Small Biz Matters: People, Policy, Purpose.

State Election - Meet the Candidates - Angela Vithoulkas

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 19 March 2019

• How will you improve regulation for small business & what changes you have planned for the next 1-2 years?
• The NSW govt has issued a statement back in Nov18 where Premier Berejiklian: “specialist team to help resolve problems encountered by small businesses during the construction of major infrastructure projects across the State. Under the changes, small businesses will be provided with key information and options on what help and support they can access, and where necessary specialist case officers appointed by agencies as a key point of contact.” In our area of Sydney in particular, major infrastructure like North Connex have had huge disruptive impact to businesses. What would your team at Small Business Party specifically implement to support specific businesses experiencing a decline in foot traffic, sales and exposure? Have you spoken to any local businesses about this issue?
• What is your long term plan for Payroll Tax in NSW? It’s one of the major financial burdens to small businesses who are growing and taking on staff. Isn’t it counter-intuitive to be increasing taxes businesses as they grow? 
• If you became a member in the NSW Parliament would you have plans to improve innovation opportunities in the outer suburbs of Sydney? It seems that all the hubs with their collaboration space, speakers, educational opportunities and networking nights are kept at arm’s reach from the outer suburbs. Would you support one of these innovation hot spots in areas like Hornsby to drive innovation, collaboration and education?

State Election - Meet the Candidates - Katie Gompertz

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 12 March 2019

• If Labor was to come to power in NSW how will you improve regulation for small business & what changes you have planned for the next 1-2 years?
• The NSW govt has issued a statement back in Nov18 where Premier Berejiklian: “specialist team to help resolve problems encountered by small businesses during the construction of major infrastructure projects across the State. Under the changes, small businesses will be provided with key information and options on what help and support they can access, and where necessary specialist case officers appointed by agencies as a key point of contact.” In our area of Sydney in particular, major infrastructure like North Connex have had huge disruptive impact to businesses. Will your government have a team and what specifically will YOUR team implement to support specific businesses experiencing a decline in foot traffic, sales and exposure? Have you spoken to any local businesses about this issue?
• What is the long term plan for Payroll Tax under a Labor Govt in NSW? It’s one of the major financial burdens to small businesses who are growing and taking on staff. Isn’t it counter-intuitive to be increasing taxes businesses as they grow? 
• If you became the member for Hornsby would you have plans for the electorate to improve innovation opportunities? It seems that all the hubs with their collaboration space, speakers, educational opportunities and networking nights are kept at arm’s reach from the outer suburbs. Is the Labour party interested in getting us to commute more, work closer to home and would you support one of these innovation hot spots in areas like Hornsby to drive innovation, collaboration and education?

So you won an award, now what?

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 12 March 2019

Some people may scoff at industry awards as a system of rewarding those who are well known, well connected and high up in the pecking order of their profession. But sometimes hard work, perseverance and tenacity is actually recognised. And not many awards are coveted more than the Australian Retailer of the Year, particularly in a sector all small businesses understand to be the toughest to operate in.

This week I am lucky enough to interview Dean Salakis from The Party People, the 2018 Australian Retailer of the Year. We’re going to chat about what winning such a prestigious award meant to his business and how he made the most of the opportunity.  Plus, he’s going to share some top tips on what going on a TV show like Shark Tank REALLY means for your business.

Welcome to the show Dean.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Tell us about your small business journey and how long your “overnight success” really took!
  • Small business started by a clown turned into a market leader for party supplies
• Growing 2 employees to 40 employees was a learning experience. How to achieve such growth, challenges and lessons learned. Hacks for growing on a shoestring budget and tricks I wish I knew earlier.
• How a small business manage to achieve such firsts as being google ads first customer in Australia, bing ads first customer in Australia, Facebook’s first accelerator program customer globally, first cross retailer scan and go implementation in Australia and more.
• My experience on shark tank and what outcomes were achieved
• What does winning those industry awards really mean for a small business and how you can leverage your marketing in a practical way from those successes?
  • Why we won 2018 independent retailer of the year for the second year in a row and 2018 online retailer of the year. Also why I was named 2018 retail leader of the year for the second year in a row.

