A guide to making money at boot sales

A guide to making money at boot sales

Welcome to the Frugal Column, where I aim to inspire you to live your best life without breaking the bank. You can follow my award-winning blog Shoestring Cottage and don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel. I am also the author of Extreme Frugality: Save Money Like Your Grandma.

Boot sale season is in full swing, offering opportunities to sell your old stuff and make money. If you are new to the concept, here is our guide to help you make the most of the boot sale season this summer.

Here are some lessons I have learned about how to sell your old stuff and make money at a boot sale.

Plan ahead

The key to making money at a boot sale is to be prepared and plan ahead. Find out where the busiest boot sales are and keep an eye on the weather forecast. A sunny day will bring out the hoards. Bank holidays are usually particularly busy.

Take a friend and arrive early

Go with a family member or friend. This will enable you to use the loo without leaving your stall unattended, and perhaps have a look around yourself. It makes setting up easier too, as you tend to have dealers descend on you as you are trying to unpack. Some people will take advantage and steal from you if you don’t have enough eyes on them, unfortunately.

Arrive as early as you can, so that you can get organised before the hoards descend and secure a good spot. I am always amazed at the number of people who turn up to sell hours later than many of their potential customers, some of whom may be on their way home already! If possible, pack your vehicle the night before for a quick departure.

Go equipped

A folding trestle table or two will be essential to display your wares, as well as a couple of deckchairs to sit on. It can be a long morning and you will be grateful for somewhere to rest your legs. If you have clothing to sell, a sturdy clothes rail is also a good idea. People are much more likely to buy items that are displayed properly, rather than screwed up on the floor. They are likely to pay more for them too.

A tarpaulin can be useful for laying out larger items or footwear.

If you don’t own any of these, someone you know will have them so beg or borrow.

Take a float

A float is a must, so start collecting coins in advance. You will find that people turn up with twenty-pound notes right at the beginning of the sale. This is irritating, but you don’t want to turn customers away because you are unable to offer them change.

Don’t forget to have separate cash for your stall fee as well, so that you don’t have to pay from your float.

Once you start raking in some profits, a money belt is the safest way to keep them safe.

Take supplies and sensible clothing

Take a good supply of food and drink, like a flask, sandwiches, chocolate and water. You can purchase things like cups of tea and burgers on-site, but there are often queues at the refreshment vans. 

It can be chilly early in the mornings, even in summer, so dress for a cold start. However, wear layers and take a sunhat and sunscreen so you don’t burn when the sun arrives. 

Offer reasonable prices

People expect to find bargains at boot sales, so don’t price unreasonably high to begin with. For example, you should charge somewhat less than a charity shop or eBay. 

I often hear sellers say things like ‘These are selling for £xx on eBay’ to justify a too-high price. The answer to that is that they should get them on eBay then, with all the fees and work involved in listing, photographing and packaging! If you have more valuable things to sell, then a boot sale may not be the place to get the best price.

Don’t undercharge either though; you want your efforts to be profitable. I usually aim reasonably high at the beginning of a sale, but drop prices if things don’t shift fairly quickly. It is also worth negotiating with the hagglers or offering a bulk price – £2 each or £5 for three on clothing, for example.

I occasionally find that labelling more expensive items is helpful, but putting prices on everything is time-consuming and not that useful. People will happily ask for a price and this allows you to get a feel for what they are willing to pay and be flexible on the day.

Other things to consider

Take a supply of bin bags to clear up your unsold stuff at the end. You may want to deliver it straight to a charity bin. You are obliged to clear up your rubbish too.

Occasionally, charities come around to collect up any unsold wares, so it is worth asking the organisers if this is an option.

If you have some spare carrier bags, they can be useful to take. If customers can carry more they may well buy extra!

Once you have these basics in place you can sell your old stuff and maximise your profits. After that, just enjoy the process. It’s fun chatting to customers and to the neighbouring stallholders, so you can have a bit of entertainment whilst making some extra cash.

 

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Make money teaching tennis

You don’t have to be a Wimbledon seed to make money teaching tennis. A love of the game and an ability to teach are the main requirements. It’s flexible so you can fit it around other work or studies. This makes it a good extra money-earner for adults and teens alike. Tennis coaches make at least £10 an hour but it can be more if you teach groups or you train serious players.

• Take your hobby further
• How to make money teaching tennis
• How to get work
• How much can you make?

 

Take your hobby further – Make money teaching tennis

If you love tennis you can work your way up the coaching ladder and make some good money teaching tennis. You can start off as a coaching assistant working with children in your spare time, then take the next steps to qualifying as a licensed coach, maybe even working with the next tennis star!

Parents who enjoy playing tennis can make some money on the side doing something really fun. If your child is a keen tennis player too you could spend time at their local school, club or even tennis camp in the holidays and make money from it.

For teens who love playing tennis, becoming a coaching assistant is a great way to make extra cash with a really flexible job. Tennis clubs and camps work around the school calendar so it’s a handy job to fit around your studies and get a bit of practice in yourself while you’re working.

But…

• You do need to be patient to teach properly.
• You will also have to be very enthusiastic and able to motivate people.
• It’s not easy to get to the top – it will take years of training and a fair amount of determination to make a really successful career as a tennis coach.
• Good people skills are essential – so if this doesn’t sound like you give it a miss!

 

How to make money teaching tennis

STEP ONE: Starting out

Involve yourself in tennis as soon as possible, and look out for local clubs. Parents should encourage any child that shows an interest in the sport as much as possible.

Parents and teens should start off by volunteering their time at school or your local tennis club. Volunteer as an assistant to the coaches at your local school or club to get some first-hand experience and those all-important contacts.

Parents who want to help out on a fairly casual basis at a local club or school may not need any qualifications – it depends on the club. BUT you will definitely need a criminal record check to work with children. Check out the Disclosure and Barring Services website for more information, and have a look at our article – What is a DBS check?

STEP TWO: Training and qualifications

There is a fairly set path to becoming a tennis coach: You take it through the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). You work your way up through the various LTA courses, and that way you gain both the necessary practical experience and the relevant qualifications.

1.Tennis Leader Award

This is for 14-18 year olds and involves ten hours of course time and ten hours of practical experience, plus the chance to help out at tennis events and promotional days.

The Tennis Leader Awards are open to all standards of players, including those with a disability. It’s a great starting place if you want to become a coach or a competitor, and will help build up your confidence.

Contact your local LTA county office to find out about a course near you. Sometimes the course is offered for free so do check.

2. Level One Coaching Assistant Qualification

This three-day course is available for anyone aged 16 or over, and gives all the applicants an introduction to coaching, plus help in developing the communication and organisational skills that you’ll need to become a coaching assistant.

This is the ideal qualification for parents who want to take on some extra work in their spare time. Also, a club or school is much more likely to take you on if you have this qualification.

This is also the qualification that any teens will need to start coaching.

The course costs vary by centre. It covers all the skills you need to teach beginners Mini Tennis, as well as health and safety and child protection. After two days of training there’s a 3-6 week break which you use to gain some practical experience assisting a coach and attend a Child Protection workshop (included in the price and organised by the LTA).

You also need to have a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure form – which again you can get through the LTA. Just send your name and address to crb@LTA.org.uk – it takes about eight weeks to process but you can still take part in the course while you’re waiting.

Go to the LTA website for more information on dates and venues near you and to download an application form.

3. Level Two Community Coach Qualification

This five-day course is available for anyone aged 17 years or older. It builds on all the skills you learn in the Level One course.

