The ATO's SME crackdown

Business debt to the Australian Taxation Office's (ATO) has more than doubled over the past five years, with Australian SMEs owing an average of $21,000 each. And with the recent focus on small business tax debts, The CEO and Founder of Grow Capital, Gus Gilkeson, is offering some essential advice …

Smoothies are the bomb

Cinzia Cozzolino started her smoothie business almost by accident. After she started preparing delicious nutritional smoothies for her daughter, word got out. Her daughter’s friends and their mums wanted them. The local cafes and retail outlets wanted to sell them. Next thing, Cinzia found she had …

What's your management spirit animal?

Before you can effectively manage others, you need to know more about yourself. Employment lawyer and co-founder of Edge Legal David Dilger introduces four animal archetypes that illustrate different management styles, to help small business owners and managers learn about themselves. ‘The Bear’ ma…

Is your website up to date?

Online spending went through the roof during the pandemic, as consumers stuck at home relied on ordering goods that could be delivered to their door. The increased confidence and reliance in the online marketplace means that your business’s digital presence is more important than ever. So, what sho…

The big business SME takeover

Australia’s small business sector is slowly shrinking, with big businesses creeping in to fill the void. SMEs constitute about a third of GDP, but just 15 years ago that figure was 41 per cent. In the same period, the small business share of the private sector employment market has dropped from one…

Starting a franchising revolution

Michael Black, Founder and CEO of Success Tutoring has rapidly established the franchise nationally, and he intends to upend the traditional franchising model. He says his company is breaking away from rigid, corporate-style franchising structures, in a model called “flat franchising”. By fostering…

Keep calm and carry on

Are you constantly distracted by those voices in your head. You know the ones, urging you to check emails or social media, but you really need to concentrate on something else, or they keep replaying a memory or a fear of yours. Or perhaps you’re trying to break a habit, like over-eating or drinkin…

Combatting workplace mental health stigma

As society, in general, becomes more conscious of mental illness and its impacts on individuals and teams, stigmas persist. The Founder and CEO of the Safe Watch mental health app, Shane Muller, offers some practical strategies for small business owners and managers to support mental health in the …

Learning how to sell over Zoom

COVID changed the world, and now many businesses find themselves having to undertaking sales work over the web, with videoconferencing replacing face-to-face encounters. Sales and negotiations consultant Julia Ewert says there are some important things to remember when conducting sales meetings ove…

The small biz year ahead

It has been an acutely challenging year for small businesses. Rising costs, interest rates, labor shortages and big new regulatory burdens have made life much more difficult. So, is there any light on the horizon in 2025? For an end of year economic summary, we’ve turned to the CEO of Australian Ch…