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Mastering tone for business emails

Research suggests that as much as 93% of communication is non-verbal, so it’s not surprising that the tone and meaning of emails are misinterpreted as much as half the time. For small businesses, email is frequently the preferred way to communicate with new leads, customers and employees – but if haven’t mastered your tone, the meaning of your message may be lost. In the worst case scenario, you may even unintentionally offend your audience. Follow these tips to improve your...

Avoid these 5 costly accounting mistakes

A Canadian bank recently surveyed over 500 small business owners about what they love and hate most about owning their own business. Unsurprisingly, flexibility and feeling in control ranked first in the “love” category. Meanwhile, almost 60% said bookkeeping was hands-down their most hated task. Most business owners understand that effective financial management is key to their success. But lack of knowledge, frustration, and even avoidance can add up to accounting mistakes that derail futu...

HM Revenue and Customs Update

Here at Valued, we thought we would share some important updates with you regarding HM Revenue and Customs, especially with the tax return deadline approaching rapidly....

The Valued team goes from strength to strength

We’re super excited to welcome Darren Glanville to the Valued team!...

Geoff Ramm encourages North East businesses to ‘punch above their weight’

Back in his native North East for the first time in four years, multi-award winning customer service and marketing speaker Geoff Ramm inspired an audience of business owners and entrepreneurs with his techniques for creating a customer experience this week....

7 tips for more productive meetings

Increasing efficiency and minimizing costs are essential to running a profitable business. Yet many small business owners waste countless hours on meetings that lack focus, run on too long, and pull staff away from more productive tasks.Follow these seven tips to make your meetings more efficient and cost-effective....

How to create good habits in business

If you’re like most small business owners, there are never enough hours in the day to complete every task on your list.Often you’re faced with prioritising what you need to do right now – deal with a customer, meet a deadline, attend an event – and the things you know you should do for the ongoing growth of your business.Scheduling time to attend to these business activities on a regular basis is a great way to get on track for greater success....

Valued team up with world beating HR software BreatheHR

We all know that our team is the most important thing in our business and is critical in how we deal with customers and clients, but how many business owners enjoy the red tape that goes along with employing staff....

Update your business plan for a new year

As another year winds down, it’s a good time to reflect on your recent business successes – and consider what you’d like to achieve in the coming twelve to fifteen months. These tips can help you with the process of making a business plan for the new year to help guide your business to greater success....

Autumn statement 2016

As with all things connected to the budget and Autumn Statement there is some winners and losers depending on everyone's personal circumstances, we would be delighted to talk you through how this impacts you....

7 ways to improve workplace productivity

The success of any business, large or small, depends largely on nurturing an efficient, productive workplace. While improving employee productivity should be always be a priority when the ultimate goal is a sustainable and profitable business, the process is easier said than done. Below are some of the most effective methods of managing a productive, happy workplace while increasing output....

Getting the work–life balance right

As a small business owner it’s hard to juggle your work and outside responsibilities. It’s important to run your business effectively and still have a life outside the office.You need a good balance between work and play for your health and well-being. Small business owners often fall into the trap of working too hard, ending up exhausted from the constant work demands associated with self-employment....

Are your staff your greatest asset?

During a recent discussion with one of our clients Sally Brown it became apparent that she had a wealth of knowledge regarding work life balance, stress and the huge impact it can have on your life. We are delighted that Sally is sharing her experience on the Valued blog.Whilst it will take you no more than five minutes to read this, the impact on you, your staff and your business could be life long....

Spotting problem employees ahead of time

Your employees are the blood of your entrepreneurial life. No start-up will survive without a good set of people making sure that things run perfectly. The problem for you and any other entrepreneur is making sure that the people on your team are trustworthy and reliable. Some people have a sixth sense when it comes to reading people, but if you’re not that lucky you can simply keep an eye out for a few warning signs....

Running a company car scheme

A company car is something that can benefit both employers and employees, provided you plan accordingly. ...

9 reasons to switch to cloud computing

Don’t be left up in the air by traditional IT solutions. Check out the top 9 advantages for small businesses switching to cloud computing. Cloud computing is fast becoming the norm because storing information and using software hosted on the Internet has many advantages....

Tax season tips for small business owners

Preparing for tax season is really a year-round endeavour. Tip number one for SMB owners is to update financials on a monthly basis, using a streamlined software or cloud-based system.This way, come tax time, everything you need is all in one place. And well organized SMBs are better positioned to minimize their tax bill while avoiding penalties associated with missing or inaccurate information.Here are four more ways to take the stress out of tax time, and get the most out of your return....

Why cloud software is the future for trade services

When people think of industries revolutionised by cloud software, they might consider banking and finance, telecommunications, or online entertainment. But what about the trade and service industries? While hands-on trade services may seem a world away from office workers, the truth is that cloud computing — where software and data is stored in the internet ‘cloud’ instead of in a physical computer — is having a much bigger impact on the worldwide, multibillion-pound field servic...

Spring 2016 budget news

Pitched as a “Budget that puts the next generation first”, George Osborne’s speech contained a number of announcements aimed at helping people save for the future. For businesses, measures included changes to business rates and the abolition of class 2 national insurance contributions for the self-employed. And, as we’ve come to expect from such occasions, there were a few surprises too. We’ve put together a report that summarises the announcements made by Chancellor George Osborne dur...

Grow your email list through personal contact

When your email list is small or you’d just like to add more people and get higher open rates, it’s smart to grow your list through personal contacts. Begin with the obvious: ask friends, family and business contacts to sign up. Everyone has a pool of people who might be happy to hear about your business via email. All you have to do is remember to ask. Put a note by your phone or computer with a couple of sentences so you don’t have to think about asking each time. After you’ve worked t...

5 tips to improve the conversion rate on your site

If you want to increase sales on your e-commerce site, you should not only focus on traffic but also on your conversion rate. The higher your conversion rate, the more money you can make with the same number of visitors. Here are five tactics to help you increase your conversion rate....

Your first sales hire – 4 tips before you start

A problem that many growing businesses face is how to know the right time to expand the sales operation and when you do, where to find the best fit for your business. If cashflow is inconsistent and you’re worried about the time and effort it will take to go through the recruitment process and get them up to speed, it’s a vital question to ask the right person. It will demand team resource as they bed in and worst case scenario, they may not be right after all and cost you a tonne. So, let m...

Face it! It’s not possible to eliminate the risk of innovation

One of the most often cited reasons for not embracing innovation is that it is too risky. Prototyping or testing often comes with a high cost. Combined with the cost of the time spent, this can all be rather high for an unknown outcome. There is no way to eliminate the risk in innovation, but there are ways to reduce it. It’s easy to understand the dilemma. A business owner doesn’t want to put himself in a position to waste time or money, especially as the economy continues to climb out of t...

How do you protect your business against foreign currency risk?

One of the biggest threats to the profit margins of any business that makes or receives international payments is the volatile nature of the currency markets. So here’s some quick, simple and easy to implement processes that you can put in place to increase your bottom line....

Is now the right time to buy a home?

If you’ve frequently been asking yourself if it’s the right time to buy a home, there are several things to first consider. Three things to think about are the current market conditions, the interest rates, and the amount of available housing....