Are you eligible for the Instant Asset Write Off?

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Angus Jones

UPDATE: The Australian Tax office has announced that for assets you start to hold, and first use (or have installed ready for use) for a taxable purpose from 7.30 pm (AEDT) on 6 October 2020 to 30 June 2023, the instant asset write-off threshold does not apply. You can immediately deduct the business portion of the asset’s cost under temporary full expensing.

This means for Small Business with a turnover of less than $50 million; you can immediately deduct the business portion of that asset for both a new and 2nd hand asset you have purchased until June 2023 (extended in 2021 Budget). Note that there are rules around passenger vehicles which in the 20/21 financial year have a limit of $59,136 unless a commercial vehicle with a carrying capacity of more than 1 ton or more than 9 seats.

We do recommend you keep good records and more information an record keeping can be found here.

This is welcome news for SMEs who have, to quote Queen Elizabeth from her 1992 address, endured an ‘annus horribilis’; firstly with the catastrophic bushfires in January then debilitating COVID for the most part of the year.

Under the new Instant Asset Write-Off scheme, businesses can now claim an immediate deduction of up to $150,000 for the purchase of new or second hand goods. With this new arrangement, SMEs will pay less tax in 2019-20 helping business cash flow and withstand and recover from the economic impact of the Coronavirus.

For businesses with a turnover of under $10 million have access to a tax-free payment of up to $25,000 to help boost cash flow. The threshold applies on a per asset basis, so eligible businesses can immediately write‑off multiple assets.

One business that has witnessed the momentum of the stimulus first-hand is Pickles. As Australia’s leading marketplace for transport, construction, mining, aviation, vehicles, and salvage assets, Pickles has been inundated with enquiries and has been working with its SME vendors and buyers on how they can take advantage of the increased Instant Asset Write Off.

“Buying heavy equipment and machinery is a significant expense for any business, and with 2020 bringing more challenges than normal, the Government’s $150K Tax Break couldn’t have been a better reward for surviving the year,” says Pickles Director, Industrial, Bruce Connors.

Aside from the obvious advantage that buying used heavy equipment and machinery allows for a cheaper outlay, it also helps with resale value if and when a business does look to move on from its equipment.

Connors adds: “The increased Instant Asset Write Off has allowed our customers to set themselves up for a strong 2021 while giving them a much-needed cash injection now. We have seen a sales spike in earthmoving, haulage, forklifts, and general vehicles.”

Key benefits to SMEs

The instant asset write-off has been supercharged – threshold increased to $150,000 for businesses with an annual turnover less than $500 million.

Accelerated depreciation scheme to support business investment – deduct an additional 50 per cent of the asset cost in the year of purchase.

A cashflow boost will be provided to small and medium-sized businesses.

To check your eligibility for the increased Instant Asset Write Off go to ato.gov.au.

Sharing Sensitive Data

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Angus Jones

Veritas Technologies, a global leader in data protection, availability and insights, has revealed new research highlighting the dangers of sharing sensitive data by misusing instant messaging and business collaboration tools. In Australia, 66% of employees have admitted to sharing sensitive and business-critical company data using these tools, the survey found.

The Veritas Hidden Threat of Business Collaboration Report polled 12,500 office workers across ten countries, including 1000 in Australia. Shows employees take data out of the businesses’ control that employs them, exposing companies to risk. 53% are saving their own copies of the information they share over IM, while, conversely, 47% of knowledge workers delete it entirely. Either approach could leave companies open to significant fines if regulators ask to see a paper trail.

Sensitive data being shared by employees on these channels includes client information (15%), details on HR issues (10%), contracts (12%), product development information (12%), and even COVID-19 test results (12%). Just a third of employees suggesting that they hadn’t shared anything that could be compromising. The research also reveals that, while employees use collaboration tools to close deals, process orders and agree on pay raises, many do this despite believing that there will be no formal record of the discussion or agreement. In fact, only 48% thought that the businesses they worked for were saving this information.

According to Geoffrey Coley, Director, Strategy & Architecture, Asia South and Pacific region, at Veritas Technologies, “For many Australians, our entire way of work has been reset since the start of 2020. Companies are rushing to bolster their data protection ways of working to include the platforms where their business is actually being conducted.”

