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Enough of the box-tickers. My guest today says most small business owners have, at some point, buried their head in the sand about their numbers, come to her flying completely blind, and finally hit the point where enough is enough. In this episode of What I Wish I Knew About Small Business, brought to you by AMP Bank GO, Liz Nable sits down with Natalie McDermott, Partner at Kelly+Partners, to talk about what actually separates a great small business accountant from a box-ticker, and what it really means to "know your numbers." Liz found Natalie the way most small business owners find a good accountant: word of mouth, after searching high and low. The recommendation came from Hayley and Jade of By Sid, who featured earlier in this series. Natalie has spent close to a decade at Kelly+Partners, starting out as an unpaid intern and building a career that now sees her working with 500 to 600 small business clients, with a particular focus on e-commerce and retail brands. This is a genuinely practical, jargon-light conversation about the mistakes that quietly cost business owners the most: not separating personal and business money, misunderstanding GST, ignoring tax obligations until the ATO comes knocking, and not knowing the difference between revenue and profit. It's also about what happens on the other side, the moment the numbers finally click, and running a business stops feeling like guesswork. In this episode Liz and Natalie cover Why so many business owners arrive at Natalie's door having "flown completely blind," and the aha moment that happens once clean, monthly reporting is in place Natalie's path into accounting, from offering herself up as a free intern a year out of university to becoming a Partner at Kelly+Partners a decade later Why the right accountant should feel less like a box-ticker and more like someone who understands your goals, your family and your exit plans Business structure basics: when it's fine to start as a sole trader, and the point at which it starts costing you not to switch to a company The Div 7A trap: what happens when business owners treat company profits as their own money to pull out at will Why GST is not yours to keep, and the tax fundamentals Natalie wishes were taught in school instead of learned the hard way after an ATO knock on the door The single biggest tax trap Natalie sees: using the ATO as an unofficial creditor, and why that no longer flies now enforcement has ramped up Revenue versus profit versus gross profit margin, explained in plain English, and why GP is the number product-based business owners need to understand first Rough benchmark figures for staffing and marketing spend as a percentage of revenue, for both product and service-based businesses What business owners are cutting back on right now: supplier renegotiations, consultants, subscriptions, team size, and the two biggest levers of all Practical first steps for getting financially set up from day one, including paying yourself a proper wage and taking superannuation and payday super seriously The non-financial numbers most business owners overlook: aging inventory, customer retention, repeat purchase rate, return rates, and for e-commerce specifically, customer acquisition cost and lifetime value When to graduate from a bookkeeper to monthly reporting, to a fractional CFO, to an internal finance team, and why "what got you here won't get you there" The three or four simple rules Natalie's most successful clients live by, including one founder's iron-clad $5 cap on gift-with-purchase spend Why discipline, not luck or intelligence, is the real differentiator Natalie sees between businesses that scale well and businesses that struggle A line worth writing down "Get a good accountant that is going to help educate you, and get someone with a bit of personality who can excite you a bit around understanding the numbers." — Natalie McDermott About Natalie Natalie McDermott is a Partner at Kelly+Partners, specialising in working with high-growth businesses, particularly in the e-commerce and retail space. She works closely with founders to help them get a better handle on their numbers, improve profitability and cash flow, and build the financial foundations needed to scale. Beyond the numbers, Natalie is passionate about community and bringing great founders and brands together through events, partnerships and industry collaborations. She's known for making finance practical and easy to understand, with a focus on helping business owners use their numbers to make better decisions, rather than just looking backwards at what's already happened. Grab the AMP Bank GO cashback offer for small business owners AMP Bank GO is offering 10% cashback, up to $300* for small business owners who open a new business transaction account. It is fee-free, mobile-first, and backed by a real human call centre when you need one. Check the current offer here: https://www.amp.com.au/campaigns/bank/business-cashback-offer?utm_portfolio=bank_go&utm_product=tran&utm_channel=email&utm_source=smartco&utm_campaign=biz_cashback&utm_objective=acquisition&utm_creative=tradie_solusban  Connect with Natalie   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-mcdermott-07a95947/ LinkedIn  Kelly+Partners team profile: https://www.kellypartners.com.au/team/profile/natalie-mcdermott   Connect with Liz Nable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liz_nable/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liznable/  Website: https://www.liznable.com/  If this episode landed, hit follow and leave a review. It is the single fastest way to help other small business owners find the series. *10% cashback up to $300. Terms and conditions apply. Visit amp.com.au for full offer details, eligibility criteria and conditions. AMP Bank GO is a division of AMP Bank Limited ABN 15 081 596 009, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 234517.

