Discuss Your Business

  Founder: James Ellender Business: Spun Candy Location: London with 7 total stores Launched: 2013   Since their London launch in 2013, Spun Candy has developed hundreds of designs and flavours of confectionery -- just check out their Instagram to see the huge variety of sweets. Impressively, they’ve opened seven stores around the world. Their product range includes handmade hard rock candy and confectionery, while they also offer candy-making classes to the public.   We caught up with James ahead of QB Connect London, where he will be a featured vendor, to discuss the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and what he’s looking forward to at QB Connect London February 27-28.   James, how did you get started? I spent many years in the food industry and I was also lucky enough to travel the world. I was able to explore a range of cultures and consumer behaviours as a result of those two things. This background helped me to identify the potential here in the U.K.

Would you employ new people to join your business? Would you develop a new product or would you use the money for marketing tools?   Be creative!   How would you spend the money and invest in your business? Comment your ideas below!

... anyone living today (or not!), who would you choose and why?

  The most successful business owners have a crystal clear picture of where they want to be in three years and what they need to do today to get there. They also have a target "number" to track their progress.    Do you have your target "number" ?   Maybe not. A target number is one of those things that you keep thinking about doing right after you finish binge-watching season two of The Crown.    For us to be able to have a conversation here about small business success, we need a basic understanding of the one number that rules them all:  After Tax Income.    After Tax Income is the cold hard cash you can spend, save, invest or donate. It's the number that tells us if this crazy decision to run our own business is worth it.    While it's easy to look at total revenue, that's only part of the picture.    At some point, all the benefits of working for yourself need to outweigh what you get working for someone else.

Keeping invoices organised can be a difficult task. Creating them can sometimes be a laborious activity, and when things don’t always work out, it can become very frustrating.   Whether you started your business a couple of weeks ago or years ago, we want to know how your approach to invoicing has changed! :)    How do you approach the task of invoicing now?    Comment your tips and tricks below!     Join and become a member... It's free! -  Join the QB Community! QB Community UK Home          Talk About Your Business          Find Inspiration     

A pile of ironing, the school run, answering emails, scheduling meetings and remaining creative!? Almost seems impossible, doesn’t it?   I have watched my parents juggle more than one job at a time, and yet they have managed to achieve a joyful balance between work and family life. What’s their secret, I wonder? What’s yours?   How do you achieve the family and work-life balance without losing creativity?

  When event and floral designer Rachel Bowes was made redundant from her event planning job, she decided to be her own boss. She started Finch and Thistle with the goal of having greater flexibility at work. We spoke with Rachel about leveraging social media to build her brand and coming up with creative and new ideas to serve her clients.   What made you go into floristry and event planning? When I was working as a charity event planner full time, I found I liked the more creative parts of my job the most—the art direction, the floral design. I enjoyed art and art classes all throughout school, but I didn’t get to pursue that love in any job I’d had before. Designing events and flowers is a special way I get to express myself. I’ve always been a keen gardener, and working with flowers seemed really natural for me.   What made you want to work for yourself? Circumstances. I was made redundant, and I had to do something else. At that time, companies were making event p

Name: Lee Weinstein  Businesses: Weinstein PR and Intentional Life Planning Founded: 2007 and 2017   One morning about 10 years ago, Lee Weinstein was standing in front of his bathroom mirror, shaving. He asked his reflection a question: Do you want to keep working for someone else? After 15 years happily working as a corporate public relations executive, he opened his own PR firm. In 2017, he wrote a book that details his goal-setting methods. He and his wife offer companion workshops to help individuals plan out their life goals.    Why did you decide to write a book about life planning? My wife Melinda and I were married in 2000. Soon after, on a Saturday morning, I bought this big sheet of grease-proof paper into the kitchen and said, “OK. We’re married. What do you want to do with your life?” We figured we had until we were about 83 years old or so. We sketched out the years, and we saw we had about 4 decades to plan out.   When we shared r

