Martyn Sibley - How to be a World Changer

Did you start your business to make a difference - to make the world a better place?

Martyn Sibley had a fierce determination to be independent and in the process, became a world changer. In 2009, he started his blog - martynsibley.com to raise awareness of the barriers and also the opportunities open to disabled people.

Martyn has had Spinal Muscular Atrophy since birth.  He has never walked and has always needed care for most activities of daily living.

His accomplishments include a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in marketing.  He has always sought new adventures and has travelled the world, with both mobility equipment and his care team. His passion to experience all that life has to offer has included scuba diving and flying a plane.

In 2011, sitting on a beach in Los Angeles, and having just completed an extensive road trip around California, Martyn conceived the idea of an on-line magazine Disability Horizons. This now has c.50,000 unique website visitors every month, c40,000 social media followers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, and 6,000 email subscribers.

Martyn also co-founded Accomable, an accessible travel site which was bought out by Airbnb. He is extremely good at making a case for inclusion without ever preaching or making people feel guilty for not being disabled, has a wicked sense of humour and a thirst for adventure that leaves most people feeling like a couch potato!

This is how Martyn describes himself and what he's good at:

Martyn Sibley Being in a wheelchair has shaped, but not defined, a lot of my life experiences.

My vision is for a fully inclusive world without any barriers.

I've learned a lot about the following:

- blogging and social media

- being a spokesperson in mainstream media (tv, radio and print)

- building a community to make social impact

- consulting for businesses, governments and charities

- speaking on global stages

- coaching and teaching social change professionals

- running Disability Horizons magazine (managing a team, working on the business model, updating everything based on the readers needs)

- selling an accessible travel website (Accomable) to Airbnb

- more recently I'm working on health, personal growth and work/life balance because I want to keep changing the world way into the future :-)

I think some of the thirst for adventure comes from wondering what life as a disabled adult would be like if there were no barriers. In seeing all these opportunities I just want to grab them all! Moreover I want our community to enjoy them too, rather than focusing on what they can't do.
This is a transcript of a live Q&amp
Berenice Smith I run an infertility and loss awareness site which doesn't generate income but really ought to. I've been looking at offering add ons and I wondered how you analysed/planned the monetary side and also how you became a spokesperson.

Martyn Sibley On martynsibley.com I never wanted to directly monetise the site. But by becoming an influencer, I get paid work as a result of my free work. I'll come back to the media question afterwards.

- on disabilityhorizons.com we aimed to grow the audience enough that we'd get advertisers. This was a struggle but its working.

Then we created Accomable (vetting accessible properties for disabled holiday goers) which had its own business model and new life of its own.

After selling to Airbnb, I tried to solve the DH business model by offering information products to the community. We had some backlash about charging for things. Our 4 mission pillars are: content, digital events, social and holiday meet ups, and education programmes. I've been working with Ann and Brian, a professional fundraiser, on approaching corporate partners.

Media spokesperson question. I would say being a blogger taught me and enabled me to reach beyond my community.

In August 2009 when I started my blog I had no idea about writing, vlogging and podcasting but because I had a mission and plenty to say, I just learned as I went along.

In getting better at writing and speaking, plus with a growing following; charities put me forward for media opportunities, then the media found me, and now I even have an agent 😊

Helen Lindop You have bigger barriers than most of us when it comes to achieving what we want in life and business. How do you stay positive in the face of what must be some really frustrating situations?

Martyn Sibley I still get frustrated from time to time. But I've learned to focus on things I can control, and not give energy to things I have no influence on. I'm lucky that I've got a positive and optimistic disposition, but I do believe empowering attitudes can be learned. I can see things are, slowly, getting better amd it helps when we see progress!

Andy Boothman I would like to know more about your business planning and strategy Martin. For example do you work to a 5 year plan or something longer or shorter? Have you used investment or self funded? What are the pro's and con's of both?

Martyn Sibley For strategy and planning:

My initial plan, whilst still in a job before 2011, was - start blogging and see what happens.

Then it was to ensure I had enough freelance work to pay the bills. Which is still a priority.

With the bigger visionary ideas, I do plan for the objective/strategy/tactics, and work on a vision/mission. But particularly the tactics side need updating regularly.

In terms of funding, Accomable had a social grant and angel investors. But my World Changers community and Disability Horizons are totally bootstrapped.

I prefer bootstrapped. However, without investors Accomable could never have scaled enough to pique Airbnb’s attention.

The reason I prefer self funding is that you serve the community, using your vision, and there’s less risk of anything being derailed from investors looking for the financial return.

Obviously there are investors looking for social impact or longer time to see returns. But this is less common.

I just love how we can have an idea today, ask the community what they think, and if its positive we can do it in such a lean way.

As mentioned to Berenice funding a social cause is trickier. But with a mixture of aligned businesses, I'm positive we'll crack that on Disability Horizons this year

Helen Lindop Can you tell us something about your community building strategy please? Eg do you research where your audience hangs out, design content for them, encourage them to join your mailing list, that kind of thing? Also, does blogging still work as well as it did when you got started?

Martyn Sibley A lot of what I do solves a personal need. Of course I'm aware that a blind person has different barriers to me, and not all social change professionals struggle with what I did. But as a disabled person and social change professional I've experienced things very similarly. This is a big factor.

My social media strategy is; tell my story, build my community, give calls to action.

Part one and three are more simple. I blog on my experiences, and invite the community to comment or join an event etc.

To build a community, this took a long time and refers to your point on research. In 2009 I spent an hour or two every night after my day job engaging with relevant people. Its vital to give and serve without expecting something. In the end magic happens, but community building can't be forced or hurried.

Berenice Smith Have you been copied or imitated and if so, how do you handle people who try do that?

Martyn Sibley I know that I'm unique from my genes, my experiences and my way to execute so I don’t spend time worrying about being copied as its not possible. If peopletry to copy you, its confirmation you're doing well and flattering.

This book puts my point into a business perspective https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/what-is-blue-ocean.../.

Always look for the new ideas, your first mover advantage will always pay off.

Helen Lindop Is your freelance 'pay the bills' work primarily as a marketing consultant? And if so what kind of work do you do/ who do you work with?

Martyn Sibley Its partly my speaking gigs. Otherwise my clients are all generally in the inclusion space too.

I run an online community for people with my disability for the national charity SMA UK. I'm a panel lead for Open Inclusion who do market research for big businesses on inclusive practises. I make podcasts for them and Cambridge based Iansyst (who help businesses employ disabled people).

Supporting these organisations with social media is definitely a potential strategy to help fund Disability Horizons too.

There are lots of opportunities to expand the work I'm doing, to help more people and build a great business, and I'm excited to be working with people in the Drive Tribe to share ideas and expertise.

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by Ann Hawkins

Everything you need to know about business and personal finance ...

How do you know what you need to need to know about business and personal finance?

This is one of those topics that many business owners shy away from.

It's not exciting or cool.

It's not clamouring for your attention.

It's easy to ignore.

That is, until you can't ignore it any longer and then you wish you'd paid more attention sooner.

This is why we asked Andrew Hawkins to host an Ask the Expert session on "Everything you've ever wanted to know about business and personal finance but were afraid to ask" 

Following experience in banking and insurance in the City of London, Andrew has spent 25 years as a business consultant, offering practical solutions to business owners as MD of business strategy and funding specialists The Mercantile Group.

This is a compilation of a live Q&A and there is a quick check list of other questions you may need to ask at the end!

Basic requirements for every business 

Q. What are the basics that every business owner needs to consider Andrew?

Andrew Hawkins The minimum requirements for any business are: Insurance of people, things and liabilities; banking; cashflow projection; business plan; good advice and a tax plan which, in simple terms, is a good estimate of likely tax liability.

