Aussie Painting Contractor December 2018

Good, Fast and Cheap Combine market strength with great technology, you get a great result!

Working in Isolation The ability to work “anywhere, anytime� has led to new organisational structures.

Overcoming Training Ego Start your training process by identifying tasks that are repetitive...

Things the Smartest Leaders Say Motivation comes from positivity!

www.aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

From the Editor

• Agustin Chevez • Angela Smith • Anthony Ingra • Daniel Wurm • Jim Baker • Leo Babauta • Michelle H Lim • Monroe Porter • Robert Bauman

EDITOR Nigel Gorman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Caroline Miall

Hey Everyone, Another couple of months done and dusted. We have had a massive 2 months since the last magazine. From helping painters around the country to training apprentices in remote areas.

Aussie Painters Network have travelled as far north as Proserpine and Airlie beach, west to Moranbah in the west and south to Sydney. We are looking at what has been happening throughout different areas of the country. It has been great catching up with so many painters in so many areas and discovering that most struggle with the same issues no matter where they are.

We have assisted painters bring in more money from late paying clients again for the last couple of months.

There have been a few things occur over the last couple of months and we are working with a few other specialists in their fields to help to educate painters as well as assist in lowering costs in a large range of areas within their business. There will be some exciting things coming your way in the New Year.

Everyone at Aussie Painters Network wish everyone

A Very Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday Season!!!

'Till next year, Happy Painting!!

GRAPHIC DESIGNER J. Anne Delgado

Nigel Gorman

nigel@aussiepaintersnetwork.com.au

07 3555 8010

Contents 6

GOOD, FAST & CHEAP – IT IS POSSIBLE

9

TRAIN YOUR MIND Using the Puppy Method Do good, and be rewarded for it.

The Benefits and Pitfalls 12 – of working in isolations Studies cite social isolation as a recurring theme

RETIREMENT

15

(The day most of us look forward to) Thinking about winding down your business and retiring?

Update to Certificate III Painting and Decorating Course One in four Australians are lonely

19 22

It affects their physical and mental health

Things the Smartest Leaders Say to Motivate Their Employees...

OVERCOMING Training Ego

31 How To Sell Your Business For Maximum Profit Business Owners that successfully sell their business start with the end goal in mind.

The Warning Signs of Non Payment

25

28

34

Industry Idiots

36

Important Contacts

37

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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GOOD, FAST & CHEAP – IT IS POSSIBLE

You can’t any faster than that!

There’s a common saying in business when it comes to wanting things good, cheap and fast.

Cheap

You can pick any two of them, but not the third. i.e. * You can have good and cheap, but it won’t be fast. * You can have fast and good, but it won’t be cheap. * You can have cheap and fast, but it won’t be good.

It’s as old as the hills, but it’s quite clever and does apply to an awful lot of things.

Good

We offer a high quality policy from an award winning underwriter, and here at Trade Risk we’re also a multi award winner.

But what about insurance?

We can back up our claims of having the best service in the industry with over 200 independently sourced reviews from genuine clients.

But at Trade Risk, we reckon we’ve cracked it with our brilliant online system.

So is it a good product and service?

Absolutely.

We genuinely believe that we’ve made tradies insurance good, fast and cheap.

How so? Technology!

Our system is super-fast. You can get an instant quote for your public liability insurance within a few seconds, and have a certificate of currently in your inbox within a few minutes.

Our online system has evolved over the years to the point where we believe it’s the best out there.

No phone calls, no paperwork, no stuffing about. Of course if you prefer to call us, you can do that too.

It probably can apply to most insurance providers, and to some more than others.

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Fast

For most other businesses, this is where it ends. You have good and fast, but you can’t have it cheap.

Our super-efficient online system means we can offer tradies public liability insurance for less than our competitors.

Because our system looks after 99% of the process, we save money on extra staff and can pass those savings on to you.

If you compare our premiums with our competitors, you’ll find we’re often the cheapest or not too far off.

But they’re not ‘cheap’ polcies…

To be honest we’d rather call our pricing competitive rather than cheap.

Cheap generally doesn’t mean something is good, but it’s important to understand why our policies are priced as low as they are.

Much of that goes back to the fact that we only deal with tradies.

We didn’t have to build a super complex system that could deal without hundreds, or even thousands of different occupations and business types.

Our system is focused on around one hundred different trades and occupations in the building and construction industry.

This makes our system super-efficient and super-fast, and means we can still offer a great quality policy at a very low price.

Also helping is our size. Because we deal with thousands of tradies, we’re able to negotiate better prices than other brokers who don’t specialise.

When you combine market strength with great technology, you get a great result for everyone including our clients.

www.traderisk.com.au 1800 808 800

Tradies can have it all!

So there you go. When it comes to tradies insurance, with Trade Risk

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⸀

you really can have the trifecta of good, fast and cheap.

If you prefer the old school way of talking to a real person and going a little slower, we can deal with that too.

Our office is staffed by qualified insurance brokers who can guide you through the process and answer any questions you may have.

And you know what? We’ll still charge you the same low price as if you used our system.

See what we mean? Tradies can have it all when it comes to their insurance. As long as you choose Trade Risk as your broker. https://www.traderisk.com.au/good-fastcheap-possible

Public liability insurance for painters, from just $407 - Includes cover for spraying - Unrestricted heights option* - Cover from $5m to $20m - Monthly payment options - Easy online application

Premium of $407 is based on $5,000,000 public liability insurance policy paid annually for a painting business in QLD with one manual worker. * A 15m height limit applies, but can be removed for an additional premium.

Tradesman Insurance Services Pty Ltd t/as Trade Risk (CAR 422847) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of 8 |Westcourt Aussie Painters General Network Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Australian Financial Services Licence No 238447. ABN 81 009 401 772.

TRAIN YOUR MIND Using the Puppy Method The mind can be trained to do almost anything.

It can be trained, for example, to get used to any situation, like sitting in silence for a long time, or concentrating on a task.

However, usually we’re training our minds to do what we don’t want: be distracted, give in to cravings and urges, complain, avoid discomfort, procrastinate. We do this by rewarding our minds for these behaviors — if we do any of these things, we give the mind something pleasurable or comfortable. That’s exactly what we’d want to do to reinforce these behaviors.

