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Your Business Adventure Begins Here: A Step-by-Step Guide to Launching

05 Oct
Your Business Adventure Begins Here: A Step-by-Step Guide to Launching

Starting a business can be an exhilarating adventure into entrepreneurship, where every step brings you closer to realizing your goal. But it can also present many obstacles along its journey. Thus, I have partnered with Grant Polachek from Squadhelp to publish a guest post here. He has put together an invaluable step-by-step guide on launching your venture. Let’s work on your entrepreneurial adventure together.

Your First Step

The initial step to succeed as an entrepreneur should be discovering your entrepreneurial passions. Unleash what truly excites you and build your business around that interest – passion drives success in business ventures!

1. From Idea Sparks to Business Plans: Turning your ideas into actionable business plans is vital. Here is how you can outline your concept, set goals, and develop a roadmap for the future.

2. Market Research Magic: Successful market research is crucial to understanding your target audience, competition, and industry trends. Let’s discuss how to conduct compelling research studies that provide vital insights that help shape business concepts.

Establish the Foundation

1. Naming Your Business: Naming is more than a formality–it is integral to creating your brand identity! Our experts will walk you through the steps for selecting an exciting and memorable name that embodies all that your business stands for.

2. Discover Your Funding Options: Examine various funding strategies available, from bootstrapping and seeking investors or loans to creating a solid financial plan to meet your business goals.

3. Navigating Legal Waters: Navigating legal waters as part of business ownership can be complex. We will discuss the structures, permits, and licenses necessary for your operation to run efficiently within the law.

Establish an Online Presence Today

Having an online presence is imperative. Understand why and learn how to develop one through creating professional websites and compelling brands online, with the assistance of platforms like Squadhelp to optimize your brand’s impact and recognition.

1. Networking for Success: Building and cultivating connections are crucial assets to any entrepreneur, and here we’ll cover strategies for effective networking and relationship-building that can help make your business thrive.

2. Crafting Your Business Story: Every successful business needs an engaging storyline. Discover how you can craft and tell it effectively so that it connects with audiences on an intimate level.

Testing and Launch

1. Prototyping: Before officially releasing your product or service, prototyping provides the ideal way to test it and collect feedback before its full rollout. Let’s discuss its importance and how best it can benefit you!

2. Learn the MVP Approach: Applying the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach quickly and efficiently will enable your business to launch rapidly while gathering early insights to refine its offering further.

Marketing and Growth

Determine and develop innovative marketing strategies tailored specifically for startups, including content marketing, social media strategies, and guerrilla tactics designed to gain visibility and attract customers.

1. Scaling Your Adventure: Expanding and growing your business is exciting, so you need to focus on strategies for expanding operations, expanding markets, and broadening customer bases.

2. Survival Skills: For Startups Business competition can be tricky. Mastering essential survival strategies to navigate challenges effectively and pivot when needed to guarantee the long-term success is cruicial for the business. So, define your strategies accordingly.

Resources and Support

Discover invaluable business support organizations such as incubators, accelerators, and business support organizations that offer guidance, mentorship, and funding opportunities for your start-up venture.

1. Explore Technology: Discover essential tools and technologies to streamline business operations, manage finances effectively, and increase productivity.

2. Entrepreneurial Learning: Being an entrepreneur requires continuous education. So, keep yourself up-to-date by reading latest books, learning from new courses, and using new platforms to keep up-to-date and continuously hone your entrepreneurial abilities.

Conclusion

Your business journey can be an adventure of opportunities, challenges, and growth. By following this step-by-step guide as your compass, you are well-equipped to navigate the entrepreneurial terrain successfully. Remember that every setback is an important stepping stone, while every triumph proves your hard work and vision.

As you embark on this exciting venture, remain true to yourself, adapt quickly to changing circumstances, and never cease learning. Your entrepreneurial spirit and determination are at the core of its success; keep those qualities close as you pursue this exciting venture!

Your entrepreneurial adventure begins with you; its possibilities are limitless! Seize every opportunity, face every challenge with courage, and watch as your entrepreneurial dreams take from – good luck on your path to entrepreneurship success!

 
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Posted by on October 5, 2023 in 21st Century, small business, Startup

 

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How to become better at listening?

07 Mar

Coaching your line managersI can’t help but think about one of the meetings that I had a month back. During this meeting, I had to work with my team to create a road map of all the projects that we were going to do after few structural changes that had happened in our organization. It should have been a simple meeting. I should have presented company’s objectives for the next fiscal year to my team and then I should have allowed them to provide their input to create a road map which works for the team to achieve our objectives. It was a very simple task.

