Write Away

Welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and anybody who is thinking of starting a business and jumping into self-employment. Today we’re going to look at marketing – a key area to enable the small business owner to get their name out there, attract new customers, and begin to build the brand, whether that be the brand of “you”, if you are a freelancer, or your business’ brand. Marketing can be quite daunting for a new small business, but there are a huge number of resources available across the web to help you establish, and carry out, your own marketing strategy, regardless of your budget (If any!). Here are a selection of the better tips I’ve come across, to help you get started: Create, and refine, your elevator pitch An elevator pitch is the term used when considering what you would say, to a complete stranger, in a lift, when they ask “So what is it you do?” – it should be succinct, last maybe eight seconds, with the objecti...

Welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and anybody who is thinking of starting a business and jumping into self-employment. Today I’m giving you a heads up on a free e:mail course, created by Enterprise Nation, a fantastic small business support organisation, whom I’ve blogged about before. The idea is that, over the course of seven days, you get daily inspiration and direction to assist and support you on your journey into starting up a business. Day 1 covers your idea and the all-important business plan Day 2 will delve into the administration associated with setting up a company Day 3 will tackle how to raise money and managing the money you may have available Day 4 focuses on building a web presence for your new business Day 5 looks at marketing your business and generating sales Day 6 discusses how to become an expert in your field and pitching to the press Day 7 looks at how to scale up your business ...

Hey there, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and anybody who is thinking of starting a business and jumping into self-employment. Today we are looking at some tools that can help small business owners with 1001 things on their to do list, and as a freelancer myself, I know from first hand experience, how useful some of these can be. So, without further ado, lets delve into the list: 1.        Evernote Quite simply a fantastic tool for keeping all of your notes, clippings, photos, PDF’s and even audio recordings in one, easily accessible place. You can create separate notebooks if you have different projects, products, customers or even stories to keep track of. It automatically syncs to the cloud when you save anything, allowing you to update or capture information on the go, and access it from a number of devices. The basic (free) version is fantastic, there is also a premium version (obvi...

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...

Hello, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small business owners, freelancers and anybody who is thinking of jumping into self-employment.   This time we look at funding for small business, an important area for any business, but it is also a big decision, borrowing money, to try and grow your business to take it to the next level. There are many businesses who are either lucky enough to generate enough profit, or cash, to not have to worry about raising funds from external sources, but they would be in the minority, particularly amongst new businesses, for whom cash flow can be hand to mouth, and reliant on customers, big and small, paying on time. For these businesses, they often only have enough cash to cover their outgoings or to invest in further stocks to continue trading, so expansion, for instance investing in new or bigger premises, or purchasing additional vehicles or machinery for the business, is often put on the back-burner, because of a lack of fu...

Hi there, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for freelancers, small businesses, start-ups and anyone interested in working for themselves.   This time I wanted to draw your attention to a great business publication that I have come across recently called “BQ” which stands for Business Quarter. The magazine is full of inspiring stories from entrepreneurs who are running successful and growing businesses, and share their experiences, highs and lows, and tips for how they got to where they are today.   The latest edition (pictured above) contains fascinating articles about microbrewery business Brewdog and a great interview with a former contestant on BBC televisions “The Apprentice”.   The magazine has an excellent sister website, the link is shown below, which has some regional content to it as well, and you can sign up to free e:mail newsletters if you so desire. The website also features a host of content that is very sector specific, so if yo...

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 business owners, freelancers and anyone looking to work for themselves. We don't often feature book reviews on Write Away, but felt the need to make an exception with a book we've just finished, as it felt so relevant to our followers, those looking to work for themselves and create new businesses. The book is Entrepreneur Revolution by Daniel Priestley. In his introduction Daniel Priestley describes an entrepreneur as "someone who spots an opportunity and acts to make it into a commercial success" and in this simple description he challenges the common preconception that entrepreneurs are a different breed to the rest of us - the only difference is often in the way they think and approach things. This is the main concept of this riveting book - it aims to develop the entrepreneurial mindset in all of us and starts by predicting that we are living in a period of great change relating to the way the world does ...

Welcome back to Write Away, the business blog aimed at those working for themselves or anyone who'd love to but has yet to take that first step. There is an increasing number of people who are deciding to become their own boss later on in their career. There are many reasons for this, some people see it is a viable alternative to trying to get another job after redundancy, others are tired of working for someone else and some just have a big idea that is bursting to be launched in the form of a new business. Becoming self employed can also be a fantastic way of gaining a better work / life balance when you have a young family and working hours need to fit around school hours. Whatever the reason, there are a number of benefits to becoming your own boss later in your career. Not only do you have a lot more experience to draw on, you also have the benefit of having made some mistakes at someone else's expense! Often, those over forty may also be fortunate to have built s...

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....

Welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small businesses, freelancers, start-ups and budding entrepreneurs. Our latest post is about a new revolution for start-up businesses that already have an online presence, but would also like to try out a bricks and mortar, high street presence, without having to commit to long leases and thousands of pounds in rent and refitting. The concept has enabled a number of businesses, in Richmond in Surrey, where the flagship store opened, to co-work with other small retailers for two weeks at a time. Further stores are planned in Victoria and Shropshire, and the beauty of the concept is that it enables unused retail premises to be bought back to life showcasing new British brands. Popup Britain is backed by Start Up Britain, a national campaign started by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, to inspire enterprise throughout the UK. The campaign is also looking to go nationwide in a bid to present small businesses across the country wit...

