We have moved....

Blogger has been pretty good to me...however to ensure that my musings can be put in the same place as some of my other online activity we have transferred this Blog to my business website.  You can find our new home for the blog here:-

http://www.principalifas.co.uk/blog/

Please continue to visit us....your feedback is invaluable and motivates us to continue to write!  I look forward to hearing the comments on the new site soon!

Do professionals ignore social media at their peril?

Last week, I presented to a firm of IFA's about the benefits of social media.  The IFA's in question were all lovely chaps with a clear commitment to professionalism and working hard on behalf of their clients, but I'm sure they won't mind me saying this, didn't tend to engage or build connections online.  Actually, that's probably an understatement...many of them didn't have a Linkedin account, let alone Twitter or Facebook.  Whilst many of them run their respective businesses well, look after their clients well and possibly think that they didn't need online engagement in their "kitbag". I believe that choosing to ignore online engagement is a risk to any business of any size, but is especially dangerous to the small financial planning businesses.  Let me explain why...

Let's assume you've got an individual financial planner, lets call him Andy.  Andy has a portfolio of 80 clients he has looked after for a number of years and has a robust system in place to see his clients annually.  Andy is comfortable with his lot, but wants to work for another 5 - 7 years before he retires and sells his business.  He believes that his clients are pretty loyal as he provides a decent service to his clients.  Andy also sends out a 3 monthly newsletter both through the post and via email.

Many of Andy's clients are now on Twitter, Facebook and have been on Linkedin for a while and some of them have been following another locally based financial planner, Steve.  Steve provides a similar face to face service to his clients, although some of his clients are seen 6 monthly as opposed to annually.  He sends out a monthly newsletter (as opposed to Andy's Quarterly newsletter).

Thee main difference between the two advisers is that Andy believes that 'social media' is a fad and has decided that he "hasn't got the time" to worry about engaging with any of these platforms.  Steve on the other hand sees working with social media as an opportunity to build relationships, pick up useful tips, communicate with employers as well as other financial planners, provide high quality content to his clients, and share client experiences which might benefit his online connections (which will contain existing clients, prospective clients and fellow professionals).  Steve also isn't expecting any immediate benefits, but sees it as an opportunity to build his personal and professional brand.

Andy's not concerned about this, I mean after all....he has looked after his clients for some time and why would they shift elsewhere?  However, one aspect that Andy is ignoring is that whilst he communicates with his clients every quarter at the most, Steve is engaging with both his own, and Andy's clients every day via social media.  Andy's response to this is that his clients are loyal and will stay with him....and this might be true for some of his clients.  However, some of Andy's clients are looking at Steve's commitment to constant communication and delivering high quality content and thinking the "grass might be greener".  So, the question is....even if you are not looking to grow your business but just want to continue looking after your clients - is it worth ignoring the chance to constantly communicate with your clients to continue to show the service you provide is the place to be?

Andy might also state that you can't build trusted personal and professional relationships online, whereas Steve believes you can.  At one point I might have sided with Andy on this one....however a recent experience changed my mind...and you can read about this experience here.

I know I'm probably preaching to the converted if you're reading this blog....so I'm conscious that many of you are more like Steve than Andy.  However, if you're more like Andy, are you prepared to take the risk of not engaging online?

As ever, this blog provides me with an opportunity to share my thoughts and I'm always comfortable with a healthy debate....so, am I right or wrong?

Jobs, Children and Pride (part 2)

In a recent post I talked about my experience at my eldest daughter's open day recently.  If you haven't read part 1, you can find it here.  However, a broad recap is that Charlotte had a careers day at school and whilst the other children put far more glamorous jobs like Actor and Footballer....Charlotte said she wanted to be a "Principal Financial Solutionist".

So to ensure that I could never be accused of Nepotism, but mainly because I'd thought it would be quite entertaining...I decided that I'd give Charlotte a mock interview.  So, the day found out about this fact I arrived home from work and set up an interview space at the dining room table.  Charlotte was upstairs in her room playing with either her Moshi Monsters, Bin Weevils or GoGo Pets (I appreciate these terms will be completely foreign to many, but if you have kids of a similar age to Charlotte, you'll probably know what these are) so I called her downstairs.
Charlotte bounded down the stairs full of enthusiasm.  "Yes Daddy" She said.

"So" I said "I've heard from your  teacher that you want to be a principal financial solutionist".
Charlotte giggled and nodded.
"Well.....I can't just give you a job!  I'll have to interview you!".
"Okay Daddy" Charlotte said.
"Right....go outside, knock on the door and we'll start."

Charlotte went outside, knocked on the door and strolled in.  "Hi Daddy, erm, I mean Hello Mr Daems!" which resulted in a little chuckle from me....I didn't realise she'd take this so seriously!
"So Charlotte, how can I help?"
"I'm here for the job!"
"What Job?"
"Principal Financial Solutionist!"

"Right...." I replied trying to stop myself laughing "What makes you think you'd be good at the job"
"Well" Said Charlotte after some thought "I'm good with Numbers, Good with people, and brilliant at conversations."
"Brilliant" I exclaimed not expecting such an interesting answer "Okay, so tell me about the last time you had a conversation that went really well?"
I thought this question would stump Charlotte, and initially I thought it did.  She stopped talking, considered her answer and then repeated the question....

"hmmm" she said "when was the last time I had a conversation right well.....erm, This conversation we're having right now!"

I think we can learn a lot from our children.  Charlotte relished the challenge of the interview and answered every question I had for her with relative ease!  She's also constantly inquisitive and loves to ask questions to help understand the world around her, as well as being (mostly) very polite.  So, regardless of whether she decides to be an Actress, Footballer, Fireman or even of Principal Financial Solutionist, and if she retains her positive, curious and respectful attitude I'll continue to learn from her and will carry on being an incredibly proud dad indeed.

The Value of Advice - Income in retirement

I believe that the role we take as professional financial planners is about ensuring that we work hard to ensure we can improve the financial situation of our clients by using our knowledge and expertise.  I was recently asked on Twitter to effectively "put my money where my mouth is" and show how the work we conduct with our clients improves their financial situation, and whether the additional cost of using a financial planner is justified or not.

Firstly I'd like to make an important point.  As a business if we don't believe we can do this we simply won't take on the clients case.  It's a simple as that, but the important question is....how do we illustrate this to ourselves and our clients?  Whilst there are a number of examples I can give, I'd like to based my first example which is pretty similar to a case we worked on recently.  However I've taken a 'case study' approach to protect the identity of the client in question but provide an example of how we can genuinely add value.  

It's also important to note that nothing in this Blog entry constitutes advice but was appropriate for the client in question and is based on figures which were correct at the time of publishing this post.  If you're reading this, please seek professional independent advice before making any decisions about your circumstances as the conclusions contained in this entry may not be appropriate for your individual circumstances and requirements.

