Keeping your employees happy and ensuring they feel supported to grow in the organisation is essential to the success of your company. Employee retention, productivity and your company’s reputation can hang in the balance. Any CFO worth their salt knows that if you are not keeping employees happy, you will lose them. Likewise, if an employee is not feeling appreciated or challenged by their role, they will become complacent resulting in a loss of productivity and general morale. This discontent can spread through the company, ravaging a once healthy work culture, and breeding a general dislike of and disenfranchisement with the company. That is why it’s essential to support your employee’s growth and create an environment where they can thrive. Try these seven ways to support your employee’s professional development.

1. Recognition

2. Constructive feedback

3. Adapt your management style their learning style

4. Try an LMS

5. Organise a mentoring program

6. Make space their upskilling

7. Taylor the role to the employee not the other way around

Recognition

Everyone needs to feel that their work is appreciated, and your employees are no exception. Say you have a motivated, hard-working employee who stays late and comes in early going above and beyond to get the job done. If you are not acknowledging the extra work that employee is putting in, they will stop going the extra mile very quickly. The employee is going to start to feel as though they’re being taken advantage of, as if no-one appreciates the extra effort they put in and they are going to start to wonder why they do it at all. This can lead them to looking for another more fulfilling role or just becoming complacent.

A simple thank you, or an email acknowledging the extra work they have done, offering a day in lieu if you know they’ve done a lot of extra hours or praising their work in the company newsletter can really go a long way to shifting their perception on the situation. From ‘I’m being taken advantage of by the company’ to ‘I do important work that makes a difference to the company, and I am appreciated for it.’

Constructive feedback

Similarly, if you have an employee working hard and they’re just not quite getting the job done the way they need to, providing constructive feedback can make all the difference. Constructive feedback can be difficult to navigate while maintaining an employee’s morale. If given incorrectly you can demotivate an employee rather motivate them.

Try the sandwich approach. This is a technique where you sandwich the piece of constructive feedback between two positive performance notes you want to give. This helps the employee to feel as though they are not doing everything wrong but just have something to work on. And remember to keep constructive feedback constructive. By that we mean provide actionable feedback that will improve their performance. Be clear about what can be improved and if applicable offer resources to help your employee learn. Constructive feedback coupled with access to additional mentoring or learning resources will help them feel supported to succeed. You should be adapting your management style to your individual employee’s learning style. If you have an employee who is a visual learner, you’re not going to get through to them with lengthy documents about project. However, graphs and a visual presentation might help them to understand what the project goals and plans are.

Obviously, this isn’t something you can do all the time but when dealing with specific employees and training them, it can be helpful to adapt your style. This will ensure that your employee gets the most from your meetings and training sessions and feels individually supported.

Try an LMS

An LMS or a Learning Management System can be a real game-changer for your company’s professional development program. These systems can be installed software or web-based applications and they can be used to monitor and track learnings for your staff. It can take the pressure off your HR department by automating some of the administration and data entry involved. It gives your employees the ability to take responsibility for their study and complete it in their own time frames. You can learn more about different LMS systems here.

Organise a mentoring program

It can be in house, or you can set an employee up with an external mentorship program but encouraging employees to engage in mentoring programs shows you are invested in their future and their professional growth. Mentorship programs have a number of benefits for your company and your employees. They help employees to gain confidence, and refine their career path, while providing a helpful outsider perspective to their day-to-day operations. Mentoring staff can be great for your higher-level employees as well. It helps to build and refine their leadership skills; it can build out their professional network and elevate their professional standing in the industry. Make space for their Upskilling

It’s not much use telling employees you want them to grow in the company and pursue professional development and then not giving them the time and space to do that. Facilitate your employee’s professional development programs by offering them allotted time each month for PD. Open a dialogue with them and ask them directly what they need to complete their professional development activities and work with them to set them up to succeed. Employers should place great importance on their employees learning and development.