Insurance needs to cover your office equipment and anything you need to run your business, possibly Public Liability to protect the business from claims of injury, Employers Liability – if you employ anyone this is a legal requirement, and is usually included with a basic policy - and perhaps Professional Indemnity if you are giving advice. Also check your car insurance to make sure you’re covered for business journeys, especially if you’re claiming motor expenses through your business.

Ideally your business needs to be a separate legal entity - so that means either a Limited Liability Partnership or a Limited Company. If you’re a sole trader at the very least you should have a separate bank account for your business.

You should also consider protecting I.P., trademarks and other ways in which your business might be vulnerable.

Insurance

Q. I have professional indemnity, equipment etc. insurance for my business and as a family we have life insurance which covers critical illness and accident. I don't want to duplicate insure myself (especially when various places have loads of small print that means they often don't pay out).

Andrew Hawkins This can be an issue. A detailed review of a family’s insurance requirements in parallel with those of a business is complex - but essential. Probably needs a qualified Financial Planner.

You can get various sorts of Permanent Health and Personal Accident cover which will pay if one has a major accident - e.g. loss of a limb/eye - or suffer a long-term illness. “Normal” health cover provides for private treatment if the NHS cannot treat you quickly.

A lot of trade or membership organisations can provide this sort of cover, often at discounted rates.

Q. Are there financial planners that specialise in self-employment?

Andrew Hawkins  Some will be more au fait with business matters generally but finding a good Financial Planner is a challenge. Personal recommendation can be useful but the circumstances of the person doing the recommending needs to be similar to yours for that to have any value.  If you can’t get a personal recommendation try asking your accountant, bank manager (good luck with getting to speak to one), solicitor or another advisor. It’s important to have a really strong personal relationship with a financial advisor/planner and to ensure that s/he really understands your full personal and business circumstances. The regulations should ensure that a qualified planner will delve into everything but it’s important that s/he understands the relationship between your personal and business finances.

Q. This is a great reminder on the different insurances - thank you. I have PI as required for my Practising Licence, but should think about more (perhaps when I'm making a lot more :-D )

Don't mess up your taxes!

Q. What are the things you see that most business owners trip up on?

Andrew Hawkins The most common thing is not setting aside enough money to cover the tax bill and not being covered for illness or accidents that prevent them from working and therefore, earning.

The things people really need to avoid messing up are VAT and HMRC payments (these officials can close your business at a stroke!) so these should always be set aside every month so that those obligations are met without any problems.

It’s worth mentioning here that if something does go wrong and you can’t meet any obligation, payment or debt, the earlier you talk to the people involved the better. Usually it’s possible to negotiate a payment plan if you are honest with them and don’t try to ignore the problem! If you aren’t happy negotiating with HMRC – ask around to find someone with a good track record of doing so successfully.

Q. I wince when I hear freelance friends who haven't put enough aside for tax (and don't know about the payment on account thing!)

Q.  My accountant tells me how much I need to set aside each month for corporation tax but I always set aside more than this to my tax savings account. I consider this untouchable and it gives me a good buffer in case anything goes wrong.

Andrew Hawkins  The ‘buffer’ arrangement is a great habit to get into.

If you’re self-employed you’ll be asked to complete a tax Self Assessment form each year for the tax year, 6 April – 5 April.

If you file a paper return, it’s due by 31 October. If you make an on-line return, it's due on 31 January the following year. The tax due is also payable by 31 January. This is why it's not a good idea to leave it to the last minute! There are penalties for late returns and late payments starting at £100. Where necessary you’ll be asked to make an ‘on account’ payment in July and this can catch people out if you haven't been setting aside monthly installments in a tax or savings account.

Pension Provisions

Q. What about investing for the future? My company pension plan with Prudential has been dormant for 14 years, since going self-employed. I don't know whether to resurrect that, as it already has a bit of a (small) pot. Or continue to haphazardly put money in ISAs. Or both? What about new things like PensionBee where they'll merge your pensions (I also have a tiny amount in another one!) Investing in a pension is also deductible, isn't it?

Andrew Hawkins Pension management requires specialist advice and yes - contributions can be tax deductible. The regulations change quite often so check that whoever you consult is up to date with the right information.

This is something a lot of people put off but with life expectancy increasing all the time, its a really good idea to get this sorted as soon as possible.  

Mortgage requirements

Q. Something else that worries a lot of self-employed people is that it may be harder to get a mortgage than if you're employed. Any advice?

Andrew Hawkins As an employee of your own limited company it’s fairly simple to prove your income but if self-employed the mortgage providers know it’s a more complicated calculation and often require independent proof over a number of years from an accountant for example.

Q. Personally, I haven't had a problem but I've been self-employed for a while! You generally need to prove your income over 3 years. With one re-mortgage, I did need to get my accounts certified by an accountant who was ACA qualified. It wasn't my accountant I just used them for that purpose. My accounts had been set up by a bookkeeper using QuickBooks, so it was fairly easy for the independent accountant to verify everything.

Q. So someone who wants a re-mortgage but hasn't had an accountant up until now shouldn't be put off?

Andrew Hawkins Each case is different and depends on the mortgage provider, the type of business, length of trading etc. Again if you’re using a qualified financial planner they should help with the documentation.

Bookkeeping and Accountancy

Andrew Hawkins People often confuse bookkeeping and accountancy. Good bookkeeping - whether by the business owner or a contractor - is an essential day-to-day business activity and can help with cash flow, profitability, decision making and many other things, whereas if you just get your accounts made up once a year, this means that your accountant is mainly dealing with history.

Accounting (for Limited Companies) is not rocket science but it is extremely complicated.... It's concerned with Legislation for Companies, Tax Legislation, relevant Accounting Standards, case law, and often "de-coding" the bookkeeping.

Both S(&)ME, accounts *should* be straight forward. However, that needs adequate bookkeeping, and if people favour doing it themselves, rather than paying for the expertise of a qualified bookkeeper then the risk is that the accountant gets unsuitable records, and... well... "crap in = crap out"... A qualified accountant needs to highlight Directors' responsibilities in this respect and the fact that not fulfilling them is technically a criminal offence!

 In the event of illness or death …

Q. What about in the event of my death? (Cheery, I know). But I'm concerned if I go under a bus my poor husband will need to untangle all my business financial affairs. Is there such a thing as a separate will for the business? And what kind of professional should be the one dealing with my business in the event of my death (speaking as just an owner-manager at the moment!)

Andrew Hawkins We should all give thought to this. If clients have paid a deposit and for any reason you can’t complete the work, do they get a refund from your business? Do they own any work / collateral you’ve already completed for them? Issues like this should be covered by your Ts & Cs and any contracts you enter into.

Your will(s) should include any shares and how they will be dealt with - obviously another good reason for NOT being self-employed. The company shareholders agreement should cover what happens and whether the inheritor of the shares will have any executive/management input in the business.

Similarly, if you have a shareholder or investor and they die, leaving their shares or investment to a family member, you may not want that person involved in your business. Similarly, if their role is to contribute to or work in the business and they fall ill so can't fulfill their obligations, this should all be considered and agreed before issuing shares. We always recommend spending some time working on a Partnership Charter and/or a Shareholders Agreement if you are going into business with another person.

Q. What if I don't have a person in mind to be the executive/manager? I can (at the moment) quite easily give the shares to my husband, but he won't want to run the business. How does one go about finding someone who would either sell, run or dissolve the company if I die?

Andrew Hawkins Either you need someone in the business who can take over – usually set out in a continuity plan that some clients require - or you need appropriate legal and accountancy advice to set up how you wish things to work in those circumstances and you may need to consider a number of different scenarios.

Q. For our Practising Licence we have to have a "back-up" Accountant if we have more than 7 clients. It's a pain, and hard to find someone one trusts, but good when it's done.

