Football – The Art of Diving in the Box

John Terry of Chelsea Demonstrates Perfect Technique

My interest in watching football on the TV tends to waver quite a lot but I am going through a phase of watching quite a bit at the moment. The main reason being a good friend is a Chelsea fan and invites me to watch games at his house. I should also mention he has a well stocked beer fridge and provides snacks which can really endear someone to you.

What I have noticed more than anything is that the art of diving in the penalty box has progressed a lot since I last took an interest. What is impressive is the level of professionalism and dedication which has developed in this art form.  For example the athleticism shown by players who when lightly tapped on the ankle can reach heights of four feet above the ground while their bodies remain perfectly horizontal.

I can honestly say that in playing ten years of football in the Portsmouth Sunday League (where things could get pretty rough) that I never saw anyone dive as well as a professional footballer. To be honest our efforts were pathetic with some players forgetting to dive altogether and then staying on their feet. To make things worse they would even end up putting the ball in the back of the net thus missing a chance to get the opposing player booked or sent off. Go figure! We could never perfect the dive where the professional player looks like they have been shot from the terraces by a high velocity rifle.  Although  David Jenkins our centre forward once made a dive in the box so obvious by kicking his own leg that I am still in disbelief that the referee gave a penalty.

Where the professional game has now progressed even further is where the player is now able to sense even the slightest touch of a boot or hand and with lightning reflexes throw themselves into a triple salko. Also their ability to push the ball one way while running into the defender or goalkeeper and then diving is a skill which must take much planning if only in the mind.

Referees seem to be also appreciative of these skills and rewards include the obvious penalty, the sanction of defenders with yellow and red cards but unfortunately trials by television replay can be critical.

There are some that hope that television replays could be used to help referees make the correct decision in these instances but this would certainly affect the art of the dive and none of us wants that do we. It could all get really silly and we could end up with goal line technology and football would end up being a bland sport with little controversy and fair results. Who wants to see that?

Capital Allowances – How to choose the right capital allowances claims company

Capital Allowances – How to choose the right capital allowances claims company.

Capital Allowances – How to choose the right capital allowances claims company

When choosing a capital allowances specialist to undertake the work on your commercial property the following should be investigated before signing a contract:-

Qualified and Experienced

Firstly I would recommend looking for a company that has one or more partners who are both qualified MRICS surveyors and tax technicians. You can tell if they have tax qualification as they will be qualified either as an ATT or CIOT which are the two recognised tax bodies in the UK. This special breed of specialist are able to deal with a claim from start to finish. They will also be able to oversee the work of junior staff who work under them.

High Level Review

Secondly ensure the company is able to give you a high level review of the likely results of carrying out a claim. Reputable companies can do this as a matter of course based on some very basic information about your commercial property. This allows you to review your improved tax position and this basis of the company’s fees.

When are Fees Payable?

Find out when fees will be payable. Most companies charge the majority of their fees when the final capital allowances claim report is delivered to your accountant for including in past in future tax returns. However some companies are willing to defer a balance of their fees until the taxpayer receives their tax rebate or even until the HMRC window for investigation closes which may be nearly two years after the claim has been prepared.

Obtain Quotes

Approach more than one company. Like any other market there is competition to get business and as long as you are careful to compare like for like. You should then be able to keep even more of your tax savings rather than paying inflated fees to the capital allowances claims company.

Negotiations with HMRC

Be careful of companies who say they get your accountant to sign off the final report. This could be a way of saying should the HMRC look to investigate your claim that the accountant will be left to negotiate with the HMRC alone. This is not ideal as the accountant is not a capital allowances specialist and will probably just have to accept HMRC’s arguments while a capital allowances specialist will negotiate with HMRC based on their extensive knowledge and experience of the legislation. Make sure the fee charged covers the cost of negotiating with an HMRC inspector until the claim is concluded.

No Upfront Fees

Lastly do not pay any fees upfront. Nearly all reputable companies do not charge until they have established that a valid claim can be made and then undertake all the necessary work to produce the report for your accountant. This is what is meant when companies say they provide a no claim no fee service.

If you follow all the above points you will not go far wrong when trying to secure your tax rebates and ongoing tax savings. Remember it’s your money not the HMRCs.