Tailor the role to employee, not the employee to the role

Your people are your most valuable assets. They make or break your business. So, cultivate employees that love to work with the company, that are passionate about the work you all do and want to do better every time. Treat your employees as people. Talk to them about their hopes and dreams, their passions and plans and find a way to make their role more rewarding for them. If they are passionate about data analysis and currently work in administration, help them to achieve their career goals by organising professional development courses in data analysis and giving them more data related tasks in their role. Your employees are going to give 110% if you offer them the chance to do work that they find meaningful and that supports their overall career goals.

Source : BSALE

It’s normal for any business to experience some setbacks and learn how to maneuver in order to avoid the same issue again. It’s part of every entrepreneurial journey but how can you save your business if you run into an unexpected loss or breakdown? It can be quite stressful when your business encounters a major problem that cannot be undone.

Hundreds of startup businesses emerge every year but only a few survive the struggles they face.

Identify the root cause of the problem

It’s important to determine the reason why your business is falling apart. Take time to go through each department and check with your employees for feedback. Getting their direct insight can oftentimes be of great help. Review what’s doing well and what’s been doing wrong.

Adversely, businesses fail because of poor leadership. As the saying goes, “A Fish Rots From the Head”, so it’s important to keep your department heads in check.

Look after your team

Employees can also sense instability whenever things get tough in the company. They will be concerned and pressured about the security of their jobs, so as a leader, it’s important to be as transparent as possible. Keep your employees engaged by showing them that they are part of the team. Develop a culture where everyone’s concerns are heard and create an environment where your employees feel safe and taken care of. Employees who feel appreciated are highly motivated to share your vision.

In addition, provide incentives to your management team to keep them on board. Being able to contribute to the company’s success is fulfillment itself but it’s more rewarding if they also benefit from it.

Assess and review your goals

Revisit your goals and be realistic on where your company is currently at. Once you have determined the reasons causing the business’s problems, create an action plan before you make the adjustments here and there.

Identify your short-term goals which include reducing overhead costs and restructuring your teams. Medium-term goals should be focused on boosting sales and generating revenues. Your Long-term goals may vary whether maybe acquiring another business or stepping up to become a leader in your field. When your goals are in place, start your strategic plan to achieve them.

Downsize where possible

Conduct a thorough employee audit and understand each role and the responsibilities then look for low revenue-generating parts of your company that you can afford to reduce. But avoid cutting your staff to minimise costs in the short term because you will need this manpower to achieve your medium and long-term goals.

Maximise your staff’s productivity and encourage them to be more efficient. Look for costs that can be eliminated like downsizing your office space and getting rid of company cars or even as simple as cutting down paper usage or going paperless. Monitoring every little expenditure can already make a difference.

Be open to change

Things that were working before may no longer be cost and time-efficient now. Learn to adapt and put your ego aside.  Delegate tasks where you can so you can focus your time on other important matters to attend to and accept that some things need to evolve and getting help can be profoundly helpful. For instance, you may bring in a consultant for expert advice and fresh ideas. Sometimes a different perspective might just be what the company needs to get back on track. Be bold to interact with competitors to see if there’s a possibility of merging your business with theirs.

On 1 July 2021, the value of goods covered by the definition of ‘consumer’ under the Australian Consumer Law increased from $40,000 to $100,000. This means that the consumer guarantees will apply to more transactions, including when businesses sell to other business.

What is covered

Businesses must guarantee products and services they sell, hire or lease that are:

• under $100,000
• over $100,000 if they are normally bought for personal or household use
• business vehicles and trailers, provided they are used mainly to transport goods.

There are some exceptions. For example, products purchased to be resold, or to be transformed into a product that is sold, are not covered.

What are consumer guarantees?

Businesses must provide these automatic guarantees regardless of any other warranties. If a product or service fails to meet a consumer guarantee, the consumer has the right to a remedy.

A ‘major failure’ is when a reasonable consumer wouldn’t have bought the product or service if they had known about the nature and extent of the failure. In these cases, the consumer can choose to have a product repaired, replaced or refunded. For a service, they can:

• end the contract and seek a refund
• keep the contract and be compensated for any drop in value.

For other kinds of failure, the business can choose the remedy, but it must do so within a reasonable time. Possible remedies include:

• repairing the faulty good
• replacing it with an identical good
• refunding the consumer
• repairing any defect in the service provided.

