Getting good SME business start-up advice

A survey that was carried out by AVIVA earlier this year has revealed that many small and medium-sized employers fail to seek expert advice when starting up their businesses, with 85%of employers not understanding their legal obligations.

It was also revealed in the same SME start-up survey that

• 40% of business owners said they relied on advice from friends and family when starting up
• 13% used financial advisors
• Only 9% of business owners had consulted legal advisers

The research also suggested that 75% of the respondents knew very little about sales, marketing and bookkeeping, with over 30% finding financial administration the biggest challenge in the first 12 to 18 months of starting up.

Over a third of employers also didn’t think they were affected by auto-enrolment.

Getting good SME business start-up advice

At Omni Chartered Accountants, Wolverhampton, we are dedicated to helping new start businesses and pride ourselves in our personable and honest approach. Our fees are highly competitive and we are always there to offer advice and guidance to our valued clients.

Why not request a free or charge call-back from our website today or call 01902 837 408 – alternatively click here to make an online enquiry and we will come straight back to you!

Top 5 tips for productive business meetings

Business meetings are a great way to put a face to a voice or name, and to build relationships with suppliers and clients.

But are your business meetings productive? Poor planning or meetings for meetings’ sake could all be a waste of your valuable time and end up being counter-productive in the worst-case scenario.

Here are our top 5 tips for productive business meetings:

1. Be prepared for your meeting

Always have an agenda outlined and have copies for any attendees to hand – it also helps to email them over to anyone who is coming to the meeting beforehand in case they would like to add something, or if there is something you have missed or would like to research prior to the meeting date.

2. Be certain about your objectives

Do you want to solve problems, build a relationship, sign off a deal or project, sell a company service or network?

3. Time costs money

Once you have identified your meeting objective clearly, you can set about allocating a time slot. Time is money, so have a think about how long your meeting should last and try and stick to it if you can – we all know that meetings can often over-run unnecessarily!

4. Get involved

Be aware of your involvement and contribute and lead wherever possible – at the same time, try and give attendees the chance to participate!

5. Be a host

Of course, it goes without saying that tea, coffee or soft drinks should be offered but remember that small snacks are also usually very welcome; even small acts of kindness like offering biscuits usually help forge relationships.

We speak to many small business owners who don’t value their time nearly enough – an afternoon or day away from the office can be costly and often also involve plenty of stressful catching up!

If the meeting is unproductive, this can only lead to frustration.

Follow us on Twitter @OmnitasTax to keep up to date with our latest blogs specially written with the UK SME in mind – and remember, we are always here to help advice and guide with business matters as well as offering cost-effective, professional accountancy solutions!

You can request a free of charge call-back from our website or call 01902 837 408 today!

Are you addicted to the busy drug?

We see many clients during a working week and we understand what commitments mean to anyone who is running a business. As such, we are very happy to accommodate working around our clients’ individual business needs.

What we also see is a whole variety of “I’m really busy” scenarios.

When you are your own boss, on occasions it is well worth reminding yourself of certain things. One pivotal and critical element is your own time - you as a resource. Are you being productive? Are you focusing on the correct and most efficient parts of your business?

Are you addicted to the busy drug?

It appears that many of us can, at times, become addicted to the ‘being busy drug’. But let's be really clear.

Being busy doesn't necessarily mean that you are being:

1. Effective

2. A success

3. Important

Being busy could actually mean that:

1. You have poor organisational skills and fail to delegate

2. You are a people pleaser who cannot say no

3. You are suffering from a lack of clarity regarding your actual purpose

So please, never ever confuse being busy with being effective. Instead, spend a little more time trying to stop and understand what you're aiming to achieve, before you move on to take action.

At Omni Chartered Accountants, we are not just here to ensure we assist with your accountancy needs; we also care about your success and want to see your business flourish.

So as well as taking our Accountancy Price Challenge, to see how we could save you money with your accountancy bills, why not give us a call today on 01902 837 408 for some free of charge business advice?