"I think we've attached a lot of success to raising capital." When a business raises $25 million and gets a $100 million valuation, we treat it like a win. My guest today says that's not actually a marker of success at all, and understanding the difference could change how you think about your own business. In this episode of What I Wish I Knew About Small Business, brought to you by AMP Bank GO, Liz Nable sits down with Carolyn Breeze, CEO of Scalari Partners, to demystify the world of outside investment, equity, venture capital, SAFE notes and all, in plain English. Liz never did a business degree. Hers was journalism and communications, and when she opened her first bricks-and-mortar business, outside investment never crossed her mind; it took years before she even had the courage to ask what "bootstrapping" meant. If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Carolyn is CEO of Scalari Partners, a listed investment firm that's made over 30 investments and now supports a community of around 40,000 business owners through brands like Tech Ready Women, Tank Stream Labs, Planet Startup and Fishburners. In this conversation Carolyn breaks down what terms like equity, venture capital and SAFE notes actually mean, the biggest mistakes she sees founders make when raising money, and why she says the businesses with the best outcomes are often the ones that never took a cent of outside investment at all. They also get into the red flags that make investors walk away, including one founder request that genuinely made Carolyn's jaw drop. Even if you're happy building slowly and have zero interest in raising capital, this information is gold for having educated conversations at any stage of your business journey, whether you decide to sell, scale, acquire another business, partner with someone, or invest in something yourself. In this episode Liz and Carolyn cover Why raising capital gets treated as a marker of success when it's really just one founder deciding they need someone else's money to grow faster Revenue versus profit, and why a company doing a million dollars in revenue can still be giving away 15% of a future $100 million business for just $500,000 today Why some of the most successful founders Carolyn has seen are the ones who bootstrapped their whole way to an exit without ever bringing an outside investor onto the cap table Dilutive versus non-dilutive capital, and funding options most small business owners have never heard of, including bank loans and specialist lenders like Lighter Capital and Tractor Ventures The three main ways an investor can actually put money into your business: direct equity, SAFE notes and convertible notes, explained without the jargon Why terms like pre-seed, seed and series A don't mean nearly as much as we think they do, and why a series A round in Australia might be a seed round in the US Why it's a false economy to "ChatGPT your agreement" for a $25,000 raise, and how a poorly structured early agreement can come back to bite you at every future raise The biggest mistakes Carolyn sees founders make: giving away too much equity too early, being unclear on how they'll deploy the money, and building the polished, feature-complete version of the product before proving anyone wants to pay for it How to know it's actually time to raise: validated demand, proof that a dollar spent generates real revenue, and a clear plan for what more money will turn into The jaw-dropping founder request Carolyn saw in a forecast, and why "no one's going to invest in you to pay yourself" The red flags that make an investor walk away, and the difference between a passive investor and a strategic one who can open doors and fill your skill gaps The accelerator deal structure that can quietly hand a small early investor a veto over every future funding round, and the real story of a $10 million-plus revenue company left waiting over a month for approval on a multi-million-dollar raise Why Australia has one of the highest returns per dollar invested of any innovation ecosystem in the world, and why we still lose founders overseas because of culture, tax settings and infrastructure Where to go to get free access to resources, grants, accelerators and the wider Scalari ecosystem if you're curious what's possible for your business A line worth writing down "We've attached a lot of success to raising capital... that's not really a marker of success." — Carolyn Breeze About Carolyn Carolyn Breeze is the CEO of Scalari Partners, a listed investment firm that has made more than 30 investments in early-stage companies across AgTech, FinTech, RegTech and SaaS, and now supports a community of around 40,000 business owners through brands including Tech Ready Women, Planet Startup, Tank Stream Labs and Fishburners. Her career began at eBay in the early days of its Australian launch, before moving to payments company Braintree, which was acquired by PayPal, where she spent several years learning about tech, payments and entrepreneurship from the inside. She's now focused on making early-stage tech investment accessible to everyday retail investors, not just the "sophisticated investor" crowd, while helping founders grow and scale with more than just a cheque. Grab the AMP Bank GO cashback offer for small business owners AMP Bank GO is offering 10% cashback, up to $300* for small business owners who open a new business transaction account. It is fee-free, mobile-first, and backed by a real human call centre when you need one. Check the current offer here: https://www.amp.com.au/campaigns/bank/business-cashback-offer?utm_portfolio=bank_go&utm_product=tran&utm_channel=email&utm_source=smartco&utm_campaign=biz_cashback&utm_objective=acquisition&utm_creative=tradie_solusban Connect with Carolyn The Founders Union (free resources, grants, accelerators and events): https://www.thefoundersunion.com  Connect with Liz Nable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liz_nable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liznable/ Website: https://www.liznable.com/ If this episode landed, hit follow and leave a review. It is the single fastest way to help other small business owners find the series. *10% cashback up to $300. Terms and conditions apply. Visit amp.com.au for full offer details, eligibility criteria and conditions. AMP Bank GO is a division of AMP Bank Limited ABN 15 081 596 009, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 234517.

