Aussie Painting Contractor December 2022

Real Training

From the Editor

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to the 121st edition of the Aussie Painting Contractor Magazine.

Another month of madness, from Christmas parties, awards nights etc., it’s just a crazy time of year for all. Not to mention everyone’s workloads.

It only seems like yesterday I was writing out the final editor for last years 110th edition. Where did the year go??

What a year it has been, we have built our training facility and gave continued support those that have contacted us.

We have placed 48 people in apprenticeships. Fabulous work from Brina in getting that done. Just remember, if you are looking for an apprentice, contact us and Brina will do everything in her power to find you someone. We have run multiple “Try a Trade” days with great success, and I was involved with one in Toowoomba and another in Bundaberg.

Our “Apprentice Lady Tradie Days” went down a treat. I currently have a 25% participation rate of apprentices that I train. Employers seem to be happy with the quality that all the apprentices are producing.

A really big shout out to Rinny, the one that does everything needed and keeps the place running. Without both Rinny and Brina, it would be very difficult to keep the it going. Thanks also to Anne and Jireh behind the scenes keeping everything running smoothly that end.

• Anthony Igra • Jim Baker • Leo Babauta • Michael P. Cameron • Monroe Porter • Oliver Kay • Robert Bauman • Sandra Price • Stefan Volk

Nigel Gorman

everyone have a safe Christmas break and New Year and see you all in

THE COST OF AN EMPLOYEE

I receive a lot of questions and have read many posts regarding employee wages, entitlements and hourly rates etc, so I want to explain it to you as best as I can.

Let’s start with the ‘Basic Wage’ and entitle ments for a painter from the ‘Fair Work Wage Line’ website. (Please check your individual State for these Awards also).

The Cert 3 tradesman award Hourly Rate is $26.17, plus 17.5% Holiday Loading, 10.5% Superannuation and $20.32 Travelling money (per working day).

There are 260 Working Days in a year with 53 days consisting of Annual Leave, Public Holidays, Sick Days and Rostered Days Off. This equates to a yearly wage to the employee of $65,606.72. When 'Workers Compensation' is added (8% for example), the cost to you as the employer comes in at $34.07, based on the 260 Days Em ployed, or $42.79 on 207 Productive Days. (I have a Power Point Presentation on the above if you would like it sent to you).

Now many employers don’t like the hassle of dealing with RDO’s and Travelling money and prefer to pay extra in the employee’s wage.

So, what does this work out at?

It is illegal to ‘disadvantage’ an employee, so it’s important that you get this right.

If the employee now works on their RDO days, it means they’re physically working an extra 13 days of the year, so instead of 207 working days, it is now 220. These 13 days must now be included in their total wage. On top of this, they are also entitled to an extra 13 days of travelling money.

The employee’s wage now equates to $29.65 per hour and includes RDO’s worked on and travel money. Their total wage package, (based on the extra days worked and travelling), now comes to $69,064.93 (this also includes Holiday Loading and Superannuation). The total cost to you as the employer on their ‘Productive Days’, works out to around the same, $42.38.

Remember the above calculations are based on ‘Basic Wage’ amounts, so what happens if you pay them more?

By increasing the ‘Basic Wage’ of $26.17 to $30 per hour ($3.83), the ‘Productive Hourly Cost’ will jump from $42.79 to $48.61 ($5.82). With the employees that have RDO’s and travelling included in their wage, if you increase their hourly rate from $29.65 to $35 an hour, the ‘Total Hourly Cost’ on ‘Productive Days’ will go from $42.38 to $50.03. So, as you can see here in this last example, when you include a $5.35 wage increase, it affects the Holiday Loading, Superannuation and Workers Compensation also, and is in actual fact now costing you $7.65.

Compare these figures to your 'Hourly Charge-Out Rate’ and see how much profit you are making from your employees. If you're not making much and they take one hour longer to do a job each day for instance, then you are losing money.

Remember also from next July, you will be pay ing another 0.5% on Superannuation so budget for that before the time comes around.

All these figures and much more are achieved through ‘My Hourly Rate Calculator’ on my website below.

Jim Baker

www.mytools4business.com

Setbacks in Business

Recovering, adapting and redirecting the failures...

Venturing out in business is a challenging thing that is inherently peppered with risk and sacrifice. Some times, regardless how great your business plan is, how high your level of enthusiasm and energy and no matter what you do right- in business, like in life, a lot does not go as you plan. Some of the most crucial things are outside your control, or even vague sphere of influence. As painters you know the frustration of the weather impacting your job, or someone’s late/ non-existent payment affecting your life. When you start out in a business and find risks are an unavoid able evil, you realise that you are very vulnerable to the ones you navigate carefully, as well as the ones you didn’t even see coming.

You can’t control the weather, just as you can’t control the behaviour of other people. Hiring staff to contrib ute to your business is essential to any real growth, but as people have a habit of being unpredictable it can mean putting yourself in a world of pain. For example, extending your staff base to accept a greater scope of works might mean offering contractors permanent

positions. Suddenly and inexplicably, the volume of work declines! Has a guaranteed weekly wage impact on their motivation to finish their work sooner? Incentivising staff can be a tricky balance, and there are endless other scenarios that you can find yourself in with regard to your business’ human factor that will stomp on your bottom line. The volatility of human nature can make growth in business very difficult.