Increased use is compounding issues

The research shows that the challenge is compounded by the amount of time employees are now spending using messaging and collaboration apps. Time spent on tools such as Zoom and Teams has increased by 21% since the start of the pandemic. This means employees are now spending, on average, 2.3 hours every day on them, with 21% of employees spending more than half their working week on these applications.

A significant amount of business is now being conducted as routine on these channels, and employees are taking agreements as binding. For example, as a result of receiving information over messaging and collaboration tools, 24% of employees have accepted and processed an order, 21% have accepted a reference for a job candidate, and 20% have received a signed version of a contract.

Sensitive data is shared on these tools even though 29% of knowledge workers have been reprimanded by bosses for their use. However, these admonishments may have been in vain as 75% of all workers responding to the survey said that they would share this kind of information in the future.

Geoffrey said: “Getting employees to use ‘approved’ methods of communication and collaboration tools is an uphill battle. Instead, our message is simple: don’t fight it – fix it.”

IM trusted nearly as much as an email

When asked which methods of communication provide the most reliable proof that an agreement is binding, the trust that workers had didn’t appear to be based on the ability of a business to capture the discussion as evidence:

Email is viewed as a reliable affirmation of an agreement by 97%, followed by a written letter at 96% and electronic signature a close third at 92%
Instant messaging platforms, including Zoom, Slack and Teams, were still trusted by 90%, text by 89% and WhatsApp by 77%
66% even viewed social media as reliable proof that something has been agreed

“Business data is sprawled across different locations. Deals are being done, orders are being processed, and sensitive personnel information is shared through video-conferencing and messaging platforms. It’s now critical for companies to include this rapidly growing volume of data in their protection and compliance envelope. If they don’t, the implications could be huge,” concluded Geoffrey.

Veritas recommends the following steps for businesses that want to regain control of data being shared over messaging and collaboration tools:

Standardise on a set of collaboration and messaging tools that meet the needs of the business – this will limit the sprawl
Create a policy for information sharing – this will help control the sharing of sensitive information
Train all employees on the procedures and tools that are being deployed – this will help to reduce accidental policy breaches
Incorporate the data sets from collaboration and messaging tools into the businesses’ data management strategy using eDiscovery and SaaS data backup solutions – this will empower users to make the most of the tools without putting the business at risk

For more information on sharing sensitive data see Small Business Answers guide on Internet Security protects from cyber threat

Methodology

Research conducted and statistics compiled for Veritas Technologies LLC by 3Gem. A total of 12,500 office workers who used communications channels as part of their job were interviewed between 23 November – 8 December 2020 in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Singapore, South Korea, UAE, United Kingdom and the United States.

Empower remote work

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Angus Jones

34% of Australia’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) are expected to convert to a 100% laptop setup post-COVID-19, underscoring the importance of mobility in a hybrid workplace to empower remote work.

This finding is one of the many interesting strategic insights revealed in an IDC Survey Commissioned by ASUS. The survey explored how SMBs are adapting their technology use and how COVID-19 has affected technology decisions.

Long-Term Remote Work Arrangements

For Australia in particular, the survey found that over half of SMBs (68%) were ready for WFH arrangements brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over a third (33%) of those SMBs said they were not completely prepared with the office equipment and software to enable remote working. 50% of employers expect their workforce to return to the office once the situation is resolved as opposed to the APAC average of 45%. This revealed a general lack of long-term planning for remote working by Australian SMBs.

“Equipping staff with the appropriate technologies for remote working has turned pivotal in enabling a positive employee experience and enhancing productivity,” said Simon Piff, Vice President, IDC, Asia/Pacific. “Purchasing decisions on devices – laptops in particular – need to be reassessed to keep pace with employee expectations, especially among the younger generation of workers who are more digitally astute and are demanding more flexible working arrangements”.

“ASUS has a good understanding of how people work and their requirements, and we were able to draw on this experience to adapt quickly and help our customers manage the challenges”,. said Emma Ou, Country Manager, ASUS ANZ.

Emma continued. “Businesses that adopt more modern, flexible ways of working with the help of digital technology will reap the benefits of greater resource management, streamlined processes, more efficient workflows, and deeper, more actionable insights based on their data.”