Most people who sell a business they've poured five years of blood, sweat and no salary into would take the win and put their feet up for a while. My guest today looked at her payout and thought, "Great, let's do it all again, but harder, faster, and with a lot more on the line this time." In this episode of What I Wish I Knew About Small Business, brought to you by AMP Bank GO, Liz Nable sits down with Hayley Crannage, co-founder of Love Lu Eyewear (with her sister Jade) and now co-founder of the fashion label Buy Sid, to talk about what it actually feels like to sell something you built from nothing, and why you'd ever choose to start again. Hayley and Jade built Love Lu in their parents' garage on Sydney's Northern Beaches with no savings, just a nervous conversation with a family member about borrowing the startup cash. It grew into a brand worn by influencers and celebrities before it was acquired by a much bigger Australian eyewear company. Jade couldn't join this episode; she's seven days postpartum with a new baby girl, so Hayley stepped in solo, though this is every bit her story too. This is a candid, unfiltered conversation about the number that made their accountant say stop, the email that changed everything, and the one piece of advice about selling a business Hayley says she'll never forget. Then, why the sisters went and built a second brand almost immediately instead of enjoying the spoils of the sale, and what they're doing completely differently this time around. In this episode Liz and Hayley cover The number that made their accountant tell them to stop, and the six to eight months where sales kept climbing while cashflow quietly went backwards Why "revenue isn't profit" was the biggest lesson of Hayley's business life, and how chasing growth nearly ran a healthy brand into the ground Financing a first business with zero savings: borrowing around $30,000 from a partner and parents, and what it's like handing money to a supplier overseas before the stock even lands Why eyewear, at an accessible price point, was the gap Hayley and Jade spotted between fast fashion and $800 designer sunglasses The organic, plan-free path from a home-based online launch to wholesale stockists to landing a spot with The Iconic The out-of-the-blue email that kicked off the acquisition conversation with Sunshades Eyewear, the Australian company behind Le Specs and the local licensing for Gucci and YSL The one piece of advice about selling a business Hayley says she'll never forget: sell it when you don't want to sell it Why a strong, honest brand mattered more to the sale than the raw numbers, and the reality of not having the finances to take a brand global alone Launching a second brand, Buy Sid, on her dad's birthday just months after selling the first, and going back to casual teaching in the meantime What's different the second time round: a tight priority list instead of saying yes to everything, and watching the numbers from day one instead of year three Marketing on a shoestring: why imagery came first, gifting over paid influencers, and staying conservative with paid ads The Afterpay Day and discount dilemma every product-based small business owner wrestles with Why Hayley believes "anyone can start a business" if you say yes to opportunities and build real community and connection Hayley's small business advice squad: her accountant, a business mentor, a graphic-designer friend, and her mortgage broker The mindset shift for round two: building a life and a brand you're proud of, not just an empire A line worth writing down "Sell your business when you don't want to sell it." — Hayley Crannage About Hayley Hayley Crannage is the co-founder of Love Lu Eyewear, the accessible, quiet-luxury sunglasses brand she built with her sister Jade from their parents' garage on Sydney's Northern Beaches, before it was acquired by Australian eyewear company Sunshades Eyewear. She and Jade have since launched a second brand together, the fashion label Buy Sid, which they founded in April this year. Hayley previously worked as a full-time teacher while building Love Lu in her spare time, and still teaches casually today. She's a mum of two, Dusty and Honey, and credits her small business "advice squad", her accountant, mentor, closest friends and family, with helping her navigate both businesses. Grab the AMP Bank GO cashback offer for small business owners AMP Bank GO is offering 10% cashback, up to $300* for small business owners who open a new business transaction account. It is fee-free, mobile-first, and backed by a real human call centre when you need one. Check the current offer here: https://www.amp.com.au/campaigns/bank/business-cashback-offer?utm_portfolio=bank_go&utm_product=tran&utm_channel=email&utm_source=smartco&utm_campaign=biz_cashback&utm_objective=acquisition&utm_creative=tradie_solusban Connect with Hayley [Add Hayley/Buy Sid social links here] Connect with Liz Nable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liz_nable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liznable/ Website: https://www.liznable.com/ If this episode landed, hit follow and leave a review. It is the single fastest way to help other small business owners find the series. *10% cashback up to $300. Terms and conditions apply. Visit amp.com.au for full offer details, eligibility criteria and conditions. AMP Bank GO is a division of AMP Bank Limited ABN 15 081 596 009, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 234517.

