BUSINESS ADVICE
The way to avoid these particular tank traps is firstly to never say anything to an employee that you wouldn ’ t want to hear repeated in an employment tribunal in front of a judge . The second is to always take advice from an employment specialist before disciplining anyone . It ’ s crucial you follow the correct process .
If previously you had arranged for a carefully drafted employment contract and company handbook then this is the point at which it will pay off big time .
Use a system
It ’ s increasingly true that more trades people are using a computer to do their invoicing and much more , even if sometimes it ’ s only by using word or excel . Paper can still work for sole traders although Making Tax Digital ( MTD ) is going to change that . However , as a business gets bigger and employs more staff , it gets harder to control without a system .
The truth is , virtually every business outside the trade that employs staff now uses a computer system . This is because it helps . As you grow larger , organising staff and knowing where they are , as well as keeping on top of paperwork and not losing it becomes more and more important . In fact , deploying a good system and making sure you use it properly can significantly help your sleep patterns as it brings things much more under control .
Manage your risks
In my company , every few months we list all of the risks in the business and see if there are any simple things we can do to reduce those risks . We have a number of different areas to look at : finance , staff , marketing , an attack by hackers , technical mistakes and so on . It ’ s surprising how often there are actions that can be taken . Often this doesn ’ t
involve much work but can hugely reduce the risk .
For instance , as well as compulsory employment and public liability insurance , I got some additional insurance for theft that turned out not to be too pricy .
Similarly , taking a copy of our central database and storing it in a completely separate place hugely reduced the potential impact from a hacker getting into our system .
Sleep well
The aim of this article was to find some antidotes to the sleep problems suffered by business people . My hope is that counting sheep can become a thing of the past and you will have an enjoyable business life and relaxing , peaceful sleep .
About the author
Benjamin Dyer is CEO and co-founder of Powered Now . Powered Now ’ s mobile app aims to take the pain out of paperwork for installers , as well as other trade businesses .
www . powerednow . com
NOV / DEC 2020
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