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Name: Cheri Drake Business: Sisters Staging Founded: 2016   Cheri Drake had been in broadcasting for more than 30 years when she lost her job during a round of redundancies. As she tried to figure out her next move, a former colleague offered some advice: reinvent yourself. Those 2 words launched Cheri down a totally new career path as co-owner of Sisters Staging, a company that preps homes for sale or to let. Cheri had never predicted she’d be running her own home design company. But like so many people who work for themselves, Cheri’s unexpected “reinvention” lets her turn a long-time side passion into a burgeoning business.   What made you choose the home improvement industry? I’ve always been interested in interior design, and I produced a radio show about home improvement for about 15 years. When friends had a house to sell, as a favour I’d help them “stage” their home. Those houses would always sell! People wanted to pay me, but I just thought of it as a hobby. My siste

Name: Dawn Brown  Business: AZ Business Consulting Founded: 2006    Dawn Brown is on a mission. As an accountant running her own business, she wants to make her all clients’ numbers add up. But Dawn is also deeply committed to contributing to society in a meaningful way. By staying true to those two parallel goals - growing her accounting business and doing good - Dawn has successfully carved out a niche for her business. Today she specialises in helping charities manage their money to achieve goals.   What made you start working for yourself? I spent many years as an accountant and a CFO for companies and clients. I worked on projects that were assigned to me. Not every project was a great fit, and I often felt I wasn’t making a meaningful contribution. I also saw businesses being sold products or services they didn’t need. I wanted to be straightforward with the customer. If I couldn’t help them, I wanted to send them to someone who could.   When my husband a

  Here’s 1 thing just about all small business owners have in common: the need to send invoices. Whether you sell handmade products or offer targeted client services, invoices are key to keeping your business afloat. Problem is, plenty of us don’t realise—or leverage—the true power of this all-important tool.   Make it personal These days, information-overload is ubiquitous. No wonder it’s easy to overlook or ignore a standard grey email or a dull printed page. A personalised, thoughtfully designed invoice stands out in a cluttered inbox or an ever-growing pile of papers. So how do you get your invoice to attract more attention?   Name drop. Just as using someone’s name in conversation keeps people focused on what you’re saying, personalising your invoice helps it get noticed. Include these 4 names on every invoice:   The company you’re billing The person processing the invoice Your manager or point of contact Your company or yourself   Include a personal me

    Dealing with late payments from a customer is simply no fun. And when your client is a chronic offender, financial tardiness is more than just annoying. Consistently late payments can severely curb your cash flow and put your whole business at risk.   Here, we delve into how you can use your invoice to avoid late payments. And if your invoice doesn’t work, we examine what you need to do to collect on those past-due payments.   Send your invoices on time We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Nothing gets you paid faster and more reliably than sending your invoice as soon as it’s due. Whether your payment cycle is weekly, monthly or something else entirely, stick like Velcro to your agreed-upon schedule.   Negotiate terms up front Speaking of payment schedules, make sure you and your client agree to one during your initial contract negotiations. Put all the terms in writing so there’s no room for misunderstandings about deadlines or late fees. Expert

Name: Jeremy Malman Business: Worth Motorcycle Company Founded: 2013   When Jeremy Malman was accepted into a highly competitive PhD programme, he was elated. But nearly 3 years into his clinical psychology coursework with at-risk adolescents, he was disillusioned. Not by the kids—Jeremy loved helping teens who were having trouble at home, in school and in life. His frustration stemmed from a deep desire to support struggling youths in real, meaningful ways. So he opened a motorcycle workshop, with a twist.     What gave you the courage to leave academia? At the time, I was frustrated. My academic peers didn’t seem to share my complete, unwavering commitment to making things better for kids. When I thought about what I really wanted to be doing with my life, I remembered how grounding it had been to work with my hands, fixing motorcycles. There’s nothing esoteric about it—you turn a screw, it tightens. Do it wrong, someone could die.   But I’d been in school almost

Today is National Paper Clip Day! A day to remind yourself that those documents on your desk… Yeah, they definitely need organising.   As the world begins to go more digital, are we leaving these great organisational tools behind?   How do you organise your files? Comment your tips and tricks below!  

