Young Entrepreneurs Evening – November 09

Wanna hang out with other young entrepreneurs just like you?

Wanna hear from awesome speakers who will inspire you & give you tips that will impact your business positively straight away?

Wanna hear about future young entrepreneurs programs that you can get involved in?

Do it all at The Frank Team’s Young Entrepreneurs Evening…

When: Wednesday 4^th November 6pm-9:30pm

Our Guest Speaker is successful young entrepreneur Joseph Renzi of Our Wishing Well.

Joseph will share his entrepreneurial journey and Tips for Running a Successful Biz. He is the CEO & Managing Director of OurWishingWell.com and its related websites. Joseph is a highly motivated and creative entrepreneur. He has won the Top 10 Cool Companies award from Anthill Magazine and Young BizStar. His business has been a finalist in best E-Biz and Innovative Technology awards and Joseph has been recognised by My Business Magazine as a leading E- Entrepreneur. www.ourwishingwell.com.au

Our Entrepreneurs Panel – Hear from these successful entrepreneurs, who have also been mentors in the YESUP program. They will form an informal panel and answer questions about their entrepreneurial journeys, challenges and successes. This will be an intimate Q&A where you can fire your questions at them and learn directly from their experiences..

Tim Nicholas – Malcolm Auld Direct

Annalisa Holmes – The Transcription People

Glenn Drew – XSQUIZZIT

Book Your Spot NOW.

Our Participants: Hear from our YESUP participants about their experience in the program.

Join us for facilitated networking, a celebration of the completion of another YESUP Program, plus soak up the wisdom of our awesome guest speakers who are all successful entrepreneurs!

Food: Snacks & drinks provided.

Cost: All of this goodness for only $25 (inc GST) payable by PayPal or online banking (details sent to you when you RSVP).

RSVP: anna@frankteam.com.au There are limited tickets available (for non YESUP people) so please RSVP quickly.

Ph: (02) 9518 6244 by Monday 2^nd November

Where: bioFirst Seminar Room
Ground Floor, National Innovation Centre, Australian Technology Park, 4 Cornwallis St Eveleigh, NSW 2015
Parking available on site.

Big thanks to:
NSW Department of Industry and Investment (www.industry.nsw.gov.au)
ATP Innovations (www.atp-innovations.com.au )

Look forward to seeing you there!

bizedge – Young Entrepreneurs Day

Get an edge and grow your business idea NOW.

Come and spend the day hearing from highly successful entrepreneurs, networking with other young entrepreneurs and learning key skills that will give you the edge over your competition and the market today.

BIZ Edge Young Entrepreneurs Day is a free event held during Small Business September by the NSW Department of Industry and Investment in conjunction with The Frank Team.

This FREE event specifically for young entrepreneurs is packed with all sorts of good ideas to grow your business to the next level or to help you get started in the business world. Check out what is involved in the day……

Keynote speaker: Amanda Gome from Smart Company – A highly successful entrepreneur, Amanda will share her secrets on how she built her business empire and what gives her the EDGE in their market today.

Workshops: All participants will attend two practical and highly useful workshops.

- Online Marketing Success with Fred Schebesta will run twice so all participants go through this workshop. Fred Schebesta will share his ideas and knowledge about the important elements of online marketing success.

- ACTIVATE Steps to Start UP with The Frank Team is perfect for you to learn the steps to starting up your own business, how to take your idea and make it a reality.

- Life cycle Marketing Systems with The Frank Team will help participants learn about marketing success for their business and how to set up systems that run this part of your business. This workshop is from The F rank Team’s highly successful YESUP.
After lunch, a panel of young entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries share their secrets to success, and answer audience questions.

Your panel includes:
* George Katrib – Bayswater Property Group
* Lisa Messenger – Messenger Marketing
* Glenn Drew – esite Connect

Plus you can meet heaps of very cool people, or take part in promo opportunities where you get up in front of the group, and tell everyone about you and your business, before continuing networking after the event downstairs at The Verandah Bar.

The BIZ Edge Young Entrepreneurs Day is on Friday September 11 at the Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts, 280 Pitt Street, Sydney. The day begins at 9.30 am sharp and winds up at 3.00 pm.

To register go to www.smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au. Enquiries to anna@frankteam.com.au or call (02)95186244.

But there is only room for 60 people so do RSVP quick to secure your spot.

So the important details….

When: Friday September 11th

Where: Sydney Mechanic School of Arts, Pitt Street, Sydney

What time: 9.15am for a 9.30am start – 3pm

And we will start without you if you don’t arrive on time!

RSVP: To register go to www.smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au and search for “Biz Edge” event.

Any questions contact us on (02)95186244 and ask for Anna.

Look forward to seeing you there.

More info about the speakers at the event….

