One of my clients used a phrase which stuck in my head once - he is great at his chosen trade but what does he know about tax, VAT, pensions and corporate structures?  He had relied on his accountant to keep him on the straight and narrow but unfortunately it wasn't the right decision.  That client is now running two businesses and has a different accountant but he and I worked together to make sure he knows much more about taxes as well.  Not because he wants to, but because relying on someone else 100% doesn't make him feel in control of his business.  He learned about tax so that he could feel like he was an expert in his own business.  It was a scary process and it took time but now he knows everything he needs to about his business as well as his trade.

Over the past few years there have been lots of reasons why businesses have had to inrease their prices.  Raising prices also means being brave as there is a constant trade off between covering increasing expenses and the fear of losing customers.  With rising rates for wages, finance and fuel it has been impossible to avoid but the fear that you will guage the amount your customer will pay incorrectly is very real.  There are different ways to handle this - increasing in stages or tackling one type of service at a time but the business owner still needs to be brave enough to make the changes.

When you are looking to grow the business, networking can be a helpful tool to use but for lots of us networking can seem daunting.  Some people are shy, others feel that as they didn't do well at school, everyone might judge them.  One thing to remember is that EVERYONE feels a bit nervous about starting out with networking, and LOTS of people who attend the meetings are nervous before the event starts.  Taking the step is brave but it is probably not going to be as bad as you think once you get there!

Taking on staff when you are used to working alone is another big and scary change that lots of business owners have to make. How many members of staff will you need, how do you deal with pension contributions, why do my employees not want to work as hard as I do? These are the questions I often hear from people who are getting used to having employees for the first time.  Payroll is more complicated than it used to be with pensions and attachment of earnings orders but there are businesses out there who can support you.

BW Bookkeeping are here to talk these concerns through with our clients.  We may not have every answer but sometimes our clients just need to talk the issues through, break each worry down into something which can be solved and put on a to do list.  Trying to think of a solution to all the problems will always seem overwhelming and this is where having a business coach can really come into its own.