The Superpower of Training the Mind We can get the mind used to anything: • To enjoy eating healthy foods • To shun junk food • To not need to have alcohol, coffee, sugar, cigarettes, drugs • To not need to have video games, Youtube/Netflix, news or blogs, porn or social media • To stay present and mindful • To turn towards feelings instead of avoiding them • To be perfectly OK in discomfort

Think about it: you’re not feeling like doing a task, and the ideal behavior would be to open up to the task, see its importance, and stay focused on it. But the behavior we normally do is put it off (procrastinate) and head to our favorite distractions. The distraction becomes its own reward, so this behavior is reinforced.

We do this all day long. Every day.

What if we wanted to train our minds to do something different?

This then becomes a superpower.

We spend so much of our time and energy avoiding things we

don’t like, and trying to get things that comfort us. What if we could train ourselves to not need to avoid uncomfortable things, and not need to run to comforts? We’d be gods.

If you go to an uncomfortable social event, instead of needing to avoid, hide, or find a comfort zone … you could just stay in the discomfort and talk to people you don’t know.

It wouldn’t be a problem, because you trained your mind to be fine with the discomfort.

If you normally have to have your comforts (coffee, sugary foods, soda, TV, alcohol, pot, cigarettes), you’ll spend a lot of money on them, and in many cases worsen your health and your bank account. You might avoid going places where you can’t get these things, and spend a lot of energy to make sure you could have them every day. But what if you trained your mind to not rely on them for comfort and relaxation? You could slowly get the mind used to not needing these, one at a time, so that it would be free.

It’s possible, using training methods used to train puppies.

2018 December Issue | 9

The Puppy Training Method The mind is like a little puppy. It responds to rewards, but needs to be trained a little at a time, until you get it doing what you want it to do consistently.

Now, I’m not saying we can 100% control our minds. Just that we can apply some reinforcement methods to get it to adjust to whatever we’d like, over time.

So let’s look at this puppy training method, and how it can be applied to our minds: Decide what your target is. If you want the puppy to do a behavior, you have to decide what that behavior is, exactly. The same with the mind: do you want it to focus, to stay in discomfort in social situations, to turn towards feelings, to be present with bodily sensations when you’re stressed, to be compassionate when someone complains? Pick one target at a time.

Define a reward. What does you mind enjoy? If you like having a cup of tea, or watching TED talks on Youtube, or reading Zen Habits blog posts … pick one of those for your defined reward. Try to pick something relatively healthy (don’t pick donuts), that you can give yourself immediately after you do the behavior.

Train yourself in small doses. It’s unrealistic to expect your mind to stay focused all day long. It gets tired. Trying to be perfect all the time is a good way to set up failure. So instead, pick small doses — 10 minutes of meditation once or twice a day, focused work in 20-minute intervals (and only do 3 intervals) with breaks in between,

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30 minutes a day of complaint-free time, for example. Once you’ve done this training in small doses, you can expand it slowly, and have confidence that you’re able to do at least small doses. Gradually, your mind will be trained to do more.

Reward yourself when you hit the target. If you do 20 minutes of focused work, give yourself a small reward. For example, you get to look at your favorite social media for 2 minutes after 20 minutes of focused work. I like to drink a certain kind of coconut water after doing yoga. It’s a treat that reinforces the behavior you just did.

But for difficult targets, have intermediate targets. If you want the puppy to do something complicated, you have to figure out an intermediate target. For example, if you want him to go to a certain spot, first reward him for going to the right room, then the right area of the room, then the spot. You can do the same with your mind — if the target is too difficult (a week of meditation), have a smaller target first (10 minutes of meditation) and let yourself slowly move to the target. Reward yourself for the smaller target at first, but then after that gets easy, only reward yourself for hitting the next harder target (20 minutes of meditation).

Don’t punish bad behavior. But don’t reward it either. If you give in and do the negative behavior you don’t want to do (smoke pot, for example), don’t give yourself the reward. But beating yourself up isn’t helpful either. It used to be a common practice to smack the dog with a newspaper, but trainers today believe that doesn’t work as well as positive reinforcement. What do they do instead? Either ignore the

bad behavior entirely (seeking to reward behavior that’s at least close to what they’re looking for), or making it clear that the bad behavior is not wanted, with a firm “No” or a firm but gentle hand interrupting the bad behavior. With the mind training, this might look like a simple firm interruption of the bad behavior (“Nope, we don’t want to keep doing that”), and then trying to go do the good behavior, and getting a reward for it. So mostly ignore the bad behavior or be firm that it’s not good, but don’t beat yourself up about it.

Train one behavior at a time. Most people are tempted to try to train everything at once. That’s more of an advanced training, once you’ve trained individual behaviors.

For example, if you want to stop watching Youtube, try going half a day without it (rewarding yourself with something else, not Youtube), then after you get good at that, do a full day, then two days at a time, and so on. Then you can do similar training for video games or porn, then social media. But don’t do all of them at once, unless you’ve done them all individually before.

As you can see, this isn’t as simple as just flipping a switch. This kind of training can be messy — you’ll mess up, and it won’t be simple and clear. But if you stick with it, you’ll be amazed at what you can get your puppy of a mind to do.

Leo Babauta

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

ZEN HABITS

2018 December Issue | 11

THE BENEFITS – AND PITFALLS

– of working in isolation In October a researcher at the remote Bellingshausen Station in Antarctica allegedly stabbed a colleague. Some reports attributed the incident to the victim giving away the endings of books the attacker was reading.

Other reports identify the cabin fever effect as a possible contributing factor. During extended periods in isolation and confined conditions, such as at a station in Antarctica, people can become restlessness, bored and irritated.

These effects, however, are not limited to the small number of scientists living in cabin-like environments in remote locations. Isolation can just as easily affect people on the move, such as the drivers of the 3.5 million freight vehicles registered in Australia. Studies cite social isolation as a recurring theme and a cause of mental health problems and dysfunctional family relationships for truck drivers.

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Interestingly, knowledge workers are also increasingly prone to suffering from isolation. This is because the ability to work “anywhere, anytime” has led to the development of new organisational structures that have increased the effects of isolation by increasing the social distance within a distributed workforce.

Depression, stress, lack of motivation and eventually burnout are all possible consequences of isolation.

Other effects include experiencing fears of missing out on crucial events or decisions being made by others elsewhere – colloquially known as the feeling of out of sight, out of mind.

