Business in Cambodia

I am currently in Cambodia working in a provincial not for profit organization with a friend. With this in mind I felt an international taste this month was in order.

My friend, Melina Chan, is a fellow RMIT Business graduate. She started working with the Cambodian organization SABORAS in February 2008 as a participant in the annual Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYAD) program. Her main role here is to ‘capacity build’ the organizations managers and develop their professional English, business procedures and proposal writing.

Cambodia is certainly in development mode with over 500 international and national not for profit organizations at work, including the highly publicized ‘Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation’ which works at improving the areas of environment and children. A lot of the hardships these organizations are working on addressing have taken place after the 1975 Communist Khmer Rouge regime which systematically executed over 1.5 million of the countries most educated and influential people.

Despite these startling obstacles the Cambodian people are extremely beautiful and gracious. Their history has left a cautiously resilient and young population to rebuild a new culture, education and industries. Recent elections sustained the slow reintroduction of democracy to the country. International delegates, including Australian parliamentarians oversaw the Cambodian People’s Party (who has been in power for 25 years), get reelected for another five years.

The countries average economic growth of 5% has been largely driven by expansion within the garment and tourism sectors. Clothing exports were fostered by the 1999 United States of America and Cambodian Bilateral Textile Agreement guaranteeing Cambodia a quota of US textile imports. Currently, the US receives approximately 50% of Cambodia’s total exports. The agreement also offered a bonus if Cambodia could improve working conditions to meet international labor standards. Cambodia also exports to Germany, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Canada.

SABORAS is a small local not for profit organization hoping to take advantage of such international opportunities. Established in provincial Battambang they are funded mainly by various international donors. Strains on the international economy have hurt funding for one of the organizations most successful initiatives, the ‘Apprentices for Youth’ Program (AYP).

The AYP has received only 40% of necessary funding this financial year and may be forced to drop the number of apprentices from 30 to 12. The US$16,000 of funds not received would have been used to educated and train 18 potential mechanics, electricians, IT professionals, beauticians, dressmakers and bakers. Previous years has seen intakes achieve a 90% success rate of graduation and future employment.

As the Cambodian population lacks education and new skills (particularly in the above jobs) programs like the AYP are essential for the countries development for two important reasons:

1) To assist build regional areas who suffer a drastic lack of infrastructure

2) To skill the emerging labor forces of 1million young people

The handicrafts project I am assisting with as apart of the SABORAS AYAD program offers vocational training and accommodation for disabled women. The students learn how to design and sew kromars (traditional scarves), shirts, hand bags and more. Products are currently sold at local hotels, markets and shops in Battambang and Phnom Penh. The mission of SABORAS Handicraft is to build a handicraft centre in Battambang to fair trade standards while delivering a sustainable livelihood to its students and community.

This month the organization will sell their first products overseas and pursue growth opportunities in the Australian market. My hope is to secure these channels in time for the busy Christmas period and create a sustainable future for this great project. The organization aspires to sell their innovative products via their website, mail order and Australian community markets.

If you are interested in supporting the ‘Apprenticeships for Youth’ or handicraft projects by purchasing some of their products or donating money please go to www.saboras.org or contact me directly at lindamargaretscott21@gmail.com for more information. You’re support is greatly appreciated.

Dear Frankie: The chicken or the egg?

Question

I'm in a bit of a weird situation. I am in my final year of university following which I will be moving home for a year as I am contracted to a graduate job there for one year. My boyfriend does not want to move to my hometown and I do not want to do long distance especially seeing as he is likely to head to Australia. We have painfully admitted to each other that while we love each other we cannot see ourselves being together in the long-term so there is no point trying to negotiate a way of working our relationship into the next year’s changes.

My predicament is therefore what do we do in the meantime? Currently we have decided to stay together till then as we live only houses apart and share the same group of friends therefore would be miserable seeing each other but not being together. My best friend thinks that I should start moving on and break-up with him now however I think that the break-up would be easier when we are living apart and will not be seeing each other constantly.

I’m 22 almost 23 and am worried that I shouldn't be wasting my time when I could be out there finding someone who is my future. What do you think? Are we stupid for just delaying the inevitable?