Go to the LTA website for more information on dates and venues near you and to download an application form. Prices vary depending on the provider so have a look at what’s available near you.

4. Taking it further

 

If you want to take your training even further, the next step is the Development Coach Award. This is designed for coaches interested in working with beginners in clubs and schools.

If you pass your DCA and want to move onto the next level you’ll need to obtain a Coaching Licence. The Coach Licensing Scheme is designed to help you develop as a coach and give prospective employers or clients the assurance that you’re a quality coach.

 

Getting work and making money teaching tennis

Working for a school or club

It’s quite likely that you’ll be able to work at the school or club that you trained in. If this isn’t possible, make use of your contacts. So much of this job is about who you know so try to keep in touch with everyone you meet along the way. Also, get into networking at sporting events, school events and even in the bar at your tennis club!

Here are some useful websites to use to look for work:

• Gumtree
• Indeed
• Monster
• CV-Library
• UK Sport

Freelancing

This is a really convenient and ultra-flexible way to work. Basically you get to choose when you work, BUT it’s obviously not as stable as a staff job working for a tennis club or school. Also, you’ll have to register yourself as self-employed and fill in a self-assessment form at the end of each tax year, if you make more than just pocket money.

Advertise yourself in newsagents, schools and tennis clubs. Also post an ad on Gumtree advertising your skills, how much you charge, availability and where you would like to work.

It’s a good idea to have a look at websites like Gumtree just to get an idea of how other coaches sell themselves and how much they charge per hour. Then base your ad on those.

Word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to get work so give some friends (and their children) a few free sessions to try and drum up some publicity.

 

How much can you make?

The amount you could earn really changes depending on which region you’ll be working in. Generally speaking you will earn more in the South of England, and London in particular. So, qualifications and experience will also mean that you can charge more per hour. In our case study Harriet Hamilton made £8 an hour coaching four- to nine-year-olds.

 

Useful Contacts to make money teaching tennis

• British Tennis Coach UK
• The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
• Tennis Foundation

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Why did Slovakia rewrite the constitution?

The Full Picture: What they didn’t tell you

The news and contemporary media can be a great source of information on global events, politics, weather and sports. But the mainstream news can often be bias, pushing some happenings more than others, focusing on some topics heavily and neglecting others.

Here at MoneyMagpie, we believe in the importance of sharing the latest that many mainstream outlets may have failed to, or deliberately chose not to, cover.

Every week, we’ll be rounding up some of the top stories that you may have missed.

• Slovakia rewrites constitution
• Low traffic neighbourhood successfully challenged
• Other stories you may have missed

Slovakia rewrites constitution

Slovakia has rewritten its constitution in response to fears over a potential “digital euro”.  

The Slovak Parliament passed the proposed law, which enshrines new legal rights to cash payment, on June 15, in what has been described as a “preventative measure” to safeguard the country’s “financial sovereignty”. 

Milo Svrek, who co-authored the bill, told MPs that the new legislation would protect Slovakian businesses and consumers “against any orders from the outside, saying there can only be the ‘digital euro’ and no other payment options”. 

The move by the European Union (EU) member state follows recent discussions by Brussels about a possible EU-wide Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) similar to Nigeria’s ill-fated eNaira or the proposed “Britcoin” currently under consultation in the UK. 

CBDC’s are viewed with suspicion by many civil rights’ campaigners, economists and experts, as our founder Jasmine has previously reported INCLUDE HYPERLINK TO MONEYMAGPIE PIECE HERE, not least because of there possible misuse by future authoritarian governments. 

Unlike cash or debit card payments, CBDCs are “programmable”, meaning a government or central bank is able to place controls on what the ‘digital euro’, eNaira or Britcoin is spent on. CBDCs could also, theoretically, have expiry dates applied to them by central banks to make consumers spend money during a recession. 

Contrary to some reports, the amendments to the Slovak constitution will not give consumers the right to pay by cash in shops. 

Confusingly, the bill intends to both protect consumers’ rights to use cash as a form of payment, while also enshrining store owners’ legal right to refuse cash payments in order to safeguard business owners from “robberies and exposure to germs” among other things. 

Low traffic neighbourhood successfully challenged

Campaigners in Warrington are celebrating the removal of anti-car barriers erected as part of a controversial “low-traffic neighbourhood” scheme or LTN. 

The removal of bollards in the Westy area of Warrington last week marks the second successful challenge of an LTN scheme in the Cheshire town, which closed several key roads in June 2022.  

Like similar schemes elsewhere in the UK, the restrictions in Westy are claimed to have led to more congestion in the area, with angry residents complaining of longer journeys and delays. 

Warrington is one of a number of councils to have trialed “low-traffic neighbourhoods”, “low-emission zones” or other anti-car measures in recent years.  

The restrictions are sometimes promoted under the euphemism “15-minute cities”, a shorthand for the zoning of urban areas to limit free movement.  

Under plans being introduced in Oxford, Bath and Canterbury, residents will face fines for frequently leaving their designated zone. 

Other schemes to curb car use are being rolled out in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow among others. 

On July 4, London Mayor Sadiq Khan will face a High Court showdown over his plans to expand the capital’s so-called Ultra Low-Emission Zone (Ulez), with five Conservative-run councils trying to block the August expansion. 

Meanwhile, last week a senior BBC news producer accused the state broadcaster of engaging in “collusion” with Khan to stifle criticism of his scheme. The whistleblower told the Reform UK part’s 2024 mayoral candidate, Howard Cox, that Khan had applied pressure on BBC bosses to curb reporting on the issue. The BBC has previously faced criticism for its inaccurate coverage on the Ulez expansion, quoting false statistics on the number of cars likely to fall foul of the £12.50 daily charge. 

More than 100 Ulez cameras been destroyed, damaged or stolen by campaigners opposed to the expansion.  

Imperial College London claims LTNs could lead to a reduction in asthma deaths, however the science behind such assertions is disputed. The London borough of Lewisham saw pollution levels rise after restrictions were put in place. 

Other stories you may have missed 

Australia could fine social media platforms for fake news 

Households to be hit with Net Zero levy 

Has Glastonbury lost its charm? 

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Interest rates rise

The Bank of England has just made the decision to increase interest rates from 4.5% to 5%. This marks a 13th consecutive hike since rates were first increased in December 2021 from a low of 0.1% to 0.25%.  This is also the fifth consecutive interest rate increase seen so far in 2023, which has followed the same pattern as 2022 which saw 8 consecutive base rate jumps.  As a result, the current rate of 5% is the highest seen in over 15 years since April 2008 when the base rate also sat at 5%.

