Aussie Painting Contractor March 2018

Jumpstarting Your Business!

Managing issues with‌

Job Completion Turning Down a Job When you should do it?

How to Start a Trades Business...

What you need to consider when going it alone!

Making Your Business Easier to Sell www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS • Angela Smith • Anthony Igra • Caroline Miall • Dimity Kingsford Smith • Jenny Fisher • Jim Baker • Kathryn Emmerson • Leo Babauta • Monroe Porter • Robert Bauman • Sandra Price

From the Editor Hey Everyone, Yet another month flies by, and we’ve almost hit Easter!

We’re all so busy, I’m sure you’ll agree it feels like it was only just Christmas.

With our past paced, techno-based lives, its unlikely to slow down any time soon, unfortunately. So, best we get across effective ways to succeed in this hectic environment and do the things that help you to thrive!

On that note, this month’s edition covers how important it is to seek advice and assistance in business. Knowing where to look, who to ask and surrounding yourself with information and ideas for success.

Also, we discuss circumstances when turning down work might be the more profitable option, starting a new trades biz, jumpstarting one, and getting ready to sell one! Clearly there is info for all.

Nigel Gorman

In the last month we have assisted more of our Members in securing payment for work they have completed. This continues to be an issue, especially getting paid on time by builders. If you require any assistance with this, feel free to contact us for help.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Until next month,

Caroline Miall

Happy Painting!!

EDITOR

GRAPHIC DESIGNER J. Anne Delgado

Nigel Gorman

nigel@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

07 3555 8010

Contents 6 HELP! Don’t be afraid to ask for it To Find Your Deeper Purpose, LISTEN

9

If you create this space, this silence … notice what you feel.

COMPLETION & RETENTIONS

12

a brief summary of issues to manage when you complete work

Starting a Trades Business

15

20 Banks and financial providers one step ahead of consumers who struggle with personal bias Turning Down Jobs Can Be Profitable For Your Painting Business…

22

So What Are You Really Selling & Negotiating?

4 ways to make your business easier to sell Glossary of Paint & Painting Term

if you do one of 5 things right.

How to Jumpstart Your Business

25

31 35 39

Industry Idiots

40

Important Contacts

41

Common products are 28 polluting the atmosphere

Enjoy this guide and get some benefit from it.

Opinions and viewpoints expressed in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine do not necessarily represent those of the editor, staff or publisher or any Aussie Painters Network’s staff or related parties. The publisher, Aussie Painters Network and Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine personnel are not liable for any mistake, misprint or omission.

Information contained in the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine is intended to inform and illustrate and should not be taken as financial, legal or accounting advice. You should seek professional advice before making business related decisions. We are not liable for any losses you may incur directly or indirectly as a result of reading Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine. Reproduction of any material or contents of the magazine without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

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1800 355 344 07 3555 8010 info@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

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HELP!

Don’t be afraid to ask for it Following the posts in some of the Social Media groups, I found it encouraging to see painters who are now prepared to ask or seek advice. This was unheard of 10 years ago as you would not dare ‘let-on’ that you needed help. It’s true!

People assumed you were incapable of running a business, and that was the last thing you wanted other painters to think. I can feel safe in saying that a majority of us were also too afraid to ask, as we all wanted to make out that we knew what we were doing. Am I correct?

Of course, it’s natural to want to be successful; that’s one of our main

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goals in life. It’s also natural to think we can do it by ourselves; but this is a difficult task. No matter who you are, or what business you’re involved in, we all need assistance in some way or other. Speak to any successful person and they’ll tell you they didn’t get where they were without the advice from a peer, a business coach, or a mentor. Even now, after 48 years of being in the painting industry, I am not embarrassed to admit that I can still learn new ideas or seek assistance from others.

First of all though, let’s define success as we all look at it in different perspectives.

Success is important but taking a clear look at the impact of your definition matters even more. As in most things your intent is important, but the results provide the real answers. Is it how much money you earn; how many staff you have; the size of the company; the lifestyle; the freedom; the challenge; or maybe all the above?

If operating a small business and making a decent living from it is your definition of success, embrace the fact that you may not get rich, but you will have more time to enjoy yourself.

If building a large company is your definition of success, embrace the fact that you may not have a rich, engaged family life. But you can be fortunate enough to have both above if, you are a smart business manager. To be amongst this group you must be prepared to ‘let go’ and delegate a lot of your business responsibilities to other employees. This will free up precious time to enjoy life.

Around 25 years ago, to me success was about how many employees I had and how large the contracts were. It was always the case that, ‘bigger was better’. The only trouble was, ‘bigger’ didn’t seem to be ‘better’. There were the continual problems of slow payers, staff issues, jobs not being ready (not good when you have multiple employees to find work for), long hours and of course, ‘the stress’.

This is the case with a lot of business owners today. They have the tendency of working 10 or more hours a day, and on weekends, as they are focusing their attention exclusively on building their career.

at home; not just in those fleeting moments when you do something just for yourself; but overall.

If you do this, then you can be deemed as successful. The happier you are the more successful you are.

Over the years I ‘woke up’ to myself and realised having a large team was not what I really wanted and that a smaller number of employees would be more manageable. I even found by doing this, my business became more profitable and less stressful. Working directly with a client and not a builder, was also more pleasurable for me as there was that personal interaction with them. When the time came to give the client an invoice, there was never the problem of payment as I made sure they were always happy when the job was completed. This gave me a constant cash-flow into my bank account and therefore the ability to pay my bills and wages on time. This in turn, relieved the stress I initially encountered.

I learnt all this by ‘trial and error’ because at the time:

In 2016 I posted a question what business success meant to them.

There was freedom, family life balance, financial security, making a difference and keeping the client happy. So you must ask yourself the following question;

1. I didn’t realise I needed help

‘What does success actually mean to me and what do I want to achieve in my business?’

3. Painters never spoke to each other, and as I mentioned earlier, you wouldn’t ‘let on’ that you needed advice anyway.

Forget traditional definitions of success; forget what other people think but ask yourself if you feel happy; not just at work; not just

2. There were no computers or internet, so finding someone would have been difficult if I had thought of getting help, and;

But in this, high-tech, day-and-age, you can be extremely thankful that there are so many avenues at your fingertips to seek assistance. If you go to the Social Media sites, you will

find many people willing to share their knowledge for free, but you must be prepared to swallow your pride and listen. They are the ones that have been there and done that. Learn from them! Absorbing knowledge is how you achieve success. So, become a sponge and use it to your advantage!

If you can’t get the answers online, then I would highly suggest that you find yourself a ‘Business Coach’. A good one will not just show you How to improve your business but show you, ‘How to be happy’ in your business. The level of success is based solely on this.

