Find out what we've been up to in recent months at CBC.

INSIDE THIS EDITION

CAROLINE BOARDMAN CONSULTING business news and current offers.

CLIENT FOCUS: AMY NEWTON of Amy Newton Interior Designs talking about making the home cosy for Winter.

WINTER Tax tip, FreeAgent tip and Money Saving tip.

CBC business news and current offers

Winter 2021, we are in the run up to Christmas and hopefully it's a merrier one all round compared to last year with travel back on and family get togethers planned. 

We've been busy with accounts, tax returns, confirmation statements and the final Autumn client onboarding and December and January will be very much client focused and getting that dreaded 31st January deadline met. The CBC support team continues to grow with more of the Clear Day team providing regular support for admin and social media, Emily increasing her hours, Chris supporting us 2 days per month and my bookkeepers taking on even more VAT returns as more clients grow beyond the £85k turnover level. Hooray!

What's been happening?

• Workshops created and recorded - I have 3 workshops that I've been delivering over the past year and after many requests for recordings, I have finally recorded them and they will be available to buy in the New Year
  • My 5 top finance tips for the self-employed
  • Simple cash management for UK small business
  • Excel basics for all
• More collaboration with FreeAgent - We have put on 2 FreeAgent training events this last quarter and both have been a great success. It is so important to me that CBC clients understand their own finances and FreeAgent is a great tool to help you do this. If you haven't been to a training session yet, the next one will be in February 2022.
• More hours available to work - both children are now in the same place 5 days per week 9am till 3pm and it has made everything so much simpler. We are all enjoying the new simplified way of life and I'm enjoying being more available to clients.
• Clear Day support - In September I started a monthly coaching programme with Helen Calvert, social media scheduling support from Sam and more admin support from Vic. All working perfectly.
• Emily support - my VA (and sister in law) now works every Monday for CBC which is invaluable admin support to the business. Clients will be getting used to lovely emails from Emily requesting the information I need to help you with compliance requirements.
• Chris support - my husband is now working with me on operations, systems and processes every other Friday.
• Marketing support formalised with Lisa and Sarah - I have always worked closely with Lisa from Your Happy Customer and Sarah from The Hive Mind Company but we are now meeting every couple of months for accountability.
• VAT registration will be coming for CBC in early 2022. Watch out for more detail on this. 
• December 2021 and January 2022 will be dedicated to my current clients to ensure ALL impending deadlines are met. 

If you want to recommend me, please still do! Let people know that they can email me at info@carolineboardmanconsulting.co.uk and request to be added to the Spring waiting list and we will be in touch before 1st March 2022.

Current CBC offers

• Annual FreeAgent accounting software licence to all clients for £150 per year for sole traders and £210 per year for Limited Companies. From 2023 the only option to work with me will be if you use FreeAgent accounting software. MTD for Income Tax is coming in April 2024 and I want to make sure we aren't having a last minute rush to comply. If you still want to use spreadsheets or notebooks for your accounts, you can for another 12 months but this time next year I'll be writing to your about FreeAgent again.
• Finance mentoring - I'm now mentoring 6 clients quarterly. 

During 2021, a few clients have approached me to ask me to be more involved in their business finances. Whether this is to review finances quarterly or just talk through how they will achieve their profit goals. As this is a desired service, I am now offering it to all clients who might want to sign up. 4 sessions at £150 per session (1 per quarter over the year). I'll share with you how I manage my own business or personal finances. Help you to set a budget. Show you how to best review your finances quarterly. Drill down into your numbers. Act as an accountability partner. We will discuss what you want to achieve at the start of the 1st session and review how you feel at the end of the 4th session.

• Bookkeeping - this service is becoming increasingly popular, mostly due to VAT registrations but also smaller businesses have asked us to keep on top of their FreeAgent updating too. Get in touch if you would like more details.
• One off 1:1 consultations are now on hold until February and are now £99 per session.
• FreeAgent training sessions - as mentioned earlier, next one is in February 2022 then every couple of months thereafter. 
• Tax investigation insurance renewal invoices will be sent out in March. This is still available at £100 per year. If you would like more details of this, please let me know.
• If you are on Facebook, I really encourage you to join us in the OEC Facebook group where we have regular posts every weekday, quarterly in-person networking, bi-annual retreats and monthly wellbeing meetups. It's a real additional benefit to being a CBC (or Clear Day) client.
• If you aren't on Facebook, sign up to our newsletter www.theoec.co.uk and we will start to keep you updated from there in 2022.

CLIENT FOCUS

This month it's the very lovely, talented and creative Amy Newton of Amy Newton Interiors, Amy is a fabulous local interior designer, she is based in Sale, Manchester and has built up a brilliant business over the last 2 years. 

I had a chat with Amy and you can have a read here

1. What is your business? What do you do and how long have you been in business?

I'm Amy, the Founder and Director of Amy Newton Interiors. My passion for interiors began as a teenager with both of my parents working in the new build housing industry and thus many visits to show homes followed over the years where I would dream of one day being an Interior designer.

For a long time life took me down a different path of study and work but the passion never left me as I renovated my own properties.

Nowadays, my time is spent reading interiors magazines and exploring home decor shops to such an extent that there is no other path for me to take and so followed my decision to create Amy Newton Interiors.

I am passionate about creating beautiful and functional spaces tailored to suit your personal needs, style and budget. I believe that your home should be a reflection of your personality and lifestyle and act as your sanctuary. Why not contact me today to see how I can help you to achieve your dream space?

Amy Newton Interiors is based in South Manchester and provides residential interior design and home styling.

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For clients outside of Greater Manchester and Cheshire, I also provide an online interior design service.

2. Which is your favourite social media platform as a creative?

I love Instagram and this is where you will find most of my work being shared. I recently reached 3,000 followers which I'm really proud of. I also enjoy Facebook for the groups but am still finding my feet on LinkedIn.

3. Tell us how you manage to juggle everything as a "Company of One"

I feel lucky that I started my business when my kids were a bit older so they don't need me as much (although I still feel mum guilt when they are home and I'm working, not sure that ever goes. 

I've also started coaching recently and it has shifted my mindset to a much more positive and organised one. I've got a booking system in place which saves a lot of time and I've learnt how to say no to jobs that aren't right for me. I feel privileged to be able to do that.

4. Tell us about your experience with Enterprising You and FreelanceHER?

I learnt a lot on both of these courses about running a small business and explored some passive income avenues, watch this space... some may still be in the pipeline.

5. You seem to be going from strength to strength.. What's the future plan for Amy Newton Interiors?

To carry on as I am, growing organically and maybe outsourcing more of the back office tasks. I am loving what I have created and really enjoying working on some bigger projects locally. 

CBC's WINTER TIPS

TAX TIP

Don't get caught out by the High Income tax charge if you are claiming the Child Benefit but one of you is earning over 50k / 60k.

See my full family friendly tax tips article here:- My 5 family friendly tax tips | LinkedIn

FREEAGENT TIP

Use the FreeAgent mobile app!

Watch my live video in the OEC group which will talk you through what you can do on the app. https://www.facebook.com/66495...

Before you know it, you'll be keeping FreeAgent up to date daily like me, then you will really be on top of your finances :-)