The Return of the Blog!

Sorry folks, what with new job and the start of term for my 3, I've been a little busy and have been neglecting  my lovely little blog. So, I hear you cry... what's it been like returning to the classroom?! Well, in truth it's been interesting and a little scary in places as I'm now involved in training teachers and not teaching kids.

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The job is brilliant for me as I can talk for hours while wearing vintage dresses! Seriously though,the teaching & learning software is such a great tool for both teachers and kids it has been great to explain how to use it and see delight and comprehension on the faces of many a previously hesitant teacher. (I've never seen someone look so excited as the guy who discovered he could upload a Prezi straight into the page!!!)

So life is looking a little different now with me working outside of the house even though I'm still self-employed but I am most definitely up for the challenge! I'm hoping to start regular postings on Tuesday and Thursdays now and the Re-Script workshop will be continuing with gusto!

In the meantime, Redressing is still offering a 20% sale on ALL dresses so nip on over and grab yourself a bargain!

Cheerio!

End of term!.... Juggling working from home & holidays well

I can't believe it's the end of the school year already! My, how quickly has that flown by. Now it's summer holidays time, well, for my children anyway.

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Juggling work and school holidays is never very easy so here's my advice on managing both well.


1. Plan your time well. If you are self employed like me, you can't always give much time to work during long school holidays so you have to plan your time well. I find, organising the 6 week stretch into distinctive weeks really helpful and making sure my 3 children know what's going on even more so.

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2. Balance work & play. I know each job is very different and has different requirements but I find splitting up each week so that I have given the right amounts of time to the needs of my business and of my children is imperative. There are some jobs I can get done before the end of this week, so I'm busily trying to accomplish as much as possible before the holidays actually start, but there are also plenty of things which need to happen week in week out. Use everything at your disposal to get as much done as possible before you have your children at home- scheduling your tweets, website updates and blogs helps and try to switch off completely on some days if you can!

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3. Plan play dates in advance. Set up play dates so your children are out at the same time as one another on certain days then return the favour on a day where you have less to do. Get those dates in the diary NOW! Last minute never works well if you have more than one child you need to plan for. Involve your kids in who they would like to see; their ownership of the process will stop them feeling 'pushed out' so that you can 'get on'.

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4. Decide as a family what 'events' or 'activities' you'd all like to do (if you having a staycation) and plan those in first, then plan work around them so everyone knows you have prioritised family times and then make sure they actually happen- that may mean ordering tickets now; sorting travel arrangements or paying for stuff upfront so whatever you all decide, just make sure it happens. We use a big roll of lining paper and literally write out every day so everyone knows just what's going on when.

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5. Enjoy it! Children grow up fast. In the immortal words of Ferris Beuller "If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it".

Have a great summer whatever you are up to!.....
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So you want to be Self-Employed? Hints & Tips #5

A very lovely friend of mine informed last week that she's closing down her online business which she began a few months back. Her reasons are all very valid and the decision has not been made lightly, but it did get me to thinking about some of the possible pitfalls to being self-employed and perhaps how to avoid them.

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Pitfall 1. I will make money quickly
Any business, however small takes time to build up. Starting a business because you think it will make you a quick return is unfortunately not case (unless your name is Alan Sugar!)
Quite often businesses run at cost or even at a loss in their first few years of trading and that's why a long term view is important when it comes to business planning and strategy. Although you want your business venture to bring in a return you must be prepared if it doesn't or at least not straight away. Every business has 'dry spells' so don't be dis-heartened when it's your turn. (Fortunately for my lovely friend, her business wasn't her mainstay and she can come back to it when she is ready.)

Pitfall 2. Once I'm online I won't have to do very much
Erm, No. Once you're business is off the ground, whether a website or a shop, you will have an awful lot to do in order to get yourself known. Once a website goes 'live' it isn't automatically up there in the number one spot on Google! You have to submit your site, create a social media world where you can promote it and continue to input vast amounts of time, energy and effort into maintaining that marketing, branding and image. (Why do you think SEO companies get paid so much!?!) This can be great fun, and you meet some great people, but it also takes up time so don't be fooled. Creating your website is only the beginning.