The client in question, let's call him Stephen, had 'money purchase' pension pots with a total value of £220,000 (after he had taken the 25% cash allowance).    After a comprehensive meeting so that we we're able to understand his financial needs, he decided that he wanted to purchase an annuity (an income for life) to fund his lifestyle in retirement.  Stephen had been a smoker for a number of years, was diabetic and had a couple of other health issues which we took into account when conducting the required research for the most appropriate income option.

Stephen was 65 and had been offered an income of £11,760 per annum from his current providers.  By conducting detailed research and fully understanding the clients health situation, attitude to risk and other important factors we managed to source an income of £14,880 for the same pension pots as well as making sure he selected the right benefits for his individual needs.  He also had support from us in processing the applications efficiently, a professional who could explain the relevant terms together with a helping hand through the process, some to speak to underwriters and providers on his behalf as well as access to our experience and knowledge in ensuring the solution provided was appropriate to meet his needs. 

At our initial meeting, we discussed with Stephen the cost of the service provided and after we had given some thought into the total time taken to work on his case and decided that an appropriate cost for the work conducted (for this element of his advice) was £1800.  Let's assume Stephen lives for another 15 years:-

Income of £14,880 for 15 years - £223,200

Income of £11,760 for 15 years - £176,400

Cost of Advice - £1800

Total Difference - £45,000

Therefore in this case, and based on certain assumptions, the client is £45,000 better off over a 15 year period than he would have been.  However there is another counter argument, on this occasion, to seeking professional advice.  Why doesn't Stephen take the DIY approach and conduct the advice himself using online tools (like the Money Advice Service annuities calculator).  In this case study, Stephen runs a successful computer business.  Whilst Stephen potentially could take the time to understand the annuities market, conduct the research required and chase product providers, he would need to calculate the time taken to do this and balance this between the cost of the time taken out of running his business.  Whilst with some individuals the decision would be to take the DIY approach, for Stephen it was clear that the time was better spend within his business, or alternatively spending the time saved doing what he enjoys.

Therefore on this occasion the value of taking professional independent financial advice is patently clear...what do you think? 

TV, Essex and being known

There's a TV programme I'm finding myself talking about more and more recently.  It's not my usual viewing fare and to be honest I've only seen it a handful of times, and I'm not defending myself, but it's usually when Cassie my wife has it on and I'm on the sofa working on the laptop.  It's the televisual version of Marmite....it's either loved or hated and there tends not to be too much middle ground.  So, what's this programme I speak of, which sparks much debate?  Is it a hard hitting revelatory documentary series or the latest 'controversial' comedy?  It's actually a show called "The Only Way is Essex".  It seems that everyone I speak to is at the very least aware of the show even if they haven't seen it.  However if you haven't you can find out about the show (via it's Wikipedia entry) here.

I've got to say I'm not a fan.  Whilst I appreciate it's an 'entertainment' show, the marketing spiel used to promote the programme does say "It shows real Essex people" and gives the impression that Essex is full of people who spend their lives at various social events, parties and not much time in the 'real world'.  Whilst half of the clients I meet at London based, the remaining half either live, work or run businesses in Essex.  My impression of the typical individual who lives in Essex are intelligent, entrepreneurial, hard working people who are about as far removed from the typical TOWIE cast member as can be.  I understand that the programme can only portray a certain aspect of the community within Essex and that's understandable....however a true representation of the majority of us it's not.  One redeeming factor of the show is there are examples of individuals running relatively successful businesses.  Whilst I understand it's "light entertainment" and I'm not expecting TOWIE to be an Essex version of "The Apprentice", I'd like to see more of this aspect of Essex Life instead of the interpretation that all we are interested in is fake tan, nightclubs and dating.

My other issue with this show is that it reinforces the relatively modern belief that the only route to success is to be 'famous for famous sake'.  As many of you know, I have two daughters (Charlotte, who's 8 and Sophie, who's 6 months old) and I'd rather reinforce my belief that it's more important to be known for high personal and professional standards, hard work and integrity...as opposed to just being 'known'.  As always, these are just my thoughts...so, what do you think?  Do you disagree with me and think TOWIE is a true reflection of Essex?  Should I see it as just an entertainment show and not look for any other context?  What do you think the best reflection of your local area is?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts....

  

Songs of the Week...

So, it's Friday again, and you know what that means.....it's time for songs of the week!


Just Jack - Writers Block




Not only do I love Just Jack, and the album this comes from Overtones....I'm struggling to write a meaningful blog entry today....so it feels quite apt!


Mumford and Sons - Roll away your Stone





One of my favourite songs from the men who made Folk Rock popular again....I particularly love the slow build up!




Jack Penate - Torn on the Platform




One of my favourite artists....great live, and a fantastically entertaining video for a superb song!

State pensions and why there are 3 steps to a clearer plan.

When planning for your retirement there are 3 broad steps to understanding what you need to do to achieve the lifestyle you want.  Firstly, understand what kind of lifestyle you want in retirement, together with what this might potentially cost.  Secondly, understand what provisions you have in place at the moment.  Focussing on these two steps allows you to look at the third part of the process, calculating the shortfall and putting a plan in place to ensure you are able to achieve this.

Whilst I could talk about each part of this process in depth I want to share with you a tip today which will provide you with a more accurate figure when working out you have for your retirement at the minute, therefore making the numbers you are working with in the third part of the process more realistic.

When initially working with new clients we talk through their current provisions in depth.  This might include income from private pensions, investments or property.  However one of the areas which many individuals don't take into account is the pension income they receive from the state.  So, my tip for today is understand what you're entitled to in retirement from the state.  It's highly unlikely that the state pension on it's own will be enough to live the lifestyle you're looking for, however it's an important part of the picture and therefore worth taking into account.

Getting a forecast of your state pension is relatively easy.  The first option is to use the State pension E-Service, an Online service which allows you to receive a projection via the web.  If you prefer to use more traditional methods you can also complete a form ( called a BR19 ), Send it to the state pension forecasting team and receive a document back in due course confirming what you're entitled to.  This will allow you to have a clearer picture of your current provisions to making calculating your "shortfall" easier and having a far more robust plan to your future retirement.

Websites, Businesses and Personality.

When I originally started my business I decided to attempt (with a lot of help from my brother) to design the website myself.  I enjoyed the process, but not being a web design expert it took me a lot longer than it would have done a professional web designer and obviously the look of the site reflected my lack of expertise.  Looking back in Hindsight I've realised that was probably a mistake, however I tend to prefer to treat the past as the past and focus on what I'm able to change today.  So, as the business has developed and grown I decided that the time had come to for my website to reflect that.  To be frank it should have been redone long before now but it's over the last couple of months I've had the opportunity to work on updating it.