Ann Hawkins Having seen the chaos caused by an accountant who just went off the radar due to illness, leaving his clients with fines from HMRC (and is now back in practice!) so I strongly recommend that anyone who engages someone in a position of trust like this investigates their continuity plans!

Rainy Day Funds

Q. How many months income do you think people should set aside as a buffer / rainy day fund, both personally and for their business? I realise that there are lots of variables, but is there a general minimum that you suggest to people? For example, I'm a bit concerned about the best way to use resources as I don’t want to stop the business from growing (and me from doing things I want to do personally), but also want to reduce the risk of getting into financial difficulties.

Andrew Hawkins Two different things here Emma. A buffer or ‘rainy day fund’ is always worthwhile to protect against illness, bad debts etc. The amount you need will depend on what insurances you have in place and how quickly you can replace your income. If you have employees and payroll obligations, ideally you’d want to be secure for 6 months, but for a sole trader 2-3 months cushion should give enough room to avoid a disaster.

This also depends on how quickly you could re-establish a business if you had to close down. There are lots of cases of businesses closing one day and re-opening the next with a different name.

Q. I definitely over estimate tax, and I'm always saving for it out of the year it's incurred rather than the year it's due. 6 months buffer isn't a massive stretch from where I am at the minute, but I think I need to strike the right balance between putting the buffer in place and not holding back the business in order to do so.

Q. Definitely strike the balance. 6 months buffer and I'm relaxed but if not spending money is holding back the business I'll happily skim 2 months off.

The questions you may not know to ask

We're aware that some people just don't know what to ask on this topic so here's a quick checklist of things that every business needs to consider:

1. Basic Business Plan
2. Business name registered and protected / trademarked
3. Business bank account
4. Accounting system
5. Payments app/card machine
6. Insurances
7. Pension
8. Enough money or support until profits become regular
9. A rainy day fund or buffer of between 2 - 6 months
10. Incorporate limited company/Limited Liability Partnership at Companies House
11. Register domain name(s)
12. Bookkeeper, accountant, lawyer, other advisors
13. Website, email, internet security, and data protection support.
14. Communications, phone systems, admin support.
15. If employing people (or yourself) apply for an Employer Identification Number/register with PAYE.
16. Register for VAT with HMRC if turnover will exceed £85,000 (currently) in first 12 months – or if you or your advisors feel registration will be advantageous. Investigate ‘cash’, ‘annual’ and ‘flat rate’ payment schemes.
17. Working space
18. Suppliers
19. Networking / support group
20. A mentor/advisor to help you work on your business not just in it.

If you have any specific questions or would like to discuss a growth strategy for you business, you can contact Andrew by email or through the Drive website.  

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by Ann Hawkins

How to set up your business to be saleable

Could your business be attractive to a potential buyer?

Whether or not you're thinking of selling your business, these tips are worth following as they'll make your life and your business much easier to run!

How to set up your business to run without you  includes five free templates.

In this session, Ann Hawkins, MD of Drive the Network and Inspiring Entrepreneurs and Andrew Hawkins of The Mercantile Group, share their experience of how to make a business attractive to potential buyers.

This is a transcript of a live Q&A

What puts potential buyers off?

Q. What are the key things people get wrong in terms of not setting up their business to be saleable?

Ann Hawkins I'd say that main thing is in making themselves indispensable. That's why we started with Louise Lee last week with strategies to overcome that problem right from the start.

The other is in taking all the revenue out of the business, not showing a profit or paying tax. A buyer wants to see profit potential and some good accounts that show the business is being run properly and responsibly.

Q. Should we be thinking about this from day 1 (or if we've already started, ASAP)?

Andrew Hawkins 2-5 years before you want to sell is the minimum. It can take a lot longet than most people think!

Ann Hawkins As you all know, my favourite saying is "Start with the end in mind". If you set your business up with an exit plan in mind it can influence the decisions you make about the business is structured and it gives a clear focus right from the start. Even if you decide not to sell, setting your business up to run without you is the best way to grow it and stop you from burning yourself out!

Q. Is there a 'business eBay' where we can see what's selling and how much for?

Andrew Hawkins There are various agencies - but beware they all want to take your money! Hilton Smythe and Knightsbridge are examples - not recommendations.

Ann Hawkins This has always been a good "business marketplace" DALTONSBUSINESS.COM

Q. Are some types of business generally more valuable or easier to sell than others? E.g. products, services, websites, bricks and mortar

Andrew Hawkins Each business will be valued - although the methods of calculation vary - and compared to similar businesses. Generally ‘small businesses’ will be valued between 2 and 10 times annual profit.

Ann Hawkins If its a product, you'd need to show you own the intellectual property, trademarks etc.

Q. If you were starting a business today with the intention of selling it in 5 years time, what type of business would it be (asking for a friend 🤣)?

Andrew Hawkins Little effort, highly profitable, mostly automated. Recent trends suggest tech businesses are the easiest to sell.

Ann Hawkins Just think about some of the buy outs with big $$$$ in recent years. They're nearly all software businesses - and a lot are B2C consumer / services. Some haven't even made a profit but have huge subscriber lists and that's what they've been bought for. The buyer wants to sell more or advertise to those subscribers.

Q. Other than high profitability and low effort, what can help make a business attractive to potential buyers? I assume a coherent set of accounts is a good start?

Andrew Hawkins Coherent accounts - and credible. No surprises or hidden loans to directors etc. The other issue is a good team with complementary skills. The purchaser may not want the founder/MD for very long but a strong team is always attractive.

Ann Hawkins It can be something that's a match with what the buyer is already doing or they see you as a competitor and want your customers. Another reason could be that your business adds something to their current offering - think AirBnB who bought Martyn Sibley's Accommable (accessible accommodation portfolio)

Q. Let's assume it's easy to demonstrate coherent and credible accounts and the buyer sees me as either a competitor or a good fit. How do I demonstrate I have a strong team?

Andrew Hawkins You should be able to show that your team has the skills to cover all the basics: Product/service knowledge, marketing/sales, finance, operations.

A ten point checklist

Ann Hawkins Selling to an outsider is only one option. You might want to allow an employee to "buy in" with a view to taking over when you're ready to retire. If you've got a succession plan in place, that can be attractive to a potential buyer too as it means they've got someone ready in place to run the business if they don't want to do it themselves.

Andrew Hawkins  Often a great way to plan succession. A management buyout. You have some control over who is involved and negotiations should be more amenable. Other options include a management buy-in where a new external team is put together to buy; a straight ‘trade’ sale; a merger with a mother company - or even an arranged takeover by another business. Here’s a check list of things to think about, but most importantly plan early (2-5 years ahead) and consult an independent specialist (not a sales agent) at the earliest opportunity.

1. Plan ahead 2-5 years
2. Minimum 2-3 years profitable accounts
3. Ensure accounts are ‘clean’
4. Don’t try to avoid paying corporation tax
5. Need good level of profit over a number of years to attract buyers
6. Calculation of price is often dependent on level of profit
7. Make business less dependent on founders/MD
8. Most non-retail businesses require preparation of a credible proposal
9. Non-retail agencies can help attract potential buyers
10. A simple up to date business plan

Q. Individually I understand the words in point 8. Collectively I don't. Would you explain please? :-)  Oh and how does one manage to avoid paying Corp Tax? I'm asking for a friend 🤣

Andrew Hawkins A credible proposal is a sales document demonstrating the history, current position and future prospects. Plus a credible reason for the sale.  As for avoiding tax ... well.... that would be ..... Anyway - don’t do it - if you want too sell - pay the tax on your lovely profits. 😁

Q. What would a simple business plan contain?

Andrew Hawkins Very briefly - as each plan is different - a simple business plan needs to be completely up to date and easily understandable by an outsider who may have no knowledge of your trade or sector. It should include all the necessary financials - P&L, Balance sheet and cashflow projections. It needs to tell the reader what the business does, how it started, what exciting prospects it has for expansion and greater profit, the founder and the team together with CVs, description of product/service, competitors, SWOT analysis, marketing/sales plan, risk and reward.

