CD - Australian Fitness Network

agreement, because I had no idea. You can go to lawyers to
do it, which I considered doing, but I couldn’t aff ord it, so I just
developed my own ad hoc thing.
It was not until I was starting to put my staff on
permanently that I spoke with Michael Cullen from Biz 2 Biz
Coaching. He helped me write all my contracts and set up
my HR system, and I have that in place now, which is really
fantastic. I just need to change it depending on what the
employees’ roles are.
HS: HOW DID IT AFFECT YOUR CASHFLOW?
M L-B: Early on, it was not so bad, because my ‘employee’
was a contractor and she only got paid for the hours she
worked – I don’t remember having any issues paying invoices
back then. It was more when I put her on as a permanent
employee, about two years ago, that cashfl ow became an
issue because I had to make sure I had her fortnightly wages.
As a contractor it did not matter as much, because she was
only working so many hours per week. With an employee,
however, you have to think about superannuation, holiday
leave and that sort of thing.
HS: WHAT DO YOU KNOW NOW THAT YOU WISH
YOU HAD THEN?
M L-B: I wish I knew how much was involved in putting
on permanent staff ; I did not think about things like
superannuation and PAYG withholding tax. If I had known all
of that, I would not have put on permanent staff as soon as
I did. I would have kept them on as a contractor as long as I
could, because within our industry we have a lot of peaks and
lows, so you seldom have constant cashfl ow coming in.
HS: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS?
M L-B: Try and put your fi rst employee on as a contractor, and
keep them as a contractor until you really know that they are
benefi cial to the company.
Secondly, plan by preparing a cashfl ow forecast. If you
want to put a person on as a permanent staff member, can
you sustain paying them? You may be really busy now, but
what happens in three months time if the work dries up?
Lessons learnt
Merendi Health and Wellness now covers fi ve sites across
South East Queensland, with eight team members serving
over 1,000 customers. As Merendi has learnt, growth is
something that requires careful management, planning
and budgeting. It is critical to understand the full ongoing
cost of recruiting staff (superannuation, WorkCover,
insurance, administrative time, entitlement pay, etc.), and
weigh this up against the return on investment. Successful
businesses rely on consistently making the correct
decisions. Clearly identify how your business will benefi t
fi nancially from new staff, and prepare a cashfl ow forecast
allowing for economic fl uctuations.Time spent planning
and researching at the outset will minimise growing pains.
UPGRADE YOUR OLD
QUALIFICATIONS ONLINE WITH
THE ePT BRIDGING COURSE
Do you have an old fitness qualification which
needs upgrading ASAP? Did you never get around
to completing a Certificate IV in Personal Training
(SRF40206)?
Network delivers sophisticated online courses, including
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which you can do from the comfort of home or work,
without having to take time out from what you love doing
most – training your clients!
For more information, or to get started, head to
www.fitnessnetwork.com.au or call 02 8412 7400.
Provider number: 90497
SPECIAL FEATURE
NETWORK WINTER 2010 www.fitnessnetwork.com.au
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