	Source: Bank of England

	CEO of Octane Capital, Jonathan Samuels, commented: “As of yet, the Bank of England’s attempts to curb inflation haven’t quite gone to plan and so today’s increase was to be expected.  While a half a percent jump may seem substantial, it should help the Bank of England regain a grip over the situation at hand, as currently, it trails the Federal Reserve and needs to catch up if we want to see inflation fall like it has in the United States.  So all things considered, today’s increase is probably appropriate, although this isn’t the news the nation’s borrowers were hoping for.” Managing Director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, commented: “So far the UK property market has weathered the storm of twelve consecutive interest rate hikes and while we’ve seen marginal signs of house price depreciation, there’s nothing to suggest a thirteenth increase will bring the walls crashing down around us.  It’s also important to note that a third of homebuyers now own their house outright and so they aren’t feeling the strain of increased borrowing costs.  That said, any base rate increase is sure to be passed on by lenders to the nation’s homebuyers and this is likely to mean higher borrowing costs and fewer available mortgage products. This will inevitably have an impact on buyer purchasing power and, as a result, we can expect to see more protracted transaction timelines and a further cooling in property values as the market continues to find its feet.” Managing Director of Sirius Property Finance, Nicholas Christofi, commented:  “Interest rates are now at their highest in over 15 years, but it’s not just the higher cost of borrowing that will be weighing on the minds of UK homebuyers, it’s the consistency at which rates are climbing.  Many buyers are finding that, having agreed a mortgage in principle, the goal posts have already moved by the time they find their ideal home and they’re having to return to the drawing board to reassess just what they can afford to borrow.” Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented: “It certainly seems as though the Bank of England has lost its grip on inflation and so they’ve continued to pile more misery onto borrowers with yet another rate increase.  This will do nothing to revitalise what has become a rather weary looking property market in recent months and is sure to dampen buyer demand as lenders pass on this increase in the form of higher mortgage rates.” Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “The market remains in fairly good form considering interest rates are at their highest since 2008 and we expect this will now bring about a reversal in market fortunes.  The more inflated areas of the market, such as London, largely trailed their more affordable counterparts where pandemic house price growth is concerned. However, buyers in these regions are better placed to absorb higher borrowing costs and so we expect the likes of the London market to remain largely unfazed going forward. As a result, we expect stronger market performances to materialise compared to some of the other more affordable areas of the market.”

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Supermarkets to freeze and cut prices of grocery items

Good news for shoppers: supermarkets freezing and lowering prices 

Major supermarkets have announced they are freezing the prices of hundreds of products and cutting the prices of many more. Morrisons and M&S have both announced this move, focusing on customer favourites in all their stores across the UK. 

It’s no secret that food inflation is at a historic high – 19.1% in the year to May 2023 – and supermarkets easing food cost pressures for customers is a move likely to be welcomed by many.  

Morrisons said that it is cutting the price of 47 products by an average of 25% – changes which will be seen both in store and online. Some of the products seeing price cuts include tomatoes, pitta breads and beef mince, as well as staples including cereal and squash. 

The chain has reduced the price of many food items in the last few months – with this move being the sixth round of reductions made this year alone. These cuts are being made alongside a further 1,000 products, which will remain price-locked until mid-July. The cuts will be made over the space of the next eight weeks. It will cost the supermarket giant a staggering £26 million – but will mean a lot to shoppers. 

Upmarket favourite M&S is also helping out cash-strapped shoppers. Over 200 grocery items are being either cut in price or being frozen. Over 70 food shop staples are having their prices slashed for the next four weeks, with 150 more items being put into a price lock until the Autumn. As with Morrisons, beef mince is one of the items seeing a price freeze.  

Avocados, Ciabatta rolls and yogurt are also entering price lock – so your packed lunches are sorted for the foreseeable. Dinner time is also sorted, with sausages, corn on the cobs, cheddar cheese and potatoes also being included. 

Although these price cuts are a good sign that food inflation is easing – it remains high. Inflation is the rate at which prices rise – so although inflation is slowing, prices are not yet dropping. This is because inflation falling means prices are still rising, just at a slower rate. As the result of this, customers are unlikely to see permanent price drops for a while.  

 

Which supermarkets would you like to see reduce food prices – and which items would you like to see frozen or slashed in price? Leave your thoughts in the comments! 

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The Full Picture: The not-so-mainstream news roundup

The Full Picture: What they didn’t tell you

The news and contemporary media can be a great source of information on global events, politics, weather and sports. But the mainstream news can often be bias, pushing some happenings more than others, focusing on some topics heavily and neglecting others.

Here at MoneyMagpie, we believe in the importance of sharing the latest that many mainstream outlets may have failed to, or deliberately chose not to, cover.

Every week, we’ll be rounding up some of the top stories that you may have missed.

• Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria arrested
• South Africa could face economic sanctions
• Kenya’s president wants to ditch US dollar

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria arrested

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been arrested by the country’s secret police, on undisclosed charges.

The controversial banker – whose attempt to force Nigeria to go “cashless” earlier this year caused widespread economic paralysis – was removed from his post by the country’s new president, Bola Tinubu, on June 9th. He was subsequently arrested hours later on what was described as “some investigative reasons”.

Between January and February, the Central Bank of Nigeria withdrew all high-denomination Naira banknotes from circulation and failed to replace them with the newly designed notes as promised. The shortage of cash triggered an economic crunch that saw businesses unable to pay their staff, people unable to buy food, and the economy grind to a halt due to the implementation of daily limits on cash withdrawals.

In March, Nigeria’s Supreme Court forced the CBN to pause the cash-swap programme until the end of the year.

Emefiele had faced calls for his arrest following the debacle. Banks were also vandalised or burned to the ground by angry citizens desperate to access their savings.

Announcing the cash swap last October, the CBN said the redesign of the currency would “help deepen our drive to entrench a cashless economy” and added that the shortage of banknotes would force Nigerians into adopting the eNaira – the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that the government had previously failed to encourage citizens into adopting through free giveaways.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) – which played a key role in Nigeria’s CBDC development and roll-out – described the Nigerian public’s adoption of the eNaira as “disappointingly low,” with fewer than two per cent of the downloaded eNaira wallets actually being used. CBDCs are viewed with suspicion by many in the country and around the world, for their potential for possible government overreach.

The Bank of England (BofE) has called for the adoption of CBDCs in the UK. In 2021, the BofE asked ministers to decide whether the proposed “Britcoin” CBDC should be “programmable”, meaning it could be programmed to automatically expire if not used by a certain date or used to control what products or services people are allowed to buy.

In March this year, the BofE’s Katie Fortune rowed back on this possible “programmable” suggestion, adding: “What we can’t have with public money is some sense that I might decide you are not allowed to spend that on what you want to spend it on, because the government doesn’t approve of what you’re doing.”

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South Africa could face economic sanctions

South Africa could face economic sanctions from the US, in response to its alleged arming of Russia.

A group of bipartisan lawmakers in Washington DC last week called on President Joe Biden’s administration to punish the African powerhouse in retaliation for its ongoing support for Russia.

South Africa was accused last month of providing weapons and ammunition to help Russia’s war in Ukraine. The claim by the US ambassador in Pretoria, related to an incident last December when a cargo ship docked secretly at a naval base near Cape Town for three days.

The South African government denied that the Russian-flagged Lady R ship, which is under US sanctions, was used to transport weapons to Russia, but is investigating the allegation.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has historic links to Russia, which helped fund the ANC during its struggle against the country’s apartheid government.

Its president, Cyril Ramaphosa, recently threatened to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to allow Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who is subject to an ICC arrest warrant, to visit South Africa.

The US lawmakers also accused South Africa of allowing a Russian military plane under US sanctions to land at a South African airbase in April, and cited South Africa’s decision to host Russian and Chinese warships for naval drills on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as further evidence for the need to sanction South Africa.

The group of lawmakers has questioned South Africa’s suitability to receive trade benefits worth more than $3 billion a year.

In the letter, which was published in the New York Times on June 13, the politicians called for South Africa to be denied access to a tariff-free scheme aimed to encourage trade with sub-Saharan Africa.

South Africa is one of the main beneficiaries of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, with tens of thousands of jobs in the manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors reliant on the country’s zero-tariff trade with the US.

America is South Africa’s second-biggest trade partner, after China. US goods and services trade with the country totalled an estimated $17.8bn in 2019, the most-recent figures available.