Want to keep your intentions to yourself?

Ann Hawkins We're aware that not everyone wants to broadcast their intentions of thinking about selling their business so if anyone wants a private chat just send us a message!

You can find us on Twitter @AnnHawkins @Andrew_Hawkins  or contact us through the Drive website!

 

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by Ann Hawkins

Email marketing for micro businesses workshop

Is email marketing dead? Absolutely not!

In fact according to the Direct Selling Association, email marketing’s return on investment (ROI) in 2018 was 'up' to £32.28 for every £1 spent, from £30.03 the previous year, despite all the fears about GDPR.

Unfortunately many micro businesses struggle to email their audience consistently, for a variety of reasons:

• They aren't sure which email marketing service is the best
• They aren't sure which content to send and how often
• They don't want to bug people
• They don't have the time OR don't see enough value in it to do it consistently
• They don't want to invest money in it
• They don't want to get into trouble (e.g. GDPR)

Helen Lindop addressed all these worries in her workshop, and gives simple, practical tips to get past them. Here's the replay:

You can download the PowerPoint presentation here.

Helen has a number of useful posts about email marketing, how to choose the right CRM for your business, the difference between CRMs and email lists, and much more at  www.helenlindop.com/blog

You'll also find her on Twitter @HelenLindop

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by Helen Lindop

How to grow an audience for your service or product

How to find your tribe

You’ve got a great service or product. You know it’s going to help people. But how do you start getting the word out? How do you create an audience who want to hear from you?

Martyn Sibley has grown two successful businesses, selling one of them to AirBnB. He was recently voted the third most influential disabled person in Britain, has a blue tick on his Twitter account, and is now focused on helping world-changers to run social enterprises.

He started out by growing an audience online. We asked him to take questions from our members about how to go about it.

This is a transcript of a live conversation. 

Can you grow an audience organically on social media?

Q. Did you use any paid advertising or was it all organic, networking, building relationships etc?

Martyn Sibley Only now am I really considering paid for media. Mainly as I've learned how to package up information products and sell at scale.

Therefore it was all free and organic. Therefore the risk/cost was only my time.

Q. Great, I'd like to know what methods work best, then!

Martyn Sibley You'll be unsurprised to hear me say it depends on the situation.

Partly I think creating content in a way you prefer is good. Because you'll be more comfortable and passionate. That said it's healthy to push your comfort zone sometimes. Overall create in a way you like to.

The next part is about your business plan and marketing plan. Who are your audience? What are their likes and interests? Where do they hang out? What do they believe?

When you know their relevant aspirations and why they're stuck (which is why your working all these hours to provide a solution), you can attract them with suitable content on suitable media.

So think demographics and personality traits. Then the tools will become more obvious.

One other point to make is there's always trial and error. Plus new tools come along and evolve. So updating social media plans are important.

How much time does it take to develop relationships through social media?

Q. Social media is often reported as the game changer in developing these connections - the time this takes is much longer than people envisage. How much time did you allocate to developing your social media relationships? Did you do this activity yourself or outsource to others?

Martyn Sibley When I started I was working full time for a large national charity. My strategy was to tell my story, build my community, with Calls To Action (CTA).

So I started with getting martynsibley.com live, planning appropriate content, and actually writing/recording the content.

Once I had live content, I spent an hour or two per night and over the weekend just joining relevant conversations. Back then in 2009 I found Twitter better for keywords and influencers. Nowadays I use Facebook groups like this more, because I have my own tribe.

As things evolved, we launched www.disabilityhorizons.com, volunteers joined our mission, and I have support from others with things like researching other content to share, scheduling daily posts in advance on Hootsuite, and engaging with the tribe.

Overall I agree, it takes more time than people would like. But when you're in something with passion and the long run, it's a case of knowing you have time and to create lasting relationships.

Relationships lead to collaboration, customers and friendships.

Q. Advocates/case studies - can be great, they can be hard work to onboard and sometimes fail to deliver any real added value. Did you use advocates/case studies and how did you decide where the best 'fit' applied?

Martyn Sibley We haven't really pushed for and used official testimonials. Our social media following and engagement does that for us.

Really we're talking about social proof. Rather than think too specific about testimonials, like people get stressed about which social media channel to use, it's better to be clear on business plan and marketing plan, and find tactics that are effective without needing to take ages to do.

Our community are the business. We exist to serve them. As long we remember this, the word of mouth happens because we're delivering value each and every day.

[pullquote]Relationships lead to collaboration, customers and friendships.[/pullquote]

Q. How early in the process of developing the service/product should you start building an audience?

Martyn Sibley This depends. I started with a mission; to make the world inclusive and empower disabled people. So I started with the audience. I broadcasted my message and created a tribe of like-minded people. We learned from our community what they needed, and gave them solutions.

Conversely, if you know your product/service, then the other way round is fine too.

The main advice I can give is to use social media as a dialogue. Not a monologue. This way people can be part of the process. Feeling more engaged. And ultimately they become happy and loyal customers

Top tips for growing your audience

Martyn Sibley Some other thoughts:

• Having a content calendar helps to plot out the needs/interests your audience have, and what you're going to publish when.
• If you're comfortable, be open. People don't just buy from businesses, they buy through trust from people they like.
• Try to use images and videos where possible.
• Promote your mission/vision way more than your product or service. Particularly support others in your tribe. Nobody likes to hear about features and discounts all the time.
• Find your tribe on social media and also at networking events (like Drive!). I spoke loads for free, which always lead to something else.
• CTAs (Call To Actions) can be anything from; subscribe to email newsletter, follow on social media, share your opinion on this, answering a poll, signing up for an event and then sometimes 'buy now'.
• Think in funnels. Where are people on their customer journey? How do you convert prospects into customers? How are you managing customer communications (see last week's ATE)?
• Do fun things like giveaways and competitions. Generally be joyful and playful. Business doesn't have to be serious.
• Finally, always seek feedback and listen to your tribe. They are your most important asset.

Would you like to know more? Get in touch with Martyn Sibley or follow him on Twitter.

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by Rachel Extance

Streamline your sales and marketing

How to sell without being spammy

Experts estimate that it costs seven times more to sell to a new contact than an existing customer, so it makes sense to make the most of existing contacts and encourage them to buy more than once.

Helen Lindop is a consultant who helps small businesses do more with tech, to find and use the best CRM* or ESP**, and capture leads from marketing so that they become part of a sales pipeline.

*CRM = Contact or Customer Relationship Management system
**ESP = Email Service Provider, e.g., Mailchimp or similar newsletter / email service. 

This is a transcript of a live conversation.

People want to hear from you. Yes, really.

Q. My issue is feeling like I'm bugging people... Tips for having a stern word with myself?!

Helen Lindop OK, practical tips that don't involve stern words.
1) They want to hear from you. These days nobody hands over their email address lightly, so if you have it then they want to hear from you.
2) It may feel like a one-way communication but it doesn't have to be. You can check your stats to see how many people open and click on which email to judge what's popular and what isn't. You can ask your subscribers to hit reply and give you their opinion. You can do surveys to ask what they'd like to know. It's not all that different to social media.
3) Most of the 'I hate email' comments come from receiving bad, boring, pushy emails that they didn't subscribe to.  It's completely different if you send emails people want to receive.
4) You already have a relationship with your subscribers when they opt in - they've said they weant to hear from you. Work on growing that in a positive way rather than trying not to annoy them. (Apologies for giving a coach the mindset talk!)

Get your CRM set-up to delight rather than deluge

Q. Most of the CRM / ESP platforms offer automated services that can bombard contacts with content, over reaching and generally annoying folks in lots of circumstances. Which system is good at managing this output without emails spewing out all over the place?

