Opinions Archives - IRIS KashFlow Accounting & Payroll | Free Trial - No Card Required‎ Tue, 11 Aug 2020 14:30:21 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kashflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/kashflow-icon-2.png Opinions Archives - IRIS KashFlow 32 32 Four Inspirational UK Entrepreneurs https://www.kashflow.com/blog/four-inspirational-uk-entrepreneurs/ Sat, 24 Jun 2017 10:14:23 +0000 https://www.kashflow.com/?p=77868 A record-breaking 657,790 new businesses were founded in the UK last year but in five years’ time, only half of them will still be trading. Odds like that make you wonder whether it’s worth the risk involved in setting up your own business. However… there’s a vast number of UK-born entrepreneurs who have faced the […]

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What You Need To Know Before Starting Your Own Business https://www.kashflow.com/blog/need-know-starting-business/ Tue, 25 Apr 2017 13:00:53 +0000 https://www.kashflow.com/?p=77455 Starting your own business can be exciting, worrying and stressful and it is important to understand the implications of your decisions and do thorough research before making the jump. The following tips should help you make the best decisions for your business. Sole Trader or Limited Company? Whether you will be a small business or […]

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4 Future Predictions For Small Business Accounting https://www.kashflow.com/blog/4-predictions-small-business-accounting/ Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:01:42 +0000 https://www.kashflow.com/?p=76388 Some love it, others loathe it, but however you feel about change, it’s the only constant in this life. In order for your small business to stay competitive, it’s crucial you stay tuned to changes in industry and general working practices. How well you respond to this change will ultimately determine whether you’ll sink or […]

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How Technology Helps Productivity https://www.kashflow.com/blog/how-technology-helps-productivity/ Sun, 08 Dec 2013 22:18:12 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64075 As a company develops, technology is examined as a way of saving money, making more money, saving time and/or enabling people to do more with less. In evaluating technology for your company, the cost of purchase and deployment carries a certain amount of risk and mitigating that risk, while reaping the rewards of good decision […]

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The Power of Reviews https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-power-of-reviews/ Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:18:48 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64199 The internet is full of review sites which allow people to talk about your business, both positively and negatively. Of course, this can have a huge impact on your success. Reviews can appear in a huge range of  different places; from review sites and online forums to your own social media accounts. Knowing how to manage and respond […]

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What’s in a name? Tips for naming your business https://www.kashflow.com/blog/whats-in-a-name-tips-for-naming-your-business/ Wed, 06 Nov 2013 23:21:55 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64150 When starting a business, a key thing to consider is the business’s name; what are the main considerations to take into account when naming your business? It sounds like a simple enough task, but naming your company is important and it can be a daunting experience if you don’t know where to start. The right […]

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The Value of LinkedIn for Your Small Business https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-value-of-linkedin-for-your-small-business/ Thu, 31 Oct 2013 12:10:24 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64194 Launching over a decade ago (on the 5th of May 2003 to be precise) LinkedIn has seen plenty of other social media sites fall in and out of favour with the masses. Despite the changing landscape of the Internet, LinkedIn has survived. Still seen as THE business professional’s social network of choice, it can provide big […]

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Appreciation: Accountancy on the Rise https://www.kashflow.com/blog/appreciation-accountancy-on-the-rise/ Sun, 13 Oct 2013 22:16:28 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64108 When you think of an accountant you probably think of someone in a cramped office surrounded by piles of invoices, constantly crunching numbers to produce a never-ending spool of…more numbers! Depending on how much ’50s drama you watch you might also picture them wearing braces and one of those green eyeshade hats! This image has […]

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How to Make the Most of the Business Premises Renovation Allowance https://www.kashflow.com/blog/how-to-make-the-most-of-the-business-premises-renovation-allowance/ Wed, 09 Oct 2013 22:20:12 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64160 Finding the right premises for a small or micro entity can be tough. Commercial rents can be prohibitively expensive, and even if the perfect location is located, it might need considerable work to get it up to a good standard. When operating on a slim budget, the amount of money available for renovations and other building […]

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A Motivated Workforce https://www.kashflow.com/blog/a-motivated-workforce/ Fri, 04 Oct 2013 15:37:23 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=63920 Motivation is a strange beast. It can evaporate at will, with productivity never far behind. There are plenty of reasons why motivation might disappear, which can make remedying it extremely difficult. One thing’s for sure is that if your workforce feels unmotivated and underappreciated, it can translate into lost revenue. That’s why it’s essential to […]

