Is this acceptable? - Selling my advice

pitkin2020

gohan2091 wrote: »

Do people who offer local PC repairs have to register with HMRC? or people who do the once in a while babysitting or haircuts register with HMRC? I don't see this as a business, more a service. If I have to do all this, it is not worth it though.

Yes they should do if they intend to charge for their services. Yes they probably don't bother if its a one off occurance.
Registering with HMRC isn't a hassle really, you just need to keep accounts of your expenditure and income and complete a tax return.



That is a good point but those things have always been around and they have been around even when I was 19 stone. There is lots of conflicting information and so much choice, not to mention a steep learning curve due to so much content to read. I offer all the important advice on a few pages and I offer the personal touch. I've been there and beat it, can doctors, library and clinics say that? I bet most can't and what number of people would bother going there anyway? Nor me, or any of my family members are remotely interested in those choices.

The fact is, these things you suggested aren't new. My uncle and mother had these opportunities at their fingertips but never bothered. Actually, my uncle went to the doctors 10 years ago and although he lost a bit of weight, he end up putting double on (yo-yo dieting). pitkin2020 understands what I mean and a good example is Weight Watchers. This requires more thought and about people stealing my information... the information was never mine to begin with, most of what I say is on the Internet, all I've done is removed the iffy parts and consolidate it into a short, easy information pack.
Most information is now freely available on the net if your prepared to look, therefore you can't protect that information no matter how you make it look different, fundamentally its the same. With any business its about how you present it, you have to grab the buyers attention. Personally leafleting this type of product/service has been done so much people are sceptical of anything that comes through the door.
Maybe look at starting it from a different angle, a local workshop like a weight watchers meeting for example. Start small get a few clients through the door, small fee for a days presentation and maybe an ongoing support subscription. If you believe in your product and it does in fact work then word of mouth is the most effective advertising you will get and you can build it from there.
There is also a few other sources I can think of where you can start, the internet being another.

Responses above in red........

gohan2091

What I am offering is not a diet and does not require a workout or gym, it is simple knowledge... common sense. The sort of information that you all know makes sense but don't realise it unless it's given to you in straight forward, blunt English (the Internet will give you this information but it's scattered around everywhere and is certainly not blunt, who will spend the time? If overweight people wanted to use the Internet, they would have done already)

dmg24 wrote: »

If you are providing a service then you are in business. You would need to register as self employed.

I really do not think that you have thought this through. In today's litigious society anybody providing a service has to be adequately insured.

Being realistic, I would expect a 1% uptake of your 'offer'. So for every 100 leaflets you deliver, you will make one sale. Is £5 adequate reward for printing and delivering 100 leaflets, plus the additional expenses involved?

I have not thought this through as well as you have, this is why I have posted here, to hear the advice of experts and to discover things I either never knew or never thought of.

I can't imagine a 16 year old babysitter going to the HMRC and registering for a once in a while job. But this is law breaking yes?

cally6008 wrote: »

You are selling a product or service which you intend to make money from ? Yes ..?

In that case you should register with HMRC and declare your earnings

So every single bit of money you earn, you must declare with HMRC? Does this include eBay? because I've been using it for years to sell and never declared anything.

geordie_joe

gohan2091 wrote: »

What if I put a disclaimer at the bottom? explaining I am not a doctor or medically trained but my advice is just common sense

There's a problem, if it's just common sense then everybody already knows it, even if they don't follow it. Even if they didn't know it, there are at least a million web sites that will tell them for free. Not to mention, doctors, nurses and many charities.

Try putting yourself in your "customers" shoes. Pretend you are overweight and want to lose weight. Then go out and gather all the information you can find. You'll soon find there is more free information available than you can handle.

Having said that, don't give up, there are other ways you can make money.

Try creating a web site telling your story, how you lost weight. Don't advise others to do the same, just present your story. Place some ads on it, so you make money when a visitor clicks them, and try to make money that way.

You could then build the site bigger by inviting others to submit their dieting stories. Or write about other diets and why you think they will work, or won't. Give general tips about losing weight, what to do, what not to do. Gather stories about over weight people around the world, or people who have taken dieting too far.

pitkin2020

aliasojo wrote: »

Many people simply do not realise the type of eBay info you mention is available elsewhere which is why they buy it from eBay. Weightloss info on the other hand is something that is well known about.

As for Weightwatchers etc, people pay for the support network, not just the diet plans, which I agree are largely based on info which could be got freely.

If people are looking for diets, they are going to want to look for tried and tested methods or plans which have celebrity followers for example. I honestly can't see many people paying £5 for an info sheet by an unknown person.

I do applaud the OP's efforts though. From little Acorns etc etc......

Google argos returns and the results are on the first page. The point I was making is that a lot of people just don't take the time to find the info that really is there right in front of them.

As for diets, diets are just like fads, one diet is in fashion this week and another next week.

gohan2091

pitkin2020 wrote: »

Responses above in red........

