Rachel’s News

Hi everybody I hope you are well. Another epic weekend has just passed by.  My Create Your Online Fitness Business Seminar in Birmingham was better than I ever could have imagined.

70 Instructors, Personal Trainers, Nutritionists, Pilates Instructors and Boot Camp owners all gathered together to learn how to take their fitness business from physical to digital.

The energy and atmosphere in the room could have supplied the National Grid for the next 12 months, it was THAT electric. It is really apparent now that the fitness landscape is changing so rapidly. During the last 10 years of which Choreography to go has been in existence, my goal has always been to inspire and motivate instructors on where I think the industry is going, and to be honest, working on your USP, your goals, Blogging, Vlogging, leveraging your time via social media, the Internet, mobile Technology and apps, in my opinion, needs to be a priority if you want to build an online business that is sustainable and successful.

Before the event I revisited my slides and notes from the last Business Builder workshop I held in November 2011 and immediately it occurred to me how much has changed in only 6 months.

I kicked off the day talking about social media, where we are headed and how as fitness instructors social media can help build your following, spread your message, promote your business and engage with customers and prospects and how you can even run parts of your business using Facebook groups and applications. Social media as a delivery platform is outstanding and very hot right now!

I went on to talk about my “Hot List.  My Hot List is my predictions for forth coming trends within online, health fitness and well-being online market. This caused a real buzz amongst the delegates, as I threw into the group some pretty radical and innovative ideas. I truly believe that the online fitness market is moving so fast, and if you don’t jump on now and start making headway with your ideas, then someone else will beat you to it.

Many instructors talked about having a multitude of ideas and a myriad of directions in which they want to go, and this part of the day was filled with passion as everybody shared their inspiring ideas. And, there were some pretty cutting edge and unique ideas.

The fitness industry’s favourite accountant, Mr Andrew Crawford, took centre stage to talk about copyrighting, branding, and protecting your intellectual property. So relevant right now if you want to safeguard your work and ideas online. Andrew also discussed company registration and domain names for your new businesses; it was all so useful and helpful. I wrote a ton of notes on Andrew’s presentation, so big thanks to Mr Crawford for imparting this knowledge.

It was my turn again as I discussed online product development, marketing and branding, which is my current preferred topic to talk about and I can talk for England on that one! Next up was Katie Bulmer, who walked us though the setting up of her unique brand and franchise The Little Black Dress Club Workout. Ms Bulmer talked candidly about how she got the concept together, packaged it and has as of last night sold 20 licences.

It’s an amazing business model that this Sunderland lass has created and everyone was pretty spell bound by her achievements.

 

I’d like to thank everyone who came along, I’m still buzzing and excited by the whole event.

 

Small Group Training Update by Rachel

 

Last week’s newsletter clearly hit some UK nerves as I received a tremendous amount of feedback after it went out. Looks like a lot of you are planning on launching various variations of SGT so go for it; it’s going to be a major trend this summer.

 

Mobile www.c2go.mobi

 

As more and more people are using iphones, blackberrys and smart phones and all of the future predications point to mobile websites and apps as being the way ahead, I have created a dedicated Choreographytogo Mobile site where you can access your C2go videos on the move  if you need a quick burst of inspiration. You will also be able to get onto KSFL workouts and information very soon as well.

At the moment we have loaded all of the newer videos and you will be able to view the complete catalogue over the coming months but I need a mass group test.

Can you go to your iphone or Blackberry and go to www.c2go.mobi and log in and if you have any of the newest 10 or so downloads please see if you can view them on your phone. It will only allow you to view the latest so any older ones currently won’t play. Please tweet me and let me have your feedback.

@RachelHolmes

 

KSFL2012 UPDATES

 

This week my biggest loser was in the Men Only KSFL. Presenter Steve Watson shed 13lbs following the plan religiously which is awesome! The 2 stone + group are all coming along nicely half way through the plan and the 14 day detoxes and KSFL Leaders groups all finished and  between us a whopping 1529.8 inches and 1691 lbs. in total.