Through the process of developing the new website (with the fantastic help of @cssgareth) I've been reviewing a wide range of other sites from a wide range of businesses to help develop ideas and concepts for my businesses new site.  Whilst reviewing all these sites and working with Gareth I think I know a little bit more about what makes a good, bad or ugly website now.

My current site, as proud as I was of it at the time it was originally build, absolutely sits in the "ugly" category however I believe it had one redeeming factor.  As amateur as it looks, I did try to put a "face" to the business with both video content and on our "about us" page.  One of my biggest bugbears when visiting a site is when it's too generic.  Whilst I understand that in some bigger businesses it's tough to put a face behind the business, however some larger businesses have bucked this trend (like Richard Branson and Virgin) and it hasn't seemed to do them any harm.

So, if your a small or medium sized business owner do you believe it's important to put a face to your business?  Do you think there are both advantages and disadvantages to this approach?  Do you think it's important to have a face behind the brand, or do you believe that it's not the most effective thing to show on your website?  As ever your thoughts are more than welcome...

Songs of the week....

It's Friday again! and as a little break from the normal business / financial planning related Blog entries I'd thought it would be nice to share what's been playing on my stereo this week:-

John Legend - Ordinary People



One of my favourite songs of all time.  John Legend is an obvious talent - songwriter, musician and singer and this is one of his best.

Madness - Baggy Trousers



A couple of years ago Madness played a family music festival on the south coast called Camp Bestival.  Charlotte, my eldest daughter, was 6 at the time and we spent a fun afternoon in a field in Dorset listening to a band from the 80's.  For both Charlotte and I, this is our favourite Madness track.

Ed Sheeran - The A Team



By a long way, my favourite album of the year has been Ed Sheeran's "+".  The standout song on the album is a this sweet but serious song about addiction.  The video, which was shot in London, has some dark themes but, in my opinion reflects the song perfectly.

So, what's on your playlist this week?

A cautionary tale

Whilst there is no specific information identifying the individual involved in this Blog Entry, her story is being told with her express permission.  This permission was given to ensure that as few people as possible avoid suffering from her experience.


Today I had a panicked call from a client of mine.  She had received a call from an "Authorised Microsoft Engineer" based abroad stating that her computer had been running slowly and they could help to clean it up for a £60 paypal payment.  My client's computer had been running quite slowly so felt this was an ideal opportunity to speed her PC up.  The 'engineer' explained that once the payment had been made he would be able to access her PC remotely from his location and would clean her system and install software which meant that she wouldn't suffer a slowdown on her system in the future.

One important point to make at this juncture is that the client in question is a highly intelligent retired professional who had worked in senior positions within a number of businesses throughout her career.  She had  asked some of the right questions, checked the website address the individual had given her and felt that she was comfortable with the service they were providing.  She therefore decided to pay the £60 and provide the engineer with remote access to her desktop to conduct the required work.  After a little while the work was completed, the engineer thanked her for her business and even emailed a receipt.

However after a little while my client whilst using her computer felt that it hadn't got any quicker and became suspicious about the work the 'engineer' had completed.  So, she decided to call a local IT specialist to gauge their thoughts.  They were suspicious and agreed it sounded like something which might be a scam.  Interestingly this Guardian article from 2010 talks about the approach these so called engineers make.  However the IT specialists other concern was that this 'engineer' now potentially had access to all the data on her system which according to the expert is becoming more prevalent.

So, why did the client in question call me?  She has a relatively large investment portfolio that we look after on her behalf.  As many of us do she kept all of her financial information in a folder conveniently market 'Savings and Investments' containing account numbers, investment values and login details for on-line access.  As soon as she contacted me we managed to contact all of her Investment and savings providers.  On the majority of her investments we were able to set a flag on her account to ensure that if any transactions are attempted, both the client and I are contacted via phone to confirm it is work we are completing together.  We also ensured that the majority of providers contact both of us via phone if they receive any requests to change her personal details (like her address for example).

It was a 3 hour job today sorting this out....however it was important that I took the time to ensure that my clients funds were as safe from fraudsters as it could be, so I believe it was time well spent.  So, the moral of this story is quite clear....if you receive a unsolicited call from "A Microsoft engineer" please don't engage with them.  It's highly unlikely they work for Microsoft, highly unlikely the "firm" they are working for is completely legitimate and could be potential fraudsters.  Just politely decline these calls...you will save a lot of time for both yourself....and your Independent Financial Adviser.

Sickness, and whether carrying on regardless is the best approach.

This week started unusually.  I awoke bright and early Monday morning (after getting an early night on Sunday) with a blocked nose, sore throat, aching all over and a terrible cough.  Whilst I'm quite happy to continue working through a common cold, this felt more severe....It was the dreaded Flu!  Cassie suggested I get some rest to recover, however since I've working within my own business I've been incredibly self conscious about taking time off sick.

Monday is ordinarily my admin day and therefore I decided to get the majority of this work completed from home, however after an hour of sitting in from of the laptop I soon realised that Cassie was right and I needed to get to bed and sleep to recover....after all Tuesday I had a full day in the diary and I needed to recover in time for that!

The remainder of Monday was a daze where I slept to recover, however I woke on Tuesday and didn't feel much better!  The self concious streak kicked in again and I told myself I couldn't miss the meetings I had in the diary.  However I was still sneezing, coughing and spluttering constantly, so a productive day of meetings was highly unlikely in my current state!  I decided to cancel the meetings I had in the diary and take the time to recover, but still felt quite guilty having to rearrange these appointments.  Therefore it was back to bed to continue to recover from my bug. 

So, guess what happened.  Nothing.  The clients and introducer's I had meetings with on Tuesday understood, wished me better and rearranged and we had a few new client enquiries come in.  I felt better today and naturally I've had more emails, client calls and to reply to and I've had to catch up on the work missed on Monday however I'm glad I took the couple of full days to recover.

Whilst I'm a firm believer in working hard and ensuring that I do a great job for my clients, in the past I've sometimes been guilty of trying to work through the sickness with the end result being that I've been unwell, and therefore less productive, for a longer period of time.  Sometimes when you run your own business it's easy to get into a habit of making a ridiculous assumption that without you everything will fall apart if you're not there and I know that previous conversations with other business owners I know I'm not alone.

Whilst it's undeniable that if you had a prolonged period of absence from your business it would suffer, would a day or two have a genuine impact?  You may decide that it's better just to 'carry on regardless' however I've got to question whether that approach is either sensible, or counter productive...especially when it applies to your health.  Today I felt well enough to continue with my normal day and whilst still suffering from a cough and sniffles I'm feeling a lot better.  The big question is whether I'd feel like this if I hadn't taken the time to recover.

