Who’d have guessed that clearing out a rat-infested basement would have led Dan Kieran to his light bulb moment? After realising he had sold 300,000 copies of his books, he wanted to create a way to give publishing power to authors and readers, so they could communicate directly about what they wanted to read and cut out the middleman. Running a business is stressful and like many others, Dan turned to the use of alcohol to console himself when things went wrong or celebrate when the company was doing well. In this episode, Dan explores how you can become a more successful entrepreneur by ditc ..read more

Jason Millar didn’t have the easiest start growing up. He and his little brother were in and out of children’s homes and foster families, after their mother, who was an alcoholic, could no longer care for them. After an attempt to run away from the children’s home, Jason’s younger brother Wayne, was struck by a car and killed in front of him. Although Jason’s child-infused optimism kept him pushing forward and staying positive, he never really came to terms with the awful things he went through. He went on to pursue his dream of becoming a barber and soon found success after opening up his own ..read more

Emma Gannon is no stranger to success. She met Queen Elizabeth II, she’s been featured on Forbes 30 under 30, and has written best-selling book The Multi-Hyphen Method. Her latest offering is The Success Myth. But she slowly realised she was addicted to chasing external validation from others and that all the success in the world didn’t mean she would automatically bypass the issue that many business owners face—burnout. While many think burnout comes from being snowed under by mountains of work, Emma found that her burnout actually came from being out of alignment with herself and her values ..read more

When starting a new business, you’ll need the best possible support to set up your accounting and manage your finances. This means finding an accountant that really understands your business needs and that can keep your company financially safe. (This counts if your business is up and running too and you don’t yet use an accountant.) In this article, we help you do exactly that by covering: How an accountant helps your business Difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper How to find a good accountant How to choose the right accountant Final thoughts FAQs on finding an accounta ..read more

Just like many parents, Sophia Procter was struggling to get her little boy to eat at mealtimes, which made every day an ongoing challenge. She wanted to make eating fun and enjoyable in the hope that this would get her son to eat. She had the idea that maybe her Thomas the Tank Engine-obsessed son would eat if he could play with his trains around the edge of his plate. After endless searching for a plate with a train track around the rim, she found that no such product existed, and therefore a new business idea was born. Sophia created Munchy Play and has gone on to make deals with the likes ..read more

Regular salary, pensions and great benefits. Why would dynamic business leaders leave the comfy surroundings of a big corporate company for the fast and furious challenge of working at a Software as a Service (SaaS) startup? What does it take for high-level executives to swap the corporate life with founding or joining a seed stage or early stage business. And if you do make the jump, what do you need to know? In this article, we feature insights from people who’ve been there and done it. Here’s what we cover: Your startup idea could be a solution to a big problem If the technology isn’t out ..read more

As a sole trader, bookkeeping and managing your accounts are the key tasks you have to deal with. But because you’re self-employed and looking after so many aspects of the business yourself, it can be easy to let the accounts slide as other tasks frequently take priority. This article offers advice on what you need to do manage your accounts and bookkeeping as a sole trader. It talks about getting set up, taxes you’ll need to be aware of, what you need to do to register for VAT (if necessary), and how to stay on top of your finances. Here’s what we cover: What is bookkeeping and why is it imp ..read more

It often seems that small business bookkeeping and accounting must constantly adjust to the ever-changing world—from the increasing cost of living to new processes and legislation. While small business bookkeeping and accounting responsibilities can feel overwhelming, you might find they’re more manageable than they first seem. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to start keeping books for a small business. Here’s what we cover: Small business bookkeeping vs accounting Bookkeeping and small business legislation How to do small business bookkeeping better 1. Recor ..read more

After the financial crisis hit in 2008, Robert Caplan became disillusioned with the finance industry when he recognised that managing money was completely out of his control. His light bulb moment came when he realised he enjoyed managing people and this was how he wanted to approach his own financial planning business. Robert and his co-founder built their company, First Wealth, with the idea of revolutionising the industry. However, their business seemed to slip back into old habits, so a re-evaluation and shift in focus was needed. Once they had analysed how they wanted to run First Wealth ..read more

When the pandemic left Caroline Marshall jobless, she was faced with the decision to try and find another job to fund her impending nursery fees, or to create her own business and become her own boss. She took the plunge and bootstrapped her own virtual assistant company, all while looking after her first child during lockdown and being pregnant with her second. As soon as Caroline started Upsource, she began putting in processes, so the company could smoothly run without her, as she was due to go on maternity leave within six months of its launch. Caroline talks about the challenges both befo ..read more