shirts

so after the decision to make money by selling rave shirts, we needed that official stamp so a few of us went ahead and made some quick designs to see if the college liked them.

i personally like the bottom right one that has the vertical rave text. i like the idea of the graphic fire but i havnt been able to get the result that i wanted.

as we are intending to do official rave t-shirts i began by thinking of using the current ravensbourne logo but found it too restricting.

college

so its been very very difficult this week to get the whole group together, on 2 occasions part of the group met and decisions were not made as the group leader, Carlos, was reluctant to make decisions without the entire group being there, i can understand his point of view 100% but at the same time actions such as this are slowing down the projects production.

the plan to make t-shirts was generally agreed upon when i discovered a part of the brief which states and I quote: "There has to be actual trade- money switching hands or procurement agreement (/contract) signed- before summative assessment"

It took some discussions via facebook to get a general agreement by all and then the plan was set in motion.

i have personally been urging individuals to push their work forward and feel that if i hadn't intervened with the T-shirt plan then the group would not have reached that stage.

so i have been reminding carlos every week to get in contact with Jill Hogan to discuss the prospect of having a college portfolio/social network site. time is pressing on but he must be involved in this process.

this conversation was overheard by Tara and Hayley and they arranged a meeting with jill hogan. this meeting will double up as an opportunity to discuss the ravensbourne t-shirt aswell.

Income tax banding

so i dont 100% understand all of this hence why i cited the entire thing but it is clear that with the current state of our project that we need not worry.

we would undoubtedly fall into the first band which is un-taxable.

"How much Income Tax you pay

After your allowable expenses and any tax-free allowances have been taken into account, the amount of tax you pay is calculated using different tax rates and a series of tax bands.

Income Tax rates 2011-12 by tax band and type of income

Income Tax band	Income Tax rate on non savings income	Income Tax rate on savings	Income Tax rate on dividends
£0 to £2,560 Starting rate for savings	Not available	10%	Not applicable - see basic rate band
£0 to £35,000 Basic rate	20%	20%	10%
£35,001 to £150,000 Higher rate	40%	40%	32.5%
Over £150,000 Additional rate	50%	50%	42.5%

Because the rate of Income Tax you pay on savings is worked out after any non-savings income has been taken into account, if your non-savings income is less than the starting rate for savings limit (£2,560) - or if savings and investments are your only source of income - your savings income will be taxed at the 10 per cent starting rate up to the limit. But if you already have non-savings income which takes you above the starting rate limit, all of your savings will be taxable at the 20 per cent basic rate, the 40 per cent higher rate or the 50% additional rate, depending on your total income.

Remember, the tax band applies to your income after your tax allowances and any reliefs have been taken into account - you're not taxed on all of your income.

'Non savings income' includes income from employment or self-employment, most pension income and rental income.

'Dividends' means income from shares in UK companies.

Savings and dividend income is added to your other taxable income and taxed last. This means you pay tax on these sorts of income based on your highest Income Tax band."

(http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/basics.htm#6)

registering as self employed

so registering as self employed is a case of do it as soon as possible, in terms of working, and if you dont do it then you could face a penalty fare. it is apparent that you must register as self employed even if your business venture does not turn over enough profit to be taxed.

NI- national insurance

again you must register to pay national insurance, at £2.50 a week(band 2) unless your earnings are below £5,315 for the year then you must apply to ensure that you are exempt from paying the national insurance.

in terms of our business venture, as we would be setting up as a sole trader then we would all have to register as self employed and also for national insurance band 2 then at the end of the year we would have to fill in a tax return in order to equate accurately the amount we should be taxed. with the type of company we have it would be very very difficult to estimate our income and growth, hence saving a portion of each months wages to pay for the tax.

(http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm)

becoming a sole trader

so i begun research into what legal structure our business should have and how we manage it.

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk on this website information is provided to help starter businesses with the setup process. a list and description is given for the different types of legal structures for companies.

they include:

Sole traders

Partnerships - ordinary partnerships, limited partnerships, LLP

private companies - private limited, private unlimited

public limited companies - PLC

specific types of limited companies - CIC, RTM, SE

European economic interest groupings - EEIG

uk establishments of overseas companies

Franchises

which one suits us?

i would personally say that for now the sole trader legal structure would suit us as we are a start up company with very little knowledge in business, by choosing this option we are not tied in to any long term agreements and do not have to pay any fees.

although we do have to manage all of our own income as self employed individuals and the companies profits have to be carefully managed.

here is the breakdown for a sole trader:

Sole trader

Being a sole trader is the simplest way to run a business - it does not involve paying any registration fees, keeping records and accounts is straightforward, and you get to keep all the profits. However, you are personally liable for any debts that your business runs up, which make this a risky option for businesses that need a lot of investment.

Set-up

You need to register as self-employed with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Management and raising finance

You make all the decisions on how to manage your business.

You raise money for the business out of your own assets and/or with loans from banks or other lenders.

Records and accounts

You must:

• make an annual Self Assessment tax return to HMRC
• keep records showing your business income and expenses

Profits

Any profits go to you.

Tax and National Insurance

As you are self-employed:

• your profits are taxed as income
• you pay fixed-rate Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs) regardless of any profits you make
• you pay Class 4 NICs on any profits

Liability

As a sole trader, you are personally responsible for any debts run up by your business. This means your home or other assets may be at risk if your business runs into trouble.

(http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073789606&r.i=1087521916&r.l1=1073858805&r.l2=1085161962&r.l3=1073865730&r.s=sc&r.t=RESOURCES&type=RESOURCES)

proposed tees/hoody designs for 2011

so here is a mock up of a design for this years ravensbourne t-shirt/hoody

reason for both is the time of year, i.e. its too hot for a hoody but people still like them because it is a jumper they will keep for ever even if they dont wear it right away and the t-shirt is there for the quick sell factor, almost looks like a crew shirt for like rave live stuff.

Wed the 25th

so at college today a small group of us began to discuss the merchandise situation, i.e. whether or not to make the merchandise to support and promote the business, that probably wont sell or make merchandise that is quick money and will sell.

so personally from an entrepreneurial perspective i would start by producing merchandise that makes money, to quickly fund the research and creation of the website. as the website becomes more of a solid idea and is nearing completion i would introduce the merchandise as an advertising campaign to support the release of the website. as it stands at present the website has no clear cut mission statement and is not in a commercial state. i do not see students spending money on apparel and merchandise that supports a non existent company.

my proposal:

1.we sell custom t-shirt designs along with badges and anything else that students are willing to buy.

2.the point was raised that there was no attempt to create a ravensbourne hoody this year. apparently students have been asking for it but the service has not been available. with some research the hoodies from previous years were bought and made for £10 a piece and easily sold at £20 each.

possible outcome we make more money than we could have, but this takes time away from designing the business model for the website. i will present this to the group tomorrow.