Blog - Financial Gym for Business

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/56/working_from_home

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

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Work from Home – Is it All It’s Cracked Up to Be?

May 20, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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Today I am going to give some things you need to think about if you are planning to work from home. The good points, the not so good points and how it can affect you financially, and what could trip you up.

You will also hear

The pros and cons of being a home worker
Why your family can be your biggest saboteurs
How being mean to my husband helped my productivity
Why you may actually miss having a boss
Ways you save money by being at home
How your productivity is affected compared to going out to work
My take on the lack of understanding from your friends and family about entrepreneurship
Tips for not getting into trouble with the authorities

Disclaimer

[spp-tweet tweet=” Don’t use energy trying to change opinions. Use your energy to take yourself seriously “]

Shine the Light

This the part of the show where I shine the light on great people and resources that you may find inspirational or helpful

With all that I have talked about today, one of the greatest barriers to being a happy and productive home worker is the simple (or so you would think) task of getting up and getting going.

Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and the 5am Miracle by Jeff Sanders

Both have podcasts and of course websites with loads of and advice on the benefits, tips and tricks to get you up and productive in the mornings. And if you spend much of your time on Facebook, they both have Facebook groups you can join, with lots of people in the same boat, asking for and giving help.

There are links to both below.

Show Links & Resources

Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

5am Miracle by Jeff Sanders

For guidance on whether you may have crossed the line from home office to business premises, visit

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

Risk Averse-Grow your Money Rules for Cautious Business People

May 13, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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Entrepreneurship is going to have ups and downs, there is no way to avoid that. The following 5 rules will make your financial life more predictable and set you up to have a greater chance of reaching your financial goals. They apply to both your work and your private life.

You will also hear

What separates a financially stressed business owner from one that embraces life with confidence and hope
What could be worse than losing your business
Why owners of seven and eight figure businesses may still not have financial peace of mind
How honest, hardworking people are getting involved in fast money making schemes every day despite the risks, and why they are tempting.
Why having debt should not stop you from doing things you want.
The difference between Guarantees and Guaranteed and why one is a con
A simple tip for affording the big purchases

Disclaimer

[spp-tweet tweet=” Don’t wait until you are debt free to save-here’s why “]

Shine the Light

This is part of the show where I shine the light on great people and resources that you may find inspirational or helpful.

Today it is:

Get Rich Slowly It is actually a blog where people contribute the tips on what works financially. It was one of the first sites dedicated to personal finance that I kept up with. At that time the founder JD Roth was still the resident expert, but it was great for seeing how other people managed their money. Particularly when I was going through a rough patch, I was hungry for information.

It is a US site, so the products advertised won’t necessarily relate to you in the UK. But hey, you are not there to spend anyway, are you?

Show Links & Resources

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki

Get Rich Slowly former founder JD Roth

Subscribe to Podcast by Email

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201991

VAT Debt Help Story – Sorting out a Couple in Financial Crisis

May 6, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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What happens when you are late registering for VAT, you have no accounts, not enough money, your accountant is not interested and you are worn out from running your business around the clock?

Today I am going to share with you a story about a couple in crises, financial crisis that is. If you have ever been in the situation where you have been ticking along in your business for a while and trading for some time. You know you need to get your VAT Registration, your payroll taxes, in fact your accounts in general sorted. In fact anything that will bring you into contact with The Revenue.

For whatever reason you just haven’t managed to get around to doing it yet and you are worried that the situation will come back to bite you on the “you know what”.

This is what happened to the man and woman I going to tell you about today. Their story illustrates what could happen if you don’t get on top of this.

I will tell you the situation and then I will give you my take on what they can do to put things right.

You will also hear

How your tax return for self-employment can trigger other tax departments and land you and your business in hot water for non-compliance
Why you should choose to be a limited company if you will struggle to keep on top of your accounts.
The importance of insisting on meeting with your accountant more than once a year
Minimum requirements for hiring an accountant
Why buying accounting software is not a problem solver for poor accounts and money management
Where to go to for more help and advice

Disclaimer

[spp-tweet tweet=” Accounting software is not a destination it is merely a form of transport “]

Shine the Light

This is part of the show where I shine the light on great people and resources that you may find inspirational or helpful.