 

Unfortunately, I was unable to get the right answers from my team during that meeting. I am not sure what I was doing wrong at the time, as that meeting was not that productive and I was unable to get anything done. That incident got me thinking about the bigger question. Do I always ask right questions? If I do, then why am I not getting right answers? What am I missing here? What can I do to improve that process? After some analysis and introspection, I have realized that I was not listening to my team while I presented them with our objectives. And hence, I have come up with few practical tips and tricks through which I had improved my listening skills that I would like to share it with you here.

 

Be patient: In the past, I often fell into the trap of asking bunch of questions, all at once, so I don’t miss anything. Or worst, when someone is speaking, I actively tried to ask them my question right there and then, when they are talking, so that I can clarify things in the heat of the moment. Though this kind of a one-sided question dump had worked for me in the past in some situations, it didn’t provide most of my peers enough time to think and respond. Even though I was getting answers to my questions through this approach, often times I was not getting the right answer or an informative one. And hence, I tried to be patient with my questions during this last month. I also did my research beforehand, and found out what kind of answers I was looking for before asking those questions. I invested some time in noting down my questions while someone is speaking, so that I don’t forget what I wanted to ask, and at the same time I don’t interrupt my peers in between where they lose their train of thoughts. I tried to keep a pen and paper handy or used my OneNote on my phone to jot down any questions that I had, while someone else was speaking. This was one of the most practical thing I could do while listening to others and at the same time making sure that I remember my pointers to discuss.

 

Let silence speak: Other than being patient during meetings, I have also conducted various other experiments at my work within this past month. One of them being – using silence to speak for itself. When I was in a meeting, I often used silence as a tool to communicate when it was my time to ask questions. It was definitely a game changer for me. When I remained silent for few seconds before responding, everyone’s attention was at me before I even started speaking, and they were listening, yes, they were. I also used silence while asking questions to others. I would ask a question and then take a pause for a while. That approach did wonders for me, as it gave an opportunity to the responder to prepare their response before speaking. Obviously, it took a while before I got used to this practice, but this technique proved to be very helpful. If you want to try this technique then please make the pause long enough for the answerer to think but not too long so it becomes awkward. And while the answerer is preparing for his/her answers, try keeping eye contact, stand still, and try to feel comfortable while you wait. I am sure that you will get responses from people who hardly even spoke in the meeting. Just try it and let me know.

 

I am hoping that you all learn from my experiences and become better at listening. If you have any other ways through which we can be a good listener then please feel free to share it through your comments here. I would really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on March 7, 2018 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to clear your mind and think?

07 Mar

HumanPsychologyIn today’s day and age, when we are surrounded by so many things from mission critical problems to materialistic things, it is difficult to clear your mind. When your job is to put out fires everyday, it is very challenging to clear your mind. After all, how do you find time to think, when you are so occupied already? But at the same time, ignoring the need for thinking allows seemingly healthy, active businesses to fail because of the change they never saw coming, until it was too late. Thus, as a leader, we need to develop a habit of stepping away from our day-to-day activities, and clear our mind. Hence, I am writing this blog to provide you with some pointers through which you can manage to clear your mind, while managing your busy schedule at the same time.

Block your calendars: As a leader/manager, we are used to organize our day through Outlook or Gmail calendar. Then why don’t we use the same mechanism to remind ourselves about clearing our mind for a while? This is the least we can do for ourselves, right? So before another week goes by, clean your schedule for hour or so, and make sure that you keep this meeting with yourself. During these thirty minutes, think. Don’t write, read magazines, or clean your desk. Just think. It would be great if you could do it with your office door close and your computer shut down. Avoid normal distractions, which would otherwise lead you to a different path.

Change your environment: I am sometimes tired of sitting in my office, and I often look for a change to clear my mind. There is no easier way to do that than just taking a walk. A short walk of half an hour provides a great thinking environment for me, and I encourage you guys to try it as well. And yes, during your thinking time, try not to question your mind with a day-to-day problem, although this works well for that, too, but try to think about general stuff or changing environment. For example: What’s changing in my environment that I haven’t thought about? What new skills will my team need in the next year? What barriers exist to my team’s success this quarter? Etc.

