Toni Hunter's SuperBlog

Could gaining a degree help you develop your business?

Toni — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:15:14 +0000

It is obvious that the more skills and knowledge you have the better, but is it really that important to engage in academia? After all there are many “uneducated” muliti-millionaire business entrepreneurs in the world.

This is what Arron Stevens of Degree Jungle thinks.

Business ownership comes with a steep price including time, money and effort.

Many small business owners lose in the race to compete in an industry because they lack the proper training, experience and/or accountability to create a competitive advantage.

Entrepreneurs in College

College is the basis for discovering your personality, passions and opportunities in your studies.

Details for a business idea often begin and are acquired from involvement in work internships and experience in a chosen field while in school.

Based on research data, if the business owner receives proper training, he or she will have the knowledge to plan each step for starting and developing a business.

Reasons to Take A Step Back

Owning a business is a part of the many people’s dream, but it’s also a reality check if you’re not ready. Your business deserves careful thought and demands leadership, expertise and knowledge of industry expectations.

A business degree from today’s colleges works towards enhancing the workforce’s capabilities to explore ideas, develop plans and execute profitable, worthy companies. You may think your plan is the best in the league, but are you ready to face the heat of entrepreneurship?

Tell the Truth

Do you know the history of business? Are you familiar with business laws, accounting principles, tax regulations and human resource management?

If not, your business and workforce may waste time, resources and intellectual capital in solving business problems. A business degree gives you an edge in solving problems, developing a vision and acquiring skills necessary to achieve your goals.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone.

If you own a business now, you may need to consider a degree to increase your competitiveness.

You will learn the outline of business operations, how to work efficiently and effectively; you also develop the proper critical thinking skills to evaluate opportunities the right way – your way, with a twist.

Get ahead of your competition

Skills learned in the classroom can be applied to your actual business ideas, plans and current position in the markets.

Think about it. Whatever you knew two years ago may no longer apply in today’s business world.

The knowledge, skills and education behind business ownership is changing as time progresses; consider earning your degree to get started on beating out the competition today.

Guest Author: Arron Stevens is a professional blogger and business coach.

His goal is to help entrepreneurs achieve business success.

Please direct any questions regarding Degree Jungle to Henry Thompson

What’s your view?

As many of you know, I left school with average GCSE grades, so it was a good job I didn’t have any inclination to go to University! However, I do believe in continuous education and personal development, being as efficient as you can and distinguishing yourself from “the rest”. I have devoted a significant part of my adult life learning from others and from various forms of education and can with out a doubt say that I would not have achieved many of the personal and business goals that I am so proud of, without that investment.

What do you think?

12 Business Resolutions for 2012

Toni — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:50:04 +0000

Welcome to 2012! I hope you have all had a well earned rest and have recharged your batteries in anticipation of a successful year ahead.

Everyone knows that “to fail to plan, is to plan to fail” and you should have by now reflected on your performance of last year and be making formal written plans for what you need to achieve this year to take a significant step towards, if not achieve your personal and business goals.

Whilst reviewing some social media posts at the tail end of last year, I came across the following message from John Hall of Enstrata and felt compelled to share it with you.

Do you share these Twelve Business Resolutions?

Here is a list generated at a ‘coffee’ conversation on business resolutions for 2012.

Could these be useful to forming your own resolutions?

The list below is not a complete list, and, as you may note, a couple will not be widely shared.

I have recorded them here in a general form. All you need to do is choose any appropriate ones and make them specific to your circumstances. Then add any others of your own.

The resolutions were of the form ‘By the end of 2012 I will have…’

1) Improved financial management and control.

2) Gained more customers and…

3) Improved how we gain new customers (social media etc).

4) Talked to more customers about what they think of my / our business.

5) Improved Business resilience to shocks (e.g. illness, core knowledge disappearing).

6) Attacked wasted time as well as wasted money.

7) Understood Corporate Social Responsibility and be able to explain what my business is doing about it.

8) Personally shared more problems with trusted peers who can help.

9) Improved utilisation of technology.

10) Invested more time in acknowledging employee’s contribution.

11) Learned some management methods to make life easier

12) Gained a better work life balance.

Action required

At the coffee morning, we all recognised that this is a bit of a wish list. The feeling was that unless you identified problem areas, and acknowledged you needed to do something, you would not actively set about changing the status quo.

Then someone said that the same things appear on their wish list year after year……

The conversation moved on to why many business resolutions and personal resolutions fail.

Telephone contact 0845 226 7673 or 01223 846351

Email johnhall@enstrata.co.uk Website – www.enstrata.co.uk

The information provided in this blog illustrates my opinions and experiences, it does not constitute advice and I do not accept responsibility for any actions taken or refrained from as a result of reading this post.