Find out more about consumer guarantees and other rules businesses need to follow when treating customers fairly.

Source:  Small Business Information Network

Learn more about pricing regulations

Setting a price for your goods and services as a business owner comes with its own set of legal responsibilities. 

Before you publicly display a price for your services or products, you need to make sure your business complies with certain regulations, so you don’t end up in legal hot water.

Make sure you are familiar with the following terms before advertising your pricing:

Recommended Retail Price

The Recommended Retail Price — commonly referred to as RRO — serves only as a recommendation to the re-seller. It is in no way mandatory, and it is 100%  illegal for a vendor to put pressure on a wholesaler to sell their products at a particular price. It’s also illegal for vendors to make any sort of threats to intimidate re-sellers to comply with their pricing demands.

Comparative pricing

Comparative pricing is exactly what it sounds like — you compare the sale price of your product or service to a former price and/or to the price of your competitors. Comparative pricing is a top strategy to put your products in a position to beat the competition, but it can be a delicate line to walk. Check out this excellent article on the ins and outs of comparative pricing for businesses.

Multiple pricing 

Multiple pricing usually happens by accident. Multiple pricing occurs when a good or service has more than one advertised price. If and when this happens, the business is required under consumer law to sell the product at the lowest price or remove the product from sale until the issue has been corrected and only one price exists for the item.

Unit pricing code

Unit pricing code refers to the price per unit calculated for a product using a solid measurement like grams or litres. It allows consumers to compare the cost per unit across multiple products and can be a great way to draw customers in if your price per unit is low. Online e commerce giant Amazon offers unit pricing on many of their products. And in Australia, the unit pricing code requires that grocery stores display unit prices on certain items for sale.

Price fixing 

Price fixing is illegal in Australia and in most developed countries. It occurs when two or more competitors agree on setting prices, undermining the free market with deceptive business practices. Although price fixing is illegal, it is sometimes confused with parallel pricing which is totally legal and a legitimate way of doing business.

Parallel Pricing

Parallel pricing simply involves following the pricing practices of other businesses or organizations, particularly competitors. It is a totally legal practice and can be a shrewd move to attract business. For example, if you have a similar product and notice that a competitor is outpacing you by lowering the price by 20%, you may try the same pricing scheme in an effort to get parallel results.

Different Payment Methods Pricing

Under the law, pricing a product differently depending on the payment method (e.g. credit card, cash, etc.) requires that you clearly label each price for transparency with consumers.

Are you buying a business in Perth? Do you have a Perth business for sale? For more information on how you can get the best results, contact Angela at Advance Business Brokers today.

How to future-proof your business

We can’t predict the future as the world has found out in 2020. But in business, it’s crucial to prepare for it.

No matter what the future has in store, as a business owner, you can take calculated measures to ensure your business has what it takes to weather any storm.

Want to set yourself up for success and minimize your stress?

Future-proof your business.

If you are a small business owner, it’s particularly important that you take charge of your business’ future and do everything you can to prepare for unknown outcomes. That’s why we’ve narrowed down the future-proofing process to the top three things to do to succeed as a business owner.

3 Ways to Future-Proof Your Business

1.Know your numbers.

Why do small businesses fail? One of the most common reasons is that owners don’t know their numbers.

Knowing your numbers is the key to succeeding in any business, in any industry. You need to make sure your business is profitable — or in the case of a new food business, on the path to profitability — and that you have a good grasp of your margins and expenses. 

If you know your numbers intimately, you’ll be able to set measurable goals for the future that are realistic and more likely to come to fruition. Whatever you need to do to get a firm hold on where your money is going and how it’s coming in, do it fast.

2. Get the help you need.

Successful small business owners tend to be self-starters. They’re some of the most motivated individuals you’ll ever meet with intelligence and talent to spare.

But another common theme, especially among new business owners, is a pervasive do-it-yourself mentality. That is, small business owners tend to put too much responsibility on themselves. It can be a fatal flaw that will take you down quickly if you don’t learn to outsource soon.

