Electric Trainer

More on twits, tweets and twitter

Enormous number of responses (well about 3, but one was actually online - thanks James) to my last blog about Twitter etc..

I've now met quite a few people who are almost as confused as me. One trainee said she uses Twitter for work-related messages, and Facebook for proper friends. But is now wondering if that's the best way round.

I also read someone else on the subject who does exactly the opposite and tweets for friends only. But is wondering if THAT's the best way round.

Another contact has pointed me at Hootsuite for Twitter. (Surely Tootsuite would have been a cleverer name.) It looks like it does what Tweetdeck does, but I can't summon up the energy to look.

I'm also intrigued by the demographics. I'm the only person in my extended family (apart from my dad) tweeting and not many of my oldest and closest friends seem to. Most people I follow appear to be, shall we say, upwards of 40-ish (I'm nearly 50) and working in the media or related industries. Or they're news providers like Media Guardian, Telegraph etc..

What does this mean?

I have no idea.

Putting the Twit into Twitter

I presume there was a time – about 100 years ago – when the telephone seemed confusingly modern.  All those numbers and letters. The creepy face-like “dial”.  The awkward unfamiliar rotary motion required to get it to work.

And then there was the kit itself – lurking in the corner of the room, and connecting you to God knows where via new-fangled electric wires.

I've been reassuring myself with these thoughts as I've been grappling with the sudden explosion of social networks, or in real English “different ways of talking to people”.

I consider myself a relatively early adopter. We've had a family website since 1999, and had a PVR in the house before Sky Plus became a verb. I've been blogging for years and know how to set up a Facebook group.

So why do I suddenly feel like I've lost the plot?

One tipping point came last week when I realised I had used three different ways of contacting the same person in one morning: once using Twitter to agree a meeting date; then via Facebook because I didn't have her email address, Finally by email, attaching directions to the meeting, copied to someone else who's going to be there too.

The more I think about this, the dafter it sounds.

In the halcyon days (about 2 months ago) I felt I was in control. Facebook worked well for me, and most people in my circles seemed to be on it. My iPhone and computer keep my contact book organised without me having to bother them.   Being on LinkedIn was a bit of a pain, but I convinced myself that it's just a more workman-like version of Facebook and it let people say nice things about me.

Then three business contacts sent me an invitation to join Plaxo. Damn! That's doing the same as LinkedIn, isn't it? But the people on Plaxo are not on LinkedIn, so I've had to join that too.

And now that Twitter is everywhere I've had to learn how to tweet. Suddenly I need a bit of a lie down.

Anyone who's been on my business skills workshops will know that I've always had a clear distinction in my head between work and play. The family website is only for family and close friends. Facebook is a work tool for me, so no photos of the kids.

But this clever mental firewalling has been slowly hacked. What better way to demonstrate this than to tell you my mother-in-law 'friended' me on Facebook last month, and my dad has just started following me on Twitter.  I think I'm flattered on both counts, but it's a bit like having your parents turn up 30 minutes too early to pick you up from the school disco. Efficient, loving even, but deeply unnerving.

And then there's the flawed phenomenon that is Twitter.

I tweet as myself, without using a silly name, and mainly when working. And I follow other twitterers (twits?) who work in the media or training. But everyone seems to be using Twitter in a different way.

One of my friends posts a lovely haiku every Monday. Another unapologetically tweets links to her business website all the time. Yet another comments on interesting media issues, but also provides a bit too much detail about what he and has family are up to. I'd quite like the former without the latter.

Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode have a joint Twitter account, which seems to me to miss the point entirely. I've worked out that it's nearly always Mayo who tweets. Except when it isn't. Very confusing.

And I hope Krishnan Guru-Murthy is taking the piss when he mixes fantastic journalistic messages with tweets like “Walking to the C4 news studio. See you on air in a moment.” (Earlier today he even tweeted during the opening titles to the news he was about to present; “music started”.  That's how I know you must be taking the piss, Krishnan.)

