Task Exchange is a great way to outsource startup tasks without the cost

In my startup blog I like to give you great ideas to help you with your startup business. There are so many things to do when you first start up that it can be quite daunting to think about what you have to achieve. You may be an expert in your own filed but as a startup you need to be an expert in all other fields as well-

•          Marketing
•          Finance
•          Customer service
•          Web design
•          Copywriting
•          Etc

But what if there was a way to get all of these services done by other professionals and save money at the same time. Well there is.

TaskExchange allows you to provide your services in return for other that you need to get your startup up and running.

For example if you are a web designer but you need help with the content writing for some of you marketing. You can provide your web design services in exchange for the content writing services you need. This is a great help to a startup business because you will most likely have a lot of time on your hands but very little money to use to buy the services you need. This is the beauty of Task Exchange because it allows you to get the things dome that will enhance your business in the early days without having to put your hand in your pocket. And with a low commission rate of only 5% Task Exchange will give you the opportunity to get your business moving in the right direction.

It is easy to sign up to and it is fee too. The website contains comprehensive Help section so all of your questions are answered. It couldn’t be easier to get your research done and get ready tom start using the website. It is a solution to the problem of outsourcing the essential parts of your business that you just can’t afford. With Task Exchange you will be able to get all of those pending tasks completed by using your own skills to exchange with others. It really is that simple.

I am all for people being able to set up their startup business in a smart and efficient way – that is why I set this blog up. When I find solutions to problems like the elegant solution Task Exchange ha delivered I know that startups all over will want to use their service. Go over to the website today and find out how it can help you.

weecordtv is a great place to get inspired by the best new musical talent

I’ve looked before in my blog about the inspirations that keep us all going as startup entrepreneurs. They often come from outside the world of business and I know from the contact I receive that there are many people that are hugely inspired by the world of entertainment and by the stories of other entrepreneurs. Today I combine both of these areas in my blog. I bring to you www.weecordtv.com where there are music videos from independent artists for you to enjoy and be inspired by.

It isn’t always seen as a form of entrepreneurism but recording and promoting your own music has huge similarities with other areas of startup business. You need to be dedicated to your business, become a master marketer and get the exposure you need to sell your music to the wider world. www.weecordtv.com is an outlet for talented musicians to join a streaming music video channel for independent musicians. It gives independent musicians a place where they can have the same exposure and opportunities as mainstream musicians. The app (coming soon!) are supported by a social media presence-

Twitter www.twitter.com/weecordtv

Facebook www.facebook.com/weecordtv

www.weecordtv.com the app is where you go to enjoy watching what you’re listening to.

The best thing about it is that they are always looking for fresh content from music video to interviews, vlogs, or live content. This means that it becomes a conduit for the best new musical talent to get seen and heard.  This means that the website is a network for musicians to see and be seen. The result is that the best talent is spotted and promoted.

I know that startup owners are great supporters of other startup businesses and I urge you to check out the website and app and find out about the top new musical talent. There is always something to be learnt from looking at other entrepreneurs and how they strive to succeed.

I think that this is a success story waiting to happen and an inspiration for startup entrepreneurs from start to finish. Firstly you can listen to the best new music and hear it before anyone else. Then you can see the parallels between the entrepreneur musician and your own startup business. Finally you can see the entrepreneurial spirit of the website www.weecordtv.com as they look to promote the best new musical talent.

Let Tweepi Help You Get More Twitter Followers

A startup business can be tough, especially in the early days of growing your brand. To get your startup to grow effectively you need brand exposure as soon as possible. In the past this could have been difficult to achieve. Currently the top social networks are a great way to reach out to potential customers and grow your business. But it has to be done the right way. You want quality followers fast. It gets exposure for your brand and products that sells.

One great way to get help in this area is to use Tweepi – the best Twitter marketing tool.

Tweepi is a suite of Twitter tools to help your business get more followers fast and easy, all while spending much less time and effort opposed to conventional ways of using Twitter. This grows your brand into something that generates more business. The more exposure you get on place like Twitter then the more you can divert customers to your website and get them to buy from you. Tweepi should be a part of your marketing toolkit.

The Twitter tools on tweepi multiply your power to get more Twitter followers by:

•         Finding relevant users
•          Engaging targeted followers
•          Getting you noticed
•          Growing your brand

The key to Twitter is to understand what you have to do in order to attract new free followers on Twitter and gain the vital exposure that will breathe life into your startup business. Tweepi is the right Twitter tool to get you in all the right places with your social media marketing.

Tweepi is a super helpful company that can really help you out because they are experts in this field. They use tried and tested techniques that are proven to help. They are here for the long haul and have featured in Social Media Today, Forbes, Yahoo, GIGAOM and Social Times.

As an entrepreneur you should be looking at all areas of your business to gain traction and exposure that you can then convert into customers and sales. The tools that you choose to get you there are of huge importance when it comes to the results. Use tweepi to make sure that you get this part of your startup business done correctly and you will see the benefits.

Onlinefaxes.com can give you a great service at a low price!

At '245 days…' I bring you all the ideas that can transform your startup business. One area that I repeatedly write about us that of making sure your communication is as good as it can be. The ability to communicate with people makes the difference with what you do. If you have a great company founded on a great idea then the next step is to be able to converse with the world in different ways to oil the wheels of business.

There are many ways they the average startup can keep in touch with customers and suppliers. With the advent of social media and the proliferation of email the lines of communication are always open. You need to be able to communicate clearly with your suppliers, your customers and other businesses to be at the top of your game.

One form of communication that has endured even through the world around it has changed is the fax. But now the fax has entered the Internet age.

Welcome to http://www.onlinefaxes.com/

You can fax from your smartphone, your tablet or your computer. This is a service that all of the big companies use. The fax is alive and well and it is one of the ways how business communicates with each other. You want to be able to get in touch and stay in touch with suppliers and other companies that you work alongside. This facility really helps you. You can send up to 500 pages for only $4.99 per month if you pay annually in advance.

When you need a document to contain a signature in a way that email can't reproduce then a fax is the ideal way to get that signed document over to the recipient quickly and securely. Online faxes help you with this.

One of the great advantages of using a fax is that you always get a confirmation of receipt. This is something that you can't always guarantee with email but the fax service sends you a confirmation that the other party has received your communication. This can be vital to business when you need to know that it has arrived. Online faxes can help you with this.

There are times when you need to use a fax but you may not have (or even want to have) a fax machine. Online faxes can be a great help to your business. Never be without the ability to fax again because there are uses that just can’t be replicated by email, and the post is far too slow.

Use DayViewer to make the most of your time every time

Organisation and collaboration in business brings quality by managing time effectively and sharing expertise and best practice. With your startup business you will want to make sure that your team, however large or small, can share their ideas and their experiences whether they are sat next to each other or rarely meet. You will want to make sure that everyone (or just you if you are staring on your own) is organized and ready to operate to their fullest potential. The idea behind this is that you can all get on the same page without necessarily being in the same room and that all resources are properly allocated to the correct tasks.

This can be difficult to achieve when there are so many time pressures on your business and on you the startup owner.

One great way to ensure that your time is planned, your team is organized and everyone is working together to the same ends is DayViewer.

DayViewer is a great productivity tool. It is a system for professionals and teams or offices. It enables organization, planning of resources with time and task management a major feature around an online calendar. It's essentially an online office diary and planner that will promote productivity whether this is for your team or whether you work alone.

By having a grip on the time you and your team spend on certain tasks you get control over your business. You will know what resources are being allocated to certain tasks and how cost-effective that task is to your business. You will be able to see which members of your team are working where and have a thorough knowledge of what you need to achieve today, tomorrow, this week and this month.

You can make sure that everything you do revolves around the online diary management tool that DayViewer offers and this will means that you can work efficiently and manage your team to do so as well. This means better productivity and more time to spend with customers and doing the things you do best. By having complete control of your time you can make more money by making sure that you are spending the right resources in the right areas.