Try new things: As a leader, we are often occupied with a routine, where all of our activities are predefined and we follow a same schedule. From playing golf to hanging out with our friends, we become used to a same routine. As a leader, we shouldn’t just challenge our work, but we should also challenge ourselves to get out of our comfort zone. Thus, we should try to go to a museum, an art gallery, or a library. Or just visit a mall without any intension of shopping or fly a kite. At the end of your excursion ask yourself, What did I see or experience today that taught me something about my work or my life? Don’t push for the answer, but don’t give up too quickly. There’s always something there; you just need to think till you find it.

I hope, my blog can help you not only clear your mind but develop a practice in your life to think outside the box. If you have any other recommendations, then please feel free to share it here. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on March 7, 2016 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to be a rock star at your workplace?

09 Feb

SuccessHave you ever felt unable to get your point across at your workplace? Or have you ever wondered why people don’t take you seriously at work? Not everyone feels that way, but if you do, then please read on. Recently, one of my friend talked to me about her insecurities at work, and how she can’t seem to perform well at her work due to her insecurities. So, I thought of writing this blog which can help many people like her to become a rock star at their workplace.

Give credit to yourself: If you don’t credit yourself for your work, then why do you think others will. I understand, many folks are honestly intimidated by large crowds and their superiors. But there is nothing wrong with giving yourself some credit on the work that you have already done. By publicizing your work to your superiors and decision makers, you are not doing anything wrong, you are just providing them with some facts about your work. If you develop a habit of advertising the work that you (or your team) does, then when impacts to potential strategies are being discussed, I am sure that your name will pop-up as the subject matter expert (SME).

Be positive: By being positive, I am not telling you to agree with all the decisions that are being made at your work place, but I am rather recommending you to change your perspective towards how you see things. If you want to be seen as a collaborative problem solver, and not as someone who has to be “convinced” all the time, then please try using phrases like – “Sure that sounds interesting. Let me do some research and get back to you” instead of using phrases like – “No, we can’t do that”. In this way, you are aligning yourself with the crowd instead of setting yourself up as a roadblock, all without being a yes-man.

Build trust: This is easier said than done. Building trust is a long process. You can’t force someone to trust you. You need to demonstrate your integrity to your coworkers to build the trust relationship between you and them. Thus, you should always try to be transparent with your coworkers. Try not to participate in any gossip or spread rumors about decisions that are not done deals; likewise do not divulge confidential information. How many times have you heard rumors about a strategic decision being made that in the end was not true? If you want to earn people’s trust then then you need to pay attention and use some discretion. Just treat others, the way you would like to be treated. Period.

I hope, my blog can help you become the next rock star at your workplace. If you have any other recommendations for my readers, then please feel free to share it here through your comments. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2016 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to eliminate your organization’s blind spots?

03 Aug

ActionPlanLike Kodak, Xerox and Black Berry, we can all become blind sided by our own success. And as I have mentioned in my last blog, there are many organizational strengths that can turn into blind spots, if we don’t give them close attention. Thus, in this blog, I am going to provide you with some pointers through which you can keep reinventing your organization, and don’t become the victim of your own success.

Think outside the box: Even though your business is doing excellent, you should always keep looking for improvement opportunities around you, and keep yourself open to change. Make sure to frequently ask these questions to yourself: What business are we in? How do we create value? Who are our new competitors? Where is our market heading? What new behaviors our customers are displaying? Etc. If you have the budget for it, make sure to hire third party contractors every other year to provide their overall opinion on the company’s products, services and overall health. This practice will not only give you an outsider’s unbiased opinion, but it might also give you some improvement opportunities existing within the organization at this time. If you don’t have that much extra cash to spend on, you should at least have the meeting within your senior leadership, twice (or thrice) a year, and ask these specific questions. You will be surprised on what you find out.

Encourage disruptive behavior: In order to continually improve your existing and established processes, you need to create a disruptive culture within your organization, which can help you motivate your employees and encourage them to think outside the box. Obviously, this cultural change is not an overnight process, neither there is a magic wand that can make this happen faster. Some of the subtle ways through which you can implement this cultural change are.. (1) Go undercover. Keep aside one day in a quarter, where you cancel all of your meetings for a day, and let your employees give you the work orders for a day. This approach will not only help you to improve your repo with your employees, but it will also help you identify all of the inefficiencies in your existing processes. (2) Encourage your employees to research about new innovations, and provide them incentives to think outside the box. Give them some training time to learn new things on their own. If possible, try to provide tuition reimbursements. You will be surprised with all the innovative techniques that they bring back with them.