Any successful entrepreneur will probably tell you they’ve failed as many times as they’ve succeeded. Have a read of Richard Branson’s autobiography and you’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering how he kept going! What then is the best way to get through the failures, so that you don’t fall in a heap and declare all is lost? Like anything it’s as much about attitude as learning from mistakes and 20:20 hind sight. The way a business responds to adversity is what will define its future success or failure and is ultimately the key to its survival.

P r o d u c t s

P a i n t g e a r i s a w e b s i t e s e t u p w i t h t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l p a i n t e r i n m i n d . W e s t o c k a w i d e r a n g e o f p a i n t - r e l a t e d t o o l s , s a f e t y e q u i p m e n t a n d c l o t h i n g , r e a d y t o s h i p q u i c k l y t o y o u r d o o r f r o m o u r w a r e h o u s e l o c a t e d i n N e w c a s t l e N S W . W e h a v e s e c u r e d p a r t n e r s h i p s w i t h w e l l k n o w n s u p p l i e r s i n A u s t r a l i a t o g i v e o u r c u s t o m e r s a w i d e s e l e c t i o n o f h i g h q u a l i t y p r o d u c t s . P a i n t g e a r h a s t h e r i g h t p r o d u c t s f o r y o u r n e x t j o b — a l l w i t h s u p e r i o r c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l p r i c i n g t h a t s e t s u s a p a r t . s a l e s @ p a i n t g e a r . c o m . a u w w w . p a i n t g e a r . c o m . a u

R O L L E R S , F R A M E S & P O L E S

P R O F E S S I O N A L B R U S H E S

C L O T H I N G

P R E P A R A T I O N

F I R S T A I D

S C R A P P E R S

Recognise that some of the biggest setbacks actu ally create opportunity. It’s difficult to see this at the time, but look ahead to when this failure or issue is not occupying all your headspace, and realise that the future may yet have much more to tell you.

Analyse what has happened with a view to under standing and prevention, not blame. If nothing else, use this ‘fail’ as a learning opportunity.

exploring what the worst outcome could be can save you from a lot of suffering later. It’s all well and good to be ‘glass half full’, but be sure that you ‘don’t count your chickens..!’

Ask for help. Someone else has been there before. Whether you join a business group on social media, seek a business coach, or even personal counselling.

Don’t be of the mindset that you must go it alone on every front. Failure in business affects more than just the business owner too. Carefully consider the impact it has on the family or families that business is sup porting and make sure they are being supported too.

Yes, all the platitudes and clichés come into play when you’re addressing pitfalls and setbacks in busi ness. But they are well worn maxims for good rea son… they sum up a general truth. If you are in any business long enough, attempting any significant growth, you can expect for things to go wrong.

Realise that optimism isn’t always your friend. Some times a healthy dose of scepticism and thoroughly

How you respond and what is done with that failure is what defines that business and its potential for success.

How the Feeling of Pointlessness Can Derail Us

Something I’ve noticed that derails a lot of people’s goals or attempts to form habits is the feeling that it’s pointless to even try.

If it feels like it won’t matter if you do anything … why would you try? And so when people feel this, they will usually give up, understandably.

But if we want to break through this barrier, then the opportunity is to learn how to work with this feeling of pointlessness.

If we can find a way to feel empowered when things feel pointless, a whole new range of possibilities opens up for us — including the possibility of moving through the most difficult parts of a project or habit change.

What would it be like if you worked with your desire to give up when things felt hard and pointless?

Let’s look at how to recognize the feeling of pointless ness, and then how you might work with it to create something new.

How to recognize the feeling of pointlessness

It can be difficult to recognize this stumbling block, so let’s look at some common ways it might look:

• You missed a few days of a new habit (workout, meditation, journaling, etc.) and you feel discour aged and want to give it up. The reason is the feel ing of pointlessness: “Argh, I’ll never get this, I suck, I can’t do it.”

• You think no one is going to care — you want to write a book or blog, for example, but you have the feeling that you’re writing it and no one will read it. That feels pointless, so you might not even try.

• You want to sign up for something that could change your life — a new course, coaching, my Fearless Mastery mastermind group, for example — but you think that you won’t actually pour yourself into it and so you won’t get value out of it. “What’s the point, if I’m not even going to show up for it?”

• You feel overwhelmed by the huge pile of tasks / clutter / email in front of you, and feel like you can’t tackle all of it, so you don’t even start. It feels like too much, like something you can’t handle, so it feels pointless to even try.

• Every time you give your best effort, things return back to where they were. It feels Sisyphean. So you just give up.

• You keep having the same conversation with someone, and it’s not getting you anywhere. It’s frustrating, because you’re going around in circles. Pointless to even try with this person, so best to exit (fire them, quit, break up, ghost them)!

• You were giving your best effort and then got derailed by something out of your control - injury, sickness, someone else’s mistake or crisis, world events, etc. Why even try?

• You feel lost in the unknown. Best to stick to what you know!

• You’re so far behind with bills that it feels impos sible to catch up. So ignore them!

You can see that this applies to everything in our lives — wanting to meditate, date, declutter, exercise, get out of debt, create something meaningful, build an amazing team.

This feeling of pointlessness stops us on all fronts.