If you found this post interesting/useful please share it with your social network and/or bookmark it. Also, your comments are always valued and will help me to write new posts that are relevant to readers of this blog.

can you afford to miss the self-assessment deadline?

Toni — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:43:01 +0000

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has always taken a dim view of the late filing of self-assessment tax returns, but it has now introduced significant new penalties for those who fail to meet the deadlines.

The deadline

If you are registered for self-assessment and have not already filed your paper return then you will need to do so online by 31 January 2012. This may still seem a long way off, but it makes sense to start preparing now rather than leaving your return until the last minute, when it will be more difficult to deal with any issues which may arise.

The penalty

Under HMRC’s new regime, late returns will incur an initial fixed penalty of £100.

This will apply even if there is no tax to pay or any tax due for the year has already been paid on time.

If your tax return has still not been filed after three months, then HMRC will impose additional daily penalties of £10, up to a maximum of £900.

After six months, the penalty increases to either £300 or five per cent of the tax, depending on which is greater. The penalty could increase to 100 per cent of the tax due if returns have still not been filed after 12 months.

Late tax

Any overdue tax must also be paid by 31 January. If this deadline is missed then HMRC will impose a penalty of five per cent of the amount due after 30 days, six months and 12 months respectively. It is also worth noting that HMRC will charge interest on top of these penalties.

Stop procrastinating

As with any tax matter, it is always better to act sooner rather than later.

The longer you leave it, the bigger the penalty will be.

At George Hay, we can assist with a wide range of tax matters, including ensuring your self-assessment tax return is filed on time.

Friendly, approachable, reliable professionals

Disclaimer: This article is for general guidance only. All taxation planning should only be undertaken after appropriate professional advice. George Hay Chartered Accountants are registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

price sensitive or value conscious?

Toni — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:55:14 +0000

A value proposition is the entire set of resulting experiences from which your customer derives value from what you. A good value proposition will have an enormous number of elements, or individual value outcomes. The more you have, the easier it is to promote your offering in a compelling way.

Synergy

It is not unreasonable to suggest you need to identify at least 50, and likely up to 100 different things that your customers will find of great comfort and value if they buy from you. Some elements of what you do may be inferior to similar elements in other suppliers’ offerings, but it is the overall package that wins.

Focus on customer experiences

Beware of the tendency to focus on internal stuff that’s of no consequence to the customer. Customer experiences generally revolve around Quality, Price, Service and ‘Intellectual Capital’. Social Capital – the value in your customers, suppliers, vendors, networks, referral sources, alumni groups, joint ventures, alliance partners, professional bodies, reputation and so on – is the least exploited form of Intellectual Capital, yet is the most highly valued by customers.

Communicate Value

By emphasising total quality service and transformation, you offer a superior value proposition. But please, don’t embellish the truth. Don’t kid yourself that things your customers expect to be able to take for granted will be compelling differentiators. No one expects ‘poor’ quality or ‘lousy’ service!

In summary….

Communicate value outcomes with numbers, free information, rapid results, and exclusive viewpoints all served up in easily digestible bite-size chunks.

Customers actually aren’t price sensitive - They’re value conscious!

David Winch

david@davidwinch.co.uk

Guest Author: David Winch works with professional service providers to help them overcome their fear of selling and to get paid what they’re worth.

5 things you may not know about charities: No5

Toni — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:56:02 +0000

Trustees Liability

In the past trustees have been worried that they may be personally liable for mistakes they make which put charitable assets at risk.

The Charities Act 2006 (which is still being implemented in phases) introduces two small but important changes.

Indemnity Insurance

If trustees act prudently, lawfully and in accordance with their governing document, then any liability trustees incur may be met by the charity’s resources.

Charities can take out insuracne to cover such circumstances.

Any breach of trust will result in the trustee being personally responsible fpr making good any loss to the charity. Since trustees are acting as a collective governing body, they will usually be jointly and severally responsible.

Personal Liability Insurance

Trustees are now able to procure trustee indemnity insurance using the charity’s funds, to protect them from personal liability to third parties. This is still deemed to be a trustee benefit but it is no longer a requirement to gain permission from the Charity Commission provided that the governing document does not prohibit it.

Fair use of charitable resources?

Trustees need to consider the nature or the charity’s activities, the degree of risk to which the trustees are exposed, the number of trustees to be covered and the cost to the charity of paying the premiums when deciding whether insurance is a good use of resources.

Of course, there is nothing stopping trustees from arranging and paying for their own policies.

5 things you may not know about charities: No4

Toni — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 08:45:53 +0000

Fundraising

Spread giving (e.g. a 24 month pledge) often exceeds the value of a single donation, beyond the cost of the cashflow.

