I've just been reading recent posts and thought it's finally time to introduce myself! Having peeped over your shoulders for the past year I'm now coming out of my shell (may have to find a suitable avatar for that )
I'm AICB qualified and started my business in October last year while still in part-time self employment. Thanks to the lovely folks at Training Link for helping through my studies, they made it a smooth path to qualification (and Dave I will be picking up and going on for Level 3 v.soon!)
In January I'll be finally taking the plunge into full time self employment and it may be beans on toast for a while as I only have 5 clients with a mixture of hours. Usual back story of redundancy after a life time in a bank (read previous Building Society which was the first fail of the banking crisis) where do I go/what do I do now? Always loved numbers, love working with people (customers/clients can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em scenario) and like to organise and sort things out for people and hope all that helps to make me a good bookkeeper.
I do think this forum is invaluable for the help, advice and general hilarity that comes from some posts so a big Thank You to all the gurus, experts, et al who take the time to reply. And I suppose part of what's prompted me to say hello is that sometimes I can contribute too, not with loads of experience but just the odd comment here and there but thought it only polite to first say Hello nice to meet you all and look forward to speaking soon.
beans on toast... I dream of breans on toast... When I first starteed out it was a bowl of gruel once a week if I were lucky... lol.
welcome to the mad house, sure that you'll love it here.
Looking forwards to chatting in the coming months.
Sounds like a brilliant start to the business. Now just a matter of getting those five to start earning their keep as your word of mouth sales force.
All the best,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Goin t' bed.... Luxury.... My office is shoe box int middle of fast lane of M6...
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Welcome to the forum and good to have a Training Link student joining the clan that is the BKN family! Well done on gaining your first 5 clients and heres to the next 5. Also please be advised that as a Training Link student you will be expected to come to my aide should I get myself in trouble on the forum which a recent survey shows that this is 3 times a year lol (occupational hazard)
I would advise against Beans on Toast as no one said being a Bookkeeper means being lonely lol
Good luck Jackie and I look forward to reading your future posts and your participation in the many debates we have on here.
Think that you just misspelt week as year Dave, lol.
Must give you a great deal of pride to see one of you lil cherubs fly the nest and gain their first few clients.
Not taking anything away from Jackies achievement but you can now sit back with pride and think, I did that.
The occassional success story must make getting out of bed in a morning worth it.
Well done to you. Have a gold star and a get out of site banning free card.... Try not to use it before the end of the day this time. (guffaw ).
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Aww how nice, what a lovely welcome. Just home from the day job so unable to reply earlier but have had a good giggle at some of these posts.
Thank you Amanda, Tim, Alison, Neil and Rob for your kind words.
Thank you Dave - just toast for me then but as long I have enough left for a small glass of wine at the weekends it'll be fine! As a good student I'll try to help but will probably end up in more trouble than you (was always that way at school!)
Thank you Shaun - had a quiet word already with a couple of the clients, very subtly I said "TELL EVERYONE WHAT A GREAT BOOKKEEPER I AM OR, OR, ERRM, ERR - HA! I won't bring you any more biscuits". They're on the case
Looking forward to chatting again with you all (and no doubt asking for help!)
Think that you just misspelt week as year Dave, lol.
Must give you a great deal of pride to see one of you lil cherubs fly the nest and gain their first few clients.
Not taking anything away from Jackies achievement but you can now sit back with pride and think, I did that.
The occassional success story must make getting out of bed in a morning worth it.
Well done to you. Have a gold star and a get out of site banning free card.... Try not to use it before the end of the day this time. (guffaw ).
Lol Shaun
I will save my getting banned card in a safe place and hope it will still be valid in 2014 as I have no plans to be a naughty boy until the BKN Christmas party, I will be dressed as Santa with a red sack filled with horseshoes, I hear there will be great demand for them this year?
Your right inasmuch as there is no greater reward than finding out students have made their qualifications work for them, its just nice to hear and this regardless of if they studied with us here at Training Link or a competitor, but if our student the taste is a little sweeter.
