New Enterprise Allowance scheme - My story

andyscott

pinkypoopydoo wrote: »

I spoke to my adviser today, and now have a date of May 7th for handing over my business plan for her to look over, with a projected launch date of July 15th. I also managed to pick up a new client today, and I've not even advertised or started marketing. Waiting on my logo design appearing (how long does it take?! Does anyone know? It's been 8 days since I last heard from the designer guy. I thought it would be a simple, 24 hour thing - I didn't ask for anything complicated!)

In all, I am RIDICULOUSLY excited, and feeling hugely positive just now

Normally the logo design if not too complicated is done pretty quickly sometimes even same day.

Where did you hear about your designer and have you paid him any money yet?

im guessing before he started he did not give you an estimated timescale.

Is he also going to be designing your website?

andyscott

pinkypoopydoo wrote: »

I spoke to my adviser today, and now have a date of May 7th for handing over my business plan for her to look over, with a projected launch date of July 15th. I also managed to pick up a new client today, and I've not even advertised or started marketing. Waiting on my logo design appearing (how long does it take?! Does anyone know? It's been 8 days since I last heard from the designer guy. I thought it would be a simple, 24 hour thing - I didn't ask for anything complicated!)

In all, I am RIDICULOUSLY excited, and feeling hugely positive just now

Sorry also meant to ask is there a reason why your waiting until July 15th to launch the business?

pinkypoopydoo

andyscott wrote: »

Sorry also meant to ask is there a reason why your waiting until July 15th to launch the business?

It's purely a target date. I thought that BG would have a good snigger at my business plan, and send me off to start from scratch. I also wasn't expecting to have 2 clients in place, waiting for me to launch. It can be brought forward, if BG accept my plan, and I can get bank accounts etc opened quickly.

The logo designer is an old school friend, I've paid nothing up front. He said he expected a quick turnaround, but as I've never done anything like this before, I've no idea what a quick turnaround would mean. I don;t really want to start hassling him if, in the design world, a quick turnaround means a fortnight.

I was planning to attempt the website myself - I've been playing around with Yola, and am quite happy with what I've come up with. Again, it should be ready to publish to the big bad world well before July 15th.

andyscott

pinkypoopydoo wrote: »

It's purely a target date. I thought that BG would have a good snigger at my business plan, and send me off to start from scratch. I also wasn't expecting to have 2 clients in place, waiting for me to launch. It can be brought forward, if BG accept my plan, and I can get bank accounts etc opened quickly.

The logo designer is an old school friend, I've paid nothing up front. He said he expected a quick turnaround, but as I've never done anything like this before, I've no idea what a quick turnaround would mean. I don;t really want to start hassling him if, in the design world, a quick turnaround means a fortnight.

I was planning to attempt the website myself - I've been playing around with Yola, and am quite happy with what I've come up with. Again, it should be ready to publish to the big bad world well before July 15th.

I would say you should only do your own website if your 100% sure of what your doing.

I did a bit of messing a round with one of those self build sites last year and thought it looked pretty good, it was once I had an actual developer do one for me that I realised how bad mine looked.

Best thing was I only paid £300 for a complicated site and that included free domain and free year hosting. There are a lot of things a devlepor can do that self build sites cant.

A website will often help a potential client decide to give your business a chance or not.

pinkypoopydoo

In that case, I will start looking for a good, reliable developer then. I've been looking at bookkeeper sites online, and some of them are awful. They look really unprofessional and difficult to take seriously (would you rely on someone who calls themselves "bargain bookkeepers" or "cut-price accountants" to produce reliable financial reporting?!). Dodgy cartoon calculators and pound signs, misspelling and broken links.

I want to convey a good, reliable, professional image, and I have possibly under-estimated the difference between my website building, and a good developer doing the job. I shall investigate and get some prices, thankyou

andyscott

pinkypoopydoo wrote: »

In that case, I will start looking for a good, reliable developer then. I've been looking at bookkeeper sites online, and some of them are awful. They look really unprofessional and difficult to take seriously (would you rely on someone who calls themselves "bargain bookkeepers" or "cut-price accountants" to produce reliable financial reporting?!). Dodgy cartoon calculators and pound signs, misspelling and broken links.

I want to convey a good, reliable, professional image, and I have possibly under-estimated the difference between my website building, and a good developer doing the job. I shall investigate and get some prices, thankyou

How many pages you expecting to have on your site and I will try getting a price from the guy I know.

This guy is cheap but quick and proffessional. he was working for a copany but has just started up on his own now.

He is always happy to answer any questions and does not take a penny until site is completed and you have tested it all.

pinkypoopydoo

Nothing too complicated - a home page, a contact page and the scope to have two other pages for pricing structures.

andyscott

pinkypoopydoo wrote: »

Nothing too complicated - a home page, a contact page and the scope to have two other pages for pricing structures.

I wil phone him tomorrow and ask for a price for you but I reckon it would be £100 at most and thats for a proffessional site.

TeeKay10

Hi fay66,

If you mean the Job Grant of up to £200 (I think it was) then unfortunately the Govt have stopped that now

But the In Work Credit scheme is still running, where you can get up to £60 per week on top of your earnings once you start work (If you qualify for the benefit of course!)

HTH

https://www.gov.uk/job-grant/overview

https://www.gov.uk/in-work-credit/overview

TeeKay10

Sorry, I'm half asleep and didn't realise this had been answered!

TeeKay10 wrote: »

Hi fay66,

If you mean the Job Grant of up to £200 (I think it was) then unfortunately the Govt have stopped that now

But the In Work Credit scheme is still running, where you can get up to £60 per week on top of your earnings once you start work (If you qualify for the benefit of course!)

HTH

https://www.gov.uk/job-grant/overview

https://www.gov.uk/in-work-credit/overview