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Rocking your Business World with Twitter https://www.kashflow.com/blog/rocking-your-business-world-with-twitter/ Wed, 11 Sep 2013 10:56:22 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64181 In the last decade social media sites have brought people together, but Twitter and other social networks have since defied their original purpose. Back when Twitter was conceived, over millions of strangers would post wishful thoughts like having their honeymoon in The Bahamas or the newest diet to lose that holiday weight. However, it is […]

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The Day That Email Changed Forever https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-day-that-email-changed-forever/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-day-that-email-changed-forever/#comments Thu, 20 Jun 2013 12:55:21 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=62528 If you’re running a small business you have a lot of email to process. Possibly more so if its a tech business. Some days I feel like I’ve done nothing but deal with emails. We all know that checking our email every 2 minutes destroys our productivity, we’ve read the articles telling us we should […]

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Clowns to the Left, Jokers to the Right… https://www.kashflow.com/blog/clowns-to-the-left-jokers-to-the-right/ Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:23:22 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=62000 In the cola wars, it’s rare that contenders other than Pepsi and Coca Cola are mentioned. This shouldn’t be that surprising – they have billion dollar budgets (Coke spent just shy of $3bn on advertising in 2010 alone) and employ megastars like Beyonce (Pepsi) and Taylor Swift (Diet Coke) to advertise their products. To get […]

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Facebook Advertising Sucks https://www.kashflow.com/blog/facebook-advertising-sucks/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/facebook-advertising-sucks/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:06:22 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=61814 Last year, we ran a large scale advertising campaign made up of a number of different elements. One source that performed much better than we were expecting was Spotify – we tracked a substantial amount of trialists and experienced a lot of positive interaction on social media while the advert was running, not to mention […]

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The Balance of Efficiency and Quality https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-balance-of-efficiency-and-quality/ Sat, 09 Mar 2013 23:21:18 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64170 Business is fundamentally (admittedly among other things!) about maximising surplus value and productivity while minimising the cost of everyday operations. However, one important variable that cannot be neglected under any circumstance is quality. So how do we achieve both efficiency and quality? Business owners who wish to excel must appreciate that while efficiency is key […]

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Internal Communications in a Growing Startup https://www.kashflow.com/blog/internal-communications-in-a-growing-startup/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/internal-communications-in-a-growing-startup/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:00:39 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=56414 Around a year ago this guy turned up. I’ve learned a hell of a lot from him about doing my job as CEO of a fast growing company and I’m hoping to find the time to write more about some of that. But I’ll start with one of the most important lessons I’ve learned, and that’s a […]

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Whitehall’s New Entrepreneurs In Residence – A Warning… https://www.kashflow.com/blog/whitehalls-new-entrepreneurs-in-residence-a-warning/ Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:59:03 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=53243 We recently ran a survey asking over a thousand business owners their views on what the government is or isn’t doing to make their lives easier and encourage new enterprises. The results are interesting and will be released soon…but if you recall some of the questions then you’d be forgiven for wondering if GCHQ are […]

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Do you have enough followers to read this blog post? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/do-you-have-enough-followers-to-read-this-blog-post/ Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:21:23 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=53205 It probably comes as no surprise to some of you that a few members of the KashFlow Krew are Twitterholics – around 50% of staff here use it, and Management Today kindly voted Duane one of the top 50 entrepreneurs on Twitter (coming above two Dragons’ Den dragons, no less…). Although we have a dedicated community manager […]

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IR35 Explained https://www.kashflow.com/blog/ir35-explained/ Tue, 09 Oct 2012 22:19:01 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64142 The UK has always provided certain tax benefits to those working as independent contractors. However, for many years, the problem of disguised employees burdened the UK tax system and allowed individuals to play both sides of the fence. These employees work for a larger company, accept a full time wage and have all of the […]

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Generation DIY #GenDIY https://www.kashflow.com/blog/gendiy/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/gendiy/#comments Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:49:08 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=46379 First there was Generation X. Then there was Generation Y. It’d be easy to read the Daily Mail and believe that the current generation is Generation ZZZ, as they’re a lazy bunch of good-for-nothings. But we’ve seen where that mentality gets us. Next month, the latest youth unemployment figures will be coming out. I think […]

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Beyond SaaS, The Future Of Software Development and Delivery https://www.kashflow.com/blog/beyond-saas-the-future-of-software-development-delivery/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/beyond-saas-the-future-of-software-development-delivery/#comments Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:38:11 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=37347 Back when I launched KashFlow, my online accounting software business, the phrase “software as a service” hadn’t been coined yet. The recently popular catchall phrase ‘cloud computing’, now frantically highlighted in every marketeer’s notebook, was practically unheard of. iPhones didn’t even exist yet. Seven years later, SaaS is widely accepted as the way software (with […]