The next 14 day KSFL DETOX kicks off with me on Tuesday 8th May and you can sign up here http://www.choreographytogo.com/shop/ksfl-2012/

 

 

Fitness Pilates Health & Wellness Boutique Bootcamp

 

This is a new 7 day online pilot program including 7 new 15minute Fitness Pilates Workouts with me and an online vitality and health Kick Start Plan. It’s not a weight loss plan, but a healthy eating regime designed to give you maximum energy and vitality with 7 invigorating Fitness PIlates workouts.

If you are looking for new avenues to deliver your Fitness Pilates classes and unique content and class ideas, then this is something you may be interested in.

I’ve also included 7x 5 minute positivity coaching vlogs to really get your day off with a spring in your step. I’m really excited about this unique wellness and vitality approach to be included into Fitness Pilates. And I will evolve the program further to include mindset, wellness and healthy nutrition.

If this is something you would like to try with me on my first group can you email me as I will only be taking 20 Instructors on this initially. It would be great if you are FP trained but if you are interested in a more holistic, mind body and coaching style fitness come and give it a try.

 

Email me Rachel@CHoreographytogo.com or Tweet me @RachelHolmes

 

Online Videos and Downloads

 

The gremlin we found last week in the video systems is all fixed now so you should be able to log and watch all of your purchased videos.

 

 

Jayne Nicholls -  Friends United

 

It has been a week of nostalgia as both Rachel and i have been trawling through our journey in the fitness industry to find pictures and events that have summed up our united relationship.

 

Here are my top 5 so far:

 

1. Our first tour for Fitness Professionals
2. Being made the first Nike Fitness Athletes
3. Creating Athletes in Action
4. Creating our business brands
5. Creating FP & FFY

 

i remember one of our Tours when we were Athletes in Action and we presented the news that lying on the floor doing leg lifts and donkey kicks was OVER. We presented the information, the facts and the new workouts. People actually screamed at us in protest on that tour, it got pretty heated, but hands up who does them now? We have moved mountains and I am not ashamed to celebrate it. For a while now we have been trying to create a workout that is simple and easy for every instructor to teach and that blends the best of Pilates and Yoga. After all this is how our individual brands began as a mixed class called Equilibrium. Now we have it, our new UNITE programme is everything and more than we had hoped.

 

Together we are presenting a 1 day launch in Derby on June 16th which will provide you with full content and business inspiration AND as it is our first event for a long time, we may have a few surprises

 

Make sure that you are 1 of the 50 people to take UNITE and move mountains with it.

 

Join us on june 16th – www.groupxtraining.com
J a y n e

 

Jayne Nicholls

 

07989 433 969

0208 488 1451

www.groupxtraining.com

 

 

 

Jayne and Rachel UNITE for the Fitness Pilates and Freestyle Fitness Yoga Unite Day in Derby on 16th June 2012

 

On Saturday 16th June 2012 Jayne and I will be running a brand new Fitness Pilates and Freestyle Fitness Yoga UNITE Day.  We will be showcasing our new FP and FFY Unite class, Workshops on running FP and FFY as Small Group Training with our brand new SGT Templates, Meditation, Barefoot and Power sessions plus marketing, business and motivation. Explore our new FP & FFY outdoors session (weather permitting) and we will be giving away goody bags, freebies and hosting drinks and networking. The day will be a complete one off and held at Derby David Lloyd Club – The club is a 1 minute walk from Derby Train station which is on the midland main line and easy to get to from all areas.

 

FFY & FP Unite Event will represent a fresh, new era for the 2 programs as we both celebrate new developments and new directions.

As of yesterday we had 50 places but now down to 30 so check your train times and come and share a piece of the Mind/Body Future.

You can book here http://www.choreographytogo.com/unite-fp-ffy/

 

Have you completed one of the programs but not the other?

Perfect.  If you have completed one of the programs but not the other this is your chance to take part, enjoy and trial the perfect, complimentary class partner for your business with the creators.

Check out the train times from your area today and come on a road trip to see us. A warm welcome will await you. The day will begin at 12 and run until 7 and put this date in your diary – Mind Body Fitness at its very best.