Other key Australian SMB findings from the survey include:

54% of employees in Australia want to have a say in the allotment of their devices but in reality 75% of businesses in Australia provision laptops as a standard offering where it is purchase by the company
49% of employees stated that businesses that offer advanced equipment and flexible working arrangements have a competitive edge over other companies
Australian businesses adopt a tactical rather than a strategic approach to laptop refreshes that are meant to occur every 3 years. SMBs in Australia hold onto their laptops a little longer than their APAC counterparts. ASUS speculates that this is because Australian SMBs tend to buy more expensive and powerful systems than the rest of APAC, which extends service life.
- 49% of businesses only refresh laptops when the staff complain that they are slow, and another 47% only do so when they are broken, whenever the budget allows
- 42% of Australian businesses are considering procuring laptops/desktops under a lease model. However, the budget is the primary concern
63% of Australia’s millennials said mobility is pivotal in laptop purchase decisions. This includes all-day battery life, lightweight, fast charging and compact size
Almost one-third of organisation in Australia state that more than 30% of their physical meetings are shifting online, with 72% of local organisations using a laptop for web conferencing with a built-in camera and microphone

Looking ahead to empower remote work

The survey infers that equipping employees with the latest devices that can empower remote work and hybrid work environment will significantly impact employee productivity and experience and provide a competitive edge to organisations to attract and retain talent.

“The need for remote working increased tremendously in 2020, and there was still great uncertainty about how coronavirus will shape business in the coming years”, said Emma Ou, ASUS ANZ Country Manager. “It was these conditions that led ASUS to develop and release new, innovative technologies that will help people get back to better productivity this year, no matter where or how they are working.”

Suggestions for Australian SMBs to implement technology :

Include laptops in as-a-service agreements – Give employees their choice in devices and move away from inflexible standardised units. An as-a-service model can also provide easy access to features previously found only in enterprise-grade, custom-developed devices.
Ensure employees have the right tools to do their job. Doing away with a one-size-fits-all strategy and adopting a more personalised approach to computing by offering employees the laptop of their choice, or based on computing needs, will improve productivity and efficiency.
Refresh laptops faster for better employee experience – Shorten refresh cycles of laptops to keep in step with workforce requirements and boost employee productivity and efficiency.

Find more information in our guide on which PC to buy

Survey Methodology

The “IDC Asia/Pacific Laptops and Workspace Trends Survey 2020” was conducted in mid-2020 in 10 countries across the Asia Pacific, including Australia. With 2,018 respondents across the Asia Pacific, with 200 of them from Australia – split equally between employers (IT decision-makers) and employees who use laptops for work – the survey sought to discover the critical challenges of remote working impacting SMBs and how their provisioning of laptops and other work devices has changed since mid-2020.

Telstra Go Digital to help small business

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Angus Jones

Telstra has announced an $8.5 million investment in the future of Australian small businesses. By handing over prominent advertising space at the nation’s biggest football stadiums and launching a service to help them plan for and benefit from Australia’s rapidly growing digital economy.

Telstra will offer small businesses free Telstra Business Go Digital Consults throughout 2021 as part of the multi-million dollar plug for the backbone of Australia’s economy.

Small businesses that register their interest for a Telstra Business Go Digital Consult will have the chance to win a takeover of Telstra’s premium advertising at AFL and NRL games across the country in the first week of May.

Telstra Consumer and Small Business Group Executive Michael Ackland said the initiative comes after a year that saw more customers than ever seek to interact with businesses online.

“Australia’s small to medium businesses deserve both a Dally M and a Brownlow medal for how they have kept themselves and our economy running during an incredibly challenging period. They’ve earned an opportunity to have their name up in lights,” Mr Ackland said.

“We’ve seen a massive acceleration in the number of customers shopping online over the past year. To harness this opportunity now is the time for more small businesses to go online and interact with customers in new, digital ways and embrace more efficient selling, marketing, and invoicing.

“More businesses going digital could help grow Australia’s economy by $90b and create up to 250,000 jobs in the next five years. We know this is a big change for many small businesses, so we are offering free Telstra Business Go Digital Consults to help businesses embrace the digital economy.”

Launching Telstra Go Digital

Telstra’s new Telstra Business Go Digital Consult will be offered free to all SMB customers throughout 2021 – a value of approximately $7.5 million.

The new service (RRP$149) helps businesses be their best online through a consultation by a Telstra Small Business Expert of their digital touchpoints. From online marketing and cybersecurity to e-commerce and employee engagement, identify gaps, vulnerabilities, and opportunities. They then help equip the business with a tailored report and roadmap to go digital.

