Finances
Cause and Effect
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
I’m a mercenary bastard.
I support charities, but chiefly to avert unpleasant dentist experiences.
I’ve supported everyone from The Big Issue to Greenpeace, but only fleetingly, haltingly and superficially.
I’ve read a hundred times that true happiness comes from serving others.
It can also be rather good for business and branding.
So why [...]
A Fool & His Money (Part 3)
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
Parts 1 and 2 have brought us to this stage of my better-bank-deal quest.
Thank you so much for reading and responding!
Today the plot finally crystallises.
Bert
As Sheryl the Specialised Case Manager presaged, Bert the Bank Manager and I had ‘fruitful conversations’ (via email).
Alas, the fruit was small, hard and [...]
A Fool & His Money (Part 1)
You’ll also find this post at The Pulse
I’ve been reading with increasing frequency that it’s a fabulous time to negotiate a better interest rate with your lender.
In a world first, Choice has gone one step further by grouping borrowers for a better deal.
Their target was 1000 people prepared to look at switching loans.
In the first [...]
Tomorrow’s Loot Today!
Do your customers pay it forward?
I wasn’t going to do a tax post, but something unprecedented and rather special happened this week.
One of my newest clients asked if she could pay me a chunk of change now for work I’ll do next year.
After deliberating for several nanoseconds, I agreed.
I like this deal very [...]
The $30,000 Horse
Information → Power → Money → Time → Freedom → Joy
(Click pic to enlarge.)
Our Judy Oldmeadow is going great guns with her dream to breed the world’s finest Morgan horses.
Last time I visited her farm, I asked what her financial goal was.
It took a while to extract, but we got there.
She wants $30K [...]
The Need for Seed
Daniel Smith, founder of social media marketing consultancy Propaganda House, joins us on the blog today. Daniel discusses the need for investment in a business idea and is keen to hear about your own experiences and thoughts. Welcome Daniel! Naomi
When you look at Successful Big Businesses it’s easy to think that’s how they’ve [...]
The Jury’s Out
Have you done your duty?
Four years ago I was summoned for jury duty.
I’d always wanted to do my bit (and witness a court case).
But when the time came, my business couldn’t afford the income hit.
So I piked.
Testimony
This is what I wrote to the Juries Commissioner’s Office:
I am a self-employed sole trader who does not have [...]
What Small Business Can Learn from Borders
Today we welcome Sarah Mitchell, owner of Global Copywriting, to the Small Business Owner blog. Sarah identifies a valuable lesson from the recent Borders experience and shares her thoughts on not losing sight of your core business and what made you successful. Thank you Sarah. Naomi
The news that Borders has gone into voluntary [...]
Barter Me Up!
Do you barter?
Remember bartering?
By specialising, you’d swap excess production for other specialists’ goods, e.g.:
Eggs for milk.
Milk for bread.
Bread for honey.
Bartering saved you having to make everything yourself.
Naturally, if you made pins and wanted a reindeer, this could take some time and several exchanges.
And as we invented more ‘needs’ and stuff, the system became progressively untenable.
But [...]
I Say Pareto, You Say Pareto …
Fine in principle. What about practice?
Have you heard of the Pareto Principle (also called the 80-20 rule)?
It says that for many things, 80% of the results come from 20% of the causes.
In business, this means 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your clients.
I’ve found this principle extremely useful.
But does it work for [...]