KEYNOTE – Amanda Gome
Amanda Gome is the founder and publisher of SmartCompany.com.au, a free online news and resources site for entrepreneurs. Previously she had been an editor and senior writer at BRW magazine where her passion and interest in entrepreneurship led her to founding and editing the Fast 100 list and the Emerging Companies section.

Over two decades in business journalism, Amanda has interviewed almost every entrepreneur in this country worth their salt … and plenty that weren’t! She is also an adjunct professor of business at RMIT University, lectures students in entrepreneurship and regularly comments on business.

Ytrep Opps – June 09

Get stuck into our latest Opportunities Blast just for you and your growing business.

Young Entrepreneurs Workshop –THIS Saturday (13th June) in Sydney

This is a FREE event put on by The Frank Team for young entrepreneurs to help activate their ideas. Hear from successful young entrepreneurs, work on your business idea through innovative and practical workshops, and meet other local young business people out there making their ideas a reality. The day assists 16 – 28 year olds who have a business idea, are thinking about setting up a new business, or want to grow their existing business. More info http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/young-entrepreneurs-workshop-activate-your-ideas.html

Show Me How Workshop – PR Secrets for Beginners

Would you love to get some coverage in the media to grow your business but don’t know where to start? Effective PR is important to any business for a number of reasons. Mainly because it raises your profile to your audience, positions you as an expert in your field, helps to build your database and most importantly INCREASES SALES! The Frank Team’s ‘PR Secrets for Beginners’ workshop will teach you how to be a self-sufficient PR gun with a toolbox full of strategies for getting you and your business the PR exposure to grow your business right now. Delivered by young entrepreneur Jonica Bray from Publicity Insider.
BOOK NOW http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/prworkshop.html
(Yes we are looking at webstreaming/recording this – so if you can’t make it let us know and we will keep you updated with this option)

Announcing Frank Team Young Entrepreneur FORUMS

We are super excited to announce our Young Entrepreneurs online FORUM. Here is a place to connect with young people just like you, starting and running a business – share knowledge, get contacts, get advice…..and generally hang out! Go and introduce yourself right now http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/forum/

Help Brand Australia

If you are an exporter or importer then you can help to Brand Australia with Austrade. Have your say in how to better position Australia as a trade and investment partner, so that it helps you grow your business. Get involved http://survey.austrade.gov.au/ .

QLD Young Entrepreneurs Camp

With UPLOAD, our friends at Edgeware offer stimulating, accessible, enjoyable explorations of enterprise development and entrepreneurial skills, delivered through a series of interactive, hands-on workshops with expert trainers and young, real-world entrepreneurs. Check it out
http://www.edgeware.com.au/upload.htm

Take advantage of the Australian governments tax exemption http://www.creditcardfinder.com.au/30-percent-tax-break-for-business-owners-2009.html

DELL has also got some great end of Financial Year deals going on that you may like to take advantage of! Get into it.

If you have an opportunity you would like to share with other young entrepreneurs, let us know.

PR Secrets for Beginners – Workshop

Would you love to get some coverage in the media to grow your business but don’t know where to start?

As busy entrepreneurs it can be tricky to keep a finger on the pulse in all areas of your business. So knowing how to continually promote you and your business through media channels can be daunting…unless you have the know-how.

Effective PR is important to any business for a number of reasons. Mainly because it raises your profile to your audience, positions you as an expert in your field, helps to build your database and most importantly INCREASES SALES!

Why pay someone else when you can learn the secrets of how to utilise the media and make the most of PR opportunities yourself?!

The Frank Team’s ‘PR Secrets for Beginners’ workshop will teach you how to be a self-sufficient PR gun with a toolbox full of strategies for getting you and your business the PR exposure to grow your business right now.

Following the success of April’s “SHOW ME HOW” online marketing workshop with marketing gun, Fred Schebesta, The Frank Team are excited to offer a 3 hour practical workshop for young entrepreneurs like you on how to get out there, get noticed and raise the profile of you and your business with PR and publicity extraordinaire, Jonica Bray.

The Frank Team’s “SHOW ME HOW” series deliver workshops that are presented by young entrepreneurs for young entrepreneurs that are only about stuff you need to know about and focus on showing you HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF.

When: 14th July 4.30 – 7.30pm

Where: bioFirst Seminar Room
Ground Floor, National Innovation Centre, Australian Technology Park, 4 Cornwallis St Eveleigh, NSW 2015
Parking available on site.

How Much: $66 per person (inc GST)

A recording of this workshop will be available to view after the event  – please email jessica@frankteam.com.au to book your access.

Also, if you have a skill that you would like to SHOW other young entrepreneurs HOW TO DO then please contact us for inclusion in our “SHOW ME HOW” series.