Time management became a buzzword in business some time ago. Effective management will always be a part of successful businesses. Get your startup in touch with DayViewer today.

Get a free social media audit for your startup business

At ‘245 days...” I take a look at all of the aspects of your startup business that you need to get right first time to get you in line for success. There are so many areas of startup business that must be done correctly to make sure that you don’t end up as one of the statistics of failure. Startup businesses are particularly vulnerable to closing down in the first few years. It can happen for a variety of reasons but the major factor in this is cash flow. This comes about because of not enough customers. It is vital as early on in the process as possible for a new business to start recruiting customers. In the past they may have involved expensive marketing campaigns, but in the modern world it involves making use of the free medium of social media.

Unfortunately, because it is free, some people in business seem to think that you can throw whatever you like at it and something will come back. There are millions of users on the social media networks and a high proportion is small business. To be seen takes a strategy.

How do you get your audience to find you? How do you gain a meaningful audience? Where do you turn for help?

Gradient Social Solutions is currently offering free social media audits for your startup business. It means that you can get quality advice from a professional in this field. It can transform the way that your company uses social media and the engagement you have with your audience.

Gradient Social Solutions have been helping clients for years to make the most of their social media presence. They work on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get you an audience that means something to you. They look to engage followers that are likely to buy and endorse your products to get you traffic that converts into business.

When I first started on Twitter for my business I was thrilled to see that I was followed by Yoko Ono and the crown Prince of some country I hadn’t really heard of. After a short while it dawned on me that this wasn’t my audience. These were not people that were going to buy my product. It is by having your target audience follow you on social media and reacting to what you post that you can convert this free tool into income and profit. Don’t be fooled by follower numbers.

As you would expect with a marketing company that helps you with social media, Gradient Social Solutions have their own Facebook page that you can check out.

At ‘245 days...’ I repeatedly extol the virtues of marketing, especially when the medium is free to use. Social media is a great way to engage with your customers and get them to interact with you and your business. It is a really cost-effective way to generate new customers and to turn these customers into loyal customers. However you need to use social media correctly if you want a return from it. Gradient Social Solutions can give you a free audit to make sure you are doing just this. Contact them today!

How to get great marketing help for your startup business

At '245 days…' I like to look at the different ways in which you can get your startup ahead. It can be difficult to attend to every part of your business needs on your own with no support or training. You will know the results that you want to achieve but maybe not how to get there.

I am a big advocate of marketing. I read marketing books all the time and I think that a company that uses quality marketing techniques will always be on to a winner. In the modern world of social media, email marketing and other uses of the internet this needn't cost the earth.

But how do you get the knowledge and skills to do this properly? How do you get your startup ahead of the game?

There is a way to help your company to understand this area of your business and get better at it.

makersclass.com  gives you a training program that talks you through taking your existing marketing for your startup business to the next level. If you haven't started yet then it will get you started and on the road to successful marketing of your company and the products you offer.

If you start to understand the marketing messages you want to deliver, the audience you want to reach and where you can find that audience then you are well on the road to success. Makersclass.com will get you moving in completely the right direction with this. They offer you help with-

·         Branding

·         Website Design

·         Social media visual strategy

And include many extras like-

·         An exclusive website template

·         A collection of logo templates

·         Ready-to-use social media posts

·         Easy professional video making tutorial

Taking your marketing efforts step by step means that you won't miss a thing. The online course takes you through each of these topics in detail and gets your company firing on all cylinders when it comes to your marketing.

Once you start to learn and then master the basics of branding, the quality of your website and your social media marketing then you can take your business to the next level. This course gives you the knowledge, skills and confidence to apply your learning to your business. It puts you in control of the situation and allows you to produce marketing in these areas that gets results.

This isn't a course where you pay your fee and then hear nothing. This is a fully interactive course where you can get hold of the teacher. It is set up so it will never be over-subscribed. You can contact and receive a response whenever you need it. For platinum members there is the rate bonus of a one to one hourly session every single week. This means that you can have that face to face chat to ask questions, discuss strategy and move things along as quickly as possible.

