<p>Poor financial management is as fatal to your business and personal wealth as a photo of your parents on the bedside table is to your libido! If you want to protect the heart of your financial well being and get it to show you more love, you must understand and learn to prevent the most common causes of financial failure. Financial Foreplay® is the antidote to these lethal killers.</p>

Financial Foreplay® Podcast

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Investing in property is a time-consuming, stressful and non-transparent process. It is estimated that investors spend on average 200 hours looking for a property, including frustrating Saturday morning inspections. Typically there are 5-10 stakeholders involved, the process is unclear, and most are worried about making a wrong/poor decision. It is extremely hard to find the data and insights to know where and what to buy and at what price.
 
Bio
Mickael Roger is co-founder and co-CEO of PropHero, a data-driven digital platform for property investment. PropHero helps you find, buy and manage the best investment properties.Before founding PropHero, Mickael was an Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he was leading the Data & Artificial Intelligence practice, serving clients in the Telco/Media/Tech, Private Equity and Financial Services industries. In 2017, he launched a new AI-powered commodity price forecasting capability for McKinsey, serving some of the largest commodity producers and traders to predict prices using artificial intelligence and develop advanced trading strategies.Prior to joining McKinsey, Mickael worked as a Senior Consultant at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Paris and North Africa, where he focused on both strategic and restructuring topics, while developing M&A and financial advisory activities. Mickael Roger began his career as an M&A investment banker for UBS in London in 2011.Mickael Roger holds a Master's Degree in Engineering from Telecom ParisTech and an MSc in International Finance from HEC Paris.
 
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
 
PropHero is an AI-driven digital property investment platform that helps you find, buy and manage the best investment properties.  PropHero is designed to help investors build wealth and make property investing simple, transparent and more profitable. 

Simplicity: Save up to 95% of the time usually spent to find an investment property with the help of your dedicated Property Coach and via our user-friendly digital platform simplifying each step of the property investment process
Transparency: We share with you all the data and model insights to help you understand the potential of the properties we find for you
Greater profitability: We use Data and AI to locate the next 'hotspots' and find superior investment opportunities

 
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What if There Were an Easier Way to Choose Profitable Investment Properties?

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There is no denying that COVID 19 has been particularly difficult for small business owners. With forced lockdowns and tightened restrictions to prevent the spread of the pandemic, many small business owners have had to dig deep in order to overcome these challenges and stay afloat. Today, I want to shine a spotlight on a fantastic retail business in Brisbane Australia that has not only survived, but literally thrived despite the global pandemic.
I want to welcome Jennah Grimsey to the show representing Vault Entertainment Pty Ltd. (Vault Games), located at – Lower Ground, 62 Queen Street, right in the heart of the city in Brisbane, Australia.  Jennah is in partnership with her husband Dylan Shearer and their mutual friend Cassandra Varian. 
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.      More sales often does not fix cash flow problems, in fact, it can make them much worse
2.      High growth periods will highlight cash flow and working capital problems very quickly
3.      Less than 30 days of cash reserves in the bank to deal with an emergency is very unsafe
      a.      Businesses should strive to have 4-6 months of cash reserves in the bank
4.      Top 3 lessons learned from coaching
      a.      Cash flow is the #1 metric + you need to have enough working capital to fund the operating cycle and growth
      b.      It never makes sense to drop prices in retail just for the sake of driving high volumes of sales (i.e. Black Friday sales)
      c.      Supplier terms are critical – often an extra 2-3 weeks to pay is much more valuable than a discount on price
5.      Bank lending is very difficult for small businesses to get even with the government backed guarantees offered during COVID19
      a.      Non-bank lenders are much more flexible and approve loans more quickly but the trade-off is higher interest rates which much be factored into your costs
      b.      Paypal is roughly 14% and Prospa offers a 24% interest rate – you need to adjust your business model to ensure you can cover these additional costs of doing business
6.      Top 3 impacts on Vault Games from having a coach during the past 12 months
      a.      Net profit margin increased from 0.5% to 13%
      b.      Cash flow up 750% with 2.5 months cash buffer in the bank for emergencies (and working towards 4 months of cash buffer)
                                                    i.     Allowed business to expand by moving to larger premises and pay for all leasehold improvement and fitouts with cash
      c.      Took first fully paid vacation as owners (in four years of operations)
Do You Need Some Help to Get Your Cash Flow & Business Turned Around?
For those of you who are listening to this podcast and thinking “hey that is exactly where I’m in my business and I could use some help to boost my cash flow and also put more systems in place so that my business works without me”, please know that help is available if you are open to learning and willing to do the work. 
Reach out now to speak with Rhondalynn about your suitability and readiness for coaching:
🦉 Rhondalynn Korolak 👨‍🎓📢 | LinkedIn
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How One Small Business Has Been Able to Thrive Despite COVID 19 Lockdowns