The South African economy has suffered a number of economic blows this year.

In March, South Africa was added to the so-called investment “grey list” by the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) due to the risk posed by money laundering and terrorist financing, among other threats.

Meanwhile, continued power outages (known officially as “load-shedding”) have caused widespread disruption to businesses with businesses and individuals alike suffering up to eight hours of electricity disruption each day. South Africa’s Central Bank projected that the country would lose nearly $13 billion this year as a result of load-shedding.

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Kenya’s president wants to ditch US dollar

Kenya’s president has called on African nations to ditch the US dollar in trade deals.

Addressing parliamentarians on a visit to nearby Djibouti last week, President William Ruto said intra-Africa trade should be conducted in local currencies rather than in US dollars.

“How is US dollars part of the trade between Djibouti and Kenya?” President Ruto asked, to applaud from his hosts. “Let us pay in US dollars what we are buying from the US. But what we are buying from Djibouti, let’s use local currency.”

Currently, traders in Djibouti and Kenya have to source US dollars to trade between the two countries. Kenyan businesses have found it increasingly difficult to acquire US dollars since the country’s harsh series of lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, which caused economic collapse and mass unemployment. The dollar shortage has hampered the once-flourishing Nairobi Stock Market, and led President Ruto to introduce a series of measures this year to try to prevent “dollar hoarding” by businesses and speculators.

In March, The Kenyan president announced measures to ditch the US dollar in domestic fuel transactions, cutting $500m-worth of demand each month. At the same time, plans were also unveiled to allow Kenya and other African nations to trade with India using Indian rupees.

The latest measures, announced by President Ruto in Djibouti, would see the African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) provide a mechanism that enables traders within the continent to engage in trade using their respective local currencies — known as the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).

The Kenyan president stressed that his intention was not to oppose the US dollar but rather to facilitate trade across Africa.

However in late-May, President Ruto hosted the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, for trade and co-operation talks at the State House in Nairobi.

Like a number of African nations, Kenya is believed to be keen to join the expanding BRICS group, made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc, which has long talked of creating a gold-backed currency to rival the US dollar, is considered to be hostile to American interests and the US dollar’s status as the world’s leading reserve currency.

Since the US-led sanctions were imposed against Russia last year, various BRICS members have announced high-profile trade arrangements in non-US currencies, as our founder Jasmine Birtles outlined in her special report on “dedollarisation” for NewsAfrica Magazine.

As predicted in mid-April by Jasmine, the latest announcement by Kenya marks a gradual shift away from the dollar across Africa, Asia and South America.

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How to Make Money on Social Media

Social media is the most powerful marketing tool around now, and it can be pretty lucrative. It’s had a great deal of influence in changing the way we shop, and continues to play a massive part in how people make money online.

The Influencer Marketing Hub is a very useful tool for anyone who monetises their social media. Their 2020 Benchmark Report proved just how big social media marketing is. According to the report, the influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $9.76 billion in 2020. And not only this, but now 300% more micro-influencers are utilised by large companies than in 2016. This paves the way for future influencers and enables more people to utilise their social media to generate an income.

• Sell Your Own Products and Services
• Make Money From Affiliate Links
• Use Promo Codes
• How to Approach Brands
• Tips on Building a Following (And Selling to Them)
• Rules for Making Money on Social Media

Sell your own products and services

According to research at Smart Insights, 30% of consumers say they would happily make purchases directly through social media platforms. While 87% of e-commerce shoppers believe social media helps them make a shopping decision. So, if you’re not using social media to sell and promote your products and services, you’re missing out on a massive potential market!

There are plenty of helpful tools out there, like Hootsuite, to help manage selling on social channels. Through their service you can track, manage, and schedule your social channels all in one place. They help you see what type of content, and on which platforms, your audience engage with most. The more you know about your audience demographic and their tastes, the easier it becomes to sell to them.

Bear in mind that most of these tools are paid-for services, although you can usually get a 30-day free trial to test them out first.

If you’re thinking about setting up an online shop, check out our article here for tips on getting started.

Key considerations for selling online

• Matching your social strategy to your audience. Who is your main customer? A teenager or working professional? Depending what your demographic is will largely determine how you market and sell your products and services.
• Create the right content, at the right time. Statistics show that across all social media platforms, posts that include visuals consistently perform better and see more engagement than those without. However, posting too frequently, or even not enough, is damaging and will drive customers away.
• Connect everything back to your business. A relationship with your audience is essential – sales rarely occur on first contact, but normally several times later. Your audience need to trust you and you need to listen to them. When you do this, you’ll be in a better position to provide your audience with what they need, and when they need it.

Make money from affiliate links

Affiliate links are a popular way to make a bit of passive income. They’re cheap and easy too, as you don’t need to create and sell a product yourself. You just need to establish a connection between the buyer and seller, and then take a commission when a sale is made.

There are a few different ways you can set up affiliate links – one is through the Amazon Associate Programme. With this, you can earn up to 12% of all purchases made during the buyer’s shopping session. So even if someone clicks on your link, doesn’t buy that specific item, but ends up purchasing something else during that same ‘session’, then you’re still entitled to 12% of that.

ClickBank is another site with it’s own affiliate marketplace. They allow you to promote already best-selling products and earn commissions as high as 90% on some products. You have the option to pair with brands in various areas including arts and entertainment, e-business, and parenting and families.

How to promote affiliate links

Any promoting and selling on social media should come across as natural. No audience wants to feel like they’re constantly being sold to.

Reviewing a product is a legitimate way to link it into a post or blog. Summarise the pros and cons, giving a balanced opinion of it. You want your audience to trust you and selling them naff products is only going to damage your credentials.

Choose your affiliate links carefully and post them sparingly. Inundating your followers with affiliate links is counter-productive, they’ll more likely be put off and unfollow you instead. Promote a select few that you genuinely believe are worthwhile purchases and fit with your brand image, whether that’s fashion and beauty, or the latest gadgets.

Use promo codes

Plenty of influencers use discount and promo codes to make money. They work similarly to affiliate links where a commission is earned on the number of sales made with their code.

Almost anyone can get promo codes for brands, although you’ll probably have more luck the larger your following. When appealing for promo codes, make sure the brand is relevant to you, your content and your audience. Chances are they’ll be happy to offer you a code, as it comes at no cost to them. Simply, if they don’t make any sales from you, they don’t have to pay you any commission and they haven’t lost out.

How to approach brands

Brands are a big source of social media income and anyone with a following of 2000+ is considered a micro-influencer. Plenty of brands want to work with influencers now as it’s much more effective and cost-efficient for them than traditional forms of marketing, like magazines and TV ads.

However, knowing how to approach brands is key.

Steps on how to approach a brand

• Do your research. Thoroughly research the brand, their mission statement, and any products you’re interested in. It comes across very poorly if you’re asking a brand for sponsorship but don’t know anything about them.
• Check your social media. If you really want to be able to monetise your social channels – make sure you keep it on-brand and professional. Posts in the public eye need to be free of anything incriminating or potentially offensive. If brands spot any risky content they’ll be sure to steer clear.
• Pitch Yourself. You need to be able to offer the brand something in return. Think about what your USPs are – what’s different about your content, or your audience, that makes this a worthwhile opportunity for them that they won’t find elsewhere.
• Illustrate affiliation with the brand. Don’t send out a blanket email to every brand you get in touch with but demonstrate your knowledge and create a unique pitch every time.

