Write Away

Hello, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and anybody who is thinking of jumping into self-employment. Firstly, to regular readers, apologies it’s been a while – after some time away recovering from an op. we’re back with, what you will hopefully find to be, some valuable tips and resources for anyone in the small business arena. Today we look at something that anyone who has ever started a business (or eve thought about it) will have come face to face with – obstacles and setbacks. In a recent article for the “This is Money” website, Richard Reed, one of the founders of successful start-up Innocent Drinks commented, on starting a business: “There are a 1,000 riddles you are trying to work through” These can range from fundamental, game-changing problems such as raising money to get your business off the ground, to smaller, seemingly less important issues such as trading structure or name etc. But, you can be sure ther...

Welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small businesses, freelancers, and anyone with a desire to move from paid employment to becoming your own boss. In my last post, I tackled the issue of appointing an accountant to help you in your small business, and how you might go about this, bearing in mind different businesses have different requirements from their accountant. This time, I want to look at what you can expect to receive from your accountant, for the hard earned money you will be paying them.   First and foremost, you need to confident that you are complying with current legislation regarding VAT and Taxation and this is the kind of expertise you need from an accountant. This may be in the form of completing your company tax & VAT returns and submitting an annual return, but aside from these mundane requirements, there is so much more important information that an accountant can provide, that you may not have considered. In business, information c...

Hi there, it’s great to be back after some time away, thanks for finding your way to Write Away – the blog for small businesses, freelancers, and anyone with a healthy desire to cut loose from paid employment and work for themselves.   In this post we deal with engaging and using an accountant for your small business. A lot of small business owners start their business armed with a specific set of skills, knowledge or experience. One of self-employments biggest challenges is how to plug a gap in that knowledge in areas you may have never needed to understand or be involved in. For a large proportion of small business owners and freelancers, the financial management of the business, specifically matters relating to tax and accounting would probably be the area most likely to induce a cold sweat! Unless you are an accountant by trade, why would you need this knowledge anyway! So now you’re up and running, you need an accountant, right? Well, yes is the short ans...

Welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small businesses, freelancers and anyone interested in working for themselves. In this post we’re looking at an interesting new initiative, which has come about via the enterprise campaign, StartUp Britain, called PitchUp! PitchUp! Is a competition that gives small businesses a unique opportunity to pitch their products to the high street retailer John Lewis. The competition ran last year as well, and saw 400 small businesses compete to win one of 12 places given the opportunity to pitch directly to the retailers top buyers, and ultimately try and get their products onto the shelves of one of the country’s top retailers. An added bonus is that it is John Lewis’ 150 th birthday next year and winning a competition like this would add an enormous amount of prestige in such an important year. If you have a product that is just waiting to be discovered, a design classic or innovative masterpiece, then this is the competition for you....

Hello again, welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and those looking to start their own business. Today I want to talk about ideas and inspiration for starting a business, and where you might find it. Whilst many people who want to work for themselves, have a business idea that is an extension of their hobby or very specific to their employment, a large number of would-be entrepreneurs love the idea of working for themselves but are not sure what they would do if they took the plunge. As a writer, I carry a notebook with me everywhere, as I never know when inspiration might strike. If you’re looking for a business idea, this could be a useful tool for you too – when you visit other businesses, keep asking yourself if some aspect of the service or product could be improved and make a note of your thoughts. Additionally, when you are looking for a specific product, and can’t find it, think about if there is a gap in the market, many a...