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Over the past 24 months as the COVID 19 pandemic unfolded and progressed... it revealed an inconvenient truth about just how precarious the financial affairs of middle class households really are. We now have much greater clarity and certainty around the fragility of our finances – with around 80% of households forced to confront the fact they don’t have enough savings and are around 1 month away from losing their homes. Inadequate savings, lack of financial planning, and with little support from family and the government... Several things have become abundantly clear, We need to understand our debt position and how much savings are required to weather a storm (such as a loss of job, pandemic, health issues) and we also need to better use the assets that we already have available to us to protect against future catastrophes and shore up our overall health as we build wealth for our families and prepare for retirement.
Sometimes opportunities lie in the strangest of places...
While there are reports that we are heading into a decade long housing supply crunch, with reports that affordable housing is at all time lows and Sydney reporting a five year low vacancy rate of 1.7% (with many regional areas reporting less than 1% vacancy), there are 13.5M unused bedrooms in 10m residences across Australia.
Bio
Ludwina Dautovic is the CEO and Founder of The Room Xchange, Australia’s first verified house-sharing platform. The Room Xchange makes it easy for people to find their ideal housemate based on personality, values, and lifestyle. And you can choose to rent or rent offset giving you the choice on how you want to use your asset.
Today Ludwina and I will be talking about how you spare bedroom could be worth $10k a year in rent or over 300 hours of household help.
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
13.5M unused bedrooms in 10m residences across Australia and yet we have a housing shortage and an affordability crisis.
A spare bedroom can return around $200 a week in rent or 8 hours of help.
Your spare bedroom is an asset that could be making you money – it’s no different than renting our your spare car, garage, caravan, or power tools for extra cash
Having verified profiles means you can pick someone that shares your lifestyle and values.
There are a myriad of reasons why people want to house share post COVID.
The rental market is very slim and people (of all shapes and sizes) are looking for viable alternatives to the traditional share model (that really appeals more to students).
The experience can enrich your life and add value to your life/family.
Our tribal way of living has changed so much in the last 20 years and this is one unique way of creating a new sense of community, dialogue and connection.
$12,000 a year in incremental income could almost double the amount of principal that a family with a mortgage of $500,000-$600,000 is able to pay down each year.
Australia is the only country in the world where 76% of citizens are living in “severely unaffordable housing” defined as housing valued at 6+ times your annual salary.
If all the unused spare bedrooms within 30 minutes of the CBD in Sydney were housed by a working adult, it would increase GDP by $750m annually according to a study by Ernst and Young.
 Get in Touch:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ludwinadautovic/
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Why Your Spare Bedroom Might Be The Key to Financial Independence

