What's New At Credit Matters?

Welcome to our May newsletter. The focus this month is focused on four dangers to be wary about for all business owners and managers.

The Special Topic is about changes being instigated by the ATO and a warning about becoming a new director of an existing company.

Kim is available to help with your questions and concerns if you need any assistance, and as always, the first chat is always free of charge or obligation.

Quote Of The Month

If you’re proactive, you focus on preparing. If you’re reactive you end up focusing on repairing”.” John C. Maxwell.

Monthly Business Observation

It appears too many businesspeople and managers these days do not focus on two business factors, which ultimately result in unforeseen negative consequences. These factors are (i) failing to look out for potential business risks, and (ii) to take opportunities to minimise mistakes.

In either case, the negative consequences of these factors always result in costs that do not enhance the profitability of the business, potentially lead to a diminished reputation or worse still, perhaps the demise of your business. In addition, an unexpected risk which materialises often means the day-to-day operations are compromised as you try to resolve the problem/mistake.

By focusing on identified potential risks, you are controlling your future operations in a balanced and considered manner as you seek to minimise any negative consequences. Better still, you may increase the profitability of your business by finding new products/services and new customers. In addition, by focusing and preparing for a possible risky event in a controlled manner, this helps to achieve a positive outcome without disrupting your day-to-day business operations.

On the other hand, by failing to review for potential risks which then occur, you are likely to be running around in a fluster to rectify the risk identified. In this state, you are taking your attention away from your day-today-day operations. As a consequence, unnecessary expenses and wasted time could well cause significant costs at the expense of lost sales and other positive possibilities.

Unfortunately, minimising and failing to take proactive actions to reduce ongoing mistakes always results in unnecessary costs. These costs may include giving customers an excuse to slow pay your invoices, cause customer irritation, loss of customers and a negative perception to occur, which impacts of your business’s good reputation. As we all know, a reputation lost, is very difficult and costly to regain.

A failure to recognise the potential of future risks and the proactive tackling of the causes of mistakes, results in many negative consequences, the costs of which are often known. The reason management forgets to act to investigate and act on these known potential risks is usually based on thinking there are other business priorities which they need to deal with first.

The reality is however, once risks are identified, action is required immediately, even if only to understand the potential cause or costs to the business.  Once the true cost of the factors is known, management can then decide whether they are of a material risk and require immediate action. If not, the identified risks are of a minor issue which can be reviewed again shortly to make sure they remain a minor issue or require further action in the future.

This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth

It is well known fact that “… in good times people steal because they can and steal in bad times because they need to survive.” As we are living is stressful times where costs and inflation are seemingly on the rise and so many people are in financial difficulties, it is well worth taking the time to really understand the implications of the above observation on your business(s).

Unfortunately, the reality is that you can no longer rely on people’s honesty and integrity when they are financially stressed. Therefore, to conduct business in the same old way as in the past, is often no longer a viable option. It is a sad reality, however one you would be wise to accept and act accordingly.

There are many strategies a business can employ to help identify the right sales approach for each of your customers. These strategies will include the obvious such as cash sales for new customers, and the less obvious, such as properly structured and signed off terms of trade between the business and its customers.

The world today is full of all sorts of negative issues based on need, financial viability, perceptions of entitlements to steal from others under different norms, and so on. The business that sells product and/or services and does not complete due diligence on its customers, and constantly reviews the world around it, will soon find out, that they do not get paid as per their sales contracts. These situations occur because, “… in good times people steal because they can and steal in bad times because they need to survive.” Regretfully, we now live and operate in tougher economic times compared to the past.