The impact of isolation in health has been compared to the reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day. If the sit-to-stand desk was the response to the “sitting is the new smoking” motto, co-working is the response to isolation.

The growth of the gig economy brought concerns of increased likelihood of people working in isolation beyond that of teleworkers already discussed above. In this regard, the proliferation of co-working environments should not be surprising. To a large extent it’s due to their ability to provide a social environment for sole practitioners who would otherwise be working in isolation.

In pursuit of solitude Isolation is an interpretation of one’s sense of aloneness. It is a feeling independent of the condition of being alone. While aloneness is the objective state of not having anyone around, isolation can be experienced in the middle of a crowd – if, for example, you have nothing in common with them, or do not share a common language.

Isolation is the negative side of aloneness, which leads to loneliness.

What I learned is more complicated.

But, yes, I did find that walking in solitude can be a great thinking tool.

It is necessary, however, to be able to go past boredom – and that is not easy.

On the other hand, solitude is the positive manifestation of aloneness. An important factor in converting aloneness into solitude is that it is voluntary, instead of imposed. As such, artists, writers and scientists have described solitude as their most creative and productive state.

The differences between loneliness and solitude can be subtle. One study has identified that our understanding of these nuances develops with age.

Aloneness as a thinking tool I have a particular interest in aloneness, both as an academic and architect. I specialise in the study of work and the environments that contain it. Specifically, I am interested in aloneness as a mechanism to increase the diversity of ideas.

This might seem at odds with the thinking of times when the value of collaborative work in Australia has been estimated at A$46 billion per year. However, the message of “the more, the merrier” when it comes to collaboration is increasingly

being qualified and the downside of collaboration overload discussed.

Inspired by the development of diversity in species attributed to isolation (see iguanas at the Galapagos Islands), I walked alone from Melbourne to Sydney in the hope that I could incubate an idea for the duration of the 42-day journey. I was incubating the idea of a new sense of purpose in a post-artificially intelligent world.

I carried two backpacks weighting up to 20kg, depending on the amount of food and water I needed, or if my tent got wet. I camped, or stayed in pubs, Airbnbs and roadside motels from a bygone era.

I mostly enjoyed my solitude, but I did experience loneliness during my trek. Interestingly, the literature suggests that isolation can also lead to lack of “social barometers”, making it difficult for people to determine how they should behave in work settings.

I experienced a version of this as soon as I shared my first meal back in “civilisation” and realised how much I had relaxed my eating etiquette.

The nature of a specific job, like a scientist in Antarctica or a truck driver, might impose aloneness, or else it might be a side effect of mobile technologies or the emergence of the gig economy and other modern working styles. In such cases, the consequences of isolation must be managed.

At the same time, however, we should create opportunities for solitude in work settings, by the design of the space or of our jobs. In doing so, we might increase the diversity of ideas and ultimately our chances to innovate.

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Agustin Chevez

Most people asked “why?” and what charity I was walking for (I wasn’t).

Adjunct Research Fellow, Centre For Design Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology

2018 December Issue | 13

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RETIREMENT (The day most of us look forward to) Anthony Holloway (founder of the ‘Association of British Decorators’ in England) asked me if I could write a particular article for his members regarding retirement. It seemed an appropriate subject to share in the APN magazine as I am 64 and getting close to that very day myself.

A few years ago I mentioned retirement in another article, ‘Plan For Tomorrow’. It was split into two parts: 1. Plan for the Unexpected (bad debts, sickness and accidents): and 2. Plan for the Expected (holidays, lifestyle and retirement).

So are you at that time in life where you’re thinking about winding down your business and retiring?

I personally know two painters that have recently ceased their business operation.

The first is Robert Dolling from ‘Ceduna Specialist Painting’ in South Australia. He is 73 and told me that his ‘body is wearing out’ and felt that it was time to stop. He started work with his father who passed away at 68 and has worked for himself now for 53 years. He never had to advertise as he was well known for his quality of workmanship and was only competing against two other painting companies. Robert put through three apprentices in Ceduna, which has a small population of 3,800. He now just wants to ‘fade away’ and enjoy his hobbies of boating and woodworking.

The second is Kevin Holland from ‘Sligo Decorating Services’ in Victoria. Kevin turned 61 in June and when I contacted him on ‘Messenger’, he was in Ireland and about to catch a cruise ship to Norway. He started painting almost 30 years ago as a result of a sporting accident which prevented him obtaining employment. He learned as he went

and did painting and business courses whenever he could. He joined the MPA as he wanted to be responsible for his work and to his clients. Kevin was then fortunate enough to be invited to join the Dulux Accredited program. This was a great help during his career as it helped him ‘lift my game, appreciate my worth, find the right client base and take pride in my profession’.

Kevin planned for his retirement five years prior and had all intention to give the business jointly to two of his employees as a ‘loyalty thank you’ for their 10 years of service. With the sudden passing away though from an aneurism of the older employee, Kevin knew it was ‘time to go’ sooner than anticipated. The business was then handed over to the younger employee who Kevin put through as an apprentice. He knows it will be in good hands and will give him a great start in life.

2018 December Issue | 15

So what stage are you up to?

can have. 90% of my work derives from past clients and referrals from those clients. Think how much it’s worth to a painting business that is, just starting up, or for a larger business, wants to expand. A buyer of your business can then contact all your clients to inform them that they have taken over and to keep them in mind for their next project.

Think how much this will save them on advertising for new customers.

If you have a long time to go, please take some advice from an old bloke like me. Life shouldn’t be all work.

Your objective in business is to make more than you would if you were working on wages. The extra should be there for your enjoyment; either to use on your house, your children’s education, holidays or building your wealth. So invest in your future. Put some of your earnings into a superannuation fund. It’s not only ‘money in the bank’ but a great tax deduction too. The reason to have your own ‘super’ also is that the Government Pension could change when you’re ready to retire and you may find that you cannot live on the allocated amount.

You do not need to be wealthy to have a great lifestyle, as all it takes is planning and smart business procedures. A smooth operating business leads to a financial operating business. The less hiccups, the fewer headaches, which inevitably results in lower operating costs and more money in the bank for you to enjoy.

