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My Week: Fear of Change

24th Feb 2017
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The success of bags of meat being at the top of the food chain is because we adapt and change our environment drastically to meet our selfish needs. So why am I fearing the change that I am voluntarily enforcing on myself?

It is because of uncertainty and risk. In my big fish small pond world, my decision is a thumping big one. Thanks for bearing with me so far– that decision is purchasing a commercial property for FT Practice Ltd – GULP!

The way my week has gone, ownership of a commercial property is likely to become a reality. Each day, over the week, I was getting closer to that reality.

I am questioning myself, is this the right move? Is this what I want? Am I too old for all this? Should I take a back seat? Why the hell did I start all this? I was happy! I love the serviced office. I am comfortable in my comfort zone. I no longer want to get out of my comfort zone!

What is my fear? IT MAY NOT WORK. I will LOSE a lot of MONEY. I earned every penny. No inheritance (quite the opposite) or handouts. As you age, there is the added fear – Maybe I will not be able to cope with what will be thrown at me. We all have these fears. It is normal. I think.

There is something in me that wants to do this and improve my big fish small pond world. I cannot stay where I am. I need to get out of my comfort zone. To change and improve it is important to get out of one’s comfort zone. It may or may not work; I have to do this. I will do whatever is needed to make it work.

If I do not do what I have to do, I will be in a far worse state than I am now. I have a dream! It is a dream of a big fish small pond practice owner.

Replies (20)

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By petersaxton
24th Feb 2017 14:09

I don't see why you are going for a commercial property. If you think that a shop front will mean extra fees then it may but not a great deal. I would buy a big house on a main road which would give you the flexibility of expanding and contracting as needed. You could ensure your practice has plenty of visibility from passing vehicles. No need for commuting but you could still ensure a differentiation from home and work. I don't think your move to a commercial premises will be bad for you but it is less flexible than my idea.

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Replying to petersaxton:
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By KD1182
28th Feb 2017 09:09

A house on the main road is a ridiculous idea. The distinction between work and home should be clear. FT's operations have also exceeded what a home set up should have. Perhaps yours hasn't, which is why you seem to have such a small approach.

Also, owning a shopfront myself, I can advise that you WILL generate a fair volume of walk in clients, but only if the location is right and your branding is clear.

If it doesn't work, commercial properry could be let out with minumum effort given that the responsibility of maintenance falls on the tenants.

Good luck FT, i commend you on your ambition for continuous growth, and I hope you will succeed with this venture.

Thanks (2)
Replying to KD1182:
By petersaxton
28th Feb 2017 16:19

"A house on the main road is a ridiculous idea. The distinction between work and home should be clear."

Who says it isn't clear? I have a dedicated office in my home. In fact I have to walk across a small courtyard to get from my office to the rest of my house. FT has a couple of employees so he could easily have a couple of extra rooms as offices in a big house.

Where I live in South London there are plenty of huge houses in Wimbledon and Surrey. They could easily have dedicated offices in parts of the house. I have some clients who have several rooms as offices in a big house.

Maybe some people don't have the self discipline required to work so near their personal space but for people who have such self discipline it is the best of both worlds.

If you have a 10 roomed house and you need to have one or two extra rooms as offices you should find it easy to make the required adaptations. If you find your personal space cramped after a while then sell the house and buy a 15 room house. This approach has a lot less problems than signing a lease and then dealing with expansion and contraction.

I don't see anything ridiculous in having offices in a big house. I certainly haven't seen any sensible reasons given as to why it is a bad idea.

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Replying to petersaxton:
By mrme89
28th Feb 2017 17:07

How much is a 10 bed house in Wimbledon?

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Replying to mrme89:
By petersaxton
28th Feb 2017 17:24

One of my clients has a house in the same street as an 11 room house and it's for sale for £2.2m.

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Replying to petersaxton:
By mrme89
28th Feb 2017 18:15

A couple of extra self assessment clients then?

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Replying to mrme89:
By petersaxton
28th Feb 2017 18:19

There is the capital gains to be made. FT wont come out on top for a long time given the extra costs. With the increase in value of the house he will be making money straight away (although not in cash).

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Replying to mrme89:
By petersaxton
28th Feb 2017 17:27

I've seen another house in Wimbleon (10 rooms; not as good an area but still good) £1m.

My house is not in Wimbledon but same SW19 post code and it's been valued at £800k.

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Replying to petersaxton:
Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
28th Feb 2017 23:47

The London property market amazes me. How the hell do working people get a mortgage for £1m house unless they play for Chelsea.

I could buy a decent shop front near me for £150k, big enough for 10 people to work in.

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Replying to Glennzy:
By mrme89
01st Mar 2017 09:32

Glennzy wrote:

The London property market amazes me. How the hell do working people get a mortgage for £1m house unless they play for Chelsea.

I could buy a decent shop front near me for £150k, big enough for 10 people to work in.

But how much for a ten bedroom house?

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Replying to Glennzy:
By petersaxton
01st Mar 2017 10:25

I only bought my first property when I was 38. In 2000 I bought my present house for £126k and then spent £200k doing it up and building an extension including my office. I only have a small mortgage now.

I decided I didn't want to take on employees as I am happy doing what I am doing.

I can work at any time and do personal things at any time. I can wake up and get out of bed and start working in seconds (after cleaning my teeth and maybe using the toilet!).

