Venta Belgarum

The #1 mistake I see business owners making?

Well, there are many mistakes we all make, but this one specifically is paying yourself.

We’re often the last line of defense, the one that gives to make sure everything else is paid. Business owners can be some of the poorest people I know because a once off becomes a habit, and they become the afterthought in their own business.

Want to know how to fix it? Check out my latest video on YouTube today.

Hot tips: If you want your business to run like a charity, do all 5 of these 🤪

1️⃣ Never review your prices after year one: Set your prices when you start the business, and never look at them again. Ever.

2️⃣ Discount the moment someone hesitates: The second a client pauses when you give them the bill, drop the price. Every time.

3️⃣ Do the extra work, skip the extra invoice: Do the “little extras” which “help” the client and make you feel better about your fees. The job gets bigger, you just...don’t mention it.

4️⃣ Check what other underchargers charge: Anonymously ring around a few competitors and ask what they charge, then match it. Never mind that they’re probably underpricing themselves too.

5️⃣ Feel guilty charging for your experience: Apologise for the price before they’ve even asked. Just get that ‘sorry’ in early.

A little laugh to start the week, but seriously, a lot of our problems with pricing as business owners, comes from fear. Overcome the fear, and starting charging what your worth 💕

Selling your business? Reducing your gain from $1.5m to $0 tax to pay would be like winning the lottery.

Don’t be fooled though, it takes planning, it’s not something that can be left to the day you sign the heads of agreement, then give your accountant a “quick call” just to “double check”.

Ideally, as soon as you start to think about selling, your accountant needs to be part of the conversation.

It’s not so much a question of “can” as it is “should”.

Trigger FBT at your peril. Your business pays 47%tax on the private use of your car - a lot for doing the school run or popping to the shops.

Think you can get around it with a 1 tonne vehicle? Be careful, strict rules apply to access the exemption.

Many times it’s a lot better to buy the car personally, and take the tax deduction through your personal return.

Structured well doing it this way is another way to get cash out of the business as well (via tax refunds)

The CGT rules we have know for the last 20+ years are changing ☄️

💣 30% minimum tax on capital gains
💣 50% discount gone from 1 July 2027
💣 Indexation method to be used after 1 July 2027
💣 Assets bought before 1 July 2027 and sold after, use both methods

It means planning has become more important than ever to make sure you get the most out of the sale as possible.

Good news for small business owners though with the active asset threshold increasing from $2m - $5m. A loooong overdue amendment!