Ann Hawkins The opposite side of that is that a few years a go I bought a necklace from someone I'd met networking. It arrived beautifully packaged and I loved it but there were no contact details in the packaging and I never heard a peep from them ever again.

Helen Lindop Larger businesses have very sophisticated CRMs that risk over-doing it, but very small businesses often have none or a very basic one, as illustrated by Andy and Ann's examples. This is one of the areas where I think small businesses could really get ahead, because many aren't using this tech, which is now much cheaper and more accessible than it used to be, and if we did use CRMs we could use them in a way that improves our sales and customer service but without losing that personal touch.

To answer your question - which system is best for avoiding the spewing of emails - I think it's more about how you use it than the tool itself. So it's a case of working out your goals, then breaking that down into your business processes or pipeline, then picking a tool or set of tools to fit.

How does your email list fit in with your customer relationship management?

Q. I'm becoming aware that e-mailing subscribers is different from a full on CRM system. Plus we're starting to offer education products to customers. So my questions are:

1) Where does emailing subscribers fit into a bigger CRM strategy?

2) What software do you recommend?

3) Do you have to be techy to understand them?

Helen Lindop For 1) it's hard to explain here because it's complicated but this blog post should cover most of it https://helenlindop.com/2018/11/16/whats-the-difference-between-a-crm-and-an-esp-email-service-provider/

2) An alternative to a CRM is a membership platform on your website.  It can be hard to get people off Facebook and into your membership site, so you may find a Facebook group is enough to begin with. But if you do stick with Facebook make sure you have everyone on a mailing list so that you can contact them if something goes wrong on Facebook. Software that leans more towards marketing automation is available (see the blog post) but it also depends how you intend to deliver and take payment for the information products.

3) Although you don't need to be techy to use these, being a bit techy helps when setting them up, which is the service I offer. Having a well-defined strategy at the beginning, before you start to look at tools, will make everything much easier.

Q. I used to use Capsule as my CRM. Is there’s anything better or would a spreadsheet do just as well.

Helen Lindop OK, without knowing exactly what you need, but by guessing you tend to work one-to-one with clients, I would say Capsule is likely to be much better than an Excel spreadsheet because it:
a) Will allow you to save email conversations so you don't need to dig through your inbox
b) Will allow you to set reminders to follow up with prospective clients
c) You'll need a client database of some kind anyway, and Capsule is better for storing names, addresses etc than Excel
d) You can integrate it with your mailing list if you need to
e) You can set up your 'sales process' (not a very friendly term, but you know what I mean) e.g. if your process is client emails you > you book a discovery call > if you haven't heard from them in a week you follow up > they either sign up as a client or go back on the list to be called in 6 months , then you can put that all in Capsule so you can plot each person's progress against it.
f) If you share your client data with your business partner you won't get the errors you would get from passing an Excel spreadsheet between you.

Q. Thanks Helen you’re right it does all of that. It has vast capabilities but I feel more than I need?

Helen Lindop If your needs are fairly basic for now you could look at Hubspot CRM? This gives you a lot of features for free, but beware it gets expensive fast if you need to go beyond the free plan. But if you feel Capsule does a lot more than you need then I expect you could comfortably fit in the Hubspot free plan.

Micro-businesses have nothing to fear from GDPR

Q. For the absolute beginner who has no idea where to start and is scared by GDPR, what are the basics you need your CRM to do?

Ann Hawkins Can we please lay the ghost of GDPR? It was never intended to apply to small businesses in the way that most of the unscrupulous advisors implied, purely to make money by scaremongering. Who do you think might lodge a complaint against you, and for what? If you accidentally send someone an email that they didn't sign up for, the most they'll do is send you a snotty note. They're not going to go to the authorities and lodge a complaint, and even if they do, the compliance bods are not interested in this scale of things. They're after the big players who willfully misuse information for profit. Stop even thinking about GDPR if you're a micro business. Just think good practice, keeping your clients data safe, and you'll be fine!

Helen Lindop A key part of GDPR is not keeping data unless you have a good reason to do so, which is good practice anyway. Every reputable CRM and ESP now has GDPR compliance features that are easy to check.

Can you transfer contacts from one system to another?

Q. If you have contacts on a mailing list in say, Mailchimp, can you port them across to a CRM?

Helen Lindop It's very easy to import contact details into a CRM. You just upload a CSV ( ie a list in Excel will be fine).

Something else to consider is that you might not want your entire mailing list in your CRM anyway. Perhaps you just want them to go in your CRM when they are customers so you can follow up? Maybe you just want those leads in your CRM who are quite likely to buy, rather than anyone who has ever downloaded your freebie?

Strategy first, then choose your CRM

Q. Once you've started putting people in your CRM, then what?

Helen Lindop You need to work this out before you get a CRM, really. But for anyone who isn't sure why you might need one, here's a blog post with an example https://helenlindop.com/2018/10/22/crm-for-your-micro-business

Q. Aha! So you need a strategy first.

Helen Lindop Absolutely! There are so many tools out there that there's bound to be one that does what you need, so it's a question of being very sure what you need before you begin.

And if there isn't one that does what you want, you can hook existing tools together using Zapier or similar.

Q. I feel like there are probably specific CRM tools for Accountants, such that they cater for the management of all the deadlines, on-boarding (which is painful because of all the regulations for our Practising Licence), and case history.
Any tips on options for this, Helen. (FYI - I don't expect you'll know Accounting specific tools, but still interested to read your input).

Helen Lindop For an industry that's as highly regulated as accountancy I would definitely look for an industry-specific tool first as this is likely to save a lot of customisation. I'd be surprised if there wasn't one, actually.

Q. Just to jump in here. I’ve recently been trialling GoProposal, which I really like so will probably keep, for proposals, LoEs and part of the onboarding. On the CRM/practice management/deadline tracking side, I used to use Senta and hated it and aim to start trialling Accountancy Manager in the new year. Onkho and Karbon might also be worth a look, but most people I know are moving from those to Accountancy Manager.

Would you like to know more? Get in touch with Helen Lindop or follow her on Twitter. 

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by Rachel Extance

How to use fonts to create the right reaction

Fonts have feelings: how to find the ones that create the emotions you want

How do you decide what font to use on your website, in a publication or on social media? Fonts form families which complement each other.

They create a visual impression before anyone has read what you have to say. And they have stories to tell. We asked Berenice Smith, of Hello Lovely Graphic Design to answer questions on which fonts create the right message in designs.

This is a transcript of a live conversation.

Choosing readable fonts

The choice of fonts has a HUGE impact on the way messages are received and interpreted. There are many things to consider when selecting a font and I'm sure Berenice will go through that later. One of my (and many others) pet hates has to be 'comic sans' and recently I discovered a client using it, when I asked why, they explained that a large part of their audience is dyslexic and this font is actually very readable for those people. I didn't realise that there are specific fonts, designed and evolved around reading disorders.

We have since moved them on to 'lexi' a free font, supported by many dyslexia charities that has been specially designed for those with dyslexia. We have also added a foot note on all material to explain this font choice. It just shows that this operates on many levels, and I figured it was worth adding into today's chat.

Comic Sans (along with Papyrus) has a huge image problem thanks to inappropriate use. Unfortunately, the British Dyslexia Association list it as a recommended font and I know of several typographers who have been trying to get a conversation going there. The other font is Read Regular designed by Natascha Frensch.

I am not dyslexic but I do have mild dyspraxia (very on trend thanks to Doctor Who so I'm told by my godson!) so hidden disabilities and working with charities on design solutions featured heavily in my graphic design and typography masters. It's such an important area that has lots of opportunities for collaboration.

How to create a friendly, approachable image with fonts

Q. Are there any particular fonts you'd recommend if you wanted to be perceived as knowledgeable but not bossy and also friendly and approachable? I'm thinking mainly in the context of website and social media stuff.