Steering donors towards set gift levels, on a proportionate basis such as “donate £5 for a mosquito net” can be dangerous as if it is perceived to be too high a price you will alienate your supporters, if it is too low you will miss out on larger pledges, as supporters will give the amount requested and then walk away with the perception that they “have done their bit”.

Strategy

When creating a fundraising strategy, consideration should be given to the following:

Is your strategy beneficiary focused or donor focused?
Are the options available to the donor actually diluting the overall impact?
Is the money really needed? Can all the costs be justified? Why are retained reserves being utlised?
Have you done enough research about you potential supporters? What are the demographics of your constituency?
Are there any active, influential leaders that could champion your cause?
The principles of pereto and economies of scale apply. Don’t underestimate the importance of philanthropists.
Personal approaches will always be more successful, but are time consuming. A direct mailing will generate no more than a 1% return.
Have you considered approaching other voluntary organisations such as Churches ans Sports Clubs?
Make sure all staff and volunteers are properly trained and understand the objectives of the charity as well as the strategy of the current fundraising efforts.

5 things you may not know about charities: No3

Toni — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:45:36 +0000

Gift Aid

If you are a UK taxpayer and you make a donation to a registered charity, gift aid can be claimed by the charity. Effectively, the Government give the basic rate tax that the donor has paid on the amount they have pledged, to the charity.

From the year 2000 onwards there is no minimum or maximum donation value for applying gift aid.

The amount of gift aid pledged by taxpayers and not claimed by charities runs in to several million pounds.

If the donor is a 40% taxpayer, the charity will receive the basic rate tax, currently 20% and the donor can claim the remaining 20% via their Self-Assessment Tax Return. They can therefore afford to donate more!

How

The donor completes a Gift Aid declaration (see below) with their name, address and the date.
The charity fills in a claim form and send it to HMRC.
HMRC makes a payment direct to the charity for the amount of basic rate tax claimed.

Example Declaration

“I wish the enclosed donation for £xx and any future donations I make to this charity to be treated as a Gift Aid donation. I am a UK taxpayer”

5 things you may not know about charities: No2

Toni — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:45:31 +0000

Economic Contribution

There are approximately 200,000 registered charities in England and Wales, generating income of more than £50bn per annum (c.3% GDP)

Government grants/contracts make up up around 36% of funding. (27% in 1991)

80% of registered charities have annual income of less than £25k per year.

The sector employs around 750,000 paid staff and is governed by approximately 1 million trustees.

5 things you may not know about Charities: No1

Toni — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:45:55 +0000

History

The first “charitable organisation” was the King’s School in Canterbury, formed in 597AD.

The Victorians were very philanthropic and created what we now recognise as NSPCC and Barnados.

It wasn’t until 1942 that Oxfam (Oxford Committee for Famine Relief) changed the face of the sector with it’s worldwide missions and opened one of the world’s first Charity shops in 1948.

Put a dent in the universe

Toni — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:47:41 +0000

On Thursday we heard the news that Steve Jobs died.

He was an incredible businessman, building not just Apple into a huge success, but also Pixar Studios, the creators of Toy Story.

Jobs said that his “goal was to put a dent in the universe, to make a mark in history”

He’s achieved that. But how he achieved it is worth studying.

Apple don’t invent products…

…they figure out how to make products that people will love.

iPod was not the first mp3. Sony, Creative and a few others created the market before Apple dominated.

iPhone was not the first smart phone. Yet Palm, Blackberry and Nokia have all suffered through Apple’s innovation.

iPad was not the first tablet computer – Microsoft announced one around 2002, yet it took Apple to make it brilliant.

Apple create a fabulous user experience. They do this so successfully that they have created a cult following for their products. People even left flowers at Apple stores worldwide in memory of Jobs – that’s real customer loyalty.

Building Customer Loyalty

Practically every business owner I speak to tells me that their service is what makes them special. But when asked what in their service that makes them special, they don’t know.

Domino’s let you track the progress of your pizza order online, with each step in the cooking of your dinner indicated by blocks that change colour on screen. It looks very cool and my 10yr old daughter loves it. This will help them to keep their number 1 in the pizza takeaway business. It is also one of several deliberate innovations that make ordering pizza online from Domino’s a great customer experience. It is so easy to order exactly what you want that we choose Domino’s over other takeaway foods more often. Like Apple’s products, it’s a joy to use.

Little innovations like this help your customers to be delighted with your service. It keeps them loyal and your business profitable.

Look for ways to put your business to the front of the queue. Make little improvements that mark you out from your competition. Steal ideas from other industries. But above all, do things that make your customers love you.

Make a dent in the universe.

Warm regards,

Lee Duncan
Tel: 0800 206 2216
Email: lee@leeduncan.com
http://www.leeduncan.com

Relevant reading: Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple & Pixar June 2005 ”You’ve got to find what you love”