Today I want to highlight the fact that rather than a source to avoid, the Tax Office can be a source of valuable info and calling them up for general advice is not as daunting as it appears.

They are a much friendlier organisation than they once were, even if I believe they are less organised.

The links to some useful contacts points are below.

Show Links & Resources

Dealing with Tax Arrears pdf Giveaway

VAT General Enquiries – Call 0300 200 3700

Tax Office

VAT General Enquiry Online Form

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

Confronting Your Financial Truth – Lessons from the 12 Week Year

April 28, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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Do you fail at sticking to your financial goals year after year? Or just sticking to your goals in general? I know how that feels.

“The reason sports is so stimulating is because we keep score” from The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran & Michael Lennington.

Usain Bolt did not just concentrate on breaking world records. He recorded what he did along the way. He kept score.

Today I am going to share with you some lessons that I learned from one of my favourite books of last year. I heard many entrepreneurs raving about how good it was so I invested in the Kindle and the audio. I have read it once and listened to it twice.

It is primarily a book about productivity, but it gave some fundamental principles that relate to how you approach your money that I had to share with you. This is my interpretation from the point of view of a business person.

You will also hear

Far from being demoralising, tracking money can be motivating if done right
Why if you want to know how close to your financial goals you are, you must track cash
Why you need to take the emotion out of managing finances as much as you can
The areas of tracking that I am poor at and had to work to improve
Lead Indicators and Lag Indicators, what they are and why you need them
How fixating on an overall business or financial goal can keep you stuck
Why you can fail even with a great plan

Disclaimer

[spp-tweet tweet=” Focussing only on an overall goal means you miss your incremental improvements “]

Shine the Light

This is part of the show where I shine the light on great people and resources that you may find inspirational or helpful.

You will not be surprised to know that today I recommend the The 12 Week Year Book. You can buy as a paperback, Kindle or audiobook.

It has had a great influence on how I approached my goals and that of my coaching & consulting clients over the last year or so.

There is also an official 12 Week Year website where you can buy training and coaching if you want to take things further. But not to do Brian Moran out of money, the book can take a long way on its own.

Show Links & Resources

The 12 Week Year Book

12 Week Year website

www.armcreditcontrol.co.uk

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

Achieving Maximum Sales with Minimum Risk w/ Rita Adams

April 22, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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Credit Control is the antidote to Late Payment and problem customers. Are you fed up of people not paying you on time? Late payment is still a big obstacle to the survival of small businesses. Did the story about Tesco knowingly delaying payments to suppliers make your blood boil? Then today’s episode is for you.

Today I am lucky enough to have Rita Adams of ARM Credit Control as a guest on the show.

This lady travelled from her native Austria to make a mark as a business owner in the UK and she recounts how speaking German gave her an introduction into the world of finance, by accident.

She has set up credit control systems for international organisations but now concentrates on helping small to medium sized independent companies get better at collecting the money from their customers and keeping the cash coming in.

You will also hear

How she started her business from a spare bedroom with one client.
Why it is her focus on good customer relations that set her service apart from the competition.
The criticism she got for her softer method of dealing with customers
How simple flowcharts and tips sheets changed the game for lots of her clients
How she competes with the larger established players in the financial industry, when it would be easy to be intimidated
Why customers with bad experiences make great clients
Tips for getting the money in from difficult customers
Why focussing too much on selling is one of the biggest mistakes business owners make
The key question she asked a clients’ customers that recovered all their outstanding money
Why profit and cash flow is actually not the most important aspect of managing business finances, and what is.
Her launch of an online product for end users called “Payment Please” in the summer.

Disclaimer

[spp-tweet tweet=” Credit Control doesn’t begin when an invoice is late. It begins when you make a sale “]

Guest Links

Rita Adams on LinkedIn

Show Links & Resources

How to avoid problem customers – video & blog post

Getting Your Customers to Pay You Quicker – video & blog post

The Prosperity Place Podcast by Joan Sotkin

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

Six Figure Business: But I am Broke (I live paycheque to paycheck)

April 14, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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“If I am making more sales how come I earn less?”

