And one flies the nest!

One of our family has taken a year-long sabbatical to follow her dreams. Becky, who has been working tirelessly at our company for the last few years, has flown the nest in Southampton to volunteer across the country.

Outside of work, her passion has always been dance. For the last 20 years, she’s done it all; from ballet to tap, to her newest style, street, but her love for the sport has never faded. Link that with her love for helping the younger generation and she’s in her element.

Helping out with Romsey Baptist Church for the last four years and teaching in various youth groups has given her the boost to venture away from home for the first time, take part in the Youth For Christ (YFC) gap year and gain a qualification in youth work.

Her role in YFC combines performing and teaching dance classes, and talking to young people who may be new to the gospel. Despite being based in Birmingham for the year, she will be travelling the length and breadth of the country, teaching and getting people involved in Christianity and the YFC values.

For Becky, this is her biggest step to date; leaving home for the first time and throwing herself into a completely new surrounding, but it’s a challenge she is more than capable of achieving.

Throughout the last year, she has been fundraising to help pay for the costs of the trip. However, as the scheme is non-profiting, the majority of money has been raised through generous donations from friends, family and businesses.

The cost for the year is £3000, which will pay for her accommodation, food, costumes and other travel expenses, but any other donations would be greatly appreciated and is all going to a brilliant cause for the children. If you would like to help out or donate some money, please reply to this blog and I will pass on the appropriate details.

As much as we miss her in the office, we hope she thoroughly enjoys her ‘year of a lifetime’ and will always be rooting for her success. Hopefully, we’ll also be able to get regular updates of her progress across the country. Good luck Becky!!

 

More details about YFC and the work they do is on their website:

http://www.yfc.co.uk/

Company profile is key

Whilst you may have the most successful idea for your company, if you don’t promote your business, no-one will know about it. It’s just like breakfast: it’s no good making toast if you have no butter in the fridge!

There are so many ways to expand your business and its profile in the wider community (some seem so simple, yet some forget to exploit them.) Most, if not all, are invaluable, but more importantly, completely free, ensuring your company can gain the recognition it deserves without breaking the bank.

Of course, it’s slightly easier with a larger team behind you, but even one-man corporations can succeed by raising the profile. It all depends on what kind of audience you are hoping to attract relative to the field you work in, but these are some handy, bite size ideas that can easily improve your credibility and make you stand out in the local community.

For starters, the most obvious option is immersing yourself in the world of social media. Now, as dangerous as it sounds, I promise it does wonders for the soul… and the business! By creating pages for your company on websites such as Facebook and Twitter, prospective clients can be introduced to you and your product in a friendly way without any pressure.

Putting your business onto social media sites is a little bit like online dating; it’s going to be daunting and there are going to be some people who aren’t interested, but you’ll end up certainly reaping the rewards!

Paying for your company’s advertising has to be a consideration; this could be anything from promoting yourselves on Facebook (which as we found out, can be very dear to the piggy bank…) to getting an ad in the yellow pages. Whilst it may seem fruitless, everything from contractors to fashion designers are shown in their best light, and a fool proof way of attracting clients.

Even something as simple as getting someone in the company to write an article about an achievement or milestone that you have accomplished – like the business reaching its 50^th year – can work wonders. Sending it to local newspapers means that any person in the surrounding area can read about it and remember the company (and its history!)

Associating your business with local charities also shows that there is compassion and a willingness to get involved. It could be as simple as promoting their fundraising events on social media sites, to the extremes of members of the company running a marathon for cancer research. It depends on how much you want to throw yourself into it!

But the most important rule to all of these expanding options is to make it personal to your clients and the demographic you want for your company. There’s no point in trying to appeal to a group of teenagers if you’re selling home insurance. It would be like teaching a cat to be obedient – it’s just not worth the time or energy!

Your profile defines how your company is perceived in society and how it progresses. Don’t forget how much it can influence the business… And its bank balance!

 

So, Social media’s booming more than ever

Social media has completely driven businesses and news corporations in the last five years, to the extent that everything you could possibly need is literally at the touch of a button. However, some people don’t yet know how to use social media to their own advantage.

Our accounting company is finally branching out into the realms of the internet and our business is thriving. Over the last two months, we’ve immersed ourselves in Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as creating a mobile application which our clients can download.

Of course, it’s been a massive undertaking, and has driven some of us slightly insane, but we’re reaping the rewards of all the hard work now; it does prove that it can be done and is certainly beneficial to all companies – large or small.

The point of social media is to get the product out to the world (or at least the local area!) Customers won’t know what you’re selling if you are not putting it on show in the first place – without a doubt, these sites are the best and cheapest form of advertising you will ever use.

If your age demographic is the younger generation, then social sites are absolutely essential for your brand – in January 2014, a study showed that 98% of 18-24 year olds were on some form of social website. You can increase your customers hugely by just posting a few pictures every month.

But it’s not just teenagers on these sites. Since 2011, the biggest growth in Twitter is people in their 50s and 60s joining the site, with a 57% increase in just three years.

Surely this shows how promoting your business has dramatically changed in the last decade? People have had to learn and adapt to technology… and now it’s beginning to take over.

In total, there are 1.2 billion people on Facebook, helping social media overtake porn as the number one activity to do on the web. But it’s not just how often you post on these sites, it’s about how you can utilise and maximise them. And that depends on who you get to update the pages.

Yes, you could get the person in the office who knows the most about the company and the latest product, but all the technical jargon would just scare away most of the clients. Surely that just defeats the object…

Possibly the best option would be to get someone in who has no clue about all the technical wording and use someone who is good with words, giving customers the simple and important information. That’s exactly what our company has done.

I’ll be completely honest, I know nothing about accounting, tax, or how to even hold onto my own money, but I’m a journalism student who can break down the confusing paragraphs of reports and newsletters, and give our clients the basic jist of what is going to affect them in the near future.

Wouldn’t something like that be beneficial to your business?

Accounting doesn’t have to be confusing!

So, this blog is a chance to show that anyone can understand the basics of accounting without actually knowing the jargon, and how to improve and expand your businesses. All of this is new to our company, but we’re hoping to do the same and help others with important tips from finances to fashion tips in the office!

It’s not always going to be a serious blog, where’s the fun in that? This is supposed to be a light-hearted way of getting people to gain a couple of business ideas whilst having a cup of tea and a  little giggle to themselves.

When we say you don’t have to know anything about how to look after your money, we mean it – the person writing these blog posts for us is a university student studying Sports Journalism! Her job is to break down the complicated stuff (that only accountants would understand) and give you the important basics.

Hopefully you will pass on a few of the tips in the future, and feel free to comment and add on any of your own – give our uni student a bit of a test!