My Day - 13 April to 16 April

Thursday 16 April

An exhausting day. Time just flies.

In addition to routine work, I spoke to the digital marketing company that I found through the Growth Voucher Scheme approved supplier listing. They sound very good. Their fee is £1,500 per month. This is just for either SEO or Pay Per Click. It would another £1500 per month for both the options.

The Growth Voucher value is £2000 that extends to £4k through my match funding. I have asked the marketing company to email me a detailed quotation. I am not sure I will pay such a high monthly figure. I will now look at other suppliers and see how much they quote. I will then compare and decide.

I found a matching Dell monitor to make up a pair of dual monitors. It is in good working order. I have placed the order. 

Wednesday 15 April 

I was tempted to put on my shorts today. Then I thought better of it. I did NOT want the people working with me subject to my tanned, but short, fat and hairy legs. I hope the good weather continues over the weekend. London is at it’s best when the sun is in full swing.

I was in a good mood again and I was productive. It must be the great weather combined with our new bigger and far better office. That was a very good move on my part.

I did get a fair amount of routine work completed. This includes posting our weekly blog. Chasing a one-off client for our fees, TBH I lost it with him. I left a bad tempered voice mail for him. It worked, he not only paid but also called and apologised for the delay. I was embarrassed. Why did my courteous reminders not work?

I started looking at Growth Vouchers service providers. I was looking for a provider that only deals with digital marketing and nothing else. They were many providers offering a range of marketing service. I am looking for a specialist in digital marketing. I am waiting to hear from them.

Thank you to those who sent me PMs and also commented on my blogs. Just to let you know, I tend to deal with all matters AW at the end of the day/evening. Just do want people to think I cannot be bothered to respond. 

Tuesday 14 April

It was one of my better days. I was productive and in a good mood. It must be the great weather. Longer days are brilliant! With the sun out, early morning cycling is heaven.

LinkedIn reminded me today that I have been in practice for 7 years. 7 years ago, I left employment as a Director. For some reason, I thought it was a lot longer. I have not done too bad. A pat on the back for me. Though I could have done a lot better.

I wish I went on my own 20 years ago. Then I would have been a typical cautious accountant. I would not have done a MBA. I would have done CIOT. CIOT would have given me technical tax knowledge (I can buy this). I think CIOT is excellent. I don't think I have the mind to do CIOT. MBA has given me a well rounded business education.

I had a good telephone discussion with one of the practice brokers. As you may know, organic is just too slow for me. I am looking into buying block fees. As you also know the demand for block fees far exceeds supply. 

One of the options I am looking into is the practice broker actively marketing us as potential block fee buyers. Of course, there is a cost attached to this. It is just over £1000. Further, there are no guaranteed results. I will reflect.

Our increase in client numbers, has resulted in an increase in client queries. I know there are more than a few accountants who work on their own with a client fee level of up to £100k. That can’t be easy!

I am pleased I have the staff and an intern. I do not think, I would be able to work on my own. I would have given up and taken up a job. On that note, who would employ me now! 

Monday 13 April 

It was a day that I handled the tasks that I have been putting off for some time. That is informing some clients that if they do not set-up their DD by tomorrow, we will not do any further work for them.

Most of them did set up their DD today. I had enough of emailing them polite reminders. They are only 2 left now. I am sure they will set up their DD by the end of the week.

I planned my work life and personal on the new Wunderlist. I like the subtasks function. I have been using Wunderlist for some time. It is just too good. It ticks the style and function boxes in a big way. The functionality that I want is in the free version. I do not need the premium version.

I received a quotation from the marketing consultant who I met a couple weeks ago. I did not understand his costing. I am not sure what is included in the total cost. I will call or email him for clarification.

I passed the wording of our brochure to the branding consultant. If you remember, our copywriter vastly improved my poor effort on the wording I came up with. I think the brochure should be ready within the next three weeks. Of course, I will receive draft versions to approve/comment.

Xero marketing team have agreed to cast an eye on the brochure. It helps to get another perspective.

I was pleased to hear from our Xero account manager. They will provide some financial marketing support on the brochure. I think Xero has been fair.