Welcome To Chasing The Dream! Magazine - Issue 4 by Founder and Entrepreneur - Chris Beks.
In this edition, Founder, Chris Beks gives us a timely reminder of 5 forgotten or often missed tax deductions and some super helpful tips for building your customer database, ensuring you have a strong and compelling vision for your business and some recommendations on good tech apps available for small businesses. Visit ceebeks.com
MAGAZINE
ISSUE 4
How Not To Miss
Out On Your Tax
Deductions
- Chris Beks
Tech Tools To
Drive Efficiencies
Recharge Your
Personal Batteries
The Role That
Vision Plays
- Founder, Tom Watson, IBM
Customer
Success Story
- The Muldoon Family, Hair La
Mode, Hamilton, Victoria
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CONTENTS
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WHAT’S INSIDE
4
Welcome Message
From Chris Beks
6
12
Feature Story:
5 Forgotten
Or Missed Tax
Deductions
Tech Time
Education:
But I Don’t Have A
Website... What Has
All This Got To Do 20With Me?
14
Customer Success
Story: Shelley &
Jason Muldoon -
Hair La Mode
24
You’ve
Education:
Making Your Way
In The World Today
Takes Everything
Got
16
Your
18
Role
Education:
A “Gold Mine” At
Finger Tips
Education:
Built To Last - The
Vision Plays ...
26
Just
For Laughs
28
Ceebeks
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WELCOME MESSAGE
From Chris Beks
W
elcome to our quarterly publication which was first released in 2020 in
celebration of our 30th Anniversary of chasing our dreams and helping business
owners achieve theirs in which we promote ideas, share what we’re up to,
highlight and focus on successful ‘Chasers’ who have been part of our journey together.
This is our 4th Edition of the ‘Chasing the Dream! Magazine’ which means we are in the last throes
of the 2021 financial year - and that means half of the calendar year has gone already!
In this edition we’ll be talking about some of the key things that are changing in our marketplace so
you can take another perspective.
We’ll examine web site strategy and why it’s important, review the 4th way to grow your business
(improving your internal processes), and return to the recurring theme of turning your employees
into a team to discover a “gold mine at your fingertips.”
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We’ll also review the concept of vision (when you
read this article, consider not only your vision for your
business, but your vision for your life and family as well).
We also share the excitement in this edition of the new
space we have leased at the former Fletcher Jones
Factory. This new space, christened ‘The Chasers
Hub’ will allow us to run our workshops for the
Chasers Getting Results Program, our future Chasers
Mastermind and re-invent/renew the Chasers Meet
Up - our social get together where we network with
each, hear from a guest speaker and share ideas &
experiences about our businesses whilst raising funds
for Warrnambool & District Food Share.
In this issue, we also focus on a
fellow Chaser - Shelley Muldoon from
Hair La Mode in Hamilton - and hear
about her journey and the dreams she
is chasing with her husband, Jason,
for their family.
To find out more about our Business
Program and how it can accelerate
achieving your dreams, click on the link
www.ceebeks.com/cgr/ or contact the
Team today on 03 5561 2643 The Ceebeks
Team and I look forward to helping you on
your financial journey of life and reach the
dreams that you are chasing.
By now all of our customers have had a Tax
Planning meeting to minimise their 2021
tax liabilities. Make sure that if you haven’t
reviewed your current year’s profitability
that you book in for our Tax Planning
meeting so that you don’t have to pay any
more tax than you are legally obligated to!
We’d love to talk with you and you can reach
us on our contacts right below.
Please enjoy our 4th Edition…
… to chasing our dreams, together!
Since our last edition of the magazine, I have been kept
busy with lots of education and learning. I attended a
2-Day On-line Wealth Summit, the 1-day 2021 Online
Fringe Benefits Tax Webinar, attended my monthly
Coaching Mastermind and attended my first 4-day In-
Person Conference in Sydney since February 2020 due
to COVID, to keep up-to-date with new business tech, get
some inspiration and motivation that I will share with you
all in the near future, heard from amazing global experts
and to catch up with my tribe who hold me accountable
for pushing our business forward.