To find out more go to their website: www.thepartypeople.com.au

State Election - Meet the Candidates - Matt Kean MP

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 5 March 2019

• As the current minister for Innovation and Better Regulation can you explain how the NSW Liberal Govt has improved regulation for small business since you’ve come to power and what changes you have planned for the next 1-2 years?
• The NSW govt has issued a statement back in Nov18 where Premier Berejiklian: “specialist team to help resolve problems encountered by small businesses during the construction of major infrastructure projects across the State. Under the changes, small businesses will be provided with key information and options on what help and support they can access, and where necessary specialist case officers appointed by agencies as a key point of contact.” In our area of Sydney in particular, major infrastructure like North Connex have had huge disruptive impact to businesses. What specifically has this team implemented to support specific businesses experiencing a decline in foot traffic, sales and exposure? Can you give an example of a local small business who has been happy with the rollout of this process?
• What is the long term plan for Payroll Tax under a Liberal Govt in NSW? It’s one of the major financial burdens to small businesses who are growing and taking on staff. Isn’t it counter-intuitive to be increasing taxes businesses as they grow? 
• You are the Minister for Innovation so what are the plans for your electorate of Hornsby to improve innovation opportunities? It seems that all the hubs with their collaboration space, speakers, educational opportunities and networking nights are kept at arm’s reach from the outer suburbs. If the NSW Liberal Govt is serious about getting us to commute more, work closer to home why isn’t there one of these innovation hot spots in areas like Hornsby to drive innovation, collaboration and education?

Improve your business' Cybersecurity and decrease your vulnerability

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 26 February 2018

What strikes a fear into small business owners greater than unpaid invoices, staffing issues or dodgy suppliers? Its cybersecurity. But the reality is very few, if any small business owners have a strategy in place to prevent cyber attacks nor a process to deal with it when it strikes. It’s a little bit of “It won’t happen to Me” and a little bit of “I don’t know where to Start”.

The fact is most small businesses often don’t know what to expect when we are experiencing a Cyber Attack let alone how to deal with it. And a Management IT Consultant (whom we should all have in our arsenal of advisor consultants) is considered a luxury for most of us.

And yet we are all vulnerable. 

Well, today’s guest should be able to shed some light on what to expect, how to deal with it and how to start protecting your business NOW is Steve Moros, the Director of Security, Cisco ANZ.

Welcome to the show Steve.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• The business impact of security threats to SMBs in Australia
  • Some statistics of the last few years and what’s the likelihood on a cybersecurity attack on a typical small business?
  • What do these attackers want & what sort of disruption can a business expect when it occurs?
• The biggest security threats that SMBs currently face
  • Why is it the biggest security threat when compared to theft or business destruction?
  • How do attackers present themselves?
  • When does a business owner know when they are “under siege” (it’s not always evident immediately)
• Simple things that SMBs can do to make incremental changes in their security posture
  • Will these changes cost a lot of money?
  • Do SMBs need to engage with a good IT Management Consultant who really knows their business?
  • Do you recommend the 3-2-1 backup rule?
  • How much are SMBs willing to spend to improve their security? Or should we be asking what’s it going to cost the business owner NOT to have anything in place?
• How SMB owners can educate their employees to prevent them from being a security risk
  • What do we typically see happen when an error from an employee leads to an attack?
  • What courses are available to small business owners & their employees?
  • How does CISCO help the small business community here?
  • Should business owners ALSO be protecting themselves in terms of cybersecurity from internal attack, the threat from their own staff?

The data breaches making headlines are mostly those that are launched against large enterprises, but this doesn’t mean smaller companies are immune. SMBs are also very vulnerable and have increasingly become the focus of attacks; often being viewed as soft targets because of their less-sophisticated security infrastructure and lack of access toIT resource.

