PopUp Business School
  • Welcome
  • Resources
    • Rebel Entrepreneur Podcast
    • Finance School
    • Course Notes
    • Survival Guide
    • Small Business Heroes
    • PopUp Blog
    • Story
  • Events
    • Online
    • Milton Keynes
    • Southampton
    • Doncaster
    • Don't See Your City?
  • Our Impact
    • Barnet
  • Our Mission
    • Meet The Team
    • Sponsorship
  • Partner With PopUp
    • Partner FAQs

the business survival guide

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO HELP YOUR BUSINESS & WELLBEING

Five Ways to Start a Business in No Debt - Rebel Entrepreneur

13/5/2020

0 Comments

 
This second episode debunks the myth that it takes money to make money.
You can build a business without debt and the PopUp Business School trainers show you five ways to get going quickly.
New episodes of The Rebel Entrepreneur Podcast are released weekly.
​
Watch a short teaser below and download the full episode on your 
preferred podcast streaming platform.

For exclusive access to the whole of series one, go to the ChooseFI Website.
LISTEN ON CHOOSEFI
LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS
Picture
0 Comments

How to Get a Book Deal from Blogging

28/4/2020

1 Comment

 
Simon and Alan are joined by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung, founders of Millennial Revolution to talk about taking advantage of the situation, how they deal with rejection and how they got a book deal through blogging.
RECORDED LIVE: 28th April 2020

Millennial Revolution - millennial-revolution.com

You can watch the full stream below and make sure to tune in LIVE every Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm on our Facebook Page as we answer your questions and get top tips from our special guests.
POPUP FACEBOOK
Picture
1 Comment

Five Benefits of a Digital Bank - Starling Bank

22/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
We have joined forces with Starling Bank to help bring you help and financial advice as part of our Business Survival Guide. ​In this second guest blog, Starling will run through some tips and benefits of using a digital bank compared to the traditional high street banks.

The world has evolved. The way we shop, download music and order food has changed. The last few years has seen a revolution in the way people and businesses do their banking too, with a move towards app-based bank accounts challenging the high street ‘big four’.
 
Starling Bank is a digital bank which has won Best British Bank three years running, in addition to Best Business Provider and Best Current Account 2019 & 2020.
​In this blog, we’ll run through some of the reasons why people and business owners are making the change. 
Click here to learn more and open an account.

Set Up in Minutes, from Anywhere

Setting up a Business Bank account was historically a lengthy and frustrating process which could take weeks. Business owners were required to collect together a mountain of paperwork, and arrange an in-person meeting at their local bank branch to set up their account. At Starling, we recognised this needed to change.
 
That’s why we created an award-winning business account that’s completely free to use, and takes minutes - not weeks - to apply for. All you need is a valid form of I.D such as a passport or UK driving licence, and details of how your business operates and a document or website that backs this up, and you are good to go. Applying for an account takes just minutes and providing you pass the security checks you will be up and running after a matter of days.
 
Plus, because we’re an app-based bank, business owners can set up their account from their homes or office. So, say goodbye to waiting weeks to see a bank manager.

Save Time

​Starling was built to be the best bank in the UK - but our intention remains for our customers to spend as little time banking as possible!
 
All of the tasks that you may have spent hours queuing for, or on hold for, you can now do from the palm of your hand. A digital bank account fits around your schedule, and keeps the same hours you do. So you can check your balance, make payments, or do your accounting, from anywhere.

​And if you do need help, our UK-based customer support team is on hand to make your life easier 24/7 - simply access them in-app or via our help line (0800 0231 617).

Seriously Secure and Protected

At Starling, we make security our highest priority, especially when it comes to transfers and payments. Our experts have built in multiple levels of security within the app, including  biometric security, which means if your phone can store individual fingerprints and facial data, you can access your account this way. According to Apple, there’s a one in a million chance that another person can access your account via facial recognition, so it’s a good option for many of our customers.
 
In addition to this, our instant notifications keep you in the loop about what is coming in and out of your account. So, if there are any transactions which don’t look familiar, you’ll be the first to know. With our Card Controls, you’ll also be able to freeze or cancel your card instantly, if you think it may be lost or stolen.
 
For extra peace of mind, just like ‘the big four’ Starling is a fully-licensed bank, with customers’ eligible deposits up to £85,000 protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Reduce your admin

To reduce your admin it’s a good idea to make technology your friend. And with a digital bank account, this has never been easier.
 