 

 

 

 

 

Sally Ghafoor – Writing an Ebook

 

Since Rachel’s Awesome seminar, I have so many people contacting me asking about writing ebooks that I decided to write an article for you al., I have decided to take up Andrew Crawford’s mantra of love more, give more ,help more so if you have any questions on anything I write on please do just contact me.

 

Thinking about an ebook will not get it written, a lot of people say that they have tons of ideas but when it comes to getting it down on paper they have pure writer’s block!!

 

What do people want to read? You might assume people will want to buy your book but are you sure? Assuming they will is a way to fail, ask them, send out surveys, ask in a blog post, use twitter and facebook.  If you’re writing a book that people have interest in, you’re creating a buzz around it whilst writing it that will help sell it along with the fact you are delivering a book they have interest in!

 

The Title – Do you decide the title first or after? To be honest it doesn’t matter – some people once they have decided the title, it gets them focused on writing their book. So why not give that a try, jot down different titles then if one stands out see if the writing will flow. If not don’t panic, you can just as easily choose it afterwards. However your title is IMPORTANT  It can mean the difference between selling a few and a lot, you need a title that catches your target market’s attention. Play around with different names; use a thesaurus to find different words for words that are not exciting

 

Answer your Question – Every time I write, I start by asking myself a question and answering it in the article. So maybe write a statement before starting out on the ebook. What problem are you going to be answering in your book, what purpose does it solve? How will it benefit the reader? Write about something your audience has a problem with that you can solve. Don’t try and do a book with everything including the kitchen sink, as you will go off track and bore the reader – plus by writing just a subject at a time will give you scope for more ebooks. After you have done all this then you can break this down into smaller objectives within paragraphs to get to the bigger objective in your book.  Why not use a mind map? Make sure all your chapters fit together – how are you going to break it down? What is each chapter going to solve. So list your chapters then flesh it out! If you write or blog, why not when wri ting your chapters imagine you’re actually writing an article/blog for each chapter.

 

What’s your subject – Does it REALLY interest you? Are you passionate about it, if you are it will just roll off the page. My type of writing is completely how I would speak to you, be natural and read your content back, would it interest you or would you switch off, do you re read your paragraphs and think yes I want to read more I get what I am saying, if my content doesn’t flow its scrapped and started again.

 

Have you researched your subject? There is nothing worse than an un-researched book, remember people will read this and judge you on your book. They might buy the first book but if you are not well researched they will not buy from you again. So if you’re trying to promote yourself as an expert in your field, research become an expert, do not pretend as the public are very savvy they will know and will not buy from you again.

 

War and peace – So much I see on social media,” I have written a 300 page ebook on how to bore your readers” – it’s about content and quality not how much drivel there is on masses of pages, if you can say it one paragraph why write a chapter about it. Keep your audience engaged.

 

Would you read your book – Would you? If not scrap it start again.

 

Remember the three D’s – DO IT, DO IT, DO IT

 

Want more info go to www.sallyghafoor.com there is a ebook and webinar on writing your ebook

 

 

 

The KISS of life! By Jill Gardner, The Fat Controller

 

Are we missing a trick by trying to be too clever?  Have we forgotten how much some people don’t know about health and nutrition? Are we inadvertently scaring off a huge and potential audience?

 

I was recently very lucky to be taken on a cruise ship holiday.  It was my first time on an all inclusive holiday and I was a bit apprehensive about managing my clean diet onboard a floating palace.  I had no idea what to expect.

 

However nothing could have prepared me for the incredible eye opening journey I had for the 11 days I was on board one of the biggest cruise ships in the world!

 

As well as a high tech gym and the outdoor running track on the top deck (some 14 floors up) there were over 10 different places to eat. Food was available 24 hours a day. And I was elated to discover sugar free menu options for drinks and foods.

 

Was this luxury cruise provider ahead of the game?  Or was there a much more sinister reason for this apparent nod in direction of healthier menu choices?

 

It didn’t take many hours before I clocked that over 75% of the 4,000 guests (mostly British) on-board where either overweight or obese.  Both grown adults, the elderly and more worryingly children.  (apparently the American ships are worse!!)

