Improve Your Cashflow With 6 simple tips
EOFY Survival Guide For busy tradies
Budget 2018
What does it mean for you?
Your Business Plan Is it hitting its targets?
Most Common Sales Misconceptions
www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au
CONTRIBUTORS
From the Editor
• Angela Smith • Anthony Igra • Jim Baker • Leanne Cutcher • Leo Babauta • Mark Guthridge • Melissa Tyler • Monroe Porter • Robert Bauman • Sandra Price
EDITOR Nigel Gorman
Hey Everyone, Welcome to the 78th edition of the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine. The month’s seem to be getting quicker and quicker with us only 4 weeks away from the end of financial year. This month our writers have covered a bit about the end of financial year and what to do to make it easier for you and less hit on the pocket when you get to your accountant. There are ideas on how to improve your cash flow as well as setting up a business plan. It could be a wise to read these articles and start looking at the financial year ahead. Once again, training has been carried out across the state; from Hervey Bay to Wondai. Remember if you have an apprentice and would like to find out more about our training feel free to contact us. We are always wanting to find out what’s happening throughout the country in the painting industry. If you have a story to share or want us to look into something for you, send us an email and we will see what we can do.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Until next month,
Caroline Miall
Happy Painting!!
GRAPHIC DESIGNER J. Anne Delgado
Nigel Gorman
nigel@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au
07 3555 8010
Contents Six Simple Ways to Improve Your Painting Business’s Cash Flow What causes chronic fatigue? What we know, don’t know and suspect If you want a thing done well: DO IT YOURSELF The Ultimate End of Financial Year Survival Guide for busy Tradies
6
Australia’s stolen wages:
18
One woman’s quest for compensation
8
12 15
To Get Paid Sometimes 21 You Have to Cross The Line It is rare for non payers in the construction game to be forced to explain why they are not paying for the work.
Does Your Business Plan Hit Its Targets? Act with Devotion & Intention, Letting Go of Attachment to Outcome
24 27
What the 2018 budget means for tradies... Most Common Sales Misconceptions
30 33
It was once said that the ideal salesperson was someone who was being tarred.
Industry Idiots
38
Important Contacts
39
Opinions and viewpoints expressed in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine do not necessarily represent those of the editor, staff or publisher or any Aussie Painters Network’s staff or related parties. The publisher, Aussie Painters Network and Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine personnel are not liable for any mistake, misprint or omission. Information contained in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine is intended to inform and illustrate and should not be taken as financial, legal or accounting advice. You should seek professional advice before making business related decisions. We are not liable for any losses you may incur directly or indirectly as a result of reading Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine. Reproduction of any material or contents of the magazine without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.
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Six Simple Ways to Improve Your Painting Business’s Cash Flow
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Do your numbers look good yet you never seem to have enough cash to cover your wage, supplier invoices or BAS? Cash flow can be measured historically and as a projection. As a historic measure, it tells you how money moves in and out of your business. As a projection, it can help you plan to ensure there is sufficient cash coming IN to cover the future projected flows of cash OUT. There is nothing that will kill a painting business quicker than poor cash flow. So, knowing this, what can you do now to improve cash flow in your business?
Here are six easy ways to improve cash flow in your business… 1. Payment from your customers upon completion of the job. As soon as you complete a quote for a customer, have them sign the quote as acceptance and inform them that payment on completion is expected. You will need to ensure you explain this expectation to your customer when booking the job so it is not a surprise – communication is always the key. By having them pay straight away – you are ensuring you get the money you deserve right then and there, improving your cash flow. AND saving you the hassle of chasing them for payment later down the track!
2. Clear payment details on invoicing. Ensure that your payment details are stated clearly on your invoice so that it is easy for your customer
to make payment. Make sure that all cards you accept are listed (with appropriate surcharges if applicable) and your bank account details are clear and correct.
3. Do not pay suppliers early. Pay to their requested payment terms. If you have 60 days to pay your bill, don’t pay on the 1st day; pay when you’re ready. In saying that, don’t leave it to the last minute on the 60th day, treat people as you wanted to be treated (or pay people as you want to be paid), what comes around goes around.
4. Take advantage of cash discounts from suppliers How often do you receive a bill from an electricity provider that says “you owe $800 if paid before the 27th of this month and $850 is paid after this date,”? This is a perfect example of a cash discount, which is a discount on a bill that sellers may offer to consumers if they pay the bill before the due date. If a supplier offers this, make sure you take that discount and pay before the due date to save yourself some cash!
5. Send regular statements to customers. For customers who haven’t paid up front make sure you are sending regular statements that itemise the debt.
These act as a constant reminder that not only do they owe you money, but also of your payment terms.
6. Call the accounts payable department of your customer and ensure that they have your invoice in their system for payment. Sometimes invoices sit on people’s desks, or are lost in the transition from approving person to accounts. Make sure you or your admin staff, or you, call the accounts payable of the strata company with outstanding payments to make sure they have received your invoice and understand they need to pay it soon. These are just some of the ways you can improve cash flow in your business. This is all about pulling in money owed to you as fast as possible, and paying out money you owe as late as possible. If you’re interested in learning more about your trade business cash flow, check out Episode 6 of The Tradie Show, ‘The Tradies Guide to Understanding Your Numbers’. CLICK HERE to watch it for free.
-----------------------------------------------
Angela Smith
Co-founder – Lifestyle Tradie
“Helping Trade Business Owners Fast-Track Financial & Lifestyle Success”
Watch for FREE 2018 June Issue | 7
Around 200,000 people in Australia suffer from a debilitating illness often branded with the unfortunate name of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). I say “unfortunate” because this implies patients are simply tired, run-down, burnt-out or overly stressed. But myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME/CFS as it is now more commonly called, is a serious and incapacitating disease that can have a devastating impact on a patient’s life. Symptoms include: • profound and unexplained fatigue for more than six months • memory or concentration difficulties • muscle pain (myalgia) and weakness • joint pain • sleep disturbances • flu-like symptoms • light headedness, palpitations, breathlessness • headaches • heightened sensitivity to light and sound • tender lymph nodes, sore throats • new sensitivities to food, medicines or chemicals.
