It does not mean that this business doesn't work, it just means that I have not taken it seriously enough to treat it as a proper business. Nobody told me that I needed to declare the business to the Tax Office, and be classed as self employed! As I was already working full time and paying taxes, I thought that it wasn't necessary until I started making substantial profits.
What I didn't realise is that had I employed a Chartered Accountant, I would have received tax rebates from my full time job to cover the expenses incurred on my business venture. I was told that in the first year alone, I could have expected up to £1000 tax rebate!
Instead, I finally declared my business 3 years ago, and I regularly get around £500 a year tax rebate. The income from the business is not very much at the moment, but it is beginning to go up month by month. The reason for this is I am finally doing some consistent action to promote the business. Let me explain what I have been doing.
At the end of October, I decided to invest in 10,000 A5 sized leaflets. I found a printing firm called GTEC online, and submitted this company approved advert below -
What I then did, was to set myself a target of delivering 200 leaflets a day, until I had completely delivered them all. But even the best laid plans do not always work out as you originally planned!
I soon discovered that it slows you down considerably if you try and do the leaflet drop in the dark! Also it is not a good idea to try and do a leaflet drop when it is raining (nobody will look at a soggy leaflet). Because I do shift work, my 200 a day plan was not a practical solution. As it turned out the system I finally worked out, seems to suit me best.
What I now do is deliver 200 leaflets on the days I am working late or night shifts. I do these in the morning, and it takes me approximately 90 minutes to complete the task. If it is raining, I will miss out doing the leaflet drop that day. When I have my rest days, or holidays, then I will deliver 400 leaflets. This will take me about 3 hours to complete. With earphones plugged into my mobile phone,I switch on the MP3 player, and it is surprising how fast the time goes by!
When I ordered the leaflets, I told myself I would be happy with gathering just 4 customers. The reason I chose this number is that the initial commission I would receive from those 4 customers would pay for the leaflets. Of course, every month onwards, I would continue to receive a monthly residual income (a form of royalty if you like). so far I have delivered about 6,000 leaflets, and I have successfully signed up 3 new customers. By my reckoning, I am well on target to achieving the goal I set myself.
I haven't done any leaflet drops the week before Christmas, or this week. If the weather is dry, I will be delivering another 400 leaflets on Friday 6th January. when this supply of leaflets have gone, and I have achieved my target of 4 new customers, then I will get in touch with GTEC again and order some more leaflets. What has surprised me is that I live in a small village (900 houses) on the edge of a large town called Milton Keynes. There is lots of green space, farmland, parks, and a river nearby, and yet I will have visited 10,000 homes, and travel no more than 3 miles (4.82 km) from my home!
So 2012 is going to be busy year for me, as I will be putting a lot more time and effort into my franchise business, than I have ever done before.