 

Of course!!! That’s why they had sugar free options!  The ship HAD to cater for all the guests and many of them had already got type II diabetes!  The sugar free options were for the growing number of diabetics who travel on cruise ships!  The horror was unfolding!

 

I observed their exercise habits – queues formed for the elevators while the stairs remained empty.  The gym was full!  Full of slim people!  There were a huge number of wheel chairs and electric mobility scooters ferrying overweight passengers.

 

I observed their eating and drinking habits – plates piled high with beige dead food, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta.  Barely any of it fresh or green despite the huge variety of salads and vegetables available. Breakfasts of refined, depleted cereals, bread products, cakes, pastries and sweet things.  Lunches of burgers and chips, a la carte dinners of many courses all accompanied by mountains of white bread.  There was a continual drip feed of squash, fruit juices, fizzy soda, sweet coffees and cocktails and alcohol – 24 hours a day! Not a water fountain in sight!

 

Having studied and practiced fitness and fat loss for over 10 years I feel I am in a place where I can call myself an expert.  I pride myself for reading the latest scientific literature and books.  But it dawned on me!  I had become smug!  I could say no to the bread basket because I understood the slippery slope to muffin-top kingdom.  I understand that refined carbs and sugar can be as addictive as drugs

 

My message is this.  We can devise brilliant and complex fat loss programs that detoxify the body, burn fat in short amounts of time and restore hormonal balance with a complex range of supplements and protocols.  But often we are marketing to an existing audience that are already savvy about nutrition and come to our classes.

 

What about the ones that are slowly unwittingly killing themselves because they don’t have a grasp of the basics.  Or the ones that believe most diets are too extreme – after all everything in balance right?  But they no longer understand what balance means anymore.

 

Do they need to know about detoxification pathways, Apoptosis or heavy metal poisoning and chelation therapy yet?   Or do they just need simple, easy steps – such as drinking more water or increasing their vegetable intake.  Have we have lost sight of the big rocks and instead focusing on the minutiae and on being ‘experts’!

 

For a growing number of the population, the Keep It Simple Stupid approach will bring about unprecedented health benefits.  Whilst wholemeal bread may not be ideal, for some it’s a big step away from their love affair with white bread.

 

KISS is enough to inspire a great many to take a journey where they WANT to learn more and become empowered.  We are in a place where we can save lives and feed them the basics instead of them feeding themselves to death.

 

What do you think?  Hook up with me on Facebook and let me know!

 

Big love, small tummies,

 

Jill x

 

 

Five Things I’d Do Differently If I Opened A Studio Again by Helen Ttofa!

 

It’s been four weeks since I closed my very busy and very profitable studio, and

I haven’t looked back once! Most of you are probably scratching your head

wondering why I would shut the door on a business that was making money,

well the honest truth is I just wasn’t happy. I felt drained, uninspired and lacking

the motivation to continue teaching night after night and I wanted to spend more

time with my family and working on projects that light my fire!

 

I know there are a lot of Rachel’s followers that would love to open their own

studio so I’ve put together my top five tips for things I would do differently if I

had to do it all again. Hopefully, you guys will find some of this information

valuable when thinking about your own ventures.

 

These are in no particular order; I’ve simply written them as they have popped

into my head.

 

1. Have a plan.

Yes that’s right I opened the doors without first thinking about any sort of long term

business plans, marketing strategies, and financial figures to steer me in the right

direction. It was literally, open the doors and they will come… luckily they did. But if I

had my time again I would firstly write a business plan for at least the first three months

of trading, and revisit my plan in the second quarter to make any changes. Not having

a road map of where I wanted to go left me rummaging in the darkness for ideas and

inspiration on a daily basis, which is extremely draining.

