Very few small businesses have a huge marketing budget to work with. Fortunately, there are a number of simple, free and low cost ways to get the word out about your company that are also highly effective. These tips will show you five simple ways to promote your local business without breaking the bank. Get free press Advertising rates for local newspapers and radio stations can be way too costly… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. NSW Lockdown Extended for 2 Weeks Lockdown measures in Greater Sydney have been extended by at least another two weeks from Monday. At this stage it will last until 11:59pm on Friday July 30. We’re thinking of everyone affected and encourage you to get in touch with us if… Read more
If your business hasn’t made it a habit to support a good cause, here’s why you should: giving back does more than make a difference in your community. Participating in charitable activities can have a positive impact on your staff, your customers and your bottom line. Customers want to support companies that demonstrate a commitment to more than earning a profit. A 2010 study by Cone Marketing showed that 85… Read more
Although you may be dreading the end of the financial year, there are things you can do to feel better prepared and make the most of your tax deductions. Because this year has been different for many people in terms of their employment situation, there are changes to tax reporting that may affect you. Here are some things to know about your income, deductions and home office expenses. 1. Your… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Delta Strain Leaves States on High Alert. Tasmania and the ACT remain the only Australian jurisdictions with no active local COVID-19 cases as NSW continues to battle a growing cluster that originated in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Lockdown extended for Greater Sydney Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast,… Read more
Gone are the days when an entrepreneur was expected to be entirely focused on making a profit. Obviously, earning money is important to being sustainable and therefore staying in business, but it’s possible to both earn a profit and make a positive difference in the world around you, too. There are great reasons for doing so. Making a positive difference contributes to the greater good. It can also boost employee… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Five states in lockdowns After months of keeping the coronavirus under control, five out of eight Australian states and territories are battling the highly infectious Delta variant. In order to prevent the spread, lockdowns in three large cities have been implemented, affecting more than 20 million Australians, or about… Read more
Everyone would like to become a better investor. People get into a twist trying this method and that only to abandon them for the next new thing. There’s an easier way, and it involves following a few simple suggestions. Stop watching the market and start watching your stocks Just because the market is frothy doesn’t mean your stock’s price is. Just because the market is sinking doesn’t mean your stock… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. NSW Records 16 New Local Cases, New Restrictions Reimposed NSW recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19 since the last time health officials spoke at 11 am on Tuesday. There’s also one mystery case where authorities still haven’t identified the source of COVID-19 detected in a nine-year-old child from Sydney’s… Read more
Every business experiences slow periods when the market for their goods or services lessens and sales drop. Business owners might be tempted to view down times as unproductive or wasted, but there are ways you can make the most of your business during these seasons. Here are four ways to ensure this time isn’t wasted. Take a good look at your business When things are busy it gets easy to… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Melbourne’s Lockdown Lifted Lockdown in Melbourne was lifted on 11 June, but restrictions remain in place including a mandate to wear face masks at all times outside the home, limiting travel to within 25 km, and preventing some businesses from operating. Although restrictions have been eased further in regional… Read more
Living a debt-free life is one of the dreams of many people. However, paying down your debt is easier said than done. Some people struggle to keep up with their monthly bills and become overwhelmed with the amount of debt they have to pay. In these circumstances, it’s easy to “stick your head in the sand” instead of tackling the issue head-on. This approach only means you’ll be off track… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Melbourne’s 2-Week Lockdown to ease on 10 June with some restrictions to remain Melbourne will emerge from a two-week lockdown at 11:59 pm on 10 June, after only two new infections arose in Victoria on Tuesday. Victoria was plunged into a one-week “circuit breaker” lockdown on 27 May, but… Read more
The question of motivating employees is often on a business owner’s mind. It can be difficult to find ways to genuinely motivate employees at work, and often the old standards—performance-based bonuses, increased rewards and commissions—only work in the short-term, if they work at all. In fact, some tests have shown that the usual motivational tactics aren’t always effective. So how can you authentically motivate workers? 1. Share positive feedback Too… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. Melbourne to Stay in Lockdown For Another Week Melbourne’s lockdown has been extended for another seven days, but stay-at-home measures will be lifted in regional Victoria. Residents of Greater Melbourne will only have five reasons to leave home: shopping for food and supplies, authorised work and education, care and… Read more
At face value, it seems like a great idea. If you’re a small business owner with just a few employees, you probably think that hiring a payroll specialist is an expense that you can avoid. You feel that you can handle it yourself. You have the best intentions to keep your staff paid right and on time. What could go wrong, right? Well, lots actually. Below are the reasons why… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. VIC: Melbourne’s Lockdown Fate Hangs in the Balance Authorities are locked in emergency talks about placing Melbourne in a five-day lockdown. A fresh cluster of COVID-19 cases in Victoria has grown to 15 in three days, and the next 24 hours are particularly critical as some of the infected… Read more
Some small business owners find themselves in the difficult position of running a business that appears to be profitable, but still having no money in the bank. It’s an important situation to address. After all, a lack of adequate cash flow is one of the main causes of small business failure. Here are three reasons profitable businesses have little money in the bank, and what business owners can do to… Read more
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward. JobMaker Hiring Credit’s Second Claim Period Now Open The second claim period of the JobMaker Hiring Credit is now open. So if you’ve taken on additional young employees between 7 January and 6 April 2021, you may claim the following payments: up to $10,400 over a year for each… Read more
As a business owner, you may appreciate the importance of monitoring key performance indicators but feel overwhelmed by the process—especially if you need to sign into to various applications to access a wealth of unconsolidated data. A business dashboard provides an at-a-glance view of your business intelligence, so it’s quick and easy to make sense of your data in real time, whenever you like. Fully customisable, you can pick and… Read more