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Thoughts and opinions are my own, not that of my employer. And so is my Twitter account. https://www.kashflow.com/blog/using-personal-social-media-accounts-small-business/ Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:07:54 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=34398 Thoughts and opinions are my own, and not that of my employer. It’s rare that I get through a day without seeing some variation of this phrase in someone’s Twitter bio. In case you haven’t noticed, several members of the KashFlow team are pretty active on Twitter. At a networking event last night, someone expressed […]

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The Importance of Trade Shows to Small Businesses https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-importance-of-trade-shows-to-small-businesses/ Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:28:27 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=64469 The UK Trade Show industry has an £11 billion impact on the UK economy, with over 900 shows a year taking place. Getting the most out of a trade show depends on a few things. Picking the right arena for the business to shine is very important – aiming for smaller venues where staff will […]

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Entrepreneurs in Prison https://www.kashflow.com/blog/entrepreneurs-in-prison/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/entrepreneurs-in-prison/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 11:05:41 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=26036 The front page of the Metro this morning carried a story about prisoners being used as workers by the likes of M&S and other big firms. The Independent and many other papers also have the story. I’ve not dared look to see what the Daily Mail think about it. Predictably there are already concerns being […]

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I didn’t get any work done today https://www.kashflow.com/blog/i-didnt-get-any-work-done-today/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/i-didnt-get-any-work-done-today/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:34:50 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=21590 I had a realisation recently that other founders – especially those of a technical bent – might be able to relate to. I’d just spent a whole day in various meetings.  As I left for the day and realised my laptop hadn’t even left my man bag I said “I don’t know why I bothered […]

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The Future of Digital Money https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-future-of-digital-money/ Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:26:45 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=19275 There is currently a divide in the world of digital money. This divide was exemplified by a panel at Monday’s London Web Summit, with two of the panelists (at least to some extent) working alongside credit card companies and two fighting against them. Ben Milne, of real-time virtual money exchange Dwolla, has previously stated that […]

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I.P.E.A. – The Four Attributes You Need to Work in a Startup https://www.kashflow.com/blog/i-p-e-a-the-four-attributes-you-need-to-work-in-a-startup/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/i-p-e-a-the-four-attributes-you-need-to-work-in-a-startup/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:48:58 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2788 KashFlow has been going a good few years now and there are over 20 of us here. But we’re still very much a start-up in terms of our culture, the way we work, and the things we’re working on. Working in a start-up is nothing like working in a “big” business. Some people simply aren’t […]

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Software Satisfaction – Thank You! https://www.kashflow.com/blog/software-satisfaction-thank-you/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/software-satisfaction-thank-you/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:48:22 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2653 On Tuesday evening we attended the black tie (or pink tie in our case) dinner for the announcement of the winners of the 2011 Software Satisfaction Awards. We won the web-based accounting software category back in 2007 and again in 2008. In 2009  we won both the web-based and general “Accounting Software” category. This year there was […]

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As Smart Phones Get Smarter, Humans get Stupider https://www.kashflow.com/blog/as-smart-phones-get-smarter-humans-get-stupider/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/as-smart-phones-get-smarter-humans-get-stupider/#comments Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:43:17 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2632 When’s the last time you wrote something with pen and paper? My handwriting is appalling and after a few lines my fingers ache. The reason for that is because of how infrequently I need to actually write with pen and paper. Like most other people, I’m more likely to type than write. But with the […]

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#FollowFriday #FF – You’re doing it wrong! https://www.kashflow.com/blog/followfriday-ff-youre-doing-it-wrong/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/followfriday-ff-youre-doing-it-wrong/#comments Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:45:52 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2674 It’s Friday, yay! Friday on Twitter is “Follow Friday”. The idea is that you suggest to your followers who else they should follow by tweeting their names and putting using the hashtag #FollowFriday or the shorter #FF. But more often than not #FF tweets are useless and don’t result in any new followers for the […]

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Twitter to Save ITV Ad Revenues #socialtv https://www.kashflow.com/blog/twitter-to-save-itv-ad-revenues-socialtv/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/twitter-to-save-itv-ad-revenues-socialtv/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:33:28 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2549 Back when there were just 3 or 4 channels on TV it was easy for a commercial broadcaster like ITV to deliver a lot of eyeballs to advertisers. Then two things happened. First, the proliferation of TV channels meant that the eyeballs were spread much more widely across many channels. Then came Sky+ and TiVo. […]

