I don’t always like to be right, but when a bookshop opened in our village, I really couldn’t see how it would stay in business for very long. It has lasted only about six months and has now closed. It really is very sad, and I can imagine the owner’s happiness at the start as…
Category Archives: Business planning
You can lead a consultant to market…
Confession Here is a confession: I am a consultant. I am consulted about tax issues and I am consulted about business problems. Luckily my potential clients know where to find me. Luckily? Well, maybe not. I have to market to get business. It is obvious really. I know quite a few other consultants. Many people…
Can small businesses live off referrals?
In my work I talk to many small business owners, and on a daily basis. Some in professional services are doing pretty well without making any effort to market. This is because they provide their clients with reliable, dependable support, and in return their clients recommend them to others. That way they have a steady…
Careless talk costs business
One rule of business is “never rubbish the competition” because it creates bad feeling in your profession, you make your potential customers uncomfortable, and people wonder about your character. Something else we have to consider is careless talk about our clients or careless talk in front of our customers. It is easy to fall into…
Is knowledge power?
I have seen the expression “knowledge is power” a number of times in blog posts recently. Jim Connolly is correct in saying that knowledge is only effective when you take action. I believe knowledge is currency. It involves action, but it has to be the right action. Knowledge is what you use to pursue and…
King Canute and the future of business on the High Street
The Danish King King Canute, or Knut or Knud is best remembered for commanding the tide to stop coming in, either because he believed he was so powerful that the sea would obey, or because he wished to demonstrate to his courtiers that he was human like all of them, and was bound to fail….
Innovation, sacrifice and the job trap
Employee blues I was in the tax business a long time as an employee, and in the corporate world we were also in the “business advisory” sector. As someone who has run businesses for some time, I realise how fundamentally useless the so called “business adviser” employees were, because really you don’t understand small…
Common sense pricing
Value pricing Now we all know (I hope) that when we offer a knowledge based service we bill for value. So if you deliver a huge cost saving to a manufacturing business by helping it re-source its raw materials you should charge it according to the value it receives in savings. If you offer…
New Year business predictions – why we should treat them with caution
Clairvoyants Has your in-box suffered an influx of New Year predictions? Mine has. Some of the subjects are predictable of course: How will the economy fare? What trends will we see in the property market? Where will technology go? By which they mean computers and gadgets. Now of course we can make quite long…
Advice, logic, principles and beliefs
Yes, business is tough at the moment, so it is hard to believe that some owners are making more obstacles for themselves rather than trying to make running their business more profitable and less stressful. Somehow people get ideas in their minds which prevent their taking action. For example: Social media marketing wouldn’t suit my…
-
Jon Stow Consulting Tax Blog
- Income tax issues with ownership of rental properties
- Capital tax issues with ownership of rental properties
- Urgent – Important changes to tax treatment of Furnished Holiday Lettings losses
- A brief tax guide to buying and selling family and owner-managed companies
- Furnished Holiday Lettings – the latest news
- Business tax – what business owners should expect of their accountant
- Property taxation for smaller investors and developers
- Jon Stow’s Ezine Articles
- Why Customer Service is Important Even to Those Who Are Not Customers Yet
- Why Quality is Important - Lessons From BMW
- Why We Need to Take an Outside View in Business
- Avoid False Economies in Business - Seeing Value Over Cost
- Why a Business Plan is Not Just For the Bank
- Why We Need Need to Respect the Feelings of Our Prospects and Clients
- Responsibility and Leading From the Front
- Networking - The Folly of Hunting Rather Than Farming
- Networking is a Long Game
- How to Avoid Giving Free Advice
-
4G TV interference: Up to a million homes 'need filters' http://t.co/1A3Mp8NE /Comes from playing fast & loose with radio frequency spectrum
-
BBC News - Rangers administration: HMRC says club was 'treated fairly' over tax debts http://t.co/uzUPzNFm /Hmmm
-
Despite the stiff breeze, crows loitering with intent to destroy windscreen wipers along our road. Our defences ready. http://t.co/hbZhGIQf
-
BBC News - Journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik 'die in Homs' http://t.co/OasCaFhE /In dreadful situation for all civilians
-
Report and opinion on capital gain re property disposal out the door. Just going to Rayleigh for a little while.