Living and Working with Depression.

The views here are my own based on my experience of having suffered with depression since I was 19 years old. Given the fact I am running a business I have considered whether I should risk writing this article as it may affect my credibility but I have concluded that if I didn’t I would just be letting a lot of the myths and misconceptions people have about mental health issues persist. In addition I don’t think my condition has effected my desire to be as professional as I can be and in some odd way has actually helped me achieve a lot at work to the detriment of other areas of my life.

Clinical Depression is an illness just like any other but of course in physical terms cannot be seen as clearly as many disabilities or illnesses. It is distinct from what I term a reactive depression which is a natural reaction to a life event (e.g. break up of a close relationship) which should pass given time and some support. Clinical depression on the other hand can persist for months and years with periods of improvement and possibly being clear of the condition altogether. In my case I have been able to function relatively well for the majority of my thirty years with the illness although I would say that my ability to maintain close relationships has been effected.

One thing that particularly annoys me is the belief amongst many that those who suffer from depression must be mentally weak. Indeed the opposite is the case and the reason that many start to suffer is because they refuse to give in to a situation when the sensible and rational conclusion of most people would be to walk away from it before it affects their health. Through history there have been many great people who have suffered from depression including Churchill who called it his “Black Dog”

In the past thirty years I have continued to work for approximately twenty eight years and have also obtained various qualifications by working in the evenings including an honours degree in business. However there have been many days when I wanted to stay in bed (and probably should have done) but went to work anyway. If you talk to most people who suffer with depression the biggest challenge of the day is getting out of bed in the morning when things seem at their blackest. This type of depression is truly something you would not wish on your worst enemy.

My biggest problems are around socialising as it is very easy to try to hide yourself away to avoid what you feel is a painful experience. Paradoxically, I know the more I avoid a situation the more painful it is likely to become if I don’t face it head on and try to conquer it. Also the issue for me is that in running my own business I have to network with people and I have to force myself to walk into a room of  people sometimes when I don’t know anyone but I have to do it.

Lastly the other issue I have is how mental illness is portrayed in the media including films. If the statistics are correct I believe one in four people will suffer from an episode of poor mental health whilst one in ten have an enduring condition. Yet the press and films always seem to portray anyone with a mental health issue as a potential danger to individuals and society whilst the truth about the condition are rarely mentioned or discussed in detail unless a celebrity admits to suffering from a condition. I was however glad to see that Freddie Flintoff recently made a programme about the effects of depression in sport where he was able to talk to some high achievers about their experiences of the condition and also think about how his disastrous spell as England  captain had effected his own metal health.

It would be good to hear comments from other people who have experience of either struggling with depression themselves or who have contact with someone close to them who does.

 

What I’m going to do when I become a millionaire.

I have been reading “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill which was written in the 1930s and it makes the point that you need to state how much money you want and when you want it. So let me say now that by the 1st January 2015 I will have made my first million pounds. (There is a lot more to the book than that by the way. Oh that it was that easy.)

Of course there is then the issue of what I will do once I have become a millionaire. I will no doubt have bought myself a nice house, car, treated my son Matthew to various larger and more impressive Lego sets but what then? Do I set my sights on accumulating more stuff and starting to notice that there are richer people in the world than me so I must work harder and earn more so I can buy a bigger house and a faster car. Clearly this is the way that madness lies. Though it seems, at least to me, we have a society which is based on this being the recommended course of action.

No I want to make a substantial amount of money so that I can give the majority of it away. Once I have a reasonable house and have adequately provided for my family I intend to redistribute the money through a trust to good causes in Portsmouth. Mainly those aimed at meeting the needs of children who come from deprived backgrounds and require greater support to achieve what the majority of us take for granted.

In the UK we still live in a country which is in the top thirty in the World as far as wealth creation is concerned. There are incredible opportunities provided to us especially those who are given a good start in life with a stable family background and whose educational needs are met. However I believe for those of us that do manage to achieve wealth there is a strong moral obligation to help others in society who need some form of support and guidance to achieve their potential.