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Running a business is challenging on many fronts not the least of which is that you have put your finances at risk to fund it. That is why it makes sense to proactively manage risk, reduce uncertainty and protect your livelihood wherever possible.
Business insurance is one of those areas that is not often talked about. There are plenty of courses on social media marketing, leadership, even financial literacy... but surprisingly very few on how to protect the key assets you need to stay in business, deal with disasters (manmade or natural) and the human beings you interact with every day in your business.
Think about how you would manage if your stock, employees, equipment, or even your place of business was badly damaged or destroyed? 
Would you be able to continue? Could you recover financially based on savings you have on hand right now?
Insurance is about peace of mind. However, you have to know what to insure and how much to insure it for... that is where it makes sense to speak to someone that you can trust.
 Bio:
Lisa Carter is an award-winning adviser with over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. Following an 11-year career with an international insurance broking firm Lisa identified a market gap stepping away to start Clear Insurance in 2010.
Lisa is a master at building long-term client relationships - she specialises in custom insurance and risk programs for complicated and hard to place accounts. She has delivered some very unique solutions for the construction, hospitality, medical and tech-startup industries. 
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.      Before COVID hit we were already in a hard market cycle for insurance – meaning companies had started to restrict cover and premiums were up
2.      In terms of under-insurance, business interruption and public liability are the two areas where businesses are most exposed right now
3.      Insurers are now demanding a much higher level of preparedness in terms of risk planning and cyber risk management strategies
4.      Almost every business (whether you are selling online or not) now has a serious risk of exposure to cyber crime as many of these are driven by social engineering and can infiltrate your business via your email and/or accounts department
5.      The new legislation in place to force timely reporting to government of all breaches is quite strict and most businesses will fall under these provisions because the definition of sensitive data captures more than it ever has in the past
6.      Management liability isn’t just for big businesses that have a formal Board of directors – as a director, you are already on the hook for decisions made or losses that affect third parties and you should be carrying insurance to protect against the risks
 
Get in Contact:
Linked in - Lisa Carter | LinkedIn
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Is The Way You Are Operating Your Business Risky and Dangerous?

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It may surprise you to hear that 2/3 of people accessing emergency relief are under extreme housing stress. In countries such as Australia, many adults are reporting that more than ½ of their disposable income goes to keep a roof over their head... leaving them little hope to save for a deposit. Plus according to Demographica, Australia is the only country in the world where 77% of the population is living in housing that is classified as severely unaffordable (defined as 6+ times your annual income).
Since the financial crisis in 2008, many people in America have been forced to rent. It has been reported that 8m mortgages were foreclosed on and $7T in home equity was erased. What this means in practice is that the home ownership rate in America has not increased much at all in the 31 years since 1990.  It took a very long time for the market in the US to recover from 2008 and what we are seeing now with COVID is additional pressure on home ownership as both home owners and renters were hit hard by the lockdowns/restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
Bio:
Daisy Ashworth started off in Local Government in the United Kingdom, specialising in Welfare and Housing law at Great Yarmouth Borough Council. She provided legal advice in benefit appeals and creating the free legal advice website 'Freegal'.
 For the past nine years Daisy has been committed to ending homelessness in Western Australia, working for a Not-for-Profit agency in the areas of housing, older adults, family services and mental health.
In 2015, Daisy started developing the social enterprise Mortgage Mates, a revolutionary website that matches two or more users to own a home together, with the aim of increasing affordable housing in the home ownership space. Daisy has been a finalist at the Pitch @ Palace awards and participated in the SBE E3 cohort for female founders.
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.     It takes about 10 years on average to save up for a deposit and the average age of a first home owner is 36 years.
2.     Since 2011 there has been a 50% reduction in home ownership in the age bracket 18-29 years and a 20% reduction for people 30-39 years old
3.     55+ women are the fastest growing demographic facing homeless right now
4.     Home ownership is so deeply ingrained as an aspirational milestone that the inability to get on the ladder is causing significant financial and mental health issues
5.     New co-ownership options can allow you to enter the property market 50-70% than if you continued to try to do it on your own
6.     92% of renters aspire to own but 49% believe it is completely unrealistic/unachievable given the current environment and conditions
7.     Co-ownership is actually a lot less risky as both parties are much more likely to enter the arrangement with solid plans in place to deal with loss of income, shared expense, upgrades, death, estate issues, plan to exit and realize capital gains, etc.
 
