Over time building business relationships you build trust. Friendships grow from some business relationships based on shared interests and mutual respect.  Joint business ventures can occur and because there is so much trust there you can easily over look paperwork-contracts are forgotten as your friendship means you feel confident that there is no need for such details. My view is never ever trust anyone with the inner workings of your business without an agreement which is written down and clearly defined and ideally drawn up or at least checked by a solicitor.

Local media titles across the UK have revealed their shortlisted businesses for the Local Business Accelerators campaign.   

Viva Business Networking has been selected by the Hemel Hempstead Gazette. We have scooped the LBA prize of free advertising in our local paper, business mentoring, and a chance to win a year’s mentoring from the campaign’s national ambassador Deborah Meaden of the Dragons’ Den.

Running your own business is not the easy option. Many people think it is. People think they will get the freedom to make their own decisions, they are not answerable to anyone and they will make lots of money quickly. The harsh reality is very different. It takes a lot of hours to structure a business,market a business and get things moving with sales and collecting payments from customers. To begin with many small business owners are every single department. So time to reflect on the past 12 months as another year passes. Have things panned out the way you thought it would?

Do you always ask for testimonials after completing a job for a client? If not you should! There is some school of thought that says we shouldn't ask for them and that people don't always believe testimonials anyway. Anyone could write a testimonial couldn't they?  Well what if that testimonial was said in the middle of a room in front of 25 people-how powerful is that? Or if it was said into a video camera and came from the person who had the good experience? Yes this is much more powerful but even good written reviews can add power to your website or literature.

A great day today at Adeyfield School in Hemel Hempstead where local businesses met with business studies students. This gave them the chance to ask questions about how people started their own business, what were the challenges and they also shared what they have been doing at school.

Three years on, was ‘lunch’ worthwhile?

New to networking three years ago, it was quite daunting to walk into a room of businesswomen with no expectation of what was about to happen. With the benefit of hindsight, it was one of the best decisions I ever made along the route to being successfully self-employed.

As the standard rate of VAT is now at 20%, some business owners are tempted to split their businesses into different entities, so the part with non-business customers or both parts falls under the compulsory VAT registration threshold when split. This enables them not to register to have to charge VAT to those customers. The Taxman is alive to this tax planning and where he believes they have been artificially separated to avoid VAT, he will direct that the businesses should be re-aggregated.

Peter Brown is our guest blogger this week and he writes....

I am writing this on a bright autumnal morning after three wonderful days at the seaside. We have been so fortunate because we chose a time when a mini heat-wave arrived. This leads me into the idea that from time immemorial mankind has had opportunities to escape from the routine of hunting, gathering and parenting. These escapes are still a vital component of life, providing improved sanity and a chance to bond with family and friends.

Why Global Entrepreneurship Week is important

 ”The future of our economy depends on a new generation of entrepreneurs coming up with ideas, resolving to make them a reality and having the vision to create wealth and jobs. I know how free-thinking, inventive and enterprising the British people are so I’m confident about that future.”
David Cameron, Prime Minister