The zombie apocalypse is here š§
Things that should be on your radar this month š
- ICYMI: The Treasurer released the findings of a landmark enquiry into Australiaās Reserve Bank, and the government is planning to implement all 51 recommendations. Read about the proposed changes and the impact they could have on our economy here.
- Food delivery company Milkrun became the latest in a string of on-demand grocery startups to fold earlier this month, with its founder blaming an increasingly tough economic environment for the closure. We were impressed to see the call was made early enough that the company had enough money to pay all of its staff and suppliers ā this doesnāt happen often enough.
- March saw a sharp spike in company insolvencies, with analysts reporting that tough economic conditions have already picked off most zombie companies (in what the AFR has dubbed a zombie apocalypse) and have started affecting relatively healthy businesses.
- Slack has launched its next-gen API that makes it easier for developers to design integrations. We canāt wait to see what the community comes up with (and maybe weāll have a tinker around ourselves).
- ANZAC day fell on a Tuesday this year, and HR experts are advocating for business owners to encourage their employees to take extra long weekends when future public holidays fall midweek. One expert said āSmart employers will jump on the chance to help the team plan for that and maximise their holiday timeā in order to be proactive about supporting work-life balance.
Tech weāre super excited to try
š©ļø Prompt Storm: If youāve started using ChatGPT like a search engine (which you absolutely should be doing, by the way) youāll love this prompt generation app that gives you exactly the answer you were looking for.
š Krisp: Say goodbye to terrible audio quality on calls š Ā This app uses AI to improve audio input and output in virtual meetings, so you can concentrate on what your collaborator is saying, not the weird noise coming from off-camera. Oh, and did we mention it transcribes the meeting for you, too?
š„ļø ProBase: We never thought weād get so excited about a monitor stand š³ Itās got multiple ports for charging and data transfer, plus a wired ethernet connection. It also looks *really* nice.
The highs š Ā and lows š of small business life
š One thing youāll hear us say over and over again is: Weāre more than accountants ā weāre an extension of your team. These close relationships make us better accountants, and they also mean lots of clients are our friends, too. Earlier this month, a client asked our founder Liam to look after his house and dog while he was on holiday with his family. Itās displays of trust like this that reinforce weāre on the right track, and that our ways of working really do bring our ethos to life.
š Weāre working on something big for Project Alfred right now, and while we canāt wait to tell everyone about it soon, thereās a lot of work to be done before we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Weāve always made sure to build time into our schedules to work on our business, but weāve been taken off guard by how much time this particular project is demanding of us. Itās reinforced that running a business can be challenging, and itās reminded us that managing workloads is more of an art than a science ā weāve certainly had to get creative!
Productivity hacks š©āš»
- Weāve got two messages for all the Slack users out there: 1. Youāre cool, and 2. You need to start using the status feature more. Being able to contact your team quickly and easily is great for productivity, but being constantly available can easily become a huge distraction
The status feature lets you set a custom message and an emoji to communicate at a glance how available you are to chat. You could put yourself as things like š„ On lunch or šļø In a meeting, but you could also mark yourself as š Focused or āļø On a deadline if you need some time without distractions. You could also just have some fun with it and mess with your team, which is also a great option.
- This might sound obvious, but if youāre finding yourself with too few hours in a day to run your business, itās probably time to outsource some of your work.
We might be biased, but we think bookkeeping should be the first to go. While itās relatively straightforward if youāre using platforms like Xero, youāre probably underestimating the amount of time you spend managing your finances. Check out how we saved one business 60 hours a month by taking on their books, and ask yourself what you would do with all that extra time.
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Lately, weāve been in a pattern of signing these newsletters off with a note about all the grim business news floating around, but letās be honest: Reading about rising company insolvency rates and general doom and gloom about economic conditions is stressful when youāre running a business. As regular readers would know, weāre massive advocates for finding healthy ways to deal with that stress ā but today weāll offer some general practical advice.
Always look through the lens of sustainability. As a business owner, there will be times when youāll be faced with decisions between a windfall profit and a slower, but more reliable, source of income. (And it almost goes without saying, but not spending windfalls or outside investments wisely is a surefire way to land yourself in hot water.) One-off cash injections are all well and good, but if your revenue isnāt reliable enough to build a comprehensive cash flow forecast itās worth thinking about diversifying your income streams.
Businesses with well-established ongoing customer relationships are simply more resilient. If you donāt have those, thereās no time like the present to start building them.
That's just our two pennies' worth.
- Liam and Amy, co-founders of Project Alfred
(changing the way people think about accounting)
Recent issues
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As their public dispute goes nuclear, weāre diving into the fistfight between Employment Hero and Hostplus. We'll also examine the trials and tribulations of Australian SMES grappling with payroll errors, uncover the truth behind cashback rewards, celebrate Australiaās first tech unicorn in two years, and examine some of the latest startups that have raised money this month.
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We look at Hatch, a Gen Z jobs marketplace that has secured $7 million in seed funding to expand nationally, using AI to match candidates with roles based on skills and values. Plus, discover how Taylor Swift's concert at the MCG broke Melbourne's internet, insights on gender pay gaps from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, and the latest advancements in AI with OpenAI's new system, Sora, generating short videos from text prompts.