For starters, everyone needs a good accountant that works in their best interest. A good accountant should know  about your accounts as early as April, three months before the end of the financial year.    As a business owner,  you should be ensuring there is money put away to ensure taxes can be paid when due.

If you’re not adept at advanced analysis and predictions, work with a good bookkeeper to help you make accurate financial forecasts. It’s one thing to create spreadsheets; it’s another to analyse them properly and determine where things are going both right and wrong.

Most of us aren’t exactly comfortable with these tasks, so it makes the most sense to hire an experienced bookkeeper who can help.

3. Set goals.

Setting goals is 100% crucial to future planning for your small business.

The best approach? Break down the process that will be required to actually reach your goals.

All business owners want to earn more profits, but most do not break down how they will get there on a practical level. 

Another key to future-proofing your goals is to have important reasons behind them. This is a critical step that many small businesses miss. There needs to be a deep desire present to achieve anything in life, including business. Knowing exactly why you want to improve your revenue or grow your business — and bringing your team on board with these reasons — will help you stick with your plan and reach your goals. 

Are you buying a business in Perth? Do you have a Perth business for sale? For more information on how you can get the best results, contact Angela at Advance Business Brokers today.

The Value in your business  

The value of a business is more than its cash flow. Although many Australian business owners and management teams have been left pondering their future after a turbulent 12 months, it is important for those moving towards a  sale to focus on identifying the strength of their underlying or intangible assets and the potential of these assets to drive future value.        

Today, intangible assets such as Brand, data, content, software, customer and supplier relationships, regulatory approvals, and confidential information, account for over 90 percent of all company value. These assets are the key drivers of growth and profitability for virtually every business and in particular in areas such as Childcare.    

Your Brand in the marketplace is now one of the most critical drivers of a business.  Recognition of name/logo, your unique services, community participation at a local level and a social media level.

Understand where the value lies 

Some valuers and brokers may claim that you can’t assign value to a company’s data, patents, confidential information, software code, regulatory approvals, relationships, or brand, but this simply isn’t true. 

Today, intangible assets are likely to be the most valuable assets a company owns – but it is likely that the majority of these assets will be lying off the balance sheet.  When you look at the world’s three most valuable companies (Saudi Aramco, Microsoft, and Apple) they are examples of how this is a fact, with trillions of dollars of value being driven by their intangible assets and almost all of it lying off their balance sheets.

Would you like a business appraisal? 

And, if you look at businesses that are thriving, it is primarily those that have greater concentrations of high-value intangible assets. These companies are leveraging their assets to achieve faster growth and stronger earnings and are also demonstrating more resilience to market volatility than those companies that have a greater focus on fixed assets.

To be in this camp, it is important that you start to identify and define those assets that are driving value in your business. By developing a plan to protect and leverage these assets and identifying who these assets are likely to be of most value to.

If you would like a free confidential business appraisal contact Angela at Advance Business Brokers.   

There is a wide range of franchise opportunities and there are too many sectors to research them all thoroughly. But you can speed up the process by assessing your skills and your resources. What are your priorities and how deep can your financial resources go?

Once you have your criteria it will be easier to shortlist your franchise prospects and you’ll be saving time and energy.

 Questions to ask yourself

To help you narrow down your search, here are some questions to ask yourself:

•   Why do you want to get a franchise? Whether it’s making more money or having a passion for your field, it’s important to identify your goal.
•   Is there a specific industry that you have in mind or are you flexible?
•   What are your skills and what do you enjoy doing? A retail franchise will likely suit you better than an internet franchise if you’re a people person. You’ll be more motivated to run a business that you are interested in as well.
•   Would you prefer a fast-food franchise to reduce your risk?
•   Do you want to operate it personally to lessen cost or will you be hiring staff?
•   Are you on a budget? How much cash are you willing and able to invest? Do you have backup funds? Internet-based, home-based, and van-based businesses usually have lower costs compared to retail or food service franchises because it requires supply and equipment, other facilities, and staff.
•   How much time can you commit, and will you be willing to work on evenings and weekends? You should weigh your options especially if for example you have young children.

