Surviving Covid

Surviving The Covid Winter

8 Comments

2020 has been a year like no other. And while the first vaccine has just been approved, for many of us this winter still looks like being a long, hard and stressful one.

There is no doubt many people’s mental health has been impacted both by the threat of the virus and the measures taken by government to try to control it. Add to that, many people have seen their income reduced or lost their jobs altogether, causing financial hardship as well.

Clearly we all need to find methods for getting through this difficult time. So I asked some of my fellow bloggers to share any tips they might have, including things they are doing to help them (and their families) cope. I have listed their answers below, with my own reactions in italics afterwards where relevant. I will then say a bit about how I am planning to get through the Covid winter myself.

Bloggers’ Tips

Jo Jackson who blogs at Tea and Cake for the Soul says, ‘List your outgoing payments and see what can be got rid of or reduced. List all of your utility accounts, insurances and entertainment packages then look at comparison sites to see if you can get better deals elsewhere.’

Always a good idea and can save you a lot of money. Check out cashback websites as well, as they may offer cashback if you switch to a new supplier.

Sally Allsop of Life Loving says, ‘Buy yourself a big thermos or two and fill them with hot drinks and homemade soup. Then you can still go for days out without having to worry about mingling and queuing at eateries/cafes. You’ll also be able to keep yourself warm on theoretically safer outside winter activities.’

Hayley Muncey, who blogs as Miss Manypennies, says, ‘I’ve applied for the 30 hours’ free childcare funding for my 3-year-old. Normally I love taking her out and about to playgroups, the library and meeting to play with her little friends, but since everything is cancelled, closed and we’re not allowed to meet anyone (local lockdown), preschool is basically the only social activity she’ll have, so I’m going to up her hours. I think she’ll have more fun there than stuck at home! Plus it gives me more time to concentrate on working from home, so hopefully I can bring in a bit more money.’

I didn’t know anything about this scheme, but there are more details on this government website if you may be eligible. In England you need to have a child who is 3-4 years old. Other schemes apply in different parts of the UK.

Jennifer Graudenz of Monethalia says, ‘Sign up at your local library. Many libraries let you take out eBooks, so you will always have something to read, no matter how many lockdowns we have.’

Good idea. You can still borrow ordinary print books as well but special Covid precautions are likely to apply. Ask at your library for more info.

Ryan Maley who blogs at A SIngle Step says, ‘Try to keep some sort of routine, even if you are stuck in the house all day. If you’re working from home, make sure you stick to set hours with a lunch break, and have a separate space in which to work. Organise calls, video calls, quizzes and virtual catch-ups with friends and family. Try to get fresh air or exercise whilst following the rules. A run after work or exploring some local countryside can do wonders. Or even dancing along to a YouTube video in your bedroom. Most of all, if you are struggling, make sure you speak to friends or family. A problem shared really is a problem halved.’

Some great tips there from Ryan. And yes, if you’re struggling, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. See also my blog post titled Looking After Your Mental Health in the Coronavirus Crisis.

Claire of Stapo’s Thrifty Life Hacks writes, ‘We are a family of three and a few weeks ago we invested in waterproofs for the whole family. We started walking a lot at the start of lockdown and as things ramp up again, we know that we will want to get out and explore where we can. As we now have all the right gear, we are hopeful that the rain and wind won’t put us off getting out there as autumn turns into winter.’

Fiona Hawkes who blogs at Savvy in Somerset says, ‘We’ve started planning at-home Christmas activities, as trips to visit Father Christmas and big family gatherings won’t be happening this year. I’m making my daughter an activity advent calendar for us to enjoy during December which includes things like Christmas story books, festive cake making, writing letters and cards to family we won’t see and making lovely decorations for our home.’

Human Carley, who blogs at the wonderfully named Unicorn Puffs and Rainbows, says, ‘Make your house as cosy as you can. Clear out anything you can now whist charity shops and recycling centres are open. Having as much usable space as possible will be important, as we will have much less time outside.’

You could sell anything you no longer need on eBay or similar sites to boost your income as well. There are some great tips about selling on eBay in this guest post by Lucy Olivia.

Anisa Alhilali who blogs at Two Traveling Texans says, ‘Feed your travel wanderlust. Even if you can’t travel there are ways to have “travel-like experiences” from home. You can take a virtual tour, have a travel-themed night, read a travel book, and more.’

Love this idea. You could start planning for future post-Covid adventures.

And Anisa also has a blog called Origami Expressions. She writes: ‘Take advantage of the time at home and learn origami. It is great for mindfulness and you will be amazed at all the things that you can make with just a sheet of paper!’

And it costs almost nothing as well. I may just try this myself!

Victoria Sully who blogs at Healthy Vix says, ‘Make sure you have ways to relax and chill at home to reduce the stress. This year I have just invested in a bath pillow, fluffy bath mat, candles and some soothing bath foam to indulge in some some luxurious baths this winter to take the stress away! Even something as simple as lighting candles in the evening can be calming and help to reduce stress.’

Anne Fraser who blogs at The Platinum Line says, ‘My lifesaver at the moment is our local leisure centre. Although a lot of classes have been cancelled they are still hosting an over 60s lane swim twice a week. I think it is important to find an indoor activity you enjoy and if it makes you healthier so much the better.’

Absolutely. I love swimming and was so relieved when my local leisure centre and pool reopened.

Vicky Smith of More Than A Mummy says, ‘For Christmas we will only buy gifts for the kids in the family. Will save valuable cash at a time when our business has been hit hard by the pandemic. We actually started doing this last year and it saved me hundreds as our family is huge!’

Jenny Tate of The Life Stuff says, ‘Check with your current suppliers to see if you can make any savings i.e. gas, electric, TV, internet providers. My internet bill was put up last week to £54/month so I called up the provider and got the exact same package for £26!’

There is often scope for renegotiating your broadband bill. See my blog post How I Saved £252.72 on my Virgin Media Broadband Bill.

Shelley Whitaker who blogs at Wander & Luxe says, ‘We are preparing at home by making sure we have plenty of things to entertain ourselves and our toddler. For example, crafts, puzzles, things to cook and DIY bits for around the house. We are also purposely not watching too many movies or TV shows so we have things we want to watch if needed. For now I am trying to get out each day and do normal things that I am able to (restrictions permitting), and basically just take each day as it comes.’

Sarah Bailey of Life in a Breakdown says, ‘Think about making some family time using a video calling service. Some of them cost after so long but some don’t, so shop around and don’t just use the one most spoken about. It will allow you to keep in touch with family during this time should the worst happen!’

Great advice. See also my blog post, What Are the Best Video Calling Tools for Older People?

Emma Reid who blogs at Emmareid.net says, ‘Just because it’s chilly doesn’t mean you can’t still go exploring and get outdoors. We are doing 1000 hours outside challenge and we still have a bit of a way to go to hit it so I am making the most of the days we have left to get outside whatever the weather. As long as you have the right gear, you can still have fun.’

Finally, Emily Jane of Emily Underworld says, ‘While winter means Christmas and the season of giving, don’t forget to practise self-care. This can be anything from rest to time alone for meditation. As my budget for Christmas this year is low, I’ll be supporting small UK businesses, as well as making some gifts myself. Getting creative is great for self-care, and it’s also great for my bank balance.’

Yes, as well as being kind to others we also need to be kind to ourselves at this difficult time. And I do agree as well with supporting local businesses, many of whom are having a very tough time of it.

My Own Thoughts

I have also been thinking a lot about how to stay sane and well over the coming months.

As you probably know, I’m semi-retired and live alone. Nowadays blogging is my main source of earned income. It doesn’t make me a fortune – far from it – but I’m lucky enough to have savings and investments and a small personal pension as well to keep my finances ticking over.

As well as being a source of income, working on the blog gives my days a bit of structure, which we all need at the moment. I typically spend a few hours each morning on it, then do other things (e.g. going for a swim or a walk) later. I feel as though once I have got my ‘work’ out of the way I have earned the right to do other things I enjoy. Though I do enjoy writing and blogging as well, of course!

I am planning other activities as well. Some friends told me recently that over the winter they intend to get on with some decorating projects. While that doesn’t appeal so much to me, there are a number of jobs around the house and garden that I really do need to tackle. I plan to make a list of them and see how many I can tick off before the spring!

I am also considering getting into video gaming – though as I spend a lot of time anyway at a computer or watching TV, I am not entirely sure I should be lining myself up for more hours staring into a screen.

I’m also thinking of teaching myself a musical instrument – possibly tenor ukulele, as I have heard they are among the easiest instruments to learn, although I am open to other suggestions 😀

I am also trying my best to keep some sort of social life going, even in the face of mounting restrictions. I don’t live in an area under lockdown (yet) so am hoping and planning to go on meeting friends for pub lunches. I am also keeping in touch with friends/relatives as much as possible using video calling and traditional phone calls. It has been particularly good to be in more regular touch with my sister Annie, who also lives alone. We speak on the phone most weekends now, and it’s been great to hear what’s been going on in her life and her job (she works as a librarian).