If you’re making serious money but are unhappy on a personal level, then you haven’t embraced the fact that incredible business success often takes a heavy toll on a relationship. Other things should be clearly important to you besides making money. Think about what motivates you. What do you want to achieve for yourself and your family? What do you value most, spiritually, emotionally, and materially? These are the things that will make you happy; if you’re not doing them, you won’t be happy.

Jim Baker

www.mytools4business.com

2018 March Issue | 7

䤀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 昀漀爀

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To Find Your Deeper Purpose,

LISTEN I’ve found that if we can create a connection between our daily actions and our deeper purpose in life, then each day will be incredibly fulfilling.

Unfortunately most people haven’t found their “deeper purpose” in life, and many don’t even believe they have one. That’s OK, but if you’re one of those who would like to create a more fulfilling life, I have one word of advice for you.

LISTEN OK, I’ll have a few more words to add to that!

The way that I found my deeper purpose (and I’m still refining it every day) is by listening to what’s in my heart, as corny as that might sound. I listened to what I felt most deeply, what moved me, what made me feel shaky but in awe of life.

To listen, I had to stop letting myself be distracted. I had to create space to listen: shut off the Internet and all devices, not watch TV, get away from everything else, even for a little bit. I had to create silence and stillness, so that listening was even possible.

If you create this space, this silence … notice what you feel. It won’t be obvious what it means at first, but after listening for awhile, you’ll notice what you yearn for. What

gives you joy, a sense of adventure, a sense of play. What creates pain and the wish to salve that pain.

What you are afraid of, what fills you with doubt, what makes you want to run.

Eventually you’ll get an inkling: “Oh, I really love working with kids!” You won’t know what that means, but you’ll have a direction, and you’ll start to explore it. You’ll find a way to work with kids, and after awhile, if you keep listening, you’ll discover the parts of working with kids that moves you the most. You’ll hone in on that.

You’ll refine, listen some more, and strip away the fat of that purpose, until it gets to its essence. You’ll find your gift to offer to the world.

And each step along the way, you’ll be walking the path of that purpose, exploring and discovering how to best offer your gift.

A Few Stories of Others Without a Purpose Many people either know they haven’t found their purpose but don’t even start looking … or they have it in front of them but don’t recognize it, and don’t connect to it.

I’ve been working with people on this and here are few examples … maybe you’ll connect with one of them.

1. One woman is a family lawyer and she says she doesn’t have a “deeper purpose” in life, she just stays really busy doing her work, helping her clients, which she does enjoy. As I worked with her, it became clear that she was serving these clients in a powerful way. When they were facing the hardest times in their lives, she was there for them, guiding them when they felt lost.

2018 March Issue | 9

She stood for them when they were on their knees and had no hope. She made them feel safe when the world around them was collapsing. She had a powerful purpose, but she didn’t know how to see it. What she needed to do was ask herself what gift she was giving in the world (or ask friends who might see it better). Then feel deeply connected to that gift.

2. I worked with a man who was a manager at a very busy service operation — he managed a large team and stayed busy from start to finish each day, putting out fires and keeping the team on track. He didn’t feel that there was a deeper purpose there. As we talked, it became clear that he was an incredibly competent leader, keeping his team motivated, staying fully focused in the middle of chaos, keeping a huge machine running so that others might relax, and doing it all with energy and a smile. This was a huge gift he was giving to each team member, to the people they served. Again, he needed to see this gift, and let himself connect to it and be moved by it.

3. Another man felt he was a cog in a machine, on a team that didn’t do anything very worthwhile in the world. But this man showed up every day with a huge smile on his face, bringing energy and love and joy in every room he entered. He was very competent, constantly serving those around him. I told him to start looking for another job, but he should also recognize that no matter where he is, he bring his gift of energy, service, happiness and a brilliant smile to everyone he meets and works with. He still had some searching to do, but he should recognize and appreciate his gift.

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4. Another woman worked in finance, and honestly didn’t enjoy the work. She wanted to start her own company, create something beautiful in the world. She was excited to start out on this new adventure, but also filled with doubt and uncertainty about how to do it. I urged her to do it, as soon as she was able, because I was confident that she’d bring her energy and sense of adventurousness to the new venture.

And she had a gift just waiting to be offered to the world.

Those are just a handful of examples, but the common threads are that 1) most people don’t recognize their own gift, and might need help from friends to see it, and 2) once you recognize that gift, you need to either find a way to offer it to the world, or if you’re already giving that gift, connect deeply with it on a daily basis so that you can be fulfilled by offering it.

My Purpose-Filled Journey I started my current journey about a dozen years ago, in a dark place in my life, not feeling fulfilled, not happy with who I was, not knowing how to get out of my rut.

I started by just creating one change in my life (quitting smoking), which finally stuck after failing seven times, after I decided to pour my whole being into that one change. Then one change at a time, I started changing my whole life, pouring myself into each habit change.

Eventually, I was in a very different place in my life, and I started Zen Habits. I found that my gift was to share how I changed my life, and help others change theirs. Offer the inspiration of my story, the usefulness of the details of my change,

and my compassion to others who were struggling in the same way.

Discovering this purpose was powerfully moving for me. I was energized, and poured myself into it.

A few years later, I discovered that I needed to help people find compassion for themselves. They were struggling with harshness and selfcriticism. So I shifted, exploring selfcompassion for myself and a way to share that with others. I went deeper into mindfulness and love. This was incredibly fulfilling.

Recently I’ve discovered the joy of working with people in person, and I’ve been discovering a new layer of my purpose, refining it even further. Now I’ve learned, by continually listening to my heart, that I want to: • Lead people on a life-changing journey of greater simplicity and focus, purpose-filled work, mindfulness and whole-hearted connection.

• Help people dive into uncertainty and discomfort with joy, instead of running from it, letting themselves be moved by their purpose.

• Help people reconnect to a sense of wholeness, and let go of what causes them pain and struggle.

This is my deeper purpose at the moment, according to what resonates inside of me. This is what I’m moved to do, my gift as I understand it.

Leo Babauta

a successful ‘simplicity’ blogger and author from California, the creator of top 25 Blog,

ZEN HABITS

2018 March Issue | 11

COMPLETION & RETENTIONS

Without doubt the messiest part of projects we see is the end. Rarely is the completion processes of a project followed as per the contract.

If there is no contract then no one brings any formality to the end of works. Very often the work ends because the parties fall into dispute and one party walks away, or is terminated. When the dust settles, there are disputes over payment, work incomplete, retentions, liquidated damages, and delays.

I thought it would be useful to look at the many factors around the completion of a project for you to consider, with view to tightening up your processes and getting paid for the work done. The most relevant way to do this is to look at the most common reasons for non-payment at completion, and how you can avoid them. This breaks down further into three reasons:

Not to ‘pay for work done’ Not to pay for retentions’ Reasons to ‘back charge’.

