Check out the new website that everyone’s talking about (It’s our new website, and it’s mostly us talking about it)
Things that should be on your radar this month 👀
- In a rare piece of good news: There’s been a sharp drop in inflation thanks to falling fuel prices. With purse strings getting tighter thanks to rising interest rates, the prospect of another rate hike has been keeping many business owners up at night. We’ll soon find out whether this drop is enough to give the economy a bit of respite (and get business owners sleeping better).
- And if you’re one of those people who’s heard a lot about the impact of inflation but wish you knew more about the mechanics behind it, look no further than this excellent explainer from The Guardian. It’s a great overview of the current landscape and the various economic pressures that are making this period of inflation so hard to shake.
- Forbes has put together a list of three ways to grow your business in an environment with lower consumer spending – and we think they’re on the money.
- The realms of finance and AI are becoming increasingly intertwined as the world harnesses machine learning to automate and optimise business. This LinkedIn feed collating all the latest AI finance news is one to bookmark.
- With FY24 just around the corner, it’s worth checking out this list of 20 small business tax tips to make sure you’re reducing your tax burden as much as possible (while still staying compliant, of course).
The highs 📈 and lows 📉 of small business life
📈 Huge news: Project Alfred has a brand-spanking-new website. There’s been lots of hard work behind the scenes to get this project off the ground, and we’re thrilled with the result.
We’d like to give a huge shout out to our creative agencies, ONETOO and Slice, who’ve brought this website to life. We like to think that Project Alfred has a lot of personality, and both of these agencies have done a great job of making sure our new website reflects who we are.
Check out the website here and get in touch with your feedback – we’d love to hear it!
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📉 One of the reasons we decided to launch a new website was a sour relationship with an agency that was maintaining our old one.
A mistake that we see businesses make over and over again is not understanding that business relationships are built on personal relationships. We started Project Alfred so that we had a space to prioritise the people behind businesses, and that ethos has turned out to be the secret sauce of our success so far.
A business relationship without any consistency or empathy just doesn’t cut it in our books, and it’s a sign for us to take our business elsewhere.
Tech that’s helped us build our new website
💻 Webflow: This website building and hosting platform (that we’ve just migrated to) has the depth to build exciting, dynamic websites while also being accessible enough for non-developers to jump in and make changes as needed. It’s an incredibly intuitive platform, and the free courses it offers with your account are fun and easy to follow.
📧 Drip: We’ve been using this email marketing platform for a while now, and it plugs into our website to make sure we never miss an enquiry.
📱 Zapier: If you’re not using this app, let this be your sign to make an account. It connects to nearly every app in your tech stack to automate almost any workflow. It’s even great for connecting two apps that otherwise wouldn’t integrate with each other – a must-have in any business owner's arsenal.
📊 Streamline: This Figma plugin made selecting, editing and placing the graphics we used across the website an absolute dream. It’s got a huge database of icons and illustrations, and it gives you the tools to edit colours, size and style to make sure they fit with your brand.
Productivity hack 👩 💻
I know we’ve spoken a lot about our website here (bear in mind it's consumed much of our brainpower for the better part of six months), but it’s worth mentioning the motivation behind building a new website despite having our old one for only 18 months.
We spent some serious time debating whether to invest in a new website so soon; but at the end of the day, our old one just didn’t have the functionality we needed.
Business owners would be very familiar with this concept. You invest in something, it doesn’t work, you tell yourself you’ll make do until you’re ready to invest in something else; the end. The problem is, the thing that isn’t working could prohibit you from bringing in the money you need to make that next investment (at least in the short term).
Our advice? If a system or tool isn’t working: Replace it.
The sting of having to invest your time or money a second time around is nowhere near as bad as the slow burn of having a broken cog in your machine. Plus, you’ll now be armed with an understanding of exactly what you’re looking for, which means the replacement tool will be exactly what you need.
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Project Alfred turns two this month! Last year, we raised some glasses with friends to celebrate everything we achieved over our first year in business. It’s interesting that while we’ve arguably achieved more this year, this anniversary has barely crossed our minds.
We’ve always made sure we take the time to celebrate small wins, but as the business grows our definition of a small win grows with it. It means achievements that used to warrant champagne on a Friday have become Wednesday morning high fives.
We’re ok with this – these successes have become the natural order of things, and that's great. But we’re trying to remind ourselves to celebrate those smaller day-to-day successes; it’s important to us that we’re taking the time to enjoy the process of building a business.
So, this end of financial year we’ll be taking the time to slow down and reflect on all the decisions that lead up to our triumphs this year, and we think you should, too. Pick apart the positives, and use the insights you gain to identify your strengths and opportunities.
Shifting your mindset to focus on your achievements, not your failures, is surely the perfect way to bring in the financial year. It just might be the reset you need!
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, we’re 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 Australia’s 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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We’ve started the year at break-neck speed, onboarding two exciting new clients, growing the Project Alfred team, getting frustrated at the Australian government’s proposed changes to sophisticated investors, reading about Atlassian’s 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 Liam’s fundraising page will be matched by Project Alfred - so if you can afford it, we’d love you to contribute. … And a reminder: every donation is tax deductible!
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Christmas is around the corner, so notify your staff about leave requirements if you’re 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 ‘the meeting that could’ve been an email’, 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 ‘real’ 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 that’s 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 that’ll 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.
There’s been a spike in company insolvencies that the AFR is describing as a “zombie apocalypse”, advice from HR experts on how to promote work-life balance in your team, a Slack feature we don’t think gets enough airtime, a monitor stand we’re 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 UK’s four-day workweek trial didn’t 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 you’re burning both cash and energy, and how to get excited about the next quarter.
An important reminder about what AI can and can’t 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 ‘til Christmas 🤯), 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 we’d 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 that’ll 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 Australia’s future, Slack shortcuts we can’t 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 who’s into design will love.
Did ASIC actually just kill off 'finfluencing’, 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 we’re 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 Bowl…and we’re 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 ATO’s 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.