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If in the future you would like to sell your business, then there is one thing you should be doing right now and that is to ‘build a client database’. Keep a record of every person you have dealt with. You need their contact details, where they got your name from, when the job was done, what you did, and if they have recommended you to anyone. The more information you have, the better it is for when you are selling. You should know that there’s not much money made out of just selling stock and equipment. Your database is the most valuable business asset you

Don’t just keep a record of the accepted clients either. Keep track of all the non-accepted ones too. This way you can see what advertising campaigns work for you and which do not.

A note to remember: Plan for tomorrow. Relax and keep some balance in your life and most of all, not stress. If you stress, you don’t enjoy. If you don’t enjoy, you may as well work for someone else.

Life is too short, so don’t waste it.

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Jim Baker

www.mytools4business.com

www.lead.org.au

2018 December Issue | 17

䤀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 昀漀爀

倀䄀䤀一吀䔀刀匀 䐀漀 礀漀甀 眀愀渀琀 琀漀 搀攀愀氀 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 椀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 挀漀洀瀀愀渀礀 琀栀愀琀 栀愀猀 琀栀攀 戀攀猀琀 愀瘀愀椀氀愀戀氀攀Ⰰ 挀漀猀琀ⴀ攀û攀挀琀椀瘀攀 椀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 昀漀爀 琀爀愀搀椀攀猀㼀

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吀栀攀 猀攀挀甀爀椀琀礀 昀漀爀 琀栀椀猀 瀀爀漀搀甀挀琀 椀猀 瀀氀愀挀攀搀 瘀椀愀 䰀氀漀礀搀猀 漀昀 䰀漀渀搀漀渀 愀猀 眀攀氀氀 愀猀 漀琀栀攀爀 䄀甀猀琀爀愀氀椀愀渀 愀甀琀栀漀爀椀猀攀搀 椀渀猀甀爀攀爀猀⸀ ㄀㠀 ㌀㔀㔀 ㌀㐀㐀 椀渀昀漀䀀愀甀猀猀椀攀瀀愀椀渀琀攀爀猀渀攀琀眀漀爀欀⸀挀漀洀⸀愀甀 眀眀眀⸀愀甀猀猀椀攀瀀愀椀渀琀攀爀猀渀攀琀眀漀爀欀⸀挀漀洀⸀愀甀

Update to Certificate III

Painting and Decorating Course The national qualification for painters and decorators is currently under review and is due for a major update. Artibus Innovation, in consultation with the Technical Advisory Group for Painting and Decorating are working together to bring the course up-to-date. This important work happens about once every 12 years and it sets the curriculum for apprentices for the next decade.

The Technical Advisory Group are industry experts drawn from around the country, and I’m lucky enough to be one of them. I wish to preface this article by stating that the views expressed in this article are my views as representing the National Painting and Decorating Institute, and that what I am writing is independent of the Technical Advisory Group.

In a recent survey we conducted, only 2 out of 60 employers wanted to keep imitation marbling and woodgraining as part of the core decorative finishes.

Ninety-seven percent said it should not be part of the core decorative finishes subject. This is because marbling and woodgraining are only done by less than 5% of painting contractors, and usually on heritage buildings.

Therefore I will be proposing a change to the decorative finishes unit.

I want to preface this by saying that I learned traditional decorative finishes and still teach it today, so this is not about watering down the trade.

In fact, I love decorative finishes, and believe we should be teaching more decorative finishes, but the ones that are in demand, and are being used on modern buildings!

I am not proposing the removal of traditional decorative finishes from the qualification; it should still be part of the qualification, but maybe not a core subject. Trainers and employers need more flexibility in choosing which decorative finishes the students and employees learn.

There has already been progress made, with everyone agreeing that protective coatings needs to be a core subject, and that the course will have beefed up information and training on surface preparation, estimating and colour matching, which I think will lead to great outcomes for our trade.

Decorative finishes should remain a core unit but the content needs to Part of the process of updating the be reviewed, in particular the actual course involves industry consultation. skills we are teaching.

Are we training apprentices for the industry in 2018 or for 1918? With only 3% of the industry using traditional decorative finishes like marbling and woodgraining, why are we spending so much time on them, to the detriment of other skills which are in high demand?

I would like to propose two options: Option 1: Renaming the two decorative finishes units: Modern Decorative Finishes (Core) and Traditional Decorative Finishes (Elective). The modern decorative finishes unit would include mirror finish, lining, broken colour, stenciling and modern acrylic, including lime wash, rust effect, stone, suede and the other amazing finishes we have available in 2018. Traditional Decorative Finishes would include traditional decorative finishes such as marbling, woodgraining, gilding and trompe o’leil, and be aimed at employers who do heritage work, or students who work on heritage buildings where these skills are in demand.

Option 2: Keeping the existing units and moving the woodgraining and marbling to Advanced Decorative Finishes.

2018 December Issue | 19

I can already hear the cries of anguish from the traditionalists that we should never even think about doing this, and the usual accusations that I’m trying to destroy the trade. But I invite you to think about these two points: 1. Why are apprenticeship numbers dropping? Why are only 23% of employers happy with the training their apprentices are getting?

2. Industry surveys show that only 12% of painters who had done an apprenticeship felt that the training they had received at the college was useful to them obtaining needed skills.

Therefore, we need to make training more relevant; we need to bring it up to date with modern building and painting methods. There is still a place for traditional decorative finishes, but not as a core skill. Lets make the content more relevant for the modern painter. Lets give them the skills in decorative finishes that will get them a job, or to start a

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business no matter where they live. Give the trainer the flexibility to spend time on skills that are in demand, and skills that employers are asking for. There are many skills that are being added and that need to be added to the core units, so it certainly does not mean that apprentices will receive less training. We just to reallocate what we spend the training time on and give priorities to skills that are not being taught adequately at the moment.

The traditional skills will not die out. The employers who do them or want their staff to be trained in woodgraining and marbling will still have the opportunity to do it by choosing it as an elective.

The argument that apprentices should learn ‘all the skills of a traditional painter’ is illogical. If apprentices need to learn every skill then why do we have electives at all? The purpose of electives is to give employers the opportunity to choose what they want their staff

to be trained in. We need to listen to what they are saying.

I’m sure that this article will cause an uproar, but this is the time to have this debate. I am the youngest member of the Technical Advisory Group and I want our trade to move into the 21st century and be dynamic. I believe I also have the support of many employers and trainers around Australia.