I can see that FTs flat isn't suitable for an accounting practice but I would hate to travel 4 miles there and 4 miles back home every day.

Around south London and north east Surrey there are plenty of accountancy practices on main roads that seem to be based in houses with a private house next door. The accountancy practice appears to have used a house. I don't know whether there is a private dwelling at the rear of the house. What I do know is that plenty of accounting practices are based in properties that would make a lovely home. All that is needed is a bit of imagination.

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Replying to mrme89:
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By KD1182
28th Feb 2017 17:41

Clearly it's more cost effective compared to commercial property. :)

Having a 'huge house' with multiple rooms will not be immune to contractions in business. What are you going to do with the additional rooms?

At least with commercial property, you can let out the property to other businesses.

By the way Peter, please also remember that a 'huge house' on the main road may have the requirement to pay business rates, may need permission from the mortgage lender and an application may also need to be made with the relevant planning authorities.

On a final point, you cannot surely expect clients to take you as an ambitious, growing company when you are still based in your own home?

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Replying to KD1182:
By petersaxton
28th Feb 2017 17:56

"Having a 'huge house' with multiple rooms will not be immune to contractions in business. What are you going to do with the additional rooms?"

Use them in a personal capacity. Usually people can always make use of extra rooms.

"At least with commercial property, you can let out the property to other businesses."

That always leads to problems with sharing whereas with your own home you can more easily adapt to your own liking.

"By the way Peter, please also remember that a 'huge house' on the main road may have the requirement to pay business rates, may need permission from the mortgage lender and an application may also need to be made with the relevant planning authorities."

Business rates is nowhere near as big an issue compared to the costs of commercial property.

Mortgage lenders tend to be flexible. I've had issues with mortgages and estate agents would come up with ridiculous ideas but I finally got through to an underwriter and solved the issues easily.

Using a few rooms as an office in a private house is unlikely to need planning permission.

"On a final point, you cannot surely expect clients to take you as an ambitious, growing company when you are still based in your own home?"

They will when they meet you if that's what you are. Most potential clients want a good accountant.

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Stepurhan
By stepurhan
24th Feb 2017 14:18

You have proven time an again you are completely incapable of change.

To take a random example, you continue to break the site rule about blogs not duplicating content hosted elsewhere. This is despite the fact that you are well aware this rule exists.

https://firsttab.co.uk/2017/02/24/my-week-fear-of-change/

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Replying to stepurhan:
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By KD1182
28th Feb 2017 09:14

Oh my, omniscent as ever.

Thanks for scouring the web to keep the good people of AW safe from the hazards of duplicated posts.

You are a real star.

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Steve Edwards
By stevo5678
25th Feb 2017 12:41

In this day and age of so much digitalisation I don't see having shop front as a negative. If anything it's a way to stand out from the other practices. I don't have one myself but see the appeal.

Good luck and try to focus on positive people around you as there seems to be quite a lot of negative comments thrown your way on a regular basis (although they still read the blog). Obviously criticism can be a good thing but needs to be done in the right way.

Thank you for sharing.

By the way, how did you get on with Glide previously (we are finding it useful)?

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
25th Feb 2017 13:23

How is it progressing FT have you had an offer accepted by the vendor or are you still at consideration stage.

I am always puzzled that you see yourself as in a small pond, when operating in London which is probably in the top 5 business zones in the world.

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FT
By FirstTab
26th Feb 2017 16:09

Thanks for the response.

Appreciate your supportive comments stevo5678.

We did look at Glide and decided to go with Xero Practice Manager. The reason for this we had used XPM in the past. XPM sort of worked. It was an additional step to go in XPM.

What works for us now is Todoist for Business. Here are some details: https://d3ptyyxy2at9ui.cloudfront.net/47b9d8970a4418b570e4835f39d05c84.pdf

Even my employee uses it. We live in our Gmail; the key advantage is we can see all the tasks/deadlines on the Gmail screen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbf4WHrsKRI

Further, it is available on all devices. It is not a FULL practice management software. For us, it works brilliantly. I am saying this after using at least three types (far more costly) PM software. You are not distracted by graphics. The functionality is superb.

In my personal life, Todoist is central to my organisation. Through this experience, I brought it to the practice. I will not look at full practice manager software. This so works for us. I feel in control.

Glennzy - Purchase will go ahead on the basis getting the change of use permission from the local authority. Both parties have appointed solicitors, and they have started their work. Approval can take up to 8 weeks! I am okay with the time scale since I need the time to breath after January madness.

Big Fish Small Pond point - What I mean is that I am a big fish as a small practice owner. Anywhere else, as an employee, I would be a small fish with an illusion of some control. Also, compared to big names and more significant practices, I am small fish. This perception, I think, keeps my feet firmly on the ground and hopefully, I do not come across as big headed.

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
28th Feb 2017 17:23

FT are you buying the property through a SIPP.

So we can hear about FT Pension Scheme Limited
As you will need to look after yourself, P,Q Y and when you retire.

Thanks (1)
Replying to Glennzy:
By petersaxton
01st Mar 2017 13:26

Is he buying the property or just renting it? Depending on what he is doing will help in the SIPP decision.
If he bought a suitable house and used part of it as offices he could benefit from the increase in the value of the property.

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