With 2020 nearly upon us many companies are thinking about how they can kick start their marketing in the new year to give their business the best chance. Many companies spend a lot of their marketing budget online, which often makes sense, but some companies still invest in offline marketing such as leaflet dropping. For certain types of businesses leaflet dropping works very well. This may be for a business that offers their services to the local community such as a florist, butchers or window cleaner.
If you can offer people a discount such as a money off voucher on the flyer then this will often increase the response that you have from the advertisement. It is very important when creating a flyer that it looks professional. If you are a small business you may be tempted to skimp on print or even print your own. If you are going to do this you need to make sure that the paper is of high quality and the images used are not pixelated. Always print off one or two test flyers before you print the rest and double check for spelling errors or issues with the layout which can often slip through.
Recent surveys show that although small business owners understand that branding is important, they often don’t really understand what a brand is and how they should be growing theirs.
A brand is not just a logo or a strap line but it is the whole ethos of the business. It covers everything from logos, designs, premises to staff attitude to customers, customer service and values. To have a successful brand you need to have consistency in order for people to start to recognise your business branding. Before trying to market your brand it is vital to ensure that all internal and external procedures are working as they should and that all members of staff understand the business and how it works.
When building your brand it may be useful to think of it as a person with its own beliefs, values and purpose. What are your businesses values? What does the company believe in and what is the whole purpose of your company. Every bit of marketing you do needs to reiterate this in some way and allow your customers to start to understand the story behind your business.
The job of a bookkeeper requires a certain set of skills and as you gain experience you will find a number of other opportunities may arise.
There is no legal requirement to have a certain qualification to be a bookkeeper, but if you are looking for employment in this area you will often find that you are more likely to be accepted for a job if you do. Most people start off by doing a bookkeepers or accountancy course at college. You will usually need to have 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D) for a level 2 course.
You can train yourself to become a bookkeeper or learn whilst on the job, which will allow you to keep study costs down and work at the same time but if you are planning of becoming self-employed then it is important that you ensure you know exactly what you are doing before offering your services to clients. You may have some family members who are self-employed and you may start off by doing their books for them. This will also give you experience that you to add to your CV to make you a more viable candidate when it comes to applying for jobs.
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If you are a business that sells to other businesses then you will need to have a different marketing strategy to a business that sells direct to the public. Some parts may overlap but your overall focus will probably be quite different. The buying cycle is usually longer for business to business sales, the requirements are better defined, more people are involved and the stakes are typically higher.
When dealing with other businesses you need to make it feel like you are a partner of theirs, working together towards a goal rather than a sales person trying to get them to buy your product. When you’re easier to do business with, your customers feel it. It makes their work more efficient and predictable. You may need to spend more time with business customers and expect a slower process than if you were selling to a member of the public but the rewards are often greater.
If you are a small business owner you may find it hard to keep on top of your own accounts. You may find that you are so busy doing work or marketing that you have little time to keep your own accounts up to date. This means that you may get behind with payments or easily lose track of who owes you money. It is important to get processes in place to make your accounts as automated as possible. If you have people that you invoice a set amount to on a regular basis then you may want to set up a direct debit or standing order with them so you do not have to chase the money every month. Many accounting software packages will also let you create recurring invoices that can be done every week, month or year (for example) and then automatically emailed out. This can take a lot of the hassle out of accounting and keep your cash flow in order. Do your research to find out which accounting software best suits your needs and is the best price as they can range quite drastically and you can end up paying over the odds for software that is more sophisticated than you need.
If you run a business whether that be self employer, partnership or limited company it is important to understand tax rules and regulations and ensure that you comply with them.
Making tax digital is probably a phrase that you have heard of although it may not be affecting you yet. If you are VAT registered then you will already be having to do your VAT returns through the new digital system.
Over the next few years more and more HMRC services will be using this system and you will have to adapt the way you do your accounting to include this. The accounting software systems such as Clear books, Sage and Xero already offer instant submission to HMRC for tax purposes. If you do not use one of these accounting software packages then it may be worth looking into them or another provider to find which one suits your requirements and budget.
You can find out all the latest information on making tax digital through the HMRC website or by contacting an accountancy firm who will be able to advise you of what changes are coming in to play and how or if they will affect you.