The Go Digital Consult also unlocks a host of exclusive offers with Telstra’s extensive partner network providing SMB support, including Small Business Australia, Samsung, Cisco, Spotzer, Facebook and Microsoft.

Helping SMBs reach new audiences through mass exposure

Eligible Telstra Small businesses who register for a Telstra Business Go Digital Consult and enter the competition online before 23 March will also get the chance to get unprecedented access to some of the country’s most valuable and coveted sports advertising. By taking over Telstra’s premium AFL and NRL sponsorship at each stadium hosting games during Telstra Small Business Week (May 03 – 06).

Winning SMBs – they could be a local tattoo parlour or a fruit and veg shop and more – will each be plugged in one of 17 stadiums across the country. With placements previously only accessible to big business with significant marketing budgets.

From seeing their name up in lights in signage takeovers to on-screen plugs from iconic sports commentators, Telstra is helping propel small businesses to new heights.

For more information see Small Business Answers guides on:
Marketing
Website domain and email
Build a website

Why Aussies start their own business

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Angus Jones

Xero’s new Tipping Point report uncovers what motivates Aussies to become self-employed, the hurdles to start own business and the qualities of a successful sole trader

Xero’s Tipping Point report is based on a survey of more than 800 existing sole traders with no employees and 200 aspiring business owners. The research uncovered the motivations for starting a business and the challenges they face along the way.

Australians have long felt an innate desire to carve their own path as ‘solopreneurs’. More than two in five (43%) sole traders have always planned to be their own boss, and close to one in four (23%) have maintained this from a childhood dream.

But starting a small business is not simply about coming up with a big idea. The research revealed the tipping point to business ownership is a combination of becoming convinced of the opportunity, the lure of financial independence, and dissatisfaction with their current work situation.

Trent Innes, Managing Director Australia and Asia, Xero said. “Australia is a nation of self-starters, with sole trader ventures accounting for the majority of our homegrown businesses. Xero’s Tipping Point report reveals that the Aussies who make this leap are driven by the freedom and independence that comes with working for yourself. While many of us may like to lay claim to a great business idea at one time or another, this research shows it takes a particular person and special set of circumstances to truly turn that idea into reality.”

Be your own boss

Among the biggest motivators to start your own business is the desire to gain freedom and control. Making their own decisions (47%) and working for themselves (46%) were top of the list as reasons for sole traders to branch out. Passion and creativity follow closely behind, with just under a third (32%) choosing to follow their passion and wanting creative freedom (31%).

Seeking the freedom that comes with being their own boss. Many solopreneurs were drawn into career independence due to feeling stuck in a ‘rut’ in their previous jobs or careers. Four in five (79%) sole traders felt negatively towards their last job or career before they went out on their own, with millennials aged between 30 and 39 the most likely to fall in this category. The most common feelings were unhappiness with a former manager (34%), frustrations with lack of control (32%), feeling like they were going nowhere (31%) and feeling uninspired and unmotivated (30%).

Tackling the hurdles of going solo

Along with the joys of working for yourself, there are also challenges. Unsurprisingly, finance is one of the main obstacles’ sole traders face in the initial planning phase. Budgeting for unknown costs was a key challenge for more than a third (39%) of sole traders. Other challenges included staying organised and on track (55%), driving customer acquisitions (53%), and knowing where to get started (38%).

Overcoming perceived mental obstacles – particularly the confidence to go it alone – were reported as genuine road bumps on the sole trader journey. More than two in five (44%) respondents felt they had to generate self-belief and reduce self-doubt. One in three (34%) were concerned about overcoming fear, worry and anxiety.

Luckily, there is moral support to be found amongst your nearest and dearest when you first decide to go it alone. Sole traders leaning on family members as their go-to (37%), followed by a romantic partner (29%) and a colleague/friend (27%). Beyond those in their personal circles, one in five (19%) turn to an accountant for advice when starting out.

Start own business: Top attributes

The report found that being optimistic, having a strong work ethic and being adaptable are vital characteristics for success. For those looking to start out, two in five (40%) view reliance on effective digital tools as critically important. Despite this, less than 38% of existing sole traders have a website, and among those that do, less than half (48%) can make sales transactions through their website.

While solopreneurs may be slow to adopt technology. The research found that almost two-thirds (64%) who used cloud accounting software during the pandemic believed it played a crucial role in supporting their business.