Time to take it on!

How to Work with the Struggle

There is nothing wrong with the feeling of pointless ness — it’s such a human feeling. The difficulty comes when we believe it, and make it mean something.

So my encouragement is to make it mean nothing other than this is just how it feels right now. That’s meaningful to the extent that we can always care about how we feel — I feel sad, lonely, uplifted, curious, playful, angry, crestfallen. They matter, but they’re not the entire world.

Feel the feeling. Give it some compassion. Breathe. Then find a way to feel more empowered:

• Missing one or two days is just an expected part of the process of learning and growth.

• Messiness is a part of life, something beautiful to love and embrace.

• If no one read a single word of my writing, would there still be something powerful for me in the writing process?

• If I keep ending up in the same place, is there something for me to look at here, something I could learn from it? Would that make these repeated attempts valuable to me, if I learned something?

• If I keep failing to finish a course or program … is there an opportunity to shift something that would be powerful for me? What would it be like if I changed this pattern forever?

• Could I let myself be curious when I’m lost in the unknown?

• If I’m far behind, could I focus just on the next step?

• If I have a mountain of tasks, could I love the activity of climbing the mountain? Could I find joy in each step?

What would it be like to find meaning in the place that feels pointless?

Leo Babauta ZEN HABITS

Morning or evening type? Choice of hours is the next big thing in workplace flexibility

Are you a morning or evening person? Studies show we have strong differences in when we feel most crea tive and do our best work during the day.

These differences go far deeper than just personal preference. Whether you like to get up early (a “lark”) or go to bed late (an “owl”), and when you are more productive, is a biological predisposition related to the settings of your internal body clock that synchronises your bodily functions with the rotation of the planet.

Research suggests genetic effects account for about half of the variability between individuals. Environ mental factors and age explain the rest.

Yet most workplaces take a cookie-cutter approach to time, forcing us to work standardised hours. There are clear organisational advantages to this, but the disad vantage is that you (and your colleagues) may not be working at your most productive times.

In the past few years we’ve seen a revolution in where we work. The enforced experiment of remote work ing during the pandemic has done much to overcome

decades of managerial resistance to greater flexibility. Is it now time for a revolution in when we work?

If done well, my research suggests, it could lead be the next big gain in productivity – but only if the downsides are acknowledged and competing needs balanced.

Variations in chronotypes

Differences in the human body clock are often referred to as chronotypes.

Chronotypes exist on a morningness-eveningness continuum but individuals are often broadly classi fied based on the timing of their daily performance peaks as either morning types, evening types or in termediate types.

Most kids are morning types. Most teenagers are evening types. In the working-age population about 20% can be categorised as either morning or evening types while 60% are intermediate types.

Women are slightly more likely to prefer earlier hours than men up until menopause, when differences dis appear. People who live further from the Equator are more likely to be evening types.

tively easy ways to mitigate unintended side-effects through designing work-time arrangements that bal ance individual and organisational interests.

How to manage chronotype diversity

The key is for organisations to segment work time into four parts.

Fixed on-site working hours: during these times employees are expected to attend office and be avail able for in-person meetings, collaborative work and social gatherings. There is no hard-and-fast rule on how many days this should be, but surveys suggests employers generally want at least three days a week, while workers want less.

Women are more likely to prefer earlier hours to men up until menopause, when sex differences in chronotypes disappear. Shutterstock

Chronotypes determine when during the day we feel energised and prefer to be active and perform de manding work. They also determine when we feel tired and prefer to work on less demanding tasks or to rest. So they are important to to productive you are.

If you’re a lark, you may be missing your best hours working 9am to 5pm. If you’re an owl you may be knocking off when you’re at your most alert.

The pros and cons of time flexibility Could greater work-time flexibility be the next big key to unlock greater well-being and productivity? My re search suggests yes, but only by acknowledging that increased work-time flexibility can also lead to nega tive consequences.

The downside – particularly if time flexibility is com bined with remote working – is less interaction with colleagues, leading to greater isolation and lower cre ativity and innovation.

The benefits of “serendipity” – unplanned hallway and cafeteria discussions – are well-recognised. The less time we spend with coworkers, the less likely we are to connect, make friendships and develop team spirit.

But these problems are no more insurmountable than the challenges of remote work. There are compara

Fixed flexible-location working hours: during these hours all employees can work remotely if they want, but work a set number of standard work hours – say 10am to 3pm. These hours will depend on the needs of the organisation and the degree of teamwork required.

Flexible working hours: beyond fixed working hours, workers can choose when to work to make up their full hours.

Lockout hours: it is important to prevent excessive, potentially self-harming behaviour by setting limits through “lockout hours” – 7pm to 7am, for example – during which employees are strongly discouraged from working unless absolutely necessary.

Increased work flexibility is one of the few positive outcomes of the pandemic. But revolutions are rarely smooth. We have to be conscious of the potential pit falls to avoid them.

Through careful attention to unintended consequenc es, and developing new work structures, there’s no reason to think we can’t have more flexibility over where and when we work.

Stefan Volk Associate Professor and Co-Director Body, Heart and Mind in Business Research Group, University of Sydney

Why Reviews and Celebrations Lead to Business Success

Ask any successful entrepreneur about their path to greatness and you’ll get the same answer: failure is an inevitable part of the journey to business success. It took Thomas Edison 1,000 failed attempts before he finally invented the light bulb.