Not Paying for Work Done Work is incorrectly valued: The client will argue at the end that some part of the works was over charged and so will seek to deduct the alleged overcharge from the final payment. You must provide at the end of the works a reconciliation

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of the whole project, no matter how small. Include a copy of the contract or agreement along with any agreed rates.

If you have done work adopting reasonable or market rates you should have had those approved prior, but in any case if your client has accepted and paid on those rates in previous claims it makes their reasoning much weaker.

Work is Defective: The client will often say that works are defective when no issue with defects was raised during the works. When you reach completion you should invite you client to inspect the works and create a defect list and rectify quickly and get a sign off. Doing this forces your client to commit to defects if any, upfront; rather than leave the issue to fester for your final claim. If you tackle it head on it will be to your advantage. Once committed to a list of defects it is very hard for your client to later argue for a while lot more defects.

Another way to deal with it is to invite a court accredited expert to prepare a report on the works. This may cost $1500 but is worth it in many situations. That way your client can’t invent new defects. The expert’s view will prevail.

Work was Done by Others: The client will argue that some of the work was not done by you, but by another contractor engaged by the

client. This is either true or not. If it is true then you need to value and quantify what work was done by the other contractor as your client will often overstate this amount. Send your valuation to the client and incorporate it into your final claim as a deduction. If it not true then it must be rejected in writing immediately.

These kinds of issues may need to be adjudicated to get resolved.

Not Paying Retentions Work is not Complete: The client will argue that the work is not complete and this will arise from how ‘Complete’ or ‘Completion’ is defined in the contract. Often contracts will say work is only complete when it is defect-free. You must reject these definitions as a $2 defect can prevent $100 000 retention payment.

Further the client can always say there is a defect for the hell of it.

It is far better to carefully consider a realistic definition of ‘Completion’ when you contract. One definition based around ‘complete such that the works can be used for their intended purpose barring minor defects’ and similar, are the more sensible definitions.

If there is work that is not done then the client is right and you have not completed the work. So it is always worth going through your scope again to ensure all the work is done and all variations completed.

No Formal Notice: Whether the contract requires it or not, it is always good practice to formally send your client written notice that you consider the work complete, and the date that you think completion was reached. Too often no one has any idea what date completion occurred and yet it is central to retention claims and liquidated damages claims. If your client is not giving you a date then you provide notice of what date you think completion was achieved.

Reasons to Back Charge Defects: see the notes on Defects above. The two key issues to be settled are 1) Are there in fact defects? and 2) What is the realistic rectification cost? You will be best placed if you are controlling these issues. Otherwise your client will argue that there are defects when there are not, or value them at 10 times their true value. If you cannot get agreement here then engage an expert to report on the works. It will be well worth it.

Liquidated Damages: By far the most abused provision of most contracts. The key to avoiding this issue is to claim Extensions of Time

[EOT’s] when they occur in the correct documented manner. At time of contract look at what it says about claiming EOT’s, and have the fight early if they are too limiting.

Your client will try to avoid issuing any EOT’s. You need to be on top of that by claiming them when it is fair to do so.

Also be aware that unless it can be shown that you alone prevented the works from completing on time then your client will find it hard to make liquidated damages stick. But to avoid the issue you need to be satisfies that the contract allows you enough time to complete and that you get the EOT’s you need during the work.

Arbitrary Costs: The client will argue that because you didn’t do your work correctly or completely it incurred an array of costs, that you must cover. The key here is

substantiation. This is either true or it isn’t, and if it is, your client had better be able to show how those costs relate to your work. Often these will be raised without any notice during the work. Unfortunately these disputes end up in adjudication most of the time. All you can do is reject them in writing and ask for proof.

The above is but a brief summary of issues to manage when you complete work. Most contractors have slacked off by this time and there is almost no documentation about what happened at the end of work; yet it is the most important time, as now you are claiming that final amount which holds your profit.

So get focussed, and improve your processes around project completion.

----------------------------------------------

Anthony Igra

For more great articles and video information about dealing with payment problems go to

www.contractorsdebtrecovery.com.au

or call us on 1300 669 075

2018 March Issue | 13

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Starting a Trades Business For a lot of tradies, once they finish their apprenticeship one of the first things they think about is going out on their own.

This may be as a subcontractor, possibly still working with the same company, or out there on your own as a small business owner.

No matter which way you go, there are a few decisions to make when making the switch from wages to self-employed.

In this guide we’ll look at the initial steps involved, some of the options to consider and what happens next.

First Steps Licensing Business Structure Insurance Marketing Accounting Growing

How to start a trades business Before anything else you need to think about whether or not life as a self-employed tradie is right for you.

This is mainly from a financial perspective. Are you confident you’ll be able to keep the money coming in? Do you have enough of a buffer in case it takes time to build up?

We won’t dwell on this subject too much, and will assume if you’ve made it as far as reading this guide, you’ve already decided that it’s what you want.

We’ll go into a great level of detail within this guide, but it’s worth first outlining the absolute basics if you want to start trading on your own: • Register an ABN as a sole trader • Apply for a licence if your trade r equires it • Take out a public liability policy • Get working!

That’s a super-simplified version, but they really are the basics if you just want to start taking on some jobs of your own.

Read on as we go into far more detail on starting your own tradie business…

Do I need a licence?

Not all trades in Australia require a licence, and frustratingly the requirements often differ from state to state.

So one of your first jobs should be to find out what licences (if any) you require, and to ensure you are eligible for that licence.

This may seem obvious, but we have seen a few cases where people have setup a company and taken out insurance, only to find that they didn’t actually qualify for an electrical contractor licence in Queensland.

2018 March Issue | 15

you do want a business name, it’s only around $30 per year.

You’ll also need to register for GST (Goods and Services Taxation) if you expect your annual revenue to exceed $75,000.

Business Activity Statement There is no cost involved in registering, but it does mean you’ll have to start submitting BAS (Business Activity Statement) reports to the ATO every quarter.

This is quite specific to Qld electricians given the special licence requirements, but whatever your trade and your state, best to check the licence requirements first.

The government runs a website called the Australian Business Licence and Information Service, which allows you to search for any trade or business type and see if a licence is required.

The site is pretty clunky, but it’s a great place to start. The building authority for your state is also a great plate to get information.

We’ve listed the links below: Queensland Building and Construction Commission NSW – Fair Trading Victorian Building Authority Tasmanian Government – Consumer, Building & Occupational Services SA Government WA Building Commission ACT Government NT – Building Practitioners Board Another great idea is to simply ask other self-employed people in your trade what licenses they have.

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It’s not wise to rely 100% on what they say, but it’s another good option in the overall information gathering process.

Business Structure Getting your business structure right from day one is desirable, but many tradies choose the cheapest and easiest option to get going, which is as a sole trader.

There’s nothing wrong with this option, and you can always change to a partnership, company or trust depending on how your business evolves.

Getting started as a sole trader is incredibly quick and cheap.