Get in touch:
Email – daisy@mortgagemates.com.au
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Here’s One Unique Way to Keep The Dream of “Owning Your Own Home” Alive

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Apple is putting the finishing touches on a service that will let consumers pay for any Apple Pay purchase in instalments over time – which is a direct foray into the “buy now, pay later” market where key players such as Paypal, Klarna, Zip and Afterpay have dominated.
This new Apple service will be backed by Goldman Sachs as the lender for the loans that support the instalments.
This new buy now, pay later system could further drive and entrench Apple Pay adoption. Even more importantly, it’s likely to influence more consumers to use their iPhone to pay for items instead of standard credit cards. This is a huge shift since recent studies out of the UK estimate that BNPL took a 20% chunk out of the credit card market during the 2020 Christmas shopping season.
As I understand it - when a consumer makes a purchase via Apple Pay on any Apple device, they will have the option to:
·        pay for it in four interest-free payments made every two weeks, or 
·        spread the payments across several months with interest
Consumers will be able to choose any credit card to make their re-payments over time which will add another 30 days to the equation.
Now you may be asking yourself, why is this so significant? 
Apple's announcement isn't significant because of its direct impact on the BNPL landscape. It is significant because it proves the structures of banking and finance are fundamentally changing. This week alone we saw irrefutable evidence that banking as we know it is dying and that the rigid foundations that have propped up our banks, are no longer rigid at all.
The recent acquisition of Afterpay as a prime example of this. Afterpay has NEVER made a profit. Afterpay has no history of paying dividends to shareholders and has less than $1 billion in net assets on its Balance Sheet. And yet, it was acquired for an implied $39 billion by Square, with Afterpay shareholders set to pocket Square shares instead of cash... where Square shares on this transaction were aggressively priced at 120 times forward earnings!
Bio:
Kane Jackson is the Founder and CEO of Maslow, a financial services start-up with a
goal to rebuild consumer banking and finance on a platform of inclusivity and
alignment with the consumers it serves and has, at times, previously taken for
granted. Maslow has the backing of a number of significant investors, including the ex CEO of PWC and Carlton Football Club President.
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.     Significant increase in bad debts likely led to need to source an acquisition partner
2.     BNPL is predicated not on the 6 per cent return but the fact that capital is recycled 3-4 times a year making the annual return earned in the 30 per cent range
3.     BNPL model is built upon the assumption they would be able to upsell customers into traditional banking products – the jury is still out on whether that is realistic or not
4.     Banks were never really worried about BNPL because it only affected a small portion of their revenue base
5.     Apple’s proposition is risky because it completely removes friction AND conscious consideration by the customer of what the bank does (and whether they even need a bank in their lives)
6.     Questions for us to ponder -- How could we harness what we have learned from BNPL to innovate in the area of savings, investing etc.? How could we teach people to manage their money more wisely and make it fun/engaging?
Get in Touch:
Linkedin - Kane Jackson | LinkedIn 
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How Sexually Transmitted Debt is Creating a Revolution in Banking