Therefore I intend to be a good capitalist so that I can become a better socialist if that is possible. The beauty of it is as some of my income is derived from “Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs” to make property owners wealthier. If I do achieve my goals then I could say my plans have Government backing.

Oh and I will also be buying myself a very good sound-system when I become a millionaire. This is part of my duty as a capitalist to help the UK economy.

The Greek Bail-Out Explained

The Greek bailout explained

It is a slow day in a little Greek village.
The rain is beating down and the streets are deserted.
Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.
On this particular day a rich German tourist is driving through the village, stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, telling the hotel owner he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

The owner gives him some keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, the hotelier grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmers’ Co-op takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna.
The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him “services” on credit.

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note.

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.
No one produced anything.
No one earned anything.
However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the bailout package works.

My five top mistakes in business (so far)!!

It is inevitable that when you start a business that you are going to make mistakes. I have a degree in business and thought that would protect me. How wrong and naive can you be. So here are a list of mistakes I have made to date which I’m sharing in the hope that others will side-step them on the way to their commercial success. As we have only been going under a year this list may well grow but hopefully not too much.

1) Outsource where necessary to Professionals - Your website reflects your company’s image and is your shop window. To try to keep costs down initially I designed our website using some free software. Although it was a good effort on my part, well at least according to my business partner, I knew it fell well short of what I wanted. My logic was that when we got some money coming in I would get it upgraded professionally.  After six months somebody eventually said for £600 you could get a professionally designed website which would make you the money back in a month. They were right. The lesson is that some things need to be outsourced to experts and you do need to spend money to make money.

2) Get the fundamentals right or money spent on advertising is wasted - It gets worse as while we had the old website we were spending about £300 per month on Google AdWords. This meant we started getting more traffic to the website but this didn’t result in more sales / contracts. The lesson is sometimes it is not worth spending money on advertising and marketing trying to build yourself up professionally when an element of your business lets you down.

3) Research the market before you start your business -  Before starting your business do your market research to enable the putting together of reasonable goals and expectations.  When we started we thought we had a winning offering for commercial property owners namely capital allowances claims. We thought and still do think that every commercial property owner needs to  investigate the potential for a claim. What we did not realise is there can be a lot of resistance from their accountants because of a combination of misconceptions on their part about capital allowances claims and some bad apples in the industry who have coloured their perception of capital allowances claims.

We should have researched this before starting our business as it would have changed the way we tried to market ourselves and who we were marketing too. Where possible we now target the gate keepers who are accountants and tax advisers more than the actual owners of property.

4) You need to be able to accept change as the norm not the exception:-  If we had just stuck with our original plan to promote capital allowances claims our business would have failed. We did not appreciate or predict the resistance we would find to promoting this service. It took about three or four months for us to realise that on its own claims for capital allowances was not going to provide the income we needed. Since that time we have taken on other services such as solar panel installations for residential and commercial property and commercial insurance which has helped enormously in us believing we now have a viable business model. The point here is that we needed to adapt very quickly, find new income streams for the business and be prepared to change our focus very quickly. We now appreciate that you cannot stand still and we are constantly looking to see what we need to change about our company to keep it fresh and alive. If you like the status quo don’t start your own business.

5) Read books, talk to people who are successful and learn,  learn, learn:- This may sound obvious but it is amazing how many people are content to know what they know and not to learn any more. There are so many good books available giving advice on start-ups, networking both face to face and on-line, marketing etc that you will never stop learning and nor should you. If you believe you know it all you’ll probably be signing the death warrant  for your business at what ever level you operate.

To me one of the most exciting parts of being in business is this opportunity to learn and apply your learning at every stage of your businesses growth. Talking to experts in other fields is fantastic in opening up new opportunities for both sides. It took a while for me to realise what excellent resources are out there and available to all who are willing to search them out.

I hope this blog is of some use to those starting in business. Some of it may sound obvious but when you are in the thick of battle the blindingly obvious can sometimes pass you by.

John Plumridge  www.curtisplumstone.com

An Interview with Heather Townsend – Author of The FT Guide to Business Networking

Q. Your book “The Financial Times Guide to Business Networking” was published six weeks ago; how has it been received in terms of reviews and sales?

