Bright Owl Business Services

16/07/2021

Flexibility v Rigidity

There is a strong argument for boundaries when you run a business. You need time for yourself. You need to look after yourself as you can't help others if you are empty but what happens when:

1. There is an incident - all hands on deck to get it sorted!

2. There is a government change (think Covid border closures, yet again) and you have workers working on both sides. You step up and get things sorted. (10.30pm on a Friday night emailing letters of authority to workers needing to cross the border, yep!)

3. There is a health crisis involving a key worker or manager - you step up.

You get the picture.

When does this become abuse of your goodwill?

I would argue that
a. It is abuse when it becomes expected or assumed.

b. It is abuse when the person allocating the work is not mucking in to get things done too.

c. It is abuse when there is no downtime to recover before the next disaster.

As a business owner there are only so many dramas you can cope with from your staff, only so many shifts you cover, dilemmas you solve and after hours calls/texts you take before it is time to part ways.

I am lucky so far that I have been able to choose the ethical and respectful clients I work with. I do work out of hours for them, absolutely, but it is usually because I offer or they ask nicely, not because it is assumed I am at their beck and call.

I like my clients. Thank you.

12/06/2021

Tonight I want to get people's thoughts on how you manage expectations with staff.

* What you feel you need to write down and why?
* How formal do you get?
* How do you engage with staff for those robust conversations without them taking it to heart and potentially walking out the door?
* What have you got in place in the way of succession planning?
* Do you really need to accept poor behaviour?
* Does the inter-generational thing really exist to the extent that some believe it to? (Millenials, Booms, Gen X and Gen Y and any I have forgotten?
* And, being Devil's Advocate, how much have you contributed to this situation? Too busy, too tired, not the best communicator yourself, or have you become fearful of FairWork.
* Have you been clear?

If you have started off small and with trusted workers you may have been able to select knowing that they have shared values and work ethic. As a business grows there is a greater need for systems and policies, supervision to the level required (by you or by one of your trusted employees which may need a more hierarchical model ) and it is going to take a lot more effort in communication.

I'd welcome your comments.

19/05/2021

Today is a good day to talk about Business Continuity. Why? Because I am sick and isolated from my teaching and my clients. I am on the mend.

Having a Business Continuity Plan means that you don't have to think hard when you are sick or force this onto someone you love because you are incapable to guiding them. (think surgery, car accident or stroke - it can happen at any age!)

A good Business Continuity Plan (BCP) will be thought through before it is needed. The key risks will be identified, as will the key people. Roles and responsibilities that can be delegated will be documented and procedures to support these available. Where access is required, say to a pay system, you will either have that in place or a mechanism supported by an authority letter to make it happen quickly.

So my questions to you:
1. Do you have a Business Continuity Plan? If not, why not?

2. Do you know who your trusted core of people are?

3. Have you discussed their roles if you should need to enact a BCP?

4. Do you have appropriate documentation in place? - policies, letters of authority for banks, etc.

Some examples of things to consider:

1. Can clients be postponed with safety and without damage to your reputation? For how long? Who is going to communicate with them in the interim? Do you have alternatives in place?

2. Do you have staff? How are they going to get paid? If they see you go down to illness, will they have the confidence that the business will still run in your absence?

3. Worst case scenario - if you died, what happens to your clients, your business affairs and anyone you leave behind?

I know this might be morbid but a friend of mine is currently nursing their 51year old partner through a stroke that happened this week. I know of cases where strokes have occurred in children and of a 29 year old who died. It can happen to anyone.

06/05/2021

As a business owner, in fact as a person, it is very hard sometimes to stay on task and focus. Today, for me, has been such a day. I am a team of one but I was thinking about how others might manage this and thought back to a great team I managed from 2000-2009.

