Archives / 248 post/s found
What’s all the fuss about Elevator Speeches?
I got into a lift the other day, heading for a meeting on the 16th floor. On the 2nd, a man got in. As the floors flashed by he politely asked what business I was in. "I'm an accountant," I replied. "Nice," said the man. He got out on the 15th without saying another word. My first reaction was this poor chap must have had a lousy experience with other accountants in the past. Then I got to thinking. What did I expect him to say? "That's fascinating. Tell me more."... I don't think so. That one word, "accountant" was [...]
Helping your business climb mountains
Search parties have abandoned their efforts to find four mountaineers who disappeared in Nepal two weeks ago. The team, all experienced climbers, flew out from the UK in August for "the adventure of a lifetime". They left their camp in the foothills of the Himalayas on the morning of September 3rd and have not been seen since. Deteriorating weather conditions and sub zero temperatures have finally forced local rescue teams to abandon their efforts to find them. "We have absolutely no idea where they could be," said one local guide. "They just set off without knowing where they were going [...]
Setting Selling Prices
or.... How long is a piece of string? I got to thinking the other day about that piece of string. You know, the one everyone's heard of but nobody seems to know how long it is. I wondered what it was about that piece of string which set it apart. Because every piece of string I've ever seen has a quite definite length. It might stretch a bit here and there, it's easily tangled – but give or take a few millimetres, it doesn't take rocket science to determine its length. Just hold that strand of thought while I segue [...]
Please, Sir! I want some more.
Here's a question for you. What does your accountant really contribute to your business? I don't just mean all that pen-pushing and form-filling to keep the taxman and Companies House happy. That should be just the beginning; but so often it's the beginning and the end of the service that so many companies receive from their accountants. The sad truth is that too many small businesses accept this; not because they are satisfied with a second-rate service, but because they are unaware of what accountants can and should do for their clients. It's not actually rocket science. As accountants, we [...]
Looking forward to Rio
The extraordinary performance of the Brownlee brothers in the Olympic triathlon got me thinking. It wasn't their seemingly endless stamina or the fact that Alistair, after swimming 1500 meters and cycling 43 km, ran the 10km phase faster than the last man across the line in the 10k track final. It wasn't their total commitment to the sport either, their youth or their infectious good humour. It was the fact that they were already looking forward four years to the next Olympics in Rio and talking about their preparations. As businessmen, we can learn so many lessons from our great [...]
Going for Gold with TLA
As 17,000 athletes finally get to deliver their ultimate performances at the London Olympics, it occurred to me that there is a business parallel here. Like any business, athletes have to compete to succeed. But how many do you know, who would even consider competing without training and without a plan? It is perfectly possible, of course, to go for a run because you enjoy it and without the slightest intention of competing. But isn't that called jogging? So, here's a question you can ask yourself. "Is my business competing? Am I going for gold? Or am I just jogging [...]
Tax Planning
I don't expect Jimmy Carr saw the funny side when Prime Minister David Cameron denounced as immoral his use of a tax avoidance scheme that reportedly cut his tax bill to just 1%. He wasn't breaking the law and his use of the "K2" scheme had been fully disclosed to HMRC. But the tide of moral indignation swamped the cheeky chappy and forced him to admit a "terrible error of judgement." The scheme had been recommended by his financial advisor and that got me thinking about our role in advising clients on the best ways to manage their tax affairs. [...]
…and what not to do if your bank says “No!”
If your bank is still not saying "Yes", don't reach for the stocking mask and swag bag because it's now been statistically proven that bank robbery doesn't pay as well as you might think. Three leading economists from the Universities of Sussex and Surrey have shown that the average return on a bank heist in the UK is £12,706.60 per person per raid. To achieve a near-average income, you would have to rob two banks a year. But every additional robbery increases your chance of getting caught by a probability of 0.8. After four raids the odds are that you [...]
How to get your bank to say YES!
How much does it cost to get a bank to say "YES!" Sir Mervyn King's £140 billion scheme announced last week to lubricate the banking system and encourage a flow of funds to SMEs and prospective home buyers may not have resulted in an overnight about-turn on the part of the bankers, but there is no doubt now that the balance of probability has shifted in favour of businesses who are prepared to invest. Along with the Treasury, Sir Mervyn's plan involves two tranches of support for the banking system: £5 billion a month in cheap six-month loans to banks [...]
The rebranding blues
The rebranding blues It seems I have started something big. At the end of April I wrote to my clients with exciting news about our practice. I was giving up the old blue livery for the brand new claret and grey of TLA Business Services. I wasn't doing it to start a trend. I just wanted to expand the services we provide and make better use of our skills in business planning and metrics. And I wanted my new business to reflect that change. I really didn't have anything in particular against the colour blue. And I certainly didn't expect [...]