Business Startup Blog

Moving to Beta Blogger

2006-10-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Just moving my blog over to Beta Blogger today.
Looks like it's all pretty cool - and it has labels for categorising. I'm happy.

Money Saving Tips

2006-10-11T21:40:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share with you, dear reader, some of the tips I have learnt on this journey so far about saving money:

Invest in a good accountant. There might be cheaper ones available but a good one will help you save money.
Use Skype - it's an internet telephony service which help you save money on call costs. And using a headset for phonecalls feels much better!
Haggle with suppliers. You don't have to be pushy. Just saying the words "Is that the best price you can give me?" will often get an instant discount.
Make a packed lunch. Buying lunch at a cafe or shop near work can cost me £3-£5 a day. I nearly always have the stuff at home to make a sandwich, it's just a case of making the effort.
Use the internet for price comparisons. When I wanted some flyers made, I phoned a few local firms and wasn't that impressed. Then I looked online and starting phoning companies further afield. I got a much better deal from a company in Milton Keynes even after postage.

Gumtree Timewasters

2006-09-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to rent out a spare desk in the office by placing an ad on Gumtree. It gets a good response but I really can't believe the number of time wasters there are out there. It's depressing!

Advertising: What Has Worked And What Hasn't

2006-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I would just reflect on how much money I have spent on advertising, and consider for a moment what has worked and what hasn't.

Flyers
I had thousands of flyers printed up last year and distributed in local newspapers.
Reponse: 0

Yellow Pages & Thomson Directory
I thought it was be good for my company image to have a presence in these high profile directories. Unfortunately it generated only a few enquiries and they were mostly from nut cases.

Google Adwords
This keyword advertising has worked a treat in generating leads as and when I want them. The only draw back is that its easy to create lots of campaigns with their own budgets and before you know it, you've spent quite a lot of money. But it does get results.

Local Newspaper
I tried a couple of local newspapers and the ads came out nicely but the response was very disappointing.

Ads I didn't, and wouldn't, touch with a barge pole

Anyone from a "charity business directory". They mostly all seems dodgy and I've heard of people being invoiced for entries they never consented too.

Anyone from a really pushy sales outfit like UFindus. They called me up and started the conversation by telling me that people weren't using Google any more to find stuff. I knew from that point that this conversation wasn't going anywhere so I just had to spend a few minutes trying to get off the phone which the guy really didn't want to let me do. Note to self: just hang up in future.

Make Big Money in your Own Small Business

2006-05-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Found this book, How to Make Money In Your Own Small Business by Jeffrey F. Fox, on a little mooch through Waterstones in Picadilly. It's a perfect little read with loads of fantastic advice on how to make a success of your small business.

It's a simple read - you'll get through it in one or two sittings - but really is packed with great stuff.

Definitely recommended.

HSBC and US Cheques (Checks)

2006-02-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

What is it with HSBC.

Everytime I take a US Dollar Cheque into their branches, they have got some different procedure from the last time and more times than not I get a blank look from the staff anyway. I really hate that kind of inconsistency and expect the same process everytime I perform a routine task.

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year all!

I hope 2006 will be a fantasic year for anyone that happens to be reading this.

My own personal goals are to further develop the business of course and to do that I am going to have to work hard to improve my sales skills or bring in a temp or sales professional to help me hit the sales targets I have.

I also need to buy a new computer because my current PC is falling to bits literally. And I must buy myself a USB backup device because I don't want to be one of those people who only think to buy a backup solution when I've already lost everything :-)

Moved Into New Office

2005-09-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Moved into my new serviced office today, which is very exciting. It's fantastic with modern furniture and fittings. There's some companies next door who were very welcoming and had a good chat with them in the shared kitchen.

Got say a big thanks to the guys at Offices-Serviced.com for helping me find this place!

Office Space

2005-09-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

I have decided after a few weeks of trying to work from home that I need my own office space. there's just too many distractions at home. So I have decided to go for a serviced office, because they seem like the most flexible and cost effective option.

I don't really want to tie myself to a long agreement so the fact I can get a serviced office on a monthly agreement sounds great.

Business Banking

2005-08-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

I had a look around today for banks to use for my business banking. Eventually decided on HSBC because they offer free business banking for the first year, and also my personal account is with them so it will mean that transferring money to and from my accounts should be instant.

Limited Company Formed!

2005-07-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

I sorted out all the paperwork with my accountant and my company has now been formed! I just checking the Companies House website and my company is now listed as an incorporated company with its own company number!

How exciting!

Business Formation

2005-07-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

After a bit of umming and ahhing I today decided to form my own limited company. I spoke with an accountant and have arranged to go in and see him next week to discuss forming the company.

Stunned

2005-07-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Whoo... really can't believe what's happened today with the bombs in Central London.

It's selfish but I can't help but be grateful I don't work in central London anymore.

My thoughts and prayers are with those affected by these senseless actions.

My brand new blog for my brand new business

2005-07-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

I was made redundant earlier this year and have decided to use the money I got from that to start a new business. It's going to be internet marketing related.

Who Am I?

I'm a 28 year old Londoner, who previously worked in the city. I'm a little shy about revealing too much about me, but I'm a regular kind of guy with an entrepreneurial spirit.

I plan to use this blog to chart my progress as I form and run my very own business!

Come back soon and see how I'm getting on.