First income

I have also just completed a short bit of consultancy work - for which I have just been paid.

What I want to share is how good it feels to have done something for yourself. To have set out a course and started to at least get something back from it. Working in big companies or (so help you) for the government is safe, better paid, but has hardly ever been as satisfying.

There's a long way to go, and much risk to be taken, but the first money coming in is a special day.

If your thinking of setting up a small business then this is one of the milestones to look forward to.

(By the way I'm thinking of deleting this blog and just running my mostly political blog - if you see any great value in my spending more time on the business side then drop me a comment. Can't guarantee to oblige as time is in short supply - but I could perhaps just outline dilemmas etc when they occur.)

Blogging in business

I've been blogging since Dec 2004. I first started to try and understand why articles in newspapers and magazines were raving about them. ( I also followed the story Queen of the Sky - having picked it up on the BBC's web site. )

Now I am wondering whether to use Blogging as a way of getting into communication with my potential customer base.

The pros:

1) Get to know who you customers are.
2) Get fast feedback on issues.
3) Great for a small company with no dedicated sales or marketing effort.

The cons:

1) My industry is a conservative industry - will blogging mark me out as a potentially unreliable future employee ?
2) There is great potential for Brand damage. Just one quick thoughtless post could do a lot of damage.
3) Will I be viewed as serious ?

Also how often to update. Once a day would really encourage loyalty, but would be a lot of work. Maybe once a week is more realistic. It probably needs to be started some time before product launch to be effective - afterwards talk about the product could fill some of the articles.

This is all in the musing stage right now, but I need to make a decision soon. I think the Blog would need to link to the company and not be anonymous. I shoudl mention that sales should be to either individuals or engineering organisations.

Time to do the other part of my job and get the kids from school - I'll let you know what I decide. But please chip in with any thoughts.

Shed of some productive work

Still spending too much of my time Blogging .... here's the Shed where things happen !

The gain and drain of the internet

I've just completed all P11D, P14 and P35 for this year over HMRC's now vastly improved web portal. Hurray.

However, the excitement of local politics and a growing addiction to checking Blogs is really eating into my work time. As currently there's no one to notice its a hidden problem, but I must get more work done in my key hours.

Let you know how I do - but not in the too near future I hope.....

Its hard to stay focused and driven when your working alone.

Ops - Inland Revenue reminder No 2

Just recieved our second reminder in a year for not doing NIL returns on PAYE for a month.

Of course I signed up for the online PAYE service - only to discover you can't enter zero in the Income Tax PAYE / NI return part. ( How is it possible to create a system with that sort of flaw - muppets. )

Currently I'm writing the software. Next I'll sell the software and then I'll pay myself a wage. Its still months away ......

Still I need to do this better - so entered a monthly reminder in my calendar ( I use Yahoo's service for this stuff- its great and would scale for a few employees if I ever get that far. )

Spring is here ! (Bzzzzz)

Out here in the Shed at the end of the garden the arrival of spring is not greeted by Cuckoos, but by the menacing deep buzz of queen wasps coming out of retirement. Some of whom always seem to have stashed themselves away in the Shed/Office somewhere.

The acoustics in the Shed are good, and also let in a great array of bird song etc - so your not always sure if one of these vindictive bastards is inside or outside.

I check carefully each morning right now .....

I've seen a lot of queen wasps this year - its going to be a busy year !

The CT600 return is in

At last - I think if I manage to get to the stage of trading an accountant is a must. ( In fairness this is the advise that just about anyone will give, and Business Link people etc broadcast ).

Still need to make about GBP750 to pay for it next year !