A. I have been overwhelmed and very surprised at the response to the book. The early (pre-publication) reviews had been exceptionally good – but being cynical I wasn’t sure whether that was because they were people I knew or whether it was actually a good book. You only have to read a selection of the 67 reviews on amazon – with 65 of those reviews being 5 star – to realise that pretty much everyone who reads the book really likes it and wants to recommend it. I am sure this is part of the reason that the book has sold nearly 2000 copies in only 6 weeks after publication. As a result of the great reviews and exceptional strong sales, the book has become a major title for Pearsons.

Q. Had you been considering writing the book for a while or was it a more spontaneous decision?

A. As early as march 2009 I had wanted to write a book. It just took me nine months to finally commit to writing a book and working out what book to write. As many would-be authors would know, it’s one thing to want to write a book and another thing to actually write it. From concept to publish date often takes 12-18 months. Now that I know exactly what it takes to write a book, I know I will write another book (more later), but with a full understanding of what it actually takes to do that. 

Q. What gave you the confidence to believe you had the expertise to inform the business community about face to face networking but also virtual networking via twitter and linked-in etc?

A. I think that my confidence to write the book came from the great reception to my blogs and tweets. Plus, I knew that no-one else was advocating the use of ‘Joined Up Networking’. Most business networking experts were still firmly ‘face-to-face’ networking is best. With many things in business you have to believe that you can do something, before you can actually do it. This book was no different. Over the past twelve months I have emotionally and physically grown into the role of ‘The Author of The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking’. I still remember doing some of my interviews with worldwide experts in business networking for the book. Very honestly I was slightly star struck during some of those experts. Now I feel that I am probably their peers rather than a junior apprentice.

Q.  If you had to give just five top tips to somebody about Business Networking what would they be?

A. Not easy when I have a whole book full of business networking tips!

1. focus on building relationships when networking rather than selling

2. Write down your networking goals – what is it you want to achieve by your networking activities?

3. Identify your networking George Clooney, or as Andy Lopata calls him your ‘referral champions’. These are the people who can regularly provide you with a steady stream of referrals

4. Be brave enough to ask for the pink car rather than the silver car. The more specific you are with your requests – i.e. looking for a pink car rather than the highly popular silver car, the more likely that people will be remember your requests and help you with them

5. Remember that strong relationships where both of you help each other out takes more than one cup of coffee. You need to spend more time maintaining and building existing relationships rather than extending your network.

Q. Given this book has taken off so well since it was published are there any other topics you would like to write about where you think a definitive guide might be required?

A. My plan is to try and write a new book every 2-3 years. Not many people know this but, ‘The FT Guide To Business Networking’ was not my first choice of book to write. I’ve always seen this as a stepping stone to my next book. But, what a great stepping stone! My passion has always been working with professionals, particularly those occupations who typically sell their time for money. I love the uniqueness of working within a partnership structure and, unusually, really enjoy working with accountants and lawyers. Over the next 5 years I want to build up my portfolio of intellectual property with this audience. So, my next book, which I am in the early planning stages for is going to be ‘how to make partner quickly and still have a life’. There is almost no books or other literature which help you do this – all the career management books are currently focused on people within a corporate structure, which just don’t translate to the world of professional practices. After that book, it’s very likely that the next book is going to be something around ‘the definitive guide to growing your professional services firm’. But, that’s a long way off!

Q. You seem incredibly busy how do you manage to find time for the work-life balance or do you struggle with this like a lot of people who are successful at what they do?

A. I’d like to say that I have everything under control. But, that would be a big fat lie. I have a great team around me – my husband Mike is very supportive, my business partner Jon is my absolute ‘rock’ and I couldn’t function without my nanny, Louise. My work-life balance is something that I have to work at constantly, and I haven’t yet found the right level, but over time I’m hoping to get better at saying no.

Thank you to Heather Townsend for taking time out her busy schedule to answer my questions. I recommend her book to anyone in business who wants a complete guide to networking.

