Decide why you are business!

So why are you in business did you feel you could do it better than the boss? Were you a fantastic plumber, fitter, mechanic, and technician and thought well I could be doing this for myself? Whatever the reason you started or are thinking of starting your business you have to decide early on what you want from your business.

It is fundamental to make a decision about this because if you don't you may find yourself in a few years time owning a reasonable sized business and wondering how the hell you got there.

That's what happened to Bob!

Bob trained as an apprentice plumber and soon after he qualified went to work with Plug it up limited a medium size plumbers business.

For a few years bob as happy but after his 35th birthday he woke up one day and realised that he didn't want to go into work that day. He was sick of tired of the way his bosses would tell him what to do. How they would set ridiculous rules about what he could wear, how he spoke to the customer and how he did his job.

Bob thought "I know how to do my job, I have been doing for ten years" Bob decided that he would be better off starting his own business and being his own boss. So three months later he took the plunge and bought a van and some tools and started looking for work. Bob was lucky it was boom time and the business took off.

Bob earned a lot of money and life was good. Bob was his own boss and didn't have to be worried about being told what to do. However, soon he realised that he couldn't' just to the jobs and be paid he had to worry about, Accounts, Tax, VAT returns bank accounts, insurance, chasing money and all the other worries that come with the job. Also business was getting too good he had start turning down work and he hated to turn down work.

Bob took on a book-keeper to run his books and an apprentice to help with the work. Life was good again but after a while the apprentice qualified and Bob was afraid of losing him as he had grown into a good friend and was a good plumber so Bob set him up with his own van and tools and apprentice and set him off.

In the mean time Bob took on another apprentice and life was good again. Well time went on further and the bookkeeper needed an assistant so Bob took an assistant on and then Bobs new apprentice qualified and Bob set him up with a van and so on and so on. After a while Bob didn't do much plumbing anymore he was too busy sorting out all the things that go on in a business. Signing checks, dealing with the accountant, meeting new customers, getting contracts for the plumbers, dealing with complaints etc

Bob's revelation - I am unhappy!

Bob woke up one day and realised that he owned a company with 50 employees and actually he didn't like the job he had. He hadn't done any plumbing in 15 years and spent more time in the office dealing with paperwork than he did meeting customers or evening speaking to staff.

That may sound good to you being the boss of a successful plumbing business and it would have been if Bob's organisation wasn't absolute chaos. Bob hadn't set out to build or run a business and had only been re-active to challenges he faced. He didn't seek professional help and didn't plan the business properly so didn't know where he was going and how he was going to get there. This all led to Bob being a very unhappy business owner.

So what can I do?

This scenario happens and is happening throughout the country. People are waking up everyday and realising that they are running businesses and that they were never trained to do it. Some are realising that they don't want to be running businesses and some are realising that whilst they do want to be they don't really know how to.

So decide early what you want to have and then work towards it. Plan a large business if that's what you want or plan a small business. Don't wait ten years and realise, like Bob, that you are running large business and its making you unhappy.

If you want to build a successful business set out to do so. If you want to have a job and be self employed then do that. But make sure you realise what you want and keep that in mind.

to one person. Everyone knows the story of anybody, somebody and nobody. Where anybody could of done it but nobody did it. Make it one persons responsibility and it will get done.

4. Make sure everyone has access to it and knows how to use all features on it.

5. Modify it to meet your requirements, this is easy with ACT as you can add fields, edit layouts etc. A Database is a relatively inexpensive tool that is, in my opinion, fundamental to a successful business. It will help keep you organized, streamline processes and give you the opportunity of wowing customers.

Email will@accsysltd.co.uk for more details.

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Helping people in Kent build successful and profitable businesses.

Accountants should offer more than just accounting & tax services they should help you meet all the demands facing small businesses.

As Maidstone based Accountants and Business Advisers, ACCSYS have the experience and tools to help. Whether it is cashflow, pricing, general accounting or business advice we are here to assist you.