Tim Ferris received 25 rejections before his bestsell ing book, “The 4 Hour Workweek” was finally pub lished and sold millions of copies.

It’s a fact that 20% of businesses fail in their first year – and many fold before their fifth.

The truth is, building a successful company is typi cally a very long game. Not every idea is a winner; not every decision yields success. But you can learn from experience, gaining wisdom as you nurture re silience – key ingredients, along with hard work and a pinch of luck, that eventually lead to victory.

Here’s how to stay in the game long enough to win, and make the most of failure along the way.

Beginner’s mind

How differently would you run your business if you saw opportunities for growth in each challenging situation?

A partner parting ways. A disappointing launch. A period of poor cash flow.

Your positive outlook can make all the difference, leading to creative solutions when you hit upon those unavoidable bumps along the way.

Steve Jobs acknowledged his firing from Apple Com puters in 1985 as the best thing that could have hap pened. It allowed him to be a beginner again, to see the way forward with new eyes.

“It freed me to enter one of the most creative peri ods of my life,” Jobs remarked in his 2005 Stanford University commencement speech.

Keep a journal

For most of us it’s all too easy to stew on the things that didn’t go the way we’d hoped, and forget the unexpected surprises and small wins that brought us closer to our goals.

Keep a gratitude journal for your business so you cel ebrate your company’s small and large successes –and so you recognize those key moments that, in the end, led to your proudest accomplishments.

Another benefit to acknowledging the small blessings every day? They help you see the bigger picture, putting disappointments and so-called “failures” in perspective.

Review — and renew — your plans and systems often

One unappreciated benefit of failure is that it can point you toward new unforeseen possibilities – the Plans B, C, and D that ultimately lead to success.

The moment a prospect or project falls through is an ideal time to reflect on what could have been done better, and how you’ll plan to avoid the same mis takes next time around.

As a rule of thumb, entrepreneurs are advised to review their business plans at least once a year. Why not commit to revisiting them more frequently?

Another important success factor for any business is to get their financial administration on the right track. Through my work with hundreds of tradies and builders I’ve found that most were not aware of the 7 key strategies that are essential to eliminating all the frustrations and bull s*it from their financial administration.

If you want to know about these strategies click here to download my free eBook 7 Financial Strategies to Maximise Your Profits and Future Proof Your Con struction Business.

Final thoughts

As you get set to enjoy the reward of your hard work, don’t fear failure – strive to make “good” mistakes. Think of the journey as a series of experiments, where careful decision making has no guarantees and results can’t always be controlled.

Strive, too, to fail in new and original ways – a com mitment to innovation rather than attempting the same things and hoping for different results.

Lastly, when you think of Edison’s long path to invent ing the lightbulb, remember his wise words: "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Copyright © 2022 Robert Bauman.

3 easy and inexpensive ways to LOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL

For bootstrapping young businesses, making a profes sional first impression as you build your brand is key.

Although hiring a branding expert may be too large an expense in the early days, you can still help your busi ness stand out in the best possible way without break ing the bank.

Just follow these simple marketing moves that will help people to know, like, and trust you.

1. Build credibility with your own email address

A custom email account isn’t costly but is well worth the effort. Sending company emails from a Gmail or Hotmail account will raise questions about the legiti macy of your business (if they ever make it past your customers’ spam filters.)

If you’ve already registered your company’s domain name for your website it’s a snap to set up a custom email address. Many web hosting services such as

Bluehost include a free custom email account with their service packages.

If you’ve never registered a domain name, search what’s available at GoDaddy.com or NameCheap.com. Most companies can help you find a memorable do main name with SEO keywords.

2. Build your brand with a customized logo

An effective eye-catching logo will attract new custom ers, help you stand apart from competitors, build trust in your brand and, ideally, inspire customer loyalty.

Should you have the funds to hire a logo designer, you’ll save time and get a unique, professional re sult—but best be prepared. A professional designer will want to discuss your company’s brand identity with you. Being clear on your brand before your first consult will streamline the process, ensuring you get exactly what you want.

This article from LeanLabs help you pin down your unique brand identity with twenty questions. You might also find this free downloadable brand charac ter workbook useful.

And if budget is a concern, try one of these free graphic design tools that help you combine visual el ements to quickly create your own logo:

• Canva

• LogoJoy

• GraphicSprings

• LogoGarden

3. Build trust with a professional photo

Before strangers will buy from you, they need to get to know you.

A high quality photo for your website and social media accounts, in addition to professional web content and engaging social media posts, is a must. Nothing makes a business appear more “fly by night” than a faceless LinkedIn avatar—or less professional than a grainy, out of focus selfie.

Expect to pay in the ballpark of $100 for a headshot (or more, depending on the photographer’s hourly

rate and the length of your shoot). You can also do it yourself if you’re on a budget following these quick headshot tips from HubSpot.

Next steps

Marketing is an ongoing commitment for each and every business, and as your business and bottom line grow you can invest in new strategies to maintain a profitable company.

In the meantime, these simple “must do’s” will help you make that the positive first impression with your customers and with would-be investors, potential partners, and lenders.

www.tradiebookkeepingsolutions.com.au

Sandra Price

Payment Power: How site diaries make all the difference

A well documented religiously kept Site Diary is one of the best things you can do to protect the value of your work in a Payment dispute, yet it is one of the rar est things to find. And I’m not talking about a normal calendar diary in which you scribble a few notes here and there. I am talking about a diary specifically there to capture the great number of details and key events that happen every day on your site.

In most payment disputes the parties will argue a different (very different) version of events. It is important that you can prove your version. The way to do that is to keep a daily site diary. If you can demon strate that you record events each day, then this docu ment becomes ‘contemporaneous evidence’ that you can use in adjudication or other proceedings.

So what are some of the things you should record? Here are some that will make all the difference in a payment dispute:

Contract Work done v Variation Work done

The biggest argument for non payment is either ‘the work is part of your scope’ or ‘It was never approved or requested’.

You should detail the contract work done by reference to your scope of works. That way there can no argu ment that it is contract work. By contract you can then record the variation work done. This work will not be

found in the scope of works and so is additional. The final things is to record how the variation was re quested; written or oral. Record who requested it, and if written include the details of the written instruction.

Old Drawings V New Drawings

Another massive are of argument is revised drawings that require additional work. The debtor will argue that the new drawings should not attract any addi tional cost. The best thing to do is diarise the date you were issued new drawings and note the drawings they replaced. You should also send your client a quote to carry out the additional work in the drawing, and diarise that too. In this way you can follow how the scope required grew, and the dates it grew, and by what value. Many times clients will try to insist that the new drawing is the one issued all along and that there never was an earlier version. A good diary will sort that one out.

Oral Directions

So often a client will give numerous oral directions that add up to a whole range of additional work. What needs to be detailed here are all those directions that create a variation. That way the client cannot use the usual tactic of simply denying that the work was ever requested. If you can match the date the request was made with other evidence about the work, then one document backs up the other. This makes for great evidence.

Staff Onsite

Often there is a dispute about labour hours. The client will usually argue that the job could not have taken that long, or that there was no staff onsite. You need to diarise who was onsite every day. That way you can support the hours claimed.

Delays

Most contracts will not allow you to claim for delays. However in many contract the client will attempt to hit you with liquidated damages. A site diary can help you record exactly who delayed work each day, and for how long. Often the delay is caused by another party or by circumstances beyond your control. Sometimes an authority such as local council or WorkCover, or an energy authority will require work to cease for while. All this needs to be diarised so you can prove that you did not hold up the work.

And always check the contract to see if you need to apply for an extension of time. And if so, do it imme diately.

Photos

Regular readers of my articles will now that I am a great fan of the photo. It really is first class evidence for anything. If you have completed an item of work, take a picture. If another trade has damaged your work, take a picture. Try to get the date stamp on each photo and each day record the photos you have taken.

So often a debtor will argue that the contractor left some work defective or that it was never completed correctly. Or that the contractor damaged some of the works. A good series of photos can crush these allegations pretty quick.

Of course you want the usual stuff too like the day and date and who from your business completed the day entry.

The most important things to bear in mind is that one day of diary entries is not what helps you: It is the ability to show months and years of entries that will give your diary almost unbeatable credibility.

So get those pens at the ready and get it in the diary! It will save you a fortune.

www.contractorsdebtrecovery.com.au

Anthony Igra

L-R: SURVIVAL's Director of Marketing & IT, Jordan Green, and CEO Mike Tyrrell

W O R K P L A C E S A F E T Y : W H Y N O W ?

W O R K P L A C E S A F E T Y : W H Y N O W ?

Organisations have become more accountable to their customers, shareholders, and employees.

Organisations have become more accountable to their customers, shareholders, and employees.

Increased safety improves the bottom line, and the links between a safe working environment and enhanced productivity are proven.

Increased safety improves the bottom line, and the links between a safe working environment and enhanced productivity are proven.

Safer workplaces result in better processes, because it sets the standard for greater efficiency and increased ingenuity all ‘round.

Safer workplaces result in better processes, because it sets the standard for greater efficiency and increased ingenuity all ‘round.

Above all, it saves lives. Workplace safety increases productivity, makes organisations accountable, and protects the entire team.

Above all, it saves lives. Workplace safety increases productivity, makes organisations accountable, and protects the entire team.

I T ' S A L L A B O U T S U R V I V A L

I T ' S A L L A B O U T S U R V I V A L

As processes become faster, deadlines get tighter, and customers demand greater efficiency, the worksite has become a hectic hive of activity.

As processes become faster, deadlines get tighter, and customers demand greater efficiency, the worksite has become a hectic hive of activity

But these increased expectations can make it all too easy to cut corners, and the safety of Aussie job sites is now more important than ever before

But these increased expectations can make it all too easy to cut corners, and the safety of Aussie job sites is now more important than ever before

SafeWork Australia recorded 194 worker fatalities in 2020 alone, with machinery operators and drivers representing the highest number of fatalities, and labourers, managers, and technicians and trades workers close behind.