I agree with my fellow bloggers who pointed out the importance of staying active even in the cold winter months. I aim to go swimming at least once a week and really enjoy this, not least because it’s something normal I can still do at a time when our freedom of action is increasingly limited. I also try to go for a walk every day, though as the weather worsens I suspect I won’t be doing this quite as often.

Finally, although I did say I’m wary of spending any more time than I do already staring at a screen, I’m considering taking out a Britbox subscription for the long winter nights. They have a lot of classic BBC and ITV series that I would enjoy watching (or re-watching). And I must admit I wouldn’t mind giving the new Spitting Image a try as well!

I’d like to close this post by thanking my fellow bloggers for their varied and thought-provoking suggestions for surviving this Covid winter. I hope you may want to check out at least some of their blogs.

And, of course, if you have any comments or questions about this post, or any other suggestions for coping over the coming months, I’d love to hear them. Please leave a comment below as usual.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
October Update

My Coronavirus Crisis Experience: October Update

, , , 6 Comments

Regular readers will know that I have been posting about my personal experience of the coronavirus crisis since the original lockdown started (you can read my September update here if you like).

As previously I will discuss what has been happening with my finances and my life generally over the last few weeks, while trying to avoid being too repetitive!

As always, I will start with the money side of things.

Financial

As I’ve done before, I’ll begin with my Nutmeg stocks and shares ISA. This has gone up and down over the last few weeks, but currently stands at £16,578. That is over £500 up on last month, so I’m happy with that! Here is a screen capture covering the last three months…

Nutmeg account October

You can read my in-depth Nutmeg review here if you like.

My Property Partner and Kuflink investments are still both ticking along satisfactorily. Property Partner has resumed paying dividends on some properties, which is appreciated. The five-year sales process has also resumed. There is a backlog, though, so it will probably be longer than five years till the properties I hold shares in can be sold at the current, independently-assessed market price (or retained, of course).

There is nothing really to report about The House Crowd. I assume that the sales of the two properties in which I hold £1,000 shares are progressing, but can understand that it is a slow process at present. At least rental payments are still accruing, which should help to defray some of the selling costs.

There has been no further word either regarding my investments with Crowdlords. As I said last month, I have two remaining investments with them, Kennington Road eco-houses and Trent House. I was told they hope to have exit options for these properties by the end of the year, but I’m not holding my breath. On the plus side, they are paying 6 percent interest on my Trent House investment, which is quite generous in these days of ultra-low interest rates.

Personal

It’s been an eventful few weeks one way and the other.

As mentioned previously, I had booked a short break in Llandudno (see cover image) near the end of September. Thankfully I was able to go. If I had left it just a few days later I would have had to cancel, as the Welsh Assembly has decided to lock down the whole of the Llandudno and Conwy area due to rising infection rates. That means no-one can currently go in or out of the area without a compelling reason (and having a holiday booked there doesn’t count).

Anyway, I enjoyed my visit. I stayed in a self-catering apartment, which turned out to be a good choice in most respects. It was on two floors, with a lounge and well-equipped kitchen on the lower floor and a double bedroom and bathroom on the upper. The location was central but quiet, yet just five months’ walk from the sea. The only drawback was that parking was on the street and finding a spot was a bit of a lottery. I was lucky to get somewhere close when I arrived, but later in the holiday had to park on another road half a mile away, which was a bit of a pain. I paid £255 for my three-night stay via Booking.com, which I thought was reasonable. By comparison, the seafront hotels I checked out were charging over £600 for three nights’ bed and breakfast.

Not surprisingly Llandudno was quieter than usual for the time of year, but there were still plenty of visitors, and many of the small hotels and boarding houses had ‘No Vacancies’ signs in their windows. While some places and amenities were closed, many others were open, and I was pleased to find that the pier was fully operational (see photo below). Professor Codman’s famous Punch and Judy show on the promenade wasn’t running, though – a shame, as there were lots of young children who might have enjoyed it.

Llandudno

On my first day I left my car at the apartment and took a couple of bus tours. The first was the open-top bus that takes a circular route between Llandudno and Conwy and includes a running commentary. I have done this trip before and noticed that the recorded commentary hasn’t changed this year. Mind you, that may be just as well, as a post-Covid commentary would have had to include details about all the hotels and other places that have closed due to the virus, the seafront theatre that became a Covid field hospital, and so forth…

The other trip was on a vintage bus (see photo) around the Great Orme, one of the two promontories at either end of Llandudno’s seafront. This had a knowledgeable driver/guide, who provided an interesting – and up-to date – commentary. I must admit I particularly enjoyed seeing ‘Millionaire’s Row’ at the far side of the Orme. There are some amazing houses here, owned by people who like to preserve their privacy. Obviously the coach passes from a distance, but it was still a good opportunity to gawp at how the super-rich live. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the house that has its own private lift down to the beach!

On the second day of my visit I drove to the medieval walled town of Conwy, which is about three miles away. I booked a ticket online to see Plas Mawr, a restored Elizabethan town house (photo below). It was fascinating, and I was glad I took the option of borrowing one of the free electronic guides. You use these to scan a QR code in each room and it provides a commentary on the room itself and various interesting historical tidbits associated with it.

Plas mawr

As with my visit to Dunster Castle near Minehead earlier in September, all the usual anti-virus measures were in place. I had to wear a face covering throughout, and staff ensured that there were no more than two households in a room at any one time. It worked pretty smoothly, although you had to follow a set route and there was no possibility of returning to a room once you had left it.

  • In case you’re wondering, the photo in my cover image shows the Haulfre Gardens Tearoom on the lower slopes of the Great Orme. It’s one of my favourite places in Llandudno, and I was pleased to find it was still open. I enjoyed afternoon tea in their lovely garden on both days of my visit. As you can see, I was pretty lucky with the weather!

As mentioned above, I was very glad to be able to make my trip before the current lockdown would have made it impossible. I feel very sorry for people who booked after me and were unable to go, especially as I have heard that some are now having problems getting their money back. But I am sorry also for the hotels and other businesses who have been left high and dry by the lockdown. I really hope for their sake it doesn’t go on too long 🙁

Moving on, I had an experience I would rather not have had in the last few weeks too. At a routine eye examination my optician saw something she didn’t like the look of in the retina of my left eye. So she packed me off to the eye clinic at Queens Hospital, Burton. The doctor there told me I had a perforation of the retina, and gave me laser treatment then and there. It wasn’t painful but it was obviously nerve-racking. The doctor did say it was a good thing my optician had spotted the problem, as it could have led to a detached retina if left untreated, which is clearly more serious. I have to go for a follow-up check this weekend, but touch wood the problem has been repaired. I guess if nothing else this does show why it’s so important to have your eyes checked regularly even if you don’t think there is anything wrong with them. That applies doubly to older people and those who (Iike me) are very short-sighted, as we are especially susceptible to this sort of thing.

On the Covid front, clearly most of the news hasn’t been good recently. Mind you, in most parts of the UK hospital admissions and deaths remain a lot lower than at the peak of the pandemic in the spring. I have seen the current situation described as a ‘casedemic’, which seems a pretty apt description. Clearly it’s important to protect the elderly and vulnerable at this time. Young people don’t typically suffer severe reactions to the virus, however, so I do wonder if some of the more extreme measures aimed at them are fair or necessary. Personally I am taking what I consider reasonable precautions but still trying to live my life as normally as possible. I volunteered for the UCL Virus Watch panel a few weeks ago and fill in a weekly questionnaire saying whether I have any possible Covid symptoms (none so far). They have also just asked me to take a blood test to see if I have any antibodies or other natural resistance to the virus. I’ll be interested to see the results of that!

As regards masks and such matters, I have been wearing a half-face shield in supermarkets (as a mask sceptic I’m not going to other shops till masks are voluntary again, though I might make an exception if the shop clearly states that they welcome non-mask-wearers). I find this better than the full face shield I was wearing before, as it doesn’t interfere with my vision. Shields are also much easier to breathe through than cloth masks, and I haven’t yet been challenged by any staff members or self-appointed mask police. In case you are interested, here’s an Amazon ad (affiliate) for some half-face shields similar to the type I am now using.

Well, I guess that’s enough for now. I do hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and well. As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Make money as a consultant (part two)

Make Money From Your Skills and Knowledge as a Consultant (Part 2)

0 Comments

In my previous article I talked about setting up as a consultant and how this can be a great way to capitalize on your work-related skills and experiences.

I discussed the range of opportunities for self-employed consultants and how to research the market and establish a strong personal brand. This time, I’ll be focusing specifically on how to market your consultancy business.

I’ll start with a time-honoured method…

Using a Mailshot

This is the traditional approach to marketing a service to businesses and still has many attractions. You will need to compile a list of potential clients you wish to target, perhaps using business directories and/or the internet. It is then a matter of putting together a package including a letter and maybe a brochure as well, along with any other enclosures you deem appropriate. A reply-paid envelope, for example, will often boost response rates.

The more modern approach is to use email. This has various advantages, the most important being that it is quicker and cheaper. Email marketing is typically used for establishing initial contact with a prospective client, to be followed up with written information and/or a phone call if any interest is expressed.

This method does have the drawback that you may not be able to find email addresses for all the businesses you want to target. In addition, many business people are inundated with emails, and other things being equal are less likely to read them than messages that arrive in the post (and if they have spam filters, they may not see your email at all). Nonetheless, when you are starting out, an email campaign has much to recommend it, and there is nothing to stop you following up with a mailshot and/or phone call later.

The Seminar Method

This can be a great way of making money as a trainer, and it can also help you land consultancy clients. Right now, due to anti-Covid measures, it is difficult to apply in the traditional way. Sooner or later, however, normal times will return and these measures will be relaxed. So I will set out the bare bones of the seminar method here.

The idea is that you arrange seminars or training sessions in your specialist subject, typically lasting a day or half-day. You book a room in a hotel or conference centre for this purpose and advertise your seminar through emails and/or mailshots sent to likely prospects.

A reasonable target for your first seminar would be 10 to 20 clients. You would need to pay the hotel a room hire fee of £50 to £100, and there would also be some publicity and promotional costs. An initial budget of around £400 would probably cover all of this.

If your clients pay £100 each, with the numbers mentioned you would be looking at a gross return of £1000 to £2000. Assuming – as mentioned above – you spent £400 on setting up and running the seminar, that would leave you £600 to £1600 clear profit.

That’s not a bad return in itself, but the big attraction is that if some clients are impressed by your expertise, there is every chance they will want to engage you for other services as well, from in-house training to mentoring and consultancy. If this becomes an ongoing arrangement you will have a source of regular income, and may be able to charge a monthly retainer for your services as well.

The seminar method is an under-used approach among trainers and consultants, yet it has huge money-making potential. While it would be difficult to apply at the present time, you could certainly adapt it to the online world (see below). For example, you could set up an online seminar using video-conferencing software such as Zoom or GoToMeeting. You could even create a web-based course in your specialist subject using a service such as Teachable.

Either way, in addition to whatever fees you charge, you would be building a pool of potential clients for your consultancy service as well.

Online Marketing

The internet is, of course, a massive boon for entrepreneurs. Used the right way, you can attract a never-ending stream of clients and potential clients by this means.

As I said last time, your website is an essential tool for this. If you take the time to create a good-looking site with quality content, in time you can expect to start attracting search-engine traffic. In other words, people looking for a consultant or trainer in your niche will see your site listed high in their search results and hopefully click through to find out more.

It will take a bit of time for your site to be listed in the search engines, and longer still for it to achieve a high ranking for your target keywords. You can, however, assist this process by using search engine optimization (SEO). This is a huge topic in itself, and I recommend looking online for more information. Search Engine Journal is a good place to start.

Here, though, are a few basic SEO tactics you can use to start boosting your rankings…

  • Share links to your site on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
  • Comment on blogs and websites relevant to your field of expertise, with links back to your site. You could offer guest posts to the owners of these sites as well.
  • Add a blog to your website, in which you talk about relevant issues and share helpful tips.
  • Join online forums and put a link to your site in your signature text (not all forums allow this, though, so check their guidelines first). Put a link in your email signature as well.

You could also consider self-publishing a short ebook on your specialism and give it away free from your site and/or sell it cheaply as an Amazon Kindle ebook. Again, link from your ebook back to your website. Not only will this assist with your search engine ranking, it may also bring you some clients directly.

SEO can work well over time, but if you want to get up and running faster you could consider paid advertising. One method that can bring results very quickly is Google Adwords. These are the small ‘Ads by Google’ that appear in search engine results and on related websites.

The method generally used to charge for these ads is ‘pay per click’ (PPC). In other words, you pay a set sum to Google every time someone clicks on one of your ads. You can choose the keywords that trigger your ads, and set a maximum you are willing to pay for them. The more you bid, the more prominently your ads will be displayed.

Google Adwords is a powerful tool for bringing targeted prospects to your website. For more information and to sign up, visit www.google.com/adwords.

Finally, there are websites where you can advertise your services and connect with potential clients. Job auction sites such as Guru and Upwork are one possibility, with many thousands of projects posted by would-be clients. You are unlikely to be able to earn top rates via these platforms, however. There is a lot of competition, and as they are international you will be up against people in low-wage economies whose overheads (and fee expectations) may be much lower than yours. If you are looking to gain experience and testimonials they may be worth trying, but they shouldn’t be your first port of call.

A better bet may be sites aimed specifically at connecting consultants with potential clients. One of the more established websites in this field is The Consultant Hub. Joining costs several hundred pounds (tax deductible, of course), but for that you get access to thousands of unadvertised consultancy opportunities, an individual profile page on the website, membership of a private online forum, and access to training and networking events.

More Top Tips

Finally, here are a few more tips for building your training and consultancy business…

  • Prepare a short pitch that answers the common question, ‘What Do You Do?’ Try to have a core message that can be summed up in one sentence, e.g. ‘I help small business professionals promote their products and services to people who need them.’
  • Keep up to date with your specialist subject. Join the relevant professional organization/s, read the latest books and journals, and subscribe to authoritative blogs and websites in your niche.
  • At the end of any training or consultancy session, ask for feedback. Not only will this give you valuable information on areas where you can improve, positive comments may be useful for testimonials (with the client’s permission, of course).
  • Listen carefully to what clients tell you about their businesses and any areas where they are having problems. This is priceless market research, and may suggest new services you can offer in future.
  • Build links with consultants and small businesses with expertise in areas related to yours. For example, if your specialism is copywriting, you might want to link up with a graphic design agency. As well as helping your clients by introducing them to other professionals with skills they need, you may be able to negotiate referral fees.
  • Keep in regular touch with clients, and let them know about any new services you may be offering. Typically 80% of your business will come from repeat clients, so be sure you stay on their radar for the next time they need someone with your particular expertise.

In Conclusion

Selling your skills and knowledge as a mentor, trainer or consultant can be both enjoyable and lucrative. You can work from home, and full-time or part-time as you prefer. This can also be an ideal opportunity for older people who may be looking to reduce their working hours while still earning a decent income.

The work is varied and interesting, and you will have the satisfaction of sharing your skills and experience with people and businesses who can benefit from them. And with many companies relying increasingly on freelancers to help keep overheads low, there has seldom been a better time to get into this field.

Good luck, and happy consulting!

Disclosure: this article includes some affiliate links. If you click through these and make a purchase, I will receive a commission for introducing you. This will not affect the service you receive or the price you pay.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Make Money as a Consultant

Make Money From Your Skills and Knowledge as a Consultant (Part 1)

0 Comments

In this two-part article I’ll be looking at a method almost anyone can use to make money, by selling their skills and knowledge as a mentor, trainer or consultant.

I say almost anyone, because clearly you need some skills and knowledge other people would be willing to pay you for. There is a huge range of possibilities, however, and if you have worked in any skilled, professional or managerial position, you almost certainly have knowledge and abilities you could sell – possibly after some polishing up first!

You can offer your services to private individuals (I’ll look at this in a moment) but by far the biggest and most lucrative potential market is businesses (including public sector organizations such as the NHS). They have budgets for training and consultancy, and generally pay well if you can deliver the services their managers and employees require.

To give you a flavour, here are just a few areas for which mentors, trainers and consultants are much in demand…

  • Health and Safety
  • Equal Opportunities
  • Marketing
  • Business Law
  • Salesmanship
  • Accounts and Financial Management
  • Planning
  • Copywriting
  • Computers
  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Graphic Design
  • Social Media

One big advantage of working with businesses is that if all goes well, you are likely to be invited back in future, either to follow up your initial session or to train other staff. Also, one type of job can lead to another. For example, you might run a course for a client initially, and then be asked to provide ongoing mentoring or consultancy services.

Although businesses are your most likely clients, in some fields you could work with private individuals as well (or alternatively).

One example is computers. Many people struggle with mastering their home computers, and are willing to pay for help and instruction. If you can combine this with basic repairs and maintenance, you have the basis for a steady part-time or even full-time business. Admittedly it is unlikely to pay as well as working for business clients, but may suit some people better.

Business Basics

If you are going to offer any sort of training or consultancy service, even part-time, you will be regarded by the authorities as running a business. That means you will need to contact the tax authorities (HMRC in the UK) and let them know what you are doing.

You will also need to keep accurate financial records showing all money earned and any allowable expenses (stationery, advertising, phone bills, and so on). You or (more likely) your accountant will use these records in due course to produce annual accounts, which will determine how much tax you have to pay.

