Help Coming Up with a Name for Your Small Business

open for businessA recent article on HuffingtonPost.com.au provided some advice and inspiration for those battling to find an appropriate name for their business.

A major challenge that many new business owners face is one that has a massive impact on the success of their business – the business’ name.

In the article some top Australian small business owners share their stories of how they came up with the names for their start-ups.

Read the article here for more inspiration and advice.

Why Small Business Owners Suffer From Mental Ill Health in Silence

mentalhealthSmall business owners are usually good when handling workplace health and safety issues regarding their employees but are often slow to act when they themselves are involved, particularly  mental health issues.

Small business owners in Australia are the least likely to ask for health with mental health issues and risk losing their companies as a result.

According to Kate Carnell, the first Australian small business and family enterprise ombudsman says small business owners are amongst the most affected by mental health problems.

She highlighted that smaller operators should seek help if necessary and assist those in their business that need help with mental health issues.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/small-business-owners-at-risk-of-mental-illness-if-they-dont-speak-up/news-story/120c21b53689b0ec6abae8a9eb696d55

What The Federal Budget Means to Small Businesses

small business

Following the recent Federal Budget, experts explained that for the South Australian economy the biggest gain was the $90 billion in defence programs for the state.

Another good thing though was the tax cuts for small business.

Also the treasury has confirmed that the small business retirement exemption will continue, so if you’re planning on selling your business, you can use it as part of retirement planning and contribute more to superannuation than the $500,000 lifetime after tax contribution cap.

Read more about what the budget means for small businesses at: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/experts-urge-sa-small-business-to-invest-create-jobs/news-story/369087b4f59273e309136d136b9e47c7

Don’t Fall for These Employment Myths

myths debunkedA number of businesses were recently slapped with fines by the Fair Work Ombudsman because of payment issues with many companies found to have been underpaying their employees.

This prompted an article on Smartcompany.com.au highlighting some of the common misconceptions about employee payments.

Here are 7 employment myths that you shouldn’t fall for as a boss,

  1. You can deduct from workers to cover losses
  2. You don’t need to provide employees payslips if they don’t want them
  3. You can employ young workers as ‘trainees’ without lodging any formal paperwork.
  4.  Employees don’t need to be paid for time spent opening and closing a store.
  5. An employee must work for 12 months before they can take annual leave or sick leave.
  6. A full-time employee can be fired without notice during their probation period.
  7. You can’t ask an employee for proof of being sick, such as medical certificate.

Get more information at http://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/industrial-relations/42360-seven-employment-myths-bosses-shouldn-t-fall-for/

Avoid These Five Bad Habits if You’re a Small Business Owner

small businessAccording to a post on Afr.com these are the top 5 bad habits of small business owners that you need to avoid,

  1.  Using the business as your own personal ATM
  2. Don’t just coast along, spending all your time on the day to day operations and never investing time in developing and working towards plans and goals.
  3. Remember that ‘cashflow is king’
  4. Don’t forget to invest in key people.
  5. Have systems in place so that the daily running of the business is not completely reliant on you.

Read more at http://www.afr.com/business/small-business/avoid-the-top-5-bad-habits-of-small-business-owners-20160413-go57a4

Loan Approvals for Small Business Soars

small businessIf you’re a small business owner looking for funding, there’s good news, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index.

According to the index, March 2016 saw the days of mass rejection of small business loans coming to an end, following the analysis of 1000 small businesses.

It was revealed that big banks approved 23 per cent of funding requests in March which is an increase from the previous month.

Institutional lenders also improved their approval rates from 62.7 per cent to 62.8 per cent in March.

Find out more http://_http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/04/small-business-loan-approval-rates.htmlwp_link_placeholder

Best Apps for Your Small Business

smartphoneNo matter your niche there are a number of apps that would benefit your small business.

When asked by Smh.com.au to provide a list of the most popular free-to-download apps for Australian small businesses, Apple and Google provided this list. These apps are free but have in app purchases.

  1. Canva – the graphic design app
  2. Evernote – Allows you to remain organised
  3. Invoice2Go – Create invoices and quotes anywhere
  4. Genius Scan – Allows you to use your smartphone as a scanner in your pocket to scan receipts and documents on the go and export them to PF files.
  5. Deputy – A staff management app allows you to communicate with your team from your smartphone.

    Find out the rest of the apps at: http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/smallbiz-tech/the-nine-best-free-apps-for-small-business-20160419-go9pta.html#ixzz46mFlSg1B 

Why Your Small Business Should Start a Blog

blog

An interesting article on Entrepreneur.com discussed the importance of having a blog for the small business owner.

The writer discusses the importance of keeping your customers/ readers coming back to your site with a relevant, valuable, information-rich blog.

This marketing tool for the small business helps you position your product, find your customers and decide how to reach them.

Learn more at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/271049