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Initially bewildered by their incapacitating fatigue, many ME/ CFS patients continue trying to go about their daily lives. But such efforts come at a severe cost. Even small amounts of activity can trigger “crashes” called post-exertional malaise that worsen symptoms, sometimes for many days. Simple activities such as showering, grocery shopping or meeting a friend for coffee become difficult, if not impossible. Sadly, for around 25% of patients, symptoms are so severe they remain bed-bound or house-bound, and suicide risk is elevated. Most patients face a major challenge getting a diagnosis. One UK study found less than half of doctors were confident with the diagnosis or treatment of ME/CFS and more than 85% of patients go from doctor to doctor for over two years without a diagnosis.
What we know
The underlying causes of ME/CFS have proved difficult to pinpoint. For many patients, blood and pathology testing are entirely normal. This has led some to suggest ME/ CFS is a psychological condition. In 2011, the findings of a clinical trial
suggested patients could recover through psychological therapy (cognitive behavioural therapy or CBT) and graded exercise therapy. These findings have fuelled debate as to whether ME/CFS might be a disease of the mind. But a landmark US study examining nearly 10,000 research publications suggested otherwise, concluding that ME/CFS is a serious, chronic, complex and systemic disease. Criticisms of psychological and exercise therapy for ME/CFS have been widespread, with over 50 published letters in leading scientific journals (BMJ, Journal of Health Psychology, Nature, Lancet) raising serious concerns about the robustness of the claims. Australian guidelines continue to recommend exercise and CBT therapies despite the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discontinuing these recommendations. While exercise can clearly benefit patients with a wide range of illnesses, physical activity can cause a rapid deterioration of symptoms in patients with ME/CFS.
2018 June Issue | 9
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What we don’t know
There are no laboratory tests available to categorically diagnose someone with ME/CFS. But Australian research is playing a leading role in the discovery of possible diagnostic markers. For example, inflammatory blood proteins such as activin B and interferon are increased in ME/CFS. Other studies have shown metabolic waste products from some gut bacteria accumulate in ME/CFS patients and so may also provide diagnostic information in the future. Women are four times more likely to be diagnosed with ME/CFS than men, but the reason for this is unclear. Also, having a first-degree relative with ME/CFS more than doubles the risk of developing the disease, but the role of genetics is not known. For some, the onset of symptoms is slow. In others, ME/CFS begins with infections causing glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis), respiratory or gastrointestinal illnesses.
While ME/CFS patients have immune disruptions and abnormal inflammatory responses, the underlying causes remain elusive. The vicious cycles of tissue damage typical of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or lupus don’t seem to occur in ME/CFS. One theory is that ME/CFS patients have a “chink” in their immunological armour, possibly leading to persistent “smouldering” infections and chronic inflammation. But it’s remarkably difficult to find direct evidence for such ongoing infections in most ME/CFS patients. And antiviral drugs or antibiotics seem to have very modest activity in ME/CFS despite their life-saving activities in many other infectious diseases. ME/CFS patients also have metabolic defects in the way energy is generated in their bodies pointing to one reason why they rapidly succumb to muscle fatigue during exercise. But whether this
metabolic defect is due to immune attack, chronic infection or some other cause is unknown. With no approved treatments or cures for ME/CFS, more research is urgently needed. So far, clinical trials examining the effects of immunosuppressive drugs, antibody therapies, anti-viral drugs, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder therapies and anti-depressants have not led to major improvements. Diets and nutritional supplements also seem to provide little help. While some dietary supplements involved in generating metabolic energy seem to improve some ME/ CFS symptoms, larger and better studies are required. A reboot of ME/CFS research is now underway. Sufferers are hopeful the recent establishment of a National Health and Medical Research Council ME/CFS Advisory Committee will reinvigorate Australian biomedical ME/CFS research to find new treatments and possibly a cure. ME/CFS patients should always consult their medical doctor before taking any medication. More information can be found at Emerge Australia. Anyone seeking support and information about suicide can contact Lifeline on 131 114.
