My mortgage free mission!!!!!!

I_want_a_baby

Hi FF,

Thanks for the link I will do that as soon as I get a minute.

Well done with the studying - I am AAT qualified and found it quite a slog - you deserve every penny you earn from your business you are obviously very focused and determined and I am sure you will reap dividends xx

frugalfrog

Hello everybody

Just seen that I have passed my final (main) ICB exam, so I can start up my business!!! Wasnt expecting this for another 2 weeks, so not prepared :S DD still fast asleep as was too hot for her last night & I'm trying to work out what I need to do now...

First thing is to call ICB when they open to get my Practice Licence pack, which will give me info on starting up business ie what to charge etc

And I need to work out what to call my practice. I'm looking for a quite traditional image, but do not really want to use my name (as a lot of self-emp bookkeepers do). Any suggestions are welcome

Also, finally started on the "good life" yesterday. We bought some tomato plants, strawberries, rosemary and 2 different chilli plants. Going to see how we get on with those & may expand later. Its my birthday on Thurday (I'm 27!!!) and they were my present (also got a couple of books from charity shop), cant really afford anything else. But this time next year ....

Earnings on websites, I've had another £6.26 payout from Superpoints. Its only a little cash, but every penny helps.

I have been playing around a lot with Swagbucks. Which is quite a good deal if you have the time to do it every day. They have a bonus, where you have a target of "bucks" to reach - between 40 and 130 (which I've seen so far), if you reach the target you get 10% daily bonus,
If you make the target 7 days in a row = 25 bonus points plus the daily
14 days = 100 plus daily 10%,
21 days = 200 points plus daily 10%
month = 300 points +10% daily

There are a lot of things you can spend points on, however, its quite US focused, I've found the best for us UK is £5 Amazon for 849 points, therefore 1 point = 0.5889p (or 100 points = 59p)

To earn points there are loads of ways
- Surveys - pay between 70-120 ish (41p - 70p ish) - so prob not the best paid - but they are normally credited instantly (max I've seen has been a couple of days) & go a long way to the daily target. So if you have time to do a survey a day.
- Search toolbar - you get 1 point for just logging on the internet, then a random prize for seaching (between 6-30 points I've seen) - a tip I read is that if you use it around 3 times a day ie morning, lunch & evening - search for around 5-10 times, you will definately get a prize (has always worked for me) once you get a prize I dont think they will give you another for a few hours.
- Games - there are a lot of online games, which you can play for free or bet some "bucks" for higher stakes. And you get awarded points every so often (good for those who like online games - get paid for it even if its only pennies!)
- SBTV - you can watch their TV station, which is really a short video clips of things like celeb news, Tech news, food channel etc, For every 10 videos you watch, you get 3 points (not high paying but easy to have on in the background), I've found you only need to watch about 45 seconds of the video to be awarded.
- sponsored offers - the ususal sign up to stuff, download stuff, enter competitions to get more bucks.

So if you manage to get an average of about 80 bucks a day (presuming you do the daily goals), you should get around 2,940 bucks a month (£17.31 in Amazon vouchers) - does take some time though...

If anyone wants a invite let me know

Sepa74

Congratulations!!! That's brilliant news. There are a few of us on here who are making our own way in the world from an employment point of view, and I for one am looking forward to reading your story.

As a small bookkeeper, your biggest market will be other small businesses in the area. I suggest getting in touch with your local chamber of commerce.

The business link website is brilliant for start-ups http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/home/ and they also do (or used to do) networking events.

When you have your business name sorted out and start hunting down some clients you will absolutely need some business cards. You can get cheapie ones at V1staprint for postage only.

Bookkeeping is a really flexible way to earn a living, I'm sure you're going to do really well. Good luck!!

frugalfrog

Thanks for the tips.

DH Dad has a printing firm so can do us business cards for free

Still trying to think of a business name. I did settle on Sterling Bookkeeping and Payroll Services, however there is a business near me which offer similar services called Sterling... Naming a business is much harder than you think!

After a month of DH having very little work, he is now snowed under! He probably earned about £300 in July.. so we had to take a lot out of our savings, which made me panic a bit as it is getting very low now! However this week he has earned about £1000, fully booked next week and have a new potential client he is going down to do quotes for today. I wish I could help him, but there is not much I can do! Keep making him coffee & sandwiches Hopefully this month will make up for last...

On the spending front, we are basically spending NOTHING!!! Only food & bills. It was my birthday last week and a got a bit of money (I think my family are feeling a bit sorry for me!), but I'm even being frugal with that! I need do something with my hair, not been dyed in a year & I want to go light again, so I'm going to get a home kit & get my Mum to do it (my Mum always used to dye my hair as a teenager). Shouldn't cost more than £10. Also last week a local charity shop was having a sale on books (clearing out for a refurbish) 20p a book!!!! There were so many I could buy but stopped myself at 10 So more on my bookshelf to read! Had some great classics & books that I've wanted to read for ages - so £2 spent. I've got £28 left from the money, not sure what I want, so going to keep hold to look in clothes sales.

CathT

Good luck with your business

frugalfrog

Can I ask peoples opinions on a business name... West End Bookkeeping & Payroll

West End is my street name BTW. I am looking to make my business a "local" and traditional feel. My street is an old street 100yrs + and it is known well locally. I really need to get a name sorted soon!

Thanks for any feedback

CathT

frugalfrog wrote: »

Can I ask peoples opinions on a business name... West End Bookkeeping & Payroll

West End is my street name BTW. I am looking to make my business a "local" and traditional feel. My street is an old street 100yrs + and it is known well locally. I really need to get a name sorted soon!

Thanks for any feedback

I like it

frugalfrog

Just got a bonus Superpoints link - extra 50 point if you sign up through this link http://superpoints.com/bonus/oh0fui

wantabetterlife

yep think thats a good one FF, the association between the name of the business and its location will make it more memorable...thats what i think anyway

frugalfrog

Thanks think I will go with it... Need to sort paperwork out tonight/tomorrow (depending on how easy DD is getting to sleep!)

First potential client lined up today. DH has been doing some work for him & got chatting about overheads etc. He was moaning that he is paying too much for his accountant. DH dropped in what I was doing & will have a chat with him when her is here again. Scary but exciting!

First produce picked today :j ok it was only one strawberry, but it was lovely DD had half and me and DH shared the other half... we've got some cherry tomatoes coming through, and the chillis are looking good. I bought some corriander seeds and a grape plant yesterday and planted some today. We love fresh corriander in this house but its soo expensive to buy. Keep thinking about chickens, but its such a big outlay to start with, but I would love to have some. Maybe next year...