Our insights into the working days of HB staff members continue with a day in the life of our Administrator and Marketing Assistant, Charlotte Nicholson. She chose a slightly unusual day – the day of the launch of Ambition 2018, the one-day sales and marketing conference for SMEs in Hertfordshire. HB Accountants is a sponsor and one of the organisers of the event, and Charlotte is actively involved as a result. The launch was coincidentally held on 24th May – the day before GDPR came into force, so it turned out to be quite a busy one…

7am – The alarm goes off and and I get ready for work. I’m not a morning person so I like to leave it until the last minute before I have to leave my bed!

8.30am – I leave the house to drive to work. My journey normally takes around 15-20 minutes, depending on whether or not I get stuck at the train lines.

8.50am – I get into work and start up my laptop. Then I rummage around the fridge, to see what I have in the office, that I can eat for breakfast, usually toast.

9am – Today is the launch event for Ambition 2018 which I have been organising and liaising with the venue – Stanborough Conservative Club in Hoddesdon. There are always last minute attendance requests, so I need to speak to the venue and ensure they are able to cater for extra numbers.

9.30am – Now that the launch event is all sorted I can move on to bits of work that I’ve been given by the directors. This includes setting up new clients on our system, sorting out accounts to be sent to clients, filing, answering the telephone and the door, posting on social media and ensuring we have enough relevant articles to go in our newsletter being sent out in a few weeks’ time.

11.30am – I’m now going up to the venue for the launch event. It starts at 12 noon, but I’m going to get there early to ensure the catering is under control, and I can also take payment from each attendee as they enter.

12pm – Everyone has arrived and is networking. The event is for the sponsors, so it consists of talks from the chairman, the marketing team, the charities and there is also more information about the speakers on the day.

2.30pm – I arrive back at the office and we are in panic about sending out our GDPR emails, so I’m on the phone to our Infusionsoft provider, getting it all sorted out, before the deadline tomorrow as I am on annual leave.

4pm – Emails all sent and we can relax!

4.10pm – I sort out the post for the day and get it franked. I often have a little chat with my colleagues, Jane and Amy, while I’m doing this which is really nice.

4.30pm – Fill in my timesheet for the day and ensure that all the things I need to get done urgently are completed.

4.50 – Tidy my desk and pack up my laptop. I leave the office for the day, stopping off at the Post Office, on my way home, to drop off the post.

Ever wondered what a typical day in the office for us is like? In an occasional series, we asked our team members to tell us about their work. In this way, we hope you’ll get a better understanding of what everyone does, but also find out more about what makes them tick.  

For the first in this series, we talked to our Audit/Accounts Manager Catherine Hill.

Meet Catherine

An important part of my job is to work on the audits of some of our larger clients. I also prepare monthly and yearly accounts as well as corporate and personal tax returns.

In my managerial role, I supervise team members and also help with the scheduling to ensure our clients have the team continuity and that our trainees get the chance to work on the areas they need to ensure they meet their study requirements.

You may have seen me out and about as I also take an active role in HB’s marketing. This includes organising our own events as well as going to various networking meetings on behalf of the company.

An average day

For me, there’s no such thing as an average day! I may be working with a client in the office or going to work onsite at their office. When I first started at HB, I didn’t realise how much time I’d be spending out of the office, but it has turned out well as I love both the variety and the opportunity to build relationships with my clients. Some of my clients are out of the area – one is as far away as Bath – so I do travel around a lot.

I’m also out of the office for networking meetings, client meetings, career days and courses. It all keeps me on my toes and no day drags.

I always begin my day the way I end it, by checking emails. I work on large audits with tight deadlines, so keeping an eye on emails helps me stay on track. At the beginning of the day, I also need to make sure the team know what they’ll be doing and go through any queries from the night before… it’s a good job I’m a morning person!

When I get a break at lunchtime, I’ll go for a walk into town. Since the company has been actively networking, it’s always nice bumping into people who work locally. Until recently, Karen Chase and I sometimes did lunchtime classes at the local gym but I stopped when I became pregnant; hopefully I’ll get back to attending them once I’m back at work as it really did help me focus in the afternoon.

A great team

I really enjoy working as part of a team and building up relationships with colleagues. I also like the fact that I’ve built up strong relationships with clients and help them achieve their business potential.

What I like most about HB is that the directors really care about your development. You’re pushed to fulfil your potential and I honestly don’t think I could have achieved all I have done without the support of John, Keith and Karen. I’d have thought that it wouldn’t be possible to become a qualified chartered accountant after leaving school with just A Levels and not taking the uni route, but with the support and training from the directors, I achieved it in 2013. It has been incredible to be part of this award-winning firm.

