Don’t miss out…vital info included

JOBKEEPER SUPPORT FOR OTHER SECTORS?

Welcome to this weekly update of all things small business start-up and more. How are you all? Get a cuppa at the ready to read what’s In this issue:

• Win of the week! (you tell us about your wins)
• Tips on building your own website (continued from last week)
• Latest 1 June measures 

ATO and Treasury overestimate Jobkeeper by $60bn. The federal government has blamed around 1,000 employers incorrectly filling in a form on how many employees they have for massively overestimating the size of the Jobkeeper payment scheme.

In 550 cases the employers put down they had 1,500 employees (the dollar value of the fortnightly payment) rather than just one employee.

As a result, the 900,000 employers are estimated to only need to pay about 3.5 million workers, not 6.5 million as had been originally forecast, meaning the Jobkeeper program will cost $70bn, not $130bn.

The government is so far resisting calls from Labor to extend the payment to casuals and sectors of the workforce that were not eligible for the payment. The treasurer said the JobKeeper program was due to be reviewed at the end of June but suggested the additional money would not be handed out to those who have fallen through the cracks.

“We’re doing a review and obviously we will see how it’s being implemented as well as seeing how the economic conditions are at the time. We recognise there are some sectors like tourism that are going to do it tough for quite a while because the international borders will remain closed for quite a while.” Mr Frydenberg said.

❌ Get safe with the New Planning Tool To Help Businesses Reopen And Be COVIDsafe. The National COVID-19 Coordination Commission has created an online tool to help business develop a plan to keep their workers, customers and the community safe as they reopen or increase their activities in the weeks and months ahead ❌

The tool which can be downloaded here complements the Safe Work Australia online hub, which remains the definitive source of information for businesses to understand their work health and safety obligations.

⏰ Please don’t forget that the NSW COVID-19 Small Business Support Grant of $10,000 is eligible to  NSW small business owners. It closes on the 1 June. Go to the link below for more details https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-small-business-covid-19-support-grant

We plan a return to the office in July. Build Grow Run is fully open and you can book an hour consultancy slot anytime. 

Book my coaching session today

See you on Zoom (until July),

Ellie and Phil

📱 Ellie – 0475 841 664
👊 Phil – 0412 667 864

FUNDS FOR SMALL BUSINESS TO REVIVE AND THRIVE

Small businesses struggling as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can apply for much-needed funding from Monday 25 May through Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) Small Business Relief Fund. There are 67 grants of $10,000 each designed to assist businesses that are recovering from the effects of the pandemic.  This fund has been made possible by a philanthropic donation from Salesforce.

The Small Business Relief Fund is aimed at supporting initiatives by small businesses to adapt and innovate in order to emerge from this challenging period in a strong position. COSBOA would like to welcome a wide variety of proposals from applicants. Proposed initiatives could address re-designing and re-modelling of workspaces, upgrading or adapting a business’s digital presence or a new approach to marketing.

Applications will open online at 9:00am on Monday 25 May 2020 and close at 5:00pm (AEST) on Monday 1 June 2020. https://www.cosboa.org.au/smallbusinessrelieffund 

Eligible applications will be reviewed by a selection panel of three people and successful grant recipients will be announced on 29 June 2020.

1 JUNE PUBS OPEN TO 50 PEOPLE

The NSW government has eased social distancing restrictions, enabling small businesses to open their doors to a larger number of patrons.

In response to a continual reduction in the number of new coronavirus cases, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has provided early relief to small businesses grappling with the economic impact of the crisis.

The state government has announced that effective 1 June 2020, it would allow pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants to host up to 50 customers, provided they adhere to the one person per four square metre rule and employ strict social distancing measures.

Ms Berejiklian said the move was designed to “safely bringing back thousands of jobs.”

All customers must be seated and no bookings of more than 10 allowed, in addition to many other conditions which must be met.

“Nobody will be able to take bookings of more than 10 people. A maximum booking of 10 people,” she said.

“And also nobody will be able to be standing up in these venues. You have to be seated at a table, even if it’s a pub. You have to be seated at the table, you have to be served at the table. There is no mingling, no standing around.”

There are about 280,000 people employed in this sector of the economy, and allowing venues to safely cater for more customers will provide another boost to business and jobs.

This announcement comes less than a week after the latest Labour Force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that 594,300 workers lost their jobs in April, triggering a spike in the unemployment rate from 5.2 per cent to 6.2 per cent.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of Australia revealed that the unemployment rate could hit 10 per cent by the end of the June quarter before recovering to 7 per cent by the end of the year.

