[clinton]

Got home today from work today to find something on our doorstep taking a closer look it was all new compact yellow pages

Think its even too small for a decent door stop or for the top of a bin when it gets windy

Its seems to have halved since last year and now must be on its last legs..

Its going to be like one of those shops where you walk in and the shelves are half empty.

The trouble is with those shops the customers walks straight out without making a purchase :

Anyone else have the new one

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Bet the price of the adverts haven't shrunk !  :

[Pristine Clean]

NO THEY HAVE NOT!

Mine last year was £2500+ vat

Still the same!

[M.Acorn]

The Cambridge edition which i pulled out of this year,after not getting a single job from last one,is also about half the size !
Staying in 1 book for tax reasons though 

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Staying in 1 book for tax reasons though 

?

Run that by me again Mark?

[M.Acorn]

As paying yellow pages comes off my tax as a business expense,if i was`nt paying them 2 grand a year i would have 2 grand more to pay tax on,i know it sounds a bit weird,nbut i am really bad at putting money asside for my tax bill

[derek west]

 
so your spending all your profit so you don't have a tax bill, you are joking right?
derek

[M.Acorn]

Nope ot all my proffit 

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

As paying yellow pages comes off my tax as a business expense,if i was`nt paying them 2 grand a year i would have 2 grand more to pay tax on,i know it sounds a bit weird,nbut i am really bad at putting money asside for my tax bill

Just to be clear then...

You spend £2k on advertising which doesn't work to avoid paying tax.

THe alternative of course is to have £2000 extra profit on which you pay tax at a rate of say 30% (ie NI say 10% and basic rate tax say 20%). This would mean paying to HMRC £600 in tax and having £1400 in your own pocket!

Are you sure your logic is correct Mark?

Replacing your forever-breaking-down vehicle may be a more appropriate way of ending up paying no tax!

[derek west]

why not put that money into a saving fund and name it,
[money for my tax bill, do not touch, not even if your broke and have no money cos you wouldn't of had this anyway if you'd given it to the numptys at yellow pages, so keep your hands off "ALL RIGHT"]

i know its quite a long title for a savings account, but from the sounds of it, you really need reminding why its there

derek
Hey! your welcome.

[M.Acorn]

The add pays for itself,in the book i stayed in,so i get my money back 

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Thank you Mark, that at least makes sense.

[Ricky M]

Tax eh so we really do have to pay them folks
their letters just filed in brown woven wicker section of the room  

[derek west]

there paying me this year, oh the joys of setting up a business.
derek

[M.Acorn]

Yeah they tend to get a bit uppity with me when i pay late ! Just finished paying what i owed for Jam ! and got payment on account through now 

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Every year it seems to reduce by a 3rd it'll be interesting to see my rep this year.

Shaun

[daysdeepclean]

I wonder if it would be worthwhile asking the rep for the same add as last year for a 3rd or even a quarter of the price?

[Mike Osbourne]

YP has had it's day but traditional advertising may be a good move if you can get it cheap enough. Bear in mind you will have less competition nowadays because everyone is drawing in the reigns.

[Neil Williams]

Every year it seems to reduce by a 3rd it'll be interesting to see my rep this year.

Whilst your little chat could you ask him/her......
"Have they run out of stock photos for carpet cleaning?" 
Mine arrived tonight and although I'm not in there this year I always look through to see who is advertising, and what did I notice.....
Three different advertisers have all been given the same photo of a commercial carpet scene
Perhaps the potential customers won't notice but hardly unique to those who are paying out £2k/£3k

Oh nearly forgot. Yes it is smaller but now covers an even larger area. Mine was Basingstoke & Fleet but now it's Basingstoke, Alton and Guildford, which must include Fleet too

[Andrew Briscoe]

Clinton, when you say "small carpet cleaners"

do you mean dwarfs  or is it cos your the bigest carpet cleaner in your area 
Andrew