In the Starling Marketplace, you’ll find integrations with a range of third party products and services. This includes the likes of Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, which all allow you to connect your real-time bank transactions with your accounting software.
 
Spending less time on your financial admin will allow you to spend more time on your business.
 
The Starling Marketplace has insurance options too, for example, invoice insurance from Nimbla or cybersecurity or indemnity cover from DigitalRisks or CyberSmart. For project management tools, there’s UnderPinned and to help you keep track of your digital receipts, there’s Flux.

Deposit cheques from home

​Being able to deposit cheques on your mobile is handy at the best of times, but especially so right now. After a flurry of customer requests, Starling Bank recently introduced this functionality to its app to make sure their customers really can do all their banking from home. Simply take a photo of your cheque in the app, and Starling’s team will process it within two working days (which is generally faster than sending via post).

At Starling, we think business accounts should be free, uncomplicated and quick to set up – so that’s exactly what we’ve built. No fuss, no monthly fees, no three week waits. Just a straightforward business account you can set up in minutes so that you can get on with what's important - running your business. 
​

​For more information, or to read some of our business customer case studies, click here.
Picture

A massive thank you to Starling Bank for writing this blog post to help discuss why many businesses are turning to digital banking.
​
We are obviously a massive believer in doing things the opposite and we love how Starling have been shaking up the traditional approch and what it means to be a bank.

Come back next week for tips on budgeting your money and making the pennies stretch further!
0 Comments

How to Master Your Money Worries

21/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Simon and Alan are joined by Ken Okoroafor, founder of The Humble Penny to talk about how you can master your money worries and how he built his online business.
RECORDED LIVE: 21st April 2020

The Humble Penny - thehumblepenny.com

​
You can watch the full stream below and make sure to tune in LIVE every Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm on our Facebook Page as we answer your questions and get top tips from our special guests.
POPUP FACEBOOK
Picture
0 Comments

How Furlough Can You Go? - Support for Companies during COVID-19

20/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Updated on 12th May 2020 to reflect latest furlough scheme changes.
With all of this Coronavirus madness going on in the world, it can become quite difficult to cut through the noise and figure out what to do in business with all of the uncertainty. The UK Government have released a lot of support for businesses to increase survival rate and retain jobs. While this is all very helpful, it's not always easy to decipher!

We've written, with the help of our glorious accountant Emma Cooke, explanations of the support available for UK Businesses. This blog is all about furloughing and what it could mean for you.

The coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furloughing)

The UK government know how important it is for people to still have a solid income to be able to survive and provide for their families. The Job Retention Scheme or 'Furloughing' as most people will know it as, allows UK companies to give garden leave to it's employees while the government pay 80% (Up to £2,500pm) of their salary from March 1st until October 31st PLUS the National Insurance amount to match.

The scheme was recently extended from June to October with more flexibility to support the transition back to work in August and September. Further detail will follow from the government by the end of May regarding this extension.

Employers can choose to top up an employee’s salary with the additional 20% but are not obliged to if this has been agreed with the furloughed employee (as above). If in doubt, seek legal advice.

Furlough is from 1 March so you can backdate to when the employee was furloughed. This will be in place currently until the end of October. You may only backdate if employees were NOT working in that time period. 

​As we say during the PopUp course, we are not legal professionals. If you are unsure if you are eligible or have any specific concerns, ask for professional advice or consult the UK Government webpage for those who can and cannot claim. 
gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

How do you claim?

Before you claim, you need to know the following:

Are you eligible to claim?gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

How much are you going to be claiming?
gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Once you're comfortable with the above (and read through our deciphered version) you can proceed through to the claim portal here:
access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds

Further information can be found here:
​
tax.service.gov.uk/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
Picture

​ Why would you do this?

The main reasons you would do this in your company are:
To increase the financial runway of the business
At a time like this, a lot of businesses may struggle financially. A big cost in a company is employee's. At PopUp, it's our majority cost as we have no other major overheads. By furloughing employees, you are taking away a large cost to the business for that time period, therefore increasing the time that your money will be able to support the business.


To give your employee's security and certainty
Security and certainty are some of the biggest impacts this pandemic has brought with it. People are uncertain about their jobs, uncertain about their financial situation and do not feel secure. This leads to fear, which leads to panic, which leads to things we don't want. By furloughing employees, it gives them security and certainty for two reasons: That you are being active in finding solutions and that their job is safe. At least for this period of time.