Mark Guthridge
Senior Research Fellow, Monash University
For some, chronic fatigue is preceded by infections such as glandular fever. from www.shutterstock.com
2018 June Issue | 11
If you want a thing done well:
DO IT YOURSELF
We have all heard this saying before and many of us put it into practice. It is a quote attributed to France’s emperor, Napoléon Bonaparte, born August 15, 1769. He had the core belief that if you desired success, you should do it and depend upon yourself alone. This is the reason he achieved many victories and enacted many decrees because he made the decisions himself. If inclined, follow Napoléon’s example yourself and use it to operate a business. This can be achieved by dictating instructions to your employees and doing all the thinking for them. You will have full control over the business and be ensured that things will run the way you want. But this type of approach will not make you successful in business. It will lead to you working harder, longer and becoming extremely stressed which will result
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in you missing out on the real thing that matters; and that is you. In my opinion (take it or leave it) for a business to be successful, you must first acknowledge that it is not just about how much money you make, or how many staff you have, or how big your contracts are worth. Business Success is a multitude of things which to me, are more important. They are; being able to enjoy life with as little stress as possible; having quality time with your family and loved ones; taking holidays whenever you want; and having staff that you can rely on and can work without supervision. These are the things that should be at the top of the list before anything else. The rest is less important and can come later if need be. If you consider yourself as a Napoléon, you may find doing everything your-
self is not achievable. The only way you can truly achieve success is to learn how to delegate responsibilities to your employees. You want to know if you gave a task to somebody, you would expect it to be done right. This is where the challenge to some employers could become difficult but do it well, the benefit is immeasurable. So! What is the process to turn your business around? How can you become a leader and not a dictator? How do you empower your employees to manage and relieve some of the pressure off you? The best way is to involve your staff with the decision making (or some of it anyway). For example; you want something done in a certain way and you’ve made up your mind how to achieve it! Instead of dictating your decision to your staff and telling them
‘This is the way I want it done’, take into consideration their opinion and ask for some input before putting it into practice. Try and make it feel like the idea was theirs as it will be accepted more readily. There may also be times when you don’t have the right answers to particular situations, or you may not even realize there’s a problem but feel there could be improvements made in your business. This is where you can involve your staff in discussions to come up with a solution. Naturally offer your opinion as well and listen to their response but hopefully they will listen to your wise words and accept your way of thinking. Remember; unless you solely work for yourself, you wouldn’t be operating a business if it wasn’t for the people in your business making you an income, so make them feel
part of the company and that their contributions are valuable to you. Little things like this makes them feel a part of the company decision making which in all, is great for motivation and moral. The main thing is to learn how to ‘let go’. Have trust and patience in your employees and don’t expect the job to be done well the first, or even the second time. Also, if you are away from the worksite and continually answering the phone from employees with menial questions, don’t answer every call. Let them think for themselves to come up with a solution. They can do it! Just give them a chance. If it’s not the way you would have gone about it; don’t be upset with them. Doing this will only diminish
their confidence in attempting to solve future problems. Acknowledge their attempt in trying but explain in a calm voice that maybe it could have been done differently. To end, I am going to re-word Napoléon’s quote. Hopefully it will stay around for just as long.
“If you want a thing done well: Train your staff well.” --------------------------------------Jim Baker www.mytools4business.com
2018 June Issue | 13
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The Ultimate End of Financial Year Survival Guide for busy Tradies A stress free EOFY is possible with our 10-Point Checklist EOFY. These four little words can strike a mixture of emotions in any business owner; anticipation, fear, joy, surprise and annoyance. And you’re not alone, most business owners experience the overwhelm and stress of EOFY. It’s a busy time of year, with so much to be done in addition to the regular workload… • Payment Summaries • BAS • Reportable Contractor reports • Not to mention having your bookkeeping up to date for the Accountant to work their magic. It’s all about getting your shit together now and being prepared. To help you out, we’ve put together
a EOFY 10-Point Checklist. Designed to take the stress out of EOFY prep and help you get organised. We know this works because it’s how we prep our clients for EOFY. This approach will help with tax planning and set you on the front foot for next year and move you from stressed out to optimistic. Follow these steps to survive and thrive through the EOFY process. 1) Book a “Tax Planning Session” with your Accountant. • Make sure you discuss deductions, write-offs and rebates available to your business. 2) Record transactions as you go. a) Make sure you enter all sales, purchases, payments and receipts before 30 June. 3) Get ready to stocktake. a) A stocktake will allow you to write-off any broken or stolen stock.
4) Reconcile your bank accounts. a) Make sure your balances in Xero match your bank statements. Sometimes glitches happen and a line may be omitted or duplicated in Xero. 5) Reconcile your accounts receivable and accounts payable. a) Get statements from your suppliers and ensure it matches what you have. Sort out any issues as they arise. b) Chase debtors and reign in as many outstanding invoices as you can. Maybe it’s time to bring in the big guns, aka Debt Collectors. 6) Reconcile your payroll. a) Make sure what is in the pay run is what you have paid! This includes super and PAYG.
2018 June Issue | 15
7) Review accounts and reports. a) If everything has been done correctly, this should just be a matter of making sure that everything matches up, anything that looks odd can then be investigated.
10) Prepare for the new financial year. a) Review your business plan, products, goals, standards and marketing. See what’s working and what’s not. Use your reports to help make decisions.
8) Provide all necessary financial information to your Accountant or Bookkeeper. a) This may include receipts for Asset purchases, Bank Statements for all accounts and credit cards. Ask your Bookkeeper or Accountant what they require.
One of my favourite quotes is by an unknown author - “Prepare and Prevent, don’t repair and repent”. With a little bit of preparation, you can save yourself time, money and stress.
9) Your Accountant or Bookkeeper may need to enter adjustments to your reports or accounts. a) Once this is done, lock your accounts so no new changes can be made. Your Bookkeeper can help you do this.
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For more information on getting the most out of the end of the
financial year, Give as a call and set up a consultation. Tax time doesn’t have to be stressful. Planning and being proactive is the key to minimize your liability. Like to know more ? If you have any questions on how to manage your bookkeeping or getting EOFY ready, contact us at Price Bookkeeping Solutions as soon as possible. We specialise in helping Tradies get their arse into gear.
Sandra Price Phone: 07 33724554 VISIT US ON FACEBOOK
Public liability insurance for painters, from just $407 - Includes cover for spraying - Unrestricted heights option* - Cover from $5m to $20m - Monthly payment options - Easy online application
Premium of $407 is based on $5,000,000 public liability insurance policy paid annually for a painting business in QLD with one manual worker. * A 15m height limit applies, but can be removed for an additional premium. Tradesman Insurance Services Pty Ltd t/as Trade Risk (CAR 422847) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of 201881June Issue Westcourt General Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Australian Financial Services Licence No 238447. ABN 009 401 772.|
17
Designed with user-friendliness and ergonomics at its core, the new generation Wagner Vector Infinity airless gun is perfectly tailored to the tough demands of residential, commercial and industrial painters alike.