We have put together a short article on 5 Mistakes to Avoid when working with the media. We hope to spread the learning we have had over the years in regards to working with the media to you so please feel free to forward the article around and use in your newsletters etc with acknowledgment of The Frank Team of course.

Plus check out the coverage other young entrepreneurs have got in the media recently – get inspired!

Our Workshop presenter:

Jonica Bray from Publicity Insider

Through this workshop Jonica Bray will teach people all the basic skills they need to get their business PUBLICITY.

After working for leading national and international press and liaising with PR agencies on a daily basis, she has a lot of experience to share. As a journalist she knows which stories get published and which press release’s end up in the recycle bin.

Her inside knowledge can be passed on and by following the simple instructions you will have a basic PR plan in no time. Most news rooms work the same and are looking for particular types of stories at certain times of the year.

Jonica will provide you with those calendars and suggest ways you can be involved with many publications throughout the year, establishing your credibility and enhancing your reputation along the way.

The 3 hour workshop will cover:

- Introductory guide explaining what PR actually is (compared with marketing and advertising)

- How PR can help your business

- Why it’s important to set PR goals

- How to create a simple PR plan.

- Identifying target audiences and the publications they read

- The main ways to secure free editorial coverage

- How to develop story material for your pitch

- Digging deeper to get the story

- Who are you going to call?

- Roles within the media

- Becoming a PR expert

BOOK NOW TO SECURE YOUR SEAT

When: 14th July 4.30 – 7.30pm

Where: bioFirst Seminar Room
Ground Floor, National Innovation Centre, Australian Technology Park, 4 Cornwallis St Eveleigh, NSW 2015
Parking available on site.

How Much: $66 per person

A recording of this workshop will be available to view after the event  – please email jessica@frankteam.com.au to book your access.

We have put together a short article on 5 Mistakes to Avoid when working with the media.  We hope to spread the learning we have had over the years in regards to working with the media to you so please feel free to forward the article around and use in your newsletters etc with acknowledgment of The Frank Team of course.

Tips For Your Fitness Business

Exposed: The Top Four Tips to a Successful Fitness Business

Josh Panebianco of Sydney Active is a young entrepreneur making waves in the personal training area. Here he shares his TOP FOUR tips in running a successful fitness business – so that you can do it too!

Setting goals

Personal training is all about helping your clients achieve their goals, but if you don’t have goals set out for your self and your fitness business, you have no chance of succeeding. You gotta walk the talk!

Goals are destinations, places that you would like your business to be.

Try to make these goals as specific as possible.

After you have set your goal now work out the actions that you need to complete to achieve your goals. For example you need x amount of clients to earn x amount a month which equates to x amount a year. Then break this down to how many prospects you need this month to achieve your goal. And then to get those prospects (to your website, through referrals, through networking etc) what action do you need to take.

One final note; don’t make all your goals monetary. Think about things that mean a lot to you in and outside your business.

Use direct debit to charge your clients

Direct debt is the only way you should charge your clients – and I have learnt this the hard way!

Direct debit makes you three times the amount of money with the same amount of clients. Never use packages they are for cave men who don’t know how to run fitness businesses. Charge your clients monthly by direct debit. With direct debit if someone doesn’t turn up you still get paid. Unless you love asking for money and love signing up the same person again and again auto debit is the only option.

Now that you direct debit all your clients you don’t look at how much your making per session it’s now more like how much you make a month with x amount of people coming twice a week.

You if wanna know more about how to make this work, then contact me direct and I am happy to share.

Create qualified clients

When someone calls and says “hi, I would like to learn more about your services and ask your prices,” don’t just tell them turn it around and say “ok, great well what do you want to do?” so you can learn more about them.

More often than not they will give you the standard answer of “I just want to get fit” or “just want to lose weight”. So then ask them “why it is important to you to get fit or lose weight”. Be aware that you may have to ask this a few times. What you are trying to do is to find their hot button which means their pain, the emotional reason why they called you. For example their father died of a heart attack and they don’t want the same fate. After you have found the emotional reason for wanting to train with you now is the time to go through prices and the times that they can train.
After that repeat everything they have said to you, for example so you want to train because your dad had a heart attack and your don’t want the same thing to happen to you, you want to train three times a week and you want to lose x amount of kgs .This will reinforce in the prospects mind the reason they want a person trainer and will create qualified clients before you even meet them in person.

Setting your hours

You may think that controlling your session times is the last thing to worry about, but letting your clients set your working hours is a recipe for disaster.

Make sure that you’re the one setting the hours that you work not your clients. Have blocks of the day that you train and commit to filling your hours. 6 till 10 and 4 till 8 or some thing like that and any time outside that make your self unavailable. This will help you gain control over your clients and stop your from becoming burnt out.

