š Are you ready for hybrid work? š
Things that should be on your radar this month
1. Hereās a great overview of what small businesses need to know about the 22/23 Federal Budget. We also rate the Guardianās ābuild your own budget coverageā if you want to find out how this Budget impacts you.
Weāre particularly interested in the tax breaks for small businesses investing in technology and skills, which weāve broken down in more detail here.
2. From April 5, new directors need a Director ID before being appointed. Hereās how you get one.
3. As companies experiment with four-day workweeks and hybrid arrangements increasingly become the norm, tech-startup Earlywork is helping Gen Z find startup job opportunities.
4. Aussie social bio link tool Linktree has hit unicorn status š¦ ā we love seeing Australian startups succeed on the global stage.
5. Nine startup founders share some excellent advice for those looking to follow in their footsteps.
Tech to help streamline your business (the hybrid work edition)
Zip Message - Have a hybrid or remote team? This video, voice and screen messaging tool overcomes meeting overload and is perfect for when an email just won't cut it.
Where - Coordinate hybrid work arrangements and desk bookings (and events and catch-ups) with this Slack plugin ā itās way easier than shared calendars and cloud spreadsheets.
Donut - You don(u)t have to worry about missing out on water cooler conversations when youāre WFH anymore. Find a best friend at work + grab a virtual coffee with the CEO + easily intro teammates across the world.
The highs and lows of small business life
+ Weāre working on a website refresh and had a great project launch meeting with our new web developers Digital Noir and our content partners at Slice about how we can take our user experience to the next level (remember ā lean on other expertise when you need it, itās well worth the investment).
ā We went to a conference in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago that ended up being a bit underwhelming, but it was great to catch up with app providers and meet with other accountants doing things differently.
Productivity hacks for hybrid work arrangements
Plenty of people are very pro-hybrid work (us included) but there are always obstacles. Hereās how to overcome the challenges of hybrid work.
With our first team member about to join us, weāve been thinking a lot about what performance appraisal approach we'll take at Project Alfred. We've been looking at different styles of OKRs, feedback and goal setting and found these reads interesting: using 360 feedback with a hybrid team, making performance appraisals less stressful for employees and 10 quick tips for sharing constructive feedback.
A lot of advice online about hybrid work focuses on employees, but what about business owners? When it comes to hybrid work and WFH arrangements, itās more important than ever to remember to set boundaries and create a personal wellbeing plan.
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And to wrap things up todayā¦ I (Liam) have just started listening to the audiobook of No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention by Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer, and itās a great glimpse inside the unorthodox (but innovative and imaginative) culture behind one of the world's most successful companies. Have you read it/listened to it? Would love to know your thoughts.
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.