I'm an optimist for whom the laptop battery is always half-full, so I suspect this will all settle down, just as our distant ancestors learnt how to dial a phone number without needing a stiff drink afterwards.

The early signs of help are already there. Different tools are starting to talk to each other. Thankfully I've managed to get Twitter to update my Facebook status using a simply piece of widgetery. (Although the format is different, so Facebook sometimes says things like “David Am in London today”, making me look deranged.)

Software like TweetDeck has its heart in the right place too.  Now instead of one long confusing list of tweets you can arrange them into four or five long confusing columns.  I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

Casting around for good advice on how not to drown under all this, I read media coach Alan Stevens's excellent weekly newsletter (where does he find the time?!). “Don't use more than one social network at a time”, he writes.  If only, Alan. If only.

 

Happy New Year!

I don't have any profound new year message for you, but I was delighted to hear from a former trainee the other day. Her business recently produced a number of short health videos for Boots. I rather like them. 

Here's a link to one about health and finance (via You Tube).

And here's a link Lime Green Media who made it.

Enjoy!

Mr Darling, self-employment, flat rates and other VAT musings

Survivors of my redundancy or 'sole trader' courses will know we have a bundle of fun with VAT.  Remember all that info I gave you?  Well it's all changing!

Following the Pre-Budget Report on 24 Nov 08 I've been updating and improving all the downloads and handouts which trainees can access through our secure website. The spreadsheets now cope with VAT much better, and I'm just redoing the relevant tip sheets. They'll be ready to roll by Monday.

The main change (for the moment) is the reduction in VAT,  so that's only really going to affect people who are VAT registered. The change in the standard rate from 17.5% to 15% from Monday 1 Dec 08 will have been noticed by anyone who's not been living under a rock.

What you may not have noticed is the reduction in the flat rates for anyone who uses the Flat Rate Scheme for Small Businesses.

There is a note hidden away on the HMRC website at this link (PDF file, 384 KB - Look at Annex E for the new rates).

You'll see that Film, TV and Media production is down from 10.5% to 9.5% from 1 Dec 08 until VAT goes back up again, probably in Jan 2010.

Incidentally I have a theory about why Mr Darling reduced VAT rather than, say, reducing income tax. There's been a lot of moaning in the papers about a 2.5% reduction being tiny in the scheme of things. And if you consider the saving to you and me when we buy a flat screen TV it is indeed just a couple of quid.

However, reducing VAT allows retail businesses to either pass on the reduction to customers in full or keep price tickets nearer their old level, and increase their own cashflow. Cash is king in a recession, so this may be a better way to stop the wheels falling off some struggling businesses.

In other words, reducing VAT allows retail businesses to make business choices. The fact that it sounds like a benefit to customers is politically expedient because it makes the headlines, but it's not quite so relevant to the economy as a whole.

Redundancy workshops - Times article

I was pleasantly surprised to discover one of my trainees had written about us in the Times last week. It just goes to show that you never know who's listening to what you have to say.

You can read the article here.

How to survive a recession

There's an elephant in the room during my business skills workshops these days.  Countries around the world are starting to fall into recession, but the people I meet don't seem to be thinking very hard about how this might affect them.

The media have been focusing almost exclusively on the big picture (central banks bailing out retail banks) or defaulting to dinner party economics - the fall in house prices and rise in food prices.

So if you're just starting out as self-employed what should you do? Well it's not rocket science...

Here are my top tips for weathering a recession:

1. Hang on to ready cash - don't assume you can borrow
2. If you have an overdraft imagine what you would do if the bank withdrew it overnight - something they're perfectly within their rights to do.
   
3. Make sure you know the minimum figure you can survive on - and your breakeven point
4. Try to lower your breakeven point
5. Make sure you know what your value proposition is.  Why should your clients come to you, as opposed to anyone else?
6. If others work for you, make sure they understand your value proposition too. You'll need them as your ambassadors.
7. Don't kid yourself. Be realistic.

