will happen to me and my business?”

Direction –  The whole world steps aside for those who know where they are going.   You can’t change where you start, you start where you start, but it’s where you finish that you can control.

Be Positive – Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.  Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.  Press On has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

For more great posts from Bridget Greenwood, check out her blog

Angry Birds and Einstein – Business Women can learn from both

Have you played Angry Birds? Do you realise what a great lesson it teaches you about business? (Are you now beginning to think I’ve lost the plot?!)

Angry Birds, for those of you who haven’t come across it, is a game where you fire birds with different powers out of a catapult at green pig creatures that are seeking shelter in a variety of structures. Quite what the back story is to explain why the birds are so angry and why the pig creatures must be destroyed eludes me. The game started on the iphone, spread to other touch screen phones and is now playable on Facebook. If you want an in-depth description pop over to this wikipedia article 

Now what can it teach you about business? No, it’s not that you can waste a lot of time playing it. True, but not the point I want to make. There are two things you can learn.

In Angry Birds you have a limited number of birds and you can’t change the order the birds are fired. This can be frustrating if you want a bomber bird and all you have is the ones that split into three. So lesson one is that sometimes you just have to work with you what with you’ve got. No good saying “if only…” If only isn’t going to happen.

Lesson two is that plans sometimes need to be changed.

When you start a new level in Angry Birds, you quickly form a plan of how you are going to attack the structure. I was playing yesterday and I was convinced that I knew how to do it. As I failed on the first time I thought, oh maybe I just need to aim a smidge higher. Or maybe I need to zap the speed on a bit sooner. So I keep on trying, doing pretty much the same thing and not really accomplishing anything. Then I remembered what Einstein said.

Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.

So so true, and I wonder why I forgot this. As soon as I took a different approach, my results improved DRAMATICALLY.

Doing the same thing and expecting different results is something that I sadly see too many people repeating in business. It can be hard to get out of rut – if you’ve been doing something that used to work and no longer does it can be hard to accept that you need to change tact. Taking that leap can be scary. After all, it’s not attacking computer generated green pigs we’re tallking here, it could be the survival of your business that’s at stake.

But if what you’re doing isn’t working then you need to do something else. Ask an expert for advice. Try in small scale. If you have our Premier Pack, use the Focus and Feedback slot to test your idea so you get get confidential feedback. Sealed box that everyone is able to place their feedback in & only you get to see it (not even the events organiser if you wish!) (See BPP for more details)

Don’t be afraid of change

As Isaac Asimov said (though he himself took part of the quote from Heraclitus a 500BC, Greek philosopher.)

The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.

So that’s Angry Bird, Eistein, Isaac Asimov and Greek Philospher Heraclitus teaching us about business. Talk about a stellar line up.

What lessons do you have to share?

Richard Denny’s Top Ten Tips

Bridget Greenwood, our Norfolk co-ordinator, shares this from her own blog

Richard Denny shares his top ten tips and when a man who has won praise from the BBC  claiming”Richard is a legend on the international speaking circuit”, the Daily Telegraph describing him as “The UK’s guru of motivation” whilst the Times says he is “The master of professional salesmanship”, it’s worth taking note.

Richard Denny Top Ten Tips

1-    Look the part – your appearance should apply to your product/service

2-    Don’t sit in receptions – (why? – because you want to meet someone at the same level, not with you sitting and them standing.  By not taking a seat, reception thinks you’re terribly important).  You feel much more significant – so don’t sit in reception areas)

3-    Decide your payment terms

4-    Results on your business cards – how you achieve the results on the reverse

5-    Really listen – what is said and what is not said

6-    Build your database of every contact, our market place is people – Richard’s biggest guilt is that he has not captured all the names of the people that he has worked with through out the years

7-    Negotiate a deal – if someone asks for a discount, reply with do you mind if I ask you why do you want a discount?  Always exchange don’t do a price crumble

8-    Welcome a complaint – be enthusiastic about receiving complaints, we all get them from time to time.  Great opportunity to turn them into an ambassador, a business shows it’s real strength on how it rectifies it’s problems

9-    Provide a guarantee

10-  Say thank you

For more great posts from Bridget Greenwood, check out her blog

Do you buy and sell regularly on line?

If so, you may be trading, and you may need to contact HMRC to disclose any undeclared trading income from previous years.

HMRC are not interested if you are clearing out your loft and getting rid of things you don’t want any more, but it is targetted at companies and individuals who regularly acquire items to sell at a profit online.

You have until 14th June to come forward if you think it applies to you. If you log onto HMRC’s website, they give you a list of questions and answers to help you decide whether or not you may be trading. Otherwise contact your accoutant for further help.

This blog was written by Lorraine Dale from Rightway Accounting Services. Do contact Lorraine for more information or if you need clarity on any of the points.

Tax Calculations

Worried about how much tax you need to pay?

If you would like a quick and rough response, you can log onto HMRC’s website and click on the Calculators and Tools tab.

In there is a self employed ready reckoner which will allow you to enter your expected net income (ie sales less expenses) to work out roughly what you can expect to pay in tax and Class 4 NI.

Bear in mind this does not take into account any other income you have, and if this is your first year of paying any tax, you may well need to pay double the amount, as you need to pay upfront for next year.

It will also not include any loss relief you may have if you have made a loss in a previous year.

This blog was written by Lorraine Dale from Rightway Accounting Services. Do contact Lorraine for more information or if you need clarity on any of the points.