SafeWork Australia recorded 194 worker fatalities in 2020 alone, with machinery operators and drivers representing the highest number of fatalities, and labourers, managers, and technicians and trades workers close behind

That’s why SURVIVAL a 33 year, Aussie family business is dedicated to ensuring every worksite has the right first aid equipment on hand

That’s why SURVIVAL a 33 year, Aussie family business is dedicated to ensuring every worksite has the right first aid equipment on hand

“It’s clear that worksites need to ensure they’re never caught short, because when you’re in the trades industry, the chances of accident or injury are very real,” says SURVIVAL’s CEO, Mike Tyrrell.

“It’s clear that worksites need to ensure they’re never caught short, because when you’re in the trades industry, the chances of accident or injury are very real,” says SURVIVAL’s CEO, Mike Tyrrell.

“And despite the latest advances in technology and an increased awareness of the associated risks, these sobering stats from

“And despite the latest advances in technology and an increased awareness of the associated risks, these sobering stats from

SafeWork Australia show us that even more needs to be done.

SafeWork Australia show us that even more needs to be done

“We know that providing immediate, effective first aid to people injured on the job can reduce the severity of their injury or illness

“We know that providing immediate, effective first aid to people injured on the job can reduce the severity of their injury or illness

“And even more than that it can save your life, or that of a mate,” adds Mike

“And even more than that it can save your life, or that of a mate,” adds Mike

SURVIVAL’s Director of Marketing & IT, Jordan Green, says the company is constantly looking at ways to make first aid more accessible for people in trades and other 'hands on' professions.

SURVIVAL’s Director of Marketing & IT, Jordan Green, says the company is constantly looking at ways to make first aid more accessible for people in trades and other 'hands on' professions

“In addition to our line of first aid products, we’ve just released the latest update to our free iFirstAid app, which features step by step instructions and video resources to guide people, including trade professionals, through common emergencies,” says Jordan

“In addition to our line of first aid products, we’ve just released the latest update to our free iFirstAid app, which features step by step instructions and video resources to guide people, including trade professionals, through common emergencies,” says Jordan

“Our SURVIVALSWAP audit compliance program also ensures worksites remain stocked and compliant without the headaches or hassle.”

“Our SURVIVALSWAP audit compliance program also ensures worksites remain stocked and compliant without the headaches or hassle ”

For the best first aid for your workplace, visit survival.net.au

For the best first aid for your workplace, visit survival.net.au

Exclusive discount just for APN readers: get 13% off

*Offer ends 30 June 2022. Excludes defibrillators.

L-R: SURVIVAL's Director of Marketing & IT, Jordan Green, and CEO Mike Tyrrell

What to consider when BUYING A BUSINESS

Purchasing a business is no small step. And before making the final move and becoming fully committed, you want to ensure you are fully aware of what you are taking on.

This process is referred to as due diligence and is essential for the buyer to know exactly what they are getting into. Due diligence involves conducting research on all angles of the business to ensure you have a good idea of its standing and reputation.

When done correctly, buying an already existing business can be extremely rewarding. Because you do not have to build a brand from scratch, you can focus on strengthening what is already in development, with an existing client base ‒ a less risky maneuver.

But before you purchase a business, there are some key points to consider. We uncover them in this article.

Why Is The Seller Selling In The First Place?

An important question to ask early on is why the owner is selling their business in the first place. Are they simply retiring or moving away? Or is there a more serious reason ‒ something that could affect your experience entering the purchasing deal? For example, is there an issue with the location or the landlord? Is the rent too high to allow for a decent profit? Is there a parking issue keeping clients away?

Critical information could be anything from financial trouble to earning a poor reputation among target customers. These points will help you understand how much work or reworking this business needs under new ownership.

Check Assets & Property

Assets are all tangible items acquired with the busi ness, including plant, equipment, and the business’ intellectual property.

You will want to learn how long the property lease is and whether or not the landlord intends to renew

the lease at the end of the term or redevelop the building. Moreover, you must check that all necessary approvals are available for the use of the property, such as whether certain business operations are legally allowed to exist in the location. It’s best not to assume that the current owners are running the busi ness legally, and you should always double-check to avoid potentially harmful legal situations falling into your lap after you complete the business purchase.

Check Financial Records & Written Agreements

Obtaining financial information is critical, even if you’re buying into a sole proprietorship. Involving the help of your accountant to scan through the financial details from the past three years will help you understand where the business stands financially.

Written agreements with suppliers are essential as they outline the status of the working relationships, how many are currently active, and whether or not these suppliers and manufacturers have delivered their services in the most cost-effective, high-quality, communicative way.

You will want to know if there are any outstanding payments or debts. Moreover, you will want to have clear insights into the business’s reputation with suppliers and its customer base.

Buying a business is an exciting step and, when done correctly, can be exceptionally rewarding. Conducting thorough due diligence is a significant part of not making the wrong decision. At Rise Legal, we can help guide you toward the best possible purchasing decisions regarding buying a new business. For assistance, get in touch today.

Oliver Kay

Business Sellers & Purchasers, Commercial Clients, Franchisors, Start-Up & Expanding Businesses, Tradie Businesses www.riselegal.com.au

Mistakes Foreman and Supervisors Make

Managing people has always been and will always be a challenge. The good news is that contracting cannot be outsourced to China, so there will always be a mar ket for contracting services. The bad news is that few er and fewer Americans and Canadians see the trades as a career opportunity. Such shortages have placed more and more challenges on front line supervisors and foreman. This article is designed to identify some of the more common mistakes foreman make.