These are just my TOP 4 TIPS to running a successful personal training business.

If you want to learn more about getting qualified as a personal trainer, starting your own personal training business or just about motivating yourself then contact me. You will find me at

www.personaltrainerssydney.com.au
www.boxingsydney.com.au

If you are a young entrepreneur who has started a business and would like to share your TOP TIPS with other young entreprenuers, then send through your article to info@frankteam.com.au for consideration.

Young Entrepreneurs Workshop – ACTIVATE Your Ideas

This is a FREE event for young entrepreneurs to help activate their ideas.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to hear from successful young entrepreneurs, work on your business idea through innovative and practical workshops, and meet other local young business people out there making their ideas a reality. The day assists 16 – 28 year olds who have a business idea, are thinking about setting up a new business, or need advice on a business plan.

This workshop is bought to you by The Frank Team in partnership with Sutherland Shire Council

Keynote Speaker - Mark McCowan, Synchro Marketing

Mark will share his secrets on building a successful business in tough times.

Mini Workshops -

1. Effective & Fun Business Planning for those just starting up! Presented by Jessica Schebesta-Kiely from The Frank Team.

2. Website know-how; simple & effective tips for building your website. Presented by Amanda Jephthna from Untangle the Web.

DATE: Saturday, 13 June 2008
TIME: 10.00am—2.00pm
DETAILS: Includes lunch and refreshments
LOCATION: The SSHED, Loftus

1 Pitt Street, Loftus TAFE

Free parking available at the location.

COST: Free entry! (includes lunch)

More info about the Young Entrepreneurs Workshop.

RSVP to anna@frankteam.com.au to secure your spot or (02) 95186244

Attend a skills Workshop.

Promo Your Biz.

Get feedback on your Biz idea from the young entrepreneurs panel.

Facilitated networking ensures you make new contacts.

Hear from our inspiring and energetic guest speaker.

Web Conversion Tips – Sneak Preview

Young entrepreneur Fred Schebesta has provided us with a sneak preview of his upcoming Workshop – The Real Basics of Online Marketing.

This snippet is all about converting your online visitors to your site to take action in some way.

It is a perfect lunch time listen!

Download here and listen now for your dose of Web Conversion Tips.

The Real Basics of Online Marketing – Workshop

The Frank Team is proud to present its first workshop in its new “SHOW ME HOW” series; our workshops that are presented by young entrepreneurs for young entrepreneurs that are only about stuff you need to know about and focus on showing you HOW TO DO IT YOURSELF.

We have noticed that many young entrepreneurs with websites are unsure of some of the basics of online marketing. That is anything from key words, search engine optimisation, landing pages and good web page structure. As such they are not getting the most out of their website or web development team.
Young Entrepreneur Fred Schebesta, an online marketing gun, is here to save the day! We have an awesome 3 hour practical workshop that will cover the basics of online marketing in a really fun, simple & highly practical way. Low on jargon and high on usefulness is what we can guarantee.
When: 27th April 4.30 – 7.30pm in Sydney CBD How Much: $66 per person

Book in for this event with jessica@frankteam.com.au

More info here http://www.youngentrepreneurs.net.au/online-marketing-secrets-presented-by-a-young-entrepreneur-for-young-entrepreneurs.html

Also, if you have a skill that you would like to SHOW other young entrepreneurs HOW TO DO then please contact us for inclusion in our SHOW ME HOW series.

REGISTER NOW

Tax Basics Explained Simply

Tax… we know it can seem overwhelming and quite scary when you’re first starting out. So we thought we’d put together some information for you about the basics of tax in Australia. All of this info is available elsewhere on the internet, but it’s here for you all in one place. We’ve also included links for further information and advice.

Now, take a breath as there is a fair bit of info coming right up. Just take it in bit by bit!

Why not start by figuring out if you are actually running a business?

Logical, I know! Some of the things to take into account include whether you have actually started to undertake business activities or started to “do” business with others (instead of just planning to at some point in the future), whether you intend to make a profit (perhaps now, perhaps down the track a little bit – the intention just needs to be there), and is there repetition and regularity to your activities.

Most businesses operate for a purpose and their everyday activities reflect this – they do the same or similar things in order to operate. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is here to help with some basic info for you about working out if you are running a business.

Are you running a for profit or a not-for-profit (NPF)?

According to the ATO, “a non-profit organisation is an organisation that is not operating for the profit or gain (either direct or indirect) of its individual members. This applies both while the organisation is operating and when it winds up. Any profit made by the organisation goes back into the operation of the organisation to carry out its purposes and is not distributed to any of its members.”

What does this mean? NFP’s still have staff and pay wages, including to any management peeps, but any profit that is generated is not given out to directors or employees as dividends or bonuses, that profit stays in the organisation and is then used to run it.