Step 1 – Apply for an ABN (which is free!)

Step 2 – Apply for a business name if you’re not operating under your own name.

Step 3 – Done!

If you don’t need a registered business name it’s possible to setup a sole trader structure for free, and if

The next step up from here is to operate as a company. That means having the ‘Pty Ltd’ on the end of your business name.

We’ve already written an extensive guide on the sole trader or company question, so we recommend checking that out.

On that basis we won’t say too much more about company structures.

If you are considering operating as anything other than a sole trader, it is recommended that you speak with an accountant about what’s best for you.

Insurance One of the main reasons that tradies, or anyone else, switches to self-employment is to attempt to improve their financial situation.

It’s certainly not the only reason, but it’s right up there.

So what’s the point of putting in all this effort, only to risk losing everything? And by everything, we mean everything!

As a self-employed tradesman you’ll now be responsible for all of your actions, as well as those of anyone you employ.

If your work results in serious injury or death of another person, you could be up for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars in damages.

Marketing & Branding At this point you should be across all the major issues, such as licensing, business structures and insurance.

Another fantastic way to promote your trade business in your local area is with vehicle signage.

At Trade Risk we have a wrapped ute we use for branding. It’s not cheap to get a vehicle fully wrapped, but it definitely has huge impact.

Now we get into the more interesting parts of running your own business, which is branding and marketing.

Tradies Ute

This would send many a tradie bankrupt, but it can all be avoided with public liability insurance.

How you go about this will depend on how you’re going to run the business.

As a tradie you’re out on the road a lot, so why not have a big billboard rolling around all day?

Public liability is the first type of insurance you need to consider when switching to self-employment, and it’s the one that will save the family home if things go wrong.

If you’re a carpenter for example, and all you plan on doing is subcontracting to builders you already know, there’s really not much to do.

Local tradie directories and job sites are quite an obvious place to start advertising your trade business, but do they work?

Potentially you could do absolutely nothing in terms of branding and marketing. No logo, no stationery; just an ABN and an invoice book!

Lurk around tradie Facebook groups and you’ll get a lot of different options!

We’ve put together a comprehensive guide on public liability insurance which you can find by following the link.

You’ll also need to consider insurance for your tools, your vehicle and whatever else you have for your business.

Insurance Claim One of the things you’ll be saying goodbye to when switching from paid employment is sick leave, and in most cases workers compensation.

So if you can’t work due to sickness and injury, you’ll be on your own.

Income protection insurance will help you in this situation, and really is a must for self-employed tradies.

Trade Risk does not deal with income protection, but we can refer you to our referral partner who specialises in income protection for tradies.

If on the other hand you’re an electrician and you’re chasing direct business from residential and business clients, then you definitely need to put some effort into marketing.

This could be a whole article on its own (and eventually will be), but here are the basics: • Come up with a unique business name that is available to register Register a domain name to match your business • Get a logo designed • Have business cards and letterhead designed and printed • Get a website, even if it’s very basic to start with • Start a Facebook business page We have a guide on online marketing for tradies which would be worth checking out at this point.

Some of the websites seems cheap, but if they deliver no work, it’s wasted money regardless of the cost.

Many tradies also complain that some of the sites are full of cowboys quoting prices that no qualified tradesman could compete with.

We can’t comment on that, and all you can really do is ask around and experiment for yourself.

We do have a guide however, titled ‘Are trade directories worthwhile?’. It’s a few years old now, but still worth a read.

Accounting You might not be thinking a lot about accounting at this stage. After all, you need to make a few dollars before you can account for it!

2018 March Issue | 17

It is something to think about early though, and can make life a lot easier down the track.

A lot of tradies and other microbusiness owners will start off by using Excel to track their payments.

That’s if they use anything at all!

Saving Money Excel is a good start, but if you want to be serious about your business you should consider using a cloudbased accounting system.

At Trade Risk we’ve used Xero from day one. It costs very little per month, but saves us hours of work every week.

With over 3,000 clients we’re not that small now, but once upon a time we were a tiny one-man business too!

Around this time it’s worth finding an accountant if you don’t already have one. They can advise you on business structures and accounting systems.

18 | Aussie Painters Network

Growing By the time you get to this stage you should have your licensing sorted, your business structure decided upon and setup, and your accounting under control.

There’s a lot to think about when it comes to growing a trade business.

Are you happy carrying on as a single-person subcontractor, or do you want to grow into a genuine business with a team of tradies working for you?

There’s a real push out there for “getting off the tools”. Essentially, this means employing tradesmen to work for you, whilst you concentrate on growing the business.

It’s the old “work on the business, not in the business” line.

Plenty of tradies are happy to work on their own as a subbie, or run their own maintenance business with just themselves and a single ute or van.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this, and it certainly avoids a lot of financial stress when you don’t have to worry about paying other peoples’ wages.

How you want to grow your business really depends on what you want from it, but ultimately, as with most things, if you want the greater rewards you need to take the greater risks…

Disclaimer We hope you’ve enjoyed this guide and get some benefit from it.

Remember though, at Trade Risk our only specialty is insurance. We’re licensed to provide advice on insurance and nothing else.

Happy trading!

---------------------------------------

www.traderisk.com.au

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19

Banks and financial providers one step ahead of consumers who struggle with personal bias There’s more than 30 years of research showing financial consumers have behavioural biases that can lead to poor decisions. Financial providers and banks have known this too, and have designed some products to take advantage of consumer habits rather than benefit them.

Legislation soon to be introduced to parliament is intended to curb these practices, but credit products are being left out to consumer detriment.

Regulators have relied on two strategies to help consumers with this problem. Disclosure of the nature and prospects of the products

20 | Aussie Painters Network

providers offer. Also, encouraging consumers to seek financial advice.

Neither of these has worked well.

The Financial System Inquiry in 2014 recognised that disclosure hasn’t closed the gap in consumer capability. Worse, the providers of these products may have incentives through remuneration which may not serve the customer’s interest and only about 25% of financial consumers seek advice.

The Productivity Commission’s report on competition in financial services, illustrates many of these points in arguing for regulation of mortgage brokers. Brokers are supposed to be

the customer’s agent to scout for and advise on the best mortgage terms and cost. Instead they are remunerated by mortgage providers (like the banks), take commissions and, according to the Productivity Commission, generally cost more than loans directly from a bank.

Bias in financial decision-making Consumers are prone to a range of biases which may also impair their financial decisions. For example overconfidence may cause them to ignore new information or hold unrealistic views about how high returns will be.

As we age or as our circumstances change, our tolerance for risk also changes. As we get older our tolerance for risk decreases, while having a higher income increases it. Men are also more risk tolerant than women.

Consumers may also give too much weight to recent events and things they know already and can be unduly influenced by the opinions of friends and family.

