Finances
Cheque, Mate?
Are cheques dumb?
A cheque (check) arrived in my letterbox last week.
It triggered good and bad thoughts.
And you know what that means.
Yes! It’s time to play …
Fortunately Unfortunately!
Fortunately
I’d been waiting on this payment for over two months. I was happy to get the money in any form.
I may even have accepted flour, sugar or [...]
Dollar Daze
The Australian dollar advances.
But are we winning?
As I write this, one Aussie dollar buys $1.0027 US dollars.
Depending who you talk to, this is great news or terrible news.
I’ve read so many reports, I’m not sure how this affects business as a whole.
Let’s break it down to see what we can learn.
Good [...]
Bank You Very Much!
And now, a GOOD news banking story!
Given our last two banking discussions (Impersonal Banking and Out There) I didn’t expect good fiscal news any time soon.
Happily, I was wrong.
Enter Bankwest. (I recommend you do.)
A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Forum
My dad asked me to help him transfer some business from one [...]
Is Time Money?
Here’s an old chestnut I hope we can crack:
Can you charge clients for travelling time?
I’ve had bags of trouble with this issue.
My hairdresser has an elegant answer. I’d like to see if you’ve a better one.
Fly Buys
When I started freelancing, I had a weekly two-day gig at a client’s site.
I figured driving to this was [...]
Indebted
Do not collect $200.
Naomi asked how my end of financial year (EOFY) was going.
I reflected that it was rather less cheery than the current crop of pay TV ads.
The source of my ennui is a large sum of money which I’ve earned, but not received.
For the first time in Empire history, I’m thinking debt collection.
I [...]
Super – can a fragile misfit expedite the process?
I feel cagey.
Superannuation has been an odd venture for me.
I’ve charted several courses, without satisfaction.
Now I’m taking a violently different tack.
Will time and tide vanquish or vindicate?
Rolled gold
My first corporate employer had a ‘defined benefit’ fund.
From the instant I joined, I was worth $160K dead or retired. This grew around $10K a year [...]
Pain Points – Part 2
Part 1 covered the top eight ‘pain points’ (as ranked by SMEs in MYOB’s Business Monitor).
Here are the lower eight, again with my comments.
9. Doing monthly accounts including tax
I hate bookkeeping so much, I put all my papers in a box and spend one agonising day per quarter sorting them out.
I like words, not numbers!
10. [...]
The Agony of Price
Poor pricing can cripple your business. Too low, profits go. Too high, sales die. As with terms, this fickle field has many pitfalls. To avoid them, I seek your take on the scenarios below.
Think of it as a game of Scruples, without the vodka and fondue.
Perception
A cheap checkout perfume didn’t sell until the supermarket [...]
Trial by Fire
I was grateful for the many considered comments on No Guarantees. So grateful, that I just did something I’ve never done.
I offered a guarantee.
Yes, it was in pursuit of new business. Nevertheless, it was still a big new trick for a relatively old dog. On spotting the word ‘readvertised’ in a job ad, I emailed [...]
Dear Mr Bank Manager
Today’s guest blogger is Sonia Cuff, owner of a Computer Troubleshooters franchise based in sunny Queensland. Sonia is passionate about helping small business owners around the world with the right technology advice and support – please make her feel welcome with this excellent first post on Small Business Owner.
On most days I love being self-employed. I like [...]