Don’t assume you are managing yourself. Common sense is not always so common. Everybody is different and communicate differently. Learn to adapt to indi viduals and understand how they communicate, what they are good at, not so good at and willing to learn is key to being a good manager. Culture and learning differences can heavily impact people’s learning and communication styles. In many ethnic cultures, asking a question can be seen as a sign of ignorance or disre spect. Make sure your expectations are clearly under stood and communicated back to you.

Gifted craftsmen can quickly become frustrated by others inability to see the obvious. For the gifted, technical things may have come too easy for them. The same thing applies to craftsmen. Just because you are a great craftsman, doesn’t mean you will be a great supervisor. My Dad was one of the most gifted tradespeople I have ever known. I am not a gifted

tradesperson. May Dad would do and see things; I just did not grasp as easily. Such graphic and mechanical thinking was just not my gift. Once I got it, I had it but he had a hard time understanding why I didn’t see what he saw.

Don’t “ should on” people. No matter how hard you try, correcting a field employee’s post job perfor mance can be taken as criticism, not coaching. People don’t like to be “should on”. You should have done this or you should have done that. No matter how hard you try, some employees are going to react negatively.

The best way to train people is pre-job. Ask people how they would do the job. Pre-job training is a phe nomenal training tool. Where would they start? How much will they get done each day? What type of ob stacles do they see? You can gently correct and coach their answers. “Well, what about this?” “Or have you considered this?” Collaborate and agree on reason able goals and then hold the foreman or craftsperson accountable to meet the goal.

Your job as supervisor is to make stars, not be a star. Many great athletes don’t make great coaches. As a supervisor, you must make the transition from doing great work yourself to the satisfaction of seeing your mentors do great work. Your ego has to shift. It’s not about you, it’s about them.

This can be tough because it is easier to say the heck with it, I am just going to do it myself. There is only one of you. No matter how hard you try there is never going to be more than one of you. All you give is 100%. Your 100% and someone else’s 80% still produces more.

Failure to set daily work plans. A few years ago, a study was made on site with construction workers. When asked how much an individual should get done each day, the reply was merely as much as I can. Setting daily production goals will increase production. If you and I were going to have a race, the first thing you would want to know is how far. Most people strive to meet a reasonable goal. More importantly working to set daily plans allows you to see what obstacles might be in your way and allow time to avoid them. The value of planning is in the process, not the actual answer. Think of planning as a visualization of your goals. If you were going to drive from Philadelphia to Boston, not hitting New York at rush hour would be a key compo nent of your plan. Construction is no different.

Planning does not come easy to some blue collar folks. Living from paycheck to paycheck, lack of education and a four o’clock and pay day attitude can be hard to overcome. Your role as supervisor is to being able to build a planning mentality. If they can teach Shamu, the whale at Sea World, to ring a bell for a fish, you can teach supervisors how to plan. It merely takes a repetitive process.

Delegation is not abandonment. You cannot merely walk away and expect people to perform flawlessly. First, you must ensure they know what is expected and how to do it. Delegation progresses as the em ployees’ knowledge and experience grows. People want to see the boss and know that he or she cares about their performance. Employees are a little like children, they need to see you and know you care about what they do. Such a process need not be overwhelming but abandonment will ultimately leave you with a damaged child. Employee abandonment eventually leaves you with a damaged employee.

Managing people is never easy. Hopefully, these tips can prove helpful.

Monroe Porter is president of PROOF Management a firm that teaches seminars and runs networking groups for painting contractors. www.proofman.com

Power of 4 - Four Steps to Better Time Management D

Time management skills are increasingly important in a world where people seem to rush headlong from one crisis to another. Add in the effect of social media and addictive computer games that can be accessed from anywhere at any time and it's no wonder that some people struggle to fit everything into their days.

So what can be done about it?

How about invoking D to the Power of Four? This is a quick and simple way to make sure you use your time more effectively by sorting your tasks into four categories, delete, delegate, defer and do.

Delete

If you receive an email you don't need, delete it immediately. If it's junk mail, file it straight in recycling bin. If it's a task you've always done, check you still need to do it. If you don't, take it off your to do list.

Delegate

If it's something that would be better done by some one else, then delegate it. Make sure whoever you delegate to has the skills, capacity and ability to get

it done by the deadline. Don't turn something you delegate into a boomerang that's going to come back to you at the when you least need it.

Defer it

Sometimes there are tasks would be better deferred to another time. You might have the luxury of a longer deadline or need to devote a bigger chunk of time to the task than you have immediately available. Plan the most effective time to return to it but make sure you don't defer it until it becomes a real problem.

Do It

If the job is urgent, it's quicker to do it immediately or will help you kick start your way to a more productive day, then do it. Then, when it's done, move on.

So there you have it, the four Ds that will give you more power over your time.

www.tradiebookkeepingsolutions.com.au

Fighting inflation doesn’t directly cause unemployment – but that’s still the most likely outcome

You may have seen the news: in its attempts to tackle inflation, the Reserve Bank is going to increase unem ployment. The idea can even seem to come right from the mouths of experts, including the bank’s governor, Adrian Orr. Speaking recently to an industry confer ence, he said:

Returning to low inflation will, in the near term, constrain employment growth and lead to a rise in unemployment.