The Vector Infinity
is the premium airless gun in the Vector range (which is comprised of the Vector Pro, and Vector Grip as well), offering an unmatched spraying experience. The extra light ‘All-Day trigger’, allows painters to spray large jobs with ease, while the endlessly adjustable FingerPrint+ Grip means you can adjust the gun to perfectly fit your hand. With improved material flow due to the direct material supply, and a free-moving swivel for comfortable working – this is Wagner’s most advanced and ergonomic gun yet! Rated to operate at up to 5000 PSI, the Vector Infinity can tackle the toughest jobs you can throw at it. Taking cues from the Vector Grip, the Infinity also has a replaceable ball and reversible ball seat that can be quickly changed – increasing the service life of the gun.
Wagner – Pioneering spray technology
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• 1-Finger-Flip-Lock - secure and release using only one hand • Swivel - only front feed gun with a swivel • Spring assembly outside of fluid path • FingerPrint+ Grip - fully adjustable grip for every hand size • Super light “All-Day” Trigger - reduced force required to pull trigger. Drastically reduced force required to hold trigger depressed • Cost effective to repair (reversible seat and replaceable ball), easily increases the service life of the gun • Stainless steel wetted parts For more info visit www.wagneraustralia.com.au
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2018 June Issue | 19
Bigali Hanlon is a Yindjibarndi woman born in 1940 at Mulga Downs in Western Australia. At the age of six, she was taken from her mother and sent to live in a church-run hostel for “fair-skinned” indigenous children. She lived there until she was 13, when she went into indentured domestic service. As in many other cases, wages were paid – but never to Bigali.
documenting her own life. She insisted many times that they be handed over to her – as she put it, “it was my pain to feel”, and they finally were. Bigali then made her files available to the stolen wages project at the University of Sydney through her granddaughter Talila Milroy, on the condition that her story would be shared more widely.
She is one of thousands of people who sought compensation for the work they did under the oppressive institutionalised dispossessions enacted by the white colonial administration in Australia from 1890s right up until the 1970s.
The files
The Western Australian government announced in 2010 that indigenous people would be compensated for unpaid wages, if they could provide documentary evidence to support their claim. Bigali duly submitted an application to access her government files so that she could lodge a claim with the Western Australian Stolen Wages Commission.
Bigali, like thousands of other indigenous children, was removed from her family and placed in state care. There, she was taught proper “civilized ways” under the protection of an Aboriginal Welfare Board. Bigali herself was taken to live at Sister Kate’s Children’s Home at Queen’s Park, over 1,500 kilometres from her birthplace. As she has put it: “They [the protectors] take you away from your family, your community, your language, your culture – it’s genocide.”
Bigali had to fight to get the government to release her files. On making her application, she says she was told that it would be too upsetting for her to read the material
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Three large folders document Bigali’s life until she left care at 16. The detail of the records in Bigali’s files testifies to how Aboriginal people were treated by the government. Their every move was monitored and regulated.
The Australian Human Rights and Equality Opportunity Commission
estimates that between 10% and 30% of Aboriginal children were removed from their families from 1910 to 1970. It’s well understood that a desire for “racial purity” on the part of state and federal governments was behind these removals. But these stolen children also formed a pool of cheap (often unpaid) labour. Aboriginal girls could be trained according to white norms of housekeeping and mothering, providing a cheap source of reliable domestic labour along the way. State governments enforced “protection acts” between 1890 and 1985. These acts gave extensive powers to protection boards to regulate every aspect of Indigenous people’s lives, including where they worked and lived, and who they married. Protectors, employed by the boards, were also responsible for the removal of children from their families, institutionalising them and sending them out in their early teens to work as domestic servants, farm hands and labourers. The acts legislated that wages for this work were to be held in trust by the protector, who then provided
a small amount of pocket money to the worker. Many Aboriginal people, including Bigali, were never paid the money in their trust account. Workers were also denied entitlements such as maternity benefits and pensions.
Making amends?
In October 2006, the federal government held an inquiry into stolen wages. It concluded that state governments must allow better access to archives, fund education campaigns and provide legal research to support claimants in seeking compensation for wages or benefits never paid. Stolen wages commissions were set up in four states: Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. But Bigali and the other claimants were required to support their cases with a verifiable story. The documents that the government tried to deny Bigali access to contained the evidence she needed to prove to that same government that she had been stolen, where she had worked and for how long. The irony was Bigali had been disconnected from her past and stripped of her identity several
times over. Now she was being asked to prove who she was to the very governmental regime that had done this to her. The commissions were effectively replicating the historical injustices associated with categorising and classifying people, separating them off from their families and communities, alienating them from their land, ways of life and language. All this while promising to compensate them for these injustices. Many claims were rejected because of a lack of documentation. Bigali’s claim for compensation, while only partly covering all the wages she was owed, was successful. Through her own endeavours Bigali is now reunited with her family, and is a respected elder within the Yindjibarndi community. Returning her stolen wages will not get back the years that she and her family, and so many others like them, have lost. Repayment will not enable Bigali to live the life she
might have had in her own community, speaking her own language. It will not compensate for the sexual abuse and exploitation to which many stolen children were subject. But it is a step in that direction, and an important one. It provides some degree of recompense, recognising what has been done to Indigenous people and their families, communities and ways of life. But it is the start of a long and painful process, not the end of one. Awareness of life stories such as Bigali’s ought to extend well beyond Western Australia. Otherwise we risk slipping into the idea that the pain caused is somehow historical. Calling on stolen children to account for themselves and their exploitation is no way to atone for their suffering. Melissa Tyler
Professor in Work and Organisation Studies, University of Essex
Leanne Cutcher
Professor, University of Sydney Business School, University of Sydney
https://theconversation.com/australias-stolen-wages-one-womans-quest-forcompensation-95676
2018 June Issue | 21
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To Get Paid Sometimes You Have to Cross The Line Late last year I had a client that was owed nearly a million dollars in variations. The client had told him that all variation claims were NOT to be added into the monthly invoices and ‘they would be sorted out at the end’. Needless to say, he was nearing the end of a large contract and had a seven figure amount owing which had not yet even been claimed.
ent and put the claim on the table and said ‘This is what we will be serving on you tomorrow’.
