Articles

If you were a rich man

By Brian Harrower

Swedish pop 70s superstars Abba didn’t need it or they’d have accepted that $1billion offer to do another live appearance long after they retired. Like the Beatles never reforming, Abba said no, been there, done that.

Most people however, work for a living, or as some rather do, live to work. For those who lament exceptional entrepreneurs who seem to end up filthy rich, take heart. Most of them work longer hours and harder than you, yes the minions in their millions prefer to gamble on making it big with a Lotto lottery win.

Perhaps the easiest way to end up stinking rich is to be born in the right family or marry the right person. How about Kylie Minogue for the men and Robbie Williams for the women? Not just successful, but sexy so.

I clearly remember the radio shock jocks and some TV characters ridiculing Kylie Minogue for going to London when she was ‘clearly hopeless’ – in their opinion of course. The very same critics amounted to little themselves while she’s a very rich, very popular, definitely desirable, a well marketed success. Ah, the value of well packaged marketing.

Anyway, here are 10 tips involving 10 stinking rich Aussie entrepreneurs who don’t mind working their butt off.

1. Be prepared to work, and work, and work at it. Retail giant Gerry Harvey believes money should never sit still. He even turned his favourite holiday spot at Byron Bay into a money making luxury resort.

2. Be prepared to take at least one big risk. Most rich people who’ve worked for it have at one stage put everything on the line and lost it. Aussie Home Loans founder John Symonds lost his house and his wife before he cracked it big. Now he’s worth hundreds of millions.

3. Be a serial entrepreneur. Very few rich people strike it lucky first up. Walt Disney presented his cartoon character ideas to more than 12 Hollywood producers before anyone took him seriously. Don’t give up. Dreamworld creator John Longhurst started lawnmower icon Victa in Sydney before moving to the Gold Coast and he even drove some of the machinery clearing the land for his theme park.

4. Follow your passion and skills. Start by thinking about things you really love being involved in. Gordon Merchant loved surfing and made Billabong a surfing brand legend worldwide while fellow Gold Coaster Bill Barry-Cotter was an apprentice boat builder who loved mucking around in boats. He since created Mariner Cruisers, the Riviera Group and Maritimo Offshore – luxury big boats that separately became number one in their market in Australia.

5. Build networks. Many of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs are old mates. John Singleton and Gerry Harvey once backpacked together through Europe – they go first class these days; Lindsay Fox and Solomon Lew are old friends. You can have friends in business.

6. Go it alone. Growing fast, thinking of selling out? Don’t! Richard Pratt, Harry Triguboff, Lindsay Fox and David Hains are billionaires today because they resisted selling out to venture capitalists or investment bankers. Always look ahead.

7. Anticipate future trends. Bill Gates built his empire knowing what people needed or wanted before they knew themselves. There are scores of Australian examples such as the late ‘Crazy’” John Ilhan who picked the mobile phone trend way ahead of others.

8. Sell when the price is right. Timing is everything Solomon Lew is one of the best for investing right and knowing when the market will peak.

9. Go global. Our domestic economy is relatively small and this is the era of global business but you need to establish your market niche.

10. Watch trends. Resources and financial services will power our economy for many years. If you can’t find the ground with the minerals in it get into investment banking or funds management. That’s where the money is. And good luck, you’ll still need it.

Think about this just for a minute

By Brian Harrower

A room full of accountants, figuratively speaking, doesn’t add up to an exhilarating image but give them credit, one by one, they could become your best friend in business.

So how well do you know your accountant? How well does he or she know you? Do they relate well to your particular industry peculiarities? Are they keeping up with the dynamics of the economy’s volatility or just doing your annual returns?

If there’s room for conjecture then perhaps it’s time to either get to know each other much better or find someone who will take a real interest in your business.

Accountants, bless their hearts and souls, are really nice people when you get to know – and trust them. Until recently accountants were recognised mainly for their compliance reliance and the ability to tell you how to reduce your costs.

Accountants, column after column of them, could line up to show you how to get around a tax burden, and yes, a fair percentage of them could give you lots of advice on how to save money.

But business happens to be about making money and that little fact hasn’t been lost on accountants, idle ones or otherwise. Today’s accountants are a new breed who can wield their pens like swords and the sum total of their knowledge is now very much towards helping people grow their business.

Yesterday’s accountants, had they formed a football team, would be defending the line. Today’s accountants, having discovered that managing this phenomenon called change, required a new stance. Now the footballing accountants like to kick goals and be on the forward line while thinking about the bottom line. The salary cap is not a problem.

A good accountant will be taking a much broader perspective of the business environment and can offer assistance in helping to grow your business. The even better ones are profiting from a broader education on economics than business templates they relied upon in the past. Mind you, in this crazy litigious society they will know where to draw the line.

Don’t see them as bookkeepers or simply tax experts, see them for what they are: proficient people who can be the best silent partner you’ll ever find!