Hello my name is Kevin Appleby, I’m an experienced chartered accountant (the UK equivalent of a CPA) who has worked as a consultant with many major organisations to help improve business performance.
I’m here because I am passionate about helping small and medium sized businesses achieve their goals. I know that most businesses of this size can’t afford consultancy support in the same way as the big corporates I’ve advised in the past. I don’t see why great advice shouldn’t be available to every business irrespective of size, so I want to advise and support in a much more affordable way.
I know what it is like to run a small business, I’ve set up my own consultancy, and I’m also involved in two other family businesses. I know the challenges that come with managing all the day to day issues and how hard it is to identify and progress the things that will take the business to the next level.
The Next 100 Days Podcast is a leading UK business show. Through this podcast, Kevin and Graham reveal strategies you can use to improve your business and take it to the next level. In addition to featuring their own advice, Kevin and Graham host amazing guests from across the business world. Often the guests are successful, but lesser-known business owners and entrepreneurs, enabling the show to bring fresh content and stand out from many of the US based business shows.
Graham and Kevin believe that business change comes about when a business owner focusses on just one thing that will make a real difference to his business. That might be product development, a new product launch or a marketing campaign. Focussing for less than 100 days, or focussing on too many things generally won’t deliver the results you need, Equally, its difficult to maintain effective focus for much longer than 100 days without re-assessing priorities.
The Next 100 Days Podcast is your source to learn how to move your business forward, with practical advice and guidance that you can put into action and make a difference in your own organisation within the next 100 days.
Cloud accounting saving time and improving information
Xero is making a big difference in my business. I wrote a few weeks ago about my decision to move from spreadsheets to cloud accounting software, and you can read why I chose Xero in that article. Since then, I’ve been implementing Xero, and cloud accounting has saved me time and is supplying much better information. Don’t just take my word on it. You can find out yourself by giving Xero a 30 day free trial, actually using a cloud accounting package is the only way you are ever really going to find out whether its for you.
VAT MOSS, VAT on Digital Business Demystified
Do you sell digital services within Europe? Do you know if you are liable for VAT on sales?
VAT MOSS (mini One Stop Shop) came into effect on the 1st of January 2015 in an attempt to prevent big businesses that have established headquarters in lower-VAT regimes from profiting unfairly.
However the implications of this relatively new regulation have trickled down to the SME market and thus created more red tape for companies whose cross-border trade is incomparable with that of the multinationals.
Brexit and Your Business Plan
Brexit brings us uncertainty.
I’m sitting at my Swedish made desk, writing this blogpost on my US designed iMac which was assembled in China, drinking my very British cup of Yorkshire Tea made from teabags bought in a German owned discount supermarket. I’m also minded that in the garage is a German made hatchback and a Japanese sports car. For lunch its bread and cheese (French brie) followed by a Spanish orange and a West Indian banana. In or out of the EU each one of us, individuals and businesses are locked into a complex world of international trade.
Game Plan for the Next 100 Days
Having goals is all very well, but you need to turn them into reality. In this post we look at how you go about setting up a game plan for the next 100 days.
The game plan will allow you to assemble the resources around you that will deliver the results you want.
Subscribe to The Next 100 Days Podcast
Never miss an episode of the show. Have it delivered automatically every week to your podcast player.
Come on over to iTunes and subscribe to The Next 100 Days Podcast
Join The Next 100 Days Facebook Group
Are you ready to take action to move your business forward in the next 100 days?
Join the discussion and meet lots of like minded people in The Next 100 Days Facebook Group.
The Latest From The Blog
How well do you know your ideal customer?
Ideal customer has been a recurring theme in the last two episodes of The Next 100 days podcast. Knowing your ideal customer (or avatar) is very important. It is a key first step to almost all the business development you are likely to do. In short, if you want more sales you need to know intimately who you are selling to.
read more
Why focus on the next 100 days?
Following the launch of the next 100 days podcast, Id like to take some time to explain why I believe focussing on 100 days is the right thing to do. Annual planning is fine, but annual goals simply don't give enough emphasis to taking immediate massive action, and...
read more
The Next 100 Days Podcast
The next 100 days podcast, the new show that I'm co-hosting with Graham Arrowsmith is now live on iTunes. Together, we will be using the next 100 days podcast to reveal strategies you can use to improve your business and improve sales and profitability. In addition to...
read more
Scanning the horizon – PESTELO or PESTLE?
PESTELO analysis isn't common in small businesses. There are plenty of situations where it should be. PESTELO adds an extra element to PESTLE analysis. PESTELO makes you look at whats happening in organisations on which your business depends. Let me explain: What is...
read more
Why you need a Plan on a Page
The Plan on a Page is where the whole planning exercise comes together (10 days of planning for 90 days of execution). The purpose is to turn ideas, intentions and desires into actions that can produce the outcomes you are aiming for. Its not a detailed plan; The whole thing should fit onto a single piece of A3 paper and provide sufficient clarity to get you moving.
The plan on a page collects together all the key thoughts from the planning phase. I usually look at this planning phase as the first 10 days of the period, so the plan needs to show you what you will execute in the remaining 90 days.
read more
Making time to focus on what matters
Its the start of a new year, and by now you should have your plan for the next 90 days in place. Its time to focus on making things happen. But, have you given yourself enough time to do just that? Why do I need time to focus? If you're going to concentrate on a...
read more
5 reasons 90 day planning works
Why does 90 day planning work? 1)We overestimate what can be done in a year. We set unrealistic goals. As a result of setting unrealistic goals, we start feeling very bad about goal-setting. Lots of people feel stressed, anxious, pressured, and really don't enjoy the...
read more
Goals – Why you shouldn’t set them for 2016
How many times have you set yourself goals to do things at the beginning of the new year and they are still undone the following Christmas? Setting annual goals doesn’t work. I know some people have grown to hate goals, they start with great enthusiasm but before long...
read more
Will your 2016 goals be SMART goals
With 2015 drawing to a close I'm starting to review the year and beginning to think about 2016. I've got some good goals running at the moment, and I'm about to refresh them and plan out the first quarter of 2016. Since doing my first quarterly personal offsite back...
read more
Why I’m using Goals On Track
Over the years I've tried a number of task and goal management apps, and at the moment Goals On Track is my app of choice. I'm using it to create plans and record progress against both my business and personal objectives. The problem with most of these apps is they...
read more
7 Golden Rules of Goal Setting
Best advice tells us that if we want to achieve what we desire we need to set goals. But how many goals have you set yourself over the years that you have failed to achieve? The answer for most people is they have failed in just as many as they have achieved. There...
read more
Focussing goals on what really matters
Focussing goals on what really matters sounds obvious, but it's actually very hard to do. Theres some stuff we know is really important, and some we know is not important at all. The difficulty comes in stepping away from the things that fit in neither group. Things...
read more
How do you fascinate your people?
The strongest tools we have in communication are those we can use naturally to fascinate other people. Communication is a vital skill, doing it well can be the difference between success and failure. Communication takes many forms, but I'm thinking of keynote...
read more
Louder Than Words
Louder Than Words: Harness The Power of Your Authentic Voice; the latest book from Todd Henry; has been one of the biggest influences on me recently. I was reading it right across the period I was doing my Quarterly Personal Offsite, and it really helped me gain...
read more
Creating my personal manifesto
One of the things that came out of my recent Quarterly Personal Offsite was the idea of writing my personal manifesto, setting out what I want to achieve as I re focus my business activities. The idea of a personal manifesto came for reading Todd Henry's latest book...
read more