If you are looking for help in this area and you want a supportive learning experience then this is a great way to learn and develop. It might just be the next step in making your company great - you wouldn't want to miss out.

Young startup owners can get practical advice and support from a great initiative

In my blog I take a look at many different angles relating to startup business. I have showcased some companies recently that can help a startup in the early days. Today I'm taking a look at something a little different…

When you are going through the business of setting up your startup company it can feel quite lonely. There are many challenges to face and lots of startups are sole traders, where the owner goes through the process of working things out on their own. It can be quite a scary, daunting place. But it is also quite an exciting time. It can be doubly daunting if you are a young person with a startup. It can feel like you are dining this all on your own, with little support and no recognition. Even the exciting part is framed with some level of fear.

This has started to change. There is an enterprise scheme that supports and rewards young entrepreneurs and encourages people between the ages of 16 and 25 to set up on their own in business. It is the Matthew Martino Enterprise Award. The idea behind this is to give support to turn a business that is run by a youngster into a success.

It provides a level of support that those new to business will really benefit from. It gives a helping hand to young entrepreneurs. The valuable support takes many forms and includes-

•          A mentoring service to assist in the journey
•          Startup grants specifically for the young entrepreneur
•          Access to other resources that help along the way

There is so much that can and needs to be done to help the small business owner, especially those aged 16 to 25. The future of British industry is in the hands of today’s young business owners. So it is on the interests of everyone in the United Kingdom that these young people get as much support and recognition as possible. The Matthew Martino Enterprise Award is a fantastic way of providing this. The support that a young person gets breeds confidence. Giving a business owner confidence means that they feel empowered. They feel that they are not on their own. They feel like they will succeed - not blindly feeling that they will succeed no matter what, but the feeling that comes from being around a solid support structure.

The fact that someone has gone out of their way to provide positive ideas and practical help to people between the ages of 16 and 25 to grow their business from the very start is heart-warming.

I would urge all of my readers to spread the word about the Matthew Martino Enterprise Award. If you are a young entrepreneur then you can see what they have to offer. If you are over 25 then it can still be good to know and learn about the award. Talk to others - you never know that you just might be talking to showing who would really benefit from it.

I started writing, got half way through a piece and just stopped.....

-143

I've got half way through a writing piece this week and stopped in my tracks. It's not really happened before but I do t really know how to finish what I've been writing. It's not writer's block or anything like that, it's just I don't really know where I want to go with it. The current text is the second sample blog for my estate agents blog that I let you know about recently-

http://245daystogo.blogspot.com/2015/11/see-writing-skills-that-can-help-estate.html

And the text I have do far is-

"Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England has hinted that interest rate rises will happen later rather than sooner-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34733480

The global economic situation means that inflation is less likely to rise and interest rate rises are less likely to be needed.

But what does the phrase 'interest rates' mean?

When newspapers, television news and websites say interest rates, they mean the Bank of England base rate. This is still at the lowest it has ever been. It has stayed at 0.5% since the credit crunch of 2009, and there really hasn't been much sign of it changing since then. And it's this Bank of England base rate at half a percent that goes on to influence the interest rate you pay on your mortgage. A consistently low base rate gives confidence to the banks to offer low mortgage rates.

But what does that mean for home buyers in Yourtown? What does it mean for customers of estate agents in Yourtown?

Well, a second statement from the Bank of England this week sheds a little more light on this-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34741331

The Deputy Governor states that the Bank of England base interest rate should not be used as a tool to control the housing market. This should mean that house prices in Yourtown follow a more natural curve of demand and supply, without a large intervention from outside sources. This gives you an idea that changes in interest rates are made to control inflation - not to control the price you pay for your next home.

The best way to know about your local market us to keep a watch of your local market. Register with home estate agents and we will send our freshest properties on the market to to your email inbox. To have the latest homes for sale in Yourtown sent directly to you when they are released puts you at the front of the information market. If you speak to is then we can let you know what is available to you and what the asking prices are for the type of property you want.

