Posted by lee on May 11th, 2009
It doesn’t happen very often, but I was pointed to an online article recently that dates back almost a decade. The Pitchman is a story by Malcolm Gladwell about ”Ron Popeil, who invented a better rotisserie in his kitchen and went out and pitched it himself.”
“Like most great innovations, it was disruptive. And how do you persuade people to disrupt their lives? Not merely by ingratiation or sincerity, and not by being famous or beautiful. You have to explain the invention to customers– not once or twice but three or four times, with a different twist each time. You have to show them exactly how it works and why it works, and make them follow your hands as you chop liver with it, and then tell them precisely how it fits into their routine, and, finally, sell them on the paradoxical fact that, revolutionary as the gadget is, it’s not at all hard to use.”
“in every respect the design of the product must support the transparency and effectiveness of its performance during a demonstration - the better it looks onstage, the easier it is for the pitchman to … ask for the money.”
While Ron and the article are focused on gadgets and devices, the above holds true for any kind of innovation that you’re trying to convince people to buy, or in the case of a free service, just to use.
Posted by import on January 23rd, 2009
I’m pleased to announce the first public beta release of an exciting new service from Crossbone Systems.
Head Hunting is a revolutionary new way to recruit employees at a fraction of the cost of other methods such as recruitment agencies and big job sites. As a Facebook application, Head Hunting allows you to hire new employees with a little help from your friends.
This week the service has launched into “public beta”, which means anyone can post and search job listings for free.
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Posted by import on June 11th, 2008
[Note:- this article was originally scheduled for appearance in April but unfortunately time constraints delayed it until after the 2008 end-of-year filing deadline. I've published it now in the hope that it will show potential company-founders how easy it is to stay on top of such things].
At the end of the tax year, (ie. 5th April), you must file a return that tells HMRC the breakdown of the income tax and NIC payments you have made throughout the previous year. HMRC need this information because tax and NI deductions are paid to them monthly throughout the year without any additional details about the breakdown. (See part 1 of this article for more information).
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Posted by import on May 10th, 2008
Apart from my initial earlier thoughts on one of the difficulties I encountered at the conference, BStartup 2008 (at the London ExCeL centre) was a good experience. For brevity, I’ve summarized a few of the most relevant and interesting people and services, below.
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Posted by import on March 31st, 2008
Once you’ve started your own limited company and people are paying for your products or services, you may want to start taking a salary.
This is a good idea for several reasons:
- It’s the main way to legally move money from your business bank account to your personal bank account
- It ensures you continue to pay National Insurance contributions, (essential if you expect a government pension later in life)
- You pay tax to the government, thus preventing them from breaking down your door and demanding your money!
- It gives you some money to live off
This article is designed to take a lot of the jargon away from paying yourself.
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