He was now terrified of coming forward and insisting on payment for the additional work. He was scared to cross the line from passive to proactive.
He got paid the next day.
It took a lot of convincing but he eventually agreed to consolidate a large claim the next month which contained all contract work done PLUS all the additional work. This was well over a million dollars. His company had never made this kind of claim to the client before, and they had done several large projects together. He met with the cli-
Did the client terminate the contract? Did the client explode in a rage? Did the client unleash an army of lawyers to argue the point? Did planet earth suddenly vanish leaving my client floating in space? The answer is of course no. Guess what?
Not all he was claiming mind you, but a large part of it. And the reason he did not get all he was claiming was because he had not claimed for the work when it had been one. If the matter had gone to adjudication it is almost certain that the full value of works would have been found payable. There is the old saying about FEAR: It is only False Expectations Appearing Real. That is, the contractor assumed that making the full claim
would have a host of disastrous consequences. But this is rarely the case. Most of the time the proactive making of a claim will take you over that line from passive to proactive. If the money is fairly owing, the non payer will have a hard time making its case and so will be open to a payment resolution. There are four steps that you need to follow to address this situation.
Get the Documents together Carefully assemble all contract works invoices, site instructions, variation orders, key emails. Also do a full project reconciliation so that a final figure matches up with your documentation and that you have a clear explanation of the amount owed. Remember to allow for credits issued, retentions held, and payments made.
2018 June Issue | 23
Ask for Payment
In whatever manner is stipulated in your contract, simply serve this claim on the client via at least two methods: express post, email, fax, courier and so on. If applicable, make the claim under the Security of Payment Act as it applies in your state. There is good value in adding a cover note informing the client that you are submitting this claim because they have been in breach of payment terms, and that your business cannot carry out its contract under these cash-flow conditions. The fact that the claim has been so formally sent will put your client on notice that this time things are going to be different and that there will need to be some explanation if payment is to be withheld.
Bring things to a head
If your client is refusing to pay on unsubstantiated grounds then you must make it clear that you are prepared to have the matter decided by an outside body. This part of the process can take many forms. It might be expressed in an
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email, or discussed at a meeting, or phone call. But all these instances must share the common ‘change in tone’ that indicates to your client that things are different now. That your patience is at an end, and that you are now insisting on payment or there will be consequences. This is the point at which settlement deals are done, and payments are made. But there is one important aspect here. You have to be prepared to follow through.
“Take it to law”
There is a great line in the movie True Grit in which a young girl is bargaining with a business man. When he rejects her offer she threatens to ‘Take it to law’. He backed down. What is meant by ‘Take it to Law’ is that the matter will be decided by an external person or body that is empowered to decide the matter. In construction is commonly a court, adjudicator, or tribunal. Whichever way you go, the fact is that your client will have to explain themselves to an external person. The issue then becomes public to
a certain extent. It is no longer a quiet dispute. It is still a rarity for non payers in the construction game to be forced to explain why they are not paying for the work. Either this will be enough to force a payment, or else the matter will be decided with some finality. But the good thing here is that both parties get their say and that the subsequent decision has authority and validity because of that. In our experience, more often than not payment will be made after such a decision. So do not spend too much time in quiet desperation, wondering if you’ll get paid. Cross the line and go after your money.
Anthony Igra
For more great articles and video
www.contractorsdebtrecovery.com.au
or call us on 1300 669 075
2018 June Issue | 25
Does Your Business Plan Hit Its Targets? At the end of the day, if a comprehensive business plan(or a 60-page tomb) sits on the shelf it is not very useful. That’s why the best business plan is a one-page document that has key measurable targets and action plans for specific time frames.
Get the format right
ument, which you can use every day to communicate the direction of your business and its focus and priorities with your staff. Use it in meetings to ask your staff for their advice, their data and update the plan as you go along on a regular basis.
Business planning is necessary, I hope you agree with me on that. What I don’t agree with is spending a huge amount of time creating a business plan that might look impressive on some 60 pages, but that no one ever looks at. It has become a cumbersome and big document that is not helping your staff to follow your business direction, because it’s not user friendly.
These are the real issues to consider when you create a business plant hat can hit your targets. How can you break down the strategic goals and marry them to your operational plan so that everyone understands it?
You may have already exceeded your goals from last month and can now afford to set your sights a little higher because you’ve found a formula that works. These are priceless opportunities that a business owner wants to seize as they can lead to real and sustainable business growth.
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It’s vital that you use the right format to present your business plan in a way that every one of your staff members can relate to. How can you possibly share your plans with your staff and advisors when you can’t boil it down to its essence?
Make your plan dynamic
It’s equally important that you create a dynamic and living doc-
Each month you should fine tune your strategies for the next month. This turns the business plan into a dynamic living document.
Eliminate the hurdles
I understand why some people don’t want to spend time planning. I strongly believe it is because they haven’t had an experience when it was done right. They were mainly disappointed by the processand the fact they couldn’t understand the document. Here are some of the reasons I know why business owners who put a lot of time into planning, still don’t get the benefits from their efforts.
immediately feed it into your business plan, ie tweak your key activities to get better results.
1.Lack of understanding how to communicate the plan to staff.
High performing business converts the strategic plan into a simple one-page action plan by extracting the key measurable success factors which are easier to share with employees.
2.Strategic plans are not converted into key measurable targets and action plans.