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7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Bother Reading This Blog Post https://www.kashflow.com/blog/7-reasons-you-shouldnt-bother-reading-this-blog-post-2/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/7-reasons-you-shouldnt-bother-reading-this-blog-post-2/#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:45:31 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2520 Statistically there are far more people on the planet that won’t bother reading this blog post than those that will. So you, dear reader, are in a very small minority. So listed here are the top 7 reasons why you shouldn’t bother reading this blog post: 1) It’s just another pointless list Blog posts with […]

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Email Etiquette – When Harry Met Sally https://www.kashflow.com/blog/email-etiquette-when-harry-met-sally/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/email-etiquette-when-harry-met-sally/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:50:27 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2497 Most (but not all) of us now know that it’s not a good idea, when emailing lots of people, to put all of their addresses in the To or CC field. Use BCC so you’re not sharing email addresses without the owners permission. But there’s another email etiquette ‘rule’ that many people still break: Introductions I send an […]

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An Annoying/Funny/Time-wasting Exchange on LinkedIn https://www.kashflow.com/blog/an-annoyingfunnytime-wasting-exchange-on-linkedin/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/an-annoyingfunnytime-wasting-exchange-on-linkedin/#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:33:45 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2358 Below is an exchange of messages on LinkedIn. I’ve changed her name to just intials and removed the name of the company, but it was a PLC. From: LZ Join my network on LinkedIn LZ has indicated you are a person they’ve done business with at XYZ Plc Hi Duane, I’d like to have a […]

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#LondonRiots – maybe this is the “why?” https://www.kashflow.com/blog/london-riots-maybe-this-is-the-why-2/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/london-riots-maybe-this-is-the-why-2/#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 21:57:50 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2340 As I’m writing this on Monday evening, London is having it’s third night of riots and fires. The news channels are already making a big deal about the ages of some of the people children involved and asking random people: “Why oh why oh why??”. Well maybe here are some clues: A 2008 BBC article – […]

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Out of Limbo – Post-mortem of a fundraising excercise https://www.kashflow.com/blog/out-of-limbo-post-mortem-of-a-fundraising-excercise/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/out-of-limbo-post-mortem-of-a-fundraising-excercise/#comments Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:01:38 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=2241 Edit: For an update to this post, see Changing The Game. It’s been something of an open secret over recent months that we, KashFlow, have been in a process/undertaking a strategic review/considering our options/[insert-preferred-euphemism] in recent months. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to update you on what’s been going on and where we’ve […]

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Tips to Help You Switch Off on Holiday https://www.kashflow.com/blog/tips-to-help-you-switch-off-on-holiday/ Sun, 05 Jun 2011 17:36:32 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/blog/?p=2687 So you’ve finally convinced yourself your business won’t implode if you take a holiday – great! Now you just need ot make sure you do actually switch off when you’re away. The below are six tips I’ve blatantly stolen from Josh Hall at Simply Business, the online insurance broker specialising in business insurance and public […]

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MP3 OCD – Tools For Tidying Your Music Collection https://www.kashflow.com/blog/mp3-ocd-tools-for-tidying-your-music-collection/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/mp3-ocd-tools-for-tidying-your-music-collection/#comments Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:53:54 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=2180 I recently bought a Sonos Multi-room sound system and put all my MP3s on a NAS drive (Buffalo LinkStation) so they were accessible in any room from the Sonos system and via our laptops for iTunes. Much to my wifes delight, I decided to use the Easter weekend to sort out the MP3 collection so […]

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SaaS & Big Cos: Go Hard or Go Home https://www.kashflow.com/blog/saas-big-cos-go-hard-or-go-home/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/saas-big-cos-go-hard-or-go-home/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:24:01 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=2162 2011 has seen the big boys of the UK accounting software world, Sage and Intuit, finally enter the SaaS marketplace. After their first abortion of an  attempt, Sage went back to the drawing board and delivered a technically sound product. Six months after Intuit was initially touting an upcoming SaaS app to it’s partners, they finally […]

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StartUp Britain and the concept of Enlightened Self-Interest https://www.kashflow.com/blog/startup-britain-and-the-concept-enlightened-self-interest/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/startup-britain-and-the-concept-enlightened-self-interest/#comments Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:31:38 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=2139 Start Up Britain officially launched this morning and it has been the top trending topic on Twitter for the UK most of today. Startup Britain has been founded by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. It’s endorsed by government but not in any way funded or owned by them. As with anything that gets a lot of attention, some […]

