Tag: business coach

Posted on

A double workload ahead? 

I’ve been speaking on the topic of MTD for 10 years now. Initially to our own clients, then to other accountants and bookkeepers, and now to business owners. One of the reasons I’ve been trying to encourage people to pull their finger out is because there will be a period of double work. 

In case you haven’t already realised, and it seems that many haven’t, you will have to submit a normal tax return for 2025/26 AND three quarterly returns for 2026/27 during the 10 month period April 2026 – Jan 2027. 

Do, if you aren’t ready for MTD yet … pull your finger out! (And give me a shout if you need a hand) 

Posted on

What’s your UX like? 

User experience (UX) can make or break your business.  

I woke up at silly o’clock this morning dreaming about the poor UX in a particular bit of our accounting software. Every time I use it I get annoyed. There’s a similar irritant in our practice management software. Things that were poorly designed. 

We try our best to ensure that dealing with Minerva Accountants is smooth and seamless. We work with tech-savvy clients so we use a lot of automated chasing BUT we also ensure that any client who replies to the emails is met with a human response. 

We prefer to communicate by email for traceability and so that the whole team can see what is happening with clients BUT, if something is not straightforward, we leap onto a telephone or Zoom call. 

AI and technology can make things run smoothly behind the scenes but it takes a human to think through a human friendly UX. Take some time this week to review the customer journey in your business and make it as smooth and friendly as possible. 

1.How do the first contact you? 

2.What is your onboarding process? 

3.What is the process for delivering your goods or services? 

4.What happens when something goes wrong? 

5.How easy is it for customers to speak to a human being of they need to? 

What one thing can you do to improve each of these touchpoints? 

Posted on

Would you give up your business and go back to employment? 

Every business owner has probably considered this at some point, and you may even think about it on a regular basis. 

Comfortable, regular income, regular hours (even if you do end up working more than your contract), the ultimate responsibility lies with somebody else, and you can hand in your notice and walk away if things become too much. 

But compare that to the freedom of running your own business. I set up my own small accountancy business after I was unable to find flexible work that would allow me to prioritise my young children. I was only going to do a few sets of accounts from the kitchen table but my corporate background running businesses meant that it grew far beyond that. I started, built, and eventually sold, Hudson Business Accountants and Advisers while working an average of just 25 hours per week. (If you want to know how then read my first book, The Numbers Business: how to build a successful cloud accountancy practice) 

Now that my kids have grown and flown, I work a full week, but I run three businesses. Okay, two businesses and a side hustle. Whilst I still enjoy flexible hours, all my businesses are remote as I like to work as I travel. And our whole team have the same freedom. 

As the business owner I also get to choose the work that I do and the clients that I work with. We only have the nicest clients which make work more enjoyable AND we are more motivated to do more for them. And I love it when we can help others, whether business owner clients of Minerva Accountants or accountant clients of Hudson Business Advice, to have that same business that they dream of. 

If I could find an employer who shared my values and provided enjoyable work and the same flexibility, I would jump at the stability of employment but, until then, I love what I have built. And I want to help others to fall back in love with their business too. 

Posted on

Slowing down to move faster 

December is our busiest month of the year. We have lots of limited company deadlines* for companies with March year ends as well as personal tax return deadlines* in January. AND we close the office for 2 weeks so that the team can spend time with their families. 

This December has been busier that usual with trying to prepare sole trader and landlord clients for MTD in April at the same time as talking limited company directors through verifying their ID for Companies House* 

The only thing for it was to escape for a day with other UK based members of GWAI (Global Women Accountant Influencer group) discussing future plans and sharing ideas while also relaxing at a spa. We’re all back at work revitalised and ready to power through to Friday when Christmas holidays begin and we can switch off completely. (For those with families they just switch their accountant/business leader role for their mum role) 

Sometimes you can move faster if you just take time to rest. 

*None of these would be at all stressful if clients responded to our first, or even our second reminder earlier this year 

Posted on

10 reasons to use a mentor 

  1. Experience – unlike a coach they can offer real world advice as they’ve been where you are before and survived 
  2. Some mentors, like me, are also qualified coaches so they can help you do what’s right for your business rather than just share their own stories. This gives you the best of both worlds. 
  3. They speak the same language 
  4. They will always be in your corner to support you 
  5. They can offer friendly critique of your ideas 
  6. They may have a black book of useful connections for you 
  7. They can act like a NED for an individual business owner 
  8. You can bounce ideas off them before you implement 
  9. You are allowed to disagree as your business is not the same as their business 
  10. As somebody on the outside of the business looking in, they may have a better view from the bridge while you may be busy in the engine room of your business
Posted on

Create without restraint 

I saw this on a social media post yesterday and it got me really excited. (Okay, accountants clearly have a different tolerance for excitement compared to the rest of the world 😉) I love coming up with ideas to improve my own businesses and also clients’ businesses.  