I’m interested in hearing your view.

What do you think?

You can still participate in the survey by clicking on this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ r/7B7RP8F

--------------------------------------Daniel Wurm

www. painters.edu.au 1300 319 790

䘀刀䔀䔀 匀吀䄀䘀䘀 匀䄀䘀䔀吀夀 䌀伀唀刀匀䔀

䤀一吀刀伀䐀唀䌀吀䤀伀一

䐀唀吀夀 伀䘀 䌀䄀刀䔀 刀䔀儀唀䤀刀䔀䐀 吀刀䄀䤀一䤀一䜀 䄀一䐀 䰀䤀䌀䔀一匀䤀一䜀 䤀䐀䔀一吀䤀䘀夀 䠀䄀娀䄀刀䐀匀

匀䄀䘀䔀吀夀 倀刀䤀一䌀䤀倀䰀䔀匀

匀圀䴀匀 ☀ 䨀匀䄀 倀唀吀吀䤀一䜀 伀唀吀 䄀 䘀䤀刀䔀 倀唀 䴀䄀一唀䄀䰀 䠀䄀一䐀䰀䤀一䜀 匀䤀吀䔀 匀䤀䜀一䄀䜀䔀 䄀一䐀 䈀䄀刀刀䤀䌀䄀䐀䔀匀 䄀䐀䠀䔀刀䔀 吀伀 伀䠀☀匀 䘀伀刀 匀倀刀䄀夀 倀䄀䤀一吀䤀一䜀

䔀䰀䔀䌀吀刀䤀䌀䄀䰀 匀䄀䘀䔀吀夀

䔀䰀䔀䌀吀刀䤀䌀䄀䰀 匀䄀䘀䔀吀夀 䤀一匀倀 䤀一匀倀䔀䌀吀 倀伀圀䔀刀 䰀䔀䄀䐀匀 唀匀䤀一䜀 倀伀圀䔀刀 吀伀伀䰀匀 匀䄀䘀䔀䰀夀 刀䔀䌀伀刀䐀 䘀䄀唀䰀吀匀 䄀一䐀 吀䄀䜀

圀伀刀䬀䤀一䜀 䄀吀 䠀䔀䤀䜀䠀吀匀

圀伀刀䬀䤀一䜀 䄀吀 䠀䔀䤀䜀䠀吀匀 䔀圀倀 匀䄀䘀䔀吀夀 匀䔀吀 唀倀 匀䔀儀唀䔀一䌀䔀 䘀伀刀 吀刀䔀匀吀䰀䔀匀 䄀一䐀 匀䔀吀 唀倀 匀 倀䰀䄀一䬀匀

䠀䄀娀䄀刀䐀伀唀匀 䴀䄀吀䔀刀䤀䄀䰀匀

夀伀唀刀 䐀唀吀夀 䤀䐀䔀一吀䤀䘀夀䤀一䜀 䄀匀䈀䔀匀吀伀匀 䤀䐀䔀一吀䤀䘀夀 圀䠀䔀刀䔀 䄀匀䈀䔀匀吀伀匀 䌀䄀一 䈀䔀 䘀伀唀一䐀 䔀一䌀䄀倀匀唀䰀䄀吀䤀一䜀 䄀匀䈀䔀匀吀伀匀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 倀䄀䤀一吀 䠀䄀娀䄀刀䐀匀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 倀䄀䤀一吀 刀䤀匀䬀 䌀伀一䐀唀䌀吀䤀一䜀 䄀 䘀䤀䔀䰀䐀 吀䔀匀吀 䘀伀刀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 䔀堀吀䔀刀䤀伀刀 倀刀䔀䌀䄀唀吀䤀伀一 倀刀䔀倀䄀刀䄀吀䤀伀一匀 倀刀伀吀䔀䌀吀䤀伀一 䄀䜀䄀䤀一匀吀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 䔀堀倀伀匀唀刀䔀 䌀伀一吀䄀䤀一䴀䔀一吀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 䄀䈀䄀吀䔀䴀䔀一吀 䐀刀夀 匀䄀一䐀䤀一䜀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 䄀䈀䄀吀䔀䴀䔀一吀 䌀䠀䔀䴀䤀䌀䄀䰀 匀吀刀䤀倀倀䤀一䜀 圀䔀吀 匀䄀一䐀䤀一䜀 圀䔀吀 䔀一䌀䄀倀匀唀䰀䄀吀䤀伀一 伀䘀 䰀䔀䄀䐀 䌀䰀䔀䄀一 唀倀 倀刀伀䌀䔀䐀唀刀䔀匀 伀䘀 䠀䄀娀䄀刀䐀伀唀匀 匀唀䈀匀吀䄀一䌀䔀匀 䠀䔀䄀䰀吀䠀 匀唀刀嘀䔀䤀䰀䰀䄀一䌀䔀

2018 December Issue | 21

One in four Australians are lonely, which affects their physical and mental health One in four Australians are lonely, our new report has found, and it’s not just a problem among older Australians – it affects both genders and almost all age groups.

The Australian Loneliness Report, released today by my colleagues and I at the Australian Psychological Society and Swinburne University, found one in two (50.5%) Australians feel lonely for at least one day in a week, while more than one in four (27.6%) feel lonely for three or more days.

Our results come from a survey of 1,678 Australians from across the nation. We used a comprehensive measure of loneliness to assess how it relates to mental health and physical health outcomes.

Read more: Politics with Michelle Grattan: Andrew Giles on the growing issue of loneliness

We found nearly 55% of the population feel they lack companionship at least sometime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Australians who are married or in a de facto relationship are the least lonely, compared to those who are single, separated or divorced.

22 | Aussie Painters Network

While Australians are reasonably connected to their friends and families, they don’t have the same relationships with their neighbours.

Almost half of Australians (47%) reported not having neighbours to call on for help, which suggests many of us feel disengaged in our neighbourhoods.

Impact on mental and physical health

Lonely Australians, when compared with their less lonely counterparts, reported higher social anxiety and depression, poorer psychological health and quality of life, and fewer meaningful relationships and social interactions.

Loneliness increases a person’s likelihood of experiencing depression by 15.2% and the likelihood of social anxiety increases by 13.1%.

Those who are lonelier also report being more socially anxious during social interactions.