I am an advocate of cross train where feasible and qualifications allow. I used the cross skilling to back fill or provide support. In this team there were approximately 3/4 with children and quite a few children born in that time. Maternity, in fact any leave, is a great opportunity to build capacity in the team. Be creative about filling roles and offer them to part timers as well as full timers. You will build loyalty as, particularly younger parents, are enabled to build skills and longevity in roles. I supported many and when I needed an extended period away, these guys willingly stepped up and were AWESOME!

I also trained people to think - I know this may sound harsh but you are building capability. I used the idea of an open door policy but changed it to a screen door. When a problem arose anyone was welcome to come to me with it, PROVIDED they had one suggestion of how to fix it. It might not have been viable, might not have been allowable under the organisation's policies and procedures but the fact that they had thought it through helped to develop new ideas. And when I was able to say "Do exactly what you just said!" I knew, and they knew, they had done well.

Employees should be an asset that you invest in, not a liability where you are constantly counting costs. If you regard them as a cost, reframe and change your game.

04/05/2021

Tonight I'm doing the Pot and Kettle post. It's 1025pm and I am about to leave my computer after a full day working with clients and revisiting the computer after I got bored with TV.

What does balance mean to you when you are in business for yourself?

It is really easy to take a day off here, a long lunch there and all of a sudden your bank balance is looking horrendous. Like the car careening towards disaster you make a big correction and this time you....

You guessed it! This time you go into full on work mode, forget about your needs, forget you have a family who might want to see you and your bank balance is looking pretty. If your family have forgotten what you look like and friends have drifted off and you get sick from exhaustion. Really? What was the point?

Somewhere in between you need to find a balance. A good way of doing this is to create boundaries. Have a message on your separate work phone/number that says something to the effect of "if you have called this number outside of these times (you choose) I will respond to your call as soon as I am next available".

Some industries, like care industries make this difficult but you can share the load. Asking for help is not weak, it is sensible and necessary to avoid the risk of burn out, or worse still, collapse. No job is worth destroying yourself to do it.

I encourage you to look at creating some real boundaries and sticking to them. And this pot who may be calling a kettle names will head to bed.

Photo credit: Unsplash - Minchu Dang Quang

08/04/2021

Marketing - what is it and how to make it work.

While I studied a couple of marketing subjects at uni I am not a marketing specialist but want to put a few thoughts out there.

When you see someone everyday telling you how wonderful they are, does it feel genuine or just a bit "try hard"?

Particularly if you are regional the best marketing is networking. Say yes to going to events, have that conversation in the street with someone you used to work with and just let them know what you are doing and see what they are up to.

Last week I bumped into a lady I worked with 12 years ago. She has also moved on. In just 3 minutes, we re-established a connection and talked about a great need in her business. I could help because I had networked with someone last year who is in a pretty random field. He is a great guy and I expect a perfect fit. (it's a shame there is no spotter's fee)

So don't be a Harold. Talk to people - not just about your business. Make real connections and see where they go. It might be today, this week or next year.

08/04/2021

Marketing - what is it and how to make it work.

While I studied a couple of marketing subjects at uni I am not a marketing specialist but want to put a few thoughts out there.

When you see someone everyday telling you how wonderful they are, does it feel genuine or just a bit "try hard"?

Particularly if you are regional the best marketing is networking. Say yes to going to events, have that conversation in the street with someone you used to work with and just let them know what you are doing and see what they are up to.

Last week I bumped into a lady I worked with 12 years ago. She has also moved on. In just 3 minutes, we re-established a connection and she shared her great need in her business. I could help because I had networked with someone last year who is in a pretty random field. (No spotter's fee but she might remember me if she needs my services.)

So don't be a Harold. Talk to people - not just about your business. Make real connections and see where they go. It might be today, this week or next year.

06/04/2021

For anyone who is eligible this seems like a good offer from the NSW government. Have a look and check your eligibility. I will be doing one in the next few days so am happy to let you know how easy or hard it is. It It is rated as DIY.

