Being a startup we didn’t really have the cash to hand to hire a bookkeeper – let alone an accountant – so it was decided we would try and tackle the process ourselves.

I can’t remember how we came across FreeAgent but I’m pretty sure it was a twitter recommendation from a complete stranger (the power of Twitter, eh!).

Why We Love FreeAgent

I’d be lying if I said that I actually now enjoy bookkeeping – there are still bits that I’m not a huge fan of. That said, FreeAgent is a complete breeze to use and makes the entire process a heck of a lot easier to comprehend and execute.

The best bits:

• Everything you need to know about your cashflow, in one place:
• Real time accounts – always knowing how much money you have and are due!
• Invoice creator and ability to send automated email reminders (can do estimates and proposals too!)
• Semi-automated reconciliation of bank accounts
• Breakdown of takings and profit on individual projects
• “Tax Timeline” – knows how much tax you owe (can be painful, but at least you don’t have to work it out yourself!)
• Completely web-based (compatible with PCs and MACs – so no excuse!)

Couple all the above with the fact that it provides you with all the information you need to complete your tax return/self assessment at the click of a button, and the incredible free support that is readily available and you’ve got a product that quickly becomes a key part of your business workflow.

Where would we be without you FreeAgent!

Sign up for a free 30 day trial…
then save 10% if you decide to continue using FreeAgent – Click Here

However, recently, we’ve been thinking a lot about time management and where efforts should be focussed for maximum returns.

If you ran an advertising campaign in a local newspaper that provided you with no new leads/clients then that particular campaign would be deemed unsuccessful and, most likely, you wouldn’t advertise with the same publication again in the future. That’s the cycle of business marketing. It’s trial and error until success is achieved.

However, it seems that some businesses are willing to inject hours of their time into their social media engagement without seeing any new business being generated as a result of this.

There are so many sides to this argument and we don’t doubt for a minute that being on these social media channels will grow your network but drilling down to common business practice reminds us that we have to be able to measure the success of our interaction on these social platforms in order to warrant any time spent in relation to them.

Something to ponder. Are you spending too much time tweeting and facebook-ing? It may be addictive, but is it really helping your business?

Image: west.m

It’s usually towards the end of December that we begin to think about what the year has brought and how successful, or unsuccessful, the time has been. It’s important to stand back every so often and ask yourself whether you’re being as productive as you could be, and whether you’re focussing your efforts in the right areas.

Some things you might consider while planning for a New Year:

1. The profitability of your business

You wouldn’t be a business person if you didn’t think about profit, margins, turnover and all those other money-related keywords. The key – excuse the pun – thing to think about is: are you earning enough money for the time you are investing in your business. If the answer is no, perhaps it’s time to raise your prices/rates. Even a small raise could make a big difference to your takings. If the answer is yes, but you still aren’t making enough money, then number 2 is something worth considering.

Photo credit:  Images_of_Money on Flickr

2. Your marketing strategy for the year ahead

Considering how effective your marketing has been over the past 12 months will allow you to see what has worked and what has not. If you don’t know whether it has ‘worked’ then perhaps that is something you need to address in the year ahead: finding out where your customers have come from (this doesn’t need to be a difficult task: just ask them!). When planning for the year ahead you should look at trends in marketing and plan around these. For example, it is predicted that there will be a huge rise in mobile internet browser in 2012 – is this something you are ready for?

Your marketing strategy could simply be a document which describes what actions you will take each month to promote your business.

3. Is your business still relevant?

This is an important to ask yourself. Keeping up-to-date is incredibly important. Are the services/products you sell still something that would interest prospective customers in the New Year. Is there some way you could improve what you offer, should you consider adding more services to cater for new needs?

* * *

I’d like to wish you all every success in the year ahead. May it be a happy, profitable, time for you all.

Feature Photo Credit (Fireworks): nigelhowe on Flickr

Before we proceed, and hear Michael’s twist-filled story, the term “intrapreneur” may need a little explaining:

According to Wikipedia intrapreneurship is the practice of a corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches, as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship.

That done, time for the interview…

We’ll start by taking you back a few years Michael. Leaving school at the age of 16, how did you come across the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy?

I knew how tough a recession was going to be on the employment market and didn’t want to just have A Levels and a degree, as anyone can, arguably, achieve this. I found out about the academy in the times paper and decided to apply.

You had obviously placed a lot of hope in the Academy as being the key to your future. Did it live up to your expectations?

It was the best decision of my life to date. The sheer number of opportunities and being taught by amazing business people who have experienced it. To name a few of my favourites, mike Clare , Phil Strachan , mike southorn and loads more.