And it's by understanding what you want that you can get to grips with your local housing market."

 As I've said, I'm not unhappy with the current content, I'm just not completely sure if how I finish it. I'm trying to create several things at once-

1. An SEO-optimised piece that will boost an estate agents search engine rankings.
2. Something that their customers will read all the way through.
3. Something that prompts the customer to action.
4. Something that creates customer confidence.

And I think that this piece so far creates points 1 to 3, but I'm concerned that it borders on infringing point 4. Interest rates are a touchy subject and I don't want the blog piece to put customers off buying a home because they fear interest rate rises. The next step in the blog will have to be a careful one as I want to say more about how my estate agents can help clients but without causing any fear. I'll think long and hard about it and post any updated version on here.

It's a strange feeling to not finish a piece of writing, but it's come to this here. Hopefully it's a one off!

See why using outside help for some of your business needs frees up time for you to do what you do best

-130

As part of the process of setting up my own business, I have had reason to look in different parts of the internet for all sorts of ideas. Sometimes these internet searches are planned and sometimes a little bit of serendipity comes into play (see blog here - http://245daystogo.blogspot.com/2015/06/stumbling-across-ideas-and-answers-when.html )

I think that as the business develops, I will need outside help in some areas of what I attempt to do. For instance, I won’t try to conduct my own legal affairs – I will leave that to the expertise of a solicitor. I won’t want to spend hours of my time checking and filing my own accounts – I will make use of an accountant that knows their way around the tax rules.

And it was while looking into different professional business service providers that I came across the company Adactus - http://www.adauctus-gmbh.ch/en/

Being a well-established company that provides more than one service gives Adactus a head start when it comes to helping out startup companies such as the one I am putting together. In the early days of my estate agency business I will be trying to run the show from home but will have to spend a lot of time out on the road. And the question that this asks is “how will I be able to provide an office service for my customers?” I want them to be able to pick up the phone and speak to someone from my company but I hope to have my time filled with appointments at client’s houses. Adactus could provide an answer. They will provide a high-quality and professional telephone answering service in several languages, call acceptance and transfer, and a virtual secretary from Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 to 18:00, outside these hours – a voicemail service.

Tax is always a taxing question for any business large or small, so looking at what might be a tax beneficial status is something that many companies have looked into. You can have a discussion with Adactus about their company registration services after contacting them via their website. They can offer potential tax-related benefits for foreign companies, as they are based in Switzerland. Switzerland has one of the most beneficial tax rates in Europe along with a politically, geographically and economically stable infrastructure. That is highly attractive to foreign companies which choose to change their address to Switzerland.

As I stated at the start of the blog, Adactus are experienced in several areas that could help the average startup or the slightly more established company to get ahead in business. I try to look at business from several angles and highlight companies that I have used or would consider using to help me set up my small business. Recently I have shown how RawShorts and Fiverr could help a new or small business and I will keep on exposing good companies to my readers of this blog. If you have any questions about this then please do not hesitate to comment on the blog or get in touch with Adactus directly via their website.

Just when I thought I'd cracked it - the rain came

67

I flew through my list of jobs yesterday. The walls and ceiling of the 2nd garage that I'm converting into an office are painted and ready to go. I've painted the fascias of the garage and checked out the roof. A few small holes in the felt lining were found, but I've now filled these and it will be watertight for the Summer at least. Other odd bits around the house have been completed and I was ready to tackle the garden today. A man with a chainsaw took down the hideously overgrown tree in the front that was blocking the light and would eventually cause issues with its roots. The first job today was (and in all likelihood still is) to remove all of it to the local tip.

And then the rain came.

It's rained quite heavily for most of the night, so jobs like mowing the lawn, weeding, edging, etc just can't be done. Other jobs today included laying more stones at the peaceful spot at the end of the garden and putting up wall planters. This probably can't be done in weather conditions like this and I'll have to see if the rain stops later on in the day.