Berenice Smith Think about pairing fonts and legibility too as the easier an image is to read, the more friendly it is. The easiest way to find perfect font pairings is by using different fonts within the same overarching typeface family so you'll have a ready-made range of weights, styles and classifications that are specifically designed to work together. For example:

 

 

I also suggest that you think about the values and phrases that describe the outcome of what you want to do. Is the aim to be friendly, intelligent or confident? You might want to put together a mood board to get start to get a sense of the direction your font needs to go in. A friendly font might be one that’s rounded and really legible. A confident one might be angular.

Q.Should one font be sufficient for a business? I sometimes see businesses using two and I like the contrast. How easy is it for a non-designer to know what fonts pair well?

Berenice Smith The advice for Heather might be useful up there. It does help to have two fonts, so that you can vary the reading experience but it's not essential. Without getting geeky, contrast fonts, as the name suggests, is about finding totally different – but still complementary – typefaces that are each fit for their intended application. This mostly means pairing a serif with a sans serif. Fonts will generally conflict if they are too similar: two ever-so-slightly different serifs or sans serifs rarely create nice font pairings, like Arial with Helvetica.

Q. I understand. I think. Complementary might be fonts with the same height and contrast, as you said, might be pairing a serif with a sans serif?

Berenice Smith Yes, play around with the combinations, often typographer will create a family so search by creator. I'll pop some free font resources below in a moment.

Which fonts do you suggest for a non-designer?

Q. Can you give us some fairly safe fonts that non-designers in a rush could use on (say) social media images? Like the Helvetica in your image above but better? Just to help us avoid Comic Sans-style embarrassment.

Helvetica is absolutely fine btw, but using different weights (by that I mean light, regular, bold) helps. Other fonts that are great are Source Sans, PT Sans, Poly, Raleway (all sans serif) and serifs Playfair, Lora, Butler.

All the above should be found on 101 fonts or any free font resources I've listed (I've avoided mentioning Typekit which is paid for).

For serifs, for social media keep them large and a heavier weight. Avoid in large paragraphs as it can be hard to view except on a plain background but test it out and always feel free to ask my advice.

An intro to fonts and type

Berenice Smith What’s a font and what’s a typeface (since you may hear designers refer to both). A typeface is the design of the symbols - known as glyphs - which includes everything from a full stop, trade mark symbol etc to numbers and letters. So when you refer to Arial or indeed Comic Sans, you’re referencing a set of glyphs in a specific typeface.

A font is, in our modern era, a digital file that contains the unicode required to tell the software what to do. A typographer will create unicode for each glyph.

To be honest both phrases are swapped around as we’ve evolved a lot since type trays and metal type in foundries..which I won’t bore you with here!

There are several categories... and these are listed below but there are sub-categories too but these are the ones that non-designers will find useful.

Q. If we're not designers does all this really matter?
What's the worst that can happen if we get it wrong?
I know a few designers might snigger at our efforts but would anybody else notice?

Berenice Smith Hehe! Yes I do think most folk don't worry that much and a little common sense is all that's needed. If anyone needs a free font then check the trends on a free site like Font Squirrel and avoid unpopular ones and go for classic and clean fonts. Anything script or novelty, avoid!

And blow the designers who snigger! A great designer will be constructive and understand that we all have strengths and weaknesses. I'm more than happy to provide feedback and always give free and paid font suggestions in branding packs.

Web safe fonts

Berenice Smith Some useful tips for developers. Web safe fonts - this matters because devices have pre-installed font selection. The selection is based largely on its operating system. This causes an issue when designers look to Typekit or a premium resource and don’t add in a web safe option in case someone’s phone doesn’t have their lovely font and it defaults to something that doesn't work, usually Times.

Web safe fonts includes Arial, Helvetica, Times, Courier, Verdana, Georgia, Palatino, Garamond, Bookman, Comic Sans, Trebuchet, Impact, Lucida Sans Unicode. Not all of these are pretty but if I had to choose, then I’d suggest Helvetica. Look at https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_websafe_fonts.asp for more details on web safe fonts and CSS.

Copyright and fonts

Berenice Smith Always remember that fonts have owners. So just like music they have a licence so unless they are free, it’s illegal to share them or ask a designer to include them in the packaging of a design job.

Free font resources

• Google
• Font Squirrel
• Font 101
• http://www.typedepot.com/fonts/
• http://www.jeffreyschreiber.nl
• https://www.1001freefonts.com (but really do pick carefully, lots of people think they can design a font!)
• Oh and the lovely https://www.theleagueofmoveabletype.com

And inspiration for how to use fonts
https://fontsinuse.com
http://friendsoftype.com
http://incredibletypes.com
St Brides Foundation https://www.sbf.org.uk
and the Cambridge University Press have a small museum (drop me a line to arrange visit!)

How fonts create feelings

Q. Can you please give some examples of where fonts create emotions?

Berenice Smith  In terms of marketing and branding, serifs are considerably better for large bodies of text as they tie words and sentences together for a smoother, more legible reading experience. More in print.

How a font or family was created is important too. Serifs came from carved inscriptions when it was expensive to have the extra flourishes giving them a gravitas, class and cultural weight.

Sans serifs are more recent only really becoming popular in the 19th century for commercial use in advertisements, and latterly on screens (which struggled to render the detail of serifs until relatively recently).

So whether a serif or a sans serif depends on whether you’re looking for cool, clean modernity, or timeless, classical authority.

Tips to avoid disappointment

Other tips: avoid mixing larger capital letters with lowercase, supposedly for emphasis, which results in mismatched weights.

If you're printing something commercially, print it out before it goes to print to avoid being disappointed. Design often looks good on the screen, because of the light and the way we are constantly adjusting the scale of the image to suit ourselves. The same layout could flop on the printed page.

Finally beware of this. I see this so much, people spending hours on social media training and then not thinking about the visual. Be different!
One of my most popular blog entries is this one https://www.hellolovely.org.uk/blog/2018/4/30/top-tips-for-consistent-branding-on-social-media-and-a-free-workshop-with-drive-the-network

Ann Hawkins I really like this post. I think a lot of people think it’s easy to slap something together in Canva!

Berenice Smith Yes. I can't work out if I should embrace Canva and deal with it or continue to hide under the metaphorical pillow. I'm increasingly being asked to fix Canva design issues or consult. I wonder if our other designers are too and their thoughts on this.

AKA Canva or any software does not make a designer no more than Grammarly makes editors

Berenice Smith Geek fact (if you see this pop up as fun Friday fact on my social media, don't tell anyone..) Fonts are measured in points. So if you want to impress a designer when the text needs to be bigger, the phrase is ‘increase the point size’. There are approximately 72 (72.272) points in one inch or 2.54 cm!

Another tip with social media. Your font choice can be part of your narrative. My choice for my logo is by a foundry called P22 and I met the owner Richard Kegler, and we talked typography whilst mucking about with wooden type in the print room at The Ruskin in Cambridge. There's a bigger story here (!) but it's a short example of how I use it in story telling. When I create branding or books, I look to the history of the fonts or their typographer too.

Which fonts do you suggest for a non-designer?

Q. Can you give us some fairly safe fonts that non-designers in a rush could use on (say) social media images? Like the Helvetica in you image above but better? Just to help us avoid comic sans-style embarrassment.

Helvetica is absolutely fine btw, but using different weights (by that I mean light, regular, bold) helps. Other fonts that are great are Source Sans, PT Sans, Poly, Raleway (all sans serif) and serifs Playfair, Lora, Butler.

All the above should be found on 101 fonts or any free font resources I've listed (I've avoided mentioning Typekit which is paid for).

Berenice Smith For serifs, for social media keep them large and a heavier weight. Avoid in large paragraphs as it can be hard to view except on a plain background but test it out and always feel free to ask my advice.

