Becoming a morning person

Becoming a morning person

Small business owner Jill Chivers says the key to being a morning person is incorporating exercise into your morning routine.

Those who are able to to jump out of bed with a smile are more likely to be highly productive, skilled at anticipating problems and proactive in setting goals.

Studies suggest that night owls are less efficient than early risers as they are fighting the body’s natural sleep cycles. Studies show that we are better in the morning – fresher, quicker and smarter.

Assessable income and deductions:

The ATO apply tax to the difference of our assessable income and allowable deductions, but what is included in these?

Assessable income includes wages, directors fees, some government allowances and pensions, superannuation income, interest, dividends, rent, managed fund distributions, capital gains and business income.

Allowable deductions include work related: car, travel, uniform, self-education. Other work related expenses such as union fees, mobile phone usage, equipment purchases etc

Also allowable deductions against income include expenses incurred in receiving rent, such as Council and water rates, managing agent fees, depreciation and interest charged on loans.

Donations, tax agent fees, and expenses incurred when earning business income are also allowable deductions

Five tips before brekkie

If you want to have the best day ever, some entrepreneurs have opened up and spilled their secrets of how they start their day:

1.       Half Asleep – The mind is active but still in a semi-conscious state first thing in the morning, allowing time to uncover new ideas

2.       Surprise Sunrise – Nature is our greatest inspiration, and viewing the sunrise first thing in the morning will inspire you for the rest of the fay

3.       Early morning rinse – Reciting your manta in the shower will keep you focused and resinate in your head for the rest of the day

4.       Project the day – visualising the day will give you a strategy to complete the rest of the day.

5.       Early to rise – The early bird catches the worm, is a saying that remains true to this day.

Some people are morning people and some aren’t. These tips will help you to become a morning person and focus on your daily goals.

Entrepreneurs management styles

Many entrepreneurs have the energy for their businesses but lack leadership.

Be careful when you delegate. In a business start-up, the founder or co-founder has to be everything, sales, marketing, media, customer service, etc. No one cares about the business more than the founder. If you are afraid of hard work, and want to be at the gym at 5pm, then stick with your day job.

We find that employees of the company, the people who really care about our business and really want the best for us, do the best work. So be careful when this is delegated.

Be honest and open with your staff from day one. Your team is looking at you to make decisions and guide. It’s also a lot more comfortable to lead like this because you’re not second guessing what people might think, you just do what you do best and give them the confidence to tell you when you are wrong or when there’s a better way.

You can hire the best people in the world but if you don’t understand them, they won’t perform at their best for you because they will sense that you don’t care. It’s a waste of their talent.

Do retailers understand Gen Y?

According to market research, Generation Y (those aged 16 to 30) spend approximately $62 billion of our population’s total household expenditure, with more than two-thirds of this amount spent on items such as entertainment, clothing, technology and travel.

Given that these people make up a quarter of the total population, this is a segment that needs to be understood by retailers.

One of the most obvious changes is the spending behaviour, over the last five years is that we are increasingly shopping online. According to research, despite total retail sales increasing only slightly, Australians aged 14 years and up spent $24.3 billion online between March 2012 and March 2013 – a year-on-year increase of 11.9 per cent.

These days, a company website is a must, an email subscription option is ideal, but a strong social media presence is crucial. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are the bare essentials. But businesses also have to make sure they keep up with the new social media. Eg Instagram has more than 150 million users since its 2010 launch.

Property Investment

It appears that there has been large acquisitions made by overseas incestors in the last quarter with Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia investing significant amount of capital into the Australian property market.

Mainly, the overseas investors are looking to puchase shopping centres, office towers and warehouses. But with research conducted by CLSA showing that the growing middle class of China describing Australia as the preferred place to live, it is just a matter of time when overseas investors start to look at the Australian residential market to invest in.