This sort of consumer decision making is no match for providers’ knowledge of financial conditions and product features. Banks and other financial service providers have learned from experience, but most of all their own command of consumer behaviour research.

The latter leaves providers able to design and sell products that benefit from consumers not overcoming mistakes, or at times, exacerbating mistakes.

Helping customers make better choices In a bill soon to be before the Australian parliament, those selling financial products will have to make a “target market determination”. This records and describes the market for a product (those who would buy it). It must also set out any conditions under which the product must be distributed, for example that it can only be sold with advice.

It’s designed so that financial products meet the needs and financial situation of the people acquiring them.

There are criminal and civil penalty sanctions for failing to make and ensure products are sold in accordance with a determination. Also, for failure to revise and reissue it, if circumstances change.

Twinned with this requirement are new intervention powers for the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). ASIC will be able to make interim rules, effectively prohibiting sales or imposing conditions, if continued sale would result in “significant detriment” to financial consumers.

The purpose of product regulation is clearly to allow ASIC to be more active and reduce over-reliance on ineffective disclosure, conflicted advice and drawn out dispute resolution.

Product regulation is no panacea.

This version has a large gap, as credit products (for example credit cards or mortgages) do not require a target market determination. It’s not difficult to read the politics of regulation

will become pro-forma and add to compliance and not to consumer benefit. Although a description of in this omission. There is also a risk that target market determinations the target market must be in the advertising, it’s not clear it must be in formal disclosure, so consumers may never read it.

Product intervention powers apply across investment, insurance and credit products but it will never be easy for ASIC to prove the risk of “significant consumer detriment”. Intervention orders also expire in 18 months unless made permanent by parliament.

The regulation of product design and distribution in the spirit of consumer safety has been commonplace (if imperfectly realised) in car, pharmaceuticals and other consumer markets, for decades.

There are modest grounds for optimism that in Australia financial product safety might catch on too, but the government needs to include credit products as well.

Dimity Kingsford Smith Professor of Law, UNSW

https://theconversation.com/banks-and-financial-providers-one-step-ahead-of-consumerswho-struggle-with-personal-bias-91228

2018 February Issue | 21

Turning Down Jobs Can Be Profitable For Your Painting Business…

if you do one of 5 things right…

When you start your own painting business, you take every job that comes your way. And so you should. In those first few months or years, you can’t be too picky. But as time goes by, you’ve got a growing list of customers and a constant stream of work, and you’re not worried about your business failing anymore… it’s now okay to start knocking people back.

Yes, you did hear me right. Saying NO to work can actually be more profitable for your trade business.

In fact there are 6 reasons why you MUST say no: 1. When The Price Is Wrong Set your rates and stick to them.

No exceptions. When you take less

22 | Aussie Painters Network

money than you feel you deserve, you will end up resenting both the job and the customer.

Plus, you will probably find that customers who have haggled down a price are the ones that turn out to be a bit of a pain down the road. (I see you nodding… We’ve all had them).

On top of that, they’ll expect their next job with you for the same meager rate, and even worse, recommend you to their friends and tell them what you charged.

Do yourself a favour and work with customers who are willing to pay you what you’re worth from the start.

2. When It’s A Rush Job “We need our whole house painted and it needs to be completed in 3 days time!”

We’ve all had those inquiries.

Why should you bust your butt and work around the clock to finish a job based on your customers demands when the result is potentially additional stress on you, increased anxiety, lack of sleep and hence put you on the edge to fall sick that will require you to take time off in the long run. No, no, no, no…

It’s up to you to educate the customer on a reasonable time frame, and to turn the work down if they’re unwilling to budge.

3. When You’re Strapped For Time & The Profit Margin is Low You know this one… you’re already super busy, working long hours but yet another customer is asking you to do a job. ‘How am I going to fit this in?’ you say to yourself.

The first thing to ask yourself is ‘what profit margin does this service provide to my painting business?’. If the job falls in the ‘low margin’ category, and you are already pushed for time, then this is a great one to recommend to another painter. Be okay to let it go so you can focus on the higher margin jobs ONLY. 4. When It’s Just Not Interesting When you’re just getting your feet wet, you’re going to have to take

on some jobs that don’t make your eyes glisten. It’s part of the gig.

open the door (and your calendar) for your next perfect opportunity!

Once you’ve established yourself, there’s no reason to say ‘yes’ to a project that you simply find boring. It’s work you no doubt drag your feet to complete and that isn’t good for your bottom line.

Want to learn about how you can create opportunities and open new doors for your painting business?

Come join us at our NEW free event The Next Level Tradie, CLICK HERE for details…

5. When You Get That Icky Feeling Ever had that customer that sets off your ick-factor?

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You need to trust your gut on these ones!

Angela Smith

Co-founder – Lifestyle Tradie When you take the leap and start saying ‘no’ to work that’s not a good fit and that clearly will affect the result of your bottom line, you

“Helping Trade Business Owners Fast-Track Financial & Lifestyle Success”

2018 March Issue | 23

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How to Jumpstart Your Business Last month we’ve posed 21 questions to help you think about where you’re at in your business right now, and they were ‘hand-onyourheart’ questions, I admit that. You see, often you might have a sense that something is not quite right in your business world, but aren’t quite sure what it might be. As challenging as the questions were, I hope that thinking about the answers helped you identify the ‘sore points’ because unless you do, you can’t possibly address them and move forward.

Having said that, I hope that these questions didn’t upset you, as I know some of them went right to the heart of issues you could be immersed in at the present time.

The good thing is, no matter where you’re at right now, you can change things going into the future. With 2018 just beginning, it is the perfect time to set your sights on new business goals – and decide to do things differently! As a famous scientist once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.

You may remember the ‘ThreeLegged Stool’ analogy to how business works we’ve covered in previous articles. It’s really important to keep all three legs of your business balanced, ie your Sales & Marketing, Production and Finance areas.

The best way to know where your business is out of balance is to use a monitoring tool that allows you to compare your performance in the three areas of Sales & Marketing, Production and Finance. The simplest way to create a monitoring tool is by using a spreadsheet that you should update each week with the performance data from these three areas.

It needs to show: • How many orders in $ value you have placed, based on how many leads you’ve received (Sales & Marketing); • How many $ worth of product or services you have produced and delivered (Production); and • How much money you have collected for your orders – Cash In (Finance).

Sales & Marketing

If you’ve had trouble getting new customers or sales through the

door, then the obvious thing to do is to review your marketing strategy. Are you taking advantage of all the marketing and low-cost possibilities available to small business these days? For example, using online marketing strategies for your services or products you can reach your target market directly at very little expense. And never discount one of the most effective marketing strategies of all: word-of-mouth.

Most importantly though you need to create AND fund a marketing plan. When you have identified the slower moving products or where you’re losing out to your competitors on your service quotes, you can create a marketing plan that focuses on increasing your turnover in these areas. Or if you have a new product that you want to tell your market about, create a little product launch and make a splash.

