Nathan Rigney Profit Generator

$30 an hour as a subcontractor sounds alright… right?

Maybe not.

One of our clients was working:

⏰ 38 hours a week
📅 Monday to Friday
🏢 At the same workplace
💰 $30 an hour

But she wasn’t getting paid annual leave, sick leave or public holidays, and she wasn’t receiving super on top.

So I did the maths.

Because you can’t just compare $30 contractor vs $26.44 employee and decide you’re getting a better deal.

You need to compare apples with apples.

What are you giving up?

🏖 Paid leave
🤒 Sick leave
💰 Super
📅 Paid public holidays
🧾 Plus the costs and risks that come with running your own business

In my example, once I adjusted the numbers to make a more meaningful comparison, the difference came to more than $11,000 over a year.

And there’s another important point:

Having an ABN doesn’t automatically mean you’re genuinely an independent contractor.

There can also be circumstances where a contractor is still entitled to super.

So if you’re a subbie, don’t just look at the hourly rate.

Ask yourself:

“Am I actually being paid enough to compensate for everything I’m giving up?”

And if you’re engaging contractors, make sure you’ve got the arrangement right.

Saving a few dollars now isn’t worth a bloody big problem later.

*t Superannuation FairWork KnowYourWorth BusinessAdvice

What the hell is FBT? 🤷‍♂️

FBT = Fringe Benefits Tax.

And it’s something business owners can easily overlook.

Generally, when your business provides certain non-cash benefits to employees, including directors who are employees, FBT may need to be considered.

Think things like:

🚗 Private use of a company car
💰 Certain loans
🏠 Some private expenses paid by the business
💻 Certain benefits provided to employees

And here’s the important part:

Just because the business paid for it doesn’t mean it’s automatically tax-free.

Depending on the benefit, exemptions and circumstances, your business could have an FBT liability.

Some reportable fringe benefits can also affect an employee’s adjusted income for things like certain government benefits, obligations and income tests, even though the employee doesn’t necessarily pay income tax directly on that reported amount.

FBT can absolutely have a place in business.

But you need to understand the rules BEFORE you start putting private benefits through the company.

💬 Got an FBT question? Leave it below.

*t TaxTips Accounting AustralianTax

Why did you start your business?

More money?
More freedom?
More control?
More time with your family?

Because if you’re working from 4:30am until 7:30pm, barely seeing your kids and getting pi**ed off because your employees actually have a life…

What exactly are you building?

There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to absolutely smash it.

But your employees aren’t business owners.

You can’t expect them to sacrifice their lives because you’ve chosen to sacrifice yours.

And if the only way your business succeeds is by you working 15-hour days, eventually something is going to give.

Your health.
Your relationships.
Your family.
Or your love for the business itself.

Sometimes growing a business isn’t about doing MORE.

It’s stepping aside, bringing the right people in and letting go of the things you shouldn’t be doing anymore.

Build a business that supports your life, not one that consumes it.

💬 Has running your business given you more freedom… or less?

*t Entrepreneurship WorkLifeBalance BusinessAdvice

Getting paid to create content?

Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, subscriptions, brand deals or another platform, once you’re earning money from it, you need to start thinking about tax.

And yes, there may also be expenses you can claim.

The key is the connection between the expense and the income you’re earning.

Depending on what you do, that could potentially include things like:

📱 Phone and internet
📷 Cameras and equipment
🎙 Mics
💡 Lighting
💻 Software and subscriptions
🧾 Accounting fees

Then there are the greyer areas; clothing, makeup, food and other things that might appear in your content.

Just because it appears in a video doesn’t automatically make the whole thing tax deductible.

It depends on what you’re doing, why you incurred the expense and whether there’s private use involved.

But here’s the BIG one we see newer creators getting caught on:

You get paid $1,000. You spend $1,000. Then tax time arrives. 😬

Don’t treat every dollar hitting your account as yours to spend.

Put money aside for tax from the beginning and get advice before your side hustle becomes a tax headache.

💬 Content creator: what’s the tax question you’ve always wanted answered?

*t TaxTips SmallBusinessAustralia AustralianTax

Want to keep good people in your business?

I reckon you need three things:

🧠 IQ: Intelligence
People want to work with competent people. Make good decisions, lead well and don’t create unnecessary chaos.

❤️ EQ: Emotional Intelligence
Remember what it was like to be an employee. Listen. Communicate. Put yourself in their shoes. Treat people like bloody humans.

🙌 JQ: Joy Intelligence
This one’s mine.

How do you make your workplace somewhere people actually WANT to turn up to?

It doesn’t have to mean huge bonuses and extravagant perks.

Sometimes it’s morning tea. Going out for lunch. Celebrating a win. A bloody good Christmas party. We even have massages in the office once a month.

It’s the little things that make people think:

“I actually really like working here.”

Because you can pay someone well, but if they dread Monday morning, eventually another pay packet will get them out the door.

Build a workplace good people don’t want to leave.

💬 What’s something your workplace does that makes you genuinely enjoy being there?

*t BusinessOwner TeamCulture EmployeeExperience

Ever looked at a tradie quote and thought:

“How the hell is it THAT much?”

Here’s the bit most people don’t see.

A $50,000 job can quickly get eaten up by:

💸 GST
🧱 Materials
👷 Wages
🦺 Workers comp
💰 Super
🚐 Vehicles
🛠 Tools
📄 Insurance
🏦 Finance and interest
📉 Business overheads

And after all of that?

The actual profit left for the business owner can be a whole lot smaller than you think.

That profit isn’t just “extra money” either.

It’s the reward for taking the risk, managing the staff, fixing the stuff that goes wrong and carrying the responsibility when the job doesn’t go to plan.

So next time you get a quote that feels expensive, remember:

Revenue is not profit.

There’s a whole business sitting behind that number.

*t Profit CashFlow BusinessTips

Thinking about starting a business?

Don’t start with:

❌ Should I be a sole trader?
❌ Do I need a company?
❌ Should I set up a trust?

Start with whether the bloody business is actually going to work.

Before we spend money setting up structures, there are much bigger questions to answer.

Is there actually a market for what you’re selling?

What will it cost to get started?

How much cash do you need?

How much TIME will it take?

What does the business need to make for it to actually be worthwhile?

And what impact is starting this business going to have on you and your family?

If there are multiple owners, there’s another conversation too.

Who is bringing what to the table?

💰 Money
⏰ Time
🧠 Knowledge

You might get through the planning and discover you’ve got a cracking business opportunity.

Or you might discover the numbers don’t stack up at all.

Both are good outcomes.

Because it’s much cheaper to discover a bad business idea on paper than after you’ve poured your money, time and sanity into it.

Plan first.

Structure second.

Then build the bloody thing properly.

💬 If you were starting your business again, what would you plan differently?

*t Entrepreneurship BusinessAdvice BusinessGrowth