Once you have made your self-assessment, you’ll be more confident to decide which industry or franchise you would pursue getting. You can browse available businesses here: https://advancebusinessbrokers.com/businesses-for-sale/

Questions for the franchisor

•   What is the estimated time frame for you to make a profit?
•   How much working capital is needed in the meantime?
•   How much income are the existing franchisees generally earning?
•   Can you contact some of the existing franchisee to ask for feedback directly? Be cautious of those who insist on contacting just a few handpicked franchisees.
•   Do they provide training and support? If so, what are the details?
•   To what extent are they willing to provide support in finding your premise and fit out if necessary?
•   Are there other fees you need to pay?
•   What are their development or growth plans?
•   Are they compliant with the Franchise Code of Conduct? The code sets out your rights and obligations as a franchisee and this is regulated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commissions (ACCC).

Due diligence

However, it’s important to do your own independent research. Don’t just rely on the information given to you by the franchisor.

Do a background check on the company. Research how its assets have receded and flowed over the years. Are they still on a good track?

Search the brand name online and check for any media attention about the company. Take note of the positive coverage like sustained growth in profits, new product line, or positive community work. Negative articles might include corporate scandal or poor trading.

You may also go through the customer reviews on their website or social media pages to evaluate public opinion of the brand.

Effectively choosing a franchise that works for you means knowing precisely what you want out of your endeavour, your financial capacity, and the possible risks and rewards. 

There are a lot of questions to ask the franchisor and do not move forward until you’re satisfied with the answers given. Don’t rush because it’s your time and money at stake!

Why an Enduring Power of Guardianship is relevant to you

Many people fail to consider the need for an Enduring Power of Guardianship (also referred to as an “EPG”). It is important to consider the possibility of losing mental capacity at some stage in your life due to unforeseeable illness or accident. By appointing an Enduring Guardian, you can have peace of mind knowing that a person you trust is making suitable personal, lifestyle, and healthcare decisions on your behalf.

Many people do not have their wishes upheld when they are incapacitated. The lawyers at Frichot Lawyers can help you avoid this.

What is an EPG?

An Enduring Power of Guardianship is a legal document which allows you to appoint someone who you know and trust to make personal, lifestyle and medical treatment decisions in the event you are unable to make or communicate those decisions yourself. Through an EPG, you can decide which decisions your Enduring Guardian will be able to make, such as where you live or the type of medical treatment you will receive. The EPG will only come into effect when you lose the mental capacity to make decisions for yourself.

A case example that explains why you need an Enduring Power of Guardianship

Mike is a 52-year-old man. He was fit, healthy and had no known medical conditions. Mike began presenting with fever-like symptoms and headaches. Within days, Mike had been diagnosed with a rare infection of the brain and was induced into a coma in intensive care. The hospital concluded that it was unlikely Mike would come out of the coma and recover. Mike and his wife Susy had spoken to each other about what they would do if one of them ended up on life support. However, they had not executed the authority they wished to provide each other in an EPG. Susy told the hospital that Mike had specifically said to her: “don’t keep me alive on life support just for the sake of it.” Susy was quick to learn that without an EPG providing for specific authority to turn off life support, a doctor will do anything they can to prolong the life or the vegetative state of the person, even if that is contrary to their wishes. As a result of not having Mike’s intentions documented in an EPG, Susy was unable to uphold her husband’s wishes.

What if you don’t have an EPG in place?

If you lose mental capacity, it is unfortunately too late to prepare an Enduring Power of Guardianship. In this instance, a family member or other interested person may apply to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) to appoint a Guardian, including themselves.

The SAT often asks the Public Advocate to prepare a report about whether a Guardian is required and make recommendations about who should be appointed. If they believe no other person is suitable to be a Guardian, the SAT can ask the Public Advocate to take on that role. This can be a long process and can lead to great stress for your loved ones, particularly if, for example, medical treatment decisions need to be made in a short period of time.

If you need assistance navigating through the SAT process, see one of Frichot’s experienced lawyers.

What can you do now to ensure your wishes are upheld?