Cisco’s recent Cyber Security Benchmark Study for SMBs reiterates this point. The report shows that 53 per cent of SMBs globally (including Australia) have experienced a breach, with 20 per cent saying that breaches have costed them more than $1M in economic loss. 40 per cent have experienced more than eight hours of system downtime due to a severe security breach. These numbers are enough to put an unprepared SMB out of operation — permanently.

Small businesses can avoid being a victim of a cyber-attack by putting some simple and effective measures in place to prevent breaches.

To find out more go to their website: https://www.cisco.com/c/en_au/solutions/small-business.html

The ATO... friend or foe? Getting your Tax right in 2019

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 19 February 2018

Let’s be honest, there’s probably not a lot of love out there for the ATO coming from Small Business. Many of us are worried if we get the smallest thing wrong they’ll come down on us like a tonne of bricks.  

There are frighteningly effective ways the ATO is finding and fining those who are deliberately doing it wrong, come 1 July there are some changes you need to be aware of as an employer, but on the other hand there are also loads of ways the ATO supports, assists and educates us.

So let’s have a chat to them. They want to engage better with small businesses and today we have the perfect guest with the inside knowledge. Deborah Jenkins is the Deputy Commissioner for the ATO and joins us to talk about top record keeping tips, getting online, who to ask for help and where to turn to when it all goes wrong.

Welcome to the show Deborah.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• How small businesses can get the basics right (cash flow, record keeping, tax tips)
  • Good record keeping
  • Using Online portals to make your life easier
  • Keeping up to date means better understanding of your cashflow
• What can small business do if they are having difficulties
  • Where can you get advice and how the ATO can help
• Tools and services ATO offer
  • Resources such as ATO Small Business Newsroom newsletters and the Small Business online section is excellent!
• What about illegal Phoenixing activity?
  • How do you know when you’re getting it REALLY wrong?
  • Why is the ATO cracking down on it?
  • What can the legitimate, honest businesses out there do to let the ATO know about the dodgy guys?
• We couldn’t talk about the 1Jul2019 without touching on the changes Single Touch Payroll will bring for all employers.
  • Where can small business find out more?

ATO Small business tips - starting the year off well

Take the opportunity to get your business organised for the New Year, and make 2019 the best year yet for your business.

Check your business follows these tips:

• keep good records, helps you stay organised throughout the year. In addition to meeting your tax obligations, having good records will give you a more accurate picture of your business to help you understand how you are doing. This will give you an opportunity to spot potential problems sooner rather than later.
• seek advice, we know around 95 per cent of small businesses use a registered tax or BAS agent. Your tax professional can help you prepare and lodge your tax return and also help you to identify areas for improvement, which allows you to focus on running your business.
• report & lodge online, going digital is the quickest and easiest way to manage your tax and super. Our Business Portal allows you to prepare, lodge and revise activity statements, view your reports for Single Touch Payroll (STP) plus more. If you’re a sole trader, you can manage your tax online using ATO online services, via myGov. This includes lodging your tax return via myTax.
• keep up to date, subscribe to our Small business newsroom where you can get all the latest tax news delivered straight to your email inbox.

Visit ato.gov.au/SBsupport for an overview of resources, tools and services the ATO offer.

To find out more go to their website: Small business newsroom  & ato.gov.au/SBsupport

Know the signs of illegal phoenix activity

Illegal phoenix activity is when a new company is created to continue the business of a company that has been deliberately liquidated to avoid paying its debts, including taxes, creditors and employee entitlements.

This activity costs the Australian community up to $5.13 billion per year. The Phoenix Taskforce, a group of 34 state and federal agencies are working together to combat it - so far they’ve returned over $230 million to the community.

The ATO has developed a video to help you Know the signs of illegal phoenix activity and protect yourself. We’d love you to help spread the word and share this video, or some informative factsheets with your networks.

If you suspect phoenix activity, report it on 1800 807 875 or online.