Who can claim this allowance? (Must tick all boxes)

  • Any UK business or charity who had created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before the 19th March 2020.
  • Actively enrolled in PAYE online
  • Have a UK bank account
  • Any entity with a UK payroll can apply (business, charity, recruitment etc.)

Who can they claim it for?

This can be claimed for furloughed and redundant employees (on any type of contract) who were on the payroll on 28th February 2020.
​
Employees hired after this date cannot be eligible for this scheme.
  • The scheme is only for employees who are not working – they cannot undertake any work for the organisation (including training) while on furlough.
  • Directors of Limited Companies.
  • Apprentices - Must meet the minimum wage for apprentices in the UK. Meaning you will need to cover the difference between what you claim and the minimum amount they would be earning.
  • Administrators - If a company has gone in to administration, the administrator can also access the job retention scheme (providing these is a reasonable likelihood of rehiring workers).​

The effect on morale and having the conversation

​
​Before we get too far into the details of this scheme, this subject trumps the rest as the most important.

​You need to think about the effect on you and your employees.
Picture
Be transparent.
Transparency = trust. If you don't have 100% trust with your employees, this is going to be a difficult time for you and the business. NOTE: trust goes both ways.
If you're thinking about this route for your business and your employees, we'd advise a team call or 1-2-1 communications with your team and get them involved in the decision. This will bring them closer, feel valued and also give them a chance to tell you their thoughts. The worst thing you can do is make this choice and tell them how it is. That will be difficult and painful. They will also bring up amazing points that you won't be thinking about, this will help you make a better choice for everyone involved.
Things you should talk about with your employees.
This will differ with every business, but here's a quick list from us. This mirrors exactly what we spoke about whilst making this decision at PopUp:
  • What does this ACTUALLY mean? 
    You first need to educate your team on what this all means. If you are to be furloughed, here's what you can/ can't do, what it looks like financially, what that means for their job and so on.
    ​
  • Why is this being considered?
    Are you protecting the company financially? Making use of the situation to give everyone some time off? Have you been advised? Getting buy-in on the goal will make your journey through this much easier.
  • What's the short-term plan?
    If you do this, what does that mean for the next 3-4 weeks? How does it look in 2 months time? With a plan in place, people will feel safe. With no plan, people will doubt the idea.
  • What do your employees want?
    Some employees might love the thought of furlough... A chance to recuperate and chill. Some might hate it... "but what will I do for that long?!" you need to hear your people out. Without this you will have blind-spots and could potentially make the wrong call.
  • "How are you feeling?"
    ​
    Never underestimate this question. And not just referring to the topic, but as this generally. This will give you amazing insight in to what's going on.
 
Managing delivery.
Once you've made your decision, you need to tell everyone this. Dependant on the size of your team, i would set up group calls and inform everyone at the same time UNLESS you are part-furloughing (see more below) then do this 1-2-1.
Group calls when announcing things that have a company-wide impact are key. This brings the team together and boosts the morale when hearing news, whether it's good or bad.

Follow these group calls up with everyone on a 1-2-1 basis and talk them through what happens next. Even if all of these calls are exactly the same, your team need to see you caring for them on an individual basis. This also gives you the opportunity to answer any questions they have that they wouldn't want to ask in a group scenario.

​What should employers do?

Employers should discuss with their staff as soon as possible and make any changes to the employment contract by agreement (seek legal advice where necessary). Transparency is key.
Employers should write to their employee confirming that they have been furloughed and keep a record of this communication (again, seek legal advice on this where necessary). 

What CAN you claim?

What CAN'T you claim?

You will receive a grant to cover:
  • 80% of an employee’s regular wage OR £2,500 per month (whichever is lowest)
  • The associated Employers National Insurance contributions
  • Minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that subsidised wage.
  • Employees who are not working (backdated until March 1st)​​ 
You should not include:
  • Fees
  • Commission
  • Bonuses
  • Dividends
  • Employee's working since March 1st (if backdating)​

How is the employee's wage calculated?