Pitfall 3. I can be self-employed on a part time basis
Again, no. Obviously yes, you are your own boss and can therefore choose your 'working' hours but the reality is that maintaining and sustaining your own business requires a full time thought process even if you are only actively doing on a part-time basis. This is one area where you have to be careful because your own business will take up just as much of your time as you throw at it and more. You really do need to be very clear and very strict with yourself how and when you are going to 'work' or you may find yourself doing nothing else but! I have 3 children and a wonderful husband as well as my own business and if I wasn't incredibly strict with myself I could quite easily trade time away from them and my chosen responsibilities to them, for my work because I do love it! But, I love them more. I have a notebook where I simply write down business thoughts, plans, ideas and calendar events before they whistle straight out of my head again while I'm with my husband and children. I can't shut off entirely; I am my business, but I can constrain things to suit my lifestyle. I also am fortunate enough to rent office space one day a week which gives me a clear run at things without chores and errands getting in the way. It is possible to do the 'stuff' on a part time basis but don't go into self-employment thinking you will have an awful lot of time for anything else because the chances are, you won't.

Self-Employment can be great but it is not an easy option. Keep assessing your motives, your goals and your finances and you shouldn't go too far wrong. And you never know; maybe YOU are the next Alan Sugar?!

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* If you have enjoyed this post you might also like to check out the Self-Employed hints and tips page here

So you want to be Self-Employed? Hints & Tips #4- Branding and Image

Image & Branding- definitely two key buzz word in business speak! But what do they mean?!

 When you start a small business you are relatively unknown. A small fish in a big pond, especially if your business is up against others who are trying to achieve the same results, tap into the same markets or who are simply cheaper than you are. The only way to assert your business is to thrust yourself out there into the world of Social Media. Whether you like Face Book, Twitter, My Space or any of the other social media platforms available, the key issue is how you brand yourself. It's vital that you understand before you begin that as a small business or as a self-employed outfit, that you are your business. This way you can begin to establish some parameters for how you market yourself and to whom!

Firstly, you need to know the Unique Selling Point of your business and who constitutes your target market and go out there armed with both pieces of information together. Your brand has an identity so who you follow on Twitter for example should be those who reflect the same ethos, values and principles as your business which may not be the same group of individuals you personally may choose to follow. You have to know the difference! Everything you touch, post, comment on, blog about or tweet has to be in line with your business platform so ensure that it is. One thing that is imperative however is that you follow your client base/customers as you want to keep them in the loop about your business but also because real communication is a two way street. No-one wants to hear your great sales forecasts alone- they also want to know about you as a person and why you do what you do. When you own, run, manage and finance a small business, you absolutely have to understand communication etiquette correctly. Don't fall into the social media hole of trying to be someone you're not (especially on Twitter), its false and frankly quite annoying! If you believe in yourself and your business then your values are what communicates and sells what you have to offer, not a phony who will ultimately be found out.

Does your business's social media activity fully represent your brand and your image? I Hope so.
Don't forget to sign up for the "Re-Script Workshops" here too!

So you want to be Self-Employed?! Hints & Tips part #3 Accounts

As April arrives my business thoughts turn all financial! It's Tax Year End!
Collating my financial logs, maintaining spreadsheets, accurately invoicing and all the rest can be pretty taxing (ha ha!) but so completely worth it when it comes to having good, ordered financial year end reports.

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 I'm incredibly fortunate as one of my best friends is an accountant and has walked me through the process of accounting. The most helpful Hint and Tip I can pass on is to have a good filing system! You really do need to able to find things easily, and you never know what things may be important to keep. I invested in a fan file box and some large box files and took the time to clearly label everything!

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Fan Box files are invaluable

There is some fab stationary out there and some very pretty ways to keep yourself organised! (Try Cath Kidston, Amazon or Paperchase for some good ones!)

The other serious hint and tip is to back up your financial accounts regularly- I try to do this after every day of trading, (which can be time consuming!) and then use a memory stick to keep a copy of my spreadsheets just in case my laptop dies or I need to access my accounts from somewhere else. I can't stress the importance of this as leaving your accounting, even for a few days can result in lots of complications; confusion and general forgetting of little details like the actual P&P costs as opposed to your charged P&P costs!

By updating your books regularly if disaster strikes you have relatively up to date accounts on your memory stick, alternative hard drive or remote online storage facility.

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The HMRC offer some helpful advice and are really quite friendly on the telephone so if you do have queries give them a call or check out their website here.

Invest in a good receipt or invoice book; keep your spreadsheets up to date and backed up and when October (or January) rolls around you will have everything you need to complete that Tax Return and you'll have stored it safely in a pretty box file too!

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