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Tania Katsanis ran a multi award winning online business for 12.5 years called Flowers by Fruit. Tania built her business from the ground up – she was focused on "delivering happiness" not only to her customers but also for her team. Flowers by Fruit was revolutionary in redefining edible gifts. Tania and her team created edible chocolate strawberry and fruit bouquets and arrangements for any occasion.  The brand and the business had a loyal following and had built a strong reputation for delivering high quality products and providing exceptional service. 
Because of the success of Flowers by Fruit and the legal loopholes that allowed online breaches, Tania's competitors got away with using her registered business name and trademark to generate sales for their own inferior, unprotected products. This created massive confusion for customers seeking authentic Flowers by Fruit products – many , mistakenly ordered clearly inferior products, and were severely disappointed with their experience. 
The end result negatively impacted Flowers by Fruit -- the platforms such as Google and Facebook unlawfully allowed it to happen, despite the fact only Tania had the legal right to use her registered trademark in the floral and retail industries. 
After spending years trying to be heard to protect the Flowers by Fruit brand, Tania made the heartbreaking decision to close a very successful and profitable business in 2018.  
Financial Foreplay® Highlights
1.      Watch your sales trends very carefully – trends can highlight and help you pinpoint potential infringements of your brand online via digital attacks and unlawful use.
2.      Watch out for declines in online orders, product quality issues raised by “customers” who were fooled, and competitive products showing up for online searches of your business name and/or registered trademark.
3.      Negative links may be invisible to you but make no mistake they are having a severe, detrimental impact on your organic search ranking on Google
4.      Top tips:
a.      It is still extremely important to protect your business name with a registered trademark
b.     Consider selecting a unique name that has never been used before as it may be easier to trademark, protect, and defend
c.      Take your concerns to politicians, media, and other business owners as potential viable options to legal action – together we can raise awareness and prevent use and abuse going unreported and undetected
Get in Touch:
Linkedin profile - Tania Katsanis | LinkedIn
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Stealing Fruit: A Cautionary Tale of Intellectual Property Theft Causing a Business to Go Under

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Whether you are an investor, start-up, branded business, selling branded products or promoting your own brand, it is imperative that you take the necessary steps to safeguard your intellectual property.
  Intellectual property covers and protects more than just an idea or a concept – it shields genuine business assets that may be integral to your business and its long-term success.
Intellectual property can consist of many different things – patents, trademarks, copyright, or registered designs. These things tend to differentiate your business from competitors which is why you stand to suffer significant losses if those things are used without your permission.
Any company (not matter the size) is at risk of having their ideas, products or services, processes, or brands infringed upon. This can happen by someone down the street or by a party on the other side of the world, making protection more important than ever to the survival of your business.
Bio:
Brian Goldberg is a qualified Trade Mark Attorney who protects brands, logos and slogans in Australia and all international markets.
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.      Intellectual property encompassed copyright, trademark, patents, and designs- where copyright is created automatically, the other three rights must be registered in order to gain protection
2.      Exposure to theft is now a global issue – it is imperative to set up the right foundation from the start
3.      How to guide:
a.      Is your brand available and trademarkable?
b.      Online tools make it much easier now to check locally and overseas
c.       When dealing with third parties (i.e. contractors) the default is that ownership will attribute to the person who made it so you need to have proper contracts in place if you intend to assert ownership
d.      With products and processes – is it patentable (i.e novel and inventive)?
e.      Digital components and selling abroad – trademark is imperative
4.      Cost of getting it wrong include cost of rebranding, loss of intangible value or goodwill that you have built in something you can no longer use + costs of legal defence to action by the registered owner
5.      It is imperative to nip infringements in the bud early – get out a notification and cease and desist letter, 70% of these matters are settled well before going to court
a.      Inexperienced and naive parties are much more likely to refuse settlement (especially if they have gotten bad legal advice or they are just beligerant)
Get In Touch:
Email – brian@trademark.ventures
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STOP Fakes: Why You Need to Protect Your Intellectual Property