  • Full/Part time employees
    • Claim the actual salary before tax as of 28 February.
  • Employees where pay varies (employed more than a year): Claim the higher of: The same month’s earnings from the previous year OR average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
  • Employees where pay varies (employed less than a year): Average of their monthly earnings since they started work
  • Employees who started in February: Use a pro-rate for their earnings so far​​
Once the claim has been calculated, then you must work out the Employer NI and pension contributions on the reclaimed salary.

​
There is a calculator and full information on the UK Government website here:
​gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
Picture

Can you part-furlough?

You are able to furlough some people and not others. You do not have to furlough the whole company. We've been looking at this as a time to get back in to Start-Up mode. If you're trying to kick it in to a high gear to be agile and fast moving, you'll struggle with a larger team... It's not like it once was when you started! You could, if you wanted to, down-size to essential people (Sales, Product development) and furlough the rest to save cash but not stunt growth. Just some food for thought...

Can directors of Limited Companies claim it?

Where a company director can no longer work through the business, they should be eligible to claim in the same way as for employees or even if they're the only employee. You can furlough the PAYE element of their income - ie, get 80% of salary up to £2,500pm. This isn't likely to be huge as it's likely more of your income is dividends (and there's no help there), but it's something...
Directors must not be able to do any work, including administration work, during this time. This is the most difficult part!

How can I get further business advice and support?

  • ​You can call the Business Debtline on 0800 197 6026 to get further advice
  • The Federation of Small Businesses has a page which is kept regularly updated offering advice here: fsb.org.uk/resources-page/advice-to-small-businesses-and-fsb-members-about-the-novel-coronavirus-covid-19
  • There is also a “Coronavirus and your money” facebook group run by the money advice service where you can get latest news: facebook.com/groups/678203076335430/

Henry Nicholson
Henry Nicholson is COO of PopUp Business School.
​

​You can find out more about Henry though other PopUp Content or find him on instagram at @HenryMNicholson
Picture
0 Comments

Tips to Manage your Business Finances - Starling Bank

14/4/2020

1 Comment

 
We have joined forces with Starling Bank to help bring you help and financial advice as part of our Business Survival Guide. ​In this first guest blog, Starling will run through some tips to help you manage your business finances.​

​This is an uncertain time for everyone, for businesses great and small, old and new.
If you are using this period to continue to make plans for your new business, the Starling Bank app can help. Click here to learn more and open an account.

Track Your Costs

The most important tip to managing your business finances is to ensure that you have a clear picture of your costs.
When tracking your finances, there are three questions which you should have oversight of:
● What are your largest outgoings?
● Where is your income stream is coming from?
● Is your spending this month is higher or lower than your monthly average?

Keeping track of the answers to these could help you meet your key payments, cut down on non-essential spending, and monitor your income streams to avoid nasty surprises.

With a Starling business account, your income and outgoings are automatically categorised in the mobile app under the Spending Insights tab. Here, you’ll be able to see how much was spent on a variety of categories, from Admin to Equipment, as a percentage of your total spending, and as a stand alone amount.

Use Digital Tools

Now more than ever, we’re seeing the benefits of technology which is helping us all navigate through this unusual time. And when your business takes off, investing in digital tools can also really help you streamline your finances and admin. At Starling, we work with a number of different partner brands - via the Marketplace - that offer a wide range of products and services to help our business customers.

Among the most popular are the accountancy software partners. Xero, Quickbooks and FreeAgent all provide clever accounting software which connects to your real-time bank transactions. This makes managing your taxes, invoicing, and sorting bills and expenses automatically a breeze, saving you a lot of time and hassle along the way.

There are also plenty of other app-based brands that offer time-saving products at competitive prices. From project management tools from Underpinned, to business insurance for invoices from Nimbla. Why not use this time to do your research on which Marketplace partners might be helpful to you?
​
We created the Starling Bank Marketplace to help our customers manage a variety of their financial tools, directly from their app. Being able to keep track of all of your financial tools and products from one place will minimise the risk of you missing something, giving you peace of mind. Plus, you can rest assured in the knowledge that all of our third party partners have been thoroughly vetted - so you’ll only be working with the best.

Keep Money Organised

​Organising your finances into separate pots of money can really help you plan ahead when managing your budget. Starling helps business owners do this via our ‘Goals’ feature, which enables account holders to customise their different pots to fit their individual needs, for example: ‘Tax’, ‘Wages’, ‘Stock’ and ‘Marketing’ are all popular categories.

You won’t be able to spend that money unless you move it back into your main account. So, you can keep your finances organised and visible.

