The 2022 Small
Business Guide
“We lack patience, which leads to shit behaviour because you’re looking for a quick score” Gary Vee..
Richard Smith
Running A Business In 2022 Is More Like Holding A Tiger By The Tail Then Ever Before.
There are some small but painful parts of your business that will soon become sores if you leave them. Not only will you make less money, eventually you’ll lose the lot.
Most business advice is bollocks, many of the advisers you’ll meet will want to sell you a solution, a magic fix. Something that will change your business today – that is utter rubbish.
What you need is a trusted and knowledgeable – professional friend in order to solve the problems of doing business in 2021.
Does business somehow seem more difficult than it once was?
What is it you need to do in order to get help and advice for your business in this world of scallywags, crooks and charlatans?
Wherever you look someone wants to sell you something, a solution a simple fix, a website an app, card processing, Adwords, social marketing – online accountancy – yet no one will tell you that the chances of you selling more depend on a whole load of other things – sure you may even be told “it’s good for profile building” – which is laugh out loud funny.
Profile building rarely puts money in the bank, same as likes or shares. But you do need a long term game.
You do have some options when you are looking to get things done. You can find an employee, or a freelancer or some kind of outside ‘gun for hire’ – but do you think they will really do what you need them to do in order to squeeze the last penny out of the customers and systems you have?
Even if you understand the problem you have it’s – likely to have a number of solutions – not solvable by just one person or thing. To use a dating analogy – in order to get to marriage from a first date, a lot of dot’s need connecting – a lot of things need to be learned, and if you end up with sex on first date it’s unlikely to be the best relationship you’ve ever had. It’s no different with customers. You can’t sell them until the relationship starts.
Our world of business is far more competitive now than it ever has been which complicates things no end, I’ll explain…
I do solve problems that few understand – in a 360 degree, holistic kinda way.
Ready to get a proper shimmy on –
Message me for a meetup Richard Smith
Tel|WhatsApp |Telegram – 0774 007 6226 or Contact me here
Having spent over thirty years inside financial services and ten years in lead generation both online and off. There is little that I don’t understand about growing a business and bringing in cold hard cash.
I’ve even wrote a book outlining the real problems with pensions – a basic error made by most small business owners is investing in one of these. Don’t rely on one of them for your eventual longest holiday.
“On the point of pensions, why bother investing hard earned into something that at best will produce 8% a year when you could put money into business development that could well produce 100% this year and the same the next? “
And, your business is never your pension – your business is designed to generate cash – and now, it’s designed to do this forever, until you decide it’s time to stop.
I have been showing small firms how to get a shimmy on for the last 5 years, mentoring for the likes of Startup Direct and being the Vice Chair of the FSB locally – as you read this letter you’ll probably understand how I fitted in over there.
Yup, I am a horridly pointy and square peg that does not fit into any round hole.
Getting some of the sales, marketing and customer focused parts of any business in the right place is awkward – many don’t see it through and fail. Mainly because they can’t sell or don’t understand that farmers make more money than hunters – your existing customer base is more valuable than your new customers.
Farming is the ‘grinding it out’ long term business designed to work with systems that then turn out cash all day and every day.
Provided you are the kind of business owner that is looking for solutions to problems you have, but don’t want to have proverbial smoke blown up your arse.
Then we should speak. Bottom line is, I help small firms move forward, forward with processes, systems – actually getting shit done.
Having me working with you is a bit like having your very own Man Friday but with the skills you need to solve the problems you have.
I’ve enclosed some further information for you about me – when you’re ready to get that shimmy on please get in touch.
You’d better note, that I am not selling consultancy – the suited and booted Merc driving let me tell you how it’s done ‘gun for hire, that knows the answer to every problem – just can’t solve any of them – just tells stories. Me I get my hands dirty, right up to the elbows in whatever problem you’ve got – then I help you solve it.
Let me be honest, if for any reason you’ve not increased sales and done less work for it in 2021 you are doing something wrong – sure many haven’t but there is no reason why not. We are doing business in the most competitive time known to us – yet we have some of the most powerful tools ever created at our disposal.
As my old grand-dad reminded me “there is no point just knowing about saws if you want to cut wood – you need to use one”.
Message me for a meetup Richard Smith
Tel|WhatsApp |Telegram – 0774 007 6226 or Contact me here
Coming Up Two Business Ideas That Will Make You More Money
1. Two articles about modern business, that if implemented them both, will work for you – you’ll get more profits from increased sales – and you can scale it up with virtually no effort. A bit like sitting on a beach clicking a mouse, making money whilst you sleep…
2. My better than best offer or how you can’t lose by us working together.
3.My CV.