Hi everyone,    I am copying this post over from the U.S community board as I am really interested in how people self-educate. Do you read forums, watch tutorials etc?   Please comment below!    (Ps. if you are the type that loves a YouTube tutorial - please visit my channel. I am currently also taking requests for personal guide videos so if you have anything specific that you are currently stuck on or struggling to get to grips with please do let me know!)      I look forward to hearing your responses.   Kind Regards, Emily

Just signed up a charity on Quickbooks online.I am guessing they are so pleased with it for the first time they now have trustees working on Quickbooks whilst they are on assignments abroad 

    Thanks to Ringo Starr, we all know we’ll get by with a little help from our friends. People who work for themselves know in order to “get by” (and more!), they need help from certain key, essential friends—also known as employees.     Hiring your first employee is a big deal for lots of reasons. QuickBooks Community member Fobitty puts it this way: ‘I'm running a small business by myself. I need to hire some help so I have time to expand. I've talked to a few prospects, but it's clear I have no idea what makes a good employee. In your experience, what should I be looking for? Personality traits? Experience? I don't have time to get this wrong.’   This single quote highlights the complexity of officially expanding your team. To unpack all the issues surrounding hiring your first employees, we’ve turned to you, the QB Community members—many of whom have been there, done that.    Hire today, grow tomorrow There’s no arguing that p

  How did you get through it? Comment your experiences below!

    We love sharing financial advice from Dawn Fotopulos, author of Accounting for the Numberphobic: A Survival Guide for Small Business Owners. With more than 20 years’ experience helping small business owners thrive, Dawn loves educating entrepreneurs about all money matters. In this article, we turn to Dawn to learn how to boost cash flow in 3 simple steps.     Step 1: Invoice, invoice, invoice  Dawn can’t say enough about the power of an invoice. If you need to boost your cash flow fast, one of the easiest things you can do is send out an invoice right now. Here are some important tips about getting the most out of this money-generating tool.   Send invoices promptly. “Don’t let the sun go down without invoicing a client if it’s time”, Dawn advises. If getting paid isn’t your priority, it won’t be your customer’s, either. Sometimes people genuinely forget when their payment is due, so don’t just assume they know what you’re owed. Negotiate terms u

Just helped a client to export bank feed for last 6 months using quick export facility.It was really easy!

Name: Crystal-Marie Sealy  Business: Successiory Founded: January 2009   Crystal-Marie Sealy wasn’t planning to start working for herself as soon as she graduated with an MBA from business school. But when the recession made it hard for her to find a job, she decided to forge her own path. Recognising that plenty of professionals struggle with time-management and making smooth business transitions, Crystal-Marie founded Successiory to help entrepreneurs make the most of their time, experience and expertise.    What’s the story behind your business? I've always wanted to run my own business, although I never thought I’d start as early as I did! My long-term goal was to have a virtual business so that when I became a mother, I wouldn’t have to worry about maternity leave or being made redundant. I'd be able to manage my own time and be in control of my money. Also, I was never a fan of always having to look busy at work or working 10 times harder just to prove myself

Is there a way to pass along the credit card fees to our clients?

  If your business model involves selling a product of any kind, you know how important it is to have a great working relationship with a reliable supplier. Sure, you need customers to buy what you’re selling. But in order to have a product they can purchase in the first place, you need a vendor. Here’s what our QB Community members have to say about finding and keeping a good supplier.   Finding the right supplier When it comes to running your own business, nothing beats talking with other entrepreneurs to help you solve a problem. That’s certainly true when it comes to finding a supplier. Here’s how some QB Community members found theirs.   Travis Troyer explains, “I spent months trying to find and source things like high quality, reinforced black cardboard packaging with white print. It wasn’t easy! When people ask me where I get my packaging or my labels, I’m always thrilled to pass along that information”.    On the other hand, let’s never underestimate

Hi, I'm hoping someone in the UK can help me with this. I've just received an HMRC coding notice and need to change a tax code in QBO Online Payroll to K242 - a "K" code denotes a negative tax allowance. Unfortunately Online Payroll doesn't appear to accept this tax code as being valid. Any ideas how I can enter this? Thanks