|
IMPORTANT
NEWS - Form 42, the new Inland Revenue form
| Form
42 is a new Inland Revenue form which came in under
the Finance Act 2003 and MUST be completed
shortly if your company was formed in the 2003 to 2004
financial year (to 5th April 2004 inclusive). |
This
year, the requirement is to file by 7th September 2004,
although future years will be by 7th July.
Companies
formed in the 2004 - 2005 financial year will have
until 7th July 2005 to file the form. It is an employment
related securities and options form and so, for your
company formation, the form relates to shareholders. |
|
The
form is available for download at the Inland Revenue site
at
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/shareschemes/42-2004-q8-31.pdf.
Information about the 2 month extension and for a list of frequent questions,
visit the Inland Revenue site at
http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/shareschemes/form42-extension.htm
The Inland Revenue advise that for normal awards, section 2a on page 7
followed by the declaration on page 16 is what is needed to be filled in, but
any doubts over your personal situation, please contact your financial adviser
or the Inland Revenue.
Probably
not
By
Matt Weston of Business Bricks
Bah!
Nobody really believes that Carlsberg is "probably
the best lager in the world". Sure,
I get that "probably" is
tongue-in-cheek. It's meant as a sideswipe at the advertising
industry. But my point is, unlike your small business,
Carlsberg really doesn't have anything to say except "probably
the best".
And
it's spent tens of millions relentlessly repeating that same
empty claim for over 30 years now.
For
my money there's about as much difference between pints
of "cooking" lager
as there is between gallons of petrol. Put on a blindfold.
See if you can taste the difference between Castlemaine
and Carlsberg.
As
for Gillette, "the best a man can get".
Really? Do you believe that? Again, put on a blindfold.
See if you can sense the difference between a Bic and a
Gillette razor . . . on second thoughts don't . . .
If you want to convince me of anything, you have two choices:
(1)
Tell me you're the best.
To make me believe you'll need
to brainwash me. So repeat your statement over and over
and over (like Carlsberg and Gillette). You'll need pockets
down to your ankles to afford to do this.
(2) Show me evidence of how your product will benefit me.
Prove it with testimonials, demos, facts, prototypes, awards,
and examples of your work. You can do this, even on a shoestring
budget . . .
| |
SHOW,
DON'T TELL
Customers,
prospects, people never believe what they are
told (unless you brainwash them).
Leave
big empty boasts like "biggest", "best" and "finest" to
the likes of Carlsberg and Gillette. Every superlative
is flaky, hollow and meaningless, unless you
show exactly how you can back it up.
|
| |
I
get countless emails from businesses telling
me they offer the "No1 market leading
tech solution" or "a chance to really
monetarise your product" . . . but without
any evidence whatsoever, would you believe
these claims?
|
David
Ogilvy ditched the empty headline "Rinso Washes
Whiter" in favour of an ad titled "How to take
out stains". It showed 12 ways to remove different
stains (using Rinso detergent) from Grease & Oil,
to Indelible Lipstick, to Shoe Polish. |
(Ogilvy's
footnote: on average helpful information is read by 75
per cent more people than copy that deals only with the product)
http://tinyurl.co.uk/yc4j
And
AOL realised that getting its free 30-day trial disk in
your hand was a much better way to communicate how easy
it was to set-up your connection than running ads headlined "Easy
Set-Up".
The golden rule is Show, Don't Tell.
Pack
your advertising messages with proof. Build a list of customer
testimonials longer than your arm (Click
here to see ours)
Put
pictures of your product or people in action on your website.
Use customer research in your headlines. Build a prototype
of your product and give it to your prospective investor
to show her how it will work. Show, Don't Tell.
|