WIN OF THE WEEK

The book THE IDEA is a relatable story (written for children and adults alike) and is for anybody who has ever had an idea and knows the struggle of nursing it. This book has been authored by client, Doctor Kori Nemme. At age 27 she completed a PhD on the nexus of creativity, connection, and spirituality.  The book is designed to remind us all that we are “magician’s of our own lives”.

Kori has worked with the likes of Comm Bank to universities (including Sydney and RMIT) and to every level of government in every state in Australia. Active in the arts and in the not-for-profit sector she has worked all over the world. The IDEA is a limited edition hard copy of only 1500 in print.

She said of her WIN OF THE WEEK: “I scored a rad new stockist who wants to also feature my book and build some hype on their social media accounts. They love my book. Made my day!”  🌻

BUILD YOUR OWN WEBSITE

With so many of our clients having to create websites or add Shopify to their exiting websites, we felt it was time to bring you our golden rules:

✅ Stay Away from Free Themes

They often aren’t as secure as those you purchase. It doesn’t have to be a huge expense, but even a small investment in a good theme can help keep your business website secure.

✅ Add a Face

Don’t try and make your businesses look big. A lot of customers want to know that there’s a real person who’s going to be working with them. So including a good photo of yourself or your team is a good idea.

✅ Tell a Personal Story

Another way to make people feel more connected to your business through your website is to tell your story. It’s really nice to include a story about yourself or why you created the business in the first place, as long as that reason is something more than just ‘to make money.’ If you started the business to help people or if there was a specific thing that happened that led to your business idea, people love stories like that.

✅ Set Up Easy Contact

With very limited exceptions, every business website, no matter the type or size, should include contact information. (Ellie says ‘t drives me nuts when I can’t find someone’s number on a website). Be sure to include an email address, phone number, address, social accounts, or all of the above. The more ways you give people to contact you, the more likely they are to feel comfortable reaching out.

✅ Always Include a Contact Form

When deciding which types of contact information to provide, a contact form should always be included. Sometimes people are looking to get in touch but they don’t have access to their main email program or just can’t click on your email link for whatever reason. A contact form makes it easy for people to send a message no matter where they are or what kind of device they are using.

✅ Keep Design Elements Simple

Whether you’re working with a designer or just choosing a template, don’t go too crazy with different design elements. Stick with a few colours or textures and don’t add too many different fonts or type sizes.

✅ Make Text Easy-to-Read

Since the text of your site is likely what’s providing most of the relevant information to your visitors, it’s important that they can actually read it. Basic typefaces, like those that your designer or theme are likely to suggest, are best for readability. So don’t go changing all of your fonts to fancy lettering just because you think it looks cool.

✅ Add Valuable Images

Visuals like images can also go a long way for adding interest to your first business website. Some ideas for relevant images include team photos, examples of your work, and even relevant stock images.

✅ Avoid Cheap Stock Photography

Make a small investment in good images.

✅ Include Customer Testimonials

Customer testimonials can be another great element of a lot of business sites. If your business is brand new, work on getting some quality testimonials first, rather than just publishing bland, generic recommendations. But even a few text blocks from customers can help build your credibility.

✅ Add Video Elements When Possible

You can also add video testimonials or other types of video content to your first business website if it’s relevant to your message and high quality.

✅ Insist on a Mobile Site

But no matter what type of content you decide to include on your website, make sure that the site itself is responsive or mobile-friendly. Having a site that isn’t mobile-optimized can drive away customers, hurt your SEO and look unprofessional.

✅ Research SEO

SEO is a concept you’ll have to keep in mind throughout the entirety of running your website. Your designer should be able to help with the basics at first. But over time you’ll likely want to educate yourself about some of the concepts so that people can easily find you online.

✅ Learn as You Go

Once your first business website is live, the process is far from over. You’ve made a great first step. But a company’s website is never really complete. Add or change elements as your business grows and changes. Adapt to things like SEO and mobile designs. And always remember to keep your customers’ needs and wants in mind.

COVID SUPPORT TODAY

CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS SUPPORT – business.gov.au and ☎️ 13 28 46 ☎️

If your business has been affected by the coronavirus, AusIndustry have a team of dedicated customer representatives who can help on 13 28 46. The dedicated team will be available to assist you with extended hours between 7am – 9pm across Australia, Monday to Sunday.  Information about the support available to business can also be accessed at business.gov.au which is being continuously updated as new information becomes available.