Thanks,
Anonymously torn

Answer

Dear anonymously torn,

Your name sums the situation up perfectly. ‘Anonymously Torn’ you must become ‘Accountably Decisive’. To do this you need to:

- MAKE decisions based on facts, not assumptions

- STICK to your decisions

You haven’t pleaded your case that you love him, only that you will miss him from a front row seat. Causing me to think you have two options.

Option One – You feel moving cities is a comfortable way to leave him, but not the real reason. You are confident this is not a lasting relationship. You are looking for a way out that won’t hurt people’s feelings. If this is the case, don’t waste another second and end it now!

Option Two – You feel you are in a good relationship and the change of location is the real reason you want to break up. If so, try and enjoy your time together and diplomatically separate when you leave. This will be the easiest way to move forward.

It sounds like you have based current relationship decisions on a lot of assumptions.

- You assume now that you do not want to be together in the long-term.

- You assume he will move to Australia.

- You assume he will not go to your home town.

- And, you assume that your graduate role will work out and you will stay there.

If a single assumption changes the decision you make now will be useless, and on the table for constant change, opening this emotional wound again and again.

Therefore, it is important to trust your instincts and stick to them. I know I’m being hard but you are still young and you must protect your heart as best you can. Whether that be from leaving a boy you love, or staying with a boy you don’t. It’s your decision.

Good luck,
Frankie

Frankie's Oprah Career Makeover

Taking this month’s theme to heart, our girl Frankie called in Oprah for a little help to find her career G spot! This month she talks us through how you too can utilize your individual strengths to shine in all facets of your life, including your career!

What’s the deal?
I, like many young women, am searching for a meaningful career where I enjoy getting up in the morning. I want to contribute to society, earn good money and be happy. When I heard about the free online eight part workshop I thought, ‘This is it! A way to pinpoint my strengths and work towards my perfect job, now!’

Each session runs for approximately 20 minutes and helps you identify your individual strengths and weaknesses. It then teaches you how to utilize them to love your job. Each session can be listened to via iTunes or streamed as a webcast.

Oprah’s involved?
Of course! We know I love Oprah and now I love her friend Marcus Buckingham, a well known career expert too! As well as being a gorgeous English graduate from Cambridge, he has revolutionized the world of employee productivity and leadership; spending two decades helping people find their own strengths and long-lasting personal success.

What’s in it for me?
Most workers spend 90% of their day on things they don’t like doing! Buckingham aims at reducing that to only the essential 25%, and then tries to make those things fun too! His biggest catch cry is, ‘Stop trying to improve your weaknesses!’, as most people do not change; they simply become more intense versions of themselves. Buckingham looks at making sure we work at intensifying our strengths!

What should I tell my boss so she’ll help me?
Managers should be rejoicing your interest in identifying your strengths, so tell your boss “Buckingham says, ‘companies that focus on cultivating employees' strengths rather than simply improving their weaknesses stand to dramatically increase efficiency while allowing for maximum personal growth and success.” She will definitely be impressed!

Sounds great! How do I get started?
1: Click here to visit Oprah's site and download the homework sheets. Yes, there are questions to be answered between sessions.

2: The first session asks you to keep a list of things throughout a week that you love (feel strong doing) and loath (feel weak doing) e.g. ‘I felt strong when I was being spontaneous and taking a risk’ and ‘I felt weak when I was wasting time’.

3: Watch the classes in order and listen to Buckingham’s great ideas and activities. He discussed, ‘strength statements’, the Peter principle, goal setting, myth busting and much much more.

What are my favourite lessons?

I learnt a lot from this course which I have been able to use straight away in my work and home life. The idea that, ‘just because you are good at something does not mean it’s a strength!’ opened my eyes to the guilt I felt from not enjoying things others think I am good at. Use the table below to find out if the activities you undertake are hobbies, strengths or weaknesses. We are aiming for all yes.

Then, once we have understood what a strength is we can use these strategies to improve it.

Strength Strategy – ‘FREE’

Focus: Identify your strengths in your current job, how can we do more of these?

Release: Identify missed strength opportunities and deliberately try to incorporate them in your daily role

Educate: Is there a skill you could learn to improve a strength?