2018 February Issue | 25

Finance

If you have been disappointed with your business profits last year you’ll need to find a way to increase your profit margins, and there are several approaches to this. As business profits are determined by more than one factor, you need to review your critical business numbers, like your Gross Profit in $ / Gross Margin %, Markup, Net Profit $ / Net Margin %, Budget and Breakeven.

Further, you want to review your financial administration processes to see, if you can improve cash flow through more efficient documentation and debtor and creditor management. For more ideas on how to improve your cash flow please visit the Resources page at www.straighttalkat.com.au and download our eBook 21 Cash Flow Strategies to Boost Your Business.

Production Production issues could have a variety of reasons that could be due to supply or demand issues, and they need to be addressed. If you can’t meet the current demand, this will reflect eventually in customer behaviour. You’ll also want to be able to meet your production targets if you’re generating extra business with a great marketing strategy.

You’ll need to be able mobilise enough resources, and possibly at short notice. So it’s best to gear your production capacity in concert with your marketing strategy.

Other reasons your production could be out of balance in your business are supplier issues, or the cost of production. With the high cost of electricity lately, your suppliers may also experience issues to either deliver on time,

26 | Aussie Painters Network

or deliver goods at a higher price, because they can no longer absorb the additional production costs.

That means, you have to review your production area and identify where you could find efficiencies or reduce your production costs without compromising quality.

Are you thinking of selling your business?

For those of you who are thinking of selling your business I have some stark news: Only 21% of business owners successfully sell their business. The reasons are manyfold, but mostly rooted in the way that a business broker or interested party would look at a business that’s for sale. They consider things like your business numbers, operational plan, staffing, administration and communication systems, etc. If your business is not up to scratch in these areas they won’t even make you an offer.

When you have a firm grip on all three business areas of the ‘ThreeLegged Stool’ analogy, it will increase your chances to sell your business for a higher price immensely. This is hugely important in the event that you are relying on capitalising on the sale of your business when you want to retire.

If you have any questions on giving your business a jumpstart in 2018, or are just looking for business advice that works, feel free to arrange a FREE No-Obligation Meeting with me. Call my office on 07 3399 8844, or just visit our website at www.straighttalkat. com.au and complete your details on our Home page to request an appointment.

Copyright © 2017 Robert Bauman.

Call Us: (07) 3399 8844

www.straighttalkat.com.au

2018 February Issue | 27

Common products, like perfume, paint and printer ink, are polluting the atmosphere Picture the causes of air pollution in a major city and you are likely to visualise pollutants spewing out of cars, trucks and buses.

For some types of air pollutants, however, transportation is only half as important as the chemicals in everyday consumer products like cleaning agents, printer ink, and fragrances, according to a study published today in Science.

Air pollution: a chemical soup Air pollution is a serious health concern, responsible for millions of premature deaths each year, with even more anticipated due to climate change.

Although we typically picture pollution as coming directly from cars

28 | Aussie Painters Network

or power plants, a large fraction of air pollution actually comes from chemical reactions that happen in the atmosphere. One necessary starting point for that chemistry is a group of hundreds of molecules collectively known as “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs).

VOCs in the atmosphere can come from many different sources, both man-made and natural. In urban areas, VOCs have historically been blamed largely on vehicle fuels (both gasoline and diesel) and natural gas.

Fuel emissions are dropping Thanks in part to more stringent environmental regulations and in part to technological advances, VOCs released into the air by vehicles have dropped dramatically.

In this new study, the researchers used detailed energy and chemical production records to figure out what fraction of the VOCs from oil and natural gas are released by vehicle fuels versus other sources. They found that the decline in vehicle emissions means that – in a relative sense – nearly twice as much comes from chemical products as comes from vehicle fuel, at least in the US. Those chemicals include cleaning products, paints, fragrances and printer ink – all things found in modern homes.

The VOCs from these products get into the air because they evaporate easily. In fact, in many cases, this is exactly what they are designed to do. Without evaporating VOCs, we wouldn’t be able to smell the scents wafting by from perfumes, scented candles, or air fresheners.

Overall, this is a good news story: VOCs from fuel use have decreased, so the air is cleaner. Since the contribution from fuels has dropped, it is not surprising that chemical products, which have not been as tightly regulated, are now responsible for a larger share of the VOCs.

Predicting air quality An important finding from this work is that these chemical products have largely been ignored when constructing the models that we use to predict air pollution – which impacts how we respond to and regulate pollutants.

The researchers found that ignoring the VOCs from chemical products had significant impacts on predictions of air quality. In outdoor environments, they found that these products could be responsible for as much as 60% of the particles that formed chemically in the air above Los Angeles.

The effects were even larger indoors – a major concern as we spend most of our time indoors.

Without accounting for chemical products, a model of indoor air pollutants under-predicted measurements by a whopping 87%. Including the consumer products really helped to fix this problem.

Read more: We can’t afford to ignore indoor air quality – our lives depend on it

What does this mean for Australia?

In Australia we do a stocktake of our VOC emissions to the air every few years. Our vehicle-related VOC emissions have also been dropping and are now only about a quarter as large as they were in 1990.

Historical and projected trends in Australia’s road transport emissions of VOCs. Author provided, adapted from Australia State of the Environment 2016: atmosphere.

Nonetheless, the most recent check suggests most of our VOCs still come from cars and trucks, factories and fires. Still, consumer products can’t be ignored – especially as our urban population continues to grow.

Because these sources are spread out across the city, their contributions can be difficult to estimate accurately.

We need to make sure our future VOC stocktakes include sources from consumer products such as cleaning fluids, indoor fragrances and home office items like printing ink. The stocktakes are used as the basis for our models, and comparing models to measurements helps us understand what affects our air quality and how best to improve it. It was a lack of model-to-measurement agreement that helped to uncover the VW vehicle emissions scandal, where the manufacturer was deliberately under-estimating how much nitrogen gas was being released through the exhaust.

If we can’t get our predictions to agree with the indoor measurements, we’ll need to work harder to identify all the emission sources correctly.

This means going into typical Australian homes, making air quality measurements, and noting what activities are happening at the same time (like cooking, cleaning or decorating).

What should we do now?

If we want to keep air pollution to a minimum, it will become increasingly important to take into account the VOCs from chemical products, both in our models of air pollution and in our regulatory actions.

In the meantime, as we spend so much of our time indoors, it makes sense to try to limit our personal exposure to these VOCs. There are several things we can do, such as choosing fragrance-free cleaning products and keeping our use of scented candles and air fresheners to a minimum. Research from NASA has also shown that growing house plants like weeping figs and spider plants can help to remove some of the VOCs from indoor air.

And of course, we can always open a window (as long as we keep the outdoor air clean, too).