Founded by Peter Jones, he gave young people like me a unique opportunity, and for that I am eternally grateful for.

If I become a success Peter and his amazing team will be to thank.

If you could share one key business lesson you learnt, while at the Academy, what would it be?

Business people work best in a team and not individually. There are some business people out there who think they are successful due to their own skills, which although may be partially true, nobody will succeed without a great team.

The best lesson I learnt was to utilise everybody’s skills and attributes, and knowing what your own strengths and weaknesses are.

* * *

After leaving the Academy, Michael was hired by recruitment company “Blue Arrow,” but it was not long before he was made redundant which left him in a difficult position of being unemployed, with no A-levels and no University degree.

However, Michael rapidly managed to secure 7 interviews. Two weeks, and more than 300 miles of travel, later he was working for Virgin as a customer service executive in their call centre.

* * *

Many struggle to get a “foot in the door” with potential employers. Upon loosing your job at Blue Arrow what techniques did you use to secure so many interviews?

In life the phrase it’s not what you know, it’s who you know is used alot, but this is spot on. I was put on garden leave until the end of December, and using my contacts I had I was incredibly fortunate to have been offered interviews by some amazing companies across different industries, and was fortunate enough to have the luxury of more than one offer on the table. Don’t loose touch with anyone you meet, as you don’t know when they may come in use!

When you are interviewed be passionate about yourself, smile and use lots of eye contact. Be prepared, ensure you research the company and the interviewer. LinkedIn is a fantastic tool!

Once you have had your interview drop the hiring manager an email thanking them for their time, and make them want to call you. Use the phrase; I look forward to further communications.

Similar to question 3, if you could give one “top tip” for interviews, what would it be?

Dress to impress, over dressing is better as it shows you are really wanting the job. My first interview was with a celebrity chefs restaurant as a kitchen assistant, and I showed up in a 2 piece single breasted black suit with a smart tie. I secured the job in one interview.

What are your aspirations for the future? 

So many people say they are going to be a huge success but this does not buy happiness. If I can be debt free by 30 and drive my dream car, and have started a family, that will keep me incredibly happy.

* * *

Thanks for giving up your time to share your inspirational story with us Michael. I speak on behalf of myself and, I’m sure, all those reading, when I wish you every success in the future.

Adam runs ‘Keep it Green Landscaping,’ a sustainable and conservation focussed landscaping firm with an aim to safeguard the small amount of ‘nature’ left in our suburbs today.

* * *

1. Can you tell us a little about how you ended up starting your own business. You obviously decided not to continue into further education after school and instead go down the entrepreneurial route – what inspired you to do this?

I actually am Currently attending the University of Guelph for Environmental Governance and Business Administration. I started the Company through a Canadian Federal Government funded Young Entrepreneur program called Summer Company. We were awarded start up funds as well as mentoring, seminars and many other business tools to help grow our start ups. I had a family member that had been apart of the program the year before and I thought it would be a great idea. I ended up starting Keep it Green and falling in love with what I was doing. I immediately switched my major in school to be able to expand Keep it Green in the future. Now my life is committed to the environment, sustainable business and trying to help change the world.

2. What would you say was the key part of planning your business for you?

I think the most important planning step was finding a niche market for our very specific services and philosophy that we are trying to market to. You have to find something that will attract a large enough niche market that you can be profitable without attracting too many other companies to your market. Making sure there is a market for your company may be difficult, in our case we are slowly creating our own niche market and trying to change the way people think about landscaping and sustainable planning.

3. So you’re business is up and running, how do you market yourself and attract new clients?

At the beginning we were predominantly getting business through word of mouth, we are now trying to expand our market and reach out to our community. We are putting together a social media marketing plan as well as community seminars, charity events and online coupons through companies such as TeamBuy. We are looking to expand business as well as charter to a youth population that is interested in the environment and being apart of something. We would like to help other young entrepreneurs and create a buss surrounding sustainable business and the change it can bring.

4. How have you found being “young” in the world of business – have potential clients been wary of your age? Or has it been beneficial?

Being a young Entrepreneur has its ups and downs just like any other job. The only difference is that you can’t hide behind your “boss” if something goes wrong. Many prospective clients may be skeptical about our services and what we bring but if you know your business, your market and have great people helping you, nothing can get in your way. Being young has helped exponentially with finding free resources to help grow Keep it Green. There are many non-profits, community organizations and mentors that are willing to help young entrepreneurs. I think being a Young Entrepreneur is one of the most rewarding ventures a young person can be apart of. You get to live your dreams.

5. What are your ambitions for the future? Do they involve your current business and if so how do you plan to make it grow/expand.