 

2. Employ Staff From Day One.

I tried to do everything myself, not only was I completely shattered but when I did finally

bring other instructors into my studio it completely changed the dynamic and experience

that I had worked so hard to create over the previous eight months. Regular clients that

only wanted to do my sessions began to drop off as they didn’t want to train with anyone

else and the newer clientele that followed the new instructors into my studio weren’t

‘my ideal client’ and it really had an effect on the atmosphere. By employing your staff from

day one you eliminate the ‘but we want you!’ syndrome and it also allows you time to

concentrate on the business side of your studio and not the class creation.

 

3. Have Two Mobiles.

Never ever ever ever give your personal telephone number to any of your clients. Have one

phone for business and one for personal calls. Turn your business phone off at the same time you

close your studio doors. Otherwise you will have the same issues I had i.e. a call at 2am on

a Saturday night from a distraught woman asking you to talk her down from a midnight feast!

You are not on call so don’t get dragged into that sort of situation. Most businesses have

hours of work where you can contact the offices, fitness shouldn’t be any different.

 

4. Don’t Try And Please Everyone.

My biggest flaw was trying to please everyone all of the time. Trust me I learnt the hard way that

it is impossible. Most people that walk through your studio doors will absolutely love what you

do. Some won’t. I used to lie awake at night wondering what I had done wrong and worry

about why certain people had not come back or had dropped off. That’s the fitness business,

people will come and go. Also don’t try to please everyone with your timetable. I had a group

of women that had followed me from a gym chain that begged and begged for me to put on

a step class. So I bought twenty steps for the studio and only ever got three people attend

the class. Do what YOU think is right, not what you are bullied into thinking is right!

 

5. Direct Debits/Standing Orders From The Get Go.

Get every single person that walks through the door on either direct debit or standing order

for your memberships. Don’t sell memberships as a cash option, only do PAYG classes

as cash options. If I had a pound for every time someone forgot to bring their purses

when their memberships were due for renewal then I would be a very rich woman!

Don’t be afraid to ask for your money, I used to shy away from chasing people for their

membership money because I didn’t want to embarrass them, but at the end of the day

they are paying you for a service and you deserve to be paid on time. People don’t go and

get their haircut then tell the hairdresser that they will pay them next time so don’t let them

do it to you. Get them signed up on a DD or standing order so you don’t have to put yourself

in that awkward position of having to remind them to pay. You’ll also be able to plan your

finances better if you know what you have coming in and going out.

 

Guys, there are literally a hundred things I would do differently if I ever opened a studio

again but hopefully my top five tips have given you food for thought if you are in the process

of opening your doors.

 

If you are about to open your own studio and you need any advice from someone that has

been there and bought the t-shirt then do drop me a line at mail@nogymrequired.co.uk

and I’ll help out wherever possible.

 

Owning a studio can be a massively rewarding, both personally and financially, but there

are pitfalls along the way to be avoided.

 

Hope that helped, H x

 

Helen Ttofa

www.nogymrequired.co.uk

www.relentlessfitness.co.uk

 

 

 

 

The Essential Ingredients by Katie Bulmer

Hi C2Goer’s,

Following on from Rachel’s Small Group Personal Training piece in last week’s newsletter, I had a lot of people asking me how my SGT model, The Little Black Dress Club, works. As Rachel highlighted SGT is going to be huge in the industry in the coming year. I’ve been delivering it for around 18 months now and I can honestly say I love it!

It’s a combination of everything I love…PT, group classes and getting people great results!

So what are the essential ingredients for a successful SGT model?

Here are my top 7:

1. A sound nutrition system that has been tried, tested and delivers great results
2. An easy to follow workout plan. You don’t have to use equipment, and if clients are going to be training at home its best to keep it simple and cost effective
3. A jam packed manual that covers all aspects of nutrition, exercise, goal setting and tools to help your clients stay on track
4. A niche. Decide who exactly you want to work with, for example I only work with really busy women
5. A way to measure your client’s success, e.g. skin fold callipers, tape measure, pictures
6. A clear plan of exactly what happens at each session, e.g. week one- intro, stats, Q&A, week two- workout, week 3- stats and workout. Also decide on the duration of the sessions and entire program
7. Have a plan for client retention, post your last week SGT. Have something to offer your clients to help them stay on track- this could be on or offline

If you would like to know more about my SGT model and become a LBDC Elite Trainer, having exclusivity in your area, tweet me using the #lbdc @katiebulmer1

Have a smashing day and here’s to your success as a SGT trainer!