So, what do you think....is it more important to just fight through the sickness and continue working?  Does it make you feel more productive if you work through a cold or flu?  Or do you believe that you should take the time you need to recover and not worry about the business for a couple of days?  Also, do you think it's tougher as a business owner to take this time off? 

HSBC, 'tied' financial advisers and why Independence is best.

HSBC announced this week that they were cutting over 2200 jobs in the UK.  In today's environment it's not a huge surprise that another bank are looking to reduce costs especially where they have admitted they feel they have too many people and HSBC believe that this is primarily in the senior and middle management roles within the business.  HSBC were keen to point out that only a small proportion of the roles they were cutting were "customer facing".

However one important point to note was that 650 (30% of their total UK cuts) of their 'tied' financial advisers (their branch based individuals who can only offer a limited range of products provided by the bank and it's commercial partners) are being cut.  The bank confirmed that this was so that the bank can have 'continued profitability in the face of a changing regulatory landscape'......confused?  Let me help you by translating...the HSBC management doesn't believe that their tied financial advisers can survive after the end of the next year (due to the upcoming changes in the financial services environment which you can read more about here and here).  Interestingly HSBC have decided to keep their independent financial advice arm throughout this process.

I started my career within a bank based environment, and also spent a few years as part of a 'tied' sales force within one of these banks and I've written before about how many of both my interpersonal and technical skills were developed whilst working within this environment.  This was due to the fact that the quality and standard of the training provided were of an incredibly high standard and I'll forever be grateful for this.

However since becoming an independent financial planner around 7 years ago, I look back and wished I'd been in an independent environment from day one and there are a number of reasons why.  In our business, individuals are treated like clients.  In the tied bank environment, individuals are treated like customers.  So, what's the difference?  We work with our clients over the long term to try to improve their long term financial situation...there's no 'quick fix' and we are there to guide our clients along their financial journey on a regular basis.  We work in partnership with out clients to help them.  

In the Bank environment it's all about the 'product'....individuals are customers where the tied financial advisers are targeted primarily to sell a pension, life assurance policy or investment.  I'm ashamed to say that when I worked in this environment my focus wasn't on the client.....it was on the target I needed to achieve!  I'm not making excuses, but I didn't know enough about the independent sector back then to understand there was a better way.

Also the 'sausage factory' (one client out and the next client in) culture the bank environments reinforce mean that you cannot treat individuals like clients as you just don't have the time. So, individuals seeking advice from 'the Bank' are customers (who come into a 'shop' and buy a product) and not clients (who works with a professional adviser over the long term).

In addition to this being independent provides me with an opportunity to review the whole of the market to find the most appropriate arrangement.  Whilst the Banks have had a rough time in the press of late, they still have a big brand and a captive market (their 'customers' who visit the branch) and therefore the limited range of products they provide don't need to be particularly competitive and due to this the products they distribute don't tend to be that attractive (from either a cost or fund performance perspective) when compared to the rest of the market.  This is another reason I believe that independent advice is best.

Last but by no means least, our clients do purchase a 'product' however this product isn't a pension, life assurance or investments.  The 'product' we sell is professional independent financial advice.  This may mean that the client pays us a fee (as they would for another professional service like legal or accountancy advice) and I believe it's something many of the banks have never provided through their restricted advisers and cannot provide effectively especially in the 'new' environment post RDR.

Due to the reasons above, I believe that the banks pulling out of the tied advice environment is a move in the right direction for our profession as clients are now more likely to approach an independent financial adviser and receive more professional advice as a result.  One important point to remember is that with any decision like this there are victims.  On this occasion it's the advisers who will lose their jobs as part of the changes, many I know personally as good people who do try to help their clients as much as the banking culture lets them.  However it will now provide these individuals with the opportunity to change the way they work, develop as professionals and move to an opportunity which will allow them to work the way they want to, ethically and in the interests of their clients long term financial health.

As ever, these are just my opinions and I'm interested to know what you think.  So, what do you think about HSBC removing their restricted sales force?  Do you believe independence is the only route forward, or do you see a place for 'tied' advice?  Do you think there is a clear cultural difference between independent financial advisory practices and the 'tied' environment?

Top 3 Songs of the week....

For today's blog (and as i'm writing this on a Friday) I thought I'd write about something different.  So, for no other reason than the weekend is quickly approaching....I'm going to share with you 3 of the songs which seem to be consistently playing on my Ipod at the moment!

1.  Kings for the Weekend - Missing Andy

A great song from this 5 piece Essex based band who sound like a 21st century version of the likes of Madness and the Specials.  The band formed in Braintree, Essex (the same place as the Prodigy no less!) and the video, in my humble opinion, is fabulous too!

2.  Nothing's real but Love - Rebecca Ferguson

Personally, I think that winning a talent show is more of a curse than a blessing.  I'm therefore glad that Rebecca didn't win but took the time to release an album of true quality, which contained this gem of a song.

3.  A Change is gonna come - Aloe Blacc

Ok, so this one's not on the Ipod...but discovered via Youtube.  A classic Sam Cooke song further enhanced by the super smooth Mr Blacc.

So.....There are my 3 songs of the week.....what's playing on your Ipod at the moment?

Social media, Support and a Twitter thank you

It's not a huge secret that I'm a social media fan.  It gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts, provide (hopefully) useful information, engage with both potential and existing clients, and market my business.  However the interesting thing with "social media experts" (which is a term I'm not too keen on at the best of times) is that they talk about the benefits of promoting your business on-line but don't talk often enough about one of the key advantages of engaging in social media - sharing ideas and expertise.

This week I was deciding what my route was going to be to Chartered status (one of the highest qualification standards a financial planner can achieve).  I decided to reach out to my Twitter connections for some ideas about what might be the most appropriate route.  Within a few minutes I'd received some brilliant ideas from fellow professionals who have completed this journey already on their experiences and the best potential route forward.  Within about half an hour I'd received offers to provide help me along with this.

I've written on this Blog before that financial planners working together benefit everyone including the professionals involved and their clients.  I'd like to add to that, I also firmly believe that the best professionals in any sector also understand that collaboration and not competition is the best route forward.  It's easy to be territorial about your business and your clients in a professional services environment, but I think it's far more powerful to be as open as long as you are ethically, commercially and legally sensible whilst taking this approach.

So....Thank you Twitter for connecting me with other professional people who are supportive and open.  Also, thanks to the professionals in question on this occasion, Martin Bamford, Pete Matthew, Rob Stevenson and Abraham Okusanya for being so helpful.