  • My personal advice would be to speak to an accountant early on and get his/her advice on how best to keep your books (financial records). This can save you a lot of hassle  – and expense – later.

I don’t have space here to go into detail about the nuts and bolts of setting up in business, but there are many books on this subject available. You might also want to take a part-time college course if any are on offer in your area.

As always, the internet is a great source of information as well. Startups and the government’s business website are two very useful resources, but there are plenty of others. Just enter “Starting your own business” in any search engine to find more.

Marketing Yourself

Marketing is the key to making money in this field, so in the remainder of this post I will concentrate on this subject.

Contrary to what is sometimes believed, marketing isn’t the same as advertising. It is an approach or even a philosophy for doing business.

The marketing method involves finding out what potential clients need, and then setting out to meet those needs. This is important, as what you believe potential clients need may not always correspond with the reality.

Advertising (trying to persuade potential clients you can meet their needs) is therefore one aspect of marketing, but it’s far from the whole story. The first stage of marketing is market research, so let’s start there…

Market Research

If you’re planning to set up as a freelance trainer/consultant, it’s important to spend some time researching your chosen field to discover what exactly potential buyers might be looking for.

This will help ensure you pitch your offer correctly, and may also uncover additional niches you want to target. So it is well worth spending a bit of time on your preliminary research rather than jumping straight in.

There are various ways of doing market research, many of which can be performed from your desk or a library. One is researching what other people working in this field – your potential competitors, in other words – are offering.

This is easy to do on the internet. Put yourself in the position of a would-be client and do the sort of search query you might expect them to use: “leadership training”, for example. That should bring up a range of websites belonging to training and consultancy providers. Spend some time studying what these folk are offering and how they promote themselves. You might also want to make a note of how much they charge, if this information is given.

It’s also good to research what potential clients actually want. This isn’t quite so easy, but one way is to look on job auction sites such as People Per Hour and Guru. Businesses use these sites to post details of services they require, which freelancers then bid on. Look for companies advertising for help in your chosen niche, and see how they describe their requirements and the sort of assistance they are seeking.

It is also well worth contacting at least a few potential clients directly. If you have friends or former colleagues in business, for example, tell them what you are planning to do and ask for any advice they can offer. Most will be delighted to help, and you will also be alerting them to the fact that before long you will be available for work in this field.

  • Another method I have seen used successfully is to mailshot a range of potential clients with a market research questionnaire, and promise to make a donation to a specified charity for every one that is returned. This will obviously cost you a bit of money, but the information you get back will be valuable to you, and the contacts you make potentially even more so.

Through your market research you should be able to establish the type of client that may be the best fit for your skills, the services they need, and how best to present yourself to them as a potential provider.

Your Business Image

You are now almost ready to start promoting your services to potential clients, but one other thing you should give some thought to is your business image.

As a freelance mentor, trainer or consultant, it is vital that you present an impression of competence and professionalism. This applies even – or especially – if you are working from home.

Aside from obvious matters such as dress and appearance, you will need to ensure that this image precedes you in any advertising materials you produce. At the very least, you will need to have an attractive letterhead, and possibly a logo as well. If you want to keep your expenditure to a minimum, any printer will have someone who can do this sort of thing, but for the best possible results it’s best to engage a professional graphic designer.

The other thing necessary for anyone working in this field nowadays is a website. You can get a specialist website designer to create this for you, but if you have some computer skills it is quite possible to create a professional-looking site yourself, maybe using the popular WordPress platform. You could use the free WordPress.com service or (even better) set up your own self-hosted WordPress site using a service such as Bluehost (which I use – affiliate link). Either way, you’ll be able to choose from a wide range of themes and plugins to customize your site and ensure it presents your service in exactly the way you want.

When planning your website, you can take inspiration from sites created by other trainers and consultants, but there is nothing wrong with keeping it simple and straightforward at first. The main things you must have include information about yourself and your background, the services you offer, and any testimonials. Contact information is clearly essential, and if appropriate you might also include examples of your work (if your specialism is copywriting or graphic design, for example).

You could also put some information about pricing, although my advice would be to avoid giving chapter and verse about this. You don’t want to put people off if they think you are too expensive, or too cheap for that matter. In addition, it’s best to allow yourself some room for negotiation with individual clients.

With all this in place, you should be in a position to start contacting potential clients. I will discuss this in detail in my next post!

As ever, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below..

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
My short break in Minehead

My Short Break in Minehead

, , 4 Comments

I recently enjoyed a three-night break in the North Somerset coastal town of Minehead.

It was actually my first visit to Minehead. Early this year, before the pandemic struck, I booked breaks in a few places I hadn’t been to before. Minehead was the only one I didn’t have to cancel 🙁

After some online research, I had booked a room at the Channel House Hotel. This is on Minehead’s North Hill (see cover photo), on the opposite side of the bay from the Butlins holiday camp. Here’s a map by courtesy of Google.

The Channel House Hotel had excellent reviews and a great location near the harbour. It had its own car park as well, which is always a plus with seaside hotels!

Here’s some more information about my stay…

The Hotel

The Channel House Hotel is a small country-house hotel with eight bedrooms. They don’t accommodate dogs or children under the age of 15.

I had Room 7, on the top floor. I had been hoping for a sea view, but due to a line of trees I couldn’t really see it from my room. I could at least hear the waves, though! The hotel is in a quiet, peaceful location, and I slept very well on all three nights.

As you would expect in these strange times, various anti-virus precautions were in place. I had my temperature checked on arrival, and hand sanitizer was available by the front door and on all the tables in the dining room.

I opted for breakfast and an evening meal, although you can book bed and breakfast only. Other dining options near the hotel appear limited, though, especially in these times of Covid.

There was a good choice of breakfast options for a small hotel. As well as the full English (which you can customize as you wish) you could also have Eggs Benedict in three different variations or smoked haddock with poached egg. You could also have a plate of mixed fruit, cereal and/or yogurt, plus the usual toast and hot drinks. I’m not sure what the normal arrangements for breakfast are, but obviously at present they can’t have a self-service buffet, so most meal options are brought to your table.

There is a choice of starters and main meals in the evenings, with guests asked to say what they would like after breakfast. Fair enough in my view, as there is obviously no point in the hotel preparing meals nobody wants! That applies especially at the moment with visitor numbers so low – partly due to the virus and partly (I understand) as a deliberate policy to help preserve social distancing. During my stay, there were never any more than six guests including me.

Evening meals are served at 7.00 pm, with pre-meal drinks in the small bar from 6.30. Although the latter is obviously optional, I did find this an enjoyable way of meeting and getting to know my fellow guests. There was one couple and all the others were solo ladies around my age or older. We all got along well. I enjoyed hearing what they had been doing during the day, as most of them knew the area better than I did.

The evening meals were very good. They comprised five courses: starter, main, dessert, cheese and biscuits, and coffee. That may sound a lot, but the portions were sensibly sized, so I didn’t feel too guilty!

Fish seems to be a speciality and I particularly enjoyed the sole I had on the first night. One thing that surprised me, though, was that the menu never included any vegetarian main courses. They do cater for veggies and those with special diets, so I’m sure if I’d asked I could have had something. For three nights I was perfectly happy with what was on offer. But as I eat vegetarian quite often at home, it might have been nice to have that option on the menu as well, some nights at any rate!

My twin-bedded room was more than adequate for my needs. It had a small (by modern standards) wall-mounted TV, but that was fine for a short visit. The WiFi worked well once I sorted out a bit of confusion over the password, and I was able to use it in my room as well as the communal areas. The bathroom was a good size and had a bath with a modern electric shower over it. My bed was comfortable and there was plenty of storage space. I was well looked after and had an enjoyable and relaxing stay.

Financials

As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I should say a word about this.

I paid £360 for my three-night stay (including breakfasts and evening meals) at the Channel House Hotel, which I thought very reasonable. If I had chosen bed and breakfast only, the price would have been £285. As you may gather from this, the hotel charge a fixed price of £25 for their five-course evening meals.

You can check current prices and availability on the Hotels.com website. You can book this way (which I did) or directly with the hotel. The latter method may or may not work out cheaper.

Things to See and Do

Inevitably at the time of my visit a lot of places and attractions were either closed or not operating normally.

I was particularly disappointed that the West Somerset Railway – said to be the longest heritage railway in England – was not running. At the time of writing there is still no indication when it will reopen.

I was though able to visit Dunster Castle, which is owned by the National Trust. As a Trust member I was able to get free admission, but had to book a ticket in advance on the website. They are doing this to ensure that visitor numbers are controlled, to help maintain social distancing.

Dunster Castle

Dunster Castle goes back to at least Norman times, with an impressive medieval gatehouse and ruined tower providing a reminder of its long and sometimes turbulent history. The castle became a lavish country home during the 19th century for the Luttrell family, and the furnishings and decor are largely from that time. The castle is surrounded by a terraced garden displaying varieties of Mediterranean and subtropical plants. Below this is a riverside woodland garden leading to a historic working watermill (unfortunately closed at present).