You should make an Enduring Power of Guardianship as soon as possible. Sadly, any of us can lose capacity to make decisions at any time because of an unforeseeable circumstance such as illness or accident.

The experienced lawyers at Frichot lawyers can:

• Provide legal advice on your personal requirements and the benefits or risks of making an Enduring Power of Guardianship;
• Help you establish the scope of authority you would like to give to your Enduring Guardian or any authority you may wish to exclude;
• Prepare your Enduring Power of Guardianship.

An Enduring Guardian cannot make financial or property decisions. See our related article on Enduring Powers of Attorney.

Article by Jasmine Moran, Lawyer in Wills, Estate Planning and Injury Law

What is Stamp Duty?

Stamp duty or transfer duty is a tax required by the state or territory governments on transfers of property such as business or real estate, and usually it’s the purchaser or transferee who is accountable.

Stamp duty also varies between states and territories. In 2000, Victoria removed stamp duty for business. New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, and South Australia all pursued the same decision over the last 20 years.  Just three states including Western Australia, continued to collect stamp duty on the purchase of a business.

Government’s Promise

The WA government aims and has committed to reinforce the West Australian jobs and increase investment in our state. One of the key elements should then be promoting and encouraging people to purchase a feasible small business. More businesses mean more jobs!

However,  stamp duty on business sales  in Western Australia makes it  financially more difficult  for anyone looking to purchase a business  in our state.

A buyer will be obliged to pay $251,415 when a business is sold at $5 million value. Imagine how useful that amount can be! That could cover extra 5 staff members or 10 additional trainees. Challenging enough with the COVID-19 situation, we don’t need this added burden on business Buyers willing to  invest in our state.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, businesses operating in WA kept on decreasing in the last five years.    Elimination of  stamp duty on business sales,  will assist  business owners in being able to sell their business when the time comes to exit.   Being able to sell the business,  maintains operations, keeps jobs, and sustains economic productivity. 

Our Advocacy

Angela Williams –  Chairperson of the REIWA Business Agents Committee, we at REIWA would like to urge the McGowan Government to eliminate the stamp duty for business. We want to help attract more investors and make WA more competitive to our eastern counterparts.

The holiday season is fast approaching and this provides a valuable opportunity for small business owners to set your company up to speed for the year. With the new world we are facing, here are our tips that could take your business to the next level in the new year!

Be Open to Change

As the saying goes, it’s not the strongest nor the smartest survives, but the one who adapts best to the ever changing environment. The pandemic hit the world really hard, especially the economy. In order to thrive, your business must first survive. Adapt to the new norm and take advantage of online and other resources. Whether it’s your website host, payment gateway, or shipment partner, it’s an excellent time to explore other options and shop around to find the most competitive pricing from suppliers.

Assess Your Business and Reflect

Most small businesses don’t have a large-scale market yet so you might want to attract more people by improving your website, social media pages, and your brand as a whole. With the current physical restrictions being implemented, it’s best to increase your market appeal online. You can invest in other marketing campaigns to grow your customer base.

Make a business review for the year to check what went well and what didn’t, what strategies worked and which decisions were not good choices. Identify and effectively use this information to boost your company’s growth all year round.

Plan and Budget for the Whole Year

This would vary depending on your business. If you are expanding, hiring more staff to cater more customers is a good idea however it’s vital to set proper expectations to your workforce that some may not have as many hours during the holiday season. It is essential to keep your roster organised to keep your staff satisfied.

Talk to your accountant and sort out your business finances for the whole year. This is important so you can evaluate and determine the areas where you overspent and determine the items that can be cut down.

From Advance Business Brokers –  Best wishes for a very  Prosperous 2021

Cyber security is as important as physical security.

With the Notifiable Data Breach Scheme, all Small to Medium Businesses need to declare any cyber breaches by law. So it is imperative to keep your systems secure. However, it can be a big problem without an IT Team dedicated to ensure your technology is up to date.

Take note of these top three cyber threats and what you can do to safeguard your business against them.