Keep it Green wants to be a leading sustainable business company, revolutionizing the landscaping industry as well as capitalism itself. We would like to influence the push towards ‘green materialism’ and natural capitalism. The thought of conserving our natural resources as a means for capital gain instead of thinking of resources as abundant. We are looking to expand slowly into Urban Organic Agriculture this summer and venture into other ‘Green’ market such as: Organics, renewable energy and sustainable business consulting. Since we are starting at such a young age, the possibilities are endless and we’d like to be able to explore as many avenues as possible! 

6. If you could give one tip to a young person looking to start their own business with a “green” focus, what would it be?

Find an environmental issue that needs fixing, once you’ve found that, start your business and fix the problem!

* * *

Thanks for taking time to tell us what you do Adam! We wish you all the best in the future!

Feature photo (top of page) credit: epSos.de on Flickr

What I do not see, however, is many young photographers choosing to make money out of their work – probably because they assume that being young is their disadvantage – so in this article I’m going to suggest 10 ways in which you, as a young photographer, can begin to make money from your creative skills. I’ll agree they won’t be for everyone – but put your entrepreneurial hat on and we’ll see how this goes:

1.  Build a following around your photographic adventures

Whether you’re a landscape or portfolio photographer it’s a good idea to begin to build a ‘following’ around your photography. The most common, and effective, way of doing this is to start your own page on Facebook. Start by inviting your friends and family to “like” your page and you’ll soon find that – providing you post engaging content – it will grow and your reputation will grow at the same time. Building a community around your photos is a great way of having the support right from the beginning of starting any new commercial areas of your photography…..such as:

2. Selling prints

If you are a landscape photography selling prints (or being commissioned to capture specific shots) is the most lucrative way you can make money. It can be difficult to know where to sell your prints but you could try: local cafes, local tourist-related shops, craft shops, trade markets / craft markets in your area.

You could try framing your prints or even having photos printed on canvas. Framing your prints is a great way to increase your profit. Canvas printing can be costly to initiate when you haven’t got any solid orders.

We’d love to give you advice on how much to charge for prints but prices can vary dramatically from area to area that it’s best to investigate what others local to you are charging and use this to give you an idea of how to price your prints.

Photo credit: palindrome6996 on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

3. Selling greeting cards

Greeting cards, when done right, can be good money makers. However, you tend to have to sell in quite high volume in order to make any substantial amount of profit. Having said that, if you can find a good place to sell your cards you’ll be onto a winner. Most retailers who are buying cards off you will expect to make 50% profit…. so they’ll pay you half of what they’ll then sell them for. This ultimately means that you’ll make more money if you sell the cards yourself, but at the same time it is safer and easier to have someone else do that for you if you have that option.

Photo credit: Muffet on Flickr

4. Corporate headshots

If you’ve got a knack for portrait photography then taking corporate headshots is a great place to begin your voyage into the world of commerciality. Start off by getting your family to dress up smart (or smart-casual) and take some mock headshots so you have something to show prospectives. Then, ensuring your mock shots are presented well, approach some local companies (who don’t currently have such shots on their website) and offer them a great rate to do the same for them. Remember, presentation is everything: mail them some well presented sample shots, letter and business card, then wait a few days and drop them an email/call. In your initial mailed package tell them exactly how much it will cost – it’ll save them having to ask you.

Chances are, beginning with this kind of work will lead to word of mouth recommendations and, providing you do a good job (which of course you will) more work for the company in question.

5. Discount weddings

Weddings are expensive events to host, there’s no denying that. With this in mind, brides and grooms-to-be will be looking to save wherever they can – without necessarily compromising quality. With this in mind, why not stick up some notices locally offering your services as a young wedding photographer? So long as you have some decent images in your portfolio you’ll be in with a good chance of getting work. It’s also a great idea to start young because as you get older, acquire more equipment and have more wedding “gigs” behind you and in your portfolio, you’ll be able to charge a lot more for your services!

Photo credit: Azalea Long on Flickr

6. Capture events…and people at events!

Why not head out to an event near you and take photos of those at the event. Sporting events work particularly well for this. Give a card to everyone you photograph telling them where they can buy a print of their photograph. Some may be against you posting their images online and one way to get around this is to add password protection to your online galleries. There are lots of sites that will do the hard work for you – giving you a framework to upload and share your photos and even printing and delivering your photos direct to customers. Even if you don’t make a load of sales this is an in-direct way of networking and getting your name out there. If you’re based here in the UK I’d recommend trying out Photobox Pro Galleries.