Due to anti-virus measures, visitors have to follow a long and winding route through the gardens to get to the castle, so my top tip is to allow longer than you would expect to arrive at your allotted time. Bear in mind also that you will be expected to follow a similarly circuitous route afterwards to get back to the car park. This means there is a lot of walking before and after you see the castle itself. I was okay with that, but I suspect some older visitors might struggle.

Anyway I duly arrived at the castle entrance and, after giving a phone number for track-and-trace and using a hand sanitizer, was allowed to enter (wearing a face covering, of course). Only certain parts of the castle were open to visitors, not including the kitchens for some reason. On the plus side, though, with so few visitors there was plenty of room to see everything on view. Although entry is by timed ticket, once in you are allowed to stay for as long as you want (or at least for as long as you can stand wearing a face covering).

I spent around an hour in the castle, after which I was ready for some refreshments. I am not sure if the castle has a coffee shop normally but if so it was closed. They did though have a pop-up cafe in the gardens (you can just see this to the left of my photo above). I had a hot chocolate and a slice of coffee-and-walnut cake here, which I very much enjoyed even though it wasn’t exactly a healthy option!

Dunster Castle was the only formal visitor attraction I visited during my stay, and I do recommend it, so long as walking isn’t a problem for you.

In fact, I did a lot of walking throughout my break. That included along the seafront, from the harbour to the Butlins camp, and also up North Hill, which takes you to the edge of Exmoor. On the walk up North Hill, I stopped to admire the 16th century St Michael’s Church (also sadly closed).

St Michaels Church

Near the church is an area called Church Steps, where there are some beautiful thatched cottages.

Thatched cottages

I would like to show you the view across the bay from the top of North Hill, which I am told is quite spectacular. When I got to the viewing area, however, a closed and padlocked gate barred my way, with a forbidding warning notice about Covid-19. Having made the not-inconsiderable effort to walk up the hill (most people drive), this was pretty disappointing. I sat at the roadside for a few minutes collecting my thoughts before heading down again. That was probably the low point of the holiday!

On my last day in Minehead I took a short stroll to Blenheim Gardens, a well-tended and attractive public park. The cafe was closed as well, but I wandered down to the harbour and enjoyed a takeaway cream tea there 🙂

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Minehead, though obviously the fact that so many places were closed did spoil it a little. I had an enjoyable, relaxing time, with plenty of healthy fresh air and exercise (just as well in view of the cakes and five-course dinners!). I will hope to go back again when things are more normal.

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.


If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
How to save money on foreign currency transfers before or after retirement

How to Save Money on Foreign Currency Transfers Before and After Retirement

, , , , 0 Comments

A great number of people today need to transfer currencies, or receive transfers from abroad, for many different reasons. As globalization extends, this need has become more frequent as geographical borders become less relevant.

For example, our parents couldn’t even dream about services like eBay or Alibaba, where you can buy anything and have it delivered from a dozen countries away. And the whole thing might be cheaper than buying it in your local store!

But here is where the matter of foreign currency transfers becomes important. Paying for something abroad or getting money sent to you might not be cheap. That’s because not only do you have to pay bank fees for the transaction, you also lose money on currency exchange, which is often a mandatory step in cross-border transfers.

Luckily, today there are alternative money transfer services that allow you to cut these costs. You’ll need to look into them if you require regular foreign currency exchange (FX or forex) services.

Why You Might Need to Make Foreign Currency Transfers

One reason you might need to make a large money transfer abroad is real estate. Buying property is an important part of the retirement planning process and many Britons choose to retire abroad. For example, the latest data indicates that there are about 466,000 British pensioners living in the EU. There are even more among the 5.5 million Brits living worldwide.

Even if you don’t plan on moving or buying a vacation home on some tropical beach, you might consider investing. Investing in real estate is one of the less risky methods for growing your fortune. Of course, the coronavirus crisis has heavily affected this industry. But there are still some very promising prospects for the residential housing market.

Also, today you’ll need to make international payments when booking your holiday accommodation. So, if you plan to travel at all, you’ll need to look for cheap money transfer solutions.

Anyone involved in international business also needs to make and/or accept international payments. This also includes the simple process of buying goods through one of the many e-commerce platforms.

In addition to those reasons, if you are an expat or a traveller, you’ll need to exchange money regularly. The same goes for dealing with transfers like inheritance or even accepting dividend payments from your investments.

All in all, living in the modern world makes you exposed to foreign currency exchange and transfers in many ways. Therefore, the knowledge of how to save money on these transactions is sure to be useful.

How Much Do Foreign Currency Transfers Cost in a Bank?

The cost of an international bank wire transfer is a very complicated issue. First of all, you need to understand that banks will advertise, and sometimes even show you, only the transfer fee. In the UK those range from £8 to about £40. That doesn’t seem too bad, especially for large transfers, right?

However, the truth is that banks are deceiving customers most of the time. If they were fully transparent, you would understand that what truly matters is the FX rate margin. That’s the amount that the bank charges per currency conversion on top of the mid-market exchange rate.

Simply put, high FX margins are why you lose so much money on currency conversions. Different banks use different margins and that’s why they offer different exchange rates. But if you compare the options offered by top UK banks, you’ll see that they are all very close.

Therefore, you don’t have much of a choice.

Also, there might be additional fees involved in a cross-border money transfer. The recipient bank might charge its own fees. If there are any intermediary ‘stops’ along the way, more fees will come.

All things considered, the real cost of an international money transfer can go up to 3-10% of the transfer amount. This cost will be higher for exotic currencies and transfers to remote locations. It will go down a bit for large transfers because banks might offer better terms to VIP clients.

However, the total will always be quite high.

Leading Money Transfer Service Alternatives From the UK

With bank transfer costs so high, a necessity for an alternative emerged. The solution came in the form of FX brokers and money-transfer companies. These businesses offer services similar to banks, but they have much lower overhead costs. Therefore, they are able to keep both the margins and fees very low.

In fact, many companies charge no transfer fees at all for the majority of transactions. However, they use different margins that often depend on the transfer size. Thus, you should always compare foreign currency transfers before choosing a service. This won’t be difficult as all top companies in the industry offer free quotes. They also have transparent pricing schemes.

On average, a transfer with one of these companies will cost you 1-3% of the total. Industry leaders even offer options that allow you to cut costs below 1% for large transfers.

The most notable UK-based FX companies today are TransferWise and WorldFirst. There are other notable businesses as well. However, they cannot compete with these two giants that have multi-million funding.

TransferWise

TransferWise launched not even a decade ago and it has already become a major disruptor in the banking industry. It took over the FX money transfer industry rather fast as well. The main selling point of this company was offering not merely cheap transfers but also a fixed margin scheme.

This means that TransferWise managed to offer its customers consistency and a chance to save a great deal of money. Because of the fixed margins, its services were the most affordable in the industry. The company is now valued at over $3.5 billion and it’s expanded to many countries, including the US.

WorldFirst

WorldFirst is another veteran in the FX transfer industry. This company built a solid reputation for its reliability and trustworthiness. Launched back in 2004 literally from a basement, WorldFirst became one of the industry leaders within a few years.

In 2019 this fintech business was purchased by Ant Financial of the Alibaba Group. This allowed WorldFirst to launch a major change in pricing. It had already been one of the top companies, but it could not compete with TransferWise in affordability. However, the new pricing scheme with fixed margins that go below 0.55% makes WorldFirst a cheaper alternative even to TransferWise. At the moment, there is no cheaper option for foreign currency transfers in the UK. Also, WorldFirst has a very wide reach due to its association with Alibaba, though it’s not yet available in the US.

In Conclusion: Do Your Research for Saving Money on Foreign Currency Transfers

FX money transfer companies today offer great opportunities for money saving. However, do not forget that the lowest cost doesn’t necessarily mean the best offer. These companies have a number of requirements and additional services that you should research. For example, some have a minimum transfer limit. Others offer FX hedging tools that will be essential for reducing risks for businesses and investors.

Thus, be sure to compare all options you have available and research them thoroughly. Watch out for scammers, and choose only those businesses that have a good standing in the industry.

This is a sponsored post.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
My September Update

My Coronavirus Crisis Experience: September Update

, 6 Comments

Regular readers will know that I have been posting about my personal experience of the coronavirus crisis since lockdown started (you can read my August update here if you like).

As previously I will discuss what has been happening with my finances and my life generally over the last few weeks. I will try to avoid being too repetitive, as I have obviously published a few of these updates now and not everything changes that much from one update to the next!

As always, I will start with the money side of things.

Financial

As usual, I’ll start with my Nutmeg stocks and shares ISA. This has gone up and down over the last few weeks, but is currently at £16,041. At one point it was as high as £16,270, but it’s still over £400 up on last month, so I’m not complaining. Here is a screen capture covering the last three months…

You can read my in-depth Nutmeg review here if you like.