COVID-19 a catalyst to start own business

The pandemic has not dimmed the entrepreneurial spirit of aspiring sole traders, with many feeling optimistic about their short-term business prospects. In fact, two in five (41%) say the past year’s events have increased their desire to start a business.

“Australians have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the pandemic, and nowhere is this more evident than in the micro and small business sector. It’s this inherent resilience that will drive many aspiring business owners to get their idea off the ground in 2021 and gain the autonomy they’ve longed for – sometimes from as early as childhood,” Innes concluded.

Traits perceived by sole traders as critical to success

Personal habits	Organisational habits
Stay positive and take things in their stride (69%) Adhere to a strong work ethic (65%) Keep adaptable and open to change (62%) Attention to self-care – mental and physical health (57%)	Meticulous record-keeping and knowing their numbers (60%) Maintain a decluttered and organised operation (52%) Always plan ahead and have contingencies (51%) Create procedures and processes (51%)
Time management habits	Business management habits
Ability to separate work and family life (51%) Daily goal setting (47%) Focus on time management and task prioritisation (46%) Establish routines (44%)	Network regularly (48%) Seek advice from experts/ mentors and able to ask for help when needed (45%) Invest back in the business (40%) Lead by doing (38%)

Small Business Answers guide to starting a small business can be found here

The year ahead – without Job Keeper

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Angus Jones

A new SME Recovery Survey conducted by American Express aims to better understand the current environment for business owners and uncover how they react as business conditions shift in 2021 with the removal of Job Keeper.

The research shows that most Australian SMEs (53 per cent) are optimistic about the year ahead. Despite the ongoing pandemic and the expected end of JobKeeper in March, which according to 55 per cent of respondents, helped or was vital in keeping their business afloat during the health crisis.

However, SMEs’ feelings of optimism are tempered by the knowledge that more than two in five businesses will need to access additional capital in the form of a loan this year. One in four (26 per cent) say as a direct result of JobKeeper ending. On average, those seeking a loan intend to request just under AU$100,000 ($97,225).

According to Martin Seward, Vice President of Global Commercial Services for American Express Australia, “Many businesses are still feeling the full impact of the Covid-19 crisis, while others have rebounded with their sights firmly set on growth. We have taken a transformational step to evolve our business beyond our existing card offering to help support businesses on their journey forward.”

The American Express research reveals that the top business resolution for nearly two in five SME operators this year is to try new ways to grow their business. More than a quarter of that group believe this growth could be more significant with the appropriate amount of capital.

Top 5 reasons for accessing capital in 2021:

To grow/expand their business
Buying equipment
To ensure their business’s survival
Marketing and advertising
To cover essential operational costs

And yet, nearly half of SMEs seeking funds from other lenders during the pandemic said they faced challenges – from finding the process complex to being asked to use personal assets as security.

Of those small businesses that attempted to gain capital for their business from other lenders during the pandemic, top challenges they faced were:

Finding the process complicated and lengthy
Needing to approach several lenders before they were successful
Not receiving the entire amount of funds requested

“We don’t believe SME’s growth should be hindered by red tape or unneeded complexity, and certainly not at the expense of having to put your house or business on the line – something that extraordinarily a third (32 per cent) of SMEs needed to do to raise capital during the pandemic. Our unsecured business loans remove some of the existing complexity that comes with many other loans on the market, with funds deposited into a customer’s account typically within two business days of approval,” concluded Seward.

American Express is partnering with ODX to provide small business with a digital and frictionless experience to tap into financing.

“We are proud to work alongside such an iconic brand in the pursuit of making working capital readily available to businesses in Australia to fuel the recovery” added Brian Geary, President of ODX

About the American Express Business Loans

Unsecured funding from $5,000 to $250,000
Annual interest rates from 10.95% p.a.
Terms of 6,12,18 or 24 months
Quick and simple online application process
No set-up or early repayment fees. A $30 fee for a missed payment
Fast decisions with funds usually delivered within two business days of approval
Loan approval is subject to American Express eligibility criteria

For more information on Business financing read Small Business Answers guide on Loans & Equity Funding

_{About the research: The research was commissioned by American Express and conducted by Lonergan Research per the ISO 20252 standard. Lonergan Research surveyed 1,009 Australian small to medium-sized (up to 199 employees) business leaders. Surveys were distributed throughout Australia, including both capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online amongst members of a permission-based panel, between 18 and 28 December 2020. After interviewing, data was weighted to the latest population estimates sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics as of the 2016 Census.}

NBN Technology Choice Program

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Angus Jones

Let me start this by saying the NBN website states for the NBN Technology Choice Program “costs can vary substantially depending on the unique circumstances of each premise.”

