To the loyal, existing customers of UIL, welcome back – hopefully you can see some new subtle changes to the website and it is easier for you to navigate.
To the new customers, hello and welcome! Thanks for taking a look at the blog and getting this far, hopefully you find something useful here.
Now that the site is undergoing a renovation we plan for the blog to become a regular feature: keeping you informed and up to date with the business goings on, whilst also sharing regular tips, guides, “how to” articles and even debunking some common misconceptions.
The blog will be a less formal area for some chit chat, a bit of moaning or getting issues off our chest, news, and a glimpse into personal lives and maybe even hobbies.
For those of you who don’t know about the past of Upcycle Interiors – the idea was conceived in Q1 2015, but was not formally incorporated at Companies House until June 2018, around this time Mark was a sole trader, trading as Upcycle Interiors.
After the Limited company was set up it actually swiftly split away from its founding company which was then renamed as Upcycle Investments Limited, the “second” Upcycle Interiors Limited company was incorporated in October 2018.
If this all sounds a bit complex or dodgy it really wasn’t – it was simply down to the number of changes taking place in a short amount of time. This was a very active stage which kept our Accountants very busy! The old saying came in to play too – “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”.
In a nutshell, an Investment business (Upcycle Investments Limited) is a ‘hands off’ endeavour and really must be kept separate from a Property Development Business or General Builders (Upcycle Interiors Limited) which is primarily a trading business and a ‘hands on’ way of life.
Important lessons that the Accountants installed within the company from the very beginning were twofold –
1) Just start
2) Separation
Just start – If you want to leave your employment and set up a business just do it! Obviously this takes careful planning, marketing, writing business plans, cash flow forecasts, etc (don’t do it recklessly!). These are all sensible and important things to do before taking the plunge. But additionally – don’t worry about ‘registering as self employed’ or other slow moving and clunky tax games. These will all come out in the wash. Just keep good records (receipts, organised by date, with a list of expenses in excel, etc) and start doing it - when the time comes it can all be laid out, settled up, and a “zoom out” approach can be taken. For example, “Now I’ve been doing this a while is it working and what do I need to focus on more, is this going to plan or do I need to get back on track?”
Separation – Every business needs a strong concept and simple core. As mentioned above, mixing an investment company with a trading company is not sensible. This boils down to bank accounts too – you can never have too many! Whether you are the director or a limited company or a sole trader it cannot be emphasised enough – keep the finances separate! In the past 4 to 5 years challenger banks such as Tide, Starling and Monzo have taken the banking industry by storm. With their quick ‘overnight’ and easy set up process, intuitive mobile phone app, savings ‘pots’ (to put money aside for the Tax Man, vehicle, insurance, illness/injury, tools, etc) and simple login process – all with no fees, there really is no reason to not have multiple bank accounts.
To conclude, the most important lesson here is having a good accountant from the start. An accountant should be seen as a ‘Business Developer’ not someone who upsets you with tax bills! Bringing a good accountant on board at the very beginning can mean that the structure of your business is well thought out and works for you. Don’t forget – an accountants advice to your friend may be very different to the advise they give you because each and every person is different but also, no two businesses are the same either.