Photo credit: Shiva Photographie on Flickr

7. Stock Photography Sites

I haven’t got experience in selling through stock photography sites and I imagine it would be hard to make a great deal of money this way as the competition is fierce (well, not so much fierce as crowded!). There are lots of different sites out there each offering different rates to sellers so do some research before you make your decision.

8. Local newspapers

This might be a little tricky to get into but it’s certainly worth a shot. Try contacting your local/regional newspaper and ask them if they are looking for freelance photographers in your area. You could always capture their interest them before calling/emailing by sending them some shots from your portfolio – remember presentation is everything so why not do something quirky and eye-catching? (remember the quirky business cards!)

9. Ebay sellers

Many Ebay sellers have photographs of their items that, quite frankly, suck! You could try contacting a few Ebay-ers to see if they’d be interested in teaming up with you. Getting hold of a small lightbox tent for photographing smaller items can cost as little as £17 so it’s not going to cost you too much to prepare for taking on this kind of work.

Photo credit: aaltonen on Flickr

10. Local businesses

Last, but not least, you could try contacting local businesses to see if they need new photos to update their websites / marketing literature. You’ll find many will be very keen on the idea of having some creative and artistic shots taken on their establishments at a fraction of the cost they would normally be charged. Best places to try for this would be local accommodation providers, restaurants and cafes. Again, you could send them some examples of your related work before making your “sales approach.”

Be creative with promoting yourself, share your portfolio with prospects and you’ll soon find work coming your way!

Main photo (at top of page) credit: ralphbijker on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

For now, we’ve got a delightful little tip to support those that do decide to go down this route, and those who are not yet running a business but are trying to promote themselves online.

Introducing…About.me

About.me describes itself as ‘your personal splash page,’ which is exactly what it is. If you’re a web developer that has heard of the woes of (SEO and) splash pages then fear not – it’s not that kind of splash page!

About.me gives you the opportunity to have your own little online base. A place to pull together all things you that are scattered across the internet and share these with your friends and followers.

While the pages don’t seem to be great from an SEO point of view it’s certainly a worthy option if you don’t have a personal website – you can link to your about.me profile from your twitter, facebook and even add a link to your business card so that those you meet and greet can quickly track down all your online profiles.

Things we like

• A quick and simple way to create your own “personal splash page”
• Nice social media buttons
• Some great styling options for jazzing things up
• Easy to link to URL for you to share (http://www.about.me/yourname)
• Statistics let you know how many people have viewed your profile and where they’ve come from

Things that could be improved

• SEO for the individual about.me profiles
• Some areas of creating the page were a little buggy and temperamental - maybe it was just the browser we were using but it was a little of a nuisance!

While these may leave your fellow networkees a little speechless -
there’s no denying they’ll remember you for a while to come!
Credit: BuyAlex on Flickr

Folded business cards as mini portfolios for photographers…brilliant!
Credit: ósma trzydzieści on Flickr

The aim is for your business cards to stick around on people’s desks for as long as possible… so designing it as a mini-desk makes sense!
Credit: Lucid Dreams on Flickr

It’s always important to have consumers connect with the face behind your business…. these most certainly do that!
Credit: jnyemb on Flickr

Why not go for some interestingly shaped cards and “break the mould!”
Credit: kvanhorn on Flickr

Leaving a space to write on the back of your card means you can add a personal greeting, or use them as alternatives to compliments slips.
Credit: theritters on Flickr

How cool are these!? Themed business cards!
Credit: vladimirlosinsky

More themed goodness!
Credit: cogdogblog on Flickr

Another memorable card…this time printed on textured board.
Credit: yuichirock on Flickr

Giving your prospective clients something to do in their spare time is a neat idea…but wait for it, this is even more neat…
Credit: alikins on Flickr

You weren’t expecting that… were you? It’s a business card come caliper!

]]> http://www.wee-entrepreneur.com/10-quirky-business-card-designs-for-inspiration/feed/ 0 http://www.wee-entrepreneur.com/affordable-alternative-mailchimp/ http://www.wee-entrepreneur.com/affordable-alternative-mailchimp/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:32:48 +0000 admin http://www.wee-entrepreneur.com/?p=27 Continue Reading]]> If you had asked us a year ago what online email marketing software you should use, we would have told you without hesitation: “MailChimp!”

However, the process of creating email newsletters in Mailchimp was beginning to drag a little and we were trying to manage multiple accounts at the same time – something which had just become overly time consuming. The result: it was time to find something new!

Along came MailerLite

The thing that caught my eye about MailerLite was that they sell it as something that is simple. That’s exactly what I was looking for. Don’t get me wrong, I’m trained in the arts of coding and design, so it’s not that area that needed simplifying – it was the overall process of creating, adding content to, and sending email updates to our lists.

