Archive for December, 2019

Our Favourite Festive Traditions (And Where They Come From)

Posted by Sam Binstead

Christmas is a time for tradition. Even if you’re not religious, there is a certain routine to the holiday, and every family will have its own Christmas traditions. At Chilvester Financial we love a good tradition, especially around the festive season. We wanted to take a quick look at some of our favourite traditions, along with where they come from and how we celebrate them. We hope you enjoy!

Decorations

Decorations have always been something closely associated with Christmas, but in the last few years it seems to have almost reached competitive levels. Everywhere we look there are bigger and better light displays, with more intricate ornaments and decorations. It’s such a beautiful thing to see and driving around the neighbourhood with the family to look at all the Christmas lights is always a highlight for us. But decorating the house has been a big part of Christmas tradition since the 15th Century – when it was the custom for every house and all the parish churches to be ‘decked with holm, ivy, bays, and whatsoever the season of the year afforded to be green.’ That’s obviously morphed quite a bit over the years, and now decorations aren’t just limited to natural greenery, but everything and anything in all colours of the rainbow.

Giving

We couldn’t do a Christmas list without including something sort of financial, could we? The truth is that Christmas is the season for giving, and we’re not talking about the presents here! People in the UK certainly get into the spirit of giving. As well as eating our own weight in chocolate coins, according to the Charity Commission, last year 85% of people in Britain gave directly to a charity, even if they didn’t usually donate. On top of monetary donations, you also see floods of food donations for food banks, donations of toys for disadvantaged children and fundraising events all themed around the big man in red.

Christmas Wreaths

The wreath on the door might be one of the biggest signs that Christmas is on the way – along with Christmas trees and decorations appearing in shops! And it turns out, the two traditions come from the same place. The custom of bringing evergreens into the home during winter goes back to the 16th Century, where pruning the tree into a triangle (to represent the Holy Trinity) was part of the preparations. Evergreens were an important part of the celebrations of the new year, so rather than throw the pruned pieces away, people would weave them into circular wreaths. Over time, Christmas wreaths brought a whole new layer of meaning. Where originally, they served as Christmas tree ornaments, they slowly became the standalone decorations we’re familiar with today. They were formed into a wheel-like shape partially for convenience’s sake — it was simple to hang a circle onto the branches of a tree — but the shape was also significant as a representation of divine perfection. And then of course, they are just festive and cheerful. They are a universal symbol of Christmas, of the start of the festive season and of unity in the house within. Isn’t that a lovely sentiment?

Food

It wouldn’t be a Christmas traditions list without the food! Food is almost as important as the tree when it comes to Christmas, and every year families get together around a table laden down with festive goodies – usually the same ones as on everyone else’s tables! Turkey, roasted potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sprouts, pigs in blankets, and all sorts of sweet things for dessert not forgetting the Christmas Pud! But did you know that traditional Christmas food varies from country to country? For example in Sicily they serve 12 kinds of fish on Christmas Eve, while in Sweden the Christmas Day table is called a smörgåsbord, and typically includes ham, meatballs and herring as the star attractions. But no matter where you come from, food is the thing that brings families together over the holidays, along with eating too much of it and having a nap on the sofa afterwards (or is that just us?)

And that’s it from us for this year! It just leaves us to wish you and your Families a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year.

How To Relax As A Business Owner Over Christmas

Posted by Sam Binstead

It’s December, and for business owners that can only mean one thing. It’s time for the annual ‘taking time off’ period, where you spend a lot of time worrying about whether your business is going to survive you taking time off. Between that and wrapping up the end of year finances and projects, creating projections for the year ahead and making sure you’re showing gratitude to customers and employees, the anxiety can pile up quickly. Honestly, Christmas break can be the most stressful time of year for business owners!

But it doesn’t have to be. Yes, even the busiest business owner can take a break and actually relax over the Christmas holidays. You just need to know how to prepare

Plan For The Pause

The first and maybe most important thing you can do is actually plan to take a break. This might sound simple, but it’s something business owners often forget to do, and it’s why you end up working in the evenings and worrying about whether orders went through or projects were delivered. So right now, get your diary out and decide how many days you’re going to take off, and when. Mark them in thick black ink in the calendar so you can’t possibly put anything else in there. Then adjust your deadlines accordingly.

Set Expectations

And stick to them! If you want to make your holiday break a reality, then you need to set expectation and make logistical plans with anyone who will be affected by your time off. That means letting your customers and employees know you will be out of the office, for how long, and who to contact in your absence, as well as how to contact you in an emergency. And then make sure you stick to those expectations, and don’t do any work during that time. This is generally good practice for any holiday, but it is easier to do over Christmas, since most of your customers will be celebrating with their families too, so they likely won’t mind at all.