This was going to be the two days when I got everything for the house sorted for the coming Spring and Summer. Now the garden stuff and the outside cleaning (fascia and outside upstairs windows) has fallen by the wayside. There are always things to do and with the recent collapse and rebuild of my PC, I have plenty of things I can be getting in with - but none that complete an area of concern fully and allow me to move on. The next day set aside for this will be Sunday, and this is dependent on how the recovery from Saturday's wedding goes!

I'm still moving forward with the next thing method of compartmentalising my life, but there seems so much to do and so little time to do it in, as has been said before.

I'm not 100% sure whether I have mentioned this in my blog before, but one of the ways I generate an income is to complete online surveys. I'm signed up with 5 of these survey sites and they send me surveys several times a week each. You answer some basic profiling questions at the start and these filter you in or out of the earning part of the survey. Each survey company has a different way of packaging the rewards (points, £'s, vouchers, PayPal income, prize draws) but basically they all add up to money in your pocket. I'd say I probably earn around £250 to £300 a year from this and it's great for Christmas and birthday presents. Well, I've got around 30 survey invites in my inbox, so there's a few hours if my time this afternoon.

If you're interested then give it a try.

I'm still here!

111

In case anyone was wondering if is fallen off the face of the earth, this is just a short note to say that in still here.

Quite a bit of progress since I last posted, so here goes-

The Business

Paint the left wall of the garage done

Assemble the table that will be my desk -table broken -buying new desk tomorrow

Paint the rest of the garage -ran out of paint, buy some more tomorrow

At Home

Sand and paint the bathroom ceiling - tomorrow morning

Glue stones on cupboards in kitchen -tomorrow morning

Paint hall and landing - still a work in progress

My "Books And Games" Selling Business

Get all stock out of loft and place in new office in garage -done

Check and update inventory -tomorrow

Writing

Finish a book I'm writing on how to buy a home -3 chapters done, 5 to go

Edit the book down to get it ready to publish - first edit if written chapters done, final edit when all finished

Start the creative writing course I've enrolled in - after my photography course finishes in March 

Mystery shops

Update my spreadsheet with all shop data on -done

Prepare for the 7 shops I have on Thursday -done (ended up being 8 shops!)

Look at adding to the 4 shops I have on Friday done (got it up to 6 jobs!)

Look up online about self-assessment and tax -tomorrow

Photography course

Go to the local city and get the final city photos for my final project, based on the main river that runs by here - done

Retake some of the other photos I have, in the golden hour, to ensure the sky is lit best - no need, as the photos from above were do good

This update helps me as much as you guys, but it's nice to see some meat on the homes and some progress to the planning.

Tomorrow is a day off, and it looks like a busy day! Add 3 mystery shops to the above activities, but I'm confident that I'll get this done!

Too many balls to juggle - what to let go?

123

As the snow has set in to my part if the world this week, and I'm almost half way through the 245 days, it's become clear that I need some fresh impetus to be able to move forward.

The home office is more organised and is set up to take the next steps in weatherproofing, but the sealing needed on the roof and the painting on the inside have completely stalled when the weather is like this. With a few major other jobs to do around the house to get that up to scratch, I've struggled to make the time to get anything else done in the road to opening my estate agency.

I listened to a radio interview on BBC Radio Five Live a couple of weeks ago with the author Emma Healey. She spoke about dedicating your energy to one thing at one time. She said that if you are writing a book then put losing weight or any other long-term goals on the back burner as writing a book takes enough energy and concentration of its own. At the moment I've possibly got too many balls in the air, including-

Writing five different blogs

Writing a self-help book for home buyers

Attending a college class in photography

An Open University course on creative writing (with a view to writing a novel)

Mystery shopping, where I aim to conduct 10 shops per week

Expanding my Amazon and eBay selling accounts to generate income

As well as trying to set up the business, work part-time and live as part of a family of four with two children aged 8 and under.

I'm probably biting off more than I can chew and I need to look at everything I'm doing and decide what is important.

Watch this space.

Happy New Year - this is the one!