Use the worldwide proven Balanced Score card methodology
3.Performance vs. the strategic plan is not reviewed on a monthly basis. 4.It is not understood that it is NOT the finished plan that is important but it is the process of collecting and analysing information.
Frequent planning makes for better business performance
It is the constant fine tuning of strategies that is important. I.e. A competitive review or customer research survey once a quarter will have a far higher likelihood of impacting profitability than a review once a year. Change your practices based on evidence and
The Balanced Scorecard suggests that we view the organisation from four perspectives, and to develop objectives, measures (KPIs), targets, and initiatives (actions) relative to each of these points of view: • Financial: often renamed Stewardship or other more appropriate name in the public sector, this perspective views organisational financial performance and the use of financial resources • Customer/Stakeholder: this perspective views organisational performance from the point of view the customer or other key stakeholders that the organisation is designed to serve
• Internal Process: views organisational performance through the lenses of the quality and efficiency related to our product or services or other key business processes • Organisational Capacity (originally called Learning and Growth):views organisational performance through the lenses of human capital, infrastructure, technology, culture and other capacities that are key to breakthrough performance Creating a business plan that you can meaningfully talk about every day with your staff is a hallmark of a successful, high-performing business. If you’re looking for a sample 1-page business plan template, contact us. If you need more straight performance talk and business advice that works, feel free to arrange a FREE No-Obligation Meeting with me. Call my office on 07 3399 8844, or you can just visit our website at www.straighttalkat.com.au and complete your details on our Home page to request an appointment. Copyright © 2018 Robert Bauman.
2018 June Issue | 27
䴀礀 倀愀椀渀琀
䌀漀猀琀椀渀最 䴀礀 䠀漀甀爀氀礀 刀愀琀攀 䜀甀椀搀攀 䌀愀氀挀甀氀愀琀漀爀
眀眀眀⸀洀礀琀漀漀氀猀㐀戀甀猀椀渀攀猀猀⸀挀漀洀
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Act with Devotion & Intention, Letting Go of Attachment to Outcome You’re starting a project or a new exercise plan, and it’s in shaky new territory for you. You feel doubt about whether you can do it, and so you’re tensely doing everything you can to make sure it will turn out the way you hope. The stress, fear, doubt and tension here all come from an attachment to the outcome, to how things will turn out. We want to lose weight and get fit (the results of the exercise) or be brilliant at our new project and have everyone think we’re wonderful. But perhaps we could acknowledge that: The outcome isn’t always fully in our control. Sometimes other people get in the way or unintentionally sabotage a project, sometimes things happen that we didn’t expect, sometimes despite our best efforts things just turn out differently than we pictured in our heads. On a training plan, the weather could get worse than we thought, we might come down with a flu for a week, we might get injured or things come up to throw our schedule off. There are multiple outcomes that will be OK, if not great. For example, maybe we won’t get six-pack abs if we do our best with this plan, or maybe we won’t finish the marathon we’re training for … but maybe we’ll get healthier despite not meeting the goal? Maybe we’ll enjoy the exercise, maybe we can
meet other people trying to get healthier, and maybe we’ll experience beautiful outdoors that we wouldn’t otherwise get to experience? On our new project, maybe it won’t turn out as well as we hope, but we could still enjoy the process, learn a lot, form good relationships with our team or client, get better at the process itself. The outcome we hope for isn’t the only one we can be happy with, and sometimes the actual outcome will be better than we hoped for, if we’re open to it. Focusing on the outcome is detrimental. It causes us to stress out, to enjoy the process less, sometimes to not even start something because we don’t think we have a chance of getting the desired outcome. We don’t ever write that novel because we think we can’t write a good one. But how do you ever get good at writing a novel if you never attempt it? It also causes us to be disappointed with the outcome when it’s not what we want, to be disappointed in ourselves when we don’t live up to our own expectations, to feel that we’re not enough (or others are not enough).
But what if the outcome matters? You are supposed to hit an objective of X for your work … don’t you need to focus on the outcome? Well, you should do the actions that are most likely going to get you that outcome … plan out the steps, then do the steps … but as you’re doing each of the steps themselves, you don’t have to be attached to the outcome. Let’s explore that a bit, see how to do it and why it might be helpful.
Letting Go of Attachment to Outcome
Letting go of our attachment to the outcome is freeing. It helps us to be more present with the doing, the being, the act itself, rather than what might come in the future. It can help us have better relationships, because we’re more focused on the people than the goal. It can help us have a better relationship to ourselves, as we focus on our own well-being and contentment, rather than some external source of possible happiness (spoiler: happiness doesn’t come from external things).
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What can you focus on instead of outcome? A few good ideas: The intention. I’ve found my intention in doing a task to be much more important than the outcome. It’s what I hope to bring to the task rather than what I hope to get out of it. It’s how I want to show up right now, rather than what I want things to be in the future. Examples: I have an intention to be helpful and loving as I write this post; I intend to be mindful and appreciative of nature as I go out for a walk or run; I intend to be fully present with the person I’m talking to, compassionate and open-hearted with them. I bring this intention and try to let it inform how I work, how I do anything in the world. The effort. Instead of worrying about how things will turn out, pay attention instead to how focused you are on it, how much effort you’re putting into it, how mindful you are as you do it. How much of your heart are you putting into it? How much love and care are you giving it? The process. The outcome is a result of the process — if you’re not getting the outcome you want, focus on improving the process. How much care are you taking as you do it? How can you step up your game? Don’t worry about the outcome as much as you pay attention to how you’re doing things. The moment. What is beautiful about this particular moment, as you do the action? What can you notice? Can you be curious as you do the act, instead of having a fixed mindset? What is there to appreciate about yourself, about the other person, about everything, right now?