There are 2.2 million self-employed Australians. Nearly half of small business owners aren't contributing to their own super. And most of them are telling themselves the same thing: my business is my retirement plan. In this episode of What I Wish I Knew About Small Business, brought to you by AMP Bank GO, Liz Nable sits down with Julie Slapp, Director of Growth and Customer Solutions at AMP Super, to unpack why that plan is riskier than it feels, and what to do about it without adding another overwhelming job to your list. This is not a lecture about being behind. It's a super practical conversation for business owners who have been putting their heads in the sand about superannuation, whether that's because cashflow is tight, the rules feel impossibly complicated, or retirement feels like future you's problem. Julie breaks down the jargon, the incentives most business owners don't know exist, and the small moves that quietly build a safety net while you get on with running your business. If super makes your eyes glaze over, this is exactly the episode to listen to the end. In this episode Liz and Julie cover Why superannuation was designed for employees, and the incentives built in for small business owners that most never use The "I want to live now" question: is it valid to prioritise travelling with your kids over building wealth for a future that may never come? Why we're the pioneer generation of super, and why nobody is on the perfect mathematical path to retirement Whether a $20 a week contribution is even worth it (spoiler: yes), and why $100 a week from age 30 can grow to roughly $500,000 by retirement Concessional contributions explained in plain English: the tax deduction, the 15% rate, and the annual cap of just over $32,000 The May reminder every business owner should set, and the conversation to have with your accountant before 30 June Catch-up contributions for lumpy, seasonal or unpredictable income, so a lean year now doesn't lock you out later Government co-contributions of up to $500 a year, and who qualifies Spouse contributions and contribution splitting: how couples can grow super as a shared asset even when one of you is self-employed The Blind Side analogy: why super is the left tackle protecting you if the business doesn't go to plan Why it's never too late to start at 50, 55 or 60, especially for the fastest growing group of new founders: women in midlife Why selling your business as your retirement plan makes a financial planner non-negotiable, and the $100,000 CGT mistake you don't want to discover at the end The practical first steps: find your balance, get simple contribution advice from your fund, and hire an accountant who plans rather than just lodges A line worth writing down "I don't think there is too late. I think there is 'I just need to start.'" — Julie Slapp About Julie Julie Slapp is the Director of Growth and Customer Solutions at AMP Super. An economist by training, Julie spends her days talking to customers and working out how to help everyday Australians prepare for retirement with confidence, not anxiety. She comes to the conversation with a small business lens too: her uncle ran a newsagent, and she's watched firsthand how founders push their own retirement to the bottom of the list while they build something for everyone else. Her message is simple: the system may have been designed for employees, but the incentives are there for business owners who know where to look. Grab the AMP Bank GO cashback offer for small business owners AMP Bank GO is offering 10% cashback, up to $300* for small business owners who open a new business transaction account. It is fee-free, mobile-first, and backed by a real human call centre when you need one. Check the current offer here: https://www.amp.com.au/campaigns/bank/business-cashback-offer?utm_portfolio=bank_go&utm_product=tran&utm_channel=email&utm_source=smartco&utm_campaign=biz_cashback&utm_objective=acquisition&utm_creative=tradie_solusban Connect with Julie Connect with Julie Slapp on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-slapp-83846252/ Connect with Liz Nable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liz_nable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liznable/ Website: https://www.liznable.com/ If this episode landed, hit follow and leave a review. It is the single fastest way to help other small business owners find the series. *10% cashback up to $300. Terms and conditions apply. Visit amp.com.au for full offer details, eligibility criteria and conditions. AMP Bank GO is a division of AMP Bank Limited ABN 15 081 596 009, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 234517.