People who have become successful usually experience this, and the fortunate ones made it out alive and well. But there are many of you who are in the early stages of your business journey who are blissfully unaware and are shocked at what you find when you have arrived.

You will also hear:

How to recognise the life stages of your business
Why nurturing a business is like bring up an unruly child
Why growing can be the nail in the coffin
Five areas of your business to look at to decipher what is holding your back
Recognising that transition is scary and may not be what you really want
How money shame was stopping a client from enjoying her success

Disclaimer

[spp-tweet tweet=” Running a business is like trying to raise a stroppy teenager “]

Shine the Light

This is part of the show where I shine the light on great people and resources that you may find inspirational or helpful.

Today I have chosen:

Joan Sotkin has a site and a podcast also dealing with money. But she approaches it from what she terms a holistic point of view. While my approach is quite practical, while respecting our emotions. Joan goes quite deep into the cause and effects of dealing with our underlying emotions and habits. How they can derail our businesses and screw up our finances. She has many tips on how to begin to reverse the negative experiences associated with money.

Show Links & Resources

The Prosperity Place Podcast by Joan Sotkin

Is it Time to Fire Your Accountant?

5 Ways Independent Letting Agents can Compete Financially with Online Agents

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

Grow Your Estate & Lettings Agency: 8 Characteristics that Differentiate the Successful Ones from the Rest

April 8, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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“By 2003, every fool was getting into real estate. The checkout girl at my local supermarket handed me her newly printed real estate agent business card”

~Robert Kiyosaki

Ooh! a little harsh Robert.

I mean that is what the world was telling everyone to do back then. Become a property expert in some capacity.

Less than five years later recession came along and temporarily ripped the bottom out of the property market. Plus we experienced a shift from relying on bricks and mortar as a way to run a business and witnessed new opportunities in technology.

Needless to say, the landscape is very different now.

I love working with agents. They are a wonderful mix of the old and the new in business. And because of they sell or manage high ticket items, they tend to have little fear of big numbers. When you quote in six figures all day, a bill for £500 is not scary. Though, that is irrelevant if the money in your bank account struggles to cover the agency’s bills.

The following characteristics are not present in all agents or agencies, but ones that are thriving seem to have most of them.

Characteristic 1: The owner does not get stuck in the day to day details or tasks that do not make money. They do know what is going on, but they concentrate on spending time on things to grow the agency.

A controversial one is viewings. Being in the presence of a potential buyer or tenant is of course growing the business. It is an opportunity to progress the buying process. But the deal is unlikely to be closed there and then. There is a vendor to deal with. If you are a larger agency then you will have members of your team who would go instead of you anyway, but if you are smaller, then you are the one who is usually jumping in the car.

There are services now that will conduct viewings for agents, just like there are suppliers who conduct inventory checks.

I have agents that take this even further and outside the running of the lettings to another broker that specialises in providing this service for agents. The property sales are still run in house.

Characteristic 2: They hire the best talent they can afford or who have good track records. That includes internal staff, outsourced providers and contractors. And if they do hire newbies, they are prepared to invest the time and money to ensure the person receives good training and industry qualifications when necessary.

Characteristic 3: They invest in technology, not just for marketing, but to help them and their team to run the business better. Estate and letting agents are one of the better served industries for finding dedicated software. There are too many stages and variables to rely on paper-based systems or spreadsheets.

Old School!!

Characteristic 4: They have internal systems and procedures that run like almost like clockwork. This makes them very easy to do business with and to work for because you know what happens next in a given scenario.

Characteristic 5: They build up cash reserves and have a minimum running balance in the trading bank account to cover during down times. If they are marketing well and getting a good stream of leads then this does not pose such a problem. But the time span between getting a new instruction, then closing the deal, then getting the money in can be a long one. All that time they are paying out money for advertising, getting properties ready and of course their own business expenses.

Characteristic 6: They are very interested in the finances. They are willing to learn what their financial reports mean, but they are not responsible for tracking the numbers, or bookkeeping. As part of Firmer Figures for Estate & Letting Agents; owners are encouraged to be leaders. Being an accounting expert is not necessary. They merely take information, analyse it and make decisions about what they need to focus on next.

Characteristic 7: For agents that are primarily bricks and mortar or on the high street; they still explore online ways of marketing. They do not completely rely on just listing properties on places like Rightmove and Zoopla. They realise that we live in a communication and connection economy more than ever before. It is increasingly necessary to give people options to communicate with you that suit them.

LeadPages is a popular product designed for online marketing. This image is taken from their blog. Here agent Alex Larson offers buyers a free guide. The prospective buyer gets some tips and Alex gets an opportunity to keep in touch with them via email. If what he sends them is useful, then hopefully when they are ready to buy, they will go to him.

Characteristic 8: Their companies have a human face. The selling experience is a pleasure for their customers. This is easier to do once you have a potential seller, buyer, landlord or tenant in front of you, but what impression do you give before that.

Does this sound familiar? A potential buyer has just been looking at properties on a website. Let’s say Zoopla for example. They contact an agent, have an initial conversation and the agent sends them back to the internet to look at properties. Probably the same ones they were looking at before they called.

How frustrating!

What do you do to move people on from that loop? Even if they do not commit to anything, how do they feel when they have finished speaking with you or one of your team? And it is not just the initial contact with you. How are people treated at each stage of the buying and letting process? The successful agencies do this very well and make it a priority.

“To be successful in real estate, you must always and consistently put your clients’ best interests first. When you do, your personal needs will be realised beyond your greatest expectations”

Anthony Hitt – Successful Realtor

As a busy agent it may be too much to personally answer every call or enquiry. Happily we have technology to make that easy, but the downside is you can the personal touch.

Look at this example of a realtor who uses an automatic response to show the enquirer they are important.

Running an estate agency has never been a business for the faint hearted. But it is one where you know that if you succeed, you are indeed a kick butt entrepreneur.

Don’t let anything stop you.

You are not the checkout girl giving Robert Kiyosaki a business card.

You my friend, are the real thing.

Links & Resources

LeadPages

Unbounce

Optimisepress

Get the Book: Firmer Figures – Fess Up or Mess Up

Overwhelmed? How to Bounce Back from Business Burnout

April 1, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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Welcome to the new season of the show

If you have ever felt beaten down by the sheer amount of things you have to get done? Do you feel down and disappointed by what you see as your failure to cope with running your business and your life?

You may even feel as if you are having a nervous breakdown from all the anxiety.

Yes?!

Then today’s show is especially for you.

You will also hear

How to pause for mental air space
A simple step by step process for getting back on track, mentally, physically and emotionally
Tips to minimise your chances of feeling weighed down by responsibility and stress in the future

[spp-tweet tweet=” Have a VIP day for one, it can change your life “]

Shine the Light

This is part of the show where I shine the light on great people and resources that you may find inspirational or helpful.

Otherwise known as Joe Wicks, he is the creator the 90 Day #Leanin15 Fat Loss programme

Today I am going to go do follow the crowd. But when something is good, it’s good.

I recently started following ridiculously popular THEBODYCOACH on Instagram.

But that is not why I got interested. He caught my attention because of a green smoothie. It is called the Go Go Green Smoothie.

The ingredients are a roll call for boosting energy and immunity.

Show Links & Resources

Frasier

#Leanin15 Joe Wicks THEBODYCOACH Go Go Green Smoothie

financialgymforbusiness.com/BookATime

Mothers are the Agents of Change video

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

At Last! FreeAgent Mobile is on Android

January 23, 2016 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

I can only imagine the furious activity behind the scenes at FreeAgent HQ. In a matter of months they have gone from a mobile “app” that actually took you to the website in your mobile browser to providing us with the iOS version.

Which I remember arrived on my birthday in April. Not sure why that is important but somehow it is to me.

At the time, they promised the Android was coming and true to their word, here it is.

At the time of this update, you can perform four main tasks:

Check your bank balance and update the transactions. Explain them, to use the FreeAgent terminology
Upload receipts and record expenses on the fly
View your customers and suppliers
Create invoices and send them

This is just the first version of the app of course. As yet you are not able to add timeslips or approve bank transactions in bulk for example; but the main tasks are there.

There are also things that the iOS users can do that are not yet in Android, but that is not unusual. It is easier to create apps for the Apple ecosystem.

The app is free, but you need to have an active subscription for the desktop version to use it. And without the bank feeds facility enabled, you will miss out on how much easier you life could be by using the app.

It is no secret that I am a FreeAgent fan.

For small businesses and individuals who might otherwise do nothing about their bookkeeping; it closes the gap from manual paperwork and spreadsheets to proper accounts.

With smartphones being such an integral part of our lives the mobile option is a great addition. For freelancers who are on the move, this could speed up the admin and payment side for them immensely. They could invoice the customer before they leave. And if they have signed up for a payment processor like Paypal or GoCardless, they could even get paid before they walk out of the door.

Get a 30-day trial of FreeAgent here.

Get the Apple/iOS version here

Get the Google/Android version here

Just so you know, the trial is my link which gives you 10% discount for life if you continue to use the product.

And if you haven’t checked out the show yet, go listen at the Firmer Figures Show

Vagina Dialogues – From Mother to MD in 16000 Nappy Changes w/ Lis Allen

December 11, 2015 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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This is the last show of the current season. I will return in January with lots great new topics to share with you. With Christmas around the corner I wanted to finish this season concentrating on the family and family life.

My guest last week was the wonderful Elizabeth O’Shea who gave so many great tips on what is like to parent a teenager who is struggling, and how money can highlight this. You can listen to it at financialgymforbusiness.com/20

The show today shines a light on mothers. Are you juggling parenting, marriage (or divorce) and trying to build a business or career? Then you really should sit back and listen to my conversation with today’s guest.

She believes that mothers could be the key to spreading some wisdom and understanding in the world, by example, within the family.

You will also hear

Her pattern of moving onto a new career each time she was about to be promoted
Why it is never too late to finally understand yourself and what you are meant to do in your life and the world.
How she coped with a major midlife crisis at 56 years old
Why she just had to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
How she came up with the name Vagina Dialogues for her business and events
How she manages to get from 14 year old to 80 year old females in the same room, sharing life experiences with each other.
Why older women are often resistant to her approach
And why she is also turning her attention to the needs of men.

[spp-tweet tweet=” It is never too late to start a business. But it can be too soon “]

Guest Links

www.lisallen.com

www.lisallen.com/speaking

Show Links & Resources

Must Have Guides for Parenting Teenagers

http://serialpodcast.org/how-to-listen (This is brilliantly done)

Help My Teenager Steals from Me w/ Celebrity Parenting Expert Elizabeth O’ Shea

December 4, 2015 by Georgette Rowland Osborne

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I find myself having some of the most personal conversations with my clients that ensure that I never forget that while we may talk about business strategy or plans, tactics, processes, staff, financials. Behind it all is you, the person. And that person has relationships, responsibilities, stresses, doubts. Nothing can highlight those as much as money does.

Over the next couple of weeks the Firmer Figures Show is taking a closer look at how business and money affects the family. Particularly our children.

Despite being one of easiest roles to get (for most people), you don’t have to apply for it. Parenting is one of the most difficult to get right, even with the best of intentions.

Deciding to work for yourself is a big enough undertaking if you are free and single. When you have a family to think about, the pressure to make something of what you are doing becomes even greater.

It is a subject I will visit many times in the show because the family is so important.

Today I welcome a lady I had on my list of people to interview from the start of my podcast. She is known as the Happy Childhood Expert. She is a featured expert for BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio and Sky News.

Her company, Parent 4 Success, has helped hundreds and hundreds of parents deal with issues such as anger problems, not sleeping, anxiety, school issues, divorce and more.

Today she is going to give us her insight into a problem that is more common than is realised, children, or in this case, teenagers who steal from their families.

You will also hear

The common causes of this behaviour
Whether teen stealing is really about money and having things?
An example case study
Why calling the police on your child is often a good thing to do
Some tips and steps parents can use to deal with the situation, if they are affected by this.
Where to go to for further information.

Guest Links

www.parent4success.com

Connect with Elizabeth on Twitter @parentforsuccess

[spp-tweet tweet=” If punishment worked, our prisons would be empty – Celebrity parenting expert Elizabeth O’Shea “]

Show Links & Resources