152

Last nights celebrations and time spent with my family marks a turning point in my journey to opens own estate agency. It's gone from planning and getting a few things ready in my days off from my full time job to ticking off major projects such as the home office and the website.

I'm sure that there will be doubts and decisions, obstacles and successes, heartaches and celebrations.

I'm aiming to continue my blog insights into my life and my way of thinking but to extend it to convey my emotions as this thing becomes more personal and closer to reality.

Watch this space, and I hope 2015 becomes a successful and enjoyable year for all of us

Ray, the walking estate agent

172

I've worked with many people who consider themselves good salesmen. Watching The Apprentice this series makes me realise that some work really really hard at sales and others just have it naturally.

When watching the programme it makes me think back to people I've worked with in estate agency and how successful or otherwise they were in their sakes roles.

Some can use their gender and their natural spiral to strike a deal, without resorting to high innuendo. Roisin from this years programme struck a great deal with the diamond seller in last weeks episode probably in part because he found her alluring. But you can't have that connection with every customer. So what about different sellers and how they operate? I've come across a few.

There was a guy called Lesley and he played on this fact with customers. He often referred to himself as the man with a woman's name. It distinguished him from all of the other estate agents out there. And it got results - people remembered him.

Which brings me to Ray, the walking estate agent. He was the loveliest man. He had nothing but good to say about everyone, and everyone had nothing but good to say about Ray. He had a driving licence, but no car. So Ray walked everywhere. He'd leave for an appointment a mile away over an hour before so he could walk there and be in plenty of time. He wasn't the most dynamic of characters, he often needed reminding or prompting but he was just a wonderful guy. His vendors, buyers, landlords and renters loved him and just bought from him.

The walking everywhere was Ray's "man with a woman's name." What's yours?

My weekend internet page reading

184

Just found these-

http://www.mentorsme.co.uk

http://www.bitc.org.uk/london/what-we-offer/social-enterprise-mentoring-programme

http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk

https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan

http://www.icaew.com/~/media/Files/Library/collections/online-resources/briefings/start-up-briefings/01Buspla.pdf

http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/new-ideas/

I've got a lot of reading to do!

Ambition is infectious

187

Ambition is infectious. The sight of it imbues others with extra confidence. That is the Moeen Ali effect.

His cricket tangibly uplifts England. When he's involved - batting or bowling - the players have an extra spring in their step; their efforts are loaded with expectation; opponents visibly wilt. But natural talent is not enough. England need to play smarter cricket too. That's what this one-day international tour of Sri Lanka is about.

This section taken from the BBC website about the England cricketer Moeen Ali sums up how I want to go about my business. I want to be able to be this infectious ambition.

Picture 2 estate agents. One that works for an employer, clocks off at five, gets paid at the end of every month whether they sell your home or not. The other works for them self, can be contacted in the phone from 8am to 8pm, only earns if they sell your home. Which wpuld you choose?

If you could add to this an enthusiasm for their work, an understanding of marketing beyond a traditional estate  agent and beng a professional photographer.

Plus they are someone who can convey all of this when sat in your home at the time of market appraisal.

Hopefully, it's a no-brainier, because that estate agent is me!

Social media as a platform to reach other like-minded professionals

230 I've been getting involved in discussions with other estate agents and entrepreneurs on various social media platforms. I think a debate, and the ability to have discussions, share ideas and generally talk about the industry with other people is heartening and useful. I'm mainly coming across useful content and discussions on LinkedIn social media site, under the Estate Agents UK Networking Group. Once on there, you can ask questions, start discussions, respond to other people's content, or just have a read of what other people have put there. I have found posting specific questions about marketing get a good response and generally start a lively debate, where people share their experience of that particular subject and usually have some strong views about it. I have developed in other areas on LinkedIn as well, as I have started to make connections with people I have worked alongside in estate agency over many years in the past. I think that having a network of people that you have shared experiences with and can trust their opinion will give you a testing ground for ideas and marketing projects. On other social media, I have developed another blog, based on the property market in my town - the idea is that as my knowledge of the market develops, and the content specifically related to the town builds, then I will become an authority in the property market where I will operate. This should lead to me being trusted and being sought out both by home sellers and landlords, for my experience and knowledge. This is also being serialised on the Facebook page that I have set up relating to the town I will operate in. I am using the town for my photography practice, and posting these photos on the page as well. I also add links to local events and local news to ensure that the page stays fresh and interesting. I use Twitter to publish links to my Blogger pages, so that I can reach a wider audience with my blog, and likewise with Tumblr, where I can also share a lot more of my photos and my thoughts about them. All-in-all I am finding that the links I can make via social media are becoming more and more useful to establish my presence in the local market and to add to my connections with people who have a similar outlook and will give me honest feedback. I urge anyone to give it a go!