---------------------------------------------Jenny Fisher

Senior Lecturer in Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Wollongong

Kathryn Emmerson CSIRO

https://theconversation.com/common-products-like-perfume-paint-and-printerink-are-polluting-the-atmosphere-91914

2018 February Issue | 29

So What Are You Really Selling & Negotiating?

Selling means different things to different people.Some folks think of the tin man, aluminum siding kind of salesperson. Others think of pushy fast talkers who talk potential customers into something they do not want or may not need. Many people are prejudiced against selling because they do not fully understand what selling really involves.

Good sales and negotiation practices focus on sound communication skills. A sales definition I communicate with contractors goes something like this:Selling is your ability to communicate your craft or trade to solve customer problems and fulfill customer_ needs.Nowhere in this definition do you see the words coerce, pressure or push.

Good selling is nothing more than good communication. But what are you really communicating?

Business sales, unlike consumer sales focuses more on the buying process and less on the actual product being sold. For many subcontractors, this is a difficult concept to fully grasp and practice.

Many confuse technical expertise and socializing with their ability to fit within the customers buying practices and close the deal.

Ask most people what makes a good salesperson, and they describe a talker and social extrovert.

Their personality of choice tends to be a person who has the gift of gab who is a shoot-the-bull kind of guy.

Unfortunately, this type of person can fail miserably at all sales but results can be particularly bad with business to business sales.While business sales are built on relationships and communication, success involves detective work and an ability to fit within the customer’s buying process. Business to business sales are built on three specific types of relationships. Unfortunately, business/career relationships do not naturally develop and are frequently build on the wrong foundation.

Social: Social interaction revolves around likability, common personal interests, perceived friendship, social outings, etc. It is important for people to like you but few people are willing to risk their job in order to maintain a social relationship. Social relationships also tend to naturally happen as people are chit chatting and being nice to one another. At times, social relationships may actually hurt salespeople when negotiating work because they can lose objectivity.Some large companies even prohibit socializing with vendors.

Operational/Service: Operational relationships are built around job and product activities such as schedule, craft quality, specifications, etc.

Such conversations naturally happen and are needed to calculate an estimate and project manage a job.

Frequently, subcontractors fall into the trap of believing that just because they are better at a technical

process, they will win the job.Rarely is this the case. In fact, when dealing with today’s construction managers, many have a college degree in construction management but little or no actual craft experience.

Another complexity is that in many cases, the person who is “buying” the job may have little to do with actually constructing the job.

Business/Career: Business relationships are built on your ability to help customers with long term career and business issues. These relationships are built on your ability to understand the customer’s buying methods and forging a strategy to fit within those process. Therelationship goes beyond one job or order and is more in tune to what is trending within the customer’s business.

Are they outsourcing more? Are they in a growth cycle? What are the internal politics within the organization? What are your contact’s career goals and how can you help that person achieve success? Few subcontractors ask the right questions or appreciate the value of understanding this information. Such conversations also do not naturally happen. You have to ask the appropriate questions and make the conversation happen. Having your contact complain about how his or her job has changed and then asking how you can help them with that issue can build a much stronger relationship then merely sharing a beer together.

2018 February Issue | 31

Negotiations also is much easier when you have gathered information upfront and tried to fit within the customer’s buying process.

Simply asking for the price and asking for the order makes negotiations much harder as you have no information to counter with and no way of knowing real value is to the customer.

Take a moment and reflect on the following statement. Is it true or false? “When negotiating it is better to concede a little and give some small points in order to win in larger areas down the road.”

The larger the company, the more complicated the buying practices.

Two kinds of people dance with elephants, quick and dead. It is all a matter of trying to figure out where the elephant is headed and tag along rather than conflict with procedures and get squished.

It is also very important to leverage the estimating process. Customers need your number. Evaluate your bid process and also track the winning and losing bids by type of work, customers, estimator and other pertinent facts. Estimates are free to the customer but they are not free to subcontractor. Use your customer list to separate the prospects from the suspects. If people keep using your numbers and you never get a job, you must be willing to have a tough conversation about the reality of the situation. If they are unwilling to throw you a bone or figure out a way to get the job, it is a waste of time to keep bidding them. Treat each estimator and customer as a profit center.

Much is said about closing a sale and what to say and do. In order to

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close the sales process, you have to talk about commitment. Too many sales people are reluctant to do this. Some are afraid of the rejection. Others want to hold on to that faint hope that they still might get the job. Some don’t want to appear pushy. Others are afraid their price will be questioned. The best close is to simply say, “Would you like for me to pencil you into our schedule?”Such a question should never seem pushy and if you feel that way, the problem is in your head as the seller. When you go into a restaurant and the server asks would like to order food, you don’t see that as pushy. When the hotel desk clerk asks if you want a room it is a natural and expected question. Asking can you do the job is just a logical progression of the estimating process and frankly, is expected.

Let’s move forward to negotiations. Negotiations is part of the buying process. Even if you are not good at negotiations or don’t enjoy it, you must be able to recognize the process and know when tactics are being used against you.

False. Concede denotes giving in.

What if you are dealing with a ruthless negotiator or nibbler? They will just take your money and run.

Negotiations is about trading, not giving in. It should not be a win lose situation.

Negotiations is a skills based discussion and decision making process where two or more parties complete a transaction or agreement. There are standard ploys that many negotiating parties use as part of the process. These processes have been around for years and I am going to cover a few. You may or may not use them but at least understand when they are being used against you.

First, don’t get hung up with the price flinch or initial price rejection. It is the customer’s job to flinch and say your price is too high. If you bid a job and the customer replied that your price was perfect, it would worry you to death. You would be lying in bed tonight wondering what you left out of your quote.

Good guy/bad guy is a common negotiation ploy. This is where one person appears to be on your side and the other is the bad guy.

Car salespeople practice this ploy when they say they are trying to get you the best price on your trade in but the used car manager will only do so much. You’d love to trade your car at a lower price but your wife won’t let you. How do you deal with this? Play good guy/bad guy back. For business, use things like you’d love to do it but the owner won’t let you, the bank says you must retain this amount of margin, etc. Play the game until a situation develops where both of you can win.

Use Mother Hubbard, there is nothing in the cupboard. Simply insist there is no more money to give. It is just not there and you would love to do better but can’t.

What would you do if you were me? Insist that you would rather be upfront and be straight with them. “What would you do if you were me, agree to that price and then nail you on change orders later? We don’t do business that way and I would rather be upfront with you now.”

Agree and offer an alternative. If you walk into a Chevrolet dealership to buy a Corvette and tell them the price is too high, they’ll simply show you a Camaro. Don’t make it your problem that the customer is cheap or does not have enough money. Start by saying, “I can understand why you might think this is a lot” and then offer an alternative. “I can understand why you might think this is a lot, we could use a sub crew or cut back on the materials but would you be happy with that?