Would you like to know more? Get in touch with Berenice Smith at Hello Lovely or follow her on Twitter @hihellolovely. 

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by Rachel Extance

Tax doesn't have to be scary!

Do thoughts of your tax return keep you up at night?

We've all worried about our tax return. Whether you have an accountant or are completing self-assessment on your own, you will have wondered about how best to handle your business finances.

We asked Emma James, aka The Number Ninja to answer questions from Drive members.

Emma provides remote bookkeeping and accountancy services to micro businesses and much, much more. She is also an app ninja and streamlines processes to make businesses run smoothly.

This is a transcript of a live discussion.

Q. Is there an easy way to know in advance what your tax bill is likely to be so you can keep that money to one side?

Emma James Keep on top of your bookkeeping throughout the year. That way you can get a good sense of what your profit is at any point and then work out your tax liability based on that. Alternatively, HMRC have a simple ready reckoner where you can enter your estimated weekly or monthly profit and it will estimate your tax - https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-ready-reckoner

Ideally you’d be saving towards your tax bill throughout the year, as you really want to be paying for this year’s tax out of this year’s cash-flow. As a *really* rough idea, putting aside 30% of your earnings is a good place to start. It very much depends on whether you’re also employed, what your income level is, and what level of expenses you have, but it’s a good starting point.

When should you get an accountant?

Q. At what point does having an accountant make sense? My income and expenses are relatively easy to keep track of, but I feel I'm leaving money on the (taxman's) table and wonder if I should be claim for more expenses.

Emma James If your affairs are simple, then you’re probably okay on your own, but once you start adding complexity then it pays to work with an accountant. Knowing what you can and can’t claim for is hugely important. HMRC have lots of advice on this, though it is written in a rather dry way and can be a bit hard to understand at times.

What is making tax digital?

Q. I keep reading that tax returns will be changing in that we'll need to keep our records electronically and submit tax returns 4 times a year, BUT there's a threshold so it may not apply to many small businesses. I can't for the life of me find any official info on it at the moment so could you help please? I wonder how much of what I've read so far has been GDPR-style doom mongering.

Emma James It's part of something called Making Tax Digital. It's being phased in and the first phase starts in April 2019 and is for businesses that are both VAT-registered AND over the VAT threshold, so not those who voluntarily registered. All returns will have to be made electronically.

It's due to include other businesses from 2020, but it's already been watered down a lot so I wouldn't worry too much about it at the minute. I would, however, consider making the move to keeping your records electronically and up to date, if you don't already.

How do you keep your financial records?

Q. Any tips for best ways to keep your records safe etc Emma? I believe it's still 6 years afterwards that you need to have them readily accessible - which if you're fully digital is more easily managed. Any tips on both?

Emma James I'd always recommend storing things electronically, partly because it's easier than finding space for 6 years worth of lever arch files, but also because it's easier to find what you need it if you're ever investigated by HMRC.

If you REALLY want to store paper, invest in storage that protects the paper. It's not much use keeping that fuel receipt from 5 years ago if the ink has disappeared by the time you need it.

Emma James Also, depending on the accounts software you're using, you can normally store documents in the software against the actual item, which makes it really easy to find things. And also makes your bookkeeper very happy if they have a query and don't have to rifle through 67589 receipts to find it.

Q. Can I safely shred receipts etc if I have an electronic copy? Or is it best to hang on to them just in case?

Emma James Up to you. HMRC say that you just need to keep a copy, and electronic is fine. I have mine in both Xero and stored in Tresorit, I shred all of the paper copies.

Cash basis or accruals?

Q. What's the difference between cash and accruals?

Emma James They're two different accounting methods. The cash basis looks at when the money physically enters or leaves the business. The accruals basis means that you account for something in the period it is incurred or when you get the benefit, regardless of when the actual money comes in.

So say you send a sales invoice for £100 to a client dated 1st March 2018 and they pay 20th April 2018. If you're using the cash basis then the £100 is included in your tax return for 2018-19, as that's when you received the money. But if you're using accruals (also known as traditional accounting) then you'd include it in the 2017-18 return as that's when you did the work.

In theory the cash basis makes it easier for record keeping.

What happens to unpaid invoices?

Q. What if an invoice has been issued and the client never pays it?

Emma James You can write it off in a future return. But you can only write it off if you're as sure as you can be that you won't be paid.

Q. So that would apply if you did accruals basis? If you are doing cash presumably you don't have to declare it until the money comes in.

Emma James That's correct, yes.

Q. Is that an argument for working on a cash basis rather than accruals so you don't end up paying tax on money you haven't seen yet? Is there a point at which you have to do accruals?

Emma James If you're a sole trader and your turnover (sales) is under £150,000 then you can use cash. If you're using the cash basis and you buy a computer, you'd have to claim the full amount of this in the year you bought it, rather than spreading it across the life of the computer as you would if you used the accruals basis. There are pros and cons to both. I prefer the accruals basis as it's how accounts need to be prepared for banks and potential investors, but cash is better for some businesses, particularly if they're not paid particularly quickly by customers.

What are common mistakes people make on self-assessment?

Q. What are the things people often trip up on?

Emma James Not tracking gift aid payments is very common. Not a lot of people realise that they can claim for working from home. Quite a few people don't realise that if you're a sole trader you're taxed on your profit, not just what you take out of the business, that catches a few people out. Food is another huge one, just because you're working when you buy that sandwich at Costa it doesn't mean it's tax deductible.

Payments on account really trips people up in the first year it applies to them. It's a little complicated to explain, so I'll link to a blog I wrote a while ago https://thenumberninja.co.uk/blog/payments-on-account/

Savings interest is another one that people often leave off. For the majority of people it's not going to make any difference to the amount of tax you pay, but it still needs to go on the form (unless it's an ISA, in which case it doesn't).

Q. Can you explain a bit more about this one: "Quite a few people don't realise that if you're a sole trader you're taxed on your profit, not just what you take out of the business." Thanks.

Emma James Okay. Fred is a sole trader (rather than a limited company) and has sales of £40,000. His expenses throughout the year, such as rent, software, etc. come to £10,000. This gives him a profit of £30,000. Fred has taken out £1,000 a month for his personal use, so £12,000 across the year (lots of people consider this to be their salary, but as a sole trader they're known as drawings).

As he's only taken £12,000 from the business, Fred might think that's what he's taxed on, as that's his income from the business. But as a sole trader there's no legal distinction between you and the business, they're one and the same. As a result the £30,000 profit is considered to be Fred's total income.

So Fred's personal tax would be calculated on the £30,000 profit, rather than the £12,000 drawings.

Q. Do you put on the form what you have drawn down from the business as a sole trader?

Emma James No, HMRC don't care. They're only interested in the profit you've made. All of the money is yours, you've just chosen to leave some of it in a separate pot.

Keep a regular check on your accounts

Emma James Completing your tax return is a damn sight easier if you’re regularly keeping on top of your bookkeeping throughout the year. I’m a huge fan of using accounts software, but a spreadsheet is also fine. Keep that up to date each month and then you’ll have all of the information you need for the return itself.

The rules do change from time to time as well, so even if you've been completing a self assessment return for years, read the notes before you dive in. For example the rules of claiming mortgage interest if you let out property have changed in the last few years, and something called the trading allowance was introduced for the 2017-18 tax year that has slightly confusing rules that could catch some people out.

Q. What do we need to put on our spreadsheet? Is there a list of must-have headings? (I presume something more than money in, money out)

Emma James It depends what you want to be able to get out of the spreadsheet. If you're only using it to help you prepare your tax return then I'd include the expense categories that HMRC use (so 'Cost of goods bought for resale or goods user', 'Phone, fax, stationery and other office costs', etc.). That way you can then write formulae to total those costs together and then just pop the total in the form. Date is a good one to have, as is a column for the next tax year if you're using the accruals basis, so if you've got an invoice for your business insurance for £100 that covers Oct18-Sep19 you can make a note that £50 needs to go in your 18-19 return and £50 in your 19-20 return (if you're using the cash basis then the full £100 would go in 18-19).

