Write Away

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...