Book A Free Call
calendly.com/ceebeks-chris/
chasers-getting-results-program
Being in business can no longer be left to chance to
survive, well crafted plans - business & marketing - are
now more critical than ever, given how COVID has forever
changed the way we will do business in the future.
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5 FORGOTTEN
OR MISSED TAX
DEDUCTIONS
From Chris Beks
With the end of another financial year rapidly come towards us, we want
to share with you 5 tax deductible expenses that are often forgotten or
missed entirely by uninformed taxpayers.
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1. CARRY FORWARD
CONCESSIONAL
CONTRIBUTIONS
For most people, super begins when you start work, and your employer starts
paying a portion of your salary or wages into a super fund for you. These
payments are known as super guarantee contributions (SGC) or concessional
(pre-tax) contributions. Super (including super guarantee from your employer),
is your money.
From 2019–20, carry-forward rules allow you to make extra concessional
contributions – above the general concessional contributions cap of $25,000
– without having to pay extra tax. The carry-forward arrangements involve
accessing unused concessional cap amounts from previous years.
So for example, if your only contributions to your super fund in both the
2019 & 2020 financial year were employer SGC contributions, of say $4,750
X 2 (9.5% on gross wages of $50,000 for both 2019 & 2020 financial years),
then in 2021 you can make an additional contribution of $40,500 i.e. 2019 &
2020 contribution caps - ($25,000 x 2) - $9,750, without penalty in addition to
maximising the 2021 contributions cap of $25,000 too!
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2. DEFER INCOME
UNTIL NEXT YEAR
This is one of those tips that will only save you money in the current financial
year but can benefit some small business owners. (It’s not a deduction per se,
but can help lessen your tax burden this year.)
Legitimately, hold off issuing invoices until after July 1 by delaying the
completion of the job. This puts that income into the next financial year so that
you can claim it later.
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3. BRING FORWARD
EXPENSES
The converse to point 2 above. You can bring forward some expenses and pay
them early (before June 30) so that those expenses can count in the current
financial year and count toward those taxes.
Prepay rent, insurance, or anything else that is paid annually. (Just note that
you might have to continue doing this each year or you might end up with a
gap tax year where you don’t have these expenses at all.)
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4. CLAIM SOCIAL
MEDIA ADS
All that advertising you did this year? Claim it!
Most businesses run Google or Facebook Ads to help get customers to their
website. Even though these expenses may seem small at the time they can
add up.
Advertising is a crucial traffic driver for many small businesses, whether they
operate solely online or have a physical location. Go back and look at the
budget you set for these ads and your spends to track for taxes. (It’s also a
good time to think about how effective these campaigns were and if you plan
to use them again.)
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5. DONATIONS
If we want to make sure that we can get the best use of our own money
instead of giving a bigger share to the tax office, why not make a gift to a
charity that does an amazing job in our community supporting the vulnerable
and less fortunate that has really been impacted by COVID.
There are so brilliant organisations out there that could really benefit from
your generosity and in doing so you get to feel really great knowing that you
are sharing some of your good fortune and as a financial bonus, get a tax
deduction for the gift!
Just make sure that the charity is a registered deductible gift recipient to
secure your tax deduction and keep a copy of your receipt!
If you would like to know more ways to legally minimise your tax liabilities
contact our Team on 03-55612643 or email Shannae Hewett to arrange a
meeting online or in-person at shannae@ceebeks.com.
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TECH TIME
Technology is being developed at such a rapid pace
that it can be overwhelming for business owners.
We unpack several tech tools in this edition to help
get you started.
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Hubstaff - for those business owners now
faced with the additional task of managing
remote workers as a consequence of the COVID
pandemic, is an easy-to-administer, featurerich,
time tracking tool. If you’re diligent about
monitoring employee behavior while on the
clock then check it out.