Similar sentiments have been expressed by inde pendent economists and commentators.

But is it as simple as it might appear? What is the relationship between inflation and unemployment, and is it inevitable that reducing one will lead to an increase in the other?

Historic highs and lows

Like other developed countries, New Zealand has been going through a period of historically high infla tion. The latest figures, for the September quarter of 2022, show an annual rise of 7.2%, only slightly lower than the 7.3% recorded for the June quarter.

Inflation is the highest it has been since 1990. The story is similar across the OECD, where inflation averages 10.3%, including 8.8% in the UK and 8.2% in the US.

At the same time, New Zealand is experiencing a period of very low unemployment, with a rate of just 3.3% for

September 2022, following 3.2% in the June quarter. These are near-record lows, and the rate has not been below 4% since mid-2008.

So, right now New Zealand is in a period of historically low unemployment and historically high inflation. At first glance, that might suggest that in order to return to low inflation, we may inevitably experience higher unemployment.

The Phillips Curve

The idea that inflation and unemployment have a negative relationship (when one increases, the other decreases, and vice versa) dates back to work by New Zealand’s most celebrated economist, A.W. (Bill) Phillips.

While working at the London School of Economics in the 1950s, Phillips wrote a famous paper that used UK data from 1861 to 1957 and showed a negative rela tionship between unemployment and wage increases.

Subsequent work by economics Nobel Prize winners Paul Samuelson and Robert Solow extended Phillips’ work to show a negative relationship between price inflation and unemployment. We now refer to this relationship as the “Phillips Curve”.

However, even though this relationship between infla tion and unemployment has been demonstrated with various data sources, and for various time periods for different countries, it is not a causal relationship.

Collateral damage

If the Reserve Bank raises the official cash rate, commercial banks follow by raising their interest rates. That makes borrowing more expensive. Higher interest rates mean banks will lend less money. With less money chasing goods and services in the economy, inflation will start to fall.

Of course, this is what the Reserve Bank wants when it raises the cash rate. Its Policy Targets Agreement with the government states that inflation must be kept between 1% and 3%. So when inflation is predicted to be higher, the bank acts to lower it.

Read more: Fed faces twin threats of recession and financial crisis as its inflation fight raises risks of both

At the same time, higher interest rates increase mort gage payments, leaving households and consumers with less discretionary income, and so consumer spending falls. Along with reduced business spend ing, this reduces the amount of economic activity. Businesses therefore need fewer workers, and so employment falls.

So, while the Reserve Bank raises interest rates to combat inflation, those higher interest rates also slow down the economy and increase unemployment. Higher unemployment is essentially collateral damage arising from reducing inflation.

Great expectations

That’s not the end of the story, though. After its 1960s heyday, the Phillips Curve was criticised by economists on theoretical grounds, and for its inability to explain the “stagflation” (high unemployment and high inflation) experienced in the 1970s.

For example, Milton Friedman argued there is actually no trade-off between inflation and unemployment, because workers and businesses take inflation into account when negotiating employment contracts.

Workers’ and employers’ expectations about future inflation is key. Friedman argued that, because in flation is expected, workers will have already built it into their wage demands, and businesses won’t change the amount of workers they employ.

Lower inflation doesn’t by itself cause higher unem ployment, even though they are related. To see why, it’s worth thinking about the mechanism that leads to the observed relationship.

Friedman’s argument would suggest that, aside from some short-term deviations, the economy will typi cally snap back to a “natural” rate of unemployment, with an inflation rate that only reflects workers’ and businesses’ expectations.

Read more: Why has the RBA raised interest rates for a record 7th straight month? High inflation – and worse is on the way

Symptom or cause?

Can we rely on this mechanism to avoid higher unem ployment as the Reserve Bank increases interest rates to combat inflation?

It seems unlikely. Workers would first have to expect the Reserve Bank’s actions will lower inflation, and respond by asking for smaller wage increases. Right now, however, consumer inflation expectations remain high and wage growth is at record levels.

So, we can probably expect unemployment to move upwards as the Reserve Bank’s inflation battle con tinues. Not because lower inflation causes higher unemployment, but because worker and consumer expectations take time to reflect the likelihood of lower future inflation due to the Reserve Bank’s actions.

And since workers negotiate only infrequently with employers, there is an inevitable lag between infla tion expectations changing and this being reflected in wages. Alas, for ordinary households, there is no quick and easy way out of this situation.

Michael P. Cameron Associate Professor in Economics, University of Waikato

IMPORTANT Contacts

Aussie Painters Network aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

National Institute for Painting and Decorating painters.edu.au Australian Tax Office ato.gov.au Award Rates fairwork.gov.au

Australian Building & Construction Commission www.abcc.gov.au

Mates In Construction www.mates.org.au

Workplace Health and Safety Contacts

Comcare

WorkSafe ACT Workplace Health and Safety QLD WorkSafe Victoria SafeWork NSW SafeWork SA WorkSafe WA NT WorkSafe WorkSafe Tasmania

Cancer Council Australia

ACT NSW NT QLD SA VIC WA

Ph. 0430 399 800

Ph. 1300 319 790 Ph. 13 72 26 / Ph. 13 28 65 Ph. 13 13 94

Ph. 1800 003 338 Ph. 1300 642 111

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

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

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