Growing your business

  When you think back on your life, what milestones stand out as moments when you “pivoted” and deliberately chose to move in a new or unexpected direction? Maybe your pivot was inspired by something personal -- you got married, had a baby, moved to a new city, lost a loved one. Maybe your pivot was based on a professional experience -- you got (or, perhaps, didn’t get) a promotion, your beloved boss retired, you were made redundant, the company you worked for relocated.   Whatever the milestone, we know people who work for themselves embraced the opportunity to reset a traditional career path and strike out alone. In fact, we’re constantly wowed by the “can-do” attitude of our inspiring QB Community members. That’s why we asked you to share what persuaded you to turn your passion, hobby or side gig into a full-time job. Turns out everyone has their own reason for making the pivot!   Goodbye corporate world, hello startup Plenty of folks consider a stable, long-term, we

    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

  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 all, Just thought I would share this with all the community members on here in case you had missed it. QuickBooks have recently released a competition to win a grant worth £5000 to boost your business. They will pair you with another sole trader or small business who can provide the goods or services you need to take your business to the next level. To find out more visit this link: Win a grant worth £5000 Good luck everyone who is going to enter!Emily

We're each here because we're among a self-selected group of people who dare to go for it on our own. What are you itching to learn about with and from other small business owners and self-employed professionals?   What's on *your* mind? Let's start that conversation below!

Hello fellow Community members! Right now I am sitting on a Jet Blue flight headed to New York for the Accounting and Finance Show being held at the Javits Center, and wanted to see if anyone else will be going and would like to meet up? This event marks my first opportunity to promote my QuickBooks Desktop application Vendorsync so I am really excited.  I want to give a big shout out to Analytix for allowing me to utilize their booth to  talk with my fellow accountants. I would love to do a live streaming interview with anyone from the community so come find me in booth 158 ( Analytix Solutions) Hope everyone has a successful week!

Name: Pascal Depuhl Business: Photography by Depuhl   Founded: 1993   Pascal Dephul is a photographer and videographer, but his professional title is “Chief Mindchanger”. This is because he believes we all have a moral and professional obligation to give back. We caught up with him after he returned from Nepal, where he’d been working with an organisation dedicated to helping remote mountain communities get access to life-saving medical services. Pascal tells us about his trip and shares an unexpected realisation that changed the way he thinks about—and provides—customer service.   Why were you filming in Nepal? I was filming a documentary about a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in a remote region of the Himalayas. When I say “remote,” I‘m not exaggerating. People in these villages have to trek for 7 days through insanely rough mountains and valleys just to get to a bus stop. From there, it’s a 15-hour ride to the nearest hospital. Given these conditions, it’s no won

May was the month of imagery! Sometimes appropriate imagery is all you need to get your message across whilst gaining recognition and increasing custom to your business.   They say that a picture is worth a thousand words…   Have you considered if you’re using the correct imagery for your business? Are you communicating the correct message?   How do you visually promote your business? Comment your tips and tricks below! QB Community UK Home          Talk About Your Business          Find Inspiration     

Many small business owners have found success by establishing themselves as the face of their brand.   When putting your business forward, are you front and centre? Do you distinguish between your personal brand and your business brand? 

  Name: Edna Wilson Business: Wilson Marketing & PR Founded: 2015   After years of helping organisations with their public communications, Edna Wilson was ready to strike out on her own. As a marketing professional, she had plenty of industry experience. What she didn’t have, however, was a clear vision of how to position her professional skills with her personal interests and passions. Thanks to the time she spent working with 2 different coaches, Edna found her niche.    How did you get established as a freelance marketer? Before I founded my business, I worked for a bunch of other companies in order to get experience. One of the most wonderful experiences was freelancing for a regional alternative health and food magazine. I did this for 9 years! That helped me get established.   What made you go from freelancing to opening a full-time business? I’ve held full-time jobs and freelanced on the side for many years. Finally, I said “I need to give working f

  You may already have read our checklist for making sure your business is ready for customers. Now we’re focusing on ensuring you get the most out of your very first clients. Here are 4 ways you can kick-start your business just by making your customers happy.   Stop, talk and listen If customers are always right, let them be your most trusted advisors. Find out what drew them to your product or service—enquire about what made them choose your brand over the competition. What do they like about your offering, and what could you do to make it even better? Your first customer “survey” may only garner a data point of one, but it’s an important building block for your future growth strategy.     Aim to surprise and delight Your first customer deserves to be celebrated. Make them feel special by offering an on-the-spot discount or giving a voucher for a future purchase. If your customer is happy, they’re more likely to tell other

Hello All... I need a little guidance? Advice? Real time experiences? I am a small, yet growing, freight brokerage office started in 10/17. I have a constant need to know how we are doing? Are we growing? When can I give myself a raise? I am a report/numbers kind of guy, just cant see it and think it has to be in QB somewhere. I have 3 employees paid as such and 2 partners total (members of the LLC) which are being paid as "member draws" right now. Is there a report where I can see all of this? Can I customize existing P&L maybe, to show all of this? I have a solid handle on monthly expenses and revenue fluctuates a little. I am also looking for a way to gauge how the month is going "real time"? **NOTE** 2019 may be easier as we will change to Chapter S election and will pay everyone as employees. Thoughts? Ideas? Am I looking for too much? TIA  

The next time you feel inspired to do something nice for someone, consider directing that impulse toward your employees - it will make them better workers, according to a recent study.    Employees at a Spanish company were randomly assigned the roles of Giver, Receiver, or Control. Givers were provided with a personalized list of Receivers and a mission: practice five random acts of kindness over the next month.    The benefits were striking. In the short-term both Givers and Receivers actually became more effective at their jobs, rating higher on weekly measures of competence and autonomy. Over the long-term Givers said they felt more satisfied with their lives and jobs, and Receivers reported feeling happier overall. Even better? Receivers were nearly three times more likely to "pay it forward" by performing acts of kindness toward others both at work and at home.    I've written about this before, but given the sheer amount time and en

    Name: Nick Leffler Business: Exprance Founded: 2014     Nick Leffler is no stranger to the side-gig. Whether he was in school studying web design or employed full-time at companies offering Internet communications and digital marketing services, for years Nick dug deeper into those fields by working for himself, too.   In 2014, Nick decided he was ready to focus on helping small businesses reach new customers in the digital age. Today, Nick is dedicated to building his own dream, not someone else’s. Here, the self-declared “online presence coordinator” and founder of Exprance explains why he recommends giving away priceless information for free and why, when it comes to some clients, sometimes it pays to just say no.   Nick, tell us about your business and how it came to be.   I’ve always worked in the field of Internet technology in some way, whether it was web design, online marketing or digital communications. There are plenty of companies of

  You know that working for yourself means doing whatever it takes for your business. And given the non-stop, all-in nature of the job, the idea of one day selling what you’ve worked so hard to build may seem strange.   Yet seasoned entrepreneur and business coach Julie Gordon White wants you to carefully and deliberately plan for a future sale, starting right now. She firmly believes every business owner should have a solid business strategy from the beginning with a specific end-goal in mind: to one day sell your company for over a million.    Why think big from day one?  Julie uses a simple analogy to put her “think ahead” strategy into perspective. “If you’ve ever sold a house, you know it always looks the best right before you sell. You paint, buy new soft furnishings, maybe even redo the kitchen. Then it looks so good you think, ‘Why didn’t I do this years ago? Now I don’t want to sell!’ If you make your business as great as it can be from the very begin

  You’ve heard the saying, ‘If you build it, they will come’. And it’s true—the time and effort you spend getting your business ready for its launch is critical to building a following of happy, loyal customers. So here are five tips to remember when building your business to make sure it’s ready to be a success.    Get your pricing right When it comes to charging what you (and your products and services) are worth, a little research goes a long way. These days, conducting a thorough competitive analysis is pretty simple. A quick search on Amazon and Google can show you how your prices compare with your competitors. Then, you have to think about the type of customers you want to market to and what they’d be willing to pay. Which leads us to the next tip.   Know your customers Who is your ideal customer? It pays to think beyond the obvious here. For example, if you sell handmade scented candles, you’re helping a multi-tasking mum instantly mask the odour of pe

  We work for ourselves.   That can feel like we're the only ones thinking about the health and success of our business.   So, what's on your mind right now? Comment below!

    Maybe you’ve already read our checklist for getting ready for customers. But now you’re looking for ideas on how to really get your customer base growing. Here are 4 tried-and-tested ways the QB Community has grown their businesses.    Give something away free If you sell products, giveaways let you reward existing customers and motivate potential buyers. Just remember that whatever you’re giving away free should always be a part of your margins—you don’t want it eating into your operational costs. You might want to offer a gift with a minimum purchase or provide free delivery. And our QB Community members tell us that stamp cards are a great marketing tool— they reward your customers for their loyalty, while also keeping them coming back for more.   If you’re selling services, you’ll want to establish yourself as an industry expert. Here’s what a few of our QB Community members had to say:   “Identify relevant topics and blog about them. Blogs are

I have been using QB for years but my wife and I are just about to start up a small, local bookkeeping service using QB online.   Does anyone know of a good standard Privacy Statement which will cover both our website and future business dealings with clients?  Thanks.

  What do popsicles, lipstick, sustainably raised meat and a run-down flower truck have in common? 2 things. First, they’re all products featured in crowdfunding campaigns launched by enterprising entrepreneurs. Second—and most notably—these are just some of the campaigns that have received a critical funding boost thanks to the Backed by QuickBooks initiative.   Team QuickBooks selects standout ideas from small business owners and helps them reach their crowdfunding goals with a surprise infusion of cash. The campaigns selected so far all demonstrate the 6 hallmarks of a successful crowdfunding effort.   Tip 1: Tell a compelling “problem” story. Every great business story starts with a problem—and your company has the solution. Hannah England of Wash. It. Later. pitches her liquid-tight hypoallergenic bags as the answer to the problem every parent dreads: the poo emergency on the go. Yeah, there’s a fix for that.   Tip 2: Be your best brand ambassador. Camille Bel

  Crowdfunding involves taking your idea or product to the masses and asking them to help fund its creation in exchange for a reward. That could be as simple as a free box of cupcakes from a fledgeling bakery or as enticing as an equity stake in your growing company.   Sounds simple enough. But if you’re unsure whether launching a crowdfunding campaign is right for your business, here are 5 reasons you may be glad you did.     Tap into and grow your customer base. The majority of crowdfunding donations will likely come from your existing network and connections (and your connections’ connections). Getting people excited about your new venture even before it’s fully up and running helps proactively build a strong network of support.    Get market feedback fast. Are your eco-friendly, recycled socks priced too high? Do people really want a Bluetooth-enabled dog leash? Is there really a market for a raincoat that doubles as a bathing suit (okay, no