Canva - our go to all-in-one graphic design tool
for our presentations, social media posts, book
& launch, banners, flags and event promotions.
It simply is one of, if not the best online graphic
design tool and cpms with a very generous free
option loaded with features!
Grammarly - If you are a stickly for accuracy
in punctuation and grammar because
you want to maintain excellence in your
communication skills then you must use this
tool. For me, Grammarly Premium is worth
it. The free version is a useful tool, and better
than not having a second set of eyes look
over your writing. It will identify far more
spelling and grammar mistakes than your
typical free checker.
Lastpass - like many business owners trying
to keep track of our passwords to safeguard
their IP and customer data, we have been
using this tech tool for the past 5 years and
have had no issues whatsoever. LastPass
has been the biggest name in password
management for several years, and it’s easy
to see why. It is one of the most featurepacked
of the best password managers and
easily allows management o add or remove
passwords access to various folders,
software and other sensitive areas in your
business. We simply love this tool!
QR Code-monkey.com - We are all now used
to using QR codes for checking-in to various
venuess as part of the new post-COVID way
of life. This tool is one of the most popular
free online qr code generators with millions
of already created QR codes. The high
resolution of the QR codes and the powerful
design options make it one of the best free
QR code generators on the web that can be
used for commercial and print purposes,
and can be even be generated in colour and
incorporate your logo!
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CUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
SHELLEY
& JASON
MULDOON
HAIR LA MODE
H community
air La Mode was born in 1994 to Shelley & Jason Muldoon at a time when becoming
self employed felt rather premature, both 24, heavily invested in sport and the
but quietly determined to explore this path & where it may take them.
Shelley had completed a four-year masterclass from two of Australia’s finest stylists, along with
some brief management which gave her a sound toolkit.
The reality of fifty plus hours on the Salon floor doing what Shelley loved was doable and Jase
adapted very well & happily to the administration side of the business as he was employed full time
as an Optical Technician. It was this toolkit that gave the couple confidence to invest in others.
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However, after ten years of substandard
financial reward for their efforts, it was
time for change.
On recommendation they met with
Ceebeks Business Solutions and
almost immediately they could visualise
happiness, security & hope for their family,
now including Georgia & Olivia.
Their assistance has accelerated and
quickly brought forward our vision of
operating from our very own premises and
being in control of our future.
Chris, Ange and their 3 beautiful daughters
have a unique way of making you feel like
family & they now enjoy a harmonious
business relationship aligned with trust,
respect & friendship.
Hair La Mode trained
and employed many
wonderful humans over
the years, empowering
& investing in the
dreams of many.
Recognising the need to change pace &
the importance of cleaner air for everyone,
Hair La Mode partnered with AVEDA.
Together with these wonderful business
partners Hair La Mode looks forward to a
bright business future providing beautiful
Haircare to Hamilton & Regional Victoria.
FOLLOW US
@hairlamode
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EDUCATION
You already stand out from everyone
else.
A “GOLD MINE” AT
YOUR FINGER TIPS.
A You
and services, people who want what you’ve got and appreciate
that you offer value for money.
And yet, each and every day, we DO deal with so many of these
very same people. Those people are called your customers, as
well as soon-to-be customers who have made inquiries.
Your customer database - a detailed list of customer names,
personal details, and, in some cases, spending patterns
and other information - is so important to the future of your
marketing.
s a business owner or manager, you’re
constantly looking for people to sell to.
know, people who match your products
Customers will be more interested,
curious even, to find out why you’re
contacting them.
You’re already “in,” if you like!
In addition, contacting
a person one-on-one
means that you no longer
compete with all the other
mass marketing forms out
there, such as television,
radio, print, and so on.
Essentially, contacting
someone personally means
that your business breaks
through the clutter of all
the other marketing your
customer is bombarded
with on a daily basis.
Why, then, is the opportunity to tap
into this huge resource as a marketing
method lost time and time again?