If you would like to find out more about the accountancy services offered by Catherine and the rest of the team, contact us to book an appointment.

Running your own business is a pipe dream for many, but those who are brave enough to stick their toe in the water are often rewarded when they’re their own boss. A recent survey discovered that 90% of the self-employed are happier than they were when they were in a traditional job. If you’re setting up your own business for the first time, it can be quite scary and many first-time entrepreneurs do make business mistakes. We’ve put together a list of the five most common pitfalls so you can do what you can to avoid them.

1) Not asking for help
Don’t be proud; you’ll need all the help you can get. Look for organisations, such as Wenta, that offer advice and training for people setting up their own business. You might know everything there is to know about your product or service, but running a business also involves doing the accounts, finding clients and customers, hiring suppliers, selling, marketing… you name it! And it’s your responsibility now!

2) Doing absolutely everything
According to new research, the thing that keeps most small business owners up at night is worrying about how to get new customers – if you’re concentrating on doing other things rather than selling, then it’s time to think about hiring other professionals, e.g. a casual worker or part-timer to help out with the day-to-day tasks, or get a bookkeeper or accountant to help you with your finances, leaving you free to concentrate on the things only you can do.

3) Not realising you are your own brand
You are not only the face of your new business, you are your new business. People will think of you and your brand as the same entity, so make sure they always have a good impression of both.

4) Ignoring networking groups
Business networking is a huge part of business for the sole trader. The famous adage is that ‘people buy people’, and the only way people will get to like you well enough to support your business is to get out there and meet them! Remember that all networking groups are different so give each one a go and stick to the ones most suited to your personality and budget. All networking groups are run by local business people, so if you’re unsure about working the room to start with, ask the organiser to introduce you to everyone.
Don’t expect to do business immediately. Networking is about building up your profile, so once you’ve found one, two or a few groups you really like, make sure you go to them as often as you can to give people a chance to get to know you. That’s when they’ll start buying from you themselves or recommending you to friends and family.

5) Not being open to ideas
Sometimes the idea behind your dream of having your own business turns out not to be the way forward. Don’t be stubborn about sticking to it just because it was your original ‘baby’. You’re in business to make money, so go with what works, not what you hope is going to work. Post-it® notes came about after a scientist tried to develop a super-strong adhesive. If he and his employer had simply dismissed it as a failure because it wasn’t sticky enough, it wouldn’t have ended up as a worldwide phenomenon.

Don’t make business mistakes – contact us for an appointment with one of our accountants for expert solutions and independent advice.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term “networking” was first used in 1967, but has only recently increased in popularity. In 1975, 8.7% of the UK workforce was self-employed; a number which grew steadily to 12% by 2008. Then the world’s economies crashed and, as a result of redundancies, many took the opportunity to set up their own business – currently more than 16% of the UK workforce is self-employed and that figure is rising. There will soon be more people working for themselves than there are working for the public sector.

With such large numbers of entrepreneurs and small business people running their own companies, it’s hardly surprising that business networking groups are springing up across the country. Many self-employed people have started them up or taken over networking franchises as a business in their own right. They not only provide a great opportunity to make contacts with small business owners, they also provide much needed social contact for people working for themselves.

With the advent of Ambition Broxbourne, Hoddesdon has thrived as a place to not only do business, but also to start your own enterprise. For entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs, networking is an excellent way of making contacts and building up a great network of clients and suppliers.

A few of the local groups we support and attend:

Hoddesdon Networking Breakfast

Run by us, the Hoddesdon Networking Breakfast group meets once a month on alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday meetings are held at Stanborough’s Conservative Club and Thursday meetings are held at Your Town in Hoddesdon. The meetings are priced at £8 per person with breakfast and hot drinks included. If you would like to attend, please contact Charlotte on 01992 444466 or email charlotte@hbaccountants.co.uk.

Athena

Athena Ware is a networking group for women entrepreneurs and executives. Women-only networking groups are popular because they provide an environment which helps foster confidence and passes on information about technology and new ways of working in a supportive environment.

Ambition Broxbourne 2016

Networking groups often team up with charities to help raise funds and awareness at the same time as building relationships between businesses. Ambition Broxbourne 2016 is a conference where experts in sales and marketing pass on their knowledge at the same time as raising money for local charities.

If you see us at any of the business networking meetings in Hoddesdon, feel free to come over and say hello.

If you would like advice on any aspect of accountancy and tax, contact us to arrange an appointment