 

KBC x

 

 

 

 

Confidence……..booster or destroyer? by Cori Withell

 

Why are we so afraid?

 

Having spoken to many, many fitpros over the last few months I have been blown away but the lack of self-confidence in the industry.  Our fear of what our peers may think is physically holding us back.

 

But WHY???????

 

We decide we want to work in this industry, we go and study our course, we do our exams, are practical assessments, our case studies, we pass (maybe not the first time, but we pass or we decide a different career choice!)

 

SO

 

What stops us believing that our knowledge is any less than that of any of our peers or any other health care professional for that matter?  Why are we SO worried what other people think anyway?  Why is our self confidence and self esteem at an all time low?  Why do we always think that other people know better, that their products will be better than our own?

 

Why do we LET this attitude hold us back?

 

I know of several of my fellow fitpros that are not launching their product through self confidence.  For fear of what their peers may think to their product.  Why does it matter?  It is YOUR product – tailored to YOUR niche and created by YOU.

 

What does it matter is someone does not like your product.  Their dislike of your product is not going to stop your product selling to your niche.  You have done your research, you have done all the leg work, why wouldn’t it sell?  If you really think it won’t sell then work out why, decide whether you want to launch it anyway and then tweak it at a later date if you need to.

 

I have only recently discovered what I really believe I am here to do and lots of people may think I am talking rubbish or think I am on so weird career tangent

 

BUT

 

It feels completely right for me, I am doing what I love and quite frankly I don’t care what other people think, fitpros or Joe public. I have spent the time studying and researching and continue to do so.   I am lucky enough to be doing what I love and earning money and the best bit is having a really positive aspect on someone else’s life – that is the best feeling in the world as far as I am concerned.

 

So, have a little bit of self belief, go with your heart.  If you create something that people criticise, let them.  It isn’t worth your energy worrying about it.  Your sales will tell you if you have got it right or not.  Oh and by the way, if it doesn’t sell, it IS NOT a failure; you have just learned what doesn’t work so that next time your odds are getting it right are even better

 

Lack of self confidence can be so totally debilitating and people who don’t suffer with it probably find it a really difficult concept to grasp BUT it can completely stop you living you life the way you want to through FEAR.  Even worse, the longer you leave it the worse this fear gets as it mentally ‘grows’ in your head.  What started as a fairly small irrational fear of other opinion of failure ‘grows’ into this huge fear that you genuinely believe you cannot overcome.

 

So, remember that you are allowed to be you, utterly and completely.  No one else, ever has the right to affect how you feel about you

 

BUT and this is crucial

 

What others think about you is up to you but how YOU respond to it is totally and utterly your decision.

 

This isn’t easy to change if for years you have let the opinion of others affect how you feel about you but it can make a huge change to how you feel.

 

Tell yourself every day how wonderful you are and how powerful you are in your own life.  You can take your life and your business to any and every level that you want to.

Health and happiness x

Cori x

You can also follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/CWFitness and you can follow my blog on www.cwfitness.co.uk/blog

 

 

Foul….That’s a Penalty….!!!

by Andrew Crawford

Firstly, I must apologise to Martin Chidgey I inadvertently spelt his name wrong…I hope he didn’t take offence…Sorry..!!

This morning, as a relaxed in my hot radox bubble bath…I heard  ‘banging’ on the window as the rain fell freely from the sky.

The weather report for today was….

Unsettled with showers or longer spells of rain.

“…….Rain should push into northern UK overnight, stalling over north eastern UK to reinforce persistent rain and hill snow here. More showery further south, with showers merging in places to longer spells of rain. Windy in both northern and south eastern UK…….”"

If you remember my article a couple of weeks ago, I posed the question…….

Is there really a water shortage?

My 2 questions for you are these;

1. Where does water (rain) come from?
2.  How much of this planet is covered in water?

“…The Environment Agency has issued seven flood warnings in south-west England, a region currently in drought.