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TenThings.me – Simples. https://www.kashflow.com/blog/tenthings-me-simples/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/tenthings-me-simples/#comments Sat, 22 Jan 2011 21:10:12 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=2024 On Friday night I got a peek at a new, yet-to-be-launched, social site – tenthings.me. The concept is incredibly simple. 1) Log in to it via FaceBook, 2) and then “share (up to) ten things about yourself that your friends and co-workers might not know.” Currently there are just 24 people who have registered (I’m […]

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Now that you’re an Entrepreneur… https://www.kashflow.com/blog/now-that-youre-an-entrepreneur/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/now-that-youre-an-entrepreneur/#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 12:57:23 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1904 So you’ve decided to start a business, you are now officially an entrepreneur. There are a few things you need to do straight away… Business Cards First up: business cards. Raised print, full colour, printed both sides is usually the best. Don’t stress over what to put as your job title. Just “Entrepreneur” will suffice. You […]

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Banned from “Sage Event” https://www.kashflow.com/blog/banned-from-sage-event/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/banned-from-sage-event/#comments Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:46:00 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1889 I blogged last week about the two events I’ll be attending for Global Entrepreneurship Week. I received a phone call today from the organisers telling me it “wouldn’t be appropriate” for me to attend the GEW Party this evening as “it’s a private Sage event”. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Not […]

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E2Live Cancelled, Rachel Elnaugh kicks Entrepreneur https://www.kashflow.com/blog/e2live-fails-rachel-elnaugh-kicks-entrepreneur/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/e2live-fails-rachel-elnaugh-kicks-entrepreneur/#comments Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:56:04 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1862 On 1st August 2005, Rachel Elnaugh’s Red Letter Days went into administration leaving plenty of unpaid suppliers and disappointed customers. Rachel received a lot of personal attacks over the failure of her business and she had to spend a long time trying to get her side of the story heard. In short, she says it […]

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The Ultimate in Customer Service: Can you better this? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-ultimate-in-customer-service-examples-from-the-top/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-ultimate-in-customer-service-examples-from-the-top/#comments Thu, 04 Nov 2010 16:06:57 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1844 One of the great things about running a growing business that’s starting to make a bit of a splash is that you get invited to pretty exclusive events and get to meet some big overachievers. I was at just such a small event last night. The room was full of successful business owners. I’m only going to […]

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Mumpreneur – a good or a bad word to be using? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/mumpreneur-a-good-or-a-bad-word-to-be-using/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/mumpreneur-a-good-or-a-bad-word-to-be-using/#comments Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:43:40 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1816 There’s a debate raging on Twitter now over the use of the word “Mumpreneur” as a name for a mother that’s an entrepreneur It started with a conversation between @EtcEtcOnline (Darren Leighfield) and @KellyCairns. Darren says it’s a “ridiculous label” and would put people off using the services of someone calling themselves a mumpreneur. Kelly […]

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Your Vanity is Devaluing LinkedIn https://www.kashflow.com/blog/your-vanity-is-devaluing-linkedin/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/your-vanity-is-devaluing-linkedin/#comments Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:33:31 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1807 I use Twitter every day. Anyone can follow me, and I’ll follow anyone who looks interesting. Facebook I use much less frequently and don’t have (or want) many friends on there. It’s more personal/family related, although I do have KashFlow RSS feeds plugged into it. My problem is with LinkedIn. I find it a very […]

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Me, me, me. https://www.kashflow.com/blog/me-me-me/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/me-me-me/#comments Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:26:32 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1769 A little while ago Dennis Howlett of AccManPro came in to KashFlow Towers and shot a video, part of which was an interview with me. I honestly didn’t (and still don’t) think I said much that was interesting, but when it was published I got lots of great feedback from people. So I thought I’d […]

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Using Social Media DOESN’T Damage Your Job Prospects https://www.kashflow.com/blog/using-social-media-doesnt-damage-your-job-prospects/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/using-social-media-doesnt-damage-your-job-prospects/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:03:00 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1746 There’s been much talk about the impact of your social media presence  on your job prospects. The thinking seems to be that a prospective employer searches your name on Google and discovers your Twitter feed or Facebook profile and is alarmed and disgusted by what you get up to at the weekends, your political views or your […]

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Sci-Fi novels saving the world – ELPs https://www.kashflow.com/blog/elps/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/elps/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:36:24 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1734 There’s no shortage of technological innovations that existed in the pages of a Science Fiction novel long before they existed in real life. Augmented reality is straight from the books of William Gibson Submarines from Jules Verne Satellites from Arthur C. Clarke – the list could go on and on. Anyone that’s read The Hitchhikers […]