Want to Increase Sales – Go Watch Attenborough For An Hour – Then Apply What You’ve Learned.
In the natural world stuff happens in ways that just make sense. The Blackbird turning over leaves in the morning – looking for a tasty worm to feed her young – also sits on the fence and sings.
The singing is not for us – it’s a sign of vigor in male birds and shows they are healthy, that this is their patch. They are not singing because they are forced to do it – but because they are damn good at it and on top of their game. Wild birds have no pet shop to provide food and water (indeed no money to buy), so they have to have a system – a series of processes in place.
Something to make sure they eat today and their position in life is protected. Ring any bells in your biz?
Elizabeth from Amazing Diamonds said..
“Richard is definitely the guy who knows his job, very intelligent..”
It’s all alchemy for wildlife – making something from nothing is their world, no complicated strategy, no additional skills – just the stuff that works for them.
Wherever you look in the natural world things just are. The hungry find food, have to lay eggs, to expand the team- which means a nest is required – so it builds one – plenty of materials around….
Again in the natural world, bacteria naturally replicate and even communicate with each other using bioluminescence and live happily in environments that many create for themselves.
Bacillus, a really common species of bacteria (makes your sweat smell) has been around for 250 million years or more and has been found – hibernating in salt rocks – ready to spring back into life again when circumstances indicate it’d be a good time. It’s adapted itself to live anywhere it wants…
The point for you to notice is that the process of business and survival is a natural one, you have to make the most of what’s around.
You create the world you need to survive in the same way as the Blackbird and Bacillus.
Accepting the world around you as is, hoping things will be ok – hoping customers will find you – is so 1950’s and not 2021. It doesn’t work anymore. It is for Labour supporters, share the wealth and all that. Take from those that have used their own capital…
Business is constantly changing and nothing comes without a fuckton of pain in this modern world, everything is so competitive. No matter if you are selling scaffolding or medical equipment, food or flour- everytime a market matures there are more and more players coming to join in – the surplus fat in every market is slowly digested by that market, even the sinews and bits we wouldn’t normally use are being dragged in.
Yet some lucky firms survive, they do better and their success leaves a lot of clues as to how it’s being done – how do they do it without Google giving them a top spot, or another digital algorithm helping out? I know how it’s being done, it’s one of the reasons you have a letter from me rather than a ‘ping on an app’.
The natural order, the same principles that sold christianity to the heathens, the same principles that made the Romans fear the Celts. In fact the Romans feared the Celts so much that they built a wall across the country to keep them out.
In northern Spain the Romans outlawed the selling of wine to the Celts – they were even more dangerous when half cut on Vino Tinto. It’s the natural order of business, these natural principles of fear that make all of the difference.
These principles are things that make the difference today – sure they may be delivered on an app rather than on a dried goat hide with finger paint drawing, but they rely on a natural order of things. Things the Blackbird and bacteria know and have built in – the things that get forgotten in the busy-ness of modern life.
Your customers have not evolved much in the last fifty thousand years, neither has the Blackbird. Bacteria even longer, perhaps a billion years of success. Yet you think that the next shiny new widget will be the one thing – the thing that increases sales and improves customer loyalty. Yet you know at the back of your mind that it’s bollocks – because every morning the Blackbird arrives in your garden to do the same thing over and over again, more turning of leaves.
It’s the same reason you have a local pub, restaurant or spot in the local bar – you go back there time and time again. Yet when it comes to moving your sales forward you end up ignoring all of that, ignoring all that you know – ignoring the facts. Because you think your customers are different. They are not. There are few new/shiny widgets that will transform your sales.
Call me today and we can arrange to talk about the natural order of things – what’s really working out there and how you can sell more on your terms in an easy way without doing things that will bite you on the arse at some point. Provided you are now ready to evolve – before your markets get consumed by the next thing that’s coming, and provided you are really ready to start making it all a bit easier.
I want to help you sell more – more easily than before and I will gladly work for nothing so you can see what I can do?
Sales, automation and customer service are the things I am best at, however, my financial knowledge is second to none. Get in touch today via email (admin@therichardsmith.com) or text me a good time to call on 0774 007 6226 (or Whatsapp) and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
Coming Next The world’s youngest billionaire – and how she managed to do that – things I know I can help you with.
Business Lessons from – Kylie Jenner (Kardashian)
“Kylie Jenner net worth 2021: Is the youngest billionaire of all time worth more than her Kardashian sisters?” Source: London Evening Standard
Last week’s business news carried headlines all about Kylie but it is not all it seems – and on the face of pure hyperbole or spin. The truth is even stranger – but has this (young) lady made a business out of nothing – alchemy?