 

It’s a Rap for Capital Allowances Claims

Y'all better do a capital allowances claim ya here

With apologies to fans of rap music everywhere. I can’t say I’m a big fan myself but there is only so much you can say about capital allowances claims in a blog. This is the result of having too much time on my hands one Sunday afternoon. You have to read it like it’s a rap. No mention of bling, popping caps or (err hmmmm er) bitches I’m afraid

If you own commercial property there is a temptation
To pay tax on your profits without hesitation
But may I suggest to you born out of frustration
That a capital allowances claim could bring you elation

See your accountant may be good with some computations
And all that compliance work and your tax bill’s creation
But he’s not a surveyor with tax qualifications
He can’t identify your P&M without hesitation

So if you hold your property outside of a pension
Then Curtis Plumstone Associates can provide a great intervention
We’ll identify all the P&M that means plant and machinery
The HMRC pays you money back which is our intention

At the end of the day we know that you will be happy,
Because although this rap is admittedly crappy,
You don’t want to pay more that you have to in taxation,
Surely this message deserves contemplation

So let’s put an end to the pain of this rap
You know by now I’m not that P Diddy chap
I’m just trying to encourage you to visit our home
at www.curtisplumstone.com we’ll be manning the phone

The End

Please feel free to sign up for a notification of when a new blog is posted by pressing the sign up button on the right or alternatively leave a comment. So long mother flippers.

Curtis Plumstone and the five most commonly asked questions.

A Smurf about to get crushed by the letter Q. Call Health & Safety.

Q1.  Why are the owners of the business called Curtis and Plumridge but the company is called Curtis Plumstone?

A. This is decidedly my fault as Plumstone is a nickname one of my brothers friends gave me and I decided to use it in the company name instead of Plumridge. All I can say is it seemed like a good idea at the time. In reality my friends never call me John. I am now more usually known as Plum or Plummy.

Q2.  I own commercial property and my accountant has never informed me about making a capital allowances claim. Why is this?

A.  Generally speaking accountants are not particularly well educated about capital allowances claims on commercial property and there are a lot of misconceptions about it’s effect on the owner’s tax position. This is me being diplomatic. If you want to read a less diplomatic answer read the blog prior to this one.

Q3. How can you mix Capital Allowances Claims with providing Renewable Energy solutions?

A. We realise in marketing terms this may be seen as a bit of a risk as we suspect we are one of the only company’s who have put these two elements together. However our tag line is “Creating Wealth for the Owners of Property” and so we do not see an issue in promoting any product or service which satisfies this core aim. I don’t think clients are going to complain as long as we are saving them money but we have come up against some snobbery from those who deal exclusively in capital allowances claims. So be it.

Q4. How can you offer free solar panel installations on commercial and residential property?

A. This is because of the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) system. For instance if as a home-owner you purchase a Solar Panel Installation you will have a capital outlay of between about £8k to £12k depending on the size of the system. This would produce electricity for you in the daytime. You would receive a payment from the government of approx 43p for every 1kw of energy produced plus a bonus payment of 3p for every unit channelled back into the national grid. Over 25 years you would make a return of between 8% to 10% tax free on your original investment.

We are able to offer free installations because of investors who are happy for the residential or commercial property owner to get the benefit of free electricity whilst they collect the FIT payments as a long term investment. The beauty is that the investor pays for the system to be insured and maintained because it is in their interest to have the system running as efficiently as possible all the time.

Q5.   Why have you moved into promoting LED lighting systems when the technology is unreliable?

A.  The answer to this is simple. LED lighting reduces energy usage by 70%. We are using a company who are licensed to import LED lighting systems from an organisation who are based in Hong Kong but manufacture in China. The product is of an exceptionally high quality with all lights having been tested for up to 40,000 hours (approx 7 years usage)  without loss of performance. They offer an unrivalled range of lights all of which are primarily for commercial rather than domestic use. A funding package is also available for those without the upfront capital which allows pay back in under three years and then you have four years of low-cost energy usage. These lights are already being used by some large commercial organisations in the UK including supermarkets, car showrooms and private schools.  They have been used throughout Asia for many years.

For more information on our products and services why not contact me John Plumridge  on  02392 696815 or e-mail jplumridge@curtisplumstone.com or wonder at the delights of our new website at www.curtisplumstone.com. Oh and somebody please leave a comment as it gets lonely here in blogland.