How did the autumn budget help businesses?

By Mr Bankruptcy

23rd November 2021

Now that we’ve had time to let the dust settle on the Chancellor’s autumn budget and digested the vast amount of press coverage, have you taken time to reflect on how the changes will impact your future financial prospects? Below I’ve done my best to distil the most significant announcements for business.

Key announcements for business

With an aim of supporting retail, hospitality, and the leisure sectors, which experienced particularly challenge times during lockdown, changes to business rates were announced, including:

Wider changes affecting businesses include:

These changes will be phased in over the next couple of years, so they won’t present a quick solution for businesses struggling right now, but they do lay the path ahead so business can at least understand some of the costs they will face.  

During challenging times, it can be difficult to take time out from running your business to reflect meaningfully on broader financial initiatives, but the budget is a good reminder that managing debt is also about cutting costs.

Understanding the impact of the budget on your business and which new financial initiatives can help build for the future plays an essential role in developing a strong financial basis for moving forward.

James Rosa Associates

James Rosa associates is a firm of debt advisors and debt adjustors. With a supportive and friendly approach, we offer a full range of advice and professional services to individuals and business owners/directors who face unmanageable debt or who are involved in civil or commercial disputes. Our services include:

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN665061) to work with clients to produce bespoke solutions to fit their specific circumstances.

Find out if you qualify for a free consultation

If you want to deal with an unmanageable debt, or bring a dispute to a swift and cost-effective resolution, contact James Rosa Associates, ring 0845 6807217 or email enquiries@jamesrosa.co.uk to find out whether you qualify for a free consultation.

Corporate LiveWire Global Awards Winner 2021/22

by Julian Donnelly

15th November 2021

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have won Financial Reconstruction Specialists of the Year for the 2nd year running in the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards 2021/22.

Following our recent success in the SME News Awards and becoming a finalist for the 3rd year in a row at the TRI Awards, is is wonderful that our unique and bespoke approach which puts the client at the very heart of everything we do continues to be recognised.

SME News Award Winner 2021

by Julian Donnelly

12th November 2021

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we have won Best Insolvency & Personal Bankruptcy Advisory Firm 2021 in the SME News Awards 2021. Following our previous successes in these awards (Best Independent Debt Advisory South East England 2019 and Personal Debt Advisory Firm of the Year 2020), we are delighted to see that our unique bespoke approach continues to be recognised.

https://www.sme-news.co.uk/awards/uk-enterprise-awards/#ourwinners

We’re TRI finalists, again!

By Mr Bankruptcy

12th November 2021

The Turnaround Restructuring & Insolvency (TRI) Awards 2021 have been announced and for the third year running we are delighted to be finalists for “Personal Debt Solution Provider of the Year”.

Last month, in my post 11 years of debt advisory services I was reflecting on how the world has changed over the past 11 years and the importance of being prepared to adapt to an uncertain financial environment, the past 18 months being a startling demonstration of that.

However, we should take inspiration from the human ability to change and adapt and at James Rosa Associates we do that on a daily basis for people who see often dramatic changes in their financial circumstance.

Recognition for sticking to our principles in debt advice

We have created our own bespoke approach to helping clients find the right debt solutions that take account of their own unique circumstances. We take time to understand the journey each person has been on, which has led them to our door.

We also know there’s no one-size-fits-all path to finding the right solution, but because we are looking to find answers for the long-term, thorough assessment of their current financial situation, together with setting realistic objectives for the future are essential. On this foundation we give whole-market advice to help clients thoroughly understand their options. We support them at each step of the way with advice and recommendations, but most importantly, we equip them with the information and confidence to enable them to make the choice as to what is right for them.

It’s always exciting and humbling for these principles to be recognised, and I believe this nomination also reflects the commitment we maintain every day in applying them consistently to help our clients.

Now more than ever, we believe that people need to know who they can turn for clear, trusted advice, especially when they’re trying to navigate some of the most challenging times they may have experienced in their lives. We will continue to take that journey with them.

James Rosa Associates

James Rosa associates is a firm of debt advisors and debt adjustors. With a supportive, non-judgemental and friendly approach, we offer a full range of advice and professional services to individuals and business owners/directors who face unmanageable debt or who are involved in civil or commercial disputes. Our services include:

We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN665061) to work with clients to produce bespoke solutions to fit their specific circumstances.

Find out if you qualify for a free consultation

If you want to deal with an unmanageable debt, or bring a dispute to a swift and cost-effective resolution, contact James Rosa Associates, ring 0845 6807217 or email enquiries@jamesrosa.co.uk to find out whether you qualify for a free consultation.

GUEST BLOG: Have you noticed you are feeling more anxious?