Talk to your existing customers: Most companies are so focused in expanding their business and going after new customers that they sometimes forget to value their existing customers. Surprisingly, some of the best ideas come from your own customers rather than your employees. And hence, it is very important to listen to your existing customers than completely focusing your attention on growing your business by acquiring new customers. Obviously, your customers are not always going to tell you what are the risks that your business is going to face in the future, but you can at least estimate those risks based on your customer’s feedback. Take T-Mobile for example, when they started to listen to their customers, they changed the entire mobile industry through their “uncarrier” movement. On the contrary, look at Black Berry; if they would have listened to their customers and recognized the need for touch-phone touch with the third party app development support, then they wouldn’t be in this difficult financial situation today.

Obviously, no one can eliminate all blind spots that your organization will face, but you can take proactive steps to lessen risks associated with it. I hope, my blog can help you in minimizing these risk factors. Let me know, if you have any other ideas through which we can eliminate our organizational blind spots further. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on August 3, 2015 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to increase your employee’s trust in you through your actions?

07 Jul

ManagerBuilding a trust relationship with your employees is a tricky business in itself. Even though you can’t control your employee’s perception of you, you can affect their idea of you by your actions. And hence, in this blog, I will continue my conversation from my last blog about how to build a successful trust relationship with your employees through your consistent actions.

Listen to your employees: No relationship can be build successfully, if you are unwilling to listen. Same logic applies here. As a manager, you should seek to understand your employees, and try to show empathy towards their viewpoints. If you don’t agree with the opinion of your employee, then don’t try to shoot their idea immediately. Let them tell the thought process behind their idea, and you might be surprised with what they can come up with. Let’s say, you still don’t like their idea after hearing the entire story. In that case, you should try to explain your viewpoints to them and explain your thought process to them rather than rejecting their idea directly. With this approach, they will feel more connected with you and they will at least try to understand your perspective rather than just thinking that “my manager doesn’t like my ideas, so he always says NO”. If you can at least get your employees involved in the decision making process and seek their ideas before making the decision, you can build a better trust relationship with them.

Keep your commitments: Let’s say, you have a manager who tells you something (ABC) and does completely different thing (XYZ). Will you be able to trust his/her words again? Same goes for your employees. If you don’t keep your commitments often, then they will have a really hard time trusting you. Thus, in order to improve your trust relationship with your employees, you have to make sure that you do what you say you are going to do. By seeing your consistent behavior, they will develop an idea on what they can expect from you, and hence, they will try to trust your words on the basis of your past actions. Take this for an example, if the final decision about a problem is outside of your direct control, then it is better that you tell your employees that you will “look into it” instead of telling them that you can “fix it”. In this way, they will know what they can expect from you, which is a key component in building any kind of trust relationship.

Admit your mistakes: We are all humans, and hence, we are all prone to make mistakes. But if you make a mistake and don’t admit your mistakes, then it will send a wrong message to your entire team. They will consider this as the new precedence, and they won’t admit their mistakes either, when they make them. If you do something wrong, then it is very important to apologize and admit your mistakes. This behavior will bring you and your team members close together. When you accept your mistake, try to explain your intentions going forward and live up to the new expectations that you have established. Everyone makes mistakes, the difference is what you do when you have made one. If possible, try to share what you have learned as a result of your mistake so your employees don’t make the same mistake again. By sharing your experience, you will not only be improving your relationship with your employees, but you will also be teaching them a lesson that you have learned.

With these pointers, I am ending my two part series blog about – ‘manager-employee trust relationship’. If you have any other ideas through which we can increase our trust relationship with our employees, then please share your ideas with me through your comments here. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on July 7, 2015 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to build a successful trust relationship with your employees?

23 Jun

234ec-encourage-othersI have seen many managers struggling with building a successful trust relationship with their employees. Building a trust relationship with anyone in itself is not easy, and it is even more complex when you have to build that relationship with your employees to whom you can’t disclose certain confidential information. Thus, most managers take a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach. Obviously, neglecting that part of the employee-manager relationship will not help you either. Trust is very critical to the success of any organization, and as a leader you need to be able to trust your employees; and more importantly, your employees need to be able to trust you. Hence, in this blog, I will provide you with few pointers through which you can build a successful trust relationship with your employees.

