Recent content by Mark Lee

  1. Mark Lee

    Twitter

    I twitter (Bookmarklee) - the main motivation for doing so was because I found Tweetlater that enables me to set up tweets in advance. I then use my twitter feed to update my status on Facebook and on Ecademy. I'm still experimenting with Twitter and post a variety of topics and links - more...
  2. Mark Lee

    Ever thought of asking accountants to introduce you to their clients?

    It seems so obvious doesn't it? Approaching local accountants who have clients that could be ideal customers and clients for your business or service? Most accountants will have been 100 and 400 clients so, in theory, this could be a great route to market - IF the accountant is willing to...
  3. Mark Lee

    Did you have a business plan?

    I had a plan and all would have been fine had I been able to predict events accurately. The way I have explained this to others is using the analogy of making a trip through a dense forest in a strange land. Without any form of plan you will be lost and may not get through to the other side in...
  4. Mark Lee

    chartered accountants or Non chartered

    The key factors are: a) What services do YOU require? Different people need different services and each accountant, qualified or not, will have different areas of specialisation - which leads to second key factor: b) What level of experience does the accountant have of providing the services...
  5. Mark Lee

    Why don't people want free services?

    ...You'll carry on getting what you've always got. If prospects don't respond to your current marketing message you need to change something. Change the sort of people you're targetting (maybe try for those who don't laready have ads on their sites); change your pitch; try mentioning a fee and...
  6. Mark Lee

    Blogs - easy, difficult or a waste of time?

    As a writer, what better way to evidence and promote your skills than through a blog? Don't worry about how many people are reading your blog - unless you think they are all potential clients or you have a big ego. You need to ensure the blog is a good ad for what people are willing to pay...
  7. Mark Lee

    Blogs - easy, difficult or a waste of time?

    That really is key in my view. I enjoy blogging but I realise I have different audiences. Therefore I have 3 different blogs. One contains advice and tips for accountants in practice, one contains tax related insights and commentary and the third (and by far the most popular) contains...
  8. Mark Lee

    Why SEO Is A Complete Waste Of Time For Your Small Business

    Thanks for that. Never occurred to me to ensure that the site ref you checked could work - indeed, other than for blogs I assumed you had to use the www prefix. Still - I've passed this onto the site development team. Thanks again.
  9. Mark Lee

    Why SEO Is A Complete Waste Of Time For Your Small Business

    I tend to agree with a lot of what Terry is saying above. Just yesterday I wrote back to an SEO spammer who was promising to deliver loads more visitors to my site. I pointed out that unless they were visitors within my target audience and they wanted to engage our tax advisory services or...
  10. Mark Lee

    Small companies on brink of tax revolt?

    Whilst it's true that it's easy to set up an offshore company, it is deemed to be resident in the UK if the shares are owned by or on the direction of UK residents. It's profits are taxable here (subject to any relief for double tax) because it is deemed to be resident here. The idea that you...
  11. Mark Lee

    Would a tax advice service be of interest to professional advisers?

    I've heard this before. It's one of the reasons why all of the tax specialist members of the Tax Advice Network have to provide detailed profiles. The accountants and others who require tax support can pick a specialism and then choose between the profiles of different advisers to help them, by...
  12. Mark Lee

    Small companies on brink of tax revolt?

    Many thanks for your kind words - appreciated. I found the perfect compromise though. I now run a Network of independent tax advisers. They give the tax advice and I focus on building the business. This means I also still have good reason to continue writing my blogs and posting on forums like...
  13. Mark Lee

    Small companies on brink of tax revolt?

    I think it's dangerous to talk up the idea of deliberate non-compliance. That would lead to a downward spiral and even more unbalanced powers for HMRC than we are already facing. Having said that, I recently explained (in a detailed article for Taxation magazine) why, after 25 years and...
  14. Mark Lee

    Would a tax advice service be of interest to professional advisers?

    Thanks to David and Jason for the plugs above. Much appreciated. Susanah - by all means get in touch. If you satisfy our membership criteria you could join the Tax Advice Network and benefit from our marketing and PR reach - you would also be able to continue operating as an independent tax...
  15. Mark Lee

    Have you won a business award - what's your secret?

    I think my two biggest tips are already noted above: 1 - Enter 2 - Ensure that your entry meets the awards criteria. Make it easy for the judges to see that your entry ticks all the boxes. I was a judge for the first 5 or 6 years that LexisNexis presented the Taxation awards. It was astonishing...
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