November 2001
- Small Business News
|
1.
HOW
TO
PLAN
YOUR
STATIONARY
PRINTING
One
of
the
most
exciting
moments
of
starting
a
business
is
the
prospect
of
having
your
name,
and
your
business
name,
up
in
lights:
in
this
case,
on
your
stationery.
However,
almost
everyone
gets
it
wrong
first
time
and
what
should
have
been
a
good
(and
low
cost)
investment
quickly
becomes
frustrating
and
costly.
As
with
most
new
situations
that
we
encounter,
our
knowledge
is
gained
on a
steep
learning
curve
which
we
modify
as
we
go
along.
The
problem
with
printed
stationary
is
that
modifying
existing
details
on
stationary
means
scraping
(and
I do
mean
totally
scraping)
all
of
our
existing
stationery:
if
you
make
do
with
sub-quality
and
non-effective
stationery
you
risk
the
survival
of
your
enterprise
at
the
very
moment
you
can
least
afford
to.
The
majority
of
small
businesses
will
change
some
significant
information
within
the
first
year:
with
the
first
few
months
also
being
a
significant
period
for
change.
It
is
not
uncommon
for
new
businesses
to
move
away
from
their
intended
type
of
business
to
one
that
was
originally
on
the
fringe
of
your
business
plan,
which
causes
no
small
degree
of
potential
business
loss
if
you
still
use
the
original
stationery.
If
you
plan
to
work
from
home
initially,
being
able
to
use
your
stationery
immediately
is
one
less
headache.
A
printing
dilemma
for
those
of
you
who
are
first
timers
would
be
'some'
of
the
following:
Letterhead,
think
about:
Trading
address;
contact
details
and
using
'Our
ref.'
etc;
sales
or
other
messages
Why?
Letterheads
come
in
high
numbers
from
the
printer
and
most
businesses
will
struggle
to
use
a
box
full
in
six
months
(unless
you
are
mail-shooting).
With
the
inevitable
change
of
detail
in
your
business
the
letterheads
will
be
scrap
paper.
It
is
better
to
use
the
print
shop
to
print
your
business
name
and
logo
on
quality
paper
and
use
a
laser
printer
(under
£200
now)
to
print
your
current
address
and
contact
details.
Things
like
'Our
Ref.'
are
almost
impossible
to
line
up
on
the
printer
for
us
mere
mortals,
and
are
simple
to
add
when
typing.
You
may
decide
to
become
VAT
registered,
for
another
example,
and
this
is
easily
done
if
you
use
a
laser
printer
for
quality.
As
to
printing
messages
on
your
letterhead,
if
you
also
use
your
letterhead
for
invoicing
and
chasing
late
payment,
such
messages
will
deplete
the
effect
of
these
letters.
Brochures
and
Leaflets,
think
about:
Having
your
trading
address;
listing
a
'complete'
table
of
all
of
your
services.
Why?
You
should
not
limit
your
earning
potential
or
ability
to
utilize
an
opportunity
in a
business
area
that
is
not
at
the
centre
of
your
business.
Brochures
last
forever
and
it
would
be
highly
unlikely
that
the
contact
details
would
remain
the
same
-
get
a
rubber
stamp
made
up
professionally
(cost
is
about
£10)
and
stamp
brochures
when
they
are
used
- so
that
you
change
the
stamp
and
not
the
brochure.
Business
Cards,
think
about:
Having
your
name
and
your
position
in
the
company
printed
on
the
card.
Why?
If
there
is
not
a
name
on
the
card
you
can
be
anyone
you
want
to
be;
with
any
position
in
the
company;
and
- if
you
leave
off
the
type
of
business
you
are
-
you
can
be
any
type
of
business
within
your
industry
area.
Writing,
or
stamping,
your
personal
details
on
the
back
of a
card
is
acceptable
in
the
majority
of
industries:
but
not
if
you
are,
say,
a
printer
(a
well
made
point,
I
think!).
Compliment
Slip,
think
about:
When
will
you
really
need
one;
do
you
want
the
standard
'With
Compliments'
in
big
letters.
A
compliment
slip
is
very
rarely
used
for
it's
perceived
role.
More
often
it
is a
label
when
attached
to
another
piece
of
paper
that
does
not
have
your
business
name
on
it,
or
as
we
do
often,
as a
brief
hand
written
note
to
give
or
post
to
someone.
A
compromise
could
be
to
have
a
smaller
'With
Compliments'
in
one
of
the
corners
and
leave
the
bulk
of
the
space
for
information
that
you
add
as
and
when.
Ordering
Issues:
Obviously,
buying
two
for
the
price
of
three
is a
real
benefit
(and
the
printers
push
this
fact
constantly)
in
not
only
cost
but
in
time
and
resources.
However,
if
you
never
use
two
of
the
three
you
have
simply
and
foolishly
paid
double
the
price!
I
cannot
see
the
benefit
in
this
type
of
deal
unless
you
are
convinced
that
you
will
use
more
than
one
order
within
your
first
six-months
of
trading,
AND
that
you
have
taken
account
of
the
above
scenarios.
There
are
a
number
of
whole
packages
available
that
will
give
you
letterheads,
business
cards,
brochures
and
compliment
slips
for
a
low
cost:
bear
in
mind
that
if
you
do
not
use,
say,
the
business
cards
and
compliment
slips
you
have
over
paid
for
what
you
do
use.
There
are
no
absolute
'do's
or
don'ts'
with
printing
as
we
all
use
stationary
in
different
ways,
but
your
stationary
must
(if
cost
and
flexibility
are
important
to
you)
seamlessly
work
with
you
to
help
promote
growth
when
and
where
you
need
it:
without
creating
box
after
box
of
scrap
paper
for
the
kids!