Open a Dedicated Business Account

If you’re starting your own business as a sole trader, there’s no legal requirement to open a business banking account. However, by opening a dedicated business account will make it much easier to keep your finances organised. You will also look much more professional to your clients or customers if they can make a payment to your business name, rather than your personal account.
​
When choosing your business bank account, you should think about factors such as transaction fees, withdrawal fees, admin features and what level of customer care you will have available to support your business along the way.

At Starling Bank, we understand what a daunting prospect business banking can be for many new entrepreneurs.

That’s why we created an award-winning Business Bank account that takes minutes to set up, is simple to use, and is designed to to help you manage your business finances from anywhere, at any time of day.

For more information, or to read some of our business customer case studies,
​
click here.
Picture

A massive thank you to Starling Bank for writing this blog post to help give advice on how to manage your finances.
​
We are obviously a massive believer in doing things the opposite and we love how Starling have been shaking up the traditional approch and what it means to be a bank.

Come back next week for tips on budgeting your money and making the pennies stretch further!
Picture
1 Comment

Managing Your Cash During The Crisis

14/4/2020

0 Comments

 
​Simon and Alan are joined by Barney Whiter, otherwise known as the Finance blogger The Escape Artist to chat on how to manage your cash during the current climate and learning points from the crisis.
RECORDED LIVE: 14th April 2020
The Escape Artist: theescapeartist.me

You can watch the full stream below and make sure to tune in LIVE every Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm on our Facebook Page as we answer your questions and get top tips from our special guests.
POPUP YOUTUBE
Picture
0 Comments

Financial Support for Small Businesses & Self-Employed

31/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Simon and Alan are joined by Accountant Emma Cooke to answer questions about furlough, self-employment support and the finance issues and opportunities for small businesses right now.
RECORDED LIVE: 31st March 2020

You can watch the full stream below and make sure to tune in LIVE every Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm on our Facebook Page as we answer your questions and get top tips from our special guests.
​

Emma's Blog at Millward, May & Co: 
millwardmay.co.uk/limited-vs-sole-trade
POPUP FACEBOOK
Picture
0 Comments

A Coronavirus Debt Warning

30/3/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture

How many companies have messaged you this week offering to extend your credit limit?

With the Coronavirus lock-down in full swing, flow of money slowing and businesses having to lay people off we are at our most vulnerable in many years!

click here to read the full blog post at alandonegan.com

read more
1 Comment

Support for Self-Employed: Explained

27/3/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture

Help for the self-employed?

It’s what we’ve been waiting for. The Chancellor’s support package for self-employed folk has arrived; here is our quick guide to support for self-employed.

We've gone through everything released and filtered the important things to know.

Fun fact: There’s FIVE MILLION self-employed workers in the UK and they’ve delayed this a bit whilst they try and work it out but it looks like this:


  • You will be able to get 80% of your average monthly profit based on an average of your earnings over the last 3 years (or your most recent tax return depending on length of trading)
  • Grants will be paid starting the beginning of June.
  • The amount is capped at £2500 per month, it’s TAXABLE income and will arrive as a three month lump sum in the form of a grant.
  • It could be extended if lock down goes on for longer, but initially it’s for three months.

You don’t qualify if:
  • Your average annual PROFIT is £50K or more
  • You have become self-employed since April 2019

As Columbo said, there’s just one more thing:
At least half of your income must be from self-employment either from your 2018/19 tax return or the average of your last three years of tax returns: 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 tax returns.

Read More
2 Comments
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Adapt And Pivot
    Affiliate Marketing
    Blog
    Creating Online Video
    Finance
    Live Stream
    Motivation
    Rebel Entrepreneur
    Try Something New
    Video

    RSS Feed

    Get Updates
    Back to survival guide
Picture
Home
Resources
Our Mission
Events
Work With Us!
Get In Touch
Website T's & C's
Privacy Policy
  • Welcome
  • Resources
    • Rebel Entrepreneur Podcast
    • Finance School
    • Course Notes
    • Survival Guide
    • Small Business Heroes
    • PopUp Blog
    • Story
  • Events
    • Online
    • Milton Keynes
    • Southampton
    • Doncaster
    • Don't See Your City?
  • Our Impact
    • Barnet
  • Our Mission
    • Meet The Team
    • Sponsorship
  • Partner With PopUp
    • Partner FAQs