This fits with previous research, including a study of more than 1,000 Americans which found lonelier people reported more severe social anxiety, depression, and paranoia when followed up after three months.

Older Australians are less socially anxious than younger folks. Fabio Neo Amato

Interestingly, Australians over 65 were less lonely, less socially anxious, and less depressed than younger Australians.

This is consistent with previous studies that show older people fare better on particular mental health and well-being indicators.

(Though it’s unclear whether this is the case for adults over 75, as few participants in our study were aged in the late 70s and over).

Younger adults, on the other hand, reported significantly more social anxiety than older Australians.

The evidence outlining the negative effects of loneliness on physical health is also growing. Past research has found loneliness increases the likelihood of an earlier death by 26% and has negative consequences on the health of your heart, your sleep, and levels of inflammation.

or carers groups) may help alleviate their loneliness.

There are some things we can do in the meantime.

But for others, there are more barriers to overcome, such as stigma, discrimination, and poverty.

We need a campaign to end loneliness for all Australians. Campaigns can raise awareness, reduce stigma, and empower not just the lonely person but also those around them.

Loneliness campaigns have been successfully piloted in the United Kingdom and Denmark. These campaigns don’t just raise awareness of loneliness; they also empower lonely and un-lonely people to change their social behaviours.

Read more: Loneliness is a health issue, and needs targeted solutions Our study adds to this body of research, finding people with higher rates of loneliness are more likely to have more headaches, stomach problems, and physical pain. This is not surprising as loneliness is associated with increased inflammatory responses.

What can we do about it?

Researchers are just beginning to understand the detrimental effects of loneliness on our health, social lives and communities but many people – including service providers – are unaware. There are no guidelines or training for service providers.

So, even caring and highly trained staff at emergency departments may trivialise the needs of lonely people presenting repeatedly and direct them to resources that aren’t right.

Increasing awareness, formalised training, and policies are all steps in the right direction to reduce this poor care.

For some people, simple solutions such as joining shared interest groups (such as book clubs) or shared experienced groups (such as bereavement

Shared interest groups can help some people feel less alone. Danielle Cerullo

Many community programs and social services focus on improving well-being and quality of life for lonely people. By tackling loneliness, they may also improve the health of Australians. But without rigorous evaluation of these health outcomes, it’s difficult to determine their impact.

We know predictors of loneliness can include genetics, brain functioning, mental health, physical health, community, work, and social factors. And we know predictors can differ between groups – for example, young versus old.

But we need to better measure and understand these different predictors and how they influence each other over time. Only with Australian data can we predict who is at risk and develop effective solutions.

A great example of action arising from increased awareness comes from the Royal College of General Practitioners, which developed action plans to assist lonely patients presenting in primary care. The college encouraged GPs to tackle loneliness with more than just medicine; it prompted them to ask what matters to the lonely person rather than what is the matter with the lonely person.

Australia lags behind other countries but loneliness is on the agenda.

Multiple Australian organisations have come together after identifying a need to generate Australianspecific data, increase advocacy, and develop an awareness campaign.

But only significant, sustained government investment and bipartisan support will ensure this promising work results in better outcomes for lonely Australians.

Michelle H Lim

Senior Lecturer and Clinical Psychologist, Swinburne University of Technology

https://theconversation.com/one-in-four-australiansare-lonely-which-affects-their-physical-and-mentalhealth-106231

2018 December Issue | 23

24 | Aussie Painters Network

Things the Smartest Leaders Say to Motivate Their Employees...

“My boss totally motivates me through fear and control,” said no employee ever.

Motivation can come in many different forms, but all towards achieving something good. If you’re a leader, then you hold the key to unlock the power of motivation to get the effort you require from your team.

Motivating your team towards a common goal just won’t happen using negative talk and fear tactics.

It all starts with what you say and how you say it. Here are some examples of how smart leaders motivate their teams: 1. “I’ll follow up on that and get back to you by Tuesday.”

As a leader it’s up to you to set a clear plan of action, within an agreed timeframe. You set the direction and the proper expectations, and follow through on your promises. Your team success relies on it. Make sure you say what you

mean, because if you don’t, your staff will start to question you and distrust will creep in.

2. “I have good news and bad news.”

Smart leaders tell the truth. Being an open communicator can go a long way toward motivating employees. It means you can be trusted to tell your team the truth. We all know honesty goes a long way!

2018 December Issue | 25

3. “Here’s what we’re dealing with, and what this means for you.”

Your team just want to know where they stand. When something happens that disrupts things, communicate what’s really going on with your team, reset expectations, and keep your team focused. You will keep motivation high in your team by being positive, but realistic.

4. “I want you to know how the work you’re doing aligns with our company’s objectives.”

Smart leaders let their people know regularly how they’re hitting their goals and how their work is hitting company goals as well. This gives their work meaning and higher purpose – a great motivator.

5. “Come and see me anytime.”

Don’t just say it, follow through with it. If you offer an open door policy to your staff, then let them come and see you, talk to you, whenever they feel it necessary.

6. “I want you to know how much I appreciate you.”

The most important performance motivator – is praise and recognition. It should be given at least once a week. Praise in front of their peers, their team members, is gold, it gives that team member value to everyone. Your employees wont just be more motivated, but more committed and loyal.

7. “Here’s what’s working well.”

Start with the positive when you need to discuss an area that needs improvement with your team.

Don’t jump right into the hard part,

26 | Aussie Painters Network

it will just put your team straight into defence mode. Acknowledge what is already working, and what you appreciate about your team member’s strengths. Then ease into how you’d like to see performance specifically improve in the areas of concern 8. “I trust your judgment.”

Smart leaders find ways to rely on others for their input. Trust is a two-way street. By extending it as a gift to employees, they’ll be more inclined to return the favour and trust you back. It also brings your team closer together to produce excellent, cohesive work.

Ultimately you won’t get anywhere with your employees with negative talk. It’s all about the positives.

Motivation comes from positivity, and your business will drive forward with a positive motivated team behind it.

Interested in learning more about how you can become a great leader in your painting business? Check out Episode 10 of The Tradie Show, ‘How To Become A Great Leader For Your Trade Business where you will learn how to encourage an energised and happy workplace through your leadership skills. CLICK HERE to check it out for FREE!