2.
YOUR
QUESTIONS
ANSWERED
(GBP
= UK
Pound)
QUESTION
1
I am
currently
with
a
Debt
Management
Company
but
I am
still
being
threatened
with
legal
action.
Can
legal
action
be
taken
against
me
if
my
creditors
are
receiving
monthly
payments?
Can
they
continually
harass
me
by
telephone?
Debts
of
about
GBP50,000
-
credit
cards,
loans,
etc.
Am
presently
paying
BGP494.00
to
Debt
Management
company.
I am
in
full-time
employment.
ANSWER
1
Debt
management
is
not
a
formal
arrangement,
therefore,
court
action
is
possible
if
the
debt
management
company
does
not
get
your
creditors
approval.
No
one
is
allowed
to
harass
anyone
else,
especially,
where
debts
are
the
issue:
They
either
sue
you
or
keep
away
once
they
have
contacted
you
a
'reasonable'
amount
of
times.
Without
knowing
more
it's
difficult
to
comment,
but
you
should
get
the
debt
management
company
to
contact
the
pressing
creditor
and
sort
it
out
as
that
is
why
you
pay
them.
QUESTION
2
I
have
offered
a
debt
collection
agency
(acting
on
behalf
of
the
student
loans
company)
GBP50.00
a
month,
but
they
have
refused
this
and
are
demanding
GBP80.00
per
month.
Is
there
anyway
I
can
get
them
to
accept
my
offer
of
GBP50.00
which
is
all
I
can
afford
at
present.
ANSWER
2
You
may
have
to
insist
that's
all
you
can
afford
(if
it
is),
which
would
mean
paying
the
debt
off
over
a
longer
period.
Send
a
recorded
letter
asking
them
to
accept
your
offer
as
you
are
making
an
effort
to
clear
the
debt
and
in
the
end
they'll
at
least
get
their
money.
I
doubt
they'll
be
taking
you
to
court,
under
the
circumstances.
QUESTION
3
As a
sole
trader
I
made
a
loss
in
my
last
trading
year.
If I
now
decide
to
start
a
limited
company
and
become
a
Director
and
take
a
salary
can
I
carry
forward
that
loss
against
my
future
tax
liabilities
or
is
it
lost
forever?
ANSWER
3
The
issue
is
not
weather
you
are
a
sole
trader
or a
Company
Director.
The
fact
is
that
you
are
entitled
to a
personal
tax
allowance
and
if
you
have
not
exceeded
that
allowance
then
I
can't
see
any
reason
why
you
shouldn't
be
able
to
claim
these
back,
in
future
tax
claims.
However,
just
to
cover
any
issues
that
we
might
of
overlooked,
contact
the
Self
Assessment
team
at
your
Tax
Office
(the
telephone
number
is
at
the
top
of
your
self
assessment
tax
return),
if
the
office
is
closed,
call
the
Self
Assessment
Helpline
on
0845
9000
444.
It's
open
evenings
and
weekends
and
calls
are
charged
at
local
rates.
QUESTION
4
I
have
been
contacted
by a
company
called
Chanel,
as 'chanel'
is
part
of
my
web
site
address:
being
www.chanel-(number-removed).tv,
and
is
based
in
America.
They
suggest
that
it
will
confuse
those
using
search
engines,
directory
listings
and
general
usage.
I
used
'chanel'
rather
than
'channel',
so
as
to
NOT
infringe
on
company
names
such
as
'Channel
6,
9'
etc.
Unfortunately,
I
also
have
another
www.chanel(number-removed).tv
domain
that
is
not
in
use.
I
have
been
asked
by
Chanel
to
never
use
these,
and
sign
to
that
effect.
These
web
site
names
were
expensive
to
register,
and
were
intended
to
be
sold
to
the
Japanese
market,
that
are
eager
to
purchase
such
domain
names.
ANSWER
4
If
Chanel,
and/or
you,
but
most
importantly
Chanel's
legal
advisers,
believe
it
is
reasonable
that
the
general
public
could
be
mislead
in
any
way,
shape
or
form,
then
it
is
not
unreasonable
for
Chanel
to
believe
that
you
will
benefit
from
their
trade
name,
or
even
cause
some
harm
to
them.
Arguing
in
court
that
you
made
innocent
purchases
will
be
no
defence.
The
courts
are
starting
to
back
established
companies
who
demand
the
'return'
of
their
trading
names
that
are
being
'cyber
squatted'.
Usually,
this
is a
measure
of
the
problems
that
you
will
encounter
if
you
buy
web
site
addresses
that
in
some
way
refer
to
established
traders.
Personally
I'd
take
the
hint
now
and
just
move
on.
Maybe
you
could
sell
them
the
names,
as
you
have
not
started
to
use
them
yet,
that
way
you'd
both
be
satisfied.
3.
UPDATE
FOR
SMALL
BUSINESS
Stakeholder
Update
Less
than
150,000,
of
400,000,
employers
required
by
law
to
set
up a
stakeholder
pension
scheme
have
done
so.
This
figure
is
way
above
the
governments
expectations
and
'may'
force
an
extension
of
the
deadline
day
for
compliance,
or
even
a
total
exemption
for
businesses
with
less
than
10
employees
(currently
less
than
5
employees):
the
exemption
issue
is
being
pressed
by
the
Tory
party.
More
about
stakeholder
pensions
at
Stakeholder
Pensions
4.
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If
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Remember,
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so,
please
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you
next
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thank
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A
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