By Sarah Morris, Emerge Be Who You Are

28th October 2021

The last 18 months or so have seen us having to deal with the unexpected, whilst feeling frightened and confused about what we should and shouldn’t be doing haven’t they?  Have you noticed that you feel more anxious now when dealing with everyday situations?  Does getting back to a new ‘normal’ worry you at all?  Have you cancelled plans or pretended to be busy to avoid having to deal with situations?

The NHS defines anxiety as ‘’a feeling of unease, like a worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Everyone feels anxious from time to time and it usually passes once the situation is over.  It can make our heart race, we might feel sweaty, shaky or short of breath. Anxiety can also cause changes in our behaviour, such as becoming overly careful or avoiding things that trigger anxiety.’’

Feeling a little anxious or worried at times is normal and we all experience these feelings, it becomes an issue though when anxiety prevents us from living our lives and dealing with everyday problems – this is when we need to address it and manage the feelings resulting from it.

The NHS have some fantastic tips for understanding and dealing with anxiety and here are a few tools to help you.

  1. Change your focus – Find a way to relax (see below for a simple breathing exercise) by taking some deep breaths, going for a walk, or doing something creative.  Find a relaxation technique that works for you and utilise it to release tension and focus your awareness on the present moment.
  2. Understand your anxiety – Try keeping a diary to identify any patterns or triggers for your feelings, this will help you manage situations to avoid anxiety building and be able to take action earlier.
  3. Challenge your anxious thoughts – ask yourself specifically what you are worried about?  What do you fear will happen?  And then –
  4. Reframe those thoughts – are you worried about something within your control?  If yes then decide on a course of action to tackle it.  If no acknowledge the thought and then give yourself permission to let it go, it sometimes helps to write these thoughts down and then rip up or shred the paper.
  5. Make time for worries – set aside time each day to note down your worries and thoughts and then for each one decide whether you are able to do anything about them.  For those you are unable to influence let them go, and focus on the ones you are able to deal with by deciding on one action for each that you can carry out straight away to relieve that worry.  We know that we need to deal with anything adversely affecting us and inevitably these issues will only grow if we try and ignore them.  More often than not things are never as bad in reality as we make them out to be in our heads, are they?  The key is to avoid over thinking a situation and just make a start on dealing with whatever it is in front of you.  Maybe even think about the problem or situation from someone else’s point of view, what advice would you give to a friend or family member facing the same thing?

Grounding Technique

When we feel anxious having an anchor, a way of grounding ourselves can really help.

Focus on deep breathing, in and out.  Once you find your breath, go through the following steps to help ground yourself:

Acknowledge 5 things you see.

Acknowledge 4 things you can touch.

Acknowledge 3 things you hear.

Acknowledge 2 things you can smell.

Acknowledge 1 thing you can taste.

Breathing techniques are also a great way to instil calm, allowing us to focus on grounding ourselves.  Shallow breathing by taking rapid, shallow breaths that come directly from the chest, results in increased heart rate, dizziness, muscle tension, and other physical sensations and blood not being properly oxygenated which may contribute to anxiety.

Deep breathing stimulates the part of the nervous system which is responsible for regulating heartbeat, blood flow, breathing, and digestion.  Deep breathing helps you to avoid the “fight-or-flight” response to mentally or physically terrifying situations.

Determine your breathing pattern by putting one hand on your upper abdomen near the waist and the other in the middle of your chest.  As you breathe, notice which hand raises the most.

VeryWellMind.com have examples of different types of breathing exercises and sometimes simplicity is best so here is a Simple Breathing Exercise which you can perform as often as you need to.

Whenever you start to notice feelings of anxiety affecting you, remember these techniques and ultimately that confronting your fears will help you feel in control of them and subsequently deal with them.

We place so much emphasis on our physical wellbeing and we are all now realising our mental wellbeing requires the same amount of focus too.  Just like a personal trainer is there to advise, keep us on track and make us accountable to be physically fit, we at Emerge are able to offer one to one sessions that will enable you to overcome any fears and feelings of anxiety.  We will also support you to work and focus on your confidence and goals, so that you are able to achieve everything you want to in life.

It may be that you require a couple of sessions to get you back on track and reignite everything you already know, or you may wish to embark on a journey to achieve those lifelong goals and dreams. Whatever your goal, whatever your dream know that it’s all achievable and Emerge will support your growth with integrity to fulfil your purpose and we very much look forward to hearing from you to discuss how we can support you. 

About the authors – Sarah & Carmen are Life & Wellbeing Coaches, Founders of www.emergebewhoyouare.co.uk their passion dedicated to enabling people to boost and maintain their resilience and fulfil their full potential. Please contact them to learn how they can support you in living your best life.  You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram for a daily dose of positivity @emergebewhoyouare.

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