1. Malware

Malware or Malicious Software includes viruses or spyware, intentionally designed to cause damage to your computer system. With today’s technology, there are a lot of experienced hackers creating a variety of attacks. Finding the right tools to block these threats is the answer.

Malware takes up a lot of storage on your computer or machine and affects the programs and daily operations, resulting in your system to run slower-than-usual.

One of the most effective and simplest ways to protect your business against Malware is Patch Software. This is a form of software that updates, improves, and pushes out any potential bugs that could go into your system. Normally, your system will notify you when there are updates available. Accepting these software updates can help strengthen your system’s resistance towards cyber threats. 

Using an antivirus software also helps to remove Malware and lowering the risk of your computer to crash following on the attack.

2. Ransomware

Ransomware is also a Malicious Software that locks your screen so you won’t be able to access your system and unable to operate. The cyber criminal will then send you a message asking for a ransom or payment in exchange for your data and get your access back.

Usually the ransomware comes as emails intended to persuade the victim into providing confidential information. The fraudulent email can also include a link that gives the cyber criminal access to the victim’s computer system once it’s clicked.

You can use an Email Scanning Software to help assess the legitimacy of the email. Your email hosting provider will know the right software to use but if you’re in doubt, you may speak to a vendor like Cisco and ask for the best defense solution suited for your business.

3. DDoS 

Distributed-denial-of-service or DDoS aims to make your system crash by striking numerous and simultaneous data requests. These attacks are usually done during business periods where warning signs are typical during busy hours of the business. This will put your machine under pressure due to too much traffic resulting in system failure. If your operations are affected, then your income will also be affected.

A great defense for this type of attack is using Cloud Security. It is more effective on your business because it secures cloud computing environments against both external and insider cybersecurity threats. It helps block cyber attacks and identifies risks. Therefore, you will be notified whenever there is a high volume of traffic or suspicious activity and it will be stopped before it can cause damage to your system. 

In today’s cyber community, the number of attacks are increasing every year. Australian business owners should continue to improve their system security and stay vigilant to minimise the impact of possible attacks.

Strong growth in WA Resources sales

Latest update from the Department of Mines Industry Regulation and Safety shows that the sales of resources in Western Australia has significantly increased. This paved the rise in jobs as well!

Gold sales hit a record of $15.8 billion in the year to June 30th and a resounding $103 billion of iron ore sales. These contributed to the $172 billion resources industry.

Despite lower prices across the first half of the financial year, Oil sales also increased 30 per cent to $2.6 billion on higher volumes while LNG has kept dominating the petroleum market with $27 billion worth of sales even though it’s down from $29 billion in FY19.

Also, a huge recovery of the Nickel sales with $3.1 billion (that’s a four-year high!).

Simultaneously, the state’s gold industry accounted for $1.2 billion. It is about 70 per cent of $1.7 billion total expenditure on mineral exploration in FY20. Spent $420 million on copper exploration, $361 million on iron ore and $203 million on nickel and cobalt.

The state’s resources sector invested almost $19 billion in FY19, higher than the $17 billion investment in FY18.

The iron ore sector provided the most royalties to Western Australia, up from about $4.9 billion to $7.8 billion. Followed by gold with $361 million royalties, previously $291 million.

Job Surge

The DMIRS also recorded an average of 135,000 people employed in the state’s resources sector. A good increase from the previous 128,374 employed. The iron ore sector also recorded the most employees, giving 48,000 people jobs. Succeeded by gold with about 26,000.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said,

“Creating jobs is the McGowan Government’s number one priority, so it’s encouraging to see employment continuing to grow in the resources sector.”

“These record results underpin the importance and resilience of the resources sector as WA recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is particularly pleasing to see strong growth in exploration expenditure, which has been achieved despite the difficulties caused by the global pandemic.

“Maintaining our support of the state’s mining and petroleum industries is a key part of the McGowan Government’s Recovery Plan to keep WA in a strong economic position.”

According to the state, it has more than $100 billion worth of projects being developed.

Did you know that one of the reasons that a business for sale takes so long to get sold is because it’s priced too high?