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Drinks in London – Thursday 22nd July https://www.kashflow.com/blog/drinks-in-london-thursday-22nd-july/ Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:10:44 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1725 Most of the KashFlow team will be heading over to Horniman at Hays pub on Thursday evening at about 6pm-ish, and we’ll be there until at least 8pm. We’ve got a few customers and partners joining us – so we decided “The more the merrier”. So here’s an open invite to you all. Don’t expect […]

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People Management – Don’t Do as You Would be Done by https://www.kashflow.com/blog/people-management-dont-do-as-you-would-be-done-by/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/people-management-dont-do-as-you-would-be-done-by/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:11:49 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1722 Here’s a thought provoking question I got asked the other day: Would you like to manage people in the same way you’d like to be managed? The knee-jerk answer is a simple yes. But here’s the thought provoking follow up to a ‘Yes’: So do you think that everyone else is the same as you […]

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External Funding vs Organic Growth https://www.kashflow.com/blog/external-funding-vs-organic-growth/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/external-funding-vs-organic-growth/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:10:56 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1681 There’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere this month on  the topic of organic growth or bootstrapping vs taking external money (ie, VCs, Angels, public listings, etc). I think this is mainly fueled by Tony Hsieh talking on inc.com on “Why I sold Zappos”  and Sridhar Vembu’s post on why Zoho haven’t taken VC money. […]

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What to do about the football in office hours? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/football/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/football/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 10:01:54 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1646 Apparently there’s some important football games going on some time soon. I don’t know my John Barnes from my Ronaldo, but a lot of the guys in the office want to watch one of the games on the 23rd that’s on in work hours. If I say no, they’re only going to be constantly refreshing […]

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Marketing Mistakes 101 https://www.kashflow.com/blog/marketing-mistakes-101/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/marketing-mistakes-101/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:57:21 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1525 I’ve blogged before about dodgy leaflets, but here’s another one. This is a leaflet that was being given out on Tooley Street in London yesterday. Spot the obvious mistakes? (click to enlarge)

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Email is Broken https://www.kashflow.com/blog/email-is-broken/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/email-is-broken/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:16:13 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1516 I’m sure this has been blogged about many times before –  in fact it was Richard Messiks blog post that inspired this one – but email really is broken. You may have noticed that I’ve not blogged for a little while. This is because I’ve been in Cuba for a family holiday for 2 weeks. […]

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Putting the Billions and Trillions into perspective https://www.kashflow.com/blog/putting-the-billions-and-trillions-into-perspective/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/putting-the-billions-and-trillions-into-perspective/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:50:08 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1506 There’s been so much media talk over the last couple of years about millions and billions of dollars. They all become just words and it’s hard to visualise how 100 billion looks next to 1 million. Well, despair no more. This great “info graphic” puts everything into perspective for you. Click the image to get […]

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The 10 Rules of Software Support https://www.kashflow.com/blog/10-rules-of-software-support/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/10-rules-of-software-support/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:17:09 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1466 I’ve commented before that support is the one side of the business I have trouble letting go of and letting others take full responsibility for. It’s just so important that we get it right as it’s essential to encouraging those taking our free trial to become paying customers and to keep existing customers happy (and […]

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Should a basic business use just a spreadsheet for their accounts? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/should-a-basic-business-use-just-a-spreadsheet-for-their-accounts/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/should-a-basic-business-use-just-a-spreadsheet-for-their-accounts/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:56:22 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1447 A thread on UK Business Forums caught my attention today. Kelvin White is a driving instructor and asks for accounting software recommendations for his small business. He is in fact a sole trader driving instructor.  He has no need to file VAT returns or issue invoices to his customers. As well as the usual recommendations, […]

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What’s your viral coefficient? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/whats-your-viral-coefficient/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/whats-your-viral-coefficient/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:02:47 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1437 I attended a shareholders meeting last night for a small start-up. The marketing manager mentioned their “viral coefficient”. I had to raise my hand and ask what a viral coefficient actually is. The embarrassment was only slightly lessened when the majority of other people in the room confessed they’d never heard of it either. Embarrassment […]

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A Year in the life of KashFlow – Numbers and Strategy https://www.kashflow.com/blog/2009/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/2009/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:20:59 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1421 When I started KashFlow I thought a SaaS business would be a relatively simple affair in terms of what the costs would be and where the income would come from. Things never pan out exactly as you expect. So here I’m going to share some numbers with your from our performance for 2009 and some […]

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What the iPhone Fanboys Won’t Tell You https://www.kashflow.com/blog/what-the-iphone-fanboys-wont-tell-you/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/what-the-iphone-fanboys-wont-tell-you/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:51:20 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1388 The thing about cults is they don’t tell you the bad news until you’ve handed over your life savings and moved into the compound. It’s not until your first night in the dorms that they tell you you’re obliged to let the leader have his wicked way with your wife. The same is true of […]