Would you recommend I advertise this on eBay then as an ebook? I have 100% positive feedback of almost 1000 transactions, this goes some way to suggest I am not a fraudster.

pitkin2020

geordie_joe wrote: »

There's a problem, if it's just common sense then everybody already knows it, even if they don't follow it. Even if they didn't know it, there are at least a million web sites that will tell them for free. Not to mention, doctors, nurses and many charities.

Try putting yourself in your "customers" shoes. Pretend you are overweight and want to lose weight. Then go out and gather all the information you can find. You'll soon find there is more free information available than you can handle.

Having said that, don't give up, there are other ways you can make money.

Try creating a web site telling your story, how you lost weight. Don't advise others to do the same, just present your story. Place some ads on it, so you make money when a visitor clicks them, and try to make money that way.

You could then build the site bigger by inviting others to submit their dieting stories. Or write about other diets and why you think they will work, or won't. Give general tips about losing weight, what to do, what not to do. Gather stories about over weight people around the world, or people who have taken dieting too far.

LOL you just found the OP's USP, as the OP has basically condensed this info in an easy to read fact sheet:T:T

gohan2091

geordie_joe wrote: »

There's a problem, if it's just common sense then everybody already knows it, even if they don't follow it. Even if they didn't know it, there are at least a million web sites that will tell them for free. Not to mention, doctors, nurses and many charities.

Try putting yourself in your "customers" shoes. Pretend you are overweight and want to lose weight. Then go out and gather all the information you can find. You'll soon find there is more free information available than you can handle.

Having said that, don't give up, there are other ways you can make money.

Try creating a web site telling your story, how you lost weight. Don't advise others to do the same, just present your story. Place some ads on it, so you make money when a visitor clicks them, and try to make money that way.

You could then build the site bigger by inviting others to submit their dieting stories. Or write about other diets and why you think they will work, or won't. Give general tips about losing weight, what to do, what not to do. Gather stories about over weight people around the world, or people who have taken dieting too far.

I don't have to pretend I am overweight and put myself in an overweight persons shoes, I've already been there. There is so many mix messages out there and a lot of people believe the only way to lose weight and keep it off is the gym or a specialised diet, I am just saying it doesn't have to be this way. It is common sense but people are not aware of it, and if they were, everyone would be slim. I am not sure how to tackle this but a website with my personal story is a good idea, although I am not sure how to start this and put ads etc (although I know how to make websites, the graphics etc)

pitkin2020 wrote: »

LOL you just found the OP's USP, as the OP has basically condensed this info in an easy to read fact sheet:T:T

Exactly, people are lazy, some don't even know how to use the Internet or other sources effectively. Diets don't work long term for a lot of people.

pitkin2020

gohan2091 wrote: »

Would you recommend I advertise this on eBay then as an ebook? I have 100% positive feedback of almost 1000 transactions, this goes some way to suggest I am not a fraudster.

No I wouldn't, the problem is your giving the info to someone who could easily recreate it and resell it at no real cost to them. Yes they pay a fiver for it from you, spend an hour editing it a little, then resell it for a £1, they only need to sell 6 and they are in profit for no real work and under cutting you by £4 at the same time.

geordie_joe

gohan2091 wrote: »

I have not thought this through as well as you have, this is why I have posted here, to hear the advice of experts and to discover things I either never knew or never thought of.

Unfortunately, when people do this they discover that there are others out there just waiting to pounce on them. Putting others down makes them feel bigger.

gohan2091 wrote: »

So every single bit of money you earn, you must declare with HMRC?

Technically, yes. It is always better to go to them and tell them what you have earned and let them tell you if it should be taxed. Rather than keeping quite and having them discover you have earned money that should have been taxed.

gohan2091 wrote: »

Does this include eBay? because I've been using it for years to sell and never declared anything.

Depends. If you are selling your own possessions that you no longer want then it's fine. But if you are buying things to sell on ebay then you are running a business.

gohan2091

pitkin2020 wrote: »

No I wouldn't, the problem is your giving the info to someone who could easily recreate it and resell it at no real cost to them. Yes they pay a fiver for it from you, spend an hour editing it a little, then resell it for a £1, they only need to sell 6 and they are in profit for no real work and under cutting you by £4 at the same time.

Wouldn't that be the case for any method of sale? hmmm, this is tough. Even if make a website with my personal story, someone could steal that information anyway and sell it. Perhaps if I advertise on ebay but the only way to purchase it was to phone me? I can then judge the person. A fradster wouldn't bother phoning I don't think.. not for a few pounds. This could breach eBay rules though... so maybe not.

geordie_joe wrote: »

Depends. If you are selling your own possessions that you no longer want then it's fine. But if you are buying things to sell on ebay then you are running a business.

I do a bit of both and I'm sure most eBayers do the same. This weightloss advice is my own possession, it is my own knowledge that I am sharing. If you can sell possessions on eBay without declaring it, then why not the same be true for advice?

Perhaps I should just offer the advice for free and I could put at the bottom, if this works for you, a donation would be most welcome. This isn't going to earn me hardly anything though


Anyway people, I have to go now. My monitor is faulty and it's being collected tomorrow by the manufacturer so I have no PC for about a week. I will check back here when the replacement monitor arrives.