Business Advice
Outsourcing parts of your business
Outsourcing is when any operation, job, item task or service that could be undertaken by employees within a company is contracted out to a third party. These third party functions could be performed on site or off-site (or even, indeed in another country). Temporary hiring of staff is not counted as outsourcing.
Companies typically will outsource whole functions for which specialist staff are required such as IT systems, Payroll and Human Resources, Health and Safety and Employment Law (the latter are often contracted together). Companies also outsource functions usually undertaken by mainly part time or unskilled staff such as catering or cleaning, which, as there tend to be a considerable turnover of staff in these areas, can cause distraction for the core business to manage.
People working as contractors or freelancers, may set themselves up as limited companies as a framework to manage their organisation, though this does involve managing paperwork and overseeing administration relative to their contracts, often choose to outsource the management of this to umbrella companies. Umbrella companies act as an employer to the person on fixed term contract and deal with all HMRC PAYE documentation and then pay the contractor through their own company payroll. This means the contractor just needs to submit time sheets and expense claims. Using an umbrella company is best used by contractors that have a number of both short and long term contracts and have not the time for organising all the paperwork.
Choosing a new business structure
It can be very bewildering deciding how to set up a legal structure for your new business. You will already have some idea whether you are to set up this business on a small scale and will undertake the product manufacture or business services on your own, or whether you are to work with others or need to seek a more formal structure which will protect your financial liability. Basically there are three options for setting up a new business – [Read More...]
Choose Business Partners Carefully!
I was going to call this “Business Partners from Hell” because if you’ve ever gone into business with the wrong person or persons you will know the agony of grappling with at best a costly dead weight and at worst a total liability. When my children were small I once set up a small business making large tapestry handbags (we were ahead of our time!) and stylish home textiles with the wife of my husband’s friend who had the benefit of an industrial sewing machine. I already knew that the products were saleable as I had hawked them round local posh shops and got tentative orders. Jenny (the name is changed to protect the guilty) jumped at the chance of setting up a business together, though talking about what she was going to do was her best skill. We took orders and set targets for things for both of us to make. I made mine targets and more, she would have weeks when “I had a migraine for three days” and made very little. [Read More...]
Creative Writing
Creative writing is anything from fiction to poetry, and also includes non-fiction screen writing, playwriting, short stories, song writing and bibliographies in its category. Creative writing is considered to be anything which is not under the journalistic, technical and academic forms of literature.
There are seven main elements to writing; [Read More...]
Marketing
Have you thought about your markets?
It’s surprising how many folks thinking of starting up their own business have not really thought about who their precious product and service will actually be purchased by. They have not really defined their potential market. So, we are going to make widgets or make home-made meals for weekly delivery. Do we know about how [...]
Don’t forget to research the competition!
Almost all areas of business you will want to join with your new business will already be littered with your competitors. Firstly you will need to know how many there are in your general commercial area, undertaking the same or similar work. A search of your business or telephone directories with tell you some, as [...]
Employment
Education – Shape Yours And Your Children’s Lives.
With millions scrabbling for roles, the one thing which will make you stand out above the rest is a higher degree and a better education. Education hasn’t ever been more critical than it is at about that point in time. The difficulty is that it can be extremely hard to study without ending up in [...]
What to include on your CV
Now let’s have a look at what you should include on your CV. First of all you should give you basic information such as name, address, telephone number and email address. You should also include you education on your CV. This should show where you studied, the dates that you were there, and what subjects [...]
CV Writing
CV stands for curriculum vitae and this is Latin for ‘life story’. Your CV gives a written record of your education, skills, experience and interests. It is also known in some countries as a resume. The document is basically an advert in which you are selling yourself to your prospective employers. There are different requirements [...]
Accountancy
Let accountancy software take the strain!
With the amount of money that people spend online every year rising to over forty billion pounds, setting up a small online business could prove lucrative, if you have some good ideas. Your whole business can be run via the internet and, although you may not need payroll software to begin with, chances are your profits will soar and you will take on employees. Certainly the ability to use online invoicing when you sell online or off, is a great boon these days.
It would be very wise to underpin your whole enterprise with a thoroughly sound online set up. For example QuickBooks Online, Online Simple Start, Online Essentials and Online Plus all offer excellent support for such a project. It’s comforting to know that, should your profits soar, you will be able to purchase additional Payroll software as a bolt on to the Desktop versions of QuickBooks. One should never under-estimate the role of Payroll Companies. As you will operate online you won’t necessarily have to pay rent and will have few overheads, but you will have to deal with suppliers, web designers and packers. You’ll need to sort VAT Returns and deal with a fair amount of rather complicated red tape.
If you are selling online it’s hopeful that you have an understanding of the ways of the internet, but it will be essential to purchase user friendly software, such as QuickBooks, in order to increase your takings. You’ll also need the help of a qualified Accountant, but having easily got to grips with your payroll software, you‘ll be able to reduce the number of hours you meet them face to face.
Writing a CV
Everyone has a different way of writing a CV, if you’re writing your CV or are just unsure on a few things then this article will take you through a few steps on writing your CV. CV writing is simple if you lay it out right, try and aim to get great detail into your CV, try getting it into two pages maximum but obviously the more jobs, education and achievements you have will depend on the size of your CV. Don’t feel like you have to cramp all this information into one or two pages if you have more extend it but not to long. … [Read More...]