Improved Payment

Monday 27th July 2020

How to improve your chances of getting paid on time by your clients?   This crisis has painfully magnified already existing supply chain bullying that goes on, particularly small suppliers vs big company clients. Now, that businesses are starting to open again, your clients, who are still owing money may start running out of excuses….

Challenging

Thursday 23rd July 2020

The challenging issues of remote working and how to handle them By Sarah Lewis, C.Psychol., Appreciating Change     If you’ve moved to remote working, how are you finding it?  Are you one of those people who love it? Or are you finding it a significant challenge?  Many of us do find it challenging. Given…

WFH Expenses

Thursday 16th July 2020

What can you claim as tax deductible expenditure when working from home     With increased time spent working from home the entitlement of what people can claim as allowable expense for tax purposes is potentially higher. There are several ways of calculating cost of home office use. The treatment is different depending on if…

Shoestring

How to start a business on a shoestring budget     Validate your idea Before you start spending time and money speak to people in the relevant industry or potential customers about your idea. Understand what your competitors are missing out on so you can really define your Unique Selling Point that will give you…

Legal Setup

Thinking of starting up on your own? Which legal set up is best for you – Sole trader vs Limited company     Media is certainly not falling short on inspirational start-up stories that were set up during lockdown. Having had time to reflect, it has certainly brought home to people what they really want…

wow ending

How to wow your audience at the end your online presentation or speech By Vinette Hoffman-Jackson, Toastmasters International   You want to start your presentation by engaging and intriguing your audience and also to end by wowing them. After all you want them to remember what you said and discussed it afterwards.   The sad truth is…

Pass

Saturday 11th July 2020

Lessons From Lockdown – The final entry – “This too shall pass”   July already – and as we are gradually starting to see the return of something like normality with pubs, restaurants, swimming pools and gyms beginning to reopen, there are some truly worrying figures around redundancies, businesses folding and the ongoing financial strains faced…

Million

Friday 10th July 2020

The million-pound question you need to ask ‘How you doin?’ This phrase, synonymous with Joey from ‘Friends’, was often heard uttered in the character’s quest to land yet another new love interest. And lucky-in-love Joey found his catchphrase never failed to lure the ladies. Making sure you’ve nailed the right line when you want someone…

Cycle Wear

Monday 6th July 2020

Good-looking cycling wear for your commute   By Catherine Ellis, Hill & Ellis   If you are considering taking to the saddle to avoid the crowds on public transport or the gridlock of the roads, trust me you’ll love it!   As the effects of Covid-19 drag on, cycling has become a great option for…

Passion

Friday 3rd July 2020

Reconnecting with your passion for your business in uncertain times By Rosie Tomkins, author of ‘N-stinctive’   Business owners have been faced with many challenges over recent months and are still dealing with much uncertainty. In this situation you may, perhaps, have been finding that your passion for your business has also been challenged! The…

Regrets

Thursday 25th June 2020

Lessons from Lockdown – don’t waste time with regrets One bonus of this enforced captivity has been the opportunity to get to grips with clearing out various cupboards etc.  Go on, admit it, I bet there’s been some dried herbs found at the back of the larder that expired in 2017! Looking for something specific…

Ace

Sunday 21st June 2020

Acing your next live online presentation or webinar By Lyn Roseaman, Toastmasters International   The pandemic has completely shifted online from a communication choice to an essential for our personal and business lives.  We’re all learning to be more effective online, but acing your webinar requires specific skills which are different from what is need…

Leverage

Thursday 18th June 2020

How to survive the current crisis and leverage your business By Jonathan Amponsah CTA FCCA, The Tax Guys   It has been quite a sight to see people visiting ‘non-essential’ shops as they’ve reopened.  However, many businesses are still closed and plenty of people will remain furloughed until the autumn. ‘Business as usual’ is still…

Back to Work

Thursday 11th June 2020

What needs to happen to get you team back to work successfully? By Jo Strahan, C2C Training     As lockdown eases and we all enter a transition phase there is a lot to consider.  Preparing to reopen your business and get all of your staff back at work requires detailed preparation.   To help…

Furloughed

Wednesday 10th June 2020

Lessons from Lockdown – Furlough isn’t necessarily fun!   Like many businesses when all the pandemic really started to bite, we furloughed our office staff.  In reality this was our MD and our Operations Manager, Fran, who is also our daughter! With the training diary effectively wiped clear for the foreseeable, it made sense for her…