14 www.homebusinessnetwork.co.uk Issue 3
COmPETiTiON wiNNErS COmmENT
the grove
Rosetta Stone is an interactive software
Homes should be built with
program that distinguishes itself from other
language learning solutions by helping
learners develop language proficiency
business in mind
naturally, the same way they learned their
By George Derbyshire A further complication, and one that
first language as children—by connecting new many home workers overlook, is that
words with their meaning, in real-life contexts. RECENT years have seen a huge any room used in the running of a home
Rosetta Stone Version 3 is available in 25 increase in the number of businesses business may be liable for business rates,
languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese. being run from home, as much as 15% rather than council tax. The business
every year since 1990, according to must be registered with HMRC and carry
Lenovo
some reports. There are now over out self assessment processes; failure
3.1m ‘back bedroom businesses’ which to do so may result in a fine. Business
equates to 11% of the workforce. owners are however able to claim tax
With the advancements in computer relief on domestic bills for the areas of
and telecommunication technology, it’s the house used for the business.
easier and more efficient to work from The deeds of a property are another
home than ever before, so much so that potential stumbling block for the home
Congratulations to Sandra Boyce, the
Despite the fierce competition from
winner of the free prize draw to win a two
some very well thought out and most
night stay for two in a Deluxe Mansion
professionally presented photographs in
Suite at The Grove. Voted the UK’s
our recent competition, rozzie Tabberer’s
Favourite Leisure Hotel by the readers
entry has just squeezed through as our
of Conde Nast Traveller Magazine, The
favorite. Rozzie is now the proud owner of
Grove in Hertfordshire, otherwise known
a £250 Lenovo IdeaPad netbook.
as ‘London’s Country Estate’, is the place
“I’m absolutely thrilled, over the moon!
to be.
what a lovely surprise!,” says Rozzie.
Sandra’s prize, worth £1,800, includes
“The Lenovo netbook looks fantastic and
breakfast, dinners in Colette’s and The
will be a real help to my business, many,
Glasshouse restaurants, lunch in the
many thanks!”
Stables Restaurant and a spa treatment
Rozzie’s Postman Delivers (front cover
for two in the Sequoia couples suite and
picture) was judged best from the many
use of all other spa facilities throughout
entries we received because, in the judges’
the stay.
opinion, it was the best composed of those
that captured the work, life and home
Rosetta Stone
theme. Well done to all who entered.
new competition
George Derbyshire: Negatives often glossed over.
many people are touting the trend to based entrepreneur, as in some cases
become the norm for office workers in they can restrict the use of the property
the future. in starting a business. In the case of the
Many of the advantages of working from home being a flat or social accommodation
home are clear, no one’s going to complain (in line with the above statistic there’s
when faced with a 20 second commute a good chance that it is), landlords
downstairs, but there are negatives and owners could also have imposed
involved which are often glossed over. The restrictions on how the property can be
root of these drawbacks stem from the used. In each case it pays to check the
home itself; houses are built to be lived in, deeds or tenancy agreement beforehand.
not worked in. Similarly, depending on the location
For starters, the exponential of the property, planning laws might
growth of home working has and will affect business operations. As well
increasingly call for houses designed as the possibility of not being able to
for the home based business. A live/ use the property for business means,
work lifestyle needs suitable space in there may be sanctions on operating
the home, not a pokey back bedroom, hours, signage, noise, heat, odours and
and simple basics like a second phone neighbourhood traffic from customers or
Three lucky members can now brush
line. High speed broadband would be colleagues visiting.
up their language skills, having won a
useful too. All these factors can cause headaches
Rosetta Stone Version 3 Level 1,2 & 3
Don’t miss out on the latest Home
And wouldn’t it be good if new for anyone thinking about running a
Personal Edition box set, worth £379 each.
Business competition. Go to page 19 for
developments had other facilities to suit business from home, yet most can be
Congratulations to Nick Bird (who chose
details on how to win one of three Actinic
home based businesses, such as copy addressed relatively simply. Government
Spanish), John Scott (Japanese) and
Catalog version 9, ecommerce desktop
shops and informal meeting places? and organisations need to accommodate
Pamela reid (French).
applications worth £399.
Instead, the main goal of planners and the exponential growth in home based
designers is to throw up as many units business by making the process clearer
HOmE BUSiNESS CLiNiC
as possible on one footprint. For this and easier, and perspectives on the
reason, about 40% of new homes built role of the home need to be changed to
today are flats – I’m sure many new encourage and enable entrepreneurs to
from the Home Business forum:
apartment developments are lovely, set up hassle-free.
“I’m finally at the stage of registering my company but have started to do some
but in my experience a less congenial
mobile discos on the side to help bring in a few more pennies. I was wondering
environment from which to operate a George Derbyshire is chief executive of
whether it would be easier to register my day and evening job as one company (day
business is hard to imagine. NFEA – the national enterprise network.
job is a blacksmith) or whether to do it as two separate companies?”
Clive Lewis, head of enterprise at the iCAEw, replies:
“The blacksmith business could be a limited company but the mobile disco should be
a sole trader. They are two very separate activities which HM Revenue & Customs
should accept as separate. This means the mobile discos business will not be under
the same VAT threshold as the blacksmith business. “
Got a question for our experts?
Write to: Home Business Network Clinic, Red Lion Lodge, Bentley, Farnham, Surrey, GU10 5HY, or
n
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d

t
O

K
n
O
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ONLINE advertising allows you to spend as much or as little as you want.
Programmes such as Google AdWords allow you to lower and raise your
daily spend with a simple click to reflect your business needs. For example,
if you sell beds and you want to empty the warehouse to make room for a
new delivery, increasing your daily budget to increase traffic to your site
could increase sales.
Graham Cook, Google
email: clinic@homebusinessnetwork.co.uk
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