Any owner would always want the business sold at the right price or even higher. Not to mention the need to give an allowance in cases that buyers would haggle, sellers tend to price their business really high. This is a common mistake in selling a business. Sellers need to keep in mind that people who are looking to buy your business have looked at other businesses for sale for several months. Keen buyers compare what’s good and what needs improvement to make sure they are weighing their options properly.

Though it’s best to give room for negotiation, one third of the price based on the market value is a remarkable difference.

If we are selling a business worth $650k and we price it at $850k to test it out in the market. The business sits on the market for  months with minimal or no  interest. They would think that you are not serious about selling the business and that’s why it’s overpriced.

You will lose the buyer’s interest and it’s going to sit there in the market for a long time and you will be forced to lower the price based on the actual market value. By then you have already wasted your time and money or a potential buyer. That’s how vital to effectively price the business right off the bat.

How would you know that your asking price is right?

Here are a few steps to help you: 

1. Work with a bookkeeper or accountant to get your financial statements in order and to show the business to its financial advantage
2. Consider the value of the tangible assets to have a better evaluation of the business worth
3. Prepare your owner’s cash flow or statement of seller’s discretionary earnings so that you can see the full earning capacity of your business
4. When you have done your estimate, check also other recent listings of similar businesses for sale and compare their asking prices.

Then deliberate with your sales advisor and/or broker the pricing information you’ve gathered and see how your pricing estimate coincides with the prices of recent comparable-business sales. 

Set the price right and the opportunity to sell your business is just around the corner!

Your business name and trade name can be different. Your business name is the legal name you enter on government forms and applications. It is your full name followed by a word or words that describe the type of business you are running. If your name is Eric Hamilton and you own an insurance agency, your legal name can be Eric Hamilton Insurance.

If you will be trading under your own name, Eric Hamilton or your legal business name, you don’t need to register however, if you want to trade under a particular name, you need to have it registered as a business name.

You would also then need to apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN).  When you register a business name with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), it will be shown as a “registered business name” against the associated ABN on ABN Lookup. The ABN Lookup contains a list of all Australian Business Numbers (ABNs). 

For more information on how to register a business name, visit https://asic.gov.au/for-business/registering-a-business-name/

Giving back to the Community

Many cafes and restaurants are generous in giving back to the community and COVID support programs. Add sanitation and disinfection equipment, screens, and staff training under the COVID-related expenses to your application for one of the many small business grants offered by the State and Local governments.

Charitable activities or donations to sporting groups and schools are great initiatives but are usually a marketing or advertising expense since they don’t have charitable status. Support these contributions with a receipt from a registered charity. 

Vehicles and Equipment

There are various ways to claim for motor vehicle deductions for a car partly used for private and part business use. Identify which method gives you the best tax savings and discuss with your accountant how you can take full advantage of the benefits.

A wise option also for new or used equipment is renting to own or renting to buy. It is a tax deduction and it helps to preserve your capital. The current COVID crisis has taught everyone about the importance of having savings and working capital. 

If you are able to invest in new equipment, now is the right time. Instead of depreciating the value over several years, The $150,000 instant asset write-off for equipment allows you to claim the entire deductible business equipment if purchased before 30th of December 2020.

Food and Beverage

Incorporate online food & beverage ordering to your bookkeeping system which is your second largest expense.  Most suppliers are also ready to conduct transactions with you online as it has become part of the new normal.

Also, there may be a situation to write down the value to zero for your out-of-date liquor that could no longer be used even for cooking. It’s worth checking but be prepared to justify what you’ve done.

Paperwork and Personal Development

Take online courses. There are many available regarding Business and Time Management and though this can be claimed as a personal expense if it’s not directly work-related but this is now more significant than ever.

Also, invest in online staffing and payroll systems. They cost less compared to those sloppy rosters and untracked hours. And to keep track of your expenses more easily, upgrade your bookkeeping system. There are several popular DIY systems that are easy to use like XERO and MYOB but they need to be set up professionally. Common classification mistakes are common and could mean you pay more tax.

Remember to stay amiable to your accountant. Maintain that good connection and stay connected for lots of money-saving advice!