”Yes, I know this all is easier to say and many construction projects are price driven. Ok but what do construction managers really build.

Most do not employ craftspeople but rather they make a living negotiating on the owner’s behalf, buying out the job and coordinating the job. They are professional negotiators. Understand this and play the game.Don’t take a knife to a gun fight and wonder why you lost.

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Monroe Porter

is president of PROOF Management a firm that teaches seminars and runs networking groups for painting contractors.

www.proofman.com

2018 February Issue | 33

34 | Aussie Painters Network

眀眀眀⸀氀攀愀搀⸀漀爀最⸀愀甀

4 ways to make your business

EASIER TO SELL

Perhaps you’d always planned to build a thriving business to eventually sell for a tidy sum – or maybe for unexpected personal reasons it’s best to let your company go sooner rather than later.

No matter what the reason for selling your business, experts agree: it’s best to be prepared well in advance as it can take years to complete a successful sale.

These four tips will help you get a head start on making your business attractive to buyers for the day you’re ready to sell.

1. Get a business valuation Even if a business sale isn’t imminent for the next five years, it isn’t too early to meet with an appraiser. A valuation will give you a realistic picture of what your business is worth right now, and invaluable information on what you can do to improve its value.

worth, you can decide whether it’s best to move forward—or wait for a growth phase or improved economic conditions.

owner and any employees that stay on when ownership is transferred), as well as the management of any financial, legal, or tax issues.

When you’re ready to sell, having already had an appraisal can be a real plus for potential buyers. Sharing the details of your valuation shows transparency, creating trust and building credibility—while saving a buyer the expense of getting one done themselves.

2. Make a succession plan Every business, large or small, needs a succession plan. And when you’re ready to sell, having an exit strategy in place will put a buyer’s mind at ease because you’ll have already ironed out a smooth transition for you and the new owner.

Once you’ve made all the hard decisions about how the business will run without you, be sure to review it once a year to make sure it’s always up to date.

Remember that timing is often everything with a business sale. Once you know what your business is

A succession plan should include both the human resources aspect (e.g. a training plan for the new

3. Tidy up your financials The biggest red flag for anyone considering a business deal has to be disorganized or incomplete financial records.

2018 February Issue | 35

the sales process—especially if you’re too busy to look for an interested buyer or need professional expertise to get your business in order to sell on your preferred timeline.

A potential buyer will want to see your yearly tax returns for the last three to five years, as well as balance sheets and your profit and loss statements. You may also be asked to share accurate sales and marketing data, the value of your assets and any outstanding liabilities – as well as your plans to resolve them.

4. Hire a business broker Hiring a business broker with a proven track record can really simplify

You’ll want to meet with a few brokers to make sure you find the right fit. Look for someone with experience selling businesses in your industry, a large database of interested buyers, and an impressive closing ratio.

When you interview a broker ask for testimonials and info on the strategies they’ll use to market and sell your business. Reach out to your network for referrals— as with any professional service, when it comes to business brokers an honest recommendation can help you find a winner.

吀栀攀 瀀漀爀琀愀戀氀攀Ⰰ 椀渀攀砀瀀攀渀猀椀瘀攀 洀攀琀栀漀搀 琀漀 瀀爀攀瘀攀渀琀 瀀愀椀渀琀 眀愀猀琀攀ⴀ眀愀琀攀爀 瀀漀氀氀甀琀椀渀最 琀栀攀 攀渀瘀椀爀漀渀洀攀渀琀⸀

36 | Aussie Painters Network

Final tips Ask your broker about the best way to structure your business sale for the best return. If you’ve built up some solid equity it may be wise to offer a buyer a gradual sale or lease. In addition to a continued income stream for you, this type of arrangement can help make the deal attractive by reducing the new owner’s financial burden.

Sandra Price

Phone: 07 33724554

www.facebook.com/ tradiebookkeepingsolutions/

䴀礀 倀愀椀渀琀

䌀漀猀琀椀渀最 䴀礀 䠀漀甀爀氀礀 刀愀琀攀 䜀甀椀搀攀 䌀愀氀挀甀氀愀琀漀爀

眀眀眀⸀洀礀琀漀漀氀猀㐀戀甀猀椀渀攀猀猀⸀挀漀洀 2018 February Issue | 37

38 | Aussie Painters Network

Glossary of Paint & Painting Terms

Xx

XYLOL A clear water-white liquid, similar to toluol, but with a higher boiling point. Used as a solvent for lacquers and enamels.

Yy

YELLOWING Development of a yellow color or cast in white, pastel, colored or clear finishes.

Zz

ZINC DUST Finely divided zinc metal used as a pigment in protective coating materials for iron and steel.

ZINC PHOSPHATE PRIMER A coating material containing zinc phosphate pigment for application to steel to inhibit corrosion.

ZINC RICH PRIMER An anti-corrosive coating material for iron and steel incorporating zinc dust in a concentration sufficient to give cathodic protection whereby the dry film is electrically conductive, enabling the zinc metal to corrode preferentially to the substrate.

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Any Terms that are identified within the painting & decorating industry as “defects� images; possible cause; solution and prevention methods are provided.

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2018 February Issue | 39

The Industry

Idiots

40 | Aussie Painters Network

Important Contacts Aussie Painters Network www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

Ph. 0430 399 800

National Institute for Painting and Decorating www.painters.edu.au

Ph. 1300 319 790

Australian Tax Office www.ato.gov.au

Ph. 13 72 26 / Ph. 13 28 65

Award Rates www.fairwork.gov.au

Ph. 13 13 94

Fair Work Building & Construction www.fwbc.gov.au

Ph. 1800 003 338

Mates In Construction www.matesinconstruction.com.au

Ph. 1300 642 111

Workplace Health and Safety Contacts Comcare WorkSafe ACT Workplace Health and Safety QLD Victorian WorkCover Authority WorkCover NSW SafeWork SA WorkSafe WA NT WorkSafe WorkSafe Tasmania

www.comcare.gov.au www.worksafe.act.gov.au www.worksafe.qld.gov.au www.vwa.vic.gov.au www.workcover.nsw.gov.au www.safework.sa.gov.au www.commerce.wa.gov.au/WorkSafe/ www.worksafe.nt.gov.au www.worksafe.tas.gov.au

1300 366 979 02 6207 3000 1300 362 128 1800 136 089 13 10 50 1300 365 255 1300 307 877 1800 019 115 1300 366 322

www.actcancer.org www.cancercouncil.com.au www.cancercouncilnt.com.au www.cancerqld.org.au www.cancersa.org.au www.cancervic.org.au www.cancerwa.asn.au

(02) 6257 9999 (02) 9334 1900 (08) 8927 4888 (07) 3634 5100 (08) 8291 4111 (03) 9635 5000 (08) 9212 4333

Cancer Council Australia ACT NSW NT QLD SA VIC WA

2018 February Issue | 41