So, How do you use social media?  Do you believe it just should be a way to promote your business or also a place to exchange ideas?  and do you believe it's important to have an open and collaborative approach to your business, or do you think this is commercially unwise?  As ever, regardless of whether you agree or disagree I always look forward to hear your thoughts....

Quarter one 2012 - how was it for you?

As the dust settles on the first quarter of the year (although we're now one month into quarter 2!), we've found it quite useful within our business to take the time to ask ourselves some fundamental questions to assist us improve how we help our clients, improve our processes and enhance our business for the future.  The questions we ask ourselves are, "What did we do well?", "What do we need to improve?" and "What do we need to change in the next quarter to improve our business?".

So, I'm curious.....How did your first quarter of 2012 go?  What questions do you ask yourself to review your businesses performance?  and what changes have you made to improve your business?  

Trust...and why this change is good for all

Within the financial advice profession there has been an ongoing issue for a number of years.  Due to the behaviour of, in my opinion, a number of unethical advisers, the public has lost trust in financial advisers.  Actually the majority of financial advisers are highly ethical individuals who take the commitment to enhance their clients financial situation incredibly seriously.  However, and apologies for the mixed metaphor, it doesn't take too many "bad apple" financial advisers to tar all the good guys with the same brush.

This loss of trust hasn't benefited anyone.  It's been detrimental for the professional and highly ethical advisers who have had to work harder to overcome this issue and build a relationship of trust with it's clients and It's been detrimental for the public, with less people focussing on the long term and saving for their future financial goals and many not contributing to ensuring they have a sufficient income to live the life in retirement they desire.  However one thing you can be certain of, especially in the profession I have chosen, is change.  In my opinion, any change which works towards ensuring that this trust is being rebuilt is a positive move.

Within financial service there are a number of positive changes which will impact all individuals and businesses who engage the service of a financial adviser.  These changes have been detailed here in this recent document from the FSA.  It's been a change we've talked about with our clients and prospective clients for a while now.  So, how do these changes potentially impact you?

The changes (called within our profession RDR) should provide all clients of financial advisers with a number of clear benefits.  Firstly clarity.  When the changes occur (from the 31st December 2012) commission on investment and pension products will no longer exist.  Let's be clear, previously clients of financial advisers regardless of whether they paid via a fee or commission ALWAYS paid for the advice.  If a client paid via commission then, generally speaking, the charges of the product taken we're higher than if there was no commission paid to the adviser.  

There was a perception from many clients that this advice was "free" as it was paid for by the product provider paying the adviser a commission, however this was incorrect.  The changes happening should work towards clarifying this issue and clear the muddy waters of how advice is paid for and that's got to be a good thing for both the professional adviser and you as the client.

The second benefit is expertise.  The minimum qualifications to become a financial adviser have increased.  This means far more qualified advisers who are more likely to have the technical expertise to help you both now and in the long term.  The commitment for advisers to continue to learn and develop has also increased and this benefits you as it means that your adviser needs to make a clear commitment that they continue to understand the changes in our business which may impact you as a client.  

Whilst the majority of financial advisers have either achieved these standards or are on track to, there is a significant minority of financial advisers who won't.  So, how do you know you are dealing with an adviser who is ready for these changes?  The answer is simple, before you next take advice with a financial planner understand the upcoming changes and ask more questions!  Take a look at the FSA Factsheet, print this out and next time you are meeting with your existing financial adviser (or looking for a new adviser) ensure that that you ask the right questions to confirm they are ready for these changes.

How the Zoo reminded me of an important lesson in business

The Easter bank holiday for many of us gives us the first opportunity of the year to relax and recharge our batteries over the long weekend.  Whilst for many of you this may have meant copious amounts of chocolate and TV, for me and my family it meant a relaxing long weekend away.  As Sophie is only 4 months old we decided to stay in the UK, and as none of us have visited the north west of England (and the fact that my older daughter, Charlotte is a huge Beatles fan) we decided that Liverpool would be our destination of choice.  A great weekend was had by all, and whilst I won't go into the details of our trip (apart from saying that a visit to the cavern club is a must for any music fan), a trip to the zoo reminded me of an important lesson I've learned whilst working on and in my business...

On bank holiday Monday we decided to leave Liverpool city centre to visit Chester Zoo.  When we arrived the rain had already started and we tracked from the car park to the entrance with Cassie (with Sophie in the buggy) and I avoiding puddles and Charlotte managing to find and jump in every single one!  An hour into our visit the rain was still coming down and we were still feeling pretty miserable.  This was due to being quite wet, but mainly because the majority of the animals we're being more sensible than us and remained hidden away from the rain.

We stopped for a break to dry off and took some time to decide on whether to continue our trek around the zoo, or to call it a day and head off home.  We decided to continue around the zoo, and even though the rain continued to come down, we had a fantastic time! Not only had the animals decided to come out into the rain we explored more of the zoo and found some fantastic gems we would have missed if we would have went home after the hour (including an animated dinosaur exhibition, the chimp enclosure and an amazing butterfly house).

By now you may be thinking, "thanks for your insight into your Easter break Chris, but I'm busy....so what's your point?!".  We could have easily given up after our first hour at the zoo and decided to back to the hotel...it would have been the more comfortable option....but although we didn't know it at the time, we would have been missing out on some great experiences.  In most of our businesses it is sometimes easier to give up and take the easier option (go and work for someone else)...but having the determination to persevere in your business (as long as you have been realistic about your businesses prospects) more often than not pay off in the longer term.

Whilst I'm fully aware of this, the visit to the Zoo was a nice reminder of how important this determination in both my life and business continues to be.  As ever, this Blog is just a collection of my thoughts and I'm always happy to hear your opinion.  So, how important is determination in your business?  When have you persevered when it would have been easier not to?  and can determination sometimes be counter productive and sometimes you should sometimes give up on a project when blind determination pushes you forward?  So, what do you think?

Start ups, relationships and knowledge

Written for the GAAP web Blog

According to recent analysis by company formations firm Duport, there has been a record number of accountancy and bookkeeping start-up business in March 2012.  

The research also indicates that more individuals are moving away from a corporate environment and seting up their own businesses, especially in the financial services sector. Having have set up and continuing to run a financial services business, I wanted to share with you what I've learned over the past few years about setting up and running my firm but lessons that also apply to every accountancy professional.

1.  Focus on building relationships and not "winning" clients

In my experience I've found that the value in taking the time to build long term relationships with both prospective clients and a small number of key introducer's has been just as valuable as going out and 'pitching' to prospective clients about what I can offer them when we first meet. I've been approached numerous times at networking events, swapped  business cards, had a quick chat with the business owner in question and then receive a follow up email explaining what the business does and the standard 'if our services will be useful to someone you know, please recommend us'. Based on a 5 minute conversation and a 'follow up' email I'm not and never will be prepared to take this risk.