My two Buy2LetCars investments are still delivering the promised monthly returns without any hassle. I was pleased that Buy2LetCars also chose to feature me and my blog posts about the company in their email newsletter last month. That brought me a few more readers, so a special welcome if you are one of them! Again, if you’d like to learn more, you can read my review of Buy2LetCars here and my more recent article about the company here.

There is nothing particular to report about my Property Partner or Kuflink investments, both of which are ticking along satisfactorily. As regards The House Crowd, another of their properties in which I hold a share has just been sold, so that is around £2,000 in capital I am expecting back in the next month or two. Unfortunately I am not expecting to make any profit on these two investments, though I have of course received rental payouts – or dividends if you prefer – from these properties over the time I’ve held shares in them.

As regards Crowdlords – which I discussed last month – I wrote asking about two investments I still have with them, Kennington Road eco-houses and Trent House. I had received no information from Crowdlords about either of these projects since before lockdown in March, which I found disappointing.

I received a prompt and courteous reply from Crowdlords co-founder, Richard Bush. He told me that the properties in question were proving difficult to exit from and the situation had been complicated by the change in their FCA status. He added: ‘Prior to the FCA announcement we were about to launch new investments for both of these properties, giving those that wish to leave an exit option and others who like income-based investments to take over, alongside mortgages. This is still our plan, though at the same time we will also try and sell both properties…Once we’re back up and running with Equity and Mezzanine investments we will turn our attention to the BTL’s (including Kennington Road) and still hope to have an exit option available by the end of the year. In the meantime Trent House will continue to earn 6% p.a interest.’

So I guess that is somewhat reassuring, but I’m still not holding my breath about seeing any return from either of these projects any time soon. It’s a shame because I’ve always liked Crowdlords and had good returns from my other investments with them. But obviously these are unprecedented times and property markets generally have been struggling. I will wait to see what new offering the company comes up with, but it will have to be very enticing indeed to persuade me to invest with them again.

As mentioned last time, I applied for the second (and final) round of SEISS (Self Employed Income Support Scheme) payments in mid-August and duly received payment a few days latter. I haven’t seen any complaints or problems about the administration of the SEISS programme and think HMRC deserve a lot of credit for how smoothly it has run. I do know there were issues over eligibility, however, so my commiserations go to any self-employed people who – for no fault of their own – failed to qualify.

In any event, if you are self-employed and eligible for a SEISS payment, applications are open now, so don’t delay!

Personal

In the last few weeks I have done a few things for the first time since lockdown in March. For one, I took advantage of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme to enjoy a couple of pub lunches (okay, one was more of a pub brunch). It was great to be doing something more normal again and catch up with old friends I hadn’t seen since the start of the year. And paying half-price was a nice bonus!

It was obviously a different experience from the usual. When my friend and I arrived for our pub lunch, we were met by a man at the door who checked our booking and showed us to our table (no chance to pick our own as we would normally). One thing I noticed was that no staff were wearing masks and only a few customers. As a mask sceptic this didn’t bother me, but again I was struck by the incongruity of a situation where you can be in a pub surrounded by other diners for a couple of hours with almost nobody masked, then go to a supermarket and be forced to put one on while there (unless you’re exempt, of course).

In any event, I really enjoyed my pub lunch and catching up with my friend. We couldn’t pay cash as we would normally – nobody wants cash nowadays in case it’s contaminated – so my friend paid on his card and I later forwarded my half to him via PayPal. That was a first!

I also went to Birmingham to meet another old friend for brunch at one of the Wetherspoons pubs there. It felt odd to be on the streets in Brum and see so many people wearing masks in the open. Nobody does this in the small town where I live, but I guess it’s a bit different in big cities. Anyway, my friend arrived before me and was directed to a table at the back of the pub. I then had to wander around the tables looking for him behind various protective screens, feeling like a voyeur or a spy. But thankfully I found him eventually!

The instructions on the table told us to order via the Wetherspoons app. That task fell to me, as my friend doesn’t have a smartphone. I managed to do it after signing in to the pub’s free WiFi. I saw several people struggling with this, though. They either ended up hailing a passing waitress or gave up and ordered at the bar.

Anyway, the app worked well for me, and I was impressed by the speed with which cutlery was brought to our table, shortly followed by our meals (two all-day breakfasts). We both also ordered coffee with limitless refills. I was pleased to discover that this was still on offer, though you are now supposed to ask a staff member for a new mug before going to the coffee machine again. I did this, but I don’t think anyone else did.

I have just returned form a short break in Minehead on the Somerset coast (my cover image shows the harbour with the Butlins camp in the background!). I won’t say too much about this here as I plan to do a separate post about it soon. But I will say it was an enjoyable and relaxing break, only slightly marred by the fact that many of the attractions were closed due to Covid. I did manage to visit the nearby Dunster Castle (pictured below), which is owned by the National Trust. Sadly only some areas were open to the public, with various restrictions due to the virus. But on the plus side, because visitor numbers were being limited, I had plenty of space to appreciate what was actually on view!

Dunster Castle

Going back to masks and such matters, I have been wearing a full face shield in supermarkets (I’m not going to other shops till masks are voluntary again, though I might make an exception if the shop clearly states that they welcome non-mask-wearers). I find this a good compromise as it is much easier to breathe through than a cloth mask, and I haven’t yet been challenged by any staff members or self-appointed mask police. I also recently obtained a half-face shield which covers you from the nose downward. That makes it more portable, and also means your vision isn’t impaired (shields are made of clear plastic, but with my eyesight I struggle a bit reading lists of ingredients through them). In case you are interested, here’s an Amazon ad (affiliate) for some half-face shields similar to the type I bought.

I am looking forward to another late summer break in a couple of weeks’ time. I shall be going to Llandudno in North Wales, one of my favourite UK holiday destinations. I shall be staying in a self-catering apartment and am looking forward to shopping for food without having to put a mask on (Wales so far having sensibly resisted the pressure to make masks mandatory in shops). More about that next time!

And that’s it really. Recent reports are indicating an uptick in the virus among young people especially, and of course the doom-mongers are out in force again. Nonetheless, I think there are still plenty of reasons to stay positive. Hospital admissions and deaths are thankfully still at very low levels. And in my personal opinion we are very unlikely to see a ‘second wave’ anywhere near as bad as the first. Of course, it’s important to continue taking sensible precautions such as hand-washing and using sanitizing gel, along with social distancing (if you can keep up with the ever-changing rules). Personally I think that any marginal benefits from wearing masks are more than offset by the way people misuse them in practice. But I’d better not go on any more about that!

I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and sane during this crazy time. As ever, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Self-employment

Ten Things I Have Learned About Self-Employment Over 30 Years

2 Comments

Yes, it’s true. I’ve been self-employed for over 30 years now (barring a short barren spell 20 years ago when I took a temporary job at the University of Wolverhampton to help make ends meet).

I worked primarily as a freelance writer, but also as a freelance proofreader and editor. As regular readers will know I am semi-retired these days, though still available for small to medium-sized projects that I can fit in around my other commitments 🙂

Inevitably over the last 30 years I’ve learned a few things about self-employment, so I thought today I’d share some of them here. I hope this will be helpful to anyone who may be contemplating going down this route.

1. You Need an Accountant

This is actually my top tip to anyone starting out in self-employment. Tax is complicated (Shock! Horror!) and there really is no substitute for getting advice from a professional in the field.

Yes, you can do your own book-keeping (and there is no shortage of clever software to help with this). But an accountant will do so much more. They will help you set up your record-keeping system, answer any queries you may have, draw up and submit annual accounts for you, and help if (for example) HMRC raise any queries about your tax return. True, an accountant will cost you a few hundred pounds a year, but I have never for one second resented this. It is money well spent for the peace of mind it gives you alone.

  • Just one example. Some years ago I was offered a five-figure sum by a publisher in exchange for all rights in some online courses I had created. It seemed a good deal, but before signing on the dotted line thought I should run it past my accountant first. He pointed out that with one or two minor changes to the wording of the contract – which the publishers were happy to make – the fee would be regarded by HMRC as a capital gain rather than taxable income. As I had no other taxable gains that year I was able to keep the entire sum I was paid. Without my accountant’s advice, I could easily have ended up paying thousands of pounds in unnecessary tax.

So get an accountant before you do anything else – you know it makes sense. See also my recent blog post that goes into more detail about why you need one.

2. Controlling Workflow is Crucial

One thing you will soon discover if you take the road of self-employment is that it’s a very short distance from having too little work to too much (and back again). In a conventional job you will have colleagues to share the load, and a manager to complain to if it all gets too much. As a self-employed person, managing your workload is all down to you.

There is no doubt this can be stressful at times. One minute you are worrying about not having enough work to pay the bills. The next you are agonizing over how to keep all your clients happy and meet their deadlines without spreading yourself too thinly and burning yourself out.