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Timing Matters https://www.kashflow.com/blog/timing/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/timing/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:02:38 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1351 Pass through London Bridge mainline station during any evening rush hour and you’ll see someone from one of the shops there trying to get you to take a free sample of their food. Not once have I ever seen anyone stop and take anything. It’s hardly surprising as everyone is rushing to get to a […]

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Dell makes $6.5 million from Twitter activity, but still doesn’t really get it https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dell/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dell/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:21:23 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1343 I read with interest a post on Emily Hill’s blog about Dell claiming to have made £6.5m from their Twitter activity. Well done. Dell! Twitter is very useful as a sales channel/tool, I’ve previously written about how it’s been really useful to me in growing KashFlow. Whilst Dell seem to be doing very well from […]

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Farcical HMRC – Why aren’t questions being asked in parliament? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/hmrc/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/hmrc/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:50:58 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1338 Speak to any accountant who works with small businesses and they’ll tell you HMRC are a nightmare to deal with. Their systems, both technical and procedural, just aren’t fit for purpose The accounting forum on UKBF is full of war stories. A company I’m involved with (not KashFlow) is owed around £4.5k as a tax rebate. […]

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SEO is no substitute for a marketing plan https://www.kashflow.com/blog/seo-no-substitute/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/seo-no-substitute/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:56:55 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1294 After the Global Entrepreneurship Week launch event last Monday I went along to the IoD for the final of The Pitch. Think Dragons Den without the TV cameras. It was an entertaining afternoon with 6 businesses pitching for a prize package worth £50,000, Anthony Lau, Founder of Cyclehoop was crowned the winner. One thing that did […]

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Peter Jones asks: What’s govt got to do with it? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/safetynet/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/safetynet/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:28:06 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1282 Yesterday was the first day of Global Entreprenurship Week – a global initiative to promote entrepreneurship. We’re involved in a  couple of ways. Firstly I’m a Young Ambassador (emphasis on the “young” please!) for Enterprise UK, the government-funded agency at the center of it all. Secondly, we’ve donated £200k of accounting software to them to provide to […]

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Figuring out what your company is all about https://www.kashflow.com/blog/elevator-pitch/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/elevator-pitch/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:57:57 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1226 One of the blogs I read quite often is JoelOnSoftware by Joel Spolsky. Joel and his blog are a bit of a legend in the software startup space and is a must-read for anyone building a software business. A recent post there with the title “Figuring our what your company is all about” caught my eye. Specifically a […]

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Don’t automate your tweets – please! https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dont-automate-your-tweets/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dont-automate-your-tweets/#comments Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:33:33 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1204 I’ve not had a good ol’ rant for a while. So forgive me while I indulge myself. Something that’s always annoyed me is automated Direct Messages on Twitter. So when you follow someone you get a tweet “sincerely” thanking you for following them. There’s no sincerity in automated messages! But what’s got my back up […]

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Doing the To Do https://www.kashflow.com/blog/doing-the-to-do/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/doing-the-to-do/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:53:01 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1134 One of the reasons the KashFlow office will never be paperless is because of the many To Do lists to be found on my desk. I’m aware there are plenty of web apps out there for this kind of thing, including Remember the Milk which lots of people rave about. But for me, nothing beats the […]

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Green Clouds https://www.kashflow.com/blog/global-warming-solved/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/global-warming-solved/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:15:02 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1106 An article posted on the US site SoftwareAdvice  caught my eye today. What with world leaders meeting in New York to discuss climate change I thought it might be an opportune moment to look at the green credentials of web-based software and shamelessly re-work some of the numbers the original article highlighted. Power Consumption Let’s first look at […]

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£102m – Minted! https://www.kashflow.com/blog/mint-intuit/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/mint-intuit/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:50:37 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=1076 Earlier this year I attended the Business Startup Exhibition in London. They were running an event based on the Dragons Den format. Someone was pitching an idea for a web-based personal finance application. One of the “Dragons” tried to humiliate him and told him there was no demand for that kind of thing. The muppet was more […]

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Better off on Benefits? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/better-off-on-benefits/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/better-off-on-benefits/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:17:16 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=972 We interviewed someone the other day for a role as an office junior. The interview went well and we discussed the silliness of the “no experience” situation – you’ve got no experience so you can’t get a job, you’ve can’t get a job so you can’t get any experience. She was duly offered the job, […]

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Don’t Make us Register to Read https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dont-make-us-register-to-read/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dont-make-us-register-to-read/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:25:18 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=935 Sift Media have recently updated a few of their websites, including AccountingWeb and BusinessZone. They look really good – a lot better than they did, but there’s something they’ve introduced that I think is a big mistake. In order to read an article in full you need to register on the site. I can understand […]

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Cops and Robbers https://www.kashflow.com/blog/cops-and-robbers/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/cops-and-robbers/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:24:39 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=923 It’d be fair to say we court controversy here at KashFlow when it comes to marketing and this blog. Setting fire to boxed software, implying the over 60’s are over the hill, saying designers are all crap at business, a public dumping letter to Vodafone,  Being evangelical and preachy about business cards – the list goes […]

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Distrust Recommendations from Social Networkers https://www.kashflow.com/blog/recommendations/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/recommendations/#comments Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:46:26 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=815 If you’re looking for a new supplier, whether it’s an accountant, a designer or anything else then by far the best route is to ask others you know in business who they’d recommend. This works fine if you’re asking the person privately. But where it falls down is if you ask them on a public forum, Twitter […]

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Are You a Business Card Purist? https://www.kashflow.com/blog/business-card-purist/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/business-card-purist/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:21:20 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=765 Business cards seem to be getting flashier and flashier. I’m seeing more and more cards that are covered in marketing messages, calls to action and sales pitches. Your business card is NOT a sales brochure so don’t treat it like one. Your business card should have your logo, web address and contact details – it […]

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The Small Things That Make a Big Difference https://www.kashflow.com/blog/small-things/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/small-things/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:07:14 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=748 Last month I had a problem with my Sony Vaio laptop. The touchpad was knackered and needed replacing. A couple of emails back and forth with Sony Support and they arranged to pick it up, repair it and deliver it back to me. When I opened the package at first I thought they’d given me […]

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It’s over, Vodafone. I’m leaving you. https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dear-vodafone/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/dear-vodafone/#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:18:08 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=708 Dear Vodafone, It’s been 5 years now since we first got together. I said back in 2006 that I love you and that I would never look at another mobile phone provider but things have changed since then. You’ve changed since then. I used to phone you up and you’d answer within seconds. You were […]

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The Chocolate With a Personality Disorder https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-chocolate-with-a-personality-disorder/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-chocolate-with-a-personality-disorder/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:12:20 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=727 Most books on marketing and branding  will tell you that you need to “position” a product and you should avoid associating the product with anything that conflicts with that brand positioning. (At least, I’m assuming they do. I don’t think I’ve read any!). For example, Pot Noodle position themselves as the irreverent antidote to all the […]

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The Original Twitter https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-original-twitter/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/the-original-twitter/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 12:25:41 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=656 Someone once said “There’s no such thing as an original idea”. It is of course  impossible to say who originally put forward the idea that there’s no such thing as an original idea – it’s all a bit chicken and egg. I stumbled across this article in a 1935 copy of Modern Mechanix that kind […]

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How to Lose Customers and Alienate People: A lesson from Norway https://www.kashflow.com/blog/myob-mamut/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/myob-mamut/#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 09:54:49 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=642 Something I really like about Australian companies is the provocative and memorable brand names they create. A typical example being Start Ya Bastard, an “Instant Engine Starter”. In the accounting software space there is the brilliantly named Mind Your Own Business – or MYOB. I’m told that in Australia the MYOB brand is almost as well recognised […]

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Hijackable Marketing https://www.kashflow.com/blog/hijack-marketing/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/hijack-marketing/#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:15:45 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=520 Back in the dark old days of the internet, Compuserve hoped to have everyone connect to the net via their service. Rather than all these horrible double-you double-yew double-ewe dot names you’d just have Compuserve keywords. So you’d connect to the internet using the Compuserve software and then enter a keyword, say “finance”, to get […]

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Starting a Business: Less Ideas, More Action https://www.kashflow.com/blog/less-ideas-more-action/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/less-ideas-more-action/#comments Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:03:13 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=494 How many times have you heard (or even had) a good business idea? Probably quite often. When your family and social circle know you’re in business then you’re often the person that hears about the varied business ideas they have. What I’ve come to realise is that the idea – whether it’s good or bad […]

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Money is Time https://www.kashflow.com/blog/money-is-time/ https://www.kashflow.com/blog/money-is-time/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:45:29 +0000 http://www.kashflow.com/?p=378 In May last year when I met Alistair Darling he joked that he could “use some KashFlow” at the Treasury. Despite the sad truth behind his joke, I doubt I could give any useful advice to the Treasury. However, there is something our developers could teach the banks about, and that’s efficiency. Why do you use […]

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