Questions to answer when you pitch to brands

• How relevant is your blog or social channels to the campaign subject matter?
• How big is your following? What is the size of the potential audience the content will reach?
• How regularly do you post on social media?
• How engaged is your audience?

Another consideration for reaching out to brands is through agencies. There are actually several UK influencer marketing agencies that you can sign up for including Disrupt, Goat Agency, and Socially Powerful.

Tips on building a following (and selling to them)

Unfortunately, there’s no quick ways to instantly increase your following. There are plenty of false advertisements for this and whilst your follower count will increase, it’ll be made up of bots who won’t actually engage with your content or brand, completely defeating the purpose.

One way to build your network is to create daily, weekly, and monthly goals so from the outset you’re committed to a pace of engagement that will steadily grow.

Tiktok

TikTok has been the latest social media trend and is rapidly growing with over 800,000 logins every month. Although TikTok doesn’t currently have any direct money-making features, one of the key ways people are earning from it is by pushing their TikTok followers onto their other social media platforms, where they are able to make money. Some other users have even been organising sponsorship deals for things like wearing branded clothing or appearing at particular events in their videos.

At the moment most influencers using TikTok are compiling it as part of a general package rather than making lots of money off of it directly. Although only a few months ago TikTok announced its Creator Marketplace. It’s a site in which users can connect with advertisers to collaborate on marketing opportunities.

Users can also receive gifts from their audiences via TikTok Live videos. Hootsuite also have a super helpful guide on all the ways you can make money through TikTok. You can read it here.

Instagram

Instagram is a huge contributor to people making money on social media, with over 90% of influencer marketing campaigns involving the app.

Business profile

Instagram has the ability to change your personal page into a business profile. When you do this you get to view insights into engagement with your posts and stories, and also get the ability to set up an Instagram shop.

Instagram’s shoppable features allow businesses to tag products that are available for sale and allows customers to purchase them directly within the app.

On an Instagram business profile you need to include:

• A photo or brand logo that’s recognisable and consistent across all your social platforms.
• A well thought out bio. This is a chance to give customers a brief insight into you, your brand, and your business.
• Link to your website. Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t allow direct links in posts so the URL section of the bio is the only clickable link in your profile.

Run ads

The easiest way to run ads is by promoting posts you’ve already shared on Instagram. Simply select the post you want to boost and hit ‘promote’.

You have the option to create the audience you want to post to be shown to (choose across genders, age range, etc.) or you can leave it to Instagram who will automatically share it with a similar audience.

Ads also don’t have to cost a lot – they can start from as little as a couple of pounds. Initially you can just run an ad for a few days to test how well it performs. Although keep in mind that it takes a little work to get it right so if your first attempt doesn’t bring in tons of business, keep trying. Ideally, having a simple call to action button like ‘Shop Now’ makes it easy for someone to make a purchase. Overcomplicating it will put people off.

Instagram stories

If you have more than 10,000 followers, Instagram gives you the option to add links to your stories. It can take a while to build a following of this size, but having a concise and consistent brand image, regular posting, and using hashtags smartly will help bring new people to your page.

You can use the link in stories function to create direct links to your website, shop, or specific items.

#Use hashtags

Hashtags are a simple and effective way for people not following your page to find your content. Don’t use too many though! You don’t want your page to look like spam, but like it’s carefully curated. It’s much better to focus on a few targeted and highly-trafficked hashtags. Think about who you’re trying to target, and use hashtags that will find them.

Rules for making money on social media

New legislation states that if you’re making money, you need to declare it.

1. Disclose any and all affiliate relationships. All you need to do is include a simple sentence along the lines of, “Disclosure: The link below is an affiliate link. Which means that, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through that link I’ll earn a commission.”
2. If you’re working directly with a brand who’s paid you to post something, then include a simple hashtag or comment along the lines of #sponsored #ad.
3. If a brand or PR company requests that you don’t tag something as ‘sponsored’ or ‘ad’ it’s actually illegal and you need to refuse to do so.
4. You need to make it clear when you’re posting about your own products and services, too.

What counts as an ad?

• Paid-for space
• Own advertising
• Affiliate marketing
• Advertorial
• Paid reviews of products
• Paid product placement in your content

Gifted content can cause confusion, but basically if the brand asks for something in return – for you to post it on social media, or provide some form of editorial content – then it’s an ad and should be tagged as such.

More Ways to Make Money Online

Need some more ideas to make money online? Try these articles next!

• Make £25 an Hour as a Virtual Assistant
• How to Make Money as a Digital Nomad
• Make Money with Dropshipping
• Anybody Can Make Money with These Work From Home Jobs

The post How to Make Money on Social Media appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

1.7 billion in Pension Credit unclaimed

£1.7 billion in Pension Credit unclaimed

This week, UK financial security charity Turn2us today launched its ‘don’t rule it out, find out’ campaign, which urges squeezed pensioners to check if they could receive pension credit. It could be worth an average of £3,500 a year. 

This Pension Credit Awareness Week (12-16 June), the charity urges anyone over 66 on a low income, or their family and friends, to spend just ten minutes on its free online benefits calculator or call its information line on 0808 802 2000 if accessing the internet is not an option. 

The quick, free and confidential online calculator helps people find out if they are eligible for all sorts of state benefits, including pension credit, which is paid in addition to the state pension and is available even if you have savings and own your own home. 

In the past year alone, more than 300,000 people over the state pension age of 66 used the Turn2us benefits calculator to find out what additional support they may be entitled to. One in seven of those (39,235 people) found out they were eligible for Pension Credit which, at an average of £3,500 per person per year, adds up to more than £137million in extra state benefits found by pensioners on low incomes. 

Turn2us director of impact and innovation Michael Clarke says:  

“Research shows lots of pensioners don’t know pension credit exists, and many others rule out finding out as they assume they’re not eligible because of their savings or owning their own home. 

“The reality is a single pensioner getting by on an income of less than £201.05 a week, or a couple with under £306.85 a week, could be eligible even if they’re homeowners with savings of up to £10,000.” 

Known as a ‘gateway benefit’ receiving Pension Credit means you could automatically be eligible for other support, such as free dental care, extra payments to help with heating, rent or mortgage interest and a free TV license (the latter being available if you’re also over 75). 

Last year during Pension Credit Awareness Week, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said that while 1.4 million pensioners in Britain receive it, £1.7bn is still left unclaimed. DWP reports people are put off for a range of reasons, from wrongly thinking they’re not eligible because of savings or owning their own home to not wanting to be seen as needing to claim, or thinking the process will be complicated or confusing. 

Sarah Pennels, their head of financial capability at Royal London, says: 

 “The fact so many pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is worrying. This benefit provides much needed additional income but also means people qualify for help with rent, council tax and other bills and benefits because Pension Credit is a gateway benefit to other support.”  

If you think you might be eligible – don’t rule it out, find out – by using the Turn2us free online benefits calculator on our website, turn2us.org.uk, or, if you don’t have access to the internet, call the Turn2us information line on: 0808 802 2000, 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Mondays-Fridays. 

  

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Make cash renting out your driveway

Do you live in a particularly prime transport location? Do you have a garage or driveway sitting unoccupied and begging to be used? Why not turn it into a money-spinner by renting it out?

Thousands of people in the UK rent out parking spaces and if you live in a big city or near an airport you could make as much as £17,000 a year! Who wouldn’t want that? We here to help you figure out if it’s the way to go for you:

• What’s the deal?
• How do you do it?
• A closer look at the parking sites
• How much can you make?
• Is it for me?
• You might also like

What’s the deal?