Very simply this program lets a user upgrade at their own expense their internet connection to a Fibre connection at your business or residential premises.

Initially, when the NBN was planned, every premises was going to be connected by Fibre. There has been lots of debate since as to whether this should have happened. The argument mainly centres around future-proofing versus the cost of the rollout.

Most small businesses in Australia will be connected by a technology called Fibre to the node (FTN). This is code for a copper cable essentially running from you premisses to a point where from there on a fibre connection takes over.

there alternatives?

In Australia, if you live in the middle of nowhere, they will offer you a satellite connection. Semi-rural a fixed wireless broadband (similar to a 4G phone solution that does not move). Most of suburbia an FTN which will probably use the old Telstra coaxial cable with a bunch of upgrades. If you are fortunate a fibre connection. This is all based on the cost of connection.

Fibre offers the ability to move lots of data quickly. The reality is with technology improving your existing FTN connection to your small business is probably going to meet your every need for some time to come.

If your small business needs faster internet, there are some things you should look at first. For many investing in a new mesh router should solve your problems. Our guide on a computer network for small offices will explain more about this.

If you do need a speed boost, then most likely you will find your existing internet provider will have a higher speed tier with your current technology. See our guide on Internet Plan and provision.

If your business is close to a new 5G mobile tower, this may also provide a cheaper alternative.

If you really want Fibre, you can get a free quote for the NBN Technology Choice Program in a couple of minutes. For my individual circumstances that came in at just under $18,000 so I think I am good for the moment.

Catch how 2 brothers built a billion-$ business from scratch

Posted on December 3, 2020 by Angus Jones

How do two immigrant brothers with no money, limited industry knowledge and amateur technical skills build some of Australia’s most successful digital businesses, with a combined exit valued at more than $1 billion?
It’s a good question. It’s one Gabby, and Hezi Leibovich gets asked every day, which is why they wrote their new book, Catch of the Decade.
You may not have heard of these men! You probably won’t recognise their faces, but you’ll almost certainly know some of the brands they built, sold or merged for more than $1 billion after just 13 years in business.

Here are just a few of them:

Catchoftheday: Australia’s most popular shopping site
EatNow/Menulog: an app that revolutionised the food delivery business
Scoopon: a major disruptor in the services and entertainment sector
Luxury Escapes: a travel deal site that made luxury travel affordable for all.

How did you come up with the idea of Catch?

Gabby: From selling at the market, we graduated to operating little eBay stores out of our garages. We were doing okay, but we were up against the likes of Deals Direct and just didn’t have the budget or resources to compete. We knew we needed a point of difference. We were always reading, watching and listening to everything going on in our industry. So when a friend of ours told us about Woot, a US-based daily deals concept website, we thought maybe we could do the same in Australia.

What was the Woot concept?

Hezi: Woot was a deals site that sold one product every day at midnight. The deal lasted for 24 hours, and then the sale was over. The website was written with a cool style of copywriting that was both arrogant and funny and had an ‘I don’t give a shit’ vibe to it, which we really liked. The prices they offered were so good, the items would sell out within hours, often in minutes! We liked the concept a lot. The best part? No-one in Australia had ever heard of Woot, so the concept was wide open for us to launch in Australia. Our motto had always been ‘better to copy and excel than to be original and mediocre’, and this was no different.

What was one of the biggest challenges you faced when building Catch of the Day?

Gabby: Getting the big, prestigious brands to sell to us. Believe it or not, they’d say, ‘We can’t sell to you because you don’t have bricks and mortar presence.’ In other words, we didn’t have a door! Can you believe how stupid that was! The reality was, they just didn’t understand what online business was. Very few did when we started. We were ahead of the curve.

Was there a moment in your business journey when everything changed?

Gabby: Yes, it was when the computer industry saw sense and decided that they would let us sell their products on our Catch of the Day website.

What did you do to convince them?