Accept Some Things Won’t Get Done

This is the hardest thing of all, but you need to make peace with the fact that some things will be left undone when you leave. No matter how hard you try to plan ahead, taking time to relax over the holidays means letting a few things go – or at least letting them wait until January. If you struggle, just remember that everyone else is taking a break too, so the likelihood is you would still be waiting to close that next deal until after Christmas anyway, even if you worked straight through. This should form part of your planning, so you can prioritise finishing up the essential projects, meaning it’s only the less important strings that are left dangling until January.

A great way to do this is to start by making a list of all the impending to dos, then break them into three categories: must do, should do, can probably wait. Must dos include things like running payroll, sending invoices, and fulfilling client deliverables or customer orders. Alphabetizing your filing cabinet? That one can probably wait.

Step Away

At some point you will need to be strong, turn everything off and walk away from the computer – into the real, non-small business owner world. Scary stuff! But it turns out, it’s pretty nice out there. There’s good food, pretty lights, festive music, and lots of people who want to spend time with you! If you know you’re prone to sneakily checking emails after dinner, remove your work email from your phone over the holidays, and lock the laptop up in the safe with a new password someone else has set for you. Be strong, and try to focus on enjoying a break with your family, instead of worrying about work.

And remember, it will all be there when you get back! Enjoy Christmas and plan to go into the New Year refreshed and ready to go.

Business Vs Personal Insurance – What’s The Difference?

Posted by Sam Binstead

Buying insurance can be confusing. Whether you’re a tradesman working from home or a business owner with employees and a dedicated premises, there are a lot of options out there for you, and a lot of people telling you what you need to buy. And usually it’s whatever they’re selling, rather than what you really need. But how do you work out what insurance you need for yourself and your business, and what’s the most efficient way to pay for them?

Common Business Insurances

As a business owner, there are a few different types of insurances you need to think about, some of which we’ve talked about before. You need to make sure you and your business aren’t underinsured, and that you are covered for everything you need. The type of insurance you need will often depend on the type of business you run, but in general terms you will need to look at:

  • Professional indemnity insurance
  • Employers liability insurance (if you employ people)
  • Buildings and contents insurance (even if you work from home – never assume your home insurance will cover you)
  • Equipment insurance
  • Product liability insurance
  • Public liability insurance
  • Key person insurance
  • Business continuity insurance
  • Car insurance (if you own or drive a vehicle for business)
  • Cyber insurance

Along with any more specific insurances for your industry.

That might seem like a lot, but depending on what you do you might not need all of them. However, if you’re a sole trader, business owner or director, you may need different types of insurance to protect yourself and your family if something should happen to you. In these cases, there are some types of personal insurance that can be put through your business.

Some Personal Things You Could Insure Through The Business

Of course, as a business owner your life is probably pretty closely entwined with your business. For many, the business simply wouldn’t exist without you, and so it makes sense to have insurance for yourself as well. But did you know that there are some personal insurance policies you can take out through your business instead? For example.

  • Income protection insurance: income protection insurance essentially covers the cost of your income if you can’t work due to long-term illness or injury. It means you will be able to receive a continuous income until you either retire or are able to go back to work. For business owners this is important, particularly if you’re self-employed, since you might not be able to earn an income if you aren’t physically working. This policy can be taken out by people who are self-employed or directors as a business expense, providing you with valuable protection you might not get otherwise.
  • Life Insurance: This is the kind of policy no one likes to think about, but it’s one of the most important you can take out. This is the insurance that only kicks in when the worst happens, and you pass away. If this happens and you are in charge of the business, playing a key role in it, it can cause a lot of problems, and leave your family in the lurch. But if you’re a director or a business owner there are a lot of different options for life insurance through the business. This can vary from a standard life insurance policy through to keyman insurance, depending on your individual needs.
  • Death In Service: Death in service cover is a type of insurance that pays out up to five times your salary if you die while in the employment of your company. This can be done on an individual or a group basis, and is a great benefit for directors who may be concerned about their life insurance. The only catch is that you do have to be on the payroll at the time of death to qualify for payments, so you need to stay on top of who is on the policy at any time.

At Chilvester Financial, we pride ourselves on offering independent, impartial advice. We also understand how small businesses work, and what is important to you, which means we can tailor our advice to suit you, your business and your goals. We have a team of expert business insurance advisors ready to support your business, and help you work out the most efficient way to insure yourself and your business. To find out more, just get in touch with us today.

-->