Don’t ignore the possibilities of other people parking on your land, especially if you live close to a station or in a busy, urban area with little parking but lots of businesses.

If you have a garage but no car, you could potentially rent it out for others to park in. For many people who live in popular, big-city destinations, demand for parking can be huge meaning you’ll never be short of people looking to use your driveway or garage.

But the utility doesn’t stop there, particularly if you have a garage. What about letting bands use it as a rehearsal room? Who knows, you might be one of the first to discover the next Coldplay or The 1975.

How do you do it?

There are many ways to go about renting out a space. You can let your garage through a property-letting agent, particularly in major cities where hiring a garage can cost the same as a small flat! For Londoners, there are also websites like London Garages that deal solely in garage rental if you want to work through an agent.

Renting out your driveway is even simpler. You might think it sounds archaic but you can put ads in local papers, in the local newsagent or even on your front gate to bring in customers. If you live near a station, see if they will let you put a notice up there then see how much the station car park charges per day and try to undercut them: legitimate but crafty!

Renting out your driveway is even simpler. Put ads in local papers or in the local newsagent or even on your front gate. If you live near a station, see if they will let you put a notice up there. Then see how much the station car park charges per day and try to undercut them – crafty!

Even better, register with sites such as Park Let or JustPark and let thousands of people know about your available space. Various websites offer you the chance to advertise your space for free but these are two of the most established sites and both offer a comprehensive service. Compare various websites below if you want to advertise online.

Alternatively, you can cut out online agents by putting an ad on Gumtree but remember that you’ll have to do a lot of the legwork yourself including working out contracts and payments.

Plus, make money renting out your electricity

Anyone I know who has an electric car, or has hired one, complains bitterly about how difficult it is to charge it. Apparently there can be miles and miles between charging stations, many of them don’t work and if they do you have to have the right app to use them. Nightmare!

However, if you have an electric car, and therefore have an EV charging point in your drive, you could make thousands over the year by renting it out to other electric vehicle owners. There are over 780,000 fully electric cars on the road in the UK, according to ZapMap, which means that there are a lot of other drivers looking for charging points as they travel.

Typically, an electric vehicle only need charging twice a week, depending on how often you use it, so that means the charging point is free for most of the time. According to LeaseElectricCar.co.uk, it costs, on average, £17 to charge an electric vehicle from ‘empty’ to 100pc at home. The rest of the time that charging point is sitting there not being used. However, if you rent the parking space (with charger) out to two motorists a week for £25 you could make £2,600 a year.

You can offer your EV charging space through Just Park and also at CoCharger and Book My Charge.

A closer look at the parking sites

JustPark: It’s free to advertise your space, but they do charge a 3% commission on every successful booking. Also, be aware that for longer bookings (more than two months), they deduct 20% from your first month’s payment, but after that it goes back to 3%.

Their service includes a professionally drafted contract to download (there are actually six to choose from) and a completely flexible rental arrangement – you decide exactly when and for how long you rent your space for.

EasyParking: This app hooks up parking spaces with those looking for them. Payment is made upfront so you receive payment for the space before your buyer has even arrived. They charge 10% commission on each of your bookings.

Renters can book a space with just a couple of clicks, so it’s a straightforward process for both you and the buyer.

Park Let: This is the most restrictive option as it deals only with five or seven-day contracts. While it’s free to advertise your space, they do charge a 20% commission on your monthly rental earnings as well as an additional admin fee of £25 (+ VAT) for the first month.

Again, however, for this price they deal with all the contracts and processing payments and put in the extra work by negotiating with tenants on your behalf, collecting all monthly rental amounts using Direct Debit and helping out should any problems arise during the tenancy period, which makes life just that little bit easier.

YourParkingSpace: Renting out your driveway on this site is absolutely free and you won’t have to pay a service fee, as a 20% charge is added to your price automatically. They also provide users with places to park by the hour, rather than for the extended periods Park Let offer.

How much can you make?

Depending on where you live, you can earn from £40 to £350 a month.

I know, amazing right? Aside from the costs of advertising (if you’ve taken out an ad, or used one of the parking websites that charges commission), and perhaps new locks and some extra keys, there should be few other costs or burden on your time.

How much you can earn will depend on both the location and the length of time you’re renting out spaces for.

JustPark says that most people letting out their driveway can expect to earn around £30 a week. However, if you live near major public transport route or in a city centre you could make over £3,000 a year and if you only want to rent out your space every now and then and you’re near a popular sports or entertainment venue your space could be worth £10 per day!

Clean Air Zones

If you live near a ‘Clean Air Zone’, you could potentially make £1,000 a year.

Those living near a proposed Clean Air Zone, where certain vehicles will pay a penalty charge to enter, could earn more than £1,000 per year by renting out their driveways as parking spaces for drivers looking to avoid the daily driving charge.

Birmingham will have one of the first Clear Air Zones in 2020, but other cities under discussion include Edinburgh, Cambridge and Aberdeen, with 60 local authorities having either considered, or considering, clean air measures.

According to YourParkingSpace, many of the areas being considered are already rented driveway parking hotspots, so the new zones will only add to the value of your driveway.

On top of that, renting out your driveway helps the environment by reducing the need for cars to drive around looking for empty parking spaces.

Is it for me?

This is an easy and non-intrusive way of making some regular money.

The best thing about this money-maker is that you decide how flexible you want to be – if you don’t want to rent out your driveway or garage all the time, there’s no obligation to do so. On most of the sites, there are availability calendars so you can simply select the times your space is available whether it’s half an hour here and there, or a whole year!

However, you could find that having someone else’s car in your driveway causes too much noise, dirt and nuisance in the long-term. For band rehearsals, you would obviously have to have fairly distant neighbours and be able to put up with it yourself.

Check your insurance

You will need to check with your home insurance provider to ensure that renting out your driveway or garage doesn’t affect your policy, and any extra cash you make must be declared to the Inland Revenue on your tax return.

If you like the sound of renting out your driveway or garage, we think you’ll love our articles Rent a room for tax-free cash and Your home as a film set.

If you liked this article we think you’d also like…

• Rent a room for tax free cash
• Make and save money from renting
• 10 easy ways to make quick cash

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Ways to make extra money

For the majority of us these days, money has become tight, which is why so many of us are looking for ways to make a bit of extra cash. The good news is that even if you have a full time job, there are many ways of utilising your spare time to make a few pounds and boost your bank account. Here we take a look at just some of them. 

Sell what you no longer use 

Selling unwanted items has almost become a national pastime and is a great way to make a few quid. If you’ve just had a clear out, then try a car boot sale. Car boot sales are not only a great way of making money in return for just a few hours work, they’ve also become popular as a way of living more sustainably, making them a win-win way of boosting the coffers! 

Alternatively, use online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or through websites like eBay and Gumtree. 

With unwanted clothes, you could try selling online through organisations like Vinted or  ASOS Marketplace. 

Try Music Magpie for unwanted tech and entertainment systems, including DVDs and CDs. 

Online surveys

We’ve all got an opinion and love it when people want to know what we think. In which case, getting paid to do surveys online could be your ideal pastime! Complete market surveys or watch videos online in return for money, gift cards or rewards. It may take you a while to build up enough credit for a significant reward, but you’ll have fun along the way. Sign up for survey sites such as Swagbucks, Toluna, or OpinionPanel. 