There is no easy answer to this; it’s just one of those things all self-employed people have to manage as best they can. One thing I have found helpful, though, is building a network of trusted people in the same field as me. Then when I am feeling swamped I can ask if they would be interested in taking over some work from me – and vice versa, if they are very busy they may pass some of their excess work my way. This can be very helpful in smoothing out your workflow, although you need to be sure that anyone you recommend to a client will do a good job for them.

3. Business Is About People

Obviously to run a successful self-employed business, you need to be competent (and ideally better than that) at whatever it is you do.

Beyond that, however, business is about building and nurturing relationships. This is especially important in terms of getting repeat business, which for most self-employed people is crucial to maintaining a steady workflow (see above).

For any given job, there will be plenty of other people who could do it just as well as you (maybe even better). So you need to come across as someone who is pleasant and trustworthy as well as capable of doing the work. Once you have built a good working relationship with a client, chances are they will keep coming back to you in future, and recommend you to their friends or colleagues as well.

You don’t have to become best mates with everyone you work for, but making the effort to connect with them and build a good relationship will undoubtedly pay off many times over.

4. You Need to Network

However good you are at your work, no client is going to beat a path to your door. You need to network

Obviously social media like Twitter and Facebook can be a big help here. But it’s good to put yourself about in the flesh too. If you are a freelance writer, for example, join your local writers’ circle, go on writers’ courses and conferences, volunteer to give talks, apply for residencies, and run classes in adult education. All of this will help raise your profile, and make it more likely that potential clients will get in touch with you.

And also under this heading I’d add, build up your network of useful contacts. These can come from all sorts of places: business colleagues and former colleagues, suppliers, clients, people you meet on courses, people you connect with via social media, and so on. Many of the new opportunities that have come my way over the years did so as a result of networking.

5. Don’t Rely Solely on the Internet

The internet is a wonderful thing, and there are lots of great resources on it for the self-employed. It can also be great for marketing your services. However, there was no internet at all when I was starting out, and it didn’t hold me back!

I find that young people especially tend to rely heavily on the internet and sometimes forget about other, more traditional media. If I was starting out as a freelance today, one thing I would certainly do is approach potential clients directly by letter and even by phone call. This can be a lot more effective than sending an email, which will probably end up in their spam folder anyway.

I would also scour job ads in newspapers and magazines, looking for businesses who are hiring in related fields to my own specialism. They might well be in need of freelance assistance as well, and a speculative application could turn up a regular source of work. Again, this is a strategy that has worked well for me in the past.

6. You Must Be Reliable

This is one of the most important qualities any client wants. He/she wants to be confident that you will deliver your product or service by the agreed deadline. If the deadline passes and you haven’t met it, for business clients especially it can create all sorts of problems for them.

If you can see you’re going to have problems meeting a deadline, therefore, DON’T just cross your fingers and hope for the best. Tell your client. Given sufficient notice they may be able to make alternative arrangements. But if you don’t tell them in advance, it may be too late for this. Don’t then expect them to offer you any work in future.

7. You Must Be Accessible

Clients may sometimes need to contact you at short notice, e.g. to check a specification or request a progress update. You don’t have to be always just a phone call away (though that won’t hurt), but it should be possible for a client to contact you by some means and get a reply within 24 hours. Always aim to have your mobile with you, therefore, and check this and your email regularly, preferably at least twice a day.

And if you’re going away on holiday for more than a day or two, it’s a courtesy to let regular clients know, especially if you are in the middle of a job for them!

8. Don’t (Usually) Argue

OK, this one is a bit controversial. If you disagree with a client’s choice, you can say so. But don’t push it. At the end of the day, whoever pays the piper calls the tune.

Here’s an example from my own experience. In my capacity as a newsletter editor I was pitched an idea by a semi-regular contributor. Normally I liked his ideas, but for various reasons I couldn’t use this one, so I turned it down with a polite explanation. I then received a long, aggrieved email telling me quite forcibly that I was wrong and he was right, concluding with words to the effect, ‘I think I know our readership by now.’ As you might guess, I didn’t commission many more articles from him after that…

9. Be Friendly but Professional

As I said above, it’s good to build relationships with clients. Over a period of time you will inevitably get to know one another quite well, and genuine friendships often result.

However, remember that the client is also – in effect – your employer, so it’s important to remain professional in all your dealings with them. Don’t assume that because ‘John’ or ‘Mary’ is your buddy, they won’t mind if you palm them off with inferior work or take other liberties with them.

Another example here (all names changed to protect those concerned). A few years ago one of my regular clients, a guy I’ll call Phil, was looking for an additional freelance writer. I recommended a woman named Clare to him, whom I’d worked with on a couple of projects.

All seemed to go well at first, and then I heard that he had dropped Clare quite suddenly. As I knew Phil pretty well, I asked him what had happened. He was a bit reticent at first, but then he told me, ‘We’re a family company, Nick, and we choose the people we work with very carefully.’

A little more probing finally revealed that he had been on the phone to Clare one day, and she casually dropped the F-bomb into their conversation two or three times. Phil hadn’t said anything to her at the time, but I guess he was a bit shocked by this. Anyway, he decided that he couldn’t work with her any more.

I must admit, I don’t know why Clare did this. Maybe she wanted to show she was “one of the boys”, or maybe she’d just been watching too many Hollywood movies. In any event, it was exactly the wrong tack to take with Phil, who abhors bad language in any form. And so it cost Clare the opportunity of a continuing source of well-paid work.

That’s perhaps an extreme example, but it does illustrate an important point. A good, friendly relationship with a client can be very rewarding for both parties, but you should never let it become an excuse for behaving unprofessionally.

10. Keep Updating Your Skills!

Whatever line of business you’re in, you will need to keep updating your skills and even learning new ones.

That has certainly applied for me. When I set out as a freelance writer/editor, I was using an Amstrad PCW computer/word processor. It had no internal storage, no mouse, and used its own dedicated operating system called Locoscript. It came with a slow and cranky dot matrix printer, and had literally no bells and whistles. It had a key with the word OPTIONS on it, and when you pressed this a message came up on the screen saying NO OPTIONS. That summed it up really!

After a couple of years – maybe a bit longer – I realised I would have to dump my PCW and get a ‘proper’ home computer. This came with a mouse and used an early version of Windows (probably 3.1). I then had to learn a whole new set of skills, which I did largely through trial and error and reading books (the internet not being a thing then).

Over the years since I have had to acquire many more new skills, including how to proofread and edit electronically, how to do basic HTML coding, how to build and update a WordPress website, how to do search engine optimization and use social media to market my services, and much more. I also had to keep up with the latest software so I could deliver the services my clients needed using the software they used themselves.

If you’re in a normal job, your employer will generally arrange training for you when the need arises (and of course pay for it). As a self-employed person, once again, it’s all down to you. You will need to stay up to date with developments in your field and arrange training when necessary (or take time out to teach yourself) and pay your own costs (which are at least allowable against tax). If you don’t do this, you are likely to find yourself left high and dry as the world moves on and your old skills are no longer relevant.

Obviously this applies especially in fields such as mine that require the use of modern electronic technology. But whatever your field – even gardening or window-cleaning – there will inevitably be changes in fashion/tastes, technology, legal requirements, custom and practice, and so forth. It is essential to stay aware of what is going on in your chosen field, update your skills and learn new ones as required.

I do hope you find these tips helpful. If you have any comments or questions – or any other useful tips for people new to self-employment – feel free to add them below as comments.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Bloggers August Giveaway

Win a £100 M&S Hamper in the Bloggers August Giveaway!

, 2 Comments

Autumn is on the way, but before it arrives here’s a chance to make the summer of 2020 even more memorable 😉

Along with a number of my fellow UK bloggers, I am offering one lucky winner the chance to win a £100 hamper of their choice from Marks and Spencer – for example, this Windsor Hamper with Prosecco and red wine (pictured above)..

The competition is being promoted by my blogging colleague Emma Drew and is (of course) free to enter. Full details provided by Emma can be found below. Basically you just have to open the Rafflecopter widget and complete the simple tasks described. Each completed task will then earn you one entry in the giveaway.

The Bloggers

The following bloggers have all teamed together to contribute towards this competition, offering you a fantastic prize.

Please show your support by visiting some of the bloggers taking part just by clicking on the name of the blog below.