I believe the 'scattergun' approach to winning clients tends to be counter productive. After all, would you trust someone with your business finances who wasn't prepared to take the time to build a relationship with you before asking for your business...I know I wouldn't.  Also, whilst I believe that this 'relationship based' approach is fundamental to long term sustainable business success, initially when you are looking for your first few clients it's also quite scary.  But persevere with this approach, focus on building deep relationships as opposed to a wide contacts book, and take the time to meet less people but the right people, and you'll find it will reap longer term sustainable awards in the long term.

2.  Give (some) knowledge away for free

In any form of financial services environment, be it accountancy, bookkeeping or financial planning we shouldn't lose sight of the service we provide. I believe it's important not to forget the fact that business owners can complete their bookkeeping or accounts (or even financial planning) themselves.

However most  'outsource' this service for two fundamental reasons, firstly most business owners feel they would rather focus their time on what they are good at and secondly, and in my opinion most importantly, they don't have the processes and expertise in place to complete the work they require us to do.  Therefore business owners want access to our 'intellectual capital' to make their business (or personal) finances run more smoothly.

However, how do you evidence that you have the expertise to manage their affairs.  For our business it means providing useful 'tips' which may help this prospective client, and always provide these useful pointers free and without obligation.  However I also believe that you need to be cautious about how much information you provide for free.  After all, if you are a service business where an important aspect of this service is access to your knowledge you need to ensure that there is a clear line between both the advice you'll provide for free and the advice you will charge for.

3.    Be Visible

As already mentioned there are a growing number of companies out there providing accountancy and bookeeping services to businesses.  So, how do you stand out from the crowd and ensure that when a prospective client needs your services they pick up the phone to you.  Whilst advertising, networking and the more traditional marketing techniques have their place in the market, I believe the internet has and will continue to revolutionise the way SME's do business.   

As a business we actively promote our service online.  We steer clear of direct advertising, but promote ourselves by sharing knowledge using online tools like Linkedin and Twitter. However, you need to ensure that the content you provide is relevant to your audience, consistent and of high quality.  This will build your reputation and in time will help position you as the "go-to" professional in your business.  Again, this approach takes time but I believe pays dividends in the long term.  Being perceived as an expert in your field provides a range of opportunities, credibility with professional connections and the opportunity to talk about you and your business to a wider audience

The Google art project - what do you think?

Today, as usual, I opened my search engine of choice, and probably the same one as most of you...Google.  Whilst I'm normally pleasantly surprised on the new additions I find on Google's main page, this one pleased me even more than usual.

The reason for my delight was that Google are working in conjunction with many of the top art galleries in the world (including the Musee Dorsey in Paris, the Tate Britain in London and The Metropolitan museum of art in New York) to display their collections online.

The new application (aptly titled the Google Art Project) has a number of really nice features, including the ability to take a virtual stroll (in a street view style) around your gallery of choice and the ability to search for pieces by artist, museum or geographically.

So, I'm suitably impressed....what do you think?

Balance and the most important 'job' in my life

In my life, and it's likely that it's similar in your life, I've got a number of different roles and responsibilities.....Business Owner, Financial Planner, School Governor and Husband.  Whilst I take all the responsibilities with these roles incredibly seriously, there's one which stands out.  It's the one I learn the most from and receive both the most enjoyment and satisfaction, and if you either know me (or even if you've met me once!) the one I talk about the most.  It also stands head and shoulders above all others as being the most important role in my life, and that's being a dad.  However, I sometimes find that trying to get the balance right between the time I spend building a business, looking after my clients and ensuring I'm living up to my out of work responsibilities means that I'm usually pretty busy....and sometimes the most important 'job' in my life gets far less attention than it deserves.

However, life is a lot better now than it once was. Running a business provides one benefit which I underestimated when entering into it, and that's more control of my own time.  Since I started my business I've found that if I need to take an afternoon off to go to a school assembly, sports day or nativity I'm normally able to.  Whilst the 'day job' still needs to be done, I find that I have far more flexibility to do this than I was able to in my days working within a more corporate environment.  When Charlotte was younger circumstances meant that I had to be in the office consistently, often working long days and having to bring work home with me to complete.  While Charlotte is a lovely little girl and hasn't suffered from not seeing me as much when she was younger, I still feel slightly guilty about not being around as much during her formative years.  As Sophie now grows up I'm going to try not to make the same mistakes. 

Am I going to ever get the right balance, probably not....but I find that as I understand what I missed with Charlotte (and not wanting to make the same errors as Sophie grows up) I tend to 'waste' less time on issues that don't matter as much so I can spend more meaningful time with my girls.  So...I'm interested to hear your thoughts.  How do you make sure you're spending enough time with the family?  How do you get the right mix between work and life?  What are your 'top tips' to ensure your work / life balance is right?  

Ipad magic!

I came across a really interesting video yesterday.  As a fan of gadgets and magic (yes, I am a nerd!)....I really enjoyed this.  Take a look and tell me what you think...

The petrol crisis and emotion v logic....

Let's be clear...the recent petrol crisis wasn't a crisis at all.  It was an emotional response to a couple of news articles for events which might potentially happen. People rushed to the petrol pumps in droves sometimes waiting hours to top up their vehicles, based on a potential strike which never happened and fuelled (excuse the  pun - couldn't resist!) by some frankly shocking advice from certain government ministers.  The press who promoted the story didn't help much either and made the it worse.

So, a crisis which was never a crisis made worse by bad advice and certain members of the press, but ultimately guided by one thing - consumer emotion.  Don't get me wrong, I think queuing up for hours for petrol was an understandable action to take, but one solely guided by emotion (the 'fear factor' of not having enough fuel in the car) as opposed to looking at the  facts and making a decision accordingly.  I'm also not suggesting you shouldn't be emotional....sometimes it can be a fantastic motivator, however if you act on emotion alone it's unlikely you'll make the right decisions in the long term.

As an individual, emotion is a great motivator.  In my personal life, I love spending time with my family, get excited when Charlotte comes home and tells me something new she's learned and at the moment when Sophie smiles, laughs and gargles!  In my business, I get excited about new ideas, concepts I want to try and the passion I have to push my business forward. However I've made mistakes, thankfully ones I've learnt a lot from, and when I look back at these errors in judgement I think at least part of the issue is not tempering the drive and passion (emotion) with a more methodical approach (logic).  It's something I try to apply more rigorously now when running my business.

Interestingly, I've spent some time today reading about how behaviour impacts peoples spending habits and attitude to investment.  Whilst I don't profess to be an expert (yet!), the interesting point raised is that how people should invest isn't always how people choose to invest.  Whilst I've learned within my business that the emotional aspect should always be tempered with a more methodical approach, it's something I've advocated with my clients in relation to investing for their financial futures for years.