Links:

• Illegal phoenix activity
• Phoenix taskforce
• Factsheets
• Tweet

Why Leadership Qualities are Crucial to the Success of your Small Business

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 12 February 2018

Running a small business can be a solitary existence; we work by ourselves and for ourselves and don’t consider qualities like leadership and mentoring to be an important factor in business development. But they are important not only to grow the business itself but for us too to grow as real humans. And we often don’t realise as small business owners how to tap into those qualities we possess.

Sometimes we need a bit of help and here at Small Biz Matters we’re all about developing your small business education through the expertise of others. Here today is Harry and Raj Nathoo from Keystone Focalpoint Coaching & Advisory to share with us their wisdom and experience. 

Welcome to the show Harry & Raj.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Part 1 - You’re under your own steam
  • What are considered leadership qualities?
  • Leadership isn’t just about leading others but actually having leadership qualities yourself. But WHY do we need as an individual need to access these qualities?
  • As individual leaders, why do we need to have these qualities?
  • Which key relationships in your business do you need to display leadership qualities? (without being a dictator!!)
    • Employees
    • Clients
    • Suppliers
    • Mentoring roles - other businesses
  • Part 2 - You’re the leader of a team
    • Running a team of any size means being a leader. How can an individual identify skills from their previous experiences which can then be used in a leadership capacity? but what skills can we draw upon from our former lives and experience to improve these skills?
    • What does a true leader look like? Can you provide examples of leaders that you admire?
  • Part 3 - Delivering happiness
    • Are there other options or programs we need to know about as small business which can help us run a team effectively
    • What unravels without being an effective leader and what can you do to recognise this before it all falls apart? How can a leader recognize that they are lacking the skills they need to be an effective leader?

To find out more go to their website: https://keystonefocalpoint.com.au/

Short Bio- Keystone Focalpoint Coaching and Advisory

With over 67 years of combined experience and success in both Entrepreneurship and in Corporate, we, (Raj, Rita and Harry) founded Keystone Focalpoint Coaching and Advisory.

We’ve encountered many SMEs that provide great expertise in what they do but struggle with the Employee and Cultural aspects of running a small business. Therefore, Keystone Focalpoint Coaching and Advisory was created to assist SMEs with bringing about Clarity in their business, identifying the gaps in their leadership, people and operations, help with management transitions, team training and building and growth and performance strategies.

Through the use of our partnership brand, EPIFINI - a world-first Artificial Intelligence business diagnostic tool, we are able to provide our clients with an unbiased, non-linear assessment of their business; like a health-check, and identify their strengths and gaps, so that action can be taken timely, cost-effectively and with least disruption.

Our business philosophy is simple: People do business with us because they trust us.

Alan, one of our clients, shares his story:

“We are a small but rapidly growing business in the building and construction sector in NSW.

The strong growth trajectory was exerting pressure on the leadership capabilities of the senior team who had each come to their role with widely differing social and educational backgrounds, supervisory experience, exposure to learning and soft management skills.

I approached Focal Point Coaching and Training from Bella Vista to assist with the introduction of leadership development program.

The program was comprised essentially of three components being an evaluation of each individuals behavioural profile and motivation, personal de-briefing and coaching to assist each person to build a personal development plan, and finally team workshops on change management, emotional intelligence, teamwork and communication. The FocalPoint team's deep experience in learning and development, coupled with their access to cutting edge tools and a great passion for real improvement against their client's objectives, underpinned the success of the program.

I cannot speak highly enough of FocalPoint's drive, commitment and focus on success.

The program has been extremely successful with each and every participant improving their personal leadership skills and contribution to their job and responsibilities through to our business performance”. Alan M – General Manager RTP

This is what some of our other clients say:

“I would like to record my appreciation of your excellent business coaching over the last few months. I have found your understanding of my ‘business problem’ refreshing and the strategies we have developed together, I believe, will give my business renewed purpose and direction.

On a more personal note, the ability to simply share my concerns with a business minded peer has given me more peace of mind!