Being a “known quantity” gives you the edge. Marketing directly
to your existing customers gives your business an edge. You
see, if someone has purchased from you before, they know you.
Is it because we feel we’re already
too busy to add anything else for that
customer?
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Is it because we don’t know how to capture the
all-important customer details needed to make this
asset work for our businesses?
For the most part, we don’t set up systems like this
because it seems more important (and sometimes
easier) to concentrate on continually pursuing new
prospects, instead of tapping into the hottest list in
town - your existing customers!
(If you already have a customer database and a
process to continually build that database, bear
with us. You might find out how to improve it and
just what it could mean for your business.)
All it involves is a few easy-to-ask questions about
the customer’s name, address, phone and e-mail to
build basic database information.
You can also ask questions to track other important
information, such as the source of your inquiries.
(This in turn can help you make better decisions
within the framework of your marketing budget.)
For example: “And before you go, can
I just ask, how did you hear about us?”
Or “How many people do you think
will be using the [product or service]
regularly?”
Other information you can note could be what was
purchased for what cost, and their gender and
occupation if you know it.
WHAT IS THE
DATABASE PROCESS?
Simple.
Gather names and other details from every single
customer (or soon-to-be customer) to create your
database.
From there you ask questions that help you glean
a better understanding of your customer profile –
age, income, spending patterns and so on.
Other ways to capture this information is via
prize draws. Offer to give away something your
customers would love to have, and ask your
team members to encourage every customer to
complete an entry form. That can make it fun too!
In doing so, you’ll be building your most valuable
asset. In fact, an asset so valuable it can be sold.
Here are some useful techniques...
Call our office on 03 5561 2643 to
schedule a chat
Many business owners shy away from creating a
customer database as a tool, thinking it will be too
difficult. Actually, it could make your life much easier.
CALL US TODAY
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EDUCATION
BUILT TO LAST - THE
ROLE VISION PLAYS ...
“Built To Last — Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” by James
Collins and Jerry Porras, is one of the best books ever written (at
least we think so!) on the importance of vision in building a lasting,
successful business. There is little doubt that your starting point to
growing your business must be the vision you have for its future – the
way you want your business to be when it’s done, so to speak.
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P
rofit goals, staffing needs, what kind of
lifestyle you’d like it to achieve for you
and more.
How clear you are all on that is critical. Refer to the
last edition’s article titled: ‘Working Backwards Takes
You Forward ...What?’
From there your success may be measured by how
well you are able to communicate that vision to the
people who will be helping you achieve it - your team
- and how committed you are to having them and
yourself work on building your business as well as
serving your customers.
Here’s what the owner of what once was a small
business has to say about becoming successful:
“IBM is what it is today for three special
reasons.
The first reason is that, at the very beginning,
I had a very clear picture of what the company
would look like when it was finally done. You
might say that I had a model in my mind of what
it would look like when the dream - my vision -
was in place.
The second reason was that once I had that
picture, I then asked myself how a company that
looked like that would have to act. I then created
a picture of how IBM would act when it was
finally done.
In other words, I realised that for IBM to
become a great company it would have to
act like a great company long before it ever
became one. From the very outset, IBM was
fashioned after the template of my vision.
And each and every day, we attempted to
model the company after that template. At
the end of each day, we asked ourselves
how well we did, discovered the disparity
between where we were and where we had
committed ourselves to be, and at the start of
the following day, we set out to make up the
difference.
Every day at IBM was a day devoted to
business development, not doing business.
We didn’t do business at IBM, we built one.”
TOM WATSON
Founder - International Business
Machines (IBM)
Call our office on 03 5561 2643 to
schedule a chat
CALL US TODAY
The third reason that IBM has been so
successful was that once I had a picture in place
of how IBM would look when the dream was
in place, and how such a company would have
to act, I then realised that unless we began to
act that way from the very beginning, we would
never get there.
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EDUCATION
BUT I DON’T
HAVE A
WEBSITE ...
