About this podcast: A holistic accountant’s job is to generate wealth for their clients – it’s not just about minimising tax. They must show you how to use your business to build your personal wealth to achieve your financial and lifestyle goals. The most efficient way to do that is by adopting a holistic approach. This podcast shows business owners how to do that. Click here to find out more about ProSolution Private Clients.

This podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Deezer and all podcast directories.

Episode one: Common business structuring mistakes and how to avoid them 

Your business structure is critical because it will dictate how much tax you pay, whether you will be able to build personal wealth effectively, if your assets are protected and your overall financial success. We see lots of costly mistakes. We discuss how to avoid these mistakes and structure your business to achieve personal success.

Episode two: How to ensure your business helps you achieve your financial and lifestyle goals.

There are many non-financial reasons that encourage people to start their own business. But it’s important that you are fairly rewarded (financially) for your time, effort and risk. It might be your goal to build your businesses value and sell it one day. But as a plan B, you must direct a proportion of your annual profit towards building a personal nest egg. Stuart and Mena discuss how you can achieve this, including:

• • The three common tax-effective ownership structures to use to build wealth
  • How to improve your business’s cash flow
  • How your accountant can help maximise your borrowing capacity so that you can borrow to invest
  • Why ignoring super is foolish (and why you don’t need a SMSF)
  • Investing in commercial property can be very rewarding, particularly if you operate your business from it.

• Episode three: What should you ask your accountant to focus on?

  Imagine your accountant came up with an idea that would save you $30,000 in tax each year for the next 20 years. That one idea would be worth over $460,000 to you (in today’s dollars). That’s what you want your accountant working on. However, historically, accountants spend most of their time helping their clients meet all ATO compliance obligations such as preparing Business Activity Statements and tax returns.

  A holistic accountant should be finding ways to use technology to automate and systemise as much of this work as possible. If they are successful with doing this, it should mean that they have more time to help you improve the profitability and cash flow your business generates. In this episode, Stuart and Mena discuss the things your accountant should be working on, including:

  • How should accountants use technology to streamline your business?
  • Why accountants need to cover the roles of not only an accountant and tax advisor, but also a financial planner and business coach – all rolled into one person.
  • Your holistic accountant should be working on strategies to improve profitability, improve cash flow, minimise tax, business growth strategies and help you invest your profit to improve your personal wealth.

   

  Episode four: How to turn your business into a cash flow machine (self-fund growth and personal needs)

  Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. A business that generates an increasing amount of free cash flow as it grows can self-fund its future growth. It can grow infinitely. However, a business that doesn’t generate free cash flow will eventually die (without constant equity injections). This is the topic of episode four: how do you turn your business into a cash flow machine. Mena and Stuart discuss:
  

  • The four elements that impact a business’ cash conversion cycle and we share tips on how to improve each of them.
  • Strategies to receive revenue before you have to pay for your expenses.
  • How to provision for tax liabilities so that you never receive an unexpected tax bill.
  • How much cash your business should hold (for a rainy day).

   

  Episode five: A business owners most important decision is setting the price of their product or service – how to harness pricing power

  If your net profit margin is 20% and you increase your price by 10%, you will increase your profit by 50%! That is why pricing is probably the most important decision that a business owner makes. However, most business owners spend very little time setting prices. Mena and Stuart discuss:
  

  • Why pricing decisions are so important.
  • Common methods used to set prices.
  • Three proven strategies to improve pricing power (and therefore profit).
  • How to optimise pricing depending on your business model… and much more.

   

  Episode six: How to prepare a practical and actionable business plan

  Many business owners prepare a business plan when they first start their business. But this document is never looked at again. We encourage our clients to invest one day every two to three years to draft a practical and actionable business plan. In this episode, Mena and Stuart discuss:

  • Why it’s the best investment of your time. A business plan provides multiple benefits including sharpening your focus, motivating employees, obtaining finance and/or investors and so on.
  • A deep dive on the 6 key topics/matters that you must include in your business plan.
  • Mena and Stuart share four proven business planning insights, to help you craft a successful business strategy.

  Episode seven: How to scale your business to multiply your profits

  Knowing how to scale your business is the fastest and most successful way to multiple your business’ profitability. That is why it’s important to consider if your business lends itself to scaling and if so, how to do it. In this episode, Mena and Stuart discuss:

  • • Three examples of how business’ achieve saleability including building a well-known brand, productisation and build-in the desire/incentive to ‘share’ in your product.
    • Some businesses don’t lend themselves to sharing, and of course that’s fine, but those business’ should consider the ‘smallest viable audience’ concept popularised by Seth Godin.
    • How your holistic accountant can help you to scale your business including understanding your numbers, different business models, structures and asset protection considerations.

   

  Episode eight: How to prepare your business for sale and maximise your after-tax proceeds

  There are many reasons to improve the saleability of your business, including if it’s your plan to sell your business in the future, of course. Other reasons can include succession planning, to raise capital, reduce your working hours and so on. In this episode, Mena and Stuart discuss:

• • The five steps involved in maximising the saleability of your business and what’s involved in each of these.
  • How to use the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions to potentially reduce any CGT liability to nil.
  • Various strategies to maximise your sale price and minimise your risk including earn-outs, restraint of trade, vendor warranties and structuring considerations.