Expand: Push your job towards your strengths, highly successful people don’t ‘find’ their perfect jobs, they build them

I’ve found my G spot, now I’m hungry for more job satisfaction…
The Oprah website has lots of information on Buckingham and his work, but if you decide to buy the most recent Gallup book, ‘Strength Finder 2.0’ you can use the code from there and log onto StrengthsFinder.com to take the ‘strength finder quiz’.

Oprah has interviewed lots of interesting business people and employment specialists. Click here to visit Oprah's site to get career advice from 'The Donald' (Donald Trump, including his controversial answers to ‘Should women use sex appeal to get ahead?’ and ‘Do you think it's a sign of weakness if a woman cries at the workplace?’

Whatever you do, do it regularly and do it with conviction. The only person who can best assess opportunities for you, is you! I found taking the course helped me believe I have individual strengths and that these strengths should be maximized in my work for the greatest results. Once you know who you are, shine.

Love Frankie xxx

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE MONTH

Steve Vizard

Mr. Vizard has been receiving a lot of press in the past few years and probably a lot of us are still confused as to what he really did. Basically he didn’t listen to his own advice on insider trading he gave to the Sunday program in July 2000.

"You have to inform every board you are on of the business you are involved with ... you have to tell them you are involved with that business, declare your position, not be involved in any decision-making process that the company you are involved with makes."

This isn’t just good advice, this is the commonwealth law of any board of directors.

Stephan William Vizard was born 6 March 1956 (1956-03-06) in Richmond Victoria and is an old Carey Grammar boy. He is married with five children. Originally a corporate lawyer after graduating from Melbourne University Law he moved to television in 1989. He produced the comedy show, ‘The Eleventh Hour’ and won a Golden Logie in 1991 for his work in ‘Fast Forward’.

Other awards include his 1997 Order of Australia, for service to the community, through his established Vizard Foundation, and to the arts. Earlier this year he returned this award after the insider trading scandal. In 2002, he received the Australian Father Of The Year award.

He retired from television in the mid 1990’s and went back into business and philanthropy. In 1996 he became one of the directors of Telstra for four years. During the final year of his term at Telstra claims of $3 million of accountancy fraud and insider trading arose between Vizard and a college. In 2005 he was fined and sentenced to 10 years disqualification.

Moral of the story: Stick to what you’re good at and don’t get too greedy.

Tax Return Time

Ok kiddies, its tax return time, yeah!! I must confess that even I, a business nerd do not enjoy doing my tax return. But it must be done and hopefully you will get a bit of money out of it!

A financial year is from July 1^st to June 30^th the following year. This is the period of which your income is totaled and your tax is calculated from the tax you have already paid and that which you should have paid.

By the end of the financial year your employers should send you a group certificate as a total of your income and tax. You then have from July 1^st to October 31^st to lodge your tax return. Remember, the earlier you get it done the earlier you get any returns.

To carry out a tax return you must have a tax file number and group certificates from all of your employers over the past 12 months. If you don’t know if you need to lodge one go to http://calculators.ato.gov.au/scripts/axos/AXOS.asp and answer the questionnaire there to find out.

If you do have to complete one there are lots of ways to do so. You can go to www.ato.gov.au and complete the online e-tax section or over the phone. You can also pick up a hard copy of the TaxPack 2008 at newsagents and some book shops. Some registered tax agents offer student discounts to help do your tax returns. It can be a good idea to use a professional for this as they know the ins and outs of what can be deducted and get you your return quickly.

After you lodge your return they may say you owe the government tax. If this is the case the earliest you will have to pay it is November 21^st, regardless of when you lodge your tax return.

Frequently asked questions around tax returns are about what work related expenses can you tax deduct? This is when a professional is handy. Basic things to think about are:

- Work uniforms with logos or embroidery on them are generally tax deductible

- Laundry and dry cleaning of these uniforms are also generally tax deductible

- Every industry and role will vary from what they will be allow to tax deduct. For instance, the modeling business will allow you to tax deduct haircuts and pedicures where as some sales role will include home internet and phone.

- Tax deductible car and public transport use is only considered between work hours. The use of your car or transport to get to and from work is not included.
- A percentage of educational expenses such as pencils, textbooks can be deducted if the studies are in direct connection with your employment.

