How long do you believe it takes to form a habit? A month, six weeks, six months or a year? Well the answer is often simply: the next time you do the same thing. That could be the next day or even later the same day. We are after all, creatures of habit. And so […]
When you are young life seems to stretch out in front of you – and it seems like you have an almost infinite amount of time at your disposal. You are strong and healthy and not much threatens that feeling of invincibility. Plenty of time to achieve any ambitions, and in any case, you can’t […]
Getting any succession plan right is important, but farming succession plans have complexities not seen elsewhere because of the many and varied vested interests of family members. Financial and emotional ties that bind a family together but equally can break both the family and the business if not recognized and treated properly in the family […]
One of the key components in the process to formulate your family farm succession plan is the family meeting. You need this because everyone involved should be on board with the plan otherwise all you have is a piece of paper. But get this wrong and you may not even get as far as the […]
Divorce, as we know, is unfortunately all too common. It’s a stressful time with emotions running high, which in turn can lead to significant legal and accounting fees being incurred haggling over the division of assets. I have become recently involved in a divorce matter, whereby it has been dragging on now for over four […]
Sadly, it is not uncommon to hear about fraud affecting small and larger businesses alike. I have certainly heard a few stories over the years! And fraud doesn’t discriminate, it can happen anywhere, anytime, no matter how big or small your business is. For every minute fraud goes undiscovered, your business pays! So what do […]
When you ask someone you are meeting for the first time what he/she does for a living and he tells you that he is an accountant, what images go through your mind? Ok don’t answer that! We know that a lot of the time you are probably thinking tax, accounting, compliance – that sort of […]
Ok, so you don’t have to ask all of these questions tonight, but do ask them sometime in the near future. This can be informal, and make it clear that you won’t necessarily have an immediate response, but that you will take their answers seriously. Try not to debate the answers you receive, although further […]
Succession in a family business of any sort is fraught with difficulty, and generational change does not always mean a successful continuation of the business. That’s a well known fact. And when it comes to farming businesses, there are special circumstances that come into play because the business is so personal. After all, your business […]
You will no doubt be familiar with the plaintive cry of a child – it’s not fair! Politicians like to talk about “a fair go” and you have probably spent your life trying to deal fairly with people. It may well be the most universally accepted ideal we have in society, but achieving fairness can […]
At first glance you may think that it is a bit strange to ask if accountants are failing farmers and you might be quick to answer: no! Your accountant delivers what you have asked him to do for more years than you care to remember and apart from his fee, there’s not been much to […]
There’s not much you don’t know about farming and you know your farm like the back of your hand. You grew up on the farm and worked hard to help your father back in the day. He taught you much of what you know, but you also studied hard when the time came and you […]
I was invited to visit with one of our long standing station clients last week, ostensibly to start the process on how and when to hand on the station business to the next generation. For our client, they had been mulling over this dilemma for quite some time and they were unsure on what steps […]
The content in this article is provided for general information purposes and is not tax, legal, investment or other professional advice. Readers should seek appropriate professional advice prior to making any decision. I simply had to put out a blog in recognition of the Bitcoin price surpassing $5,000 USD yesterday. In fact, in the last […]
The content in this article is provided for general information purposes and is not tax, legal, investment or other professional advice. Readers should seek appropriate professional advice prior to making any decision. “Can I invest in Bitcoin using my SMSF?” This is a question I’m hearing more and more lately. The simple answer, yes, it […]
So here is what I Googled: “what is ‘the machines’ in Spanish?” and the answer I received instantly was: “The machines – Las máquinas”. And just below that, was a preview of a translation service website: “The new machine helps us do the work much faster. La nueva máquina nos ayuda a hacer el trabajo mucho más rápido.” […]
The content in this article is provided for general information purposes and is not tax, legal, investment or other professional advice. Readers should seek appropriate professional advice prior to making any decision. Bitcoin is off to the moon and many people are sitting on some handsome profits. How do I know this? Well, just three […]
The Australian Government welcomes business migrants and recognizes their contribution to local employment and the economy. Perth, as one of the world’s most livable and globally connected cities, has a dynamic business environment and is the home city of a third of ASX listed companies. It is also located in the same time zone as […]
Like everything in life, there will be highs and lows and business is no exception. When business declines, you may instinctively cut costs, but there may be other actions you could take and some of the following may be helpful in a downturn. Promotional Strategies Put some time and effort into broadcasting your value proposition […]
It’s no secret that country communities are often very close and that friendships lasting a lifetime are formed. Neighbours tend to have similar aspirations when it comes to the farming business and they endure the same hardships. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that neighbours will take the same approach to the business itself and some […]
There was a time when businesses were largely “top-down” affairs run by managers who knew how to run things. They had the knowledge, the experience, the education and so on and it was their job. Employees lower down the ranks were expected to follow instructions and customers were expected to choose from products or services […]
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