Angela Smith

Co-founder – Lifestyle Tradie

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

Your leadership can create & encourage a happy workplace

LEARN FOR FREE

2018 December Issue | 27

Overcoming Training Ego Everyone talks about training and what a great thing it is but do you really do it and has your organization adapted to today’s market place. As frustrating as employees may be, you can’t run a contracting organization without them. Yes, there has been lots of changes in the contracting world. The internet, cell phones, better accounting programs, etc. but good work is done by good people.

Apprenticeship has declined over the years but many of the mindsets still exist. A “’young people have to pay their dues” attitude still exists.

While it may be fun to send helpers after left handed monkey wrenches and seem like a rite of passage to make them perform menial tasks day after day, we need more craftspeople. We can’t run the risk of boring or running off good people just because of unrealistic practices and trade egos.

What do I mean by trade egos? It takes years to learn a craft. If I am a craftsperson and you ask me to train

28 | Aussie Painters Network

some rookie, my first inclination is to think about the years it took to learn my craft. In my mind, there is no way I can teach someone in a few weeks or months to do what I do.

What experienced craftspeople forget is that day in day out, contracting can be very repetitive. How long does it take a helper to learn how to set a toilet if we are doing a hotel with 200 rooms? Or how long does it take to learn how to roll a wall with paint or nail a shingle? Not very long. Does setting a toilet make you a plumber or nailing a shingle make you are roofer? Of course not.

But these trade skills do make helpers much more productive. Let’s be honest, if I can’t show a helper how to do one of these tasks in a few days, he or she is never going to be able to learn the trade.

It is important to remember that you pay craftspeople for what they know, not necessarily what they do every day. You have to make this clear to foremen when you ask them to teach someone a trade. A knowledgeable foreman or craftsperson still does

many tasks in a given day that can be easily taught but that does not mean the foreman is not valuable. A nurse or intern can perform numerous medical procedures but if something goes wrong, I want an experienced doctor as part of the team.

Start your training process by identifying tasks that are repetitive. This allows you to get the most bang out of your training and your new recruit. For a painter this might be rolling a wall or basic brush strokes on how to cut in a corner. For a roofer, it might be nailing shingles or rolling out underlayment. Focus on production items that are the norm, not the exception.

Next, schedule some training that focuses on a single task. Consider staying after work for an hour or two and just have the person learn this task over and over. You would be surprised how practice makes perfect. Or as Vince Lombardi, the famous football coach said, “Perfect practice, makes perfect.”

Use technology to help you. Take a smart phone, show someone doing the task correctly and fast. Then as the new recruit is learning, show that person what he or she looks like and coach them through the process.

Tie pay into skill. Try to tier your pay scale so there are different grades of skill and activity. Have a set of skills a person must learn before they will receive a raise. Keep it simple and realistic.

Try reviewing the helper’s progress with the person who is doing the coaching and training. With just a little bit of accountability you can speed the process. Try to instill into the trainer the importance of carrying on his or her legacy.

Work within your company to identify people who make good

trainers. Sometimes people who are extremely gifted with natural talent do not make good trainers.

My Dad was a very gifted carpenter and I am not particularly mechanically inclined where my brother was. So you can guess which one of us ended up a carpenter versus who the consultant is.

When it comes to recruits, try to find people who will work and teach them the trade. Work ethic is a inherit value your parents, coaches and early life experiences taught you. Trying to teach people work ethic can be very frustrating. Stop trading drunks and drug addicts from company to company. Also understand that you may have to pay a higher starting wage to attract people with driver’s licenses and a proven work history. Look for people stuck in non-craft jobs where there is a ceiling on their pay.

In closing, I am not saying that finding good people is easy but you have to start somewhere. If what you are doing now is not working, stop doing it over and over again.

Take a more calculated and long term approach. Just think, if you had started three years ago, things would be better.

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

Monroe Porter

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

www.proofman.com

䴀礀 䠀漀甀爀氀礀 刀愀琀攀 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

30 | Aussie Painters Network

How To Sell Your Business For Maximum Profit Would your business fall in a heap when you’re not around? This is not a trick question…

It’s about the fact that your business is not you, although you’ve created it and made it the success that it is.

It’s about the fact that only 21 percent of Business owners successfully sell their business.

It’s about the possibility that, if you had an accident and literally cannot be around, your business might go under. How would your business go without you around giving direction to your staff and running the ship?

Given that selling a business is often one of the biggest wealth creators for any business owner it is surprising that only a handful of people work on an exit and suc-

cession planning strategy 12-36 months before a sale is contemplated. So here are some tips for you to help you get prepared, in case you ever start thinking about selling your business.

Business Owners that successfully sell their business start with the end goal in mind. The goal being to create a business that you build in a way that it sells itself for maximum profit and builds wealth for a new venture… or for your retirement fund.

For a business to be attractive to buyers you’ll need to show them value. What constitutes business value? In most cases it could be summed up as risk and profit. Potential buyers want to know what the profit potential is, and the longevity and scalability of the business. And most importantly can the business continue to operate with-

out the current business owner?

Besides your Profit & Loss statements, a buyer will want to see how you’ve got your work processes organised. They’ll be looking for things like:  policies and procedures  financial administration records and sales figures  job descriptions and contracts  monthly scorecards  project plans and milestones  business and marketing plans Imagine showing a potential buyer the last 2 years of monthly snapshots showing successes, obstacles and strategies to move forward. This demonstrates you are a well managed organisation and makes your business more appealing and attractive to a potential purchaser.

2018 December Issue | 31

To drive the value of your organisation you need to have a scalable, systemised organisation that can function independently to the business owner. The less planning and value enhancement is done the less valuable the business.

In order to prepare your business for a sale, it’s a good idea to talk to your accountant, who can help you get a business health check first.

In this process you’ll be examining your business numbers and current practices and get recommendations on what you need to do to improve your chances to sell your business for a good price.

Going through this process in itself improves accountability and drives success. What gets measured - improves! And this needs to become a practice throughout your whole business, long before you think

about selling. Start delegating to your staff and create monthly action plans together to get the data you need to show the trajectory of your business success.

You can also conduct an attractiveness index gap analysis to help you pinpoint exactly what instrument, process or documentation you still need to make your business attractive to a potential buyer.

Selling your business is one of the most important transactions of your life. You don’t want to leave it to chance, so if you need more straight performance talk and 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 Copyright © 2018 Robert Bauman.