Good luck and I hope it is as painless as possible!

Student Budgets

This month I want to write about the importance of understanding finances and budgeting. BORING I hear some of you groan, but it’s YOU who should read on! Unfortunately, whether you like it or not the world runs on money, economists call it the oil of the world. So best to keep your piece of the pie as yummy as possible!

What is the importance of budgeting?

What’s the point doing something if you don’t know why? When you begin budgeting you can have many reasons and great results. Some of these include:

- To know the truth about your financial state so you don’t get a scare or live beyond your means

- To use your money wisely so it better reflects your priorities and wants

- To save for something you really want maybe a ticket overseas, computer, car

- So you’re not getting ripped off by banks, other big institutions

Ok, so budgeting is important but how do I do it?

Keep a record of what you spend. There’s lots of ways of doing this, I keep a spreadsheet on my laptop but I use to write spending into the back of my diary. Some people keep all their receipts, others only use cards so they have a record online. However you do it you have to keep a record of where your money is going for budgeting and also in the future for tax.

I always start a budget by breaking down the cost of basic living weekly, fortnightly or monthly, whichever period works best for you. Refer to the useful links to get a downloadable or printable template to start budgeting with!

Firstly ask yourself what do you need, and how much do these cost. I have found some general ‘rules of thumbs’ for these. Rent or housing costs should equal about one third of your gross income (before tax). Utilities bills such as gas, water, electricity average about $2 to $3 a day in usage costs only, plus the annoying charges they seem to add on for no apparent reason, usually between $20-$30 a quarter. Transport is a real killer that lots of people forget. Tram tickets for students average to be about $3 a day, whilst cars can average $10 to $18 a day after insurance, servicing and petrol. Mobile phones and internet connections are always big killers for students’ hip pockets considered the number one cause of student debt. Generally you should not spend more then 10% of your net income (after tax) on these. Groceries are another big expense which can be difficult to calculate. I try to aim to spend no more then 20% of my net income on them. As students this probably doesn’t leave you with much! But if we can budget right we should have enough for the suggested 10% to 20% in savings.

The next thing is to look at what do you want to do? How much would you like to spend on going out, presents, clothes? What is necessary to keep you sane? Maybe you want to go to the movies once a week for $12 or out to dinner for $20, see a gig or get a few drinks at the local pub. Add these costs onto your budget too and see how realistic you’re expectations are.

An example of a typical student fortnightly budget might look like this:

Income - $680 net a fortnight
Work	$450	Net
Centrelink	$230	Net
Outgoings - $610 a fortnight
Rent	$290	Approx. one third of gross income
Bills	$30	Between $2 - $3 a day
Public Transport	$40	Between $2 - $3 a day
Phones & Internet	$35	Less then 10% of gross income
Groceries / Food	$155	Less then 20% of gross income
Going out	$60	Approx. $30 a week
Savings - $70 a fortnight		Between 10% and 20% of gross income

Not much room to move is there? This is why savings is important. If you lived on a knife edge like this and didn’t save you would have a very fragile lifestyle. Any little problem like an employer paying late, getting an infringement notice or going over on your phone bill will mean you won’t be able to make ends meet.

After you’ve done you’re budgets some ways of improving it should become clearer. In terms of spending maybe you need to change your mobile phone arrangements, find cheaper rent, eat in more or get rid of the car. Or maybe you find that you’re living comfortably within your basic needs and you are wasting lots of money on unnecessary things such as daily red bulls and trashy magazines? Maybe this money can be spent on bigger and better things instead.

On the other side of the coin maybe you need to earn more. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to work more. Changing your pay structure can help, for instance, if you are a casual employer and on Centrelink re-structuring your contract to a part time basis can even out your pay over holidays and sick days so you can claim more from Centrelink fortnightly. Or instead of working Saturdays try and work Sundays on a higher hourly rate. Or refer to last month’s magazine and ask for a pay rise!

Never the less, a budget should highlight that once daily needs are met you must prepare yourself for larger one off costs such as car insurance, a special friends birthday present, tickets to an expensive concert or a new piece of furniture etc. These things must therefore be saved for in advance, not via the credit card approach.

How to