What To Watch | Unique Young Mum | Charlotte Musha | Tweet Your Trip | Side Hustle Directory | Koody | Socially Rach | Adventures Of a Riot Grrl | Nishi V | Hawkes At Home | Digital Frogs | Becca Blogs It Out | Jass V | Craft Hustle Directory | Thrifty Chap | Our House Our Home | Money Saving Superhero | The Financial Wilderness | Photographyish | Peggy May | Girls Just Wanna Have Funds | Pounds and Sense | Mum on a Budget | Her Home Biz | Simple Happy Home | The Money Whisperer | Love Panda | Love Dogs | Easy Peasy Gardens | Money Money Money | 360 Mum | A Little Luxury For Me | Mind Over Money Matters | Enjoy England For Less | Alice in Sheffield | Funding Her Freedom | Mama In Progress | A Rose Tinted World | So Nostalgic | Lindy Loves | Francesca’s Growing Patch | WotAWoman Diary | Deborah Stansil | Reinventing Neesha | That Copper Life | Patty Finds Deals | Pink Steel | My Debt Diary | Drewmies | Thrifty Husband

The Prize

Up for giveaway is a £100 M&S hamper of your choice.

With plenty to choose from, you can pick yourself a lovely treat!

Rules and How to Enter

1. There is one top prize of a £100 M&S hamper of the winner’s choosing.
2. There are no runner up prizes
3. Open to UK residents aged 18 and over, excluding all bloggers involved with running the giveaway
4. Closing date for entries is midnight on 31.08.20
5. The same Rafflecopter widget appears on all the blogs involved, but you only need to enter on one blog
6. Entrants must log in to the Rafflecopter widget, and complete one or more of the tasks – each completed task earns one entry in the prize draw
7. Tweeting about the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget will earn five bonus entries into the prize draw.
8. 1 winner will be chosen at random.
9. The winner will be informed by email within 7 days of the closing date and will need to respond within 28 days with their delivery address, or a replacement winner will be chosen.
10. The winners’ names will be published in the Rafflecopter widget (unless the winner objects to this).
11. The prizes will be dispatched within 14 days of the winner confirming their address.
12. The promoter is www.EmmaDrew.info
13. By participating in this prize draw, entrants confirm they have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions

To enter simply complete any or all of the Rafflecopter entry widgets below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One last small point is that if a winning entry comes from following someone on social media, Emma will check before awarding the prize that the winner is still following the account in question. If they aren’t, they will be disqualified and a new winner drawn. So, please, don’t follow and immediately unfollow, as your entry won’t then count.

Good luck, and I really do hope you win this fabulous prize. But even if you don’t, I hope you enjoy entering and discovering some other amazing UK bloggers!

As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
Three Ways Over 75s Can Avoid Paying for a TV Licence

Three Ways Over 75s Can Avoid Paying for a TV Licence

8 Comments

As you probably know by now, from 1st August 2020 people over 75 in the UK lost their automatic right to a free TV licence and now have to pay the same £157.50 a year as everyone else. This was originally due to happen in June 2020, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For many old people, TV is their main (or only) source of company. Suddenly having to find this quite large sum out of (in many cases) a very limited income may cause them financial difficulties or downright hardship. Some may even have to choose between watching television and paying their heating bills.

Whether you blame the government or the BBC for this parlous situation – and in my view both are culpable – many over-75s will struggle with this, at a time when many are already suffering terrible stress and isolation due to the pandemic. So in this post I will be setting out three ways they may be able to get out of paying this ‘TV tax’.

I hope that this will be helpful if you are over 75 yourself, or if you have relatives, friends or neighbours in this age group.

I’ll start with the best method if you are eligible….

1. Claim Pension Credit

Pension credit is a state benefit for people above retirement age who are on a low income. It can be paid to single people or to couples. It is usually paid weekly, though you can also choose to have it paid fortnightly or monthly if you prefer. Anyone over 75 receiving pension credit is automatically eligible for a free TV licence.

Along with attendance allowance – which I discussed in this recent post – pension credit is one of the most under-claimed benefits. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, around 40 percent of eligible people, or two in five, fail to claim it. That’s an estimated 1.5 million eligible households in the UK who are missing out.

Pension credit actually comes in two parts – guarantee credit and savings credit. Guarantee credit boosts your weekly income to £167.25 if you’re single or £255.25 if you’re a couple (all figures correct as of March 2020). You may be eligible for guarantee credit if you have reached state pension age and your total income is less than these amounts (even if you own your own home). If you have under £10,000 in savings and investments this will not be taken into consideration. If you have over £10,000, it will be assumed that you earn £1 a week per £500 of savings and investments (equivalent to an interest rate of 10.4% – if only!). This will be added to your total income when working out your eligibility.

Savings credit is meant to be a reward for those who have saved for their retirement. It’s worth up to £13.73 a week for a single person or £15.35 for couples. To qualify, you must have a minimum income of £144.38 a week if you’re single, and £229.67 a week if you’re in a couple. For every £1 by which your income exceeds this amount, you get 60p of savings credit – up to the £13.73/£15.35 maximum. If your income is less than the £144.38/£229.67 savings credit threshold, you won’t qualify. Savings Credit is only available to people who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016. Couples where only one partner reached state pension age before 6 April 2016 can also retain savings credit if the older partner had reached 65 and qualified for savings credit before that date AND they have remained continuously entitled to it ever since. Whether you receive guarantee credit or savings credit or both, that will qualify you for a free TV licence.

It’s worth adding that if you pay mortgage interest or have other housing costs, have caring responsibilities, are responsible for a child, or are severely disabled, you may be entitled to more pension credit. If you receive attendance allowance or carers credit, for example, this may boost the amount you’re entitled to. The rules surrounding all this are complicated, but the government has provided a free online calculator you can use to work out whether you qualify and how much you might get. This is for guidance only, however. You can’t apply via the calculator and there is no guarantee that you will receive the amount it shows you.

To actually apply you will need to phone the DWP’s Pension Credit helpline on 0800 991234. You will need your National Insurance number, information about your income, savings and investments and your bank account details. The person you speak to will then take you through the application process. This is a subject I discussed in more detail in this blog post, as I recently helped an older friend to do this successfully.

As well as the money – which can amount to thousands of pounds a year – if you receive pension credit you will be entitled to a range of additional benefits. A free TV licence if you are over 75 is just one of them. You may also get:

  • reduced council tax (or free if you are awarded guarantee credit)
  • free NHS dental treatment
  • help towards the cost of glasses
  • help with the cost of travel to hospital
  • cold weather payments
  • automatic entitlement to the Warm Home Discount
  • help with rent
  • free home insulation and boiler grants
  • extra money if you’re a carer

Even if you only receive a small amount of pension credit, you will be eligible for all of the above. So it really is well worth applying if there is any chance you may qualify. As mentioned above, you can check first using the free online calculator here and then apply by phoning the DWP’s Pension Credit helpline on 0800 991234.

2. Cancel Your TV Licence

If you don’t qualify for pension credit and the free licence that comes with it, you may wish to opt out of paying for a TV licence altogether.

There is no legal requirement to possess a TV licence just because you own a TV.  But if you don’t have a licence it’s against the law to watch (or record) most live broadcasts. This also applies to watching on other types of device such as tablets and smartphones. It also applies if you watch via a cable service or satellite TV.

Obviously you aren’t allowed to watch live TV on any of the BBC’s channels, neither can you watch catch-up TV on the BBC iPlayer. In addition, you are not allowed to watch ANY live TV on other channels, even those broadcast from overseas. And you aren’t allowed to record live broadcasts by any TV service even if you don’t watch them till later.

So what ARE you allowed to watch without a licence? You can still watch catch-up TV on other (non-BBC) channels such as ITV Player and Demand 5. You can also watch subscription services such as Amazon Prime TV and Netflix.

You are also allowed to listen to BBC radio and all other radio stations, as radio is not covered by the TV licence.

If you decide to cancel your TV licence, you can do so by going to this page of the TV Licensing website and clicking where it says ‘Tell us you don’t need a licence’. You should also cancel any direct debit you may have set up with your bank.

Note that if you are found ‘cheating’ and watching TV that requires a licence, you could be fined up to £1,000 and even face imprisonment if you fail to pay. So it is best not to cancel your TV licence unless you are sure you aren’t going to need it in future.

3. Get a Black and White TV Licence

Okay, I am cheating slightly here. You do still have to pay for a black-and-white licence, but the annual cost is just £53, so it’s over £100 cheaper.

Black-and-white TVs are available from specialist suppliers and also sold on the online auction site eBay. If you don’t mind returning to monochrome you can save over £100 a year this way. Again, you can cancel your colour licence and apply for a black-and-white licence via the TV Licensing website.

Finally, I would comment that the whole situation regarding TV licensing is currently under review. In particular, the over-75s licence debacle has highlighted the inherent unfairness of a system where people are required to pay for a TV licence even if they only ever watch non-BBC channels. It is therefore possible that in future the BBC may be required to switch to a subscription model like Netflix, meaning that people won’t have to pay a licence fee at all. In my personal opinion this would be a better, fairer system. It would also force the BBC to up its game by producing more shows the paying public really want to see.

I hope you have found this post interesting. As ever, if you have any comments or questions, please do leave them below.

If you enjoyed this post, please link to it on your own blog or social media:
«< 24 25 26 27 28 >»