I’m always a little hesitant when of judging something before I have tried it. Would it really be as simple as they claim? Would there still be the features that I need? I delved right in and got myself a free trial account for 30 days and began playing around. It didn’t take long for it to click that this was exactly what I had been looking for. The software oozes simplicity – nothing is overly complicated or time consuming. That said it still has a great deal of functionality allowing you to design your emails to look great, manage multiple email lists and discover how your emails are being read and received in the reports section.

Things To be Liked:

• WYSIWYG email designer with drag and drop interface
• Ability to quickly edit the colour of key email elements
• The ability to have multiple different email lists and send differently designed emails accordingly
• Simplified reports
• Easy to integrate signup forms (Like this one for our Wee Entrepreneur eNewsletter!)
• Up to 10,000 subscribers!
• Incredible customer service – no really, superb!

It’s completely changed the process of email marketing for us by making it a whole lot easier, and a whole lot more enjoyable.
Try it out here: www.mailchimp.com 

Have you found any great hidden gems in the email marketing world? Let us know in the comments below!

Chimp Photograph Credit: lightmatter on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

Our Top 5 Tips

These aren’t in any particular order – we reckon they’re all equally important!

1. Make yourself a website that stands out from the crowd

It’s important to spend time building yourself a website that showcases your skills. Don’t just focus on buliding a website to house your portfolio – you have to think of this website as one of the most important parts of your portfolio. Chances are that before any prospective client clicks on your portfolio page they’ll already have judged whether or not you are a competed web designer.

If you haven’t already got one then it’s important to get yourself a decent domain name too. You don’t want to be telling prospective clients to visit your site at www.myname.freewebsite.com (as an example)…. you want to have a domain name you can be proud of, and with domain names being relatively cheap these days there really is no excuse!

TOP TIP: Make sure you do not have any spelling / grammar mistakes on your website – it’ll only make you seem the age you are.

2. Make sure you know you’re stuff

This may be obvious, but you have to know what you’re before you even think about working with your first client. Okay, so you do know what you’re doing…Now, remember that your client will want to make the most of your knowledge. They’ll also want to understand what it is you’re doing for them so be sure to explain the way you work and the various processes in a jargon-free way that any “technophobe” can comprehend.

3. Build up a good portfolio and a good reputation

You might say it’s impossible to build up a good reputation and a good reputation without having some clients but that would be silly talk! In order to build up your portfolio you might have to do some work either for free or for low pay. You’ll probably find most people are very receptive of having a website built for free! Think about your local area and any sponsorship opportunities that you could tap into – local events or charities perhaps. Aim to work on projects that are surrounded by a big network of people. If that’s not an option try your close friends and family – someone must know of somebody looking to have a new website developed.

Do a couple of good jobs for free (or on the cheap) and your reputation will begin to grow – once you’re looking for paid work remind these people of what a great job you did and ask for referrals. People will probably try and take advantage if they hear you are doing websites for free/cheaply so remind yourself that they were just for building your portfolio…now you have that…it’s time to move on, and UP!

4. Give yourself a professional image

One very quick and affordable way to give yourself a professional image is to get some business cards printed! We’re perfectionists here at Wee Entrepreneur HQ and our BIG tip here would be to have quality cards printed, even if it costs you a few more bucks/pounds! There are so many online business card printers that it can be a bit confusing, but remember to consider what stock the card is being printed on (we usually recommend around 350gsm as being a lovely thickness…and matte lamination would be an excellent bonus!). You want to make a lasting impression with your card so spend a bit of time creating something that represents you in the best possible light.

5. Get social networking

It seems a given: everyone is screaming about social networking these days and the benefits it can bring when used as a business marketing tool. There are two key advantages to using social media to find your first client. 1. It’ll broaden your network of contacts and 2. If you’re approached by a prospective client who isn’t so “social savvy” it’ll make you look even more attractive as someone to hire as chances are they’ve seen the benefits of social media and are looking for someone to get them up to speed. One word of warning though: if you are using your twitter account as a business marketing tool then treat it as such and watch what you say – it may be just 140 characters but it would be so easy to say something that could scare away any prospects.

If we were allowed to give a 6th tip, it would be to ENJOY the process. As you build up your connections you’ll start working with people who you will work with for a number of years, so revel in the process of getting to know them and supporting them with your skilled creativity – if you approach your work in a positive manner you’ll most certainly reap great benefits.

Got some tips you’d like to share for first time web designers? Comment below and let us know!

Photo Credits:

Main featured (Macbook) photograph credit: Steve Keys, used under a Creative Commons license.
Business cards photograph credit: Murat Ertürk, used under a Creative Commons license.