But despite the heavy rain water companies have said it won’t change the fact that certain parts of the country remain in drought…”

Things that make you go…..hmm.!!

Also….Can someone tell me that why in this era of overweight kids and obese parents, unhealthy eating, no dieting fast food fanatics that they have built a Macki D’s …the BIGGEST ever…at the Olympics Stadium??!!

Good gracious me………!!!

These Olympic Athletes, the best in the world, have spent most of their lives honing their skills, talents, and speed…..by eating healthy, exercising regularly, drinking cleanly, consuming organically, noshing on prime meat, exercising daily, sleeping soundly, stretching safely, practicing religiously, competing competitively & entertaining respecfully…..

Why in the world would organisers think that during their ‘days off’ from their World class races that people like Usain Bolt would dash across from their comfortable Olympic Village and order a soggy big Mac horse burger and a large bag of greasy over cooked fries with coke (the drinking kind…)….to go…..!!

There should be a penalty for serving up sub standard foul food.

I prefer Kentucky fried chicken …..or at least I DID…until I discovered……………………KSFL..!!

Fried chicken??……That tastes fowl…lol

Yes folks…Round 2 is in effect for me.. Rachel Holmes is putting a bunch of us through our paces including lots of people I know…I’m not telling you who they are here. You will recognise them as they sport an old frock they used to wear years ago…or see them squeeze into stretch jeans…..lol

I lost 4 lbs in the first week, (total nearly 2 stones) now counting down 4 days to Sunday…can’t weight…..ha ha ha….excuse the pun …’til weigh day to see all my efforts  in lost fat, weight and inches, whilst proudly standing on the scales!!

So Andrew…..

What the. …has rain drops on your window whilst you were soaking in a radox bath, Mackie D’s at the Olympics and Usain Bolt ordering a big mac horse burger special got to do with Accountancy & Finance?

Well….

This week and especially last week, people have been receiving letters from HMRC imposing penalties for falling foul of paragraph 3 of Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009.

In other words…their Tax Returns were not sent in on time.

In addition to the above there were letters received which imposed other penalties under paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 56 to the Finance Act 2009

In other words….they didn’t pay all the tax liability due and were therefore charged 5% of the total unpaid tax as an additional penalty.

Whatever happens…please don’t let the HMRC determine anything regarding your tax payments.

Why?

They ‘determine’ a figure which has no substance and you will have no recourse, even if you submit ‘actual’ figures.

Amazing…but true..!!

The Budget Payment Plan

If you can’t pay, they have introduced a Budget Payment Plan.

Unfortunately, this is only available to people whose tax payments are up to date but assuming it is, you can pay, from your hard earned pounds, into the coffers of the safe HMRC.

You can pay weekly or monthly and can change amounts whenever you want. This plan is very flexible.

I use this kind of payment system/method to save for my Xmas activities….did I mention that word??  Yes.

I currently set aside, in the ‘Commercial Bank of Crawford’, between £150 – £200 a month for December. This is so that I can have cash to buy food & pressies…….I don’t use credit cards…!!

Why?

Well I remember in my care free youth..January to March were lean months when I was ‘paying back’ the money I ‘borrowed’ for that week (25^th December  – 1^st January)….It was a foul period and I paid the penalty for using credit. It’s CASH now..!!

It may remind you if I showed you again the penalties that are in force at present and believe me…..they are enforcing this…!!!

1 day late

A fixed penalty of £100. This applies even if you have no tax to pay or have paid the tax you owe.

3 months late

£10 for each following day – up to a 90 day maximum of £900. This is as well as the fixed penalty above.

6 months late

£300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is the higher. This is as well as the penalties above.

12 months late

£300 or 5% of the tax due, whichever is the higher.

In serious cases you may be asked to pay up to 100% of the tax due instead. These are as well as the penalties above.

Having a reasonable excuse for missing the deadline

You won’t have to pay a penalty if you have a reasonable excuse for missing the deadline.