Gabby: There was a big supplier expo event being held by Ingram Micro, a powerful industry distributor. We weren’t invited, but I decided to go anyway. I brought with me a hundred A4 fliers about Catch of the Day to hand out to everyone. I wore my suit (I never wear suits, but I had to look the part!), got in, and went to work, handing out my flier to all the suppliers. It worked like magic. The next day we were inundated with calls from big brands like Toshiba, Asus, Canon and others saying, ‘please sell our products’. After that, we never had any difficulty getting quality brands to sell to us.

What did you learn from this experience?

Gabby: That’s there’s always a way. Our dad had a saying: “If the front door and the back door are closed, try another door. There’s always a third door.’

How did the Catch website get started?

Hezi: We hired a programmer we found for $1500 on Odesk who lived in some remote Ukrainian village. It was going well until we were ready to launch: the guy just suddenly disappeared, and we couldn’t get in touch with him for a week. I remember having sleepless nights. I thought he’d run off with all the code and our money and was now sipping piña coladas in some bar in Kiev. Every hour during the night, I would turn on my laptop in bed to see if he had written to explain what had happened, but there was nothing. I started to lose hope. Then, one morning a few days later, I got a message from him, apologising and explaining that his village got flooded. He’d lost all power for a few days, and he couldn’t contact us. Turns out, he was an honest man. A great developer? Not so much. But it got us started.

As the business grew, what did a typical day look like for the founders of Catch?

Hezi: A typical day for us would look something like this: upon waking, we’d check our emails. We’d drive to the office, be at our desks by 8 am, solve the problems from the night before (we were a 24/7 business), attend a supplier meeting at 9 am, juggle a thousand different balls and decisions throughout the morning, eat a hurried lunch at our desk, have more meetings with suppliers in the afternoon, head home at 8 pm, have a quick dinner, kiss the kids, say hello to our wives, hit the desk for another few hours, answer more emails and have team discussions on Messenger, get to bed around 1 am and then get up and do it all again the next day. You could say we ‘bootstrapped’ it.

What advice would you give to people wanting to launch their own websites or their own business?

Gabby: Execute quickly. We have a policy at Catch that has guided our every action: ‘Decide by midnight, execute by midday.’ Don’t wait for perfection, because there’s no such thing, and never forget that the first draft of everything is shit. Looking back, the web page we launched was terrible. It’s embarrassing really, but that’s what got us started. It was super basic: just a simple logo of a fisherman, a counter that counted down from 24 hours, a single product and a product description with a sales spiel that walked the chutzpah line of bold, arrogant and blatant.

Hezi: Take our advice and just focus on the features that make the product work, that distinguish it in the market, and release it quickly to capture the opportunity. All the rest, the ‘nice-to-have’ features, can come later. Put it this way: if you’re happy with your first draft, you’ve launched too late.

5 ways to be a better buyer

While you’ve either got the talent or you ain’t, here are a few strategies from Gabby and Hezi that will make you a better buyer.

Be curious: read sales catalogues, check out the industry journals in your sector, listen to podcasts, or if you’re in retail, just walk through shopping centres and have a look around. Curiosity goes hand in hand with learning; the more you immerse yourself in your niche, the more educated you will become.
Know your category: Knowledge allows you to spot a deal the moment it comes your way. Great entrepreneurial companies and individuals always ask ‘why?’, and that curiosity powers their creativity.
Be honest: Do the right thing. This is the quickest way to build trust. If you’re a jerk, the word will quickly get around. We always believed that honesty (and integrity) are the best policies.
Build a relationship with your seller: Try to get face to face with your customers as often as possible, or Zoom them if you can’t meet in person. Try to get off email as quickly as you can. Everyone prefers to deal with a friend rather than just a faceless executive hiding behind a computer.
Pay your suppliers on time: Even better, pay them ahead of time. They’ll never forget you.

Catch of the Decade is out now. Find out more at www.catchofthedecade.com.au.

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PR to grow your business

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Angus Jones

If you want to grow your business, several marketing options can help with that! One of the most cost-effective ways of promoting your business can be by doing public relations activities. In this guide, we will look at PR to grow your business, give you some of the secrets from a PR expert and the steps to get some free promotion potentially.

Public relations or PR is the strategic action of intentionally managing the release and spread of information between an individual or business and the public.

WHY should you use PR to grow your business?

PR to grow your business is one of the best ways to promote your business. Because it goes one step further than advertising by showing your audience the best parts of your business instead of just telling them about it.

