Every business owner I speak with, bar none, considers dealing with staff their number one headache. Not finance. Not marketing. Not technology. Staff.

A few weekends ago, I treated myself to an experience that I first dreamed about as a 9 year old.

I caught up with a liquidator colleague of mine the other week. Amongst other topics, we got around to talking about the state of business generally and what each of us is seeing in our respective fields of expertise. In a nutshell, some of what we’re observing is the same and some is different. 

When I was a whipper-snapper, I was an avid participant in the scouting movement for seven years. I loved hanging out weekly with a bunch of like minded individuals and some great mentor leaders, learning new skills, going on camps and making a contribution to our local community. Some of my strongest memories are from that time in my life.

Over recent months, there has been a trend of business owners expressing their frustration when a staff member leaves them. All that time invested in getting them trained up, only for them to take their skills elsewhere. How inconsiderate?

It’s interesting the various family businesses that I work with. The industries may be different. The family dynamics may be different. The financial side of things can fluctuate wildly amongst different businesses. However, often the problems are the same across all of them, be they a blue collar trades based business or a professional services firm.

“Don’t Change” happens to be my favourite INXS song, perhaps because it is so powerful a memory of my teenage years. Now, incredibly, almost 36 years old (for the audio nerds, it was off the Shabooh Shoobah album), the distinctive voice of Michael Hutchence suggests to the object of his desires to “don’t change for you, don’t change a thing, for me.”

Whilst Hutchence implored his love to stay as she is, the fact remains that through our lives, our experiences, for better or for worse, impose change on us. Some of it we force. Some of it merely happens. I’d suggest that for most people, it is resisted as it takes us out of our comfort zone.

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that last week, I ventured to the Northern Territory for the first time. Why it has taken me 50 years to head to Central Australia is a question I can’t honestly answer. However, it was a completely unforgettable experience that my wife and I are aiming to repeat sooner than later.

In the first week of the new financial year, let’s take a moment to get financial.

In all my years of advising family business, I’ve observed businesses that have strong cash reserves and strong cashflow have always done better than businesses that don’t. Notice the deliberate emphasis on “and”.

2018 to date has been an interesting year for a number of the family businesses that I have relationships with.

Here’s some of my observations: