Straight Up Small Business

Hello and welcome to episode 53! It has now been a full year now since I started this podcast and since it’s our birthday, I thought I would share my reflections on podcasting. First up - why did I start a podcast? The reason is not too profound, and it wasn’t a long-term goal of mine, but there were some really good business reasons, which I take you through. I also explain who gave me the idea i...

A common problem we see today as business owners is having websites that don’t convert to inquiries or sales.  We invest a lot of time and money on branding, copywriting and design. Pulling it all together can take months and once it’s live, we’re so proud of it. We wait for our business to go gangbusters. But then… crickets.  Today I talk with the fabulous Tahnee Sanders, founder of The Strategy...

This is a bonus episode for bookkeeping business owners wondering if the Bookkeeping It Real Mentoring Program is a good fit for them. More details about the Program can be found HERE .

Today I want to talk about productivity. For these last six months, I have been working hard at creating sustainable work habits. My goal has been to focus on taking the time to just ‘be’, rather than always 'doing' and racing through my life. While it’s tempting to try and squeeze more into your work day, productivity should be more about working smarter and not harder. In this episode,...

Today on the podcast I provide an overview of what you need to know about Single Touch Payroll 2 (STP2). For business owners who have staff or are employees themselves, this is relevant for you. And STP2 is already here, so there are things that you need to know. I actually suspect that many employing business owners are living in blissful ignorance right now because they don't know what they...

Happy new year! Welcome back to our very first episode of Straight Up Small Business for 2023.  In this episode, we’re kicking off the year by exploring how to use Xero to manage your business and not just your bookkeeping.  January is the perfect time to create or update your business budget so, with your sparkling new budget in place, I’m going to run you through how you can use Xero in your bus...

“I am taking a quick break for a couple of weeks over the holiday period, and I wanted to share with you some of the listener favourites from the back catalogue. If you haven't had a chance to listen to this one previously, or you're new here, I hope you enjoy this one! I will be back with fresh new episodes in a couple of weeks!” ------------------ As a business owner, you should always...

I am taking a quick break for a couple of weeks over the holiday period, and I wanted to share with you some of the listener favourites from the back catalogue. If you haven't had a chance to listen to this one previously, or you're new here, I hope you enjoy this one! I will be back with fresh new episodes in a couple of weeks! ----------------  Why is there no cash in my bank account w...

“I am taking a quick break for a couple of weeks over the holiday period, and I wanted to share with you some of the listener favourites from the back catalogue. If you haven't had a chance to listen to this one previously, or you're new here, I hope you enjoy this one! I will be back with fresh new episodes in a couple of weeks!” -------- Do you have a budget in your business?  In this...

On the episode today I talk to Amelia Hicks, the co-owner and co-creator of the business Old Quarter Coffee, based in Ballina NSW. Old Quarter Coffee has a cafe, provides a coffee subscription service for home coffee drinkers (like me!), and sells wholesale beans to cafes. One of the reasons I have Amelia on the show is because Old Quarter Coffee is a social enterprise, and it’s so inspiring to he...

It’s time for a much needed break but 2022 is not over yet - there is a lot you can still do to end the calendar year with a bang and put yourself into an awesome opening position for 2023.  In this episode, I’m sharing with you 5 things that I’ll be doing in my business before 31 December. Making sure the team and I take time off to rest and recuperate, I’ll be getting organised and contacting cl...

Today’s topic is cyber security, which is pretty topical at the moment given the widely reported attacks on large corporations in the last few months. When we hear about these in the news, it’s easy to think, shame on you, to the large organisation for not protecting their client’s data properly. But what we don’t realise how easy it would be for a cyber attack to happen in our own business, and t...

On the podcast today I am talking to the energetic and inspiring Taylor Rae. Taylor is a marketing expert, business coach and the founder of Sacred Funnels. She has her own podcast called Sacred Work, which I have been listening to for years. Taylor is dedicated to helping female entrepreneurs see selling as sacred and understand how to set up their businesses to expand their impact while giving t...

There are some common mistakes I see on a regular basis when it comes to bookkeeping for eCommerce businesses that use Shopify to sell their products. These mistakes are made by business owners and bookkeepers alike because, no matter how much knowledge or experience you might have, there is no instruction manual on how to do your Shopify bookkeeping in Xero. In this episode, I want to cut through...

If you're running a business, you may be wondering about the bookkeeping implications of Christmas parties and gift-giving. This episode runs through what you need to know to stay on the right side of the law. Having a basic knowledge of entertainment expenses and fringe benefits tax will help you to make more informed business decisions that apply not just to Christmas parties and gifts but...

Today I chat with the incredible tech entrepreneur Kiah Worling. Kiah’s business why is to better the lives of others through the smart use of technology. She believes our time is so much better spent on more fulfilling things like wowing our customers, being with our families or pursuing our hobbies. I recently enlisted the help of Kiah to sort out the digital mess in my own business. I had lots...

This is Part Two of my key accounting terms every entrepreneur should know series. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode, go back and do so to learn about the Profit and Loss (P&L) report and the items that sit on that report. This episode covers more terms that reside on the P&L report and goes into detail regarding the balance sheet. A balance sheet shows a business's finan...

Today’s episode is all about key accounting terms that every entrepreneur needs to know. Some terms you might already know, others you may kind of know, but there are nuances that are helpful to understand, and others you might have avoided knowing like the plague! Understanding these terms means you no longer need to be scared of them. I’m dedicating two episodes to this topic, so you don’t get t...

Do you charge by the hour in your business? Do you get nervous to send invoices to your clients because it’s a shock as to how much time you spend on their work? Do you shave time off your invoices before you send them off? I used to do and feel all of these things until I stopped charging by the hour for my services. If you’re curious about how and why you should stop charging by the hour, then t...

Today we are joined by Rachel Green, an SEO website copywriter who serves brands that are big on purpose. In this conversation, Rachel shares how she ended up in such a specific niche and the ways niching is a powerful way to stand out. Rachel does business her own way - in a manner that is purpose-driven, sustainable and brings her joy. Rachel explains what an SEO copywriter is and how powerful i...

If you find yourself comparing your life and business to others, take comfort that it’s normal and, to some extent, necessary. Looking at what others are doing helps you to learn what’s possible and can inspire you to reach for even more business success. But at some point, comparing yourself all the time stifles your progress and needs to be brought into check. Over the years since starting my bu...

An entrepreneur recently asked me whether I thought their business was healthy. This was an interesting question for me - didn’t they know? They work in their business every day and they know about their cash flow, profits, losses and loans. But it turns out that despite knowing the parts of their business, they didn’t understand the sum total of these parts. In the episode today we run through th...

On the podcast today I interview Elana Robertson. Elana is an award-winning performance and developmental coach and the founder and Director of foundher, dedicated to reformatting habits and behaviours that lead to sustainable success. Elana launched foundher in 2018, in response to the emerging, urgent need to support founders, executives and leaders of change, who are using business as a force f...

Do you feel held back in your business and life by perfectionism? I know I certainly was. I used to spend hours perfecting Instagram posts, only to delete them because I was too embarrassed to release them. My marketing emails often didn’t go out, because I couldn’t get them quite right and I would put off discovery calls because I wanted more time to prepare. I am a recovering perfectionist. One...

I want to let you in on a secret. Savvy business owners are never taken aback by their tax returns or business activity statement. They understand what makes up these documents, and they put money aside in preparation for when their tax liabilities fall due. In this episode I take you through the practical steps you can take to be a savvy business owner. I explain to you why mindset is the biggest...