WHAT HAS
ALL THIS
GOT TO DO
WITH ME?
Yet it is critical because, even at a minimum, web sites
are like business cards these days (although they can be
far more than that) in that they represent your business
to the world at large.
f you’ve been watching the news
and reading the papers, and finding
Iyourself continually asking this
question, you may need to rethink your
strategy.
Although building a web site can seem
incredibly foreign to most of us, it really
isn’t that difficult or expensive.
Even if you’re thinking “our business is locally-based,
how can the ‘World Wide Web’ really be relevant to me?”
Read on because that could be misleading. Think of it
this way, if you don’t have a web site, chances are your
competitors do.
Let’s take a look at some numbers to examine just what
that could mean to you.
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COVID has ensured that the future of social
communications will be shaped by an alwaysonline
culture. We were all forced to use technology
whether we liked it or not to keep our businesses
operational, our team members together and
our distant family members in contact, as a
consequence. Always online is already here and will
set the trend going forward. Total connectivity, the
Internet you can take with you wherever you go, is
growing unstoppably. There is no turning back for
global digitalisation.
Innovation is the driving force of growth and
progress, so we need to shake up entrenched
processes, products, services, and industries,
so that all of us together - including established
businesses, reacting to their emerging competitors -
can move forward together.
As smartphones and other
internet-connected devices have
become more widespread, 31% of
U.S. adults now report that they
go online “almost constantly,” up
from 21% in 2015, according to a
new Pew Research Center survey
conducted Jan. 25 to Feb. 8, 2021.
Innovation is shaping and will continue to shape
the future of social communications. It is already
a reality that Internet connections are increasingly
mobile.
The Internet has turned our existence upside down.
It has revolutionised communications, to the extent
that it is now our preferred medium of everyday
communication. In almost everything we do, we use
the Internet. Ordering a pizza, buying a television,
sharing a moment with a friend, sending a picture
over instant messaging.
Overall, 85% of Americans say they go online on
a daily basis. That figure includes the 31% who
report going online almost constantly, as well as
48% who say they go online several times a day
and 6% who go online about once a day. Some 8%
go online several times a week or less often, while
7% of adults say they do not use the internet at all.
Before the Internet, if you wanted to keep up with
the news, you had to walk down to the newsstand
when it opened in the morning and buy a local
edition reporting what had happened the previous
day. But today a click or two is enough to read your
local paper and any news source from anywhere in
the world, updated up to the minute.
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HOW CAN YOU
USE THE WEB STRATEGICALLY?
The study also showed how and why businesses
intended to use the web. Considering how your
competitors are using it could give you the answers
you need.
For example:
Of those small businesses surveyed,
69% said they were going to use their
sites to promote to their prospects –
aren’t your competitor’s prospects your
prospects too?
57% of all businesses said they were
going to conduct e-commerce through
their sites. Given that customers
place a high priority on convenience,
being able to purchase online is
very appealing and could mean the
difference between you and your
competitor – local or otherwise.
48% were going to use their sites to
improve customer service. A study
conducted by the ‘Technical Assistance
Research Program’ asked why people
stopped doing business with a particular
business. The results showed that 68% of
customers do so because of “perceived
indifference” towards them or simply
translated, the “quality of service” they
receive. Businesses that are focusing on,
and improving, customer service through
their web sites are going to be a cut ahead
of you, if you don’t do the same or better!
46% said they were going to use their site
specifically for business competition –
that means going head to head with you.
11% said they were going to
use their website for employee
communication as a place to
share information and keep team
members working together.
Given that your customers then see the web as a
very real part of their lives, and your
competitors are using it in a number of ways to
take business away from you - what’s
your web strategy going to be?
Call us today to discuss how we can help you
develop and build your own robust web presence
and a site that produces leads while you sleep!
Call our office on 03 5561 2643 to
schedule a chat
CALL US TODAY
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EDUCATION
MAKING YOUR WAY IN
THE WORLD TODAY TAKES
EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT ...