The ultimate tool for changing the world and on the basis of her efforts the possibilities for you are endless.
For us, small business owners there is indeed a valuable lesson to be learned from Kylie and her model of marketing. Let me explain to you what these lessons are, if you are not aware of the story.
The London Evening Standard reports that Kylie is the first twenty one year old billionaire.
That in itself is a milestone and one that should be considered as a possibility for all of us. – if we put in place the right systems and get a jiggle on in the right direction. But it is nuanced, it’s not all it seems.
So how has Kylie done it?
The very first thing that leaps out about her story is that she is self-made. Sure she might have had some help from her friends, don’t we all need that? And it also helped that she had a media profile before she had a business.
But please don’t be distracted by these facts because what she has built is a very interesting and considerable business that is in the main automated – like it works without her turning up for work. And for the first three years, she had no real success, in fact sales didn’t quite go as she expected.
Message me for a meetup Richard Smith
Tel|WhatsApp |Telegram – 0774 007 6226 or Contact me here
So what are the lessons?
- You don’t need your own high street presence in order to have a billion dollar business.
- You don’t need to be selling low priced or high priced products, having both is best.
- Social media is leverage for your business – not a place to argue with trolls and ne’er do wells – but it is a hamster wheel if not used well.
- Selling services online is hard – but products are a lot easier – even 21-year-olds can do it and very well. Interesting to note that with automation you can free up time for services. That means you can sell an hour of time, a report, a setup guide etc.
Kylie has a clever business model and one that can be replicated by everyone.
Selling products and automating them, using partner channels, using automation, it is all possible for you and your business, and now!
Business doesn’t have to be stuck in 1983 – and even if your dream is to have a presence on the high street – wouldn’t it be nice to have an online option – working 24/7 whilst you do other things – like post selfies on Insta….
What Nikki Hobbs said about me …. “I have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone looking to increase the success of their business.”
If you want a heads up on this, you and I should talk further about the options of moving your business towards – easier than ever before. I’ll even give you half an hour free of charge. Get in touch today via email (richard@therichardsmith.com) or sms me a good time to call on 0774 007 6226 (Whatsapp) and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
It may well be the case that your initial feeling is – this ain’t for you. That’s fine, it is your business after all.
Question is, if your business is still being worked in by you, if you are not making sales overnight or on the weekend – you have a problem. No matter how hard you work, how much time you put in – you are always limited by the hours in a day. Leverage is about having a multiplier to your time and therefore your money.
So what does she do?
Kylie employs leverage in a big way – that’s why she’s a billionaire at 21.
- Customers now demand/expect to find you online – can they find you?
- It’s expensive maintaining a position on the high street .She doesn’t have one of her own, she uses the presence of others.
- Cross-selling and follow up sales are hard when you don’t have any contact or engagement with your existing and potential customers, this is simple to automate. She does.
- Joint venture partners are a simple way to grow a business – it’s called symbiosis and happens all over the natural world – it’s a natural way to sell. Bacteria have done it for millions of years.
Fact is, Kylie employs 7 full-time staff and employs one person full-time on the finances, manufacturing of all products is outsourced, and drop shipped from the manufacturer to consumer or to the joint venture partners. This is a smart business and one that can be replicated by everyone.
| One of my clients said about me “I couldn’t believe my luck! Here I was talking to someone who knew what he was talking about, could cut through the ‘white noise’ and also spoke my language and he understood what I wanted.” Colin Palmer |
I’ve spent the last twenty years working with small businesses and I have developed a number of solutions that are repeatable and profitable.
That business headache you have, the one that won’t go away – let me be your Aspirin to slowly dissolve it and bring things back to normal.
For me, slowly returning to normal after Covid-19 I’ve watched things change from the sidelines, seen some clients go out of business and one or two really thrive.
You’ve got a load of stuff to do, so I’m not going to waste your time, really. In all fairness if I didn’t think I could do summat for you – I’d never have written. If you’ve got one or two issues you need solving, perhaps it’s processes or systems – getting clients to pay on time or getting more clients I really can help you with both of those.
Could be that business is just not what it was, perhaps there is a need to restructure stuff.
The world we live in now is damn competitive, most sales need to be extracted and not just oiled like the old days – I can bring my extraction kit to the table if you want.
Got a point of pressure in your business, in particular a sales, admin or on-line issue or you simply want to make a bit more of what you have, want to spend more time out of the office with modern tools working for you – just moving product sales online could mean you increase profits, sell more or just have time with the family.