Be open with your employees: I am not telling you to disclose all the confidential information to your employees, at the first chance that you get. But you should at least keep your employees informed about what’s happening in your organization. You should always try to disclose some general information that you know without releasing any sensitive (or confidential) information. Also, whenever you get an opportunity, you should try to share your values, thoughts and beliefs with your employees, so that they get the opportunity to know you better. If you support and praise your employee’s achievements and try to be positive most of the time by maintaining each other’s self esteem, then you will at least earn their respect by showing this consistent behavior.

Provide regular feedback: Unfortunately, most managers don’t consider feedback-giving process as the avenue to build trust relationship with their employees. For some managers, feedback is just another process through which they have to go through once a month during their one-on-one sessions with their employees. If you change this mindset and recognize the potential of your one-on-one time with your employees, then you can do wonders. Do this…try to develop a habit of talking to your direct reports at least once a day. I know, it will be hard at first, but you will be surprised to note the positive change in your employees within few weeks. By providing them regular feedback (yes I mean it, regular), you will be giving some time to this manager-employee relationship. And sometimes, only the time is needed to build stronger relationships. Don’t you agree?

Trust others: I know, this is easier said than done. But trust is a two way street. Unless you trust your employees, and always assume their positive intent, you won’t be allowing them to build a trust relationship with you. If you are serious about building this relationship with your employees then you need to stand up for your employees, and suspend any judgment that you might have. You should develop a practice of respecting your differences and appreciate each other’s skills. I know, it will take time, but it can definitely be achieved. And once you stand up for your employees, you will see that your employees will start standing up for you.

These are some ideas through which you can improve the trust relationship between you and your employees. If you have any other ideas through which we can improve this trust relationship, then please share your ideas with me through your comments. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2015 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to effectively provide negative feedback to your employees? Part 2

08 Jun

ManagementStyleMost managers blame their employees for their poor performance instead of talking directly to them about these issues. Unfortunately, some of these managers try to take the easy way out, and turn a blind eye to their employee’s issues. After all, confronting someone about their behavioral issues is not the prettiest thing in the world. Thus, in this blog, I will continue my conversation from my last blog, and provide you with couple of other ideas that you can use while providing negative feedback to your employees.

Don’t give advice: Even though most managers recognize the importance of giving their feedback to their employees, they completely misunderstand the meaning of feedback itself. Instead of utilizing the feedback time for giving their feedback to their employees, these managers try to give their advice to their employees during these feedback meetings. It is not always appropriate to give advice to other people. If your advice does not work, you will be blamed later for it. Thus, you should rather try to share your opinions and ideas with your employees, and let them come up with an appropriate solution by themselves. Suppose an employee who is having trouble with some task comes to you and asks, “What am I doing wrong?” Instead of giving advice, share your personal experience with your employees. For example, you might describe a similar problem you had, and how you handled it. It is then up to them to decide what to do. This approach will not only make them independent, but it will also improve their knowledge base.

Don’t delay your feedback: If you want to provide an effective feedback to your employees, you need make sure that your feedback is always timely. Well timed feedback is more likely to provide you with the right results than delayed feedback because it allows the person to correct actions or behaviors while they are still fresh. For example, if your employee messes up the accounting system, you might want to discuss the problem with the responsible employee immediately, if possible, or at least within a day or two. Even though you want to provide your feedback to them immediately, try to consider the environmental factors first. For example, if you point out the employee’s mistakes in front of a group of coworkers, it is likely to be resented. Thus, try to provide the sensitive feedback in a private setting, probably in a one-on-one meeting or something.

Don’t be overpowering: No one wants to look bad in front of others, we all want to feel intelligent in front of others. This goes for your employees as well. During your negative feedback communication, your employees will often continue to argue for a plan even when it is obviously not working or in the best interest of the organization, because they want themselves to look good in front of you and others. Thus, during these meetings you should provide an avenue to your employees to save their face. Your employees are more likely to accept your negative feedback if you allow some degree of face saving for them. For example, instead of saying, “Your idea was rejected,” mention that the rejection was due in part to lack of funds or other factors, thereby allowing them to save their face.

With these pointers, I am ending my two-part series blog about – ‘providing negative feedback to your employees’. If you have any other ideas through which we can make this process easier, then please share your ideas with me through your comments here. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2015 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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How to effectively provide negative feedback to your employees? Part 1

26 May

FeedbackFirst of all, I would like to thank my readers for really liking my last blog series about ‘honest feedbacks’. I really appreciate your feedback, so please keep it coming. Secondly, many of you have asked me how to provide honest, but negative feedback, to your employees, and hence, I am writing this two-part series blog for answering some of your questions.