Actually this is good business practice in any circumstances. Doubly so when times get tough.

If you have any other tips on beating a recession I'd love to hear them.

How to get paid

The thing that gets me hotter under the collar than anything else is people not being paid for work they've already done.

It's a common problem, especially for freelancers and consultants.

That's why there's legislation designed to protect small businesses. Read all about it on the Pay On Time legislation website.

You'll see that the law states you must be paid within 30 days unless you have actively agreed that it will be longer.  (And only an idiot would agree to that.)

My advice to anyone is chase a payment on the 31st day after you slung in the invoice. Use your politest voice and gently ask the accounts payable people to check your payment is going through the system. After all, they may never have received your invoice.

Give them another week - presuming they say the payment is on its way. Then call again - restraining your urge to shout down the phone. As soon as you're aggressive you'll just be put at the bottom of the pile.

I usually let them know I'll call them every day to check it's 'going through the system'. That usually unglues the payment straight away.

I'm always amazed how few accounts people know what the law is. So I usually put the following paragraph at the bottom of my invoices. You'll find it on the pay on time site:

Please note: David Thomas Media Ltd understands and will exercise its statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit terms. For more information on late payment legislation please see:
www.payontime.co.uk

Good luck and don't let them get away with it.

Paying less tax

One of the parts of my business skills workshops that people enjoy the most is a simple exercise called 'match the expense to the tax return'.

OK - so it's not exactly a catchy title for a game, but it's more fun than it sounds.

This financial year the tax people (HMRC) have changed a few of the guidelines for small businesses, and even some quite hardened freelances are apparently unaware of the changes.

The good news is that there is a £50K allowance for small businesses to cover capital equipment this year. That's different from previous years, where you've only been able to put 50% of the cost of a capital item down against tax.

That makes this rather a good year to buy kit, presuming you have any cash at all what with the credit crisis.

In fact that's such good news I hereby predict that the rules will change again within a year or so. Let's see.

HMRC have also clarified some of the allowances if you use your home for part of your business. Everyone knows about heating and lighting (percentage of), but there are some extras.

Read the updated guidance here - and make sure you bring it up with your accountant!

Keeping the faith as a new business

Yet another story from one of my former business trainees about the length of time it can take to get up and running.

This particular person said it was 8 months before she got any income from her new coaching business. And she wasn't sitting around doing nothing in those 8 months.

This underlines the importance of having enough savings (or a big enough loan) to see you through the first year.

I always tell new freelances and small business people that it took me 9 months of hard 'networking' (ie coffees and chats) before someone decided they needed what I was offering.

A marketing person once told me to expect 7 points of contact (and about 6 months) before anyone trusts you enough, and has the right sort of project to give you some work.

Wise words.

Taxing times for the nation

It's not often I get to feel smug - at least not with justification.

I've been mesmerised by the sudden realisation throughout the land that Gordon Brown effectively doubled the starting rate of tax in the 2007 budget.

Doubled?? Surely you mean "abolished"? Well don't get me started (again). I went through all that a year ago.

It amazes me that almost no one saw this tax change as a problem a year ago. Even my most fiscally challenged trainees can spot this during our business skills training.

I have no time for Labour MPs who are suddenly feeling rebellious. Last year they either didn't realise their Chancellor was pulling a fast one, or if they did realise, they thought they could keep it under the carpet.

Either way they look less than in touch with the reality of their constituents, and at worst highly cynical.

But that was before the election that never was, and plummeting approval ratings. Now some Labour MPs are worried about their seats. Surprise surprise.

As Polly Toynbee writes today, the problem is that people don't seem to perceive a need for taxes at all. Although I don't agree that New Labour never made the case for tax increases. Tony Blair did that in 1997, saying you had to pay for the services you want.

Perhaps a bit of honesty on taxes - and some fairness - is long overdue. And perhaps more journalists need to cover taxation stories in ways that make sense to their audience.