5 reasons why you will make 2018 suck too!
Founder of The Business Womans Network Mandie Holgate shares her top 5 tips to make 2018 better than 2017…ignore them at your peril!
“Running your own business I don’t think I’ve ever seen a year that’s not been described as “really tough” or “unprecedently difficult environment for business” From Brexit to interest rates, wars to weather, there’s always a reason why this year is the toughest year yet, however why and how is it that some seem to thrive regardless? Creating new products and services and more importantly selling them in their thousands to adoring customers while other struggle to make ends meet and seem to fight for every sale?
What can you do to ensure the same old story doesn’t impact on your success in 2018?
Fail to learn.
Don’t berate yourself if this year saw you make the same mistakes or very similar ones to the previous year. Consider what the reasons are for this? Seriously, take a moment to look at the things that impacted on your success this year that was the same or similar to the year before. What are you scared of? What is becoming glaringly obvious as an obstacle to success. (You don’t have to tackle it (yet!) but you do need to know what it is!
Don’t go it alone.
It is a sad fact that November and December are my busiest times of the year because people struggle on through the Autumn thinking “I can do it,” and the very real realisation hits in at the end of the year that you are going to face another year of disappointment unless you do something different and fast! It’s sad because I know that if people had come to see me for coaching earlier in the year we could have dealt with the obstacles, increased sales and most importantly helped them have the business they wanted. Don’t go it alone, get some professional help. Why do we always assume we have to be master of everything in our businesses? Which leads me on to top tip Number 3.
Learn new things.
Learning new things can be scary, especially if we aren’t keen on technology, or speaking to crowds of people. Therefore, accept that to achieve more and not let 2018 suck as bad as this year, you are going to have to go for it and learn the things you hate, that or go for Top Tip Number 4.
Outsource.
Getting help is not a sign of weakness it’s a sign of sense. I asked the Insiders the other day if they could work just 3 quarters of their working week and still maintain their clients, productivity and current profit margin. The point being that if they couldn’t how are you going to grow your business? Learn what you can outsource to others so that you can get on with the money making jobs. (Which leads me nicely into…)
Is it a money maker?
I’ve lost track of the clients in 2017 that I’ve worked with who have discovered within the first half hour of our session that their business model is destined to fail. When you take the time to do the maths and actually work out your earning potential, as your coach I’m public enemy number one when I showcase the limitations that a clients current pricing structure, business model and strategy are creating. The realisation that no matter how hard you work it’s going to fail to produce the results you would really like is disheartening, however, I’d rather get a client to know the numbers and create a powerful business model charging the right prices before we start filling your diary with tons of clients. (There’s nothing more soul destroying to discover you are working so hard and won’t get the riches of business success!) If you have failed to make a great profit this year and you’ve worked so hard you feel you need a holiday it could be time to look at what you charge, who you work with, what hours you work and how your business model is (or is not!) working for you. If not you could be agreeing to another over worked year with little benefits for all your hard work, take half a day of 2017 to work out what really needs to change, and ask yourself “What can I expect to get more of in 2018 if I don’t take action right now?”
Don’t be a busy overworked fool, make the changes now to see the benefits in 2018.
Want more help? Check out Mandie’s courses on increasing sales, writing your first book, rocketing confidence, powerful elevator pitches and more. Ranging in price from £7 to £24! Perfect present for every busy business woman!
Why invoices are not paid to SMEs
Here Dr P Singh from Cash for Invoices shares research and answers to why they say your invoices don’t get paid.
Several reasons have been revealed for invoices not being paid to SMES, but single invoice finance from Cash for Invoices Limited can provide essential cash, says Dr P Singh.
Research cited in CityAM showed an alarming state of affairs in recovering money owed to small businesses by debtors.
The research revealed several reasons cited by small businesses as to why they wrote off billions of pounds collectively owed by debtors. Top of the list was insolvency of the debtor, followed by doubt that the debtor had funds to pay.
Equal 3, 4, and 5th place reasons cited were lack of time to chase, risk of damaging the relationship, and no funds to pursue the debtor.
These are all concerning reasons for SMEs writing off collectively £6 billion of debts in 2015/16 according to Direct Line. The average write off was over £31,000 and a staggering 10% of companies each wrote off over £100,000 owed by bad debtors.