Free competitions

Online competitions are very popular and lots of people consider themselves ‘compers’. But because there are so many ‘compers’ out there, it doesn’t mean to say you’re not going to win anything – and you’ll never win if you don’t even enter anything! There are lots of free to enter competitions online, just check competition listings by joining sites such as Loquax or CompersNews. One daily draw that’s gaining in popularity is Pick my Postcode (formerly Free Postcode Lottery) because it’s totally free to enter, and there are winners every day!

Rent your drive

If you have a driveway and live near a station or in a city centre, you could make good money by renting out a parking space. Depending on where you live (and how intense the competition for parking spaces is), you could make hundreds or possibly thousands every year! Click here to find out more.

Reclaim tax

If you’re employed and have been paying income tax for the past four years, you may be entitled to a tax rebate. The accountants at Zest have been getting people an average £1,846 tax rebate. It’s free to apply and you only pay Zest a portion of your rebate – money you’d probably never have recovered without help anyway. 

Side hustle

Even if you work full time it’s always good to have a hobby. And if you’ve got something you’re passionate about as well as being good at, what’s stopping you turning it into a way of making yourself a bit more money? 

Mystery shopping

Love shopping? Apply to be a mystery shopper. You’ll get paid for every task you’re asked to do, get expenses, as well as getting reimbursed for anything you’re asked to buy as part of your assignment. To find out more, click here to download our ‘How To Make Money Mystery Shopping’ guide. 

Pet and house sitting

Love animals but can’t have any pets of your own? There are ways to make money that also give you the opportunity to get close to our furry friends, such as pet sitting or house sitting. When they’re away, many people would prefer their pets to stay at home rather than be placed in kennels. There are therefore plenty of paid opportunities in your local area to look after pets in their own homes – sign up to a pet sitting agency, or post notices on local messaging boards if you want to find your own clients. Housesitting is also a great way to make extra money at the same time as looking after people’s pets, and maybe also getting the opportunity to stay in different parts of the country. If you have a job that allows you to work from home, you won’t even need to take time off work! 

Get crafty

How crafty are you? If you’re particularly talented when it comes to crafting, candlemaking, jewellery making, knitting, sewing, woodwork or art and love doing it in your free time anyway, have you thought about selling your creations? Renting a stall at a craft market can be quite expensive, so if you’re just starting out, set up an Etsy shop and link it to your PayPal account, then make sure you shout about it on your social media accounts so everyone knows about you! Getting paid for doing something you love is something many of us aspire to, and you never know where it might lead… Dragon’s Den perhaps?! 

Online tutoring

If you’re an expert at something that fits in with the National Curriculum, especially an academic subject or a foreign language, you could earn money by online tutoring. Check out agencies such as MyTutor to find out more.

Become a delivery driver

Did somebody say JustEat? Or Deliveroo or UberEats, or your local takeaway. Delivering food is a great way to earn extra money in the evenings and at weekends and these services are always in need of delivery drivers. Plus, if you’re good at it, you could also earn cash in tips.

A word about side hustles and tax

If you’re earning additional income, then you will need to think about the tax implications. The good news is that you can earn up to an additional £1,000 a year before you need to submit a self-assessment tax return, although if you earn more than a thousand pounds in a year, you will have to report your earnings to HMRC and will have to pay tax.

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7 most common business mistakes new entrepreneurs make

What is it many new businesses all have in common? They tend to all make the same business mistakes when they start out. We thought it would be helpful to list them for you and offer ways to avoid them.

Ask any entrepreneur why they left their corporate life behind and they’ll normally tell you one of three things:

• To do what they love full time.
• They want to be their own boss.
• To live the dream.

They wanted to be free from the shackles of their 9-5 job. Focusing on doing what they really enjoy and excel at. Something that gives them back just as much as they put in.

And that’s exactly how I felt when I left my corporate position in early 2015.

Starry-eyed with a head full of dreams, I started on my entrepreneurial journey with expectations of how this new life would be:

• Clients would flow to me when I wanted
• I’d work hard and be rewarded for every risky move I made
• Every day would be uplifting

Only it wasn’t quite the case.

I was working more hours than I had in my previous job for a start. I was also trying many new things, only to see them fail. I also was seeing my bank balance dwindle with every passing week.

So I spoke to other business owners to see if they could relate. As I started to scratch beneath the surface, I saw that they felt the same. In fact, we had all made the same seven business mistakes.

Business mistakes that were severely hindering our ambitions.

In this article, I’ll outline the seven most common business mistakes, and what you can do to avoid making them.

 

MISTAKE 1: EXPECTING SUCCESS TOO SOON

No matter the foundations you start off with, nothing ever goes to plan. And expecting your business to be an overnight success is tempting disappointment on a grand scale.

While success in business may take months rather than years, it helps to keep a monthly log of everything you tried, what worked and what didn’t.

At least then, when you assess your progress in six month, you have a clear idea of exactly where you’ve been.

 

MISTAKE 2: CONSTANT COMPETITION COMPARISON

Keeping one eye on your competitors is smart for deciding how you’ll stand out in a crowded market.

However, this becomes toxic when all you do is compare yourself to them, especially if you feel dejected when you read their success stories (and yours don’t follow a similar path).

Alleviate this by cutting off comparison altogether. Unsubscribe from their email lists, stop following them on social media and block updates from the Facebook groups that constantly scream about success stories.

This means you decide when you want to update yourself on their progress, rather than having the information pushed in your face all day.

 

MISTAKE 3: IGNORING THE STATS

Measuring statistics isn’t something that’s reserved for those making more than six figure incomes.

Even if you have a small email list and aren’t hitting your monthly income goals, measuring what works and what doesn’t is a strong way to start as you mean to go on.

Look at email open rates for different subject lines, identify which activities get the most traffic or make the most money, and keep a monthly log of them.

Then plan to do more of those activities to build your business. As you grow, consider investing in business intelligence software to help you make better informed decisions, improve efficiencies, track goals and growth.

 

MISTAKE 4: GETTING TOO SOCIAL

Social media’s expertly tailored to speak to one of the most basic of human needs – connection. This is why so many people spend so much time browsing their Twitter feed, scouring Facebook or double-tapping Instagram.

And most entrepreneurs assume time on social media’s time well spent.

The truth is, while social media does help build your brand, it’s an investment for the long term. Currently, if the time you spend on social media sites doesn’t bring a return, then your time isn’t an investment – it’s a waste.

To help structure your day better, spend an hour on social media in total, and stick to those sites where your customers are more likely to be.

 

MISTAKE 5: SUFFERING FROM SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME

Shiny object syndrome for entrepreneurs is centred on buying courses.

With a shiny, new course being released by your favourite teacher, it’s easy to get sucked in and assume it’ll have the golden bullet to skyrocket your business (especially when the sales copy’s so convincing).

To decide if it does, take a look at what courses or tools you’ve purchased in the last 12 months. How many of them have genuinely moved your business forward? How many of them have helped you achieve your goals?

I’m guessing not many.

Remedy this by either setting yourself an income goal, after which you can buy something else, or take a 12 month purchasing fast. Then focus your energy on using the courses and tools you already have to meet your goals (before you go on a buying spree again).

 

MISTAKE 6: WORKING ALONE

Working from home, especially after you spent years working in a busy office, can be the most difficult adjustment to make as a new business owner.

The silence in the room, the lack of water-cooler conversation, the voices in your head. It all takes a toll. Humans are social creatures after all!

While you may not replace old colleagues with new ones, you can explore where you live for viable co-working spaces and café’s to work from a few times a week.