I love a chart, so my spreadsheets are a bit ridiculous and show me what my sales and expenses look like throughout the year, so I can use it to predict any trends for next year. I also have an estimate of my likely tax liability throughout the year so that I can make sure I'm saving enough.

Q. What's the trading allowance?

Emma James The allowance is £1,000 and in part is designed to remove the need for hobbyists to declare their income. So if you do car boot sales once a month and you're total income from that is less than £1,000 then you no longer need to complete a self assessment.

Anyone who's self employed can use it if their income is more than £1,000. You then just deduct the £1,000 allowance from your turnover, but if you use it you can't then claim for any of your expenses. It's not likely to be of any use to anyone in Drive.

HMRC want you to get it right

Emma James I hope it's been useful. The UK tax system is one of the most complicated in the world, but good planning and preparation can make a huge difference. Get all of your information together, read the notes, and take it slowly. Although it might not feel like it at times, HMRC want you to get it right, so if you're not sure about something, check their website for help https://www.gov.uk/topic/personal-tax/self-assessment.

Would you like to know more? Contact Emma James at The Number Ninja or follow her on Twitter @emmatnn. 

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by Rachel Extance

What exactly is life coaching?

Is life coaching the same as therapy?

This is one of the questions I asked David Brown in one of those conversations that could have gone on for hours if we'd been in a pub with a bottle of wine!

Instead of that, I interviewed David for 20 minutes and we kept it (mostly) on track!

Some of the other questions we covered are:

• Why do people decide they need the help of a life coach?
• Do you dig into the reasons why people feel the way they do?
• What advice do you give people to deal with some of the emotions that come up?
• Do you work with people for a fixed term or is it open ended?
• Do people become dependent on you?
• Can they bail out if things get too tough to handle?
• Is there anyone you can't help?
• How do your mindful movement classes fit in with life coaching?
• Will life coaches ever be replaced by AI?

OK that last one happened after we'd stopped recording but it's a fascinating theory! It's definitely a bottle of wine discussion :)

For all the other answers, listen to David's interview here and if you'd like to get in touch for a chat, email him on david@potentialitycoaching.co.uk 

David's story, qualifications, blog posts, dates for Mindful Movement Workshops and much more are at www.potentialitycoaching.co.uk

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by Ann Hawkins

How to use storytelling to attract customers

"Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell"

So says one of the world's great marketers, Seth Godin.

This Ask the Expert spot is in the capable hands of Rachel Extance who is answering questions on how to find the stories in our businesses, how to tell them in a way that connects with our customers and how to adapt them for different media.

This is a summary of a live Q&A.

You might be wondering:
❓What have stories got to do with business?
❓What kinds of stories can I tell?
❓ Do I need to be a good writer to use stories?
❓How do I know what stories my audience will be interested in?

Why should anyone care?

Q.  I sometimes hesitate because I'm worried my stories will be a bit cheesy or even why on earth would anyone want to listen to stuff about my life anyway?
Any tips for overcoming that?

Rachel Extance It's an objection I hear a lot 🙂 It's also not true. It's a story we tell ourselves and part of resistance. You have lots of brilliant experience and knowledge to share. You talk to other people all the time. This is no different except that you are writing it down, videoing it or talking on a podcast. Treat storytelling like talking to someone in the pub or coffee shop. What do they want to know? How can you help? Is there a great story you have heard which you would like to share with others?

What have stories got to do with business?

Every business has stories to tell. These create touch points for your customers, they make you memorable.
We all tell stories all the time. About our day, the things we’ve heard, things which have happened to us.
Humans have been telling stories since our earliest days. They create an emotional connection. While you are telling a story, your listener or reader is there with you, seeing the same things as you and empathising with your situation (or that of the person in the story). Stories help us make sense of the world around us and see how things can be relevant to us. Telling stories brings customers into your world.

Q. How do you know what's a good/right/helpful/engaging/appropriate story to tell for your business? I've seen people tell stories that show they are human but they've gone to far and made me doubt how good they are at doing the job! Also, do you have any tips for brainstorming story ideas when you don't have any? Asking for a friend.

Rachel Extance That's a great question. Storytelling isn't about baring your soul (unless you really want to).
I subscribe to the BBC mantra of Inform, Educate and Entertain. These three things will hold you in good stead. For example, a few weeks ago Instagram introduced IGTV so if you were into social media or marketing, you could tell a story telling people that this has happened. You could then have another story educating people about how to use it, tips and tricks. And then stories entertaining people with it. These could be your own IGTV stories if it's a platform that works for your business.

Stories don't have to be your own. You could tell stories about how others have done something.

Tips for brainstorming: think about the articles you have read or videos you have watched over the last couple of weeks. What stuck in your head? Is it a topic you could write about too by adding your insights.
What questions do people regularly ask you? Could you create content answering these?
Write down a list of 10 topics. Keep adding to it. Not every one will make you a story but the more you think about ideas and write them down, the more you will get used to thinking about stories.
Your business is interesting. You offer a product or service people want. Tell them about it.

What kinds of stories can I tell?

There are creation stories (the oldest of all) about how you founded your company, the problems you wanted to solve, how you built your team, designed your branding, came to be in your location.

Then there are stories about your people: you, your colleagues, people you collaborate with, and of course, your customers.

You can also tell stories about your products or services. How people can make use of them. Recipes are a form of story. You start with some ingredients, they go through a process and there is a delicious dish or sweet treat at the end.

How to... stories are useful. People want to learn about what you do and we all have plenty of knowledge to share. How to make a cake, create a flower arrangement, make a raised bed, choose colours. And then you can tell stories about the individual elements as well. Talk about the plants or fonts or colours or herbs. Tell people about their background and uses.

Do I need to be a good writer to use stories?

No. It's not about writing. It's about telling people a story and bringing them along with you. You don't need to write stories at all to make use of them. You can use pictures, record videos (nothing fancy, a piece to camera on your smartphone) or create a podcast.

Think about it as if you were talking to friends in the pub or over a coffee and what they would want to know about.

How do I know what stories my audience will be interested in?

A really good place to start is to see what people search for online. Then create stories about those topics.
Pay attention to the news. Is there a new development in your industry? Or is there something in the wider world which you could make use of.
For instance, I read a story yesterday about a woman who was encouraging girls to study science by writing Wikipedia articles about female scientists and their achievements. It's a great example of how stories can make a difference and influence people so it's one for me to share.

Q. I’m always a bit nervous of including too much personal stuff in stories in case of being judged or rather misjudged. Any advice?

Rachel If it's something you are happy to share and by sharing you will help others going through something similar, it fits with your brand and your audience, then you should be fine. If you think you're going to spend the next week or two cringing about it, then probably best not to share. There will always be critics. Ignore them.

Q. Any tips for making your story into bite sized pieces. There's no point creating a beautiful 5 minute video, 2,000word blog post or whatever unless you can break that down into small accessible and informative chunks.

Rachel When you've created a story you need to make it pay its way. You've spent time on it and you want as many people to see it as possible.
You can share it on your social media platforms several times. Vary the time of day between posting, have two or three different version of the message and also think about the image you are sharing with it.
You can pull out quotes for instance and use them to create an image using a tool like Canva.
Another way of repurposing blogs is to turn them into short videos using Lumen 5.
Break your post into bullet points to give you the message you want to convey and layer with images.
You will be able to share a story at least 5 different ways.

If you'd like to know more about business storytelling and how to reach and influence the right audience, connect with Rachel at www.extance.co.uk or on Twitter @RachelExtance 

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by Ann Hawkins