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We’ve been talking a lot in the last few episodes about cash flow and working capital, and the important (and often misunderstood) distinction between the two. And cash should be top of mind for everyone right now as we know from experience that going into the pandemic last year 50% of business owners only had 16 days of cash reserves (and 96% of all business owners had <26 days of reserves).
As we are now moving into the recovery phase and most of the government sponsored incentives, subsidies, loans and grants are expiring, businesses must stand on their own two feet and there are going to be casualties. Today’s session is about how to identify whether your business might be in trouble and also identifying and accessing help (if you need it) to restructure and move forward or close safely and cost effectively.
 Bio:
Our guest today is Louisa Sijabat – she is an experienced Trustee in Bankruptcy, Liquidator and Director at Vincents in Sydney. She works with people and companies who are going through a tight financial situation. Louisa is very practical – which is a quality I really admire and respect. She listens to the facts and then advises on the options available. If one of the options is bankruptcy, liquidation, or administration, she will explain what is about to happen, in plain language, and answer all your questions.
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.     Bankruptcy is for individuals and insolvency is the equivalent for corporations
2.     There are always clear warning signs leading up to an insolvency event – can’t pay your debts as they come due, letters of demand being issued, not wanting to answer the phone because you will have to deal with collection issues etc.
3.     There are several professionals you can go to if you need an upfront assessment of where you are at and what your options are – many of these are free
4.     A typical small business may be able to liquidate properly for $8000-$10,000
5.     A good liquidation/bankruptcy is possible – the key to it being good is that it is well planned with no surprises
6.     There are advantages to choosing to put your own company into liquidation however, if cost is an issue, it might make more sense to wait until a creditor petitions you into bankruptcy/liquidation
7.     Right now in Australia, over $53b is owed to the ATO by companies and individuals – the second largest group of creditors are the landlords
 
Get in touch:
Louisa Sijabat | LinkedIn
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Bankruptcy or Liquidation: Here’s How to Take the Risk Out of Risky Business 

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One of the most important aspects of your success is how you start your day. Our expert guest Glenn Lundy wrote a book on the perfect morning routine because he says that having a powerful morning routine can literally change your life.
Bio:
Glenn Lundy is a husband to 1, a father to 7, and he is the host of the wildly popular Facebook Live show #RiseAndGrind. He’s been seen at places like Hustle and Grind Con, Grow Your Business For God’s Sake! and many more big stages across America. Glenn has been spotlighted on ABC, NBC, and CBS, and is an expert in automotive dealership culture development, and leadership training. With 20 years experience in the automotive industry, Glenn lead a dealership from 120 cars a month to an 800% increase in sales in five years, becoming the 2nd largest used car franchise in the USA. His unique style makes him one of the most admired and respected GM’s in the business. With a background in sales, and finance, he uses his skill sets to create growth, as well as tapping into the mental side of human development.
Financial Foreplay® Highlights:
1.      800% growth – if you think you need more customers to grow then you will likely make the mistake of thinking you just need more people to service those customers
2.      Must shift mindset:
a.      From: – Profits to Customers to People
b.      To: – People to Customers to Profits
3.      LEADD = the perfect meeting
a.      Listen, Encourage, Advise, Develop, Daily
4.      Five Morning Rituals
o   Step 1 – If you snooze you lose
o   Step 2 – Don’t touch your phone first thing in the morning
·       12 questions that could alert you to the fact you are addicted to your phone
·        Do you find yourself spending more time on your phone than you realise
·        Do you find yourself mindlessly passing time on a regularly basis by staring at your smart phone?
·        Do you seem to lose track of time when on your smart phone?
·        Do you find yourself spending more time texting and tweeting as opposed to speaking to real people in person?
·        Has the amount of time you spend on your phone been increasing?
·        Do you wish you could be a little less involved with your smart phone?
·        Do you sleep with you phone turned on under your pillow or next to your bed regularly?
·        Do you find yourself viewing or answering texts/tweets etc. at all hours of the day or night even when it means interrupting other things that you are doing?
·        Do you text/email etc. while driving or doing other activities that require your focused attention and concentration?
·        When you go to the restroom, do you take your phone with you and does having it extend the amount of time that you spend in there?
o   Step 3 – Write down gratitude and goals every day 10x
o   Step 4 – Take care of yourself physically
o   Step 5 – Send out an encouraging message (lift someone else up)
Get in Contact:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennlundy/
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