She Means Business by Carrie Green

This is a really inspiring book. From the title, you’d think it was a very technical business book with lots of business plans and marketing strategy. It does have some technical advice, however, it’s more geared towards motivating you and giving you techniques in how to make your dreams to come true.

The book is split into three parts and with lots of chapters in each section, although some chapters are only a page long.  The three parts are:

1.       She shows up for her dreams

2.       She gets herself out there to shine

3.       She’s unstoppable

The first part is about working on yourself and conditioning yourself for success and to allow yourself to imagine your business can be a success.  There are great quotes throughout the chapters and lots of tips on how to imagine yourself being successful.  At the end of nearly every chapter there is a list of questions, under the title, she asks questions where she makes you think or do some things for yourself.  So far the first two – about starting a journal and creating a vision board I’ve already taken on board.  This is the first time I’ve ever done a vision board and I feel a bit self-conscious about doing it. It feels like something you should do when you are at school or at Uni, not when you’re almost 40 and a mum to two girls.  It felt good doing it though but I’m still embarrassed to hang it up anywhere. I really love writing a journal and have recently started doing that anyway but I decided to start another one in order to follow what is going on in this book.

The second part is about your business.  Some of the points are the usual, find your niche, mission, audience and target them which I’ve heard a million billion times and go above and beyond to help them.  However, it also point out that sometimes, you just need to start and then you will find where you are going and your business will evolve as you go along.

The third part is about growing your business and to keep going even when you feel like giving up. In the book, Carrie accepts that there will be ups and downs but to use the failures as a learning point to keep going.

Along with this book is the 28 day She Means Business challenge.  This is included at the end of the book but you can also download it from her website along with a daily calendar with points and free resources that will keep you motivated to do the challenge.  The worksheet will direct you to the part of the book it refers to as it is not always in the order of the way its listed in the book.

At the end of each three parts, there is a checklist which summarises the chapters in that part and as it’s a checklist, you can tick off as you do them.

There have been quite a few books that I have read recently that are almost like an interactive workbook which I have listed below:

The Conquer Kit by Natalie McNeil

The Go To Expert by Heather Townsend and Jon Baker

Mumpreneur by Annabel Karmel

Yoga Girl by Rachael Brathen (although that’s about yoga rather than business!)

 

All of these books have something to download and lots of questions to ask about yourself and other little tips and inspiration to keep you pursuing your dreams. So far or maybe it’s because I’ve just read it, this book has been the most inspiring and especially the first part about preparing and visualising yourself being successful in whatever you do.

I’m going to go back now and finish the challenge and there may even be an update to this review.  However, as it stands now, this is another great book.  It is aimed at women but I think it can benefit anyone who needs a big dose of motivation to keep going if you’re starting to feel a bit despondent and lost with your dreams and plans.

 

My Top 5 Accounting Blogs

Here are my top 5 accounting blogs and why I like them.  There are a lot of other people that I do admire in the tax and accounting world who are not listed here as they don’t blog or they don’t have a website.  However, as I like to blog, I tried to focus on bloggers only.

Continue reading “My Top 5 Accounting Blogs”

Why Pay Class 3 National Insurance Contribution?

Class 3 National Insurance Contribution (NIC) is a voluntary contribution that you can make if you have gaps in your NI history.  One of the main reasons that you would want to make a voluntary contribution is in order to ensure you receive your full basic state pension. However, this is a voluntary contribution and you are not contracted to pay it unlike the other national insurance classes. Continue reading “Why Pay Class 3 National Insurance Contribution?”

My top 5 blogs I’ve read this week

So this week would have been a good week to have had some back up blogs ready. With the tax return deadline looming and kids off being ill, it’s been a slightly hectic week and I have a feeling next week will be quite similar.

Continue reading “My top 5 blogs I’ve read this week”

Yoga Girl by Rachel Brathen

For some reason when I first started using Instagram, I decided to start following @yoga_girl.  Some of her earlier posts were very heart wrenching and so honest that you couldn’t help but feel sorry for her and wish her good luck.  She is now doing really well for herself and because of her honesty and openness or maybe because I’ve been following her for so long, that you do feel really happy for her.  Her Instagram posts are still very open and honest but it’s also interesting to see where she is with her life – married, pregnant and in the process of building a yoga studio on the idyllic island of Aruba that they live on.

Continue reading “Yoga Girl by Rachel Brathen”

Where’s my profit?

In its simplest definition, profit is the difference between the sales you have made less the expenses incurred in bringing the product or service ready to sell.

 Sales – Expenses = Profit

The profit is what you get taxed on whether you are a limited company (corporation tax) or a sole trader (personal tax). So let’s have a look at all of these three things in a bit more detail. Continue reading “Where’s my profit?”

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of Eat, Love, Pray which I love and this book she has written is another amazing book.  Her main advice in this book is to protect your creativity.  Elizabeth says that for your creativity to grow, you should not put the pressure on it to earn you an income.  If you want to write then write or do whatever or go wherever your creativity takes you.  If your dream is to be a published author then go for it, but enjoy what you are doing and don’t let it become a burden, emotionally and financially.

  Continue reading “Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert”

8 Steps to Finding Your Focus

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching recently and I’ve read a lot of blogs and emails and books about what things you can do to make yourself happy and to realize your dreams.  Well, maybe not soul searching but more focusing on what I want to do and going for it.  From everything I’ve read, there are so many courses and good ideas to implement but having the time to do it all is another thing entirely.  After a lot of trial and error, I’ve narrowed it down to my favorite 8 as follows:

Continue reading “8 Steps to Finding Your Focus”

Reporting your personal pension contribution

If you have taken out a personal pension plan, do not forget to include this in your tax return.  If you are a basic rate tax payer, it will have no effect but if you are a higher rate tax payer, you will benefit from some tax savings. Continue reading “Reporting your personal pension contribution”

The Go To Expert by Heather Townsend and Jon Baker

I’ve just finished reading this book which I am sure I started at the beginning of the year.  I know I started reading it while on the train to London which was in December or January time.  However, I don’t travel on the train on a frequent basis so my reading also got less.  I’ve currently found a new time to read, while putting the girls to sleep as long as it is in a kindle format. Continue reading “The Go To Expert by Heather Townsend and Jon Baker”