We even have quarterly meetings to discuss my ideas. Strictly they’re our 90-day planning meetings where the team get together, in person, if possible, to plan the next quarter. 

Fortunately, I have a very pragmatic business manager (Kate) who restrains me and keeps me on track! Apparently, we don’t have time to do EVERYTHING I want to improve the businesses in the next 90-days, so we discuss everything and then prioritise.  

Kate then creates an action plan and sends these out to each of us. And then she NAGS me to get these done. This accountability means that my ideas become reality instead of drifting away like dandelion seeds on a summer day. 

We even package this as for our clients: 

  • Business coaching from me (I’m a qualified coach as well as an accountant) to help unblock your business  
  • 90-day planning sessions with Kate who also runs a VA business to get things done 
  • Clarity financial reviews to grow your business by numbers (and I’ll even throw in a copy of my Growing by Numbers book) 

So, feel free to indulge me and my creativity by booking a group or individual coaching session this month. 

Posted on

Be a Joy Seeker 

Marie Condo goes through homes clearing out anything that isn’t essential unless the client can honestly answer the question ‘Does this bring me joy?’ 

My suggestion is that we should do the same with our businesses. Weighing up profit and passion. 

Some work we do because it is highly profitable but, if you’re like most business owners, there’s probably some work that barely breaks even. You can either stop doing it or find a way to do it more profitably, perhaps by automating it? This may be the nature of the work or the particular clients, so it is worth reviewing both each year. 

Some work we do because we love it. Coaching is my passion, and I love seeing the result of my advice in clients reclaiming their work-life balance or taking holidays after making their businesses more profitable. 

Ideally you would only do things that fall into both categories but sometimes they only manage one. Once you’re making enough money to cover your essentials I’d focus on your passion. If we do this, we will generally do a better job and be able to increase our fees.  

If something is neither profitable nor enjoyable then you should stop providing that service or pass on that client. And you should carry out this review each year until you have a profitable business that you love.

Posted on

Building a business can be as painful as walking on Lego 

I read this somewhere last week and it is so true. Whilst there are great highs on the roller coaster of business there are also some real lows. 

So what can you do?

When you identify a problem that is likely to recur in some form then it is worth spending time to make changes to prevent it. But sometimes the solution is not really obvious. 

It may help to work through this with a coach, a colleague, or on your own by asking some simple questions 

  1. What exactly is happening? 
  1. When did this issue start? 
  1. What is the impact? 
  1. What changed recently that might have triggered this? 
  1. Have we had a similar problem before? How did we resolve it? 
  1. What outcome do I want to achieve? 
  1. Is this realistic given any current constraints? 

Here’s to using your Lego creatively instead of as an instrument of torture. 

Business confidence monitor 

The Q3 ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor is here and shows the increased tax burden are holding back business and economic growth 

ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor | ICAEW 

Posted on

Charge what you’re worth, not what your competitors are worth 

Pricing is often difficult when you first start your business, and you may well have based your initial prices on what your competitors charge. But you soon learn where you sit amongst the competition. 

At Minerva Accountants we charge slightly higher than others and have testimonials from clients that we are ‘worth it’ as well as other success stories. They might just say that we’re easier to deal with or perhaps quantify it by saying that coaching has helped them save three years in growing their business. There are also the silent testimonials when clients return with a new business or refer others to us. 

So where do you sit in the hierarchy of your competition? 

And is that reflected in your prices? 

In order to increase your prices, you may first need to raise your services to a higher level or, if you’re already ahead of your competitors, you may need to differentiate yourself more to your prospects. As accountants we’re often seen as offering the same commodity service as any other accountant. People think we just fill in tax forms once a year and keep them legal. 

But we can do soooo much more.  

We can spend time learning about the business and identifying where profits are being left on the table. We can help clients to pluck the low hanging fruit. Or build a ladder to harvest the higher rewards too. This is where we get most satisfaction and provide most value. When we move beyond hassle-free accounts to more profitable clients. 

First, improve the value of your offering, then promote it widely.  

How can you differentiate your yourself? 

Posted on

How was your holiday? 

Hope fully you managed some time off (or have a break lined up) from your business without too much hassle.  

When I ran Hudson Business Accountants and Advisers, I remember coming back from a holiday to find that my team had onboarded 2 new clients from new enquiries and already completed the work for one of them.  

It was a very strange feeling to realise that, even though I was the face of the business and the one responsible for business development, my team could function perfectly well without me. Yes, it was what I had aimed for but, like my kids growing up and leaving home, it took a bit of mental and emotional adjustment from me.  

How great to take a relaxing holiday without interruption and not come back to a disaster.  

It also increased the value of my business when I eventually sold it as the business was its own entity and could function to the same high standards without me.  

If I can help you to achieve the same profitable, work-life balancing business then please reply to this email and we can book a call to discuss the options from free to freedom.