Refrain from personal attacks: While giving feedback to others, try to direct your feedback towards their behavior rather than towards that particular person. A common mistake lot of managers make is to criticize the person rather than their negative behavior. If you tell your assistant that she is a poor excuse for a secretary, then it is a personal attack rather than a constructive criticism. These kind of feedback can only make your employees more defensive towards you and your feedback. So, try to identify the problematic behavior and focus on what can be done to correct it in the future, instead of launching personal attacks towards your employees. For example: This is what you tell your secretary when she makes an accounting mistake … “Jackie, an accounting mistake like this one can cost way more than our weekly office budget. From now on, please check with me before finalizing any orders costing more than $100”.

Be descriptive: While providing feedback to your employees, don’t be evaluative or judgmental, instead be descriptive. Descriptive feedback is tactfully honest and objective, whereas evaluative feedback seems to be more judgmental and accusatory to the feedback receiver. Here is an example of an evaluative feedback: “Where is your sales report? You know it is due on my desk no later than 9:00 each morning. You’re obviously not reliable anymore.” Here is an example of a descriptive feedback for the same situation: “When you don’t turn your sales reports in on time, I’m unable to complete the departmental report on time. This makes both of us look bad. You’ve been late twice this month. Is there something I can do to help you get those reports in on time?” Like in this example, descriptive words are more likely to result in cooperation.

Keep it short: If you are providing constructive criticism to your employee, don’t have a marathon about it. Try to include only as much information as the person can handle at one time. Suppose during a performance appraisal, you give an employee a list of 20 items that need improvement. Even though you might feel better after fully expressing your feelings, your employee will only remember 2-3 major bullet items from that meeting and forget everything else. How can anyone improve on 20 things at the same time? Think about it, can you do that? What would have happened if your manager gave you similar feedback? Wouldn’t you require more time to analyze this much information at once? Thus, you should restrict yourself while giving negative feedback to your employees. Give only two or three suggestions that your employee can reasonably handle at a time.

These are some ideas through which you can effectively provide negative feedback to your employees. If you have any other ideas through which we can make this process easier, then please share your ideas with me through your comments here. Thanks – Bhavin Gandhi

 
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Posted by on May 26, 2015 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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Self-management for the self-employed

16 Sep

Those who are self-employed will understand that keeping on top of financial affairs is of the utmost importance. For those who are just starting out, this can seem a very daunting task, but there are ways of keeping the whole process manageable so that it does not completely take over. It is important that tasks like this are completed without the need to take time away from other essential aspects of running the business such as marketing and actually doing the work.

Getting – and staying – organized

It is very important when self-employed to keep proper accounts. Noting all incoming monies and expenditure is essential, otherwise it would be too easy to fall into the trap of having more going out than is coming in. If possible, a qualified accountant should manage this side of the business. While some small businesses may be concerned about the cost of hiring an accountant, most find that effective management of taxation can actually save them money in the long term.

The right accounting software should be used and all invoices and receipts input as soon as possible. This allows for checking of the system in real time and makes tax returns and other administrative functions far easier. It will also help to show when bills are due to be paid so that nobody ever needs to knock on the door to demand what is owed to them. One of the easiest ways to stay on top of this task is to dedicate a set amount of time each week to entering data. This should take no more than a couple of hours, but if it is left for any length of time it could begin to amount to several days’ worth of work.

Getting a helping hand

If the thought of dealing with taxation is too much to bear but being employed by another person is also too much, then there is middle ground that will suit. The use of an umbrella company is the ideal solution for those who want to work for themselves but at the same time need the security of knowing that they do not need to complete taxation paperwork themselves.

The freelancer or contractor registers with the umbrella company and becomes an “employee” of the company, which then deals with income tax and national insurance. The company will also deal with invoicing and collecting payments on the freelancer’s behalf. This means that the freelancer is able to spend that time dealing with building their business without the burden of too many administrative tasks. For that self-employed PAYE is still an option.

The important point is that freelancers are not put off going it alone by the thought of endless amounts of paperwork. Many people dream of becoming self-employed and, therefore, independent but, without the right approach to the administrative side of the business, the dream can unravel very quickly, so finding a solution that suits the needs of the business is essential.

 
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Posted by on September 16, 2014 in 21st Century, Leadership, Management

 

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