I can help you with all of that.
My experience as a trusted member of staff goes a long way. As your Business ‘Man Friday’ we can solve problems together – no matter how shitty they are, no matter how difficult you think they could be, two heads are always better than one – and it means I can get stuff done while you carry on with the rest of the business,
It may be that you have some things that just need tweaking – a shove in the right direction if you like, perhaps things need a prod, a livener – like a G and T on arrival at a wedding.
I’ve attached my CV. Happy to work at half day/day rate or on a fixed price arrangement but of course guarantee all of my work. You will get the results you want. Don’t wait til your bum gets bitten, get in touch and let’s solve these issues together. Don’t call me, I rarely pick up unless scheduled, but message me with a good time to call.
Message me for a meetup Richard Smith
Tel|WhatsApp |Telegram – 0774 007 6226 or Contact me here
Here Is My Offer To You.
In order to work out where I can add some value these are the areas where I am skilled and able to help.
Growing your existing customer base, selling more to the customers you have, getting more profit from existing sales, up-sales (“would you like to go large with that order?”) sales automation, joint ventures, new markets, dealing with borrowing and debts, making the most of your present financial position, increasing profits with financial engineering.
Adwords – if you haven’t reduced your costs in the last six months you are missing out on traffic and overpaying. It’s called the ‘Google Stupidity Tax’ and not everyone pays it. I solve Adwords problems.
Facebook – the fireside of social media – where business owners throw ten pound notes into the fire in the hope that the flames will eventually grow – your posts will go viral. Less than one in 100,000 do. Cash burn on Facebook is real – it doesn’t have to be yours.
Insta | Twitter | Tik Tok | Linkedin – all of these are time sinks – where customers with ADHD hang out in the hope that something will spike their interest. Where your three hours per day are likely to end up ‘better spent in the pub, as you’ll find more buyers in there’.
Search Engine Optimisation – this the game you play with Google, where they decide where your website shows up in the search game – where you have no control – where the costs of success are damn high – and other firms have a lot more money than you. You could be throwing hard earned money at SEO – only to find, overnight or when Google decides you are on page 16 in search results – not really a good plan, is it?
E- commerce – selling your products and services on-line. Over the years I’ve developed two secure and effective online options specifically designed for small firms – you can have a full blown online shop up and running in days – for less than a few hundred pounds. And it comes with a full money back guarantee.
Processes and Systems – everything is competitive now, nothing is straightforward, But there are ways for small businesses to compete with the big guys, whether you are selling or servicing, having good systems for financial and non financial management are the key.
I have spent the last thirty years within a financial services business and ten years of that in lead generation, I understand things from a holistic business point of view – there is no one thing, no easy fix.
Which is why you are in the position you are in. If you are not yet making enough to create the freedom you should be having, if you are not currently in a position to know when you’ll have the time to take a back seat or at least slow down…
If you are sick of the bullshit and shenanigans that are going on with every specialist you seek help from, if you can cope with the brutal honesty of a time served, skilled guy who understands the deal in 2021. Get in touch.
My offer is one full working day per month – payable by direct debit at a cost of £200 per month – I guarantee you my one days spent working with you, getting my hands dirty will be worth at least 10 times that or I’ll refund you in full. I’ll work for free.
RICHARD SMITH – CV
Contact 0774 007 6226 |text |Whatsapp
Web https://www.therichardsmith.com
PERSONAL PROFILE
A motivated and experienced sales and business administrator [if you like a business gardener] – ex financial services. Honest and truthful. No smoke and mirrors. Get stuff done kinda guy.
Recent experience has included conventional and digital marketing, supported by direct response methods, Pay Per Click and remarketing using Google and Facebook. Creating and writing content along with day to day sales and business administration. Able to update a design websites and E-commerce (products and content). I have had some positive experiences using public relations both in conventional print and digital, having had articles in a number of publications. Search engine optimisation knowledge and proven ability to rank sites within search engines.
All of this is supported by a clear understanding of marketing and digital strategy both inside and outside of financial services. Able to create sales funnels and understand the systems/processes needed for email marketing and social sales Able to use all online systems including WordPress/Drupal/Joomla able to alter and understand website coding and CSS.
Being a practical optimist (a realist) I don’t believe that ‘digital’ is the panacea for marketing and business development, we should be sending more letters (personal opinion) but understand it is one of the major tools available in a modern business tool box. I am a resourceful, self-motivated and proactive, one who thinks of creative solutions to get things done and to achieve the desired outcomes. Happy working to a plan with outside consultants and third party suppliers or on my own.
