You don’t need an inner-city address, Caren will help you tackle money matters in the ‘burbs, through a better understanding of all the important issues – investing, superannuation, budgeting, tax, insurance, mortgages, gearing, shares, managed funds, small business, food, home, fashion, travel, and much more.

A fun and entertainingly educational forum, specifically designed for Australian “suburbanites".

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

It's tax time - now it's a party!!!!

We're well into the personal tax season, which means it's party time at The Hendrie Group, as we keep busy during one of our favourite times of year (Christmas comes a close second of course ha ha).

We're still offering evening appointments through to the end of September, so if you can't come during the day then just call and make a time in the next few weeks.  As you can imagine, evenings book up pretty quickly so the sooner you call us the better.

The ATO's turnaround time for lodged tax returns has been pretty good, with most of them coming back just on two weeks.  However, we recommend allowing three weeks as sometimes they take a little longer.

We appreciate that most people don't find tax time as exciting as we do, but part of our job is to keep you informed, and this year Dean's personal tax newsletter addressed a few issues that you may find of interest including, but not limited to:

  • A guide to 2014 tax return preparation charges;
  • How the tax-man helps you protect your family;
  • New criteria for the net medical expense tax offset;
  • A simple explanation of the Medicare Levy Surcharge;
  • Changes to the private health insurance rebate;
  • The ATO's new stance on claiming travel and overtime meal expenses;
  • Buying an investment property.

Click here if you hadn't had a chance to read this year's Personal Tax Newsletter for a quick and informative look at some of this year's relevant tax issues.

If you'd like to hear more of what I have to say on the matter, click here for a recording of my most recent "You & Your Money" radio segment on 98.1FM Radio Eastern.

Talk soon,
Caren

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

68% of clients or customers leave you for 1 reason

68% of clients or customers leave you for 1 reason

It boils my blood when I hear business coaches claiming that price isn't an issue in business, that's just rubbish!  That said, I completely agree that it's not the only issue.  In fact in most cases it's not even the most important issue.

As a Financial Adviser I like to deal with facts, and there's a survey done on a regular basis by the Technical Assistance Research Program in Washington, which addresses why customers don't buy from you or why they leave you and move to a competitor.

The results are broken into 5 categories:

Convenience 3%:
This means a person would choose not to deal with a business or would leave that business because it's more convenience to buy elsewhere. 

Relationship at a high level 9%
This means that someone close to your customer opened a new business or moved to another company and they want to deal with that person because of the important relationship.  It could be a close friend or a family member. 

Miscellaneous 5%
This is simply those reasons that couldn't be categorised clearly. 

Product/price/time 15%
This actually means potential customers want a certain product or service, at a certain price, whenever they want it - for example, right now, next week, or what have you. 

______________ ? 68%

Click here to find out "The real reason customers stop doing business with you".

Talk soon,
Caren