October Observations

Definite fear and doubts

Definite fear and doubts creeping into business owners who are getting worried about short term outlook.

It is a good time to review profit and losses line by line to effectively clean costs. This exercise recently showed us we had three different subscriptions to services that effectively did the same thing

Liquidations are on the rise

Liquidations are definitely up, and more are shutting their doors. Just remember that as people shut down generally those that survive are better off in the longer term.

Innovating is absolutely key. Just as during the COVID Pandemic, you need to keep innovating and making your business able to pivot with what is happening in the broader market

Some sectors are much harder hit than others.

Labour shortages

Labour shortages still excruciatingly hard and it is a candidate’s market with staff easily able to move for more money

Inputs to client’s business are up

The inputs to client’s business are up (wages, cost of sales, etc) putting pressure on margins. Ensure that some of these items are passed on to the biggest extent you can. Good time to review your pricing compared to competitors

Interest rates

Interest rates look set to go higher. Macquarie expecting 3.35% cash rate by December 2022. We are currently at 2.60%.