Some examples are churches, sports clubs, environmental protection societies and charities. Click here for more information on NFP’s.

For info on registering a NFP as well as registering click here.

If you intend on making some profit and paying out some of that profit to owners or directors, then you are probably NOT a not for profit!
Australian Business Number (ABN)

An Australian Business Number is an 11-digit number that is unique to your business.

What is it used for? It helps other businesses to easily confirm your details, it indicates to other businesses that you are operating a business (even if as a sole trader), it is required if you are claiming Goods and Services Tax (GST) credits, among other tax related things.

If you’re operating as a sole trader, partnership or company, you need an ABN. If you’re operating as a NFP, you may or may not need an ABN.

It’s pretty simple to get yourself an ABN, and it doesn’t cost anything. You can apply online .

More info for NFPs is available in regards to ABN requirements.

According to the ATO, “Anyone carrying on an enterprise (this is usually a business) should quote their ABN in relation to goods or services they supply to another enterprise. If they don’t, the general rule is that the payer must withhold 46.5% from the payment to the supplier (you) and send the withheld amount to the Tax Office. Some payments are excluded from this rule.”

So once you’ve got your ABN, remember to use it, otherwise the people you deal with may hold on to 46.5% of what they owe you, ouch!
Australian Company Number (ACN)

According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, “Under the Corporations Act 2001, every company in Australia has been issued with a unique, nine-digit number, an Australian Company Number (ACN), which must be shown on a range of documents. The purpose of the ACN is to ensure adequate identification of companies when transacting business.”

So what this means is, when you register as a company, you will receive an ACN. Often your ACN will be very similar to your ABN, only nine digits instead of 11.

For more info check out the ASIC site.

If you operate as a sole trader, you can do this under your own individual tax file number (TFN).

If you operate as a partnership, company or trust, you must also have a business tax file number. If you operate as a NFP, you might need a TFN.

For help in figuring out if you need a tax file number, check out the ATO site.
Your Accountant

It’s never too soon to get an accountant for your biz. Look at it this way – they live and breathe all this tax and compliance stuff! If you’re not sure about tax, account keeping, etc, why not go to an expert?

We know it is scary and you think straight away….”there is no way I can afford an accountant”! But you will be surprised at how affordable they can be, and how much they can SAVE you, thus paying for themselves in your business! The Frank Team can recommend a few great accountants – who are young entrepreneurs – who are really affordable. Ask us for their contact details.

Remember there’s no obligation to stick with the first accountant you find. Go and meet a few, find one that you trust and enjoy working with, and who obviously knows what they’re talking about. Here at The Frank Team have been with the same accountant since 1998, she is awesome!

Accountants’ fees vary a lot. Be sure to ask about fees and find an accountant that you feel is affordable. $500 per hour charge rates might not be in the budget to start off with, so why not support another small business person? Also remember that meeting all of your compliance needs could end up saving you a lot of money and hassle in the long term.

Remember also that your local Business Enterprise Centre can be a huge help here too – and they give FREE advice!
Record Keeping (or bookkeeping)

What records do you need to keep and for how long?

Keeping records of all your financial transactions (money in and out) are vital to your financial record keeping, whether you do it on a day to day, monthly or even annual basis.

All payments you make, all money you receive- receipts, invoices, bank statements, proof of purchase of assets, everything! With as much detail as possible – job numbers, what it was you bought if it isn’t clear, who you just made that cheque out to. Months later it will be extremely difficult, if at all possible, to remember.

Start early with this stuff and set up a way of keeping track, trust us!

We know of some young entrepreneurs who were years behind in their recording and tax and it not only cost them in terms of paying their tax bills but also cost them huge amounts of time to back track. So even if it is shoe boxes that are labeled, set up a way of keeping track of all money in (and what it was for) and all money out (and what it was for).Then an accountant will be much more useful for you.

Keeping all of your documentation together means when it comes time to process all of your accounts, the info is ready to go! It also means that if your accountant comes back with questions, you can look anything up that you need to, with minimal effort.

We keep our financial records in ring-binder folders, sorted month by month; if we ever need to look up a payment, find a receipt, even find companies’ contact details, we can generally find it within just a couple of minutes. Everyone needs their own filing system, electronic or paper/manual. You can even use online Google doc spreadsheets to keep yourself sorted.

If you were ever audited by the ATO, or needed to complete a financial audit for any reason, you could get in a lot of trouble for not having all of your financial records. So make it easy for yourself!

By law, you are required to keep financial records. As a general rule, your records should go five years back for regular income tax purposes, though it does vary for other taxes. For more info, check out the ATO site.

If you’re a NFP, more information about record keeping requirements is available here.
Cash vs Accrual Accounting

Ok… so now we’re getting into the technical stuff. Cash and accrual accounting are just two different ways of keeping track of your finances.

Cash accounting records only the amounts of cash that have flowed in and out of your business. So when you receive $100 for your product, you record that sale. When you pay $40 to your supplier, you record that purchase. Cash accounting is definitely the easiest place to start.

Accrual accounting records all of the expenses and purchases paid by your business, as well as those that are currently due or outstanding. So if you sent a client an invoice for $100, you would record that as a sale, even if you haven’t yet received that money into your bank account. If you receive an invoice from a supplier for $40, you record that purchase/expense. You then also have an Accounts Receivable account/category in your accounting system (money that you are due to receive) and Accounts Payable (money you need to pay).

An accounting package of some sort will help you with this system, if that is what you choose. You would use accrual when you have larger volumes of transactions happening and you need to be able to track and predict cash flow.

Tax Returns

If you’re operating as a sole trader, your business tax information will go into your individual/personal tax return. You may need to complete some extra schedules/forms, and record all business income and expense. Your business profit will then be taxed at your marginal rate of tax. For details go to the ATO site.

If you’re operating as a partnership, the partnership lodges its own tax return. BUT, because of unlimited liability, the income and expenses from the partnership’s tax return then get allocated to the partners. This means, on your individual/personal tax return, you will need to report your share of the business’s income and expenses. Your partnership profit will then be taxed at your marginal rate of tax. More info here.

If you’re operating as a company, your company will need to lodge a tax return. You will need to show all business income and expenses. Your business profit will then be taxed at a rate of 30%, or 30 cents per dollar. And yes that means for any profit you make, 30% of it is paid to the government. More details here.

As soon as your business starts to earn an income and incur expenses, you need to start thinking about your tax return. Your first financial year of operation (even if you start your business in May) is the first year you need to lodge a tax return or include biz info in your own personal tax return, depending upon the business structure you’ve chosen.

If you’re operating as a NFP, you need to be aware that only certain types of non-profit organisations are exempt from income tax. Charities and income tax exempt funds require endorsement from the Tax Office to be exempt from income tax. Other non-profit organisations can self assess their exemption.

Many non-profit organisations are taxable and may need to lodge an income tax return and pay income tax.

Taxable non-profit organisations are generally treated as companies for income tax purposes, whether or not they are incorporated.

More info here.
Tax Concessions for Small Biz & NFPs

If your revenue is under $2 million, you might be eligible for certain tax concessions. Simpler depreciation, entrepreneurs tax offset, the list goes on.

For more info, check out here.

This is where an accountant can come in really handy. Do your research; list your questions then book in some time with an accountant or Business Enterprise Centre for some specific advice for your business.

If you operate as a NFP, you may be eligible for a number of tax concessions. For more info, go here.

It really is up to YOU to be aware of and find out what obligations your business has in regards to tax, and what concessions it could be eligible for.
Goods and Services Tax (GST)

In Australia, GST is incurred at a rate of 10% on top of the company price for many goods and services. So lets say you go to clothes store and buy a new shirt, it will have 10% GST included in the price already.

You don’t need to register your business for GST until you have sales of up to or over $75 000 a year, including GST (your portion of the sales would be ten elevenths of $75 000, or $68 181).

It’s up to you if you register for GST under the $75 000 threshold, or under $150 000 if you’re a not-for-profit. There are some exceptions – like if you’re a taxi driver. Check out www.ato.gov.au for more information.

Being registered for GST means that you are helping the government collect GST. This also means that you can claim credits for any GST that you pay in the price of your business purchases.

When you are registered for GST, you need to show this information on the tax invoices that you send and give to customers when you make a sale. In fact, the difference between an invoice and a tax invoice is being registered for GST – if you are not registered for GST, you are using an invoice. If you are registered for GST, it is known as a tax invoice.

We have a sample tax invoice for you to use if required.

You can register for GST when you are applying for your Australian Business Number; through your tax agent (your accountant); or through the ATO. For more information, check out the ATO.

See Business Activity Statement below for more info about reporting on GST.
Pay As You Go Tax Withholding (PAYGW)

What is PAYW, I hear you say?

Pay As You Go tax is the amount of money that is withheld from your wages each week/fortnight/month. If you’ve ever received a pay slip, you’ll notice it has Gross Wages (e.g. $500), PAYGW (e.g. $60) and Net Wages (e.g. $540).

Now that you’re running your own business, it’s up to you to withhold that PAYGW tax (for yourself and for any staff that you employ), and then pay it to the ATO when it comes to BAS time (see below).

Personal income tax rates change from financial year to financial year. Which means when a new financial year rolls around, you need to check the new rates at which you should withhold tax.

You can get updates for your accounting software, like MYOB, which have the current tax rates. Or you can check out the ATO’s online tax calculator. It’s a simple tool to use; you plug in each person’s information and it tells you how much money to withhold for that pay period. Easy! Check it out here.

If you operate your business as a sole trader or company, it’s likely you pay ‘pay as you go withholding’ (PAYGW) installments at different times throughout the income year as you earn your income. These installments are credited against the total amount of income tax you are liable (must) to pay for the income year.

All that means is the government keeps track of those payments, and at the end of the financial year when you work out how much PAYGW you are required to pay for that year, you see how much you have already paid and then either just pay the difference or get a refund back from the ATO.

If you operate your business as a partnership or trust, you do not have to pay PAYG installments. However, you may have to pay PAYGW installments on your individual share of your partnership’s income or any income you receive from your trust.

If you operate as a NFP and you have employees, you need to withhold PAYGW just like any other business. You’ll need to determine who is an employee, a contractor and a volunteer. NFP’s also have some fringe benefits tax concessions for additional benefits for their employees. For more info, check out the ATO.

Handy Hint: have a separate bank account in which you collect your GST and PAYGW tax, and even superannuation (so you are moving money into this account regularly). If you put these small amounts away each week, or fortnight, whenever you receive payment, when it comes time to pay your BAS and superannuation, you won’t have to scrounge the money out of your other accounts. Streamline this from the beginning. There are lots of banks now that as part of your business account can provide you with a tax management account that has higher interest rates, so check with your bank.
Business Activity Statements (BAS)

So now it’s time to report to the ATO…

Generally, new businesses use an activity statement to report and pay their GST and PAYG withholding.

When it comes time to do your Business Activity Statements (or BAS as most people call it), you will need to include in your declaration the amount of sales you made (money IN); and the amount of GST collected. You will then need to include the amount of purchases (money OUT) you have made; and the amount of GST you have paid. Then you will be required to either pay the Australian Taxation Office the difference (if you have collected more GST than you have paid out) or this will contribute towards a refund from the Australian Taxation Office (if you have paid more GST than you have collected in sales).

So depending on the difference between what you have collected and paid you may have to pay the government, or they will pay you!

BAS’s can be lodged either monthly (if you make a lot of money), quarterly (if you make a bit of money) or annually (if you don’t make much money).

In each BAS, you will need to outline:

* Sales made in $ (sales your business completed)
* GST on the sales made in $
* Purchases made in $ (things your business bought)
* GST on the purchases made in $
* Wages for the period
* Pay as You Go Withholding tax incurred on those wages (which you’ve been holding for your employees, just waiting to pay to the ATO)

You may also be required to pay Pay As You Go Installments (PAYGI– different to Pay As You Go Withholding [PAYGW], which refers to employees personal taxation. We’ll call them Income Tax Installments for now to keep it simpler) to the ATO, if your business has reported an end of year profit before and you are expecting to make a profit again this year. This installment will be outlined on the BAS report you receive from the ATO.

Once you are paying PAYG installments, any installments you pay during the year are credited towards your final tax assessment after you lodge your income tax return. What does that mean? For example, if you make four installments of $1000 throughout the year and your end of year company tax bill is $4200, you’ll only need to pay the ATO $200, instead of $4200 in one big go).

The amount you need to pay to the ATO will consist of:

+ GST you collected

- GST you paid (you receive a credit for this)

+ PAYGW tax that you collected/withheld from your employees’ wages

+ Income tax installment (if relevant)

For more info, check out the ATO here.

REMEMBER – if you have any questions, find someone to ask. The Frank Team can get your questions answered – just send them through – we will then share the answers with all of the young entrepreneurs in the network.So send us your questions.

Your accountant, lawyer, Business Enterprise Centre are great as well or just give the ATO a call – we’ve had to call them in the past and found them to be extremely helpful!

Don’t bury your head in the sand about tax stuff, or ignore what needs to be done. Even though it’s not as interesting or exciting as some of the other aspects of running your own biz, it is vital to your ongoing success.

Show Me the Money – Funding Your Idea

It’s the number one question we get asked “how do I get money to start up my business, are there any grants?”

First up – there is no easy money available, especially now, and as a young person…otherwise everyone would be starting a business. So be prepared to do your research, work hard and put some of your own cash in.

What does it takes to bring in the money to support your business idea (or social enterprise), and then how do you manage it once ya got it?

Read up…

There’s a number of places you could go to get financing for your idea. You could:

> Submit a financial proposal (detailing what amount of $ money you need over how long and your plan to pay it back!) with your business plan to a bank to secure a business loan.

> Find a venture capital investor to inject some cash into your business. They’ll want to see a financial proposal, your biz plan, and know exactly when they can get their hands on a piece of your profit pie. Check out the Australian Venture Capital Association & Business Angels & AusIndustry . Plus the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board can help you prepare your proposal for this – tell them Frank Team sent you!