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Relationships. Much more important than the outcome is the relationship you have with the people you’re serving and working with, or your relationship with your loved ones. When you’re focused on the outcome, you often disregard the feelings of the people you’re working with, snapping at them when they’re not doing things the way you’d like. Instead, you can focus on your connection with them, on finding ways to make them enjoy the process more, on being loving or compassionate. Think about how this might change things for you. If you’re working on a shaky new project, you can let go of how you might want things to turn out, and instead focus on how you want to show up, what is beautiful about the moment, having fun with the effort, playing and being curious, being more loving to yourself and others. This transforms every act, every habit, every project, every moment with others. Do every act out of devotion and love, with letting go of attachment to the outcome.
My Mastery Academy at the World Domination Summit I’ll be teaching an academy at next month’s World Domination Summit in Portland called “How to Create Mastery” … I’d love for you to join me. Buy tickets to WDS here, or buy my academy à la carte on this page. My academy will be from 1:304:30 pm on June 28 … here’s more about it:
We would like to pursue our mission, our purpose-filled work … but fear, uncertainty, discomfort, procrastination, distraction and overwhelm get in the way. In this academy, we’ll learn how to stay in the middle of that uncertainty, how to find focus in the middle of that chaos, how to create mastery in the middle of that fear and discomfort. Leo will lead mindfulness practices and share mastery techniques for retraining the mind’s patterns so that we can push into the discomfort of uncertainty with love, and find mastery of our work so that we can serve those to whom we’re devoted.
You’ll learn: What’s stopping us from finding focus on our mission Mindfulness techniques for finding that focus in uncertainty Mastery techniques for retraining the mind to practice those mindfulness techniques You can attend my academy separately from WDS by getting a spot here (or buy tickets to the entire WDS event).
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Leo Babauta
a successful ‘simplicity’ blogger and author from California, the creator of top 25 Blog,
ZEN HABITS
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What the 2018 budget means for tradies... It’s that exciting time of the year again, Budget night!
for a self-employed tradie was just over $82,000.
Last night the treasurer, Scott Morrison, handed down his budget. We’ve broken it down to see how tradies will be affected.
The tax cuts mean that tradies (or anyone else for that matter) earning up to $90,000 a year could receive up to $530 extra back at tax time. Not bad.
Saving Money Instant asset tax write-off Kicking off with some good news, the $20,000 instant asset tax writeoff is staying for another year. Introduced in 2016, this scheme allows businesses with turnover of less than $10 million to instantly write-off assets purchased for less than $20,000. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily mean you get back any more money, it does mean you can get it back years sooner. Result: WIN.
Tax cuts
No one likes paying tax, and this budget comes with some nice tax cuts that will help tradies. Our annual How Much Do Tradies Earn report for last year showed that the average taxable income
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There were also some longer term tax plans revealed, which will get rid of some extra tax brackets. This should assist those tradies who find themselves creeping into those higher brackets.
pany directors who try this scam. It’s hard to know how effective it will be, but it should be good news for subcontractors. Result: WIN.
Roads
We won’t go into great detail on this one, but there are billions set aside for road projects across Australia.
Result: WIN.
Tradies spend a huge amount of time on the road with no option for public transport, so better roads and reduced congestion have to be a win.
More apprenticeship funding
Result: WIN.
An extra $250 million will go to the Skilling Australians Fund to support growth in apprenticeships and traineeships. Result: WIN.
Crackdown on phoenix activity
Every subbie will have a story about a builder or contractor who has gone bust owing them money, only to rise from the ashes under another name, still avoiding their debts. The budget included some new rules to help crack down on com-
Cash payment crackdown No Cash
Every year we hear about the cash economy and how much it costs the taxpayer. Often such stories are accompanied by photos of tradies, insinuating that the building industry is a major contributor. This year’s budget brings in a new rule which limits cash payments to $10,000 from July 1 2019. Any payment over this amount must be made by electronic transfer or cheque.
We’re not sure how effective this one will be. For people who are happy to break the law and not declare certain cash payments, why would they be worried about breaking a new law? Result: WIN or LOSS depending on your point of view… If you never deal in undeclared cash, it could be seen as a win as it “levels the playing field”. If you do prefer cash, it’s a loss if things are going to get more difficult for you…
Craft beer
Craft beer drinking tradies could be in for some savings, with the tax being reduced on such brews. For some strange reason craft beers were being hit with higher
taxes than the big brewers (something to do with keg sizes) and this will bring them into line. Result: WIN.
You should not make any financial decisions based on this article without first consulting your tax accountant.
Overall
There’s nothing amazing in this budget that going to change tradies lives, but a tax cut is always nice. Extending the instant asset tax write-off is also a great thing. Hopefully this ends up being a permanent change for small business. Here at Trade Risk we’re experts in insurance rather than accounting, so we strongly recommend speaking with your accountant for more specific information about how the budget affects you.
Visit our website
www.traderisk.com.au https://www.traderisk.com.au/what-the2018-budget-means-for-tradies
吀栀攀 瀀漀爀琀愀戀氀攀Ⰰ 椀渀攀砀瀀攀渀猀椀瘀攀 洀攀琀栀漀搀 琀漀 瀀爀攀瘀攀渀琀 瀀愀椀渀琀 眀愀猀琀攀ⴀ眀愀琀攀爀 瀀漀氀氀甀琀椀渀最 琀栀攀 攀渀瘀椀爀漀渀洀攀渀琀⸀
2018 June Issue | 33
䤀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 昀漀爀
倀䄀䤀一吀䔀刀匀 䐀漀 礀漀甀 眀愀渀琀 琀漀 搀攀愀氀 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 椀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 挀漀洀瀀愀渀礀 琀栀愀琀 栀愀猀 琀栀攀 戀攀猀琀 愀瘀愀椀氀愀戀氀攀Ⰰ 挀漀猀琀ⴀ攀û攀挀琀椀瘀攀 椀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 昀漀爀 琀爀愀搀椀攀猀㼀
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Most Common Sales Misconceptions When one of our customers tells us they have hired the perfect salesperson, it scares the heck out of me. Few people truly understand selling and the stereotypical personality that many people think will make the perfect salesperson; they frequently fail miserably. Frankly, I don’t meet a lot of really good salespeople and selling is a misunderstood skill. Selling is about trust. People buy from you because they think that you will solve their problem or fulfill their need, not because they technically understand what you do. Think of a doctor’s visit where the doctor prescribed a prescription to solve an ailment. I doubt you really fully understand what the prescription biologically does in our body but you took it because you trusted the doctor to provide a professional solution. People buy from contractors for the same reason.
Too many people think that the ideal salesperson talks a lot of bull, is extremely extroverted and talks people into a decision. You only trust people when they listen to what you have to say, make your feel heard and then provide a heartfelt solution. How can you trust someone who can’t be taken seriously or tries to manipulate people? You can’t. Good salespeople are great listeners, not great talkers. You have two ears and one mouth. Good salespeople need to use them proportionately. It was once said that the ideal salesperson was someone who was being tarred and feathered and run out of town, though they were leading a parade. There is no question the extroverted salesperson is willing to talk to people and may not suffer from call reluctance. Motivation can be an important trait but it can be a thin line between motivation and denial. By the law
of averages, if you are willing to call on enough people, eventually you may succeed. However, it is much easier to take a more calculated approach and make the process more efficient. Most of us have been insulted by car salespeople who abuse our intelligence. Unfortunately, the industry is inbred and the boss believes in the same antiquated sales techniques. A friend of mine manages a hotel group and I recently did a sales program for his salespeople. It was amazing how little anyone knew about sales and how the vast majority of the group had been order takers for years. After thinking about it and being president of a firm that has run hundreds of meetings, I have really never met a really good hotel salesperson.
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Frequently, you are better to hire a person who is intelligent, organized and a good listener and teach them your trade and how to sell. Selling is nothing more than good communication. Good salespeople help the customer make an intelligent choice and make it easy for them to choose and buy. Too many people think sales training is all about overcoming objections and closing the deal. Really? When was the last time a customer told you no to your face? I bet rarely. Instead, they don’t return your call or tell you by email. Sales training was dominated by big ticket items such as life insurance, cars and real estate. Far too much emphasis was on closing. Maybe in those industries closing is more important. Let’s say you want me to pay $500 a month on a life insurance policy so that my wife’s second husband won’t have to work. Sounds like a tough sell to me. Another sales myth is that people buy from who they like and socialize with. People buy from who they like if they also respect that person and they are competent. We have all bought something from our brother in law or a buddy who let us down. Someone can like you but if someone else figures out their problem and fulfills their need, you are going to lose the sale. Ever bid a job you didn’t get? Sure you have. Ever bid a job you didn’t get and someone else bid on different specs and are not going to do the same job? Probably so. It is not your customer’s responsibility to determine the difference between yours and other quotes. It is your responsibility to ask questions, solve the problem and explain your point of difference.
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Ever get a job and you were not the low bid? Probably so. So what did the customer tell the other person? That he or she thought you were more competent than them? No, the customer said they had another price or went with someone else and you just assumed it was low price. If you think sales is all about the low price, then it probably is going to be. Business to business sales also represent a challenge for many salespeople. The business to business sales process is about how people buy things and never about the actual job. Yet most estimators and salespeople focus on technical jobs and social issues. It is about politics, your contact’s career and the buying process. You can buy your contact lunch but he or she is not going to lose their job by buying
from you if you do not fit into their process. A business customer’s problem may appear to be price but in reality it is rarely the customer’s actual money. It is all about the process. Rebuild how you envision the sales process and your sales will increase. Most contractors are problem solvers. Focus on solving problems, just make sure you have connected with the customers and fully understand what their problems really are.
Monroe Porter
is president of PROOF Management a firm that teaches seminars and runs networking groups for painting contractors.
www.proofman.com
眀眀眀⸀氀攀愀搀⸀漀爀最⸀愀甀
2018 June Issue | 37
The Industry
Idiots
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Important Contacts Aussie Painters Network www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au
Ph. 0430 399 800
National Institute for Painting and Decorating www.painters.edu.au
Ph. 1300 319 790
Australian Tax Office www.ato.gov.au
Ph. 13 72 26 / Ph. 13 28 65
Award Rates www.fairwork.gov.au
Ph. 13 13 94
Fair Work Building & Construction www.fwbc.gov.au
Ph. 1800 003 338
Mates In Construction www.matesinconstruction.com.au
Ph. 1300 642 111
Workplace Health and Safety Contacts Comcare WorkSafe ACT Workplace Health and Safety QLD Victorian WorkCover Authority WorkCover NSW SafeWork SA WorkSafe WA NT WorkSafe WorkSafe Tasmania
www.comcare.gov.au www.worksafe.act.gov.au www.worksafe.qld.gov.au www.vwa.vic.gov.au www.workcover.nsw.gov.au www.safework.sa.gov.au www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe/ www.worksafe.nt.gov.au www.worksafe.tas.gov.au
1300 366 979 02 6207 3000 1300 362 128 1800 136 089 13 10 50 1300 365 255 1300 307 877 1800 019 115 1300 366 322
www.actcancer.org www.cancercouncil.com.au www.cancercouncilnt.com.au www.cancerqld.org.au www.cancersa.org.au www.cancervic.org.au www.cancerwa.asn.au
(02) 6257 9999 (02) 9334 1900 (08) 8927 4888 (07) 3634 5100 (08) 8291 4111 (03) 9635 5000 (08) 9212 4333
Cancer Council Australia ACT NSW NT QLD SA VIC WA
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