W
hen you look around the world today with all of the changes we’re facing - web
sites, e-commerce, new ways of living, new ways of doing business, new ways
of communicating, new ways of educating each other, higher standards of living
with yet longer work hours, even a new decade - it’s easy to become distracted.
Sometimes we become so focused on keeping up, staying competitive, adapting to these changes
and moving ahead we can forget the fundamentals and miss the point. So much so that we can
ignore some of the most important aspects of our lives, aspects that can actually enhance our
business lives.
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YOU NEED TO
REMEMBER WHAT’S
IMPORTANT.
And very often it’s our time away from
work – recuperating and enjoying the
fruits of our labour like great food,
great people, holidays or even just a
great night’s sleep – that truly keeps
us going.
Another great way to keep getting “recharged” is
to make sure the most important people in your
life – partners, spouses, children, extended family
and friends understand what you are attempting
to achieve in your life and how your business acts
as the medium for achieving those goals.
Think honestly about this example for a moment.
You’ll find when you do that, they’ll rally behind
you even more.
Do you ever keep working when you know you’re
exhausted?
You work on something for hours and hours trying to
solve the issue with little to no progress. But you think
“I have to get this done tonight.” So you keep struggling
through, only to find that you fall asleep at your desk
with no results.
Compare that to when you’ve said “that’s it,” put
yourself to bed, and told yourself you would find a
solution in the morning when you felt more energised.
Didn’t you find that the same problem takes less than
half the time and seems so much smaller?
This could range from introducing you to people
they know that could be important to progressing
your goals, to importantly giving you the support
you need when the pressure is on.
So be sure to involve the people around you in
your goals, and remember to stop and smell the
roses to keep that battery charged! A balanced
lifestyle makes for a better quality of life, thought
and success.
In the long run it might mean your goals take
a little bit longer to achieve, but at least you
will have enjoyed the journey as much as the
destination!
Of course we’re going to be more productive when
we’ve spent quality time relaxing or enjoying time
with family and friends. Our health, social lives and
the interactions we have with the people who are
important to us can keep us motivated and full of life;
appreciative of what we have and what we’re working
toward.
Think of yourself as a battery.
Like any battery, you have to keep charged up!
Remember, balance brings results!
Call our office on 03 5561 2643 to
schedule a chat
CALL US TODAY
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JUST FOR
LAUGHS
JOKE #1
A large two-engine train was crossing the country. After they had gone some distance,
one of the engines broke down. “No problem,” the engineer thought and carried on at
half power.
Farther on down the line, the other engine broke down and the train came to a
standstill.
The engineer decided he should inform the passengers about why the train had
stopped, and made the following announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have some
good news and some bad news. The bad news is that both engines have failed, and we
will be stuck here for some time. The good news is that you decided to take the train
and not fly.”
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An elephant was drinking out of a
river one day, when he spotted a turtle
asleep on a log. So, he ambled on over
and kicked it clear across the river.
“What did you do that for?” asked a
passing giraffe.
“Because I recognised it as the same
turtle that took a nip out of my trunk
53 years ago.”
JOKE #2
“Wow, what a memory” commented
the giraffe.
“Yes,” said the elephant, “turtle recall”.
The loaded mini-van pulled in to
the only remaining campsite. Four
children leaped from the vehicle and
began feverishly unloading gear and
setting up the tent. The boys rushed
to gather firewood, while the girls and
their mother set up the camp stove
and cooking utensils.
A nearby camper marvelled to the
youngsters’ father, “That, sir, is some
display of teamwork.”
The father replied, “I have a system:
no one goes to the bathroom until the
camp is set up.”
JOKE #3
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Office - 25 Banyan Street,
Warrnambool, 3280
Ph: (03) 5561 2643
chris@ceebeks.com
ceebeks.com
ceebeks
ceebeks
@chasingthedream
ceebeks
ceebeks-business-solutions
chrisbeksaccountant
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