Posts by Carmen
Managing emails
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by email traffic when you run a farming business. They can number hundreds if not thousands in a month. Email has replaced physical mail for most businesses, but the low marginal cost of sending an email has resulted in a huge increase in the volume of correspondence. The relative value…
Read MoreRisky Business
Hands up if your insurance premiums increased this year? Okay, so that’s everyone. There have been a lot of national and international disasters over the past few years and it is no surprise that the cost of insurance has risen. As easy as it may be to determine why prices have risen, it does not…
Read MoreIt’s all about family, but every spare dollar goes to the farm
Does this lament sound familiar? Whilst the day to day living costs of the farm family are met, any larger amounts of money that could be redirected to holidays, improvements to the home, investment purposes etc are always spent on the farm. Sometimes the conflict is between two people in a relationship which can be…
Read MoreWho got that bearing and what was it for?
Do you ever get bills for your farm and wonder who got them or what it was for? It’s often a hot topic of conversation at our Farm Office Plus workshops. Basically, how do we make sure that everything that is put on a suppliers account that you receive a bill for is correct. This…
Read MoreIn praise of home and family
It’s the time of year when the glossy brochures start circulating in the Land, Weekly Times, the Country Life and magazines aimed at rural ladies. The adds are not for changing seasonal clothes, overseas trips and farm machinery, they are for boarding school. The pictures are so beautiful. We see acne free smiling children and…
Read MoreHow to manage vehicle registrations
A while back I put a post up on Facebook – 7 Tips on how to managing vehicle registrations. It generated some great comments and conversation. It’s a pain point for many, but not all, farm businesses.Some people thought it was not an issue and that’s great. Possibly they run farm with less vehicles, are…
Read MoreWill debt always be there ?
Being debt free in ag is something that lots of people aspire to. The idea of no being answerable to a bank manager and not having to think about the implications of interest rate rises is certainly attractive. However is being debt free achievable in growth focused ag businesses, and is it something worthwhile to…
Read MoreDo we just do what everyone else is doing?
We just got back from a lovely beach trip away. Always good to get a break! We go to the same place every year and it is always fun to notice the change, trends and fashions. This year Cool Cabana beach shades and Tesla cars were everywhere! I listed to a great podcast by the…
Read MoreWhy is work life balance so hard
Can you do less work and make more money? Don’t worry – I’m not going to talk you into some sort of pyramid marketing scheme, dressed up as an online business, where you make money convincing others to buy an overpriced thing they don’t need and sign-up other people to do the same. What I…
Read MoreWhy technology can be hard
June we had an extended weekend away down in Melbourne with the kids. I don’t know much about footy, but there was no argument when I suggested that the big bloke up the back playing goal defence for Brisbane had a good game. Despite his best efforts, Hawthorn won and I could sing “Cheer Cheer…
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