Take this a step further and ask friends who they know that’s also a solo-preneur. Then make plans to meet with these people weekly so you can co-work together. Solidarity!

 

MISTAKE 7: CONSTANT FREELANCE MODE

When you’re a service provider and first start out, it’s easy to get sucked into the 1-1 client relationships and still exchanging time for money.

Although this can be fruitful when landing a client that pays higher fees, it can limit financial and creative growth if working with clients is all you do.

Be brave and take half a day a week (or every fortnight if weekly is too much of a stretch) to think of the bigger picture.

How can you turn your services into a revenue-generating product? What joint venture opportunities can you identify? Can you create a course or write a book that teaches your expertise?

We’ve all been there; stuck in our own heads and wondering when the day will come when business becomes fun. We went solo to enjoy what we do!

Know that it may take longer than you planned, and the course of events will change more than you care to admit, but keep at it and you’ll be one step closer to living the dream.

 

RISK BUSINESS FAILURE IF YOU MISS THIS ONE STEP

“If you want to start a business you love, follow your passion”

If I read this advice one more time, I swear I’ll gag.

Mainly because it’s new-age woo-woo theory that makes people hate their jobs, but mostly because it’s completely false.

If I were to follow my passion? I’d be making money by spending all day sprawled on the sofa eating fresh baguettes and watching re-runs of The Gilmore Girls.

That’s never going to happen.

So if following your passion isn’t the thing you’re supposed to do when it comes to starting your own business, then what is?

 

WHY DO YOU WANT TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

There’s a very popular video by Simon Sinek where he talks about why you do something being more important than what or how you do it.

Why?

Because your reason keeps you going.

An emotional connection to this reason means you push through the tough times in business (when you have a difficult client, or when you’re not making money), and makes the great times even better.

Is your reason altruistic? Do you see a gap in the market that your skills can fill? Is there a problem many people have that you’ve found the solution for?

Whatever your reasons for starting, make sure you’re clear on what they are or you may risk business failure. So your first action step is to:

Write down 5 reasons why you want to start a business

Now you know the reasons for starting a business, let’s talk about how ambitious you are with the venture.

Cue: images of Richard Branson, Bill Gates and a very short Sir Alan Sugar in a leather chair.

How ambitious you are is entirely up to you.

You can be as humble as having a side-gig to your day job, or as industrious as aiming to have a multi-national business and thousands of employees.

 

How big do you want to go?

The size of business you create will influence the type of people you ask for advice, the research you do, and the mentors you have. Think about how you want the business to fit into your life.

Decide on the type of business you want to build by answering these questions:

I want to run my business from __________ (home, an office, anywhere in the world, Plant Mars (as long as there’s wifi))

I want to have ___ (number) employees

The final goal is to ______ (run my business along my job, sell my business, leave my job for this business full time)

That’s action step 2 ticked.

The last and final action step is to decide the business model you want to run with. What does this mean? It’s all about how you’ll serve your customers, and how you’ll earn money.

Here are some examples for clarity:

• Personal service: Nanny, web design, writer, coach, personal trainer
• Product sales: Clothes, jewellery, food, wine, coffee
• Subscription/membership service: Web hosting, gym/club, group coach
• Reseller: Affiliate products, Ebay

If you want to be a reseller, for example, you know that your business is reliant on finding the right products to sell to your customers with varying prices.

If it’s a personal service, you know you’ll have a 1-1 relationship with your clients and your earning potential is directly linked to the amount of time you spend.

So we’ve looked at why you want to start a business, and the type of business you want to build and the structure of it.

 

THE HONEST TRUTH ABOUT WHY YOU HAVEN’T STARTED A BUSINESS YET (THAT NOBODY WILL TELL YOU)

• Being your own boss.
• Creating a business around your natural talents.
• Or simply working from your own home.
• You’ve wanted this for years, so why you haven’t started a business yet?

Many people dream of having their own business. Whether it’s quitting their job completely, or having a side-business to supplement income from a full-time job.

But why do so many people dream, but not many do?

Working for yourself is one of the most rewarding things you can do. Whether you want to create the next Google or have an extra £500 a month to spend on holidays and going out – there’s no limit to where you can go.

Starting a business isn’t for everyone. I know that a significant percentage of Money Magpie readers want to do it, but they simply haven’t started.

I’m interested in the reasons why. What are we telling ourselves that’s hold us back? What misconceptions do we have that need to be busted?

Let’s take a look at the most popular reasons why people don’t start a business.

Do you see yourself in any of them?

 

SELF-SABOTAGE

Your thoughts are your enemy … if you allow them to be.

Self-deprecation can lead you to think:

• I don’t have enough experience for anyone to take me seriously.
• When I tell my friends and family about my idea, they’re sure to mock me.
• Why leave my stable job? Even running this business on the side will mean more work than I can cope with.

And on and on your inner voice goes.

Fear will always be there, so rather than suppressing it; learn to embrace it.

Listen to your thoughts and find ways of addressing them so they don’t scare you.

For example, “I don’t have enough experience for anyone to take me seriously” can be addressed with:

• How can I get more experience in the area I want to do business in?
• Who else has started a business with no previous experience? What can I learn from them?
• What kind of business can I start where my lack of experience is a non-issue?

 

NO LIGHT BULB MOMENT

“I want to start a business, but I don’t have an idea”

“Could I make a business work, but with the right idea”

“I have so many ideas, which one of them will work?”

Do any of these questions resonate with you? Truth is ideas are a dime a dozen. But taking those ideas and making one of them profitable? Is one of the biggest reasons why businesses fail.

Not because they didn’t make the business work, but the fact that they didn’t test the idea first.

The only way to know if your idea will sell? Is to sell it to people. Notice to plural (there’s a reason why 1-customer businesses simply aren’t sustainable).

 

IGNORANCE is bliss

Ignorance is bliss, until you need the knowledge you’re missing.

Often the most daunting thing about starting a business is being clueless about how to physically set things up.

I get it, for those that use the internet for Facebook or the occasional gander at what Kim Kardashian is up too, using it to start and run a business can seem daunting.

• How do I register a domain name and get my website up and running?
• At what point do I think about that social media thing?
• How on earth do I build traffic and why doesn’t it involve cars?

These are just some of the thoughts that go around your head when you’re having a technophobe meltdown.

Fortunately, the answers to your questions are a quick Google search away. It really is that simple.

But I won’t leave you at the mercy of Google to answer these questions, we’ll cover all these and more, in up-coming articles.

Stay tuned! (Or do the smart thing and subscribe to updates).

 

PLAYING ENTREPRENEUR

Have you ever taken any of the following steps but not actually set up your business?

• Printing business cards
• Creating an all-purpose website
• Setting up Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts

Can anyone else sense procrastination?

A business that doesn’t make any money isn’t a business, it’s a hobby. It needs investment and commitment to get the ball rolling.

The beauty of this digital age we’re in? Is that the internet has made it cheaper to start a business now, than at any other point in history.

You don’t need to rent an expensive bricks ‘n’ mortar store to sell your products, your website is your store.

• Renting a meeting room for clients isn’t necessary, hop on a Skype call.
• Don’t look for physical office space, you can work virtually.
• The possibilities of business are endless, thanks to the internet.
• Because you can be your own boss, you can work from your own home, and you can master your destiny.

Razwana Wahid is the founder of Relentless Movement. A copywriting service for coaches who want to write bold and sell big. She’s the author of the definitive game plan for coaches to brand your business, market your services, and run your coaching practice like a pro.

 

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