Aww how nice, what a lovely welcome. Just home from the day job so unable to reply earlier but have had a good giggle at some of these posts.
Thank you Amanda, Tim, Alison, Neil and Rob for your kind words.
Thank you Dave - just toast for me then but as long I have enough left for a small glass of wine at the weekends it'll be fine! As a good student I'll try to help but will probably end up in more trouble than you (was always that way at school!)
Thank you Shaun - had a quiet word already with a couple of the clients, very subtly I said "TELL EVERYONE WHAT A GREAT BOOKKEEPER I AM OR, OR, ERRM, ERR - HA! I won't bring you any more biscuits". They're on the case
Looking forward to chatting again with you all (and no doubt asking for help!)
From the frozen North in a hedgerow brrrrrrr
Jackie
Hi Jackie
Its ok if you get into trouble, you might be lucky and end up in the BKN dungeons as I did last year. I was released only slightly more mad than I was before I went in. Still visits from Shaun and his continual playing of the UKs Eurovison song on a loop may be the reason for that.
You should start your own diary on here giving details of any networking or business events you may be or have attended, how you got your first clients, what you are doing to promote yourself? There are many newly qualified people who are finding it hard to gain clients so any advice of your success would really be appreciated on the forum.
Anyway good luck to you and about your level 3 Mmmmmmmmmmmm
A diary is a great idea and I would like to share the small successes I've had, don't have lots of time at the moment but hopefully in the New Year I'll be able to do it. Presumably it would be starting a blog rather than a post on here?
The phone call to Training Link is high on my list to sort out the Level 3, honest! It's higher than ordering the turkey for Christmas but I've probably left that too late as usual.
And I'll try to stay away from trouble as I'm really not keen on dungeons or dragons for that matter.....
One or two on here share your ex-banker background, me included! You will soon build your client base, recommendation is the best, but the last two I got were by advertising on Gumtree of all places, so you never know. Good luck with it all - Im sure you will have too much to do before too long, then never mind the one glass of wine at the weekends you will be drinking a bucketful like some on here (who shall remain nameless).
All this talk of the dungeons is a bit worrying, but more so about the lack of invite to the BKN Christmas party, whats that about then??!! Sob sob! Mind you I reckon the liver will be pickled soon enough with the 3 parties I have next week!
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Cheshire wrote:One or two on here share your ex-banker background, me included!
Me too.
lack of invite to the BKN Christmas party, whats that about then??!! Sob sob!
Nothings written in Stone yet. Personally I think that there will be serious issues trying to have Christmas before Feb! Anyway, yours is a standing invite and you're already penned in as foxies drinking buddy... If you didn't turn up we would have had to come get you.... Don't think we wouldn't
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
the lack of invite to the BKN Christmas party, whats that about then??!! Sob sob! Mind you I reckon the liver will be pickled soon enough with the 3 parties I have next week!
Aw Jo! How have you missed this conversation!? I didn't want to press you about coming, in case it was too far (or you just didnt want to!!) but I hope you will as I may be the only girl so far, and I would love to meet you !!
Nothings written in Stone yet. Personally I think that there will be serious issues trying to have Christmas before Feb! Anyway, yours is a standing invite and you're already penned in as foxies drinking buddy... If you didn't turn up we would have had to come get you.... Don't think we wouldn't
Oh Shaun - thank you and I believe you would! Feb sounds like a plan - its a boring month anyway so could do with some livening up.
FoxAccountancyServices wrote:
Aw Jo! How have you missed this conversation!? I didn't want to press you about coming, in case it was too far (or you just didnt want to!!) but I hope you will as I may be the only girl so far, and I would love to meet you !!
Michelle - I have no excuse - I havent been on here properly for the last two weeks, meeting myself coming backwards with work and it gets no better for the next couple of weeks neither. I should be working now but got bored with it all. Just tell me when and where and if I can - I will. Would be great to meet you too (and some of the boys!....before they complain)
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
)
nice to meet you all and look forward to speaking soon.
).
Mind you I reckon the liver will be pickled soon enough with the 3 parties I have next week!