It says to your target market: a journalist, publication or influencer chose to support or seek out the advice of this business. Therefore, they must be top of their field.

In short, it drives trust.

WHAT do small businesses need to get started?

An understanding of your value

Businesses should think about what value they can add, especially if that value is unique to them. Ask yourself: how my particular skills, produce or service, and experience help people?

A clear plan

Assign a chunk of focused time to create a PR plan. Start every PR campaign with a period of preparation that includes creating ideas, developing strategies, lists of media angles, and target publications.

A newsworthy pitch

Once you know your value, you’ll need a newsworthy pitch. Make sure your pitch is relevant to the publication, tugs on the right heartstrings, and is backed by credibility and authority. Most importantly, the pitch should have some kind of newsworthy hook that ties into an existing news story, zeitgeist, or cultural shift.

Supporting material

Anticipate what the journalist might need to tell your story, and make sure you give it to them upfront, to make their life easier and save time. Think high-resolution images, b-roll footage, case studies, company backgrounders, and the names and bios of the people available for interview.

The confidence to get started

Just start – you’ll get the hang of it. Don’t wait for big ideas, instead look for consistency in small things done well. The quest for perfection will kill any hopes of PR success dead in their tracks.

HOW do businesses achieve killer media coverage?

Give journalists a great story

If a journalist can tell a story without your help, they will. So if you’re pitch is so generic that any old journalist could write it, they’ll either simply do it themselves without including you in the piece, or write it off completely.

Present them with something that they haven’t thought of before, or that adds more colour to a story. If you happened to come across this story in real life, would you stop what you’re doing and pay attention? If not, then you might want to rethink your idea.

Find out what area each journalist covers (known in the trade as their ‘beat’), and make sure your pitch is tailored very specifically to their requirements.

Make sure you’ve got the right pitch for the right person

Are you offering an advice article when they only do interviews? Are you offering an interview when the bulk of their publication is made up of advice articles? Are you writing something targeted at schools, when this publication is targeted at parents? Are you approaching an editor that only considers stories that come with financial information, video footage, or case studies? Are you pitching a breakfast radio producer an interview with someone who is not available until 11am?

There are so many media-specific standards to consider that it always pays to do your research thoroughly. Suppose you pitch something that’s not relevant. In that case, your idea will likely be ignored, and you risk permanently damaging your relationship with a journalist.

Even within the same publication, different journalists will have different needs. Find out what area each journalist writes about (known in the trade as their ‘beat’). Make sure your pitch is tailored very specifically to their requirements.

Become a credible, reliable source

News outlets need reliable, credible experts that they can call upon at the drop of a hat. Suppose you’re not known to the journalist when you first approach them. In that case, it might take some convincing to persuade them that you’re a credible source of information. It’s your job to show them that you’re trustworthy and that you don’t have an ulterior motive.

The best way to make this happen is to ensure you have something original and unique to say. Suppose you can be more interesting and more engaging than your competitors. In that case, a journalist is far more likely to take the risk.

Maximise your coverage

Once the coverage is achieved, it’s essential to maximise the coverage as much as possible. The first few days after a piece has gone live is the most critical window of opportunity for sharing on social media, but don’t stop there. Even if your coverage is months or even years old, there are still lots of chances to post it. Keep an eye out for new news stories that relate to your own, and use it as an opportunity to add to the conversation. Jump on the ‘flashback’ bandwagon, especially if you’ve got a piece of coverage which is about to celebrate its first birthday.

HINTS

Always avoid clickbait or going in for a hard sell. Be generous and give value, because that is who people want to do business with.

Journalists are incredibly time-poor, so it’s critical to time your pitch perfectly. If you send an email on a Friday afternoon at 4 pm, there’s little hope that your story will ever see the light of day.

Make your pitch as interesting as possible. Present the journalist with something that they haven’t thought of before, or that adds more colour to an existing story.

Make sure your pitch is tailored to their magazine, program, site, newspaper or section – and to the individual journalist’s particular focus or interest.

SUMMARY – PR to grow your business

Just because you know how great your business is, that doesn’t mean anyone else will go out of their way to find it out too. Instead, you need to make it as easy as possible for a potential customer to figure out why you’re the best in the business.

PR is a great way to get your business’s story out there without resorting to overt sales tactics or showy advertisements.

This guide was contributed by Phoebe Netto of Pure Public Relations.