WEBSITE AND DIGITAL MARKETING EXPERTISE
I know the difference between a secure certificate and an xml feed and have continued with training and professional development in a number of areas.
- considerable skills and practical experience in the workings of websites
- excellent knowledge of video and pod-casting and how that fits with modern marketing
- excellent knowledge relating to the workings of the search engines and of Google tools
- an excellent understanding of search optimisation and website structure
- able to create and implement working ‘sales funnels’ where appropriate
- a belief in testing small to prove a model before ‘betting the house’.
- still learning about sales copywriting and getting videos ranked, happy creating content
RESEARCH AND DEPLOYMENT SKILLS
The digital world is changing rapidly, people less so. Finding out what people want and why they choose to take action is more important than ever, which is why I believe strongly about research before deployment.
Having been on the front line in sales and the back office within a number of firms, I have a clear understanding of how the various models work. Based on my work with employers I also understand their needs around staff guidance and their legal obligations.
Happy with GDPR stuff, both from a technical standpoint (within a business) and from a regulatory perspective.
CAREER SUMMARY
2010 – present Freelance business development and lead generation for a number of financial and non financial firms. Blogging and writing on consumer finance issues. Mentor at StartUp Direct (London) and the Anglia Ruskin University offshoot – Ixion.
1996 – 2010 Independent Financial Services (UK) Ltd.
Providing financial advice to a range of clients, both corporate and personal, along with helping to develop the business and the sales team. I also provided compliance audit/support and compliance management for a team of eight advisers. In addition to helping grow the advisory firms in the network. This work involved extensive business networking, communication skills, initiative, time management and the ability to acknowledge and abide by high levels of confidentiality.
I also helped to develop financial advisory schemes for the National Union of Journalists, the Chartered Management Institute and the Federation of Small Business (FSB).
1994 – 1996 National Westminster Bank – Corporate Adviser
1991 – 1994 Nationwide Independent Financial Services – Financial Adviser
OTHER RELEVANT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Fully conversant with most modern software packages and operating systems including MS/Mac/Linux. Excellent WordPress knowledge design and installation and the practical security methods, online payment processing. Website, Cpanel, WordPress, Joomla, I.T Security and Backup. GDPR and Data Protection issues.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Minchendon School English, Maths, Physics, Geography GCSE
Chartered Insurance Institute Financial Planning Certificate
Mortgage Planning (Bridge)
Institute of Financial Services (Advanced) Personal Investment Planning
UNPAID POSITIONS, OTHER ACTIVITIES
Regular articles in the Financial Press on pensions, digital marketing and scam awareness.
Visiting Lecturer at Barnet and Southgate College for both A Level Finance and Degree Level – Business courses.
Author of the Financial Services industry “Independent Financial Adviser Marketing” in 2010. This was serialised by Professional Adviser magazine. Judge “Best Website and Social Media Campaign” The Professional Adviser Awards 2010/11. Author of The Great British Pension Swindle 2018..
Speaker at a number of events for FSB and Sussex Enterprise on a range of topics including online marketing, email security and small business finance, effective PR, managing growth in a small business.
FSB Vice Chair – Crawley, Horsham & Mid-Sussex Branch (resigned 2015).
Other Activities
Learning Spanish – no brillante esta la momenta
Cooking – mainly making shrubs, recently experimenting with artisan bread (badly).
DRIVING LICENCE: full, clean UK driving licence held/ own car
Recent Freelance Work
Novis Oil – Sales copy, Google My Business Listing, E-commerce, webdesign – start up.
PlayGroundPlaytimes – email marketing, online marketing, search optimisation, book publishing and PR.
Effective Hypnotherapy – online marketing, search market and lead generation.
Scaffolding Products – Adwords, PR, Sales and Business Development, E-commerce.
BlueCrystalGlass.co.uk search engine and website work, pension and borrowing reviews, new markets and business automation.
www.flaxfarm.co.uk SEO work, payment gateways, web development, data security, website hosting and moves.
www.logic1st.com Online marketing, web development, email marketing plans and execution, social marketing.
https://gatewayfinancial.co.uk/ Crawley based mortgage adviser, website development, email marketing, database marketing, offline to online sales.
http://www.robpatten.co.uk/ – dead, now for sale.
www.dnllocksmiths.co.uk Harlow based locksmiths – no longer trading
www.myfloodit.com online and offline sales of high powered portable flood/work lights. LED Lamps. Online and off. Now only available in the USA following a takeover.
Effective-Hypnotherapy.co.uk SEO and Content marketing.
Search Engine Optimisation Skills