• documents lost through theft, fire or flood that you can’t replace in time
• life-threatening illness, for example a heart attack that prevents you dealing with your tax affairs
• death of a partner shortly before the deadline
• industrial action by Royal Mail over a lengthy period of time
• issues with the online service, with no work-round – you’ll need to provide the error message you received

Finally, when everyone, including the Doctors at Imperial College London was surprised at how Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees had overcome ”incredible odds” to wake up from the coma…… all I can say to the ‘hand’ that healed Robin and opened his eyes to the world again is……………

……………How deep is your love?

Visit our website at: www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com for more FREE resources and articles.

‘Like’ our page at: www.facebook.com/fitnessindustryaccountants

Andrew Crawford can be contacted on twitter @tax4fitness or info@fitnessindustryaccountants.com

 

 

Wow, what a week!

 

By Claire Mockridge

Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

 

Hi there everyone,

 

Wow!  What a week.  What a weekend.  And, wow what lovely birthday I had yesterday!  Isn’t Social Media fantastic when it’s your birthday?  It makes you feel like the Queen, eh? I received so many tweets on Twitter, and posts on my Facebook timeline that my poor Blackberry nearly exploded.  Poor thing.  Thank you everyone who sent me best wishes via this platform.  I was truly touched.

 

So, what have you been up to?  For those of you who came to Rachel’s Online Fitness Builder Workshop on Saturday, no doubt you’re still buzzing and came away full of ideas.  It was amazing, wasn’t it?  If you missed out on a space at the seminar, try not to let it get you down.  Why not feed off the buzz that it’s created instead?  It’s really quite infectious.  Anyone can create an online product.  I firmly believe that.

 

What have I been up to?  Well, I’ve been busy getting ready for own my Pre/Postnatal Exercise and Marketing Workshop on 19-20 May 2012 in Derby, and of course thinking more about my online fitness business.  Without me realising, I already have a fairly successful passive income stream, as I have Pre/Postnatal Fitness DVDs and other online products for sale.  I’ll be honest with you though, nothing beats the feeling of making money whilst you sleep.  I think there’s potential for every FitPro out there to have an online income stream similar to mine, and I’ll be covering this topic in more detail at my Workshop, but I’ll obviously be “niching it up” and making it more specific to pre/postnatal.

 

If you’ve done your Level 3 Ante/Postnatal qualification, or are studying it now, I have very limited Workshop spaces available, and I’d hate for you to miss out on this live, one-off Event.  You know yourself that the Level 3 Ante/Postnatal qualification itself is fairly basic.  It’s heavy on theory and pretty light on the practical stuff.  I have over 4 hours worth of exercise content planned for pre and postnatal for my Exercise and Marketing Workshop, so you’ll walk away with endless ideas on keeping the content of your pre/postnatal sessions fresh, and more importantly, I’ll be giving you the confidence to try out new exercises with your clients from someone who’s been there and done it.

 

Are you struggling with advertising and marketing to pregnant women or new mums?  I have answers to all of these questions too.  I know how frustrating it is to put your heart and soul into a new venture, only to watch it fail.  Follow my marketing steps, and you’ll enjoy full pregnancy and postnatal classes, with waiting lists in operation, just like me.

 

So, if you’ve done your Level 3 Ante/Postnatal, or currently studying it, here are the details:

 

Pre/Postnatal Exercise and Marketing “Bridging the Gap” Workshop ~ 19-20 May 2012 at David Lloyd in Derby.  It’s not just pre/postnatal exercise content you’ll learn here, it’s also the marketing and business acumen skills required to find, retain and build rapport with pre/postnatal clients.  For more details of this Event, see: www.clairemockridge.com/instructors

 

If working with pre/postnatal clients appeals to you, why not join my Private Facebook Group for FitPros who either: a) want to get qualified to teach pre/postnatal or, b) are already qualified, but want hints and tips on making their business more successful: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/clairemockridge/

 

Or, connect with me here:

 

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/clairemockridge1

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/clairemockridge

Blog: http://clairemockridge.wordpress.com/

 

Bye for now.

 

Claire Mockridge

Ante/Postnatal Fitness Expert

Have a wonderful Thursday

Love Rachel xx