Construction Industry Mentoring Flyer BUSY At Work and Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) have teamed up to offer a new and exciting mentoring program for apprentices and trainees in the construction industry.

Industry Specialist Mentoring for Australian Apprentices (ISMAA) provides individual support to Australian Apprentices and Trainees in the first two years of their apprenticeship or traineeship.

The program is aimed at industries where automation, robotics and other new technology or influences are changing the future roles of apprentices and trainees, and tradespeople.

BUSY At Work are proud to be delivering the ISMAA program on behalf of the Australian Government.

We will work intensively with apprentices to help them stay engaged, complete their training and achieve great things in their careers and to become the great tradespeople of the future.

Our ISMMA mentors have a wide range of experience and understand the changing nature of your industry.

Our Industry Specialist mentors will engage with the mentee to create a specific and individual mentoring plan to be implemented over a 6 month period.

Visits will focus on workplace and industry changes, future career options and new skills that may be required.

BUSY At Work believes this program will benefit all involved and help improve the retention rate of apprentices and trainees in the construction industry.

Tim Gillespie ISMAA Mentor - BUSY At Work 0438 869 227 Tim.Gillespie@busyatwork.com.au Visit busyatwork.com.au/ismaa

32 | Aussie Industry Painters Network Specialist Mentoring for Australian Apprentices (ISMAA) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.

2018 December Issue | 33

The Warning Signs of

NON PAYMENT When I sit in front of my clients and ask them to tell me the story of their payment issue I often hear warning sign after warning sign that my client did not pick up on. They tell me about what the builder or project manager said or did which were clear signals that payment was going to be an issue. Yet they kept working, oblivious to the dispute that lay ahead.

If you can spot these signs early you can address non payment early. It is better to argue about $20 000 than $150 000.

I will outline the most common below.

Informalising the relationship You and your client are not mates, friends, or relatives. You are in a business relationship. That means that your relationship is governed by the contract. Keep it that way.

A key cause of disputes is where each party agrees to deviate from the contract in a series of informal works or undertakings. Then the client refuses to pay for those works, and then retreats back to the contract, and denies any additional agreements.

You all know what I am talking about.

You are entering into these informal agreements because you want

34 | Aussie Painters Network

to be a ‘good bloke’. Forget it. The contract is the agreement. Any changes need to be run under that agreement.

You have a business relationship. It is ‘fee for service’. Don’t lose sight of that.

Dumping the paperwork Often a contract will require certain notices and documents to be completed, sent, signed off etc at certain points. For example you may send your client an Extension of Time [EOT] request. Or you may quote a variation and submit it for sign off.

Now your client does not sign it or respond as the contract requires.

Let’ say you get a verbal approval, or your client refuses to sign or makes an excuse. Then you accept this and go ahead.

You have just left yourself wide open.

Your client will deny approval for any of it. I often see contractors who follow the process as described in the contract, but their client doesn’t. For example an EOT Notice may require a response in writing, but the client does not respond at all. (Clearly to avoid approving any EOT.] Keep to the process. If the contract describes a process for each side to follow then hold your client to that process. Don’t do anything unless

your client does their part too. If a variation has to be signed off by the client then don’t start it until it is signed off. If an EOT Notice goes unresponded to, then insist that it is, and send written correspondence noting that your client has not responded.

These are all examples where your client does not want to create written evidence of their agreement to anything that might cost them money. Don’t let that happen.

Gone bush Suddenly you can’t get your client on the phone. You know what I’m talking about. Messages unreturned. Faxes unanswered. They always appear to be in meetings.

This is a strong sign of a payment problem. This usually happens in conjunction with other issues. For example you might be calling to follow up on your EOT notice or your variation quote, or when your promised payment will come in.

Don’t accept this and keep working. A good strategy is to first send written notices to your client noting the number of calls and messages you have left and that they have not answered.

Then, depending on what your contract says, you can simply not carry out the work in question.

If you haven’t gotten a response from your client then you can claim you have no direction either way and simply not do the work. This will almost always drag your client out of the shadows.

Above all you should be aware that the difficulty in contacting your client has nothing to do with all the ‘meetings’ he is in. It’s is likely to be connected to avoiding payment.

Meetings meetings meetings Whenever you are being called in to meetings to ‘sort out’ things that are already clearly set out in the contract it’s time to be worried. For example the contract might state that you are to be paid 30 days EOM. That date comes and goes without payment. You call your client to ask why you haven’t been paid and they call you in to a meeting to ‘sort it out’.

Sort out what? The contract states when claims are to be in, the contract states when they are to be paid. Simple. Yet you are being called into meetings to negotiate various terms and arrangements that are already agreed in the contract.

I had a client that spent months in these ridiculous meetings where all sorts of alternative payment

arrangements were put to him. In short his client wanted to vary his contractual obligations relating to payment, while my client was expected to stick to the contract. In the end my client kept working and his client went into administration owing him $70 000.00.

If you must attend these meetings make detailed notes and send your clients Minutes of that meeting. Also I would almost never agree to vary what was agreed in the contract. It’s the thin edge of the wedge.

Ridiculous Payment Schedules This is so common. You submit a claim for $120 000.00 and you get a Schedule for $42 000.00. Too many contractors accept this and continue working. After 4 months you have done $500 000.00 and been paid $135 000.00. This is crazy. I have looked at these Schedules and they are miles away from justifying such large shortfalls. Most of the time the client will not argue with the work done but will create a whole series of set-offs claiming defective and incomplete work and damages.

You need to hit these hard straight away. Too many contractors try to ‘have meetings’ to reason with the client and get more money. Forget it. Your client has to justify every

cent that they take off your table. If they can’t, then take the matter to adjudication immediately.

This problem never improves next month. It only gets worse. When you client sees you are willing to work regardless of the low scheduled amounts, they will do it again next time (why wouldn’t they?)

Hit this one hard straight away.

These five warning signs happen in combination or on their own. You need to see them for what they are: signs that you will not be paid. The key is to act quickly and address them head on. If the relationship breaks down then so be it. You need to protect your cashflow first. It is better to be in dispute over less money, than over 8 months worth of work. By then you will have no leverage in any dispute and will take anything to get out. Don’t let that happen.

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 December Issue | 35

The Industry

Idiots

36 | 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 December Issue | 37