They beat out 14 other applicants for the lease. They opened with 5,000 local social media followers already waiting for them. They had a line out the door on winter mornings. Their biggest day was 444 coffees in a little suburban cafe with just two people behind the counter. And now they're closed. In this episode of What I Wish I Knew About Small Business, brought to you by AMP Bank GO, Liz Nable sits down with sisters Chryssie Swarbrick and Angie Markou, the founders behind Two Franks, a nostalgic cafe and general store in Coburg that everyone thought was smashing it. Because on the surface, it was. In the queue. In the media. In the community. The reality behind the counter is a different story, and it's the story every small business owner in Australia needs to hear. This is not a cautionary tale. This is a masterclass in the numbers, the red tape, the rising costs and the quiet erosion no one talks about until it's too late. It's also a masterclass in something rarer: how to close a business with grace, gratitude and a community still standing behind you. If you have ever wondered how a busy business can still not survive, this one is for you. In this episode Liz, Chryssie and Angie cover The 13 months of rent paid on an empty shop while waiting for a council permit, and why every founder needs to check permits before they sign a lease Why "busy" is not the same as "profitable", and what the numbers behind Two Franks actually looked like The cake analogy that explains where all your money is going and why your slice keeps shrinking Payday Super, credit card surcharge changes, wage rises, and the July 1 storm that hit every hospitality business at once The letter Chryssie wrote to Angie 13 months before the closure, and how the sisters navigated the decision without losing the relationship Why the media narrative around $6 coffees is the wrong conversation, and where founders should really be cutting costs What every small business owner is quietly feeling but no one is saying out loud Their key learnings for founders: the accountant they wish they'd hired sooner, the systems they wish they'd built earlier, and the delegation lesson that would have changed everything Why cutting quality is the fastest way to lose the customers who came to you in the first place Grief and relief: how to close a business without calling yourself a failure A line worth writing down "Your business is a cake. Everyone just takes a little piece, and some of the pieces keep getting bigger. And then you're looking at your plate and it's empty, and you have no crumbs left." — Chryssie Swarbrick About Chryssie and Angie Chryssie Swarbrick and Angie Markou grew up on Coburg's Reynard Street in the house their grandparents once owned. Across the road stood a 100-year-old butcher shop run in succession by two men both named Frank. When the lease came up for the first time in 40 years, the sisters took it, gutted the space with the help of Angie's husband, and opened Two Franks in September 2023: a nostalgic cafe and general store that quickly became a community hub and press darling. Chryssie has a degree in communications majoring in PR and 15 years working in social and content. She also writes a regular column for Smart Company documenting the highs and lows of running a hospitality business in real time. Angie ran the finance and admin side of Two Franks and has now opened businesses across four different Melbourne councils. Together they represent the reality behind every "cute new cafe" opening in Australia right now. Grab the AMP Bank GO cashback offer for small business owners AMP Bank GO is offering 10% cashback, up to $300* for small business owners who open a new business transaction account. It is fee-free, mobile-first, and backed by a real human call centre when you need one. Check the current offer here: https://www.amp.com.au/campaigns/bank/business-cashback-offer?utm_portfolio=bank_go&utm_product=tran&utm_channel=email&utm_source=smartco&utm_campaign=biz_cashback&utm_objective=acquisition&utm_creative=tradie_solusban Connect with Chryssie and Angie Follow Two Franks on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twofranksisters Read the Broadsheet feature on Two Franks: https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/food-and-drink/article/now-open-two-franks-nostalgic-cafe-and-general-store-inside-former-butcher-shop-run-two-sisters-who-grew-across-street Read Chryssie's regular column in Smart Company: https://www.smartcompany.com.au/author/chryssie-swarbrick/ Read the Yahoo Finance coverage of their closure: https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/popular-aussie-cafes-nail-in-the-coffin-as-small-businesses-battle-cost-of-living-not-viable-034127556.html Read Smart Company on the ripple effect of the Two Franks closure: https://www.smartcompany.com.au/hospitality/two-franks-cafe-closure-announcement-cost-of-business/ Connect with Liz Nable Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liz_nable/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liznable/ Website: https://www.liznable.com/ If this episode landed, hit follow and leave a review. It is the single fastest way to help other small business owners find the series. *10% cashback up to $300. Terms and conditions apply. Visit amp.com.au for full offer details, eligibility criteria and conditions. AMP Bank GO is a division of AMP Bank Limited ABN 15 081 596 009, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 234517.