Hello again, welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small businesses, freelancers or anyone interested in working for themselves. Mentoring has long being heralded as a great way for small businesses to tap into the vast knowledge and experience of successful business people or entrepreneurs, without having to pay for the privilege. I’ve read many comments, from small business owners, on the value a mentor has added to their business, as well as the personal benefit they have drawn from the experience. If mentoring is something you’ve considered for your business, fear not, here is your chance to have Deborah Meaden, star of the BBC show “Dragons Den”, as your business mentor for 12 months. A competition, run by an initiative called Local Business Accelerators (LBA), is giving UK businesses who are between one and five years old, the chance to win this prize, plus £10,000 cash and an IPad. The link to where you can enter is at the end of this post, and this gives ...

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...

Hello again. Today's post is about the co-author of a well known business start up guide called “The Beermat Entrepreneur”. Mike Southon is both an entrepreneur and business mentor and also writes regularly for the Mail on Sunday  and the Financial Times about small businesses and entrepreneurship. The Beermat Entrepreneur is a business self-help book aimed at people who have an idea for a business and need to know how to take it to the next stage and turn the idea into a viable business. Whilst the book is a recommended read for aspiring entrepreneurs, this post seeks to guide you to some useful resources on Mike Southon’s own website. If you so desire (and can afford to!) you can book Mike for a personal appearance from here, but there are a number of other free resources that may be of more interest. There are a number of free guides to download, some linked to the “Beermat” series but others, such as the useful “Sales pipeline simple spreadsheet”, that ...

Hello again. You may already know the answer to the above question, having proved your ability to start a small business, and if that's the case, fantastic, well done you. However, for a lot of would-be entrepreneurs, the answer might be a resounding “I’m not quite sure!”. This post takes a look at a new initiative, which is a partnership between the government and private enterprise,  which, in it’s own words, aims to “highlight support for start-ups and growing businesses and encourage entrepreneurial spirit in 2012”. The website (as usual, the link is at the end of the post) is split into four sections, covering: ·          Inspiration – featuring a number of case studies on people who have taken the plunge and started successful businesses - different sectors and different backgrounds make for some interesting stories.   ·          Finance – this section takes you straigh...

Welcome back to Write Away. Our latest post is about a website that is aiming to create a massive online community for freelancers, writers and anyone running a home business. Ihubbub aims to replicate the “hubbub” heard when home workers get together and network. It wants users, who often work isolation, to feel part of a buzzing community of people who are in the same situation as them. It also wants to create a market place for businesses to use each other’s skills and grow together. First impressions are that it does this very well, the look and feel of the site are good, it is easy to navigate and there are a host of resources and information aimed at those working from home, whatever your business. There are three levels of membership, which allow you to pitch and interact with other users to different degrees, but the basic level is free enabling you to create a build a profile before starting to pitch for work or develop your online contacts and networks. You can register a...

Hi again, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for freelancers, small businesses, start-ups, and anybody interested in working for themselves. This post, I’m going to pick up on a theme I’ve written about before, how to sell yourself effectively. Being able to describe what you do, or the service you offer, concisely, and in an interesting and memorable way, is a skill that anybody working for themselves should perfect. A well-known method for doing this is to produce what is known as an “Elevator Pitch”. The website Elevator--Pitch.com describes this as: “A short and to the point snippet of a service or product your company provides”. The idea of an elevator pitch comes from the premise of what you would say to a stranger, who got into the lift with you, that would leave a positive, lasting impression of you, in the time it takes to get to their floor. In those few short seconds, you need to convey a professional manner and attract the other persons interest enough to remembe...

Hi there, and welcome back to Write Away, the blog for small businesses, the self employed and those thinking of working themselves. Our latest post concerns another online resource that could prove to be a valuable resource for any small business owner or budding entrepreneur. The website is called “My Business”, as usual, the link is included below this post. The website is divided into eight useful sections: Finance & Money, People, Technology, Sales & Marketing, Operations, Import & Export, Future and Cash flow, each one having a number of sub sections that contain valuable insights and advice on that aspect of running a business. The Finance & Money section has some great advice on late payments and how to try and avoid this and further advice on taking small claims through the courts if you need to. The latest Sales & Marketing article contains advice on pitching for new business and the “Top 10 Features” listing deals with questions surrounding IR35 and con...

Hello again. It’s well publicised that in interviews, we form an opinion of someone within seconds, and that opinion counts towards our overall impression of that person in front of us. In business it is really no different. When you are trying to promote yourself to potential customers or clients, making a strong first impression is very important, whether it be through your business card, giving someone your well practised “elevator pitch” or merely introducing yourself, you have to convey a professional image and convince that person that they need to do business with you. In a past job, I attended a lot of networking sessions and came across a speaker at a couple of those events who really focused on first impressions and emphasised their importance. His name was Nigel Risner, he does a lot of talks about networking and how we can improve our communication and his passion is infectious. Nigel wrote a book sometime ago, called “You Had Me at Hello” (the titles refers to a line fr...