For our clients it's about listening to what their plans are in the future and why they feel passionate about these future goals, understanding their previous experience and why they feel certain ways about risk (both gain and loss).  Once we've got a understand how they are feeling (and the reasons behind these feelings), it's time to temper this emotion with logic and build a longer term financial plan based on a logical and methodical approach.  This doesn't mean we ignore our client emotions, it just means making sure emotions don't cloud our judgement when we provide advice.

So, next time you are making an decision about your financial future, make sure you're aware of your emotions, but don't let you're heart rule your head.  Instead of chasing the "next big thing" or looking to invest in "exciting new investment opportunities", take a more methodical and scientific approach to your investment choices, and the odds are you'll "feel" better about it in the long run.


Thanks to www.behaviorgap.com for use of the really interesting resource,  and thanks to @Theparaplanner for pointing me in the right direction.

  

A surprising question and why I write both personally and professionally

As you know if you're a regular reader of this blog (I know there are at least 2 of you!)  I like to mix financial planning tips, talk about business and talk about issues that matter to me (on most occasions, this means talking about my two daughters, Charlotte and Sophie and my wife, Cassie).  Being relatively new to regularly Blogging, I was recently wondering whether this was the best possible approach....maybe I should solely focus on Financial Planning tips and business issues and remove the personal aspects of the Blog.  After all, why would someone want to know what was going on in my life!  However, I've decided to stick with mixing the professional with the personal....and it was a recent telephone call which reaffirmed the fact that I might be broadly heading in the right direction.

A new potential client recently contacted me due to the fact that she had found me through a social media source, conducted some research, read my blog and felt that she would like to talk to me about looking after her financial affairs.  When she called, she explained who she was and what she wanted to discuss....and then asked me a question which surprised me:-

"How are you?  and how are your 2 daughters?"

Now, I'd never met the lady in question, but apparently she felt she had a pretty good indication of not only the kind of financial planner I am, the kind of business I run....but more importantly for her, a little bit about me personally and what my priorities in life are.  Anyone who has met me in person knows that I talk constantly about my girls but it was interesting that she picked this up from what she had read online.  I believe that if you want to work with a professional, whilst it's important to ensure that the professional in question is technically compentent, ethical and diligent, It's also important that you feel that you understand a little bit about them personally to see if your relationship can be a harmonious one...and that's why I'm going to continue sharing my professional expertise together with talking about what's going on in my life.

However, as every I'm open to healthy debate on this.....do you think a financial planners blog should be purely professional?  When you work with a solicitor, accountant or financial planner is it important that you understand a little about their life?  Am I right to mix both personal entries with professional entries?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Adviser Blog - Why I believe financial planners should work together

Whilst I'm happy to try absolutely everything once, I appreciate that fact that sometimes, and probably more often that I'd like to admit, I'm not particularly good at certain sports and hobbies.  For example, I'm an   absolutely shocking at football, not flexible enough for gymnastics, haven't got the patience for bird watching and just not too keen on train spotting!  However, I'm quite a good badminton player (not the most masculine sport I admit!), can play chess to quite a high standard and am starting to enjoy running.

In the world of financial planning, I'm a firm believer in the fact that advisers and practices work best by focusing on what they know they are good at and working with a niche, whether this be type of client, specific area of advice, or specific need.  I also believe that financial planners who try to be "all things to all clients" do this at their detriment.  Whilst as financial planners we are happy to work in partnership with Solicitors and Accountants, are we missing out on an opportunity by not connecting with other financial planning firms?

Within our practice, we actively try to work with other financial professionals to ensure our clients receive the service they need, and the most professional advice we can provide using the expertise we have access to, both  using our advisers and external firms we have good relationships with.  The focus for our business isn't being territorial around the client, it's about us ensuring the client receives the most appropriate service possible.

This works for us for a number of reasons.  Firstly we can be assured that the client receives the most appropriate advice and guidance.  Secondly we build close relationships with other advisory firms which provides a range of benefits, including a number of experts who we can use to increase our knowledge, referrals back and forth, and sometimes just someone who understands our business to talk to.

So, I believe working with other financial planning firms is a "no brainer" - Better for clients and Better for the firms involved....however as ever I'm open to your opinion, what do you think?

Children and Money - do we do enough?

A friend of mine recently told me a story.  He has a young daughter and every now and again he plays "shop".  As well as being fun, the idea of playing this game was so that his daughter could understand more about how money works in the real world.  His daughter plays the shopkeeper, and my friend is the customer.  They use one of her toy bears as the "product" and set a price for what she might have paid for this toy bear.  Then she sells it to my friend.  The first time they played, she tried to sell it for less than she paid.  This gave my friend the opportunity to explain that she should be charging more.  The next time she picked a price of a million pounds (quite expensive for a teddy!)....but as they played more and she understood the nature of the game she started to pick prices which were reasonable but over the amount she had paid.

I played a similar game with my eldest daughter, Charlotte, when she was young and intend to do the same with Sophie when she's old enough.  We all know that Children learn significantly faster than adults and I'm a firm believer in equipping both my daughters with at least very basic money management skills to help them when they start to have to look after their own finances in the real world.  You could argue that children shouldn't worry about this sort of thing until they need to, however I'd disagree and make the point that like any skill if you start learning, understanding and developing earlier in life the easier it is.  I also believe that whilst parents can help to develop childrens understanding of money, the education system needs to be far better equipped to help with this.

PFEG (Personal finance education group) provide a great range of resources to educators to help teach financial capability and that is a huge step forward from  providing any form of financial education in schools.  However, I'd suggest that although we are making huge strides in helping our children prepare for the real world I believe we still have a way to go.  My belief is that teaching financial capability as a core part of the curriculum is the best way forward.  I'm proud of my B in GCSE in geography however it's not really been the most practical qualification in the world and surely any school, college or university leaver would  have find learning how to become more financially capable of far greater benefit to them both day to day and longer term.

Thankfully it does look like there is changes occurring, with an all parliamentary group on financial education recommending that it should be a compulsory part of the curriculum.  This has recently had support from the Prime Minister and will be considered as part of a current review of the schools syllabus.  How these changes will look in practice and whether they will go far enough remain to be seen, but any move towards a more structured approach has to be positive.  But as ever, I'm interested in your opinions....what do you believe is the best approach to teach Children about Money?  Should Schools take full responsibility, or should parents share this?  What else could we do to help our teachers, children and parents?

Will employers and professionals sit up and take notice about Auto Enrolment?

For around a year and a half now, I've been talking to Accountants, Solicitors, HR professionals and Employers about Auto Enrolment.  To be frank, the response has been mixed.  Whilst some professionals and employers understand the nature of the new rules and the fact that they need to start preparing for them sooner rather than later, there have been others who have felt that they didn't need to take action at this stage.