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Weāve started the year at break-neck speed, onboarding two exciting new clients, growing the Project Alfred team, getting frustrated at the Australian governmentās proposed changes to sophisticated investors, reading about Atlassianās WFH 1000 days progress and exploring new startup blogs.
In our final 2023 newsletter we look at when to pay attention to your brand, the resurgence of startup funding, rebates for Sydney startups looking for office space and some potential relief on the cost of living.
Liam is participating in Movember and raising money for Beyond Blue to support their efforts in mental health awareness and support. Every donation made on Liamās fundraising page will be matched by Project Alfred - so if you can afford it, weād love you to contribute. ā¦ And a reminder: every donation is tax deductible!Ā ā
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Christmas is around the corner, so notify your staff about leave requirements if youāre shutting down. We dive into the Australian funding scene with Employment Hero's impressive cap raise, making them a double unicorn. Learn from a costly lesson about keeping receipts, discover the inspiring journey of Vegemite and find out why work created by AI can't be copyrighted.
How one business has monetised āthe meeting that couldāve been an emailā, a business that has pivoted its offering as a result of the higher cost of living, a significant payroll underpayment issue making the news and the first ārealā holiday Liam has taken since starting Project Alfred.
How Barbie & the Matilda's have sparked equal pay discussions, small business grants in QLD, how Australia harnesses students' entrepreneurial spirits, marketing tech we're using, and our August highlights as we celebrate our 2nd birthday.
What direct-to-consumer startups can learn from Barbie, the Twitter rebrand thatās left question marks over our heads, tech to make travelling for work a breeze, our tip for surviving the second half of the year, and much more.
Some good economic news (finally), the hot new website everyone is talking about (ours, obviously), tried and tested website tech we swear by, a list of 20 small business EOFY tax tips, and much more.
An excellent opinion piece about why work from home is a good thing for society (despite what Elon Musk thinks), a desk setup thatāll make your colleagues green with envy, the TLDR on the PwC tax scandal, some EOFY spending advice we know some people need to hear, and much more.
Thereās been a spike in company insolvencies that the AFR is describing as a āzombie apocalypseā, advice from HR experts on how to promote work-life balance in your team, a Slack feature we donāt think gets enough airtime, a monitor stand weāre drooling over, and much more.
The TLDR on the banking drama and how it could affect your business, exciting AI tools to keep your eye on this year, the businesses where the UKās four-day workweek trial didnāt work, our non-negotiables when flying for work, and more.
Apps to boost your sleep skills (these do more than just fix dark circles under your eyes), mindset shifts to stop you feeling like youāre burning both cash and energy, and how to get excited about the next quarter.
An important reminder about what AI can and canāt do for your business, more reasons you should go paperless (and a stack of great resources to show you how), a workday lunch tip to get you away from your desk, advice on setting effective goals for business growth, and much more.
Our thoughts on work-life balance, projections for the tech industry in 2023, some AI tools (or toys) to play with over the break, highs and lows of the year that was, and more.
Tips for making the most of December (T-minus 21 working days ātil Christmas š¤Æ), a step-by-step guide to registering for your company director ID, one of our favourite tech recs of 2022, an important cause close to our hearts that weād love you to support (scroll to the end to find out how), and more.
How to protect your business from cybercrime, apps to build a connection with your colleagues and customers, the science behind the perfect productivity playlist, and more
Three tech recs thatāll make your life 10x easier, the impact of late invoices on your cash flow, the pros and cons of going to a conference, a massive shout out to our community, and more.
The technology shaping Australiaās future, Slack shortcuts we canāt live without, and tech recs to help you share your knowledge online.
Tips for hiring in a tough labour market, an ominous shift in pricing strategy for subscription models, and tech recs to help you grow your team.
Some new economic policies coming in on July 1, tech recs to help you celebrate (or survive) EOFY, and some tips for cultivating a growth mindset next financial year.
Some tips to help you focus, proposed policies on the horizon after the election, the crash of a not-so-stable stablecoin, a big debate we had on LinkedIn, and some tech recs that anyone whoās into design will love.
Did ASIC actually just kill off 'finfluencingā, ideas for designing your perfect work week, tech recs to level up virtual meetings and a sneak peek into the tech stack we use here at Project Alfred!
Tech recs and productivity hacks to help hybrid workplaces get the best of both worlds, our thoughts on the latest Federal Budget hot off the press and an audio book weāre loving right now.
High Court rulings around being an employee or an independent contractor, funding for Covid-affected businesses, great news about mental health support for small business owners, some new favourite tech finds, the Super Bowlā¦and weāre hiring!
22 things you should do to help your business in 2022, what records you need to keep and what you can let go of in the new year, why eating a frog is the best way to start your day, and some of our highs and lows from the last month.
How to stay on the ATOās nice list this Christmas, our how-to guide for director IDs, small business trends for 2022, how to work smarter not harder, and some of our own recent business highs and lows.