COVID-19 NSW: Business, Non-Profits, Individuals – Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate
Overview
This program aims to support businesses to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and incentivise business growth by reducing the cost of running a business. The NSW Government aims to help small businesses with the cost of government fees and charges.

One-off rebate to the value of $1,500 is available, which can be drawn down on multiple times until the full value of $1,500 is reached.

The rebate is provided in the form of a digital credit, which businesses can draw down on to offset the cost of eligible NSW and local government fees and charges.

Businesses can claim the rebate against invoices that were due and paid from 1 March 2021.

Who Can Apply?
Eligible applicants include small businesses (including non-employing sole traders) and not-for-profit organisations that must:
- Have total Australian wages below the NSW Government 2020-21 payroll tax threshold of $1.2 million.
- Have their own Australian Business Number (ABN) registered and/or are physically located and operating in New South Wales. Only one $1,500 rebate is available for a single ABN.
- Be registered for goods and services tax (GST).
- Have a turnover of at least $75,000 per year.

Not-for-profits are not subject to the GST requirement but must demonstrate they have a turnover of more than $75,000.

Eligible Activities
The rebate covers NSW Government charges and fees and local council rates and charges related to the cost of doing business.

All NSW Government fees and charges will be eligible, excepting those that are specifically excluded under the exclusion criteria.

Exclusion criteria include:
- Fines and penalties
- Fees and charges in place that have the key purpose of discouraging or inducing behaviour changes
- Commonwealth government charges
- Rent on government premises
- NSW and Commonwealth government taxes

Please refer to the Guidelines for the complete list of excluded government fees and charges.

04/04/2021

It's Easter. For Christians, this is a time to celebrate Christ and his sacrifice to save the rest of us. For others it is a time to indulge in so much chocolate they don't want to look at it for a month. For those of the Greek Orthodox faith, Easter is another few weeks away. For many others it is a holiday that doesn't coincide with their beliefs.

The picture on this post is one shared on Facebook by a friend of mine who is of Islamic faith and his example is one that I would like to see modelled in life and especially in workplaces. He wishes his Christian friends a Merry Christmas despite not sharing the belief and, similarly, his friends wish him good wishes at the beginning and end of Ramadan.

COEXIST - what does this mean? It means on days like today that, as person who was raised with Christian beliefs, I can celebrate this holiday without feeling fear and with the respect of those who do not share these beliefs. Similarly, when my Islamic friends, participate in fasting during Ramadan I am not going to taunt their beliefs by eating in front of them while they cannot. Jewish people can celebrate Hanukkah and so on.

In a workplace COEXISTENCE is mandated by Anti-Discrimination legislation. It says we cannot discriminate based on s*x, gender identity, religious beliefs, disability, race (what country you are a citizen of), ethnicity (your heritage regardless of location) and pregnancy, noting that there are specific exemptions that employers can seek where there are sufficient grounds to agree to the exemption.

Whether we do this for real or say the right things in front of people and whatever we like behind their back, is on us as humans.

But just think what a workplace could be if we could all just coexist in harmony? Wouldn't going to work be a whole lot easier and more productive if we could generally coexist with respect and acceptance?

As a manager or coworker it is up to you to model the behaviour you want to see, move away from the discriminatory behaviour of the 70s and 80s (groping females, calling immigrants demeaning names, etc) and just get along for real. If you slip up, own it. If you don't know about a situation that could be tricky, ask. I have and learned I've been able to put into practice.

29/03/2021

With Easter and ANZAC Day coming up it is a good time to make sure you know, understand and apply the correct penalties in the Awards appropriate to your workers, and of course, there may be more than one award.

The Fairwork Ombudsman has just released a media release about the underpayments it has recovered from disability service providers. To say that 48% of the businesses were non-compliant is a tad scary.

https://email.telstra.com/webmail/index-rui.jsp?v=1479958955288 /mail

In a growth sector like NDIS there is a danger for new employers that they do not have the skills to know when they are non-compliant and it is a good idea to avoid coming to the attention of the Fairwork Ombudsman.