Yesterday, someone kindly sent me a letter which is being sent to accountants, payroll providers and other professionals who have clients who employ.  The letter, which has been reproduced with the kind permission of  the pensions regulator has been reproduced here.  I'm wondering whether now is the time that both Employers and professionals who work with employers will sit up and take notice.

Whilst there has been recent changes to time-scales and amendments and clarification on certain aspects of the new rules, one thing is clear....the plan to move forward with Auto Enrolment hasn't changed.  We're currently working with a number of employers to help them prepare for the changes, however is now the time for more employers to sit up, take notice, and prepare their businesses for the change?

My belief is that now is the time for employers to start to prepare.  Whilst the date they need to comply may be a few years in the future, planning and preparing for the new rules now provide the business with an opportunity to build a long term robust plan to ensure they are ready.  I believe that ignoring these rules until businesses need to comply mean that they are under undue time and cost pressure which could be reduced if they started to prepare now.

Letter from The Pensions Regulator

reproduced with the permission of the pensions regulator


The Law on Pensions is changing and it will it affect your clients


The new pensions law comes into force in stages for employers from October 2012 depending on the size of their largest PAYE scheme and starting with the largest employers first.  The new law requires every employer to automatically enrol certain workers in a pension scheme and to contribute to it.

Your clients will need to comply with the pension law to avoid fines and prosecution


If you manage payroll for your clients they will probably ask you to manage some or all of the tasks to prepare for auto enrolment on their behalf.  The main tasks your clients may ask you to undertake in order to pay for automatic enrolment are:

The 8 tasks to prepare for automatic entrolment


1.  Find your clients 'staging date' by using their PAYE reference

2.  Check which of your client's workers meet their criteria for automatic enrolment

3.  Check your payroll software functionality

4.  Find out if your client's existing pension scheme can be used

5.  Find out if your client's pension scheme with details of workers to enrol

6.  Provide your clients pension scheme with details of workers to enrol

7.  Register your client with The Pensions Regulator and keep records

8.  Arrange for pension contributions to be paid to the pensions provider

You can find out your client's 'staging date' which is the date that the new pensions law come into force for your clients at: www.tpr.gov.uk/8tasks.  You can also access detailed information about preparing for automatic enrolment and sign up for news-by-email about pension law changes too.

Yours sincerely,

The Pensions Regulator.

Guest Blog - The importance of making a will

Alana Graham

Alana is a private client barrister with over 18 years experience in advising clients on Wills, trusts, tax, tax planning and company matters.

Under the public access scheme Alana can advise members of the public directly without them having to first instruct a solicitor and under the professional access scheme members of other professions can instruct her directly without having to first instruct a solicitor.

Before returning to practice at the Bar, Alana worked with Arthur Andersen (accountants) and Clifford Chance (solicitors).

You can contact Alana on 0207-404-5055(office) or 07831-593965(mobile) or agraham@9stonebuildings.com (email).  Alternatively you can contact her Chamber, 9 Stone Buildings.

Why make a Will?

For many people making a Will is something you know you should do, but quite often life takes over, your to-do list has expanded and your Will still hasn’t been written. Also, many people underestimate the importance of having a Will and this blog will explain why it is so important to make clear what you want to happen to your estate in the event of your death.

Firstly, it is important to understand the implications of not making a Will. Not making a Will means that the government will decide who will get your estate; by this I mean that the laws of intestacy will apply. This means that you will have no say in who gets your estate in the event of your death and, therefore, what is decided may not be aligned with your wishes. If you are not married your partner cannot inherit if there is no Will making provision for him/her so they may face serious financial difficulties. There is also the possibility that any tax payable may be reduced if advice is taken in advance and a Will is made.

 

Making a Will puts you in control. You can decide who receives your money, jewellery and other property in the event of your death. You can, under a Will make provision for an elderly or handicapped relative. You can choose who will administer your estate (your ‘executors’) and you can choose who will look after your minor children (their ‘guardians’). But above all else by having made a Will you will have ensured that you and not the government (through the rules on intestacy) will have decided how your estate is to be shared. A Will also (hopefully) means that there will be no arguments over who gets what when you die. 

Contact details:

Alana Graham at 9 Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn, London WC2A  3NN.  Tel. 0207-404-5055; Mobile: 07831-593965 or email: agraham@9stonebuildings.com Websites: www.alanagraham.co.uk and www.9stonebuildings.com

The Apprentice is Back! - Why I'm excited and slightly annoyed!

Well, tomorrow is a big day for me.  As well as it being Budget day (which frankly due to the number of leaks this year, I don't think any of us will be too surprised about the content), it's also the return of one of my favourite shows....yes Ladies and Gentleman, "The apprentice" is Back!

I love the apprentice for a number of reasons....Firstly, it shows that there are plenty of individuals in the UK who have the drive, ambition and motivation to succeed, something I believe we need.  Secondly it challenges the perception that young people are not prepared to work hard and contribute to the economy and society.  Nine out of the Twelve candidates are under 30 with many running their own business and this has got to be a great indication that many young people make the effort to achieve their goals and work hard to do so.

Thirdly, and not surprisingly for an entertainment show, it shows that business can be fun!  I run my own business, and I made a promise to myself when it started.  I spend too much of my time working hard to not enjoy what I do, and therefore I should always try to have a good time whilst running my business.  Whilst some days can be tough, frustrating and exhausting....luckily these days are the exception rather than the rule!  Many people assume that business is boring, and regardless of what your industry you are in it couldn't be further from the truth.....in business, the challenges you face should excite and motivate you and I believe you shouldn't feel it's just another "job to be done".

However, there are a couple of things which annoy me about the apprentice....firstly "Business Speak".  Having watched the audition interviews there are a few gems already coming out!  Can someone tell me what "3 dimensional approach to business" is?  Would you ever go into either a job interview or meeting with a new client and call yourself the "Reflection of perfection"?  Whilst for many people, this is what makes the show...my personal option is that whilst this language is entertaining, it is ultimately not a true reflection of business.  I can't imagine Lord Sugar, even with his love of the laconic put down, using language like that in a meeting, can you?

Secondly, it's the ruthlessness of some of the candidates.  Whilst I understand it's a game show, it should also accurately reflect the nature of modern professional business.  Shouldn't business be about collaboration between professionals, as opposed to the "dog eat dog" world of old style business practices?  Whilst the timescales of the tasks don't lend themselves particularly well to building and developing long term sustainable relationships, I'd like to see the occasional nod to the fact that long term sustainable relationships are key.

However, aside from these couple of gripes, I still think "the apprentice" is unmissable TV....roll on tomorrow!