These alarming losses might have meant the company had a shortage of cash flow needed for running its business, such as: paying overheads, managing working capital, growth, or research and development. The shortages might have been made up by urgent loans but that solution will have led to further costs (of interest) and reduced bank funding capacity.
Cash for Invoices Limited in London buys single invoices for cash. It will pay up to 97.5% of the invoice amount less a 10% retention that is handed to the company provided its debtor pays the invoice. The fee is therefore just £2.50 per £100 of invoice for a 30-day invoice. A small price to pay to get cash into the business. If the debtor were to default then Cash for Invoices Limited will not sell the invoice back.
Unlike many bank and other factoring companies, a multitude of fees are not charged to benefit from Cash for Invoices Limited single invoice service. No arrangement fee for example and no service charges, exit charges. Nor are there annual renewal charges because no facility is set up with the selling company. There is no commitment for the small business to sell any invoices to Cash for Invoices Limited.
A significant advantage of the single invoice finance service from Cash for Invoices Limited is that it requires no security off the selling company: no debenture, no personal guarantees, or other charges. That is a substantial improvement over many bank and other factoring companies’ factoring facilities.
If a small business answers yes to either of the following questions, then it would benefit from Cash for Invoices Limited’s single invoice finance service:
1 Do you occasionally need more time to pay your supplier invoices?
2 Would you like invoices you send to customers to be paid sooner?
Cash for Invoices Limited’s single invoice finance service outperforms conventional factoring because:
a) it does not require security from the selling business (such as a debenture or guarantee)
b) just one invoice can be sold
c) there is no commitment to sell any invoices to Cash for Invoices Limited, and certainly not the business’s whole sales ledger
d) very small value invoices (from £250) may be sold, ideal for micro-businesses
e) one fee only is charged, plus a refundable retention. Unlike similar service providers, Cash for Invoices Limited does not charge: arrangement, servicing, renewal, or exit fees. The current fee is just 2.5% of the invoice. The refundable retention is 10% of the invoice. This is paid to the business if its debtor pays Cash for Invoices Limited in full and on time.
f) For supplier invoices, the payment date of the supplier’s invoice bought by Cash for Invoices might be extended, giving the business up to 60 days extra time to pay Cash for Invoices Limited.
To get a free no-obligation quote on how much cash you could receive from selling just one invoice, contact Cash for Invoices Limited or call 0208 987 0429
Wake up to good cash management
Invoice finance, debt factoring, invoice discounting or single invoice finance,
are all variations of a theme: good cash management and not always a sign of desperation. Companies should choose to hold cash rather than illiquid invoices because cash can be reinvested in the business to generate high positive net present value, or can be used to pay off expensive debt. Both increase the company’s profit & loss. Invoices do not. Invoices are a drain on the business, generating no return yet costing money to fund outstanding debtors, either because of interest on debt or because of an opportunity cost, plus they represent a credit risk.
Factoring and invoice discounting have tarnished reputations because many of the firms that offer them take a multitude of fees off of the company selling its invoices and they often commit the company to selling more invoices than it would like to.
Single invoice finance is similar to conventional factoring but it can have several key advantages:
- No security (such as a debenture or guarantee) from the business.
- No commitment from you the business to sell any invoices, so there is no facility established
- Sell small value invoices (from £500) can be sold. Many factoring firms would baulk at buying such a small invoice as it would cost them more to process the purchase than the fee they would earn
- One fee only to pay, meaning the business saves on many fees that conventional firms charge such as: arrangement, servicing, renewal, and exit fees.
An illustrative quote: A single invoice finance company would buy a £100 30-day customer invoice off a company for up to £87.50 paid upfront less the buyer’s fee, and a retention of up to £10 when (if) the debtor pays the invoice, so £97.50 in total (less VAT on the fee). No further fees and no commitment to sell further invoices.
As an affiliate to the Insiders we are able to offer a discount to you, check out this page to learn more and if you would like advice on a particular area relating to cash flow, getting paid and invoicing please do not hesitate to get in touch and we will create content for The Insiders The Knowledge. Contact us here.