Credit Matters Newsletter
In This Issue
- What's New At Credit Matters?
- Quote Of The Month
- Monthly Business Observation
- Monthly Business Conundrum
- This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth
- Latest Blogs & Readings
- Special Topic
- THE LATEST ASIC UPDATES
- AUSTRAC MEDIA RELEASES
- ACCC UPDATES
What's New At Credit Matters?
Due to the pandemic and other factors, we were unable to produce the audio versions of newsletters. I am pleased to advise the audio versions of our newsletters will recommence from this newsletter.
On another matter, the AICM has published my article “The Importance of credit management and accounts receivable in your marketing program” in their July magazine, available from today.
In August, there should be a new feature about understanding the positives of RISK.
As always, if you wish to promote your business services at an affordable rate, contact Kim at kim@creditmatters.com.au. You will be surprised at the value we have to offer.
Quote Of The Month
Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Monthly Business Observation
Currently we are coming to the end of the first phrase of this recession. When you mention the word recession, most people, especially politicians, bureaucrats, legislators, businesspeople and conservative minded citizens, freeze up like an animal on the road in the headlights of a motor vehicle.
As a result, their thoughts gallop to negative outcomes, rather than positive outcomes. The truth is, in recessions, many people will be negatively affected, some to the point of no return to the point of total loss. Other people meanwhile will see limitless opportunities and realise that if they can get their personal and business lives in to order, they might do very well.
So, what causes these two different widely different opinions?
In the case of the negative minded people there will be those:
1 with historical family experiences and opinions;
2 which have lived their lives as though there was no tomorrow and as result, have little savings, or are mired in debt;
3 who are naturally conservative minded and reduce spending in an effort to conserve their finances in case the worst happens;
4 which have ignored the signs of the looming recession and are now caught out in a precarious position financially and emotionally;
5 who decided that insolvency/bankruptcy was unavoidable and kept spending anyway to get what they could before their credit and/or cash ran out;
6 with vested interests in peddling disaster type messages, or creating false images of positivity to try and stop the inevitable announcement of the recession
7 who relied upon the stories in the media and from “trusted” people that all was okay, etc.
The people who will do best however, are those who:
1 understood that recessions are a natural part of the normal business cycle;
2 saw the potential of a recession happening, even if they did not know what would actually cause the recession;
3 changed their private and business philosophies and operations to place them in a better position if the recession did occur;
4 reduced debt as much as possible and increased their cash savings;
5 took actions to protect their reputations;
6 spent conservatively for a time, whilst looking for those extra opportunities which always occur in a recession;
7 did not believe all they saw or read in the media, rather they kept their eyes wide open to see what was actually happening around them, etc.
There will some unfortunate souls who entered the recession already in trouble due to their previous lifestyles, or as a result of unforeseen, or unfortunate circumstances. Others have since been affected through no fault of their own due to lockdowns, business closures, lack of stock etc. For the rest of us, how we will be effected by the recession, largely depends on whether we have kept our eyes and ears open for the changes and the changes we have made to our circumstances.
In the case of those who suspected the worst may happen, and made plans early, may actually do very well. The rest who ignored all the signs of a pending recession, or thought they could live forever unhindered by the world affairs going on around them, may not be so lucky.
As our monthly quote says:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Monthly Business Conundrum
The fact is that both bad technology and bad employees can do immense damage to your business. Worse still, when you add bad technology and bad employees together, your problems increase exponentially.
Bad technology comes in many forms, yet it causes problems passively. Our technology tools can only do what they are programmed to do, and/or according to the price which management is prepared to pay. There are situations for instance, when management opts for a cheaper version of the technology, or cobbles together various programs into a system. They believe these are cheaper options as they focus on upfront costs and ignore any downstream costs.
Bad employees on the other hand, do things on purpose. The decisions and actions of inexperienced or disenfranchised employees, or those who do not have the best interests of their employer in mind, will be equally damaging. The acts of inexperienced employees will be due to a lack of training. The disenfranchised employee, or those with malicious intent, make deliberate decisions to suit their own needs.
Therefore, when management deems that bad employees can be replaced at little extra cost by technology, when it is not fit for task, then it just changes the nature of problems. In addition, if good employees, as well as the bad, are replaced by technology, this will add to the ongoing and different problems, at an extra cost. Too late, management often finds out that they are short of the good employees required to fix the problems of bad technology.
As always, when money is spent for the wrong reasons, for instance on bad technology or the wrong employees, it is wasted. In turn, even more money is then usually required to repair the damage caused by bad technology and employees.
This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth
One of the great inconvenient truths of business and life today is that we all operate in a 24/7 world, where almost nothing stops. For example, interest on your finance facilities, or the expectations of your investors never sleep. Many businesses however still operate for the minimum number of hours of the week, such as 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. Yes, a few businesses may have slightly extended hours where people are available to work with stakeholders. Meanwhile other businesses have digital facilities which allow them to interact with their suppliers and customers for longer periods of the week.
One of the things we have all learnt from the pandemic, is that the right people with the right technology, can work almost anytime of the week and still be very effective. In some cases, business has found their employees have been even more productive.
Unfortunately, many in management have failed to grasp this opportunity to extend their operating hours with their existing employees. This change usually comes with a minimum of costs. Instead, the favourite option seems to be to outsource functions to other countries, in other time zones. However, this solution, in the long run, is not always as viable or as cost effective as the upfront costs first suggest.
Meanwhile, if your employees are willing to work outside “normal” hours, and they are working more effectively selling and solving problems directly with your suppliers and customers more often, is this not an advantage?
With many costs being still incurred when the business is “closed” for business, it would seem that any extra hours which can be worked, offer another opportunity to reduce unproductive costs. Furthermore, the more hours in the week your people answer the phones or emails, means your operations are more cost effective. In addition, you have a sales and marketing advantage over your competitors, and that is not to be sneezed at either.
Latest Blogs & Readings
A special note for tradies
Updates courtesy of www.asic.gov.au
Media Updates
Media Updates
Media Releases
Credit Matters is a financial risk management resource centre for the Australian business community. If you are in business, Credit Matters is your ideal source of financial risk management solutions.
Future Opportunities & Possibilities
Credit Matters is continuing to grow and provide marketing and knowledge about financial risks to the Australia business community.
Futhermore, we invite marketing and knowledge ideas from our readers and contributors on how we can assist our respective firms grow. If you have any ideas, please contact me at info@creditmatters.com.au.
If you are interested in finding new ways to reach your marketplace, why not try Credit Matters. Our prices for advertising are very reasonable and advertising packages are on offer to make any cost, even more affordable. So if you are interested in reaching your customers at the right price, please contact Kim at info@creditmatters.com.au for options.