If you are paying over the award this can be used to offset some allowances that may otherwise be paid but you have to be very careful that you don't lose track of how much the overall package should be and stay over it.

For reference the Disability Sector award is known as SCHADS or the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010. If you have people not involved in care, eg admin or financial support, they will be under a different award.

Watch your penalty rates,
Check which days are gazetted public holidays in your state,
Pay accordingly.

Telstra Corporate is the gateway into the range of products and services offered by Telstra Consumer and Telstra Business and Enterprise.

24/03/2021

I'm a bit late this week with sharing a bit about business workings. The photos below may explain a bit. Sadly, they also provide inspiration for today's subject, insurance.

On Monday the little car in the pic, known as Colin Corolla, was written off not because my daughter did anything wrong but through a combination of circumstances. Pouring rain, a possibly over zealous person braking hard and early for a roundabout, her and someone who tried but failed to brake in time behind her.

She is insured. He is not. If this was a car that was required for your business, would you be covered? When you move from being a private person with a vehicle, do you know when you need to convert to business insurance? Do you know that it varies from insurer to insurer?

I am no insurance expert so will not attempt to advise on what you should and shouldn't have except to say that you should have knowledge.

For my insurer, as an example, I am required to have business insurance on my vehicle if I am using it for business and the business is registered for GST. My registration does not have to show business use which I found very strange. What does your insurer do? Will they cover you if your day turns bad like my daughter's did on Monday?

Along similar lines, she is a nurse, therefore employed by someone else but what happens if you were in her position? Unable to work for a period? You may be able to claim for personal injury through Compulsory Third Party Insurance but it takes time and you may not be at the helm for a while. Who steps up? Do you have a Business Continuity Plan?

If not, let's talk. 0438 812999

14/03/2021

Today I want to put some thoughts out there about outsourcing.

This is one of those things where people say but I can do it myself and save money. I challenge that belief unless it is something that you really, really love doing and are happy with the opportunity cost that comes with it. (explained further down)

The types of things that can be outsourced vary business by business, with some of these being the most common:
* Bookkeeping
* Cleaning
* Grounds maintenance
* Vehicle maintenance and cleaning
* Accounting
* HR management
* Policy writing
* WHS inspections and documentation
* Some project management

When you run a business you might be an electrician by trade. You're good at it and can earn $70-120hr on a good day BUT you hated maths at school and hate bookkeeping in a business even more.

You have choices:
1. Keep doing it yourself and one day, maybe, you'll learn to love it or at least tolerate it.

2. You can ask your accountant to do it all. They will and will do so readily. Their issue is that they feel quite guilty charging accountant rates for what, to them, is very simple work.

3. You can outsource to a bookkeeper who might have 6-12 clients and just use 2-3 hours of their time a week, maybe more if you are generating a lot of paperwork. They will do it, do it correctly, generally a lot quicker than you might and you don't have to do it.

For many things I will recommend outsourcing with conditions.

My reasons include:
* Opportunity cost. If, using the above example, the electrician can earn $420 ($70 x 6hrs) in the time she might take to do the bookkeeping, they could hire a bookkeeper for $45-60hr for 3 hours to achieve the same result. Inbound money $420 v Outbound money $180. You could be $240 better off, with less grey hair and more time to spend doing what you want to do. These are the opportunity costs.

**** When you hire a bookkeeper I will never recommend fully handing it over. You need to spend some time each month with the bookkeeper understanding where you are at and understanding how you got there.

In my business I offer to take on business functions that I am good at, mainly policy writing, but at present I am helping a small business to organise training and another to set up their HR and compliance systems in a new program.

PS: I definitely do not do car cleaning or anything mechanical. I have a mechanic where I go "hey, the car sounds funny" or "it's nearly to it's KMs, when do you want to see the car" but if anyone knows a great car cleaner let me know. (Too short to reach the roof - that's my story and I'm sticking to it)