You and your team have invested very heavily in me and I sincerely hope to be able to return the favour”. Jeff Harper-Business Owner

”….Raj showed me the different personality types, EQ values and motivating factors that drive each staff member and myself.  This was a very big revelation and I was able to identify each person's strength and weakness.  Thus allowing me to avoid a few potholes immediately and improve the way I communicate with my staff.

My staff have also been trained with regards to their own personality and communication style as well as the rest of the team's.  This has resulted in a greater quality of communication and improved the general atmosphere in the office.  It has also made my life easier as things are happening a lot smoother, staff morale is very high and they all seem to be a lot more engaged with work and finding solutions to the daily business challenges.

They are a lot happier, teamwork and mutual assistance have increased significantly.

I am very grateful for Raj's and team's patience, professionalism and showing me how to be a better leader, listener and communicator, not to mention increased sales and quicker turnaround times”. Rene M – CEO Real Estate

We can help you too!

Call us for a no-obligation chat. You will pick up some valuable tips that you can implement immediately in your business.

Please also look at:

https://keystonefocalpoint.com.au/about-us/

https://keystonefocalpoint.com.au/business-advisory/

 

Untangling Employment Law for Small Business - Recent Changes from FairWork

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 5 February 2018

Policy makers are trying their best to ensure employees are treated fairly employers but when it comes to government decisions it feels like, for small business, that fair = complicated. The more they talk about cutting red tape the more we as businesses trip over it. And as small businesses we WANT to look after our employees because without them we don’t grow or even function.

We can engage with our politicians and try and understand them the mayhem each of these seemingly small changes can mean to us on a day-to-day level but in the meantime you need to ensure that you’re getting it right. Now. Sadly, ignorance is no excuse and in equal measure most of us don’t have an employment lawyer on staff to ask for advice.

Just when you think you’ve sorted out your payroll, HR and employment issues you read about yet another new “interpretation” of the law. For example late last year the Federal Court made a decision about casual employees… and boy is it a doozy of a change.

Luckily we have another great expert on hand. Michelle Archer has many years of experience working in the employment law field

Welcome to the show Michelle.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• What’s the  difference between different TYPES of employment
  • Casual
  • Part time / full time permanent
  • Non permanent? Fixed term?
• Casual employees - how to determine the relationship you have with your staff and what’s changed recently with the court decision about the way you interact?
• Food & retail award
  • What does that mean for those small businesses with long-term casual staff
  • Do we really have to back-pay those entitlements if it was determined they were part time for all those years?
• How can a business protect themselves into the future when starting a relationship with their employees?
  • What are the musts for starting this relationship and what do you have to do at certain points in time?
• How does unfair dismissal laws work and how are they different for small business (give some examples here.)

To find out more about Michelle find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-archer-b676853b/

Is an SMSF right for you?

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 29 January 2018

What is a Self Managed Super Fund and how do you go about setting one up? The general consensus is that there are less fees and you have greater control on how your money is invested and so by taking control of your Superannuation YOU can make more money and retire on a larger amount. It’s also a tempting prospect for small business owners who are keen to utilise their own bookkeeping skills and save on those dreaded admin fees.

However what a lot of small business owners don’t realise is that the compliance side is very different to running a business. There is a different set of fees and regulations involved which are very different to running a business. And as with everything which is regulated for the benefit of society as a whole, you need to make sure you’ve got your ducks all lined up in a row and do your homework BEFORE you dive down that rabbit hole.

Here to help us this week on Small Biz Matters is Dana Fleming, the ATO’s Assistant Commissioner SMSF Segment to teach Small Business owners what’s involved with setting up and running a Self Managed Super Fund.

Welcome to the show Dana.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• What do you need to consider if you are a small business owner thinking about setting up an SMSF?
• What are some reason people set up an SMSF?
• What is the best way to set up and manage an SMSF?
  • what must you do to be compliant
  • what is best practice
• What is your one tip you would give a small business owner who is thinking about a SMSF or already has one?
• What resources are available to learn more about SMSF? (eg newsletter, website, atocommunity)

 

Dana Fleming’s Bio

Dana Fleming has recently joined the ATO as their new Assistant Commissioner looking after the self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) portfolio. For the past four years she led KPMG’s Asset and Wealth Management tax practice in Australia.