 

Everything I think I need to sort out before opening

228 After a whirlwind and scattergun start to my plans for opening an estate agency next year, I have decided that the next best step is to gather together all the aspects that I think I need to cover before the grand opening.

Here goes (in no particular order)-

• A new computer or laptop. My current one is fine for family use but I need a separate workstation with more memory.
• A dedicated telephone line for the business.  Either an extra landline at home or a dedicated mobile phone and number.
• Sorting out the 2nd garage at the rear of the house that I will convert into an office space.
• Furniture for this home office, including a desk, lockable filing cabinets, chairs and stationery.  I have an old dining room table, dining chairs, an office chair, a sideboard, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and some other smaller pieces of furniture in the garage already, so some of these will be re-used or upcycled.
• A cashflow forecast and business plan for the first year of trading.
• I need a website designed and built.  The design and content are still to be decided, and will take the form of a complete blog of it's own.
• I need to source a provider of for sale boards, design what my boards will look like and have them produced.
• I need to get a grip on what advertising I will use, how it will look, where it will appear, etc.  This is a massive subject and will be it's own blog subject in the future.
• I'm looking at links to the local community to run alongside my advertising and other marketing.  I'm thinking about links to a local school, a local sports club and some other community projects.  I will provide them with support and financial help, maybe with a twist.
• I will need a solicitor for 2 reasons.  Firstly for advice for setting up my business as a legal entitiy, then a reliable referral point for any conveyancing business that I come across.
• An accountant, for the setting up of the business as well.  I will need advice regarding how to set up the business, whether a sole tradership, a partnership or a limited company will best serve my needs.
• I will need to open a business bank account, with online access, but also a local branch for paying in any rent money taken in cash or by cheque.
• A final decision on whether I open with sales and lettings.  If I have lettings as well then I will need contacts for the management of the properties, such as electricians, plumbers, glaziers and central heating engineers.
• I will be looking into the availability of business grants in my area to help with the set-up costs.  As I type this, I have now put this to the top of my mental list.
• I have an idea about becoming a "hybrid" of online and offline state agents by using the window of a High Street business to display my properties and contact details.  I'll need to look into this and start to speak to local businesses about the possibility of this.
• I will need to register with the ombudsman service for estate agency, look at membership of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and, if relevant, the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
• I will need to look at contacting, and forging a working relationship with a local mortgage adviser that will be able to assist my clients with their financial needs.
• Likewise with a local surveyor, especially for clients that are buying without arranging finance.
• I have spoken to several companies in the past that supply a software tool for managing an estate agency.  A sort of client and property database, with the ability to upload properties to portals, match clients with properties, email property details to clients and other daily functions.
• On that note, I will need to look at which property portals I am considering and from there, look at costs and fit this into my marketing plan.
• I will need to look at several levels of insurance - any changes to my car insurance, any changes to my home insurance from having a business operate from home and any business insurance I need for operating in clients homes.
• I will most probably set up a charitable foundation where any fundraising will go.  I also intend to donate a percentage of my profits to this charitable foundation.  In the early stages of my thought process, I want some of this money to go to a local charity and some to go to a charity related to housing, maybe Shelter.

I know that this won't be a comprehensive list, and other things will pop up as time goes by.  If anyone has any ideas, suggestions or can see any glaring ommissions then please let me know!