> Secure a financial backer or sponsor. If there’s a company out there who wants to target the same market you do, and you share similar business values, then approach them with a sponsorship proposal they can’t resist. You may offer branding rights, promotional opportunities, product placement, signage etc in return for their financial investment.

> Apply for a grant and enter competitions. There are stacks of grants out there, though it can be tricky to nail one if you’re a for-profit company. Nevertheless, check out Community Builders , GrantsLink and AusIndustry from the Australian Government for some leads.

> Contact your local Business Enterprise Centre or industry association/network for suggestions on available grants and competitions relevant to your industry/business idea.
> If your folks are cashed up, it could be time for a little “family investment” but know that mixing business with family can get messy. Make sure there’s a repayment plan in place.
> Consider self-funding as well as starting out small then building your biz up, many successful companies were started on less than $100! Dip into your savings or perhaps get a credit card just to start with – be sure you can pay it off before the massive interest kicks in though.

Make sure you build a budget! A budget allows you to map out how much money you’ll need to get your idea off the ground plus estimate your revenue.
Step 1 – list all the actions you need to take over the next year to get your idea to market (everyone’s list will be different) eg: marketing brochures, website, bank loan repayments, office space, accountant’s fees, salary, internet connection, stationery etc.
Step 2 – Now source quotes from companies who can provide these services eg: call some printing companies and ask them how much they’d charge you to print your A4 posters. Now add up all your quotes.
Step 3 – Work out how much money your idea will bring in eg: you estimate people will pay $15 for your ‘widget’. So how many widgets do you need to sell to cover your costs and make a profit?
Step 4 – If your costs are too high, go back to Step 1; work out how to do things cheaper or what you can cut back on.
Step 5 – Keep your finances in check by referring to, and updating, your budget regularly. Consider creating one for your start up year and another for your second year in operation so you can map out the all-important flow of cash through your business – otherwise known as a Cashflow Statement.

Getting Money from Customers – Your Payment Options

There are lots of different ways that you can get your customers to pay you. It is a matter of thinking about what works best for your customers and you, as well as what you can actually set up and use.

What payment methods will you offer your customers?

CASH

This is probably the easiest, to begin with. Cash works if you are in front of your customer at the point of purchase, like at the markets. Always make sure you have change!

CHEQUE

You can allow customers to pay you via cheque. They will make the cheque out to you (your full name) or your business name, depending on how your business is set up. If you are running as a sole trader under your own name and your bank account is under your name, then ask your customers to put your name on the cheque. If you have a business bank account under the business name then ask your customers to put the name of your business on the cheque.

You will need to go to the bank and deposit the cheque to then get the money transferred into your account. This can take a few days to “clear” (ie: where they check the other person has the money in their account and takes it out to then put into your account).

Sometimes people make write cheques when they actually don’t have the money; which you wouldn’t know. And so their cheque will “bounce” (your bank will tell you that the cheque was dishonoured and they could not get the money from the person’s account ) and your bank will charge you a fee for this. It is then up to you to chase up the person to ask for your money, again. However, most of the time cheques are totally fine and quite easy for your customers.

DIRECT DEPOSIT

You supply a Tax Invoice that outlines to your customer what you are charging them for with your ABN (Australian Business Number) and your bank account details (Account Name, Bank, BSB Number) to your customer and they use internet banking to deposit the money directly into your account.

This is a very popular method now with internet banking. It means you don’t have to set foot in a bank – yey, no lines! Plus it is quite instant, you can sometimes have your money within 1 day, if your customers are super nice and pay you straight away.

CREDIT CARD

You may like to offer your customers the option of paying by credit card. This will mean that you have to set up a Merchant account with a bank, which will cost you money. And the bank will take a fee for each transaction that you put through. You will need to do your research to get the best deal from a bank.

PAYPAL

If you don’t want to go through the banks and set up a Merchant account, particularly at the beginning, then use PayPal. through PayPal you can take payments online, as well as orders from people using their credit cards which you then put through the PayPal system.

Yes, PayPal does take a fee on each transaction, so do your research and see if that works out for you and your pricing structure to ensure you are still making money.

Here at The Frank Team we take cheques & Direct deposits for our workshops that we do with various clients (schools, uni’s, community groups, local councils, government departments & young professionals). But for our products we use PayPal which means we can take credit card payments, which is great flexibility for us and our customers.

With any payment method always be totally up front with your customers about your payment terms; when you expect to be paid, how & how much. Here at The Frank Team we take a 60% deposit before the workshop and then 40% after the workshop, and have 14 day terms (ie: our customers have 2 weeks to pay).

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