With over 25 years’ tax experience, both in Australia and overseas, specialising in superannuation and managed funds, Dana is well equipped to take the reins of the SMSF portfolio as it reaches its next stage of maturity and progress.

She joins the ATO at an exciting time for SMSFs as they reach some key milestones in the cycle of super policy reform that began in 2010. Advances in technology, coupled with the enhanced use of data for SMSF administration, investment decisions and regulation will enable the sector to become more streamlined and efficient, further cementing its position as a key component of Australia’s super system.

Dana is looking forward to making a positive contribution to the super sector and the broader community it serves.

 

To find out more go to their website:  

General ATO SMSF website - https://www.ato.gov.au/Super/Self-managed-super-funds/

Subscribe to their SMSF newsletter with loads of webinars, info and new details - https://www.ato.gov.au/Super/Self-managed-super-funds/In-detail/News-and-alerts/

Running a Great Meetup Group Whilst Building Your Personal Brand

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd from Boyd Office Management Services
Date: 22 January 2018

Marketing is no longer a matter of popping down to the local paper and taking out an ad. Its complex, and can involve positioning yourself as the expert in person online and in print, maintaining your professional profiles on various online platforms, writing articles and running events. Even a humble financial expert finds that you need to reinvent yourself continually to be recognised by your peers and the broader business community.

On Small Biz Matters today we welcome Sarah Harding. She’s a financial advisor who is going to share with us a different sort of expertise - standing out from the crowd. Among other methods she’s set up a great Meetup group in the city welcoming professionals from all sectors to simply, network. Sounds simple right? No, it's hard work to get a group recognised as the place to be” and she’s going to share with us the positioning power that process can bring.

Welcome to the show Sarah.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Take us through your small business background and how this experience has positioned you well to chat to small business about understanding finances.
  • Background – family business, involved in the “corporate side” including banking, managing money outside of the business to help build the lifestyle you want

• Many people say the relationship with your financial advisor needs to be a personal as well as a professional connection. So what should a small business owner be looking for when engaging to an advisor?
  • Relationship with clients
  • When I started I recognised the negative reputation of the industry being very transactional. Adding value beyond giving advice
• Now, one unique way you’re known in the business community in Sydney is through your Why Meetup Groups. Can you tell us about your group and how the Meetup platform has helped to grow your reputation?
  • People look there for a networking group
  • People originally said it doesn’t give the right advice
  • Researched which platforms to use to engage different audiences.
  • 12 months ago I build tools & templates so I could get someone else to run the groups if I decided to diversify again
• How to run a good meetup event
  • Building numbers & being consistent
  • Keeping in contact
  • Need to attend others/give and take
  • Importance of charging something, covering the costs or you’ll become resentful. Good food
• So what is it like working in a male-dominated industry
  • Supportive family who’s encouraged women and girls to put their careers seriously.
  • Emotional intelligence to know WHY men behave like that. There’s a good reason to be exposed to it so you can learn to work with people. Develop the skillsets to know HOW to work with them vs working against them. Setting boundaries requires confidence however.
  • Dangers – most people don’t take their finances seriously. They don’t put aside the funds to have options. Being savvy with your money.

To find out more go to their website: https://www.wyadvice.com

Sarah Harding BIO:

Sarah has been in the finance industry since 2010 and has worked with in both large banks and also smaller boutique financial planning firms and has worked her way up from administrative roles into financial advising and helping clients meet their financial goals. Also within that time frame she has completed a Bachelor of Business Majoring in Financial Planning a Diploma of Financial Planning and also a Masters of Applied Finance.

Sarah prides herself on developing excellent working relationships with all clients to provide comprehensive financial advice based on their individual needs and goals.