What's New At Credit Matters?

This month has been full on with networking, a presentation to business owners in Geelong and attending a cryptocurrency course.

Another feature is due out within a week or so which will be available for free on our website at www.creditmatters.com.au The feature's title, B2B Credit in 2020 is my version of what the future might look like by then. Today, as I observe the business community at work, I can see there are already new way considerations at play when extending B2B credit.

The brochures included with this month's newsletter are; a note from Australian Small Business and Family Enterpris­­e Ombudsman about a fair go in court for small business, details of our Guide for Tradies, a copy of an article I wrote for the AICM "Can you afford not to employ a professional Credit Manager", Jan Reeves book for small business "Get Paid" and a brochure promoting the use of the value of the telephone by Jenny Cartwright and myself.

Don't forget, if you wish to promote your business services at an affordable rate, contact Kim at kim@creditmatters.com.au. You will be surprised at what we have to offer.

Quote Of The Month

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

Warren Buffett

Monthly Business Observation

Warren Buffet’s quote is particularly relevant in today’s business environment. The truth behind Mr Buffet’s quote is seen when a business collapses and enters into insolvency. The reasons why a business may go out of business are varied. Not all business closures are caused because of managerial incompetence or lack of money. Some were just in the wrong place and time when bad luck struck.

When a business does collapse and an insolvency administrator is appointed however, as we have seen of late, we find that many have run up large debts and lack the funds to trade themselves out of trouble. Other businesses have failed to collect debt owed to them because of poor sales procedures, a lack of due diligence, outsourcing of accounts, a lack of follow up, or selling to the wrong customer.

In the cases mentioned above, the problem has been a lack of administrative substance, care and managerial incompetence. In other words, as Mr Buffet alluded to, the business may have looked substantial, but it lacked substance. When the pressure was on, they folded.

Many of the businesses entering insolvency were the brightest and the biggest of their kind. They also came from every industry, and the age, or size of the business made no difference.

Furthermore, these are those businesses we do hear about. There would have been many smaller businesses entering insolvency, or just closing down and going out of business. We did not hear about them until it affected us or we made business enquiries.

As we enter a pre-recession period, there is a lot of merit in understanding the value of Mr Buffet’s quote. Many of your current and potential customers are going to be experiencing difficulties when the effects of the next recession become obvious. There are going to be many of those flash, well known, long standing and “too big to fail” businesses, which will cause you grief because they lacked the substance and means to keep going.

This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth

Technology and humans can be equally dangerous to your business.

It is probably an inconvenient truth for some people, however both technology and humans can cause equal damage to your business. No matter which business process you favour, technology or people based, each have inherent dangers for your business.

How can this be when one is machine or AI based and the other is a human? Well, the answer is quite simple. The employment of both processes are based on human decisions.

When used with the most purist of reasons for the advancement of humankind such as medical breakthroughs, space exploration, pure research etc., technology delivers wonderful results.

In the business setting, technology also provides us with wonderful opportunities to operate our business more efficiently and cheaper than with humans. Unfortunately, the ethos behind using technology in business, is not always completed with the best interests of all parties. Rather, all too often it is used to satisfy the agenda of people. It is in these situations where technology becomes dangerous for your business.

Likewise, when employing people, if done so with beneficial interests of all in mind, people add value to your business. When they are employed without their best interests in mind, employees can do all sorts of damage.

We see this situation best when technology and people interact with emails. Emails are a wonderful way of creating speedy and cheap communications between different parties. When emails are sent with no intention of causing harm and with untainted content, they add value.

When emails are sent with corruption or malicious intentions in mind, a dedicated and professional employee is unlikely to engage and simply delete the email. On the other hand, the bored, naïve, or the employee with equally malicious intentions, will click on the email and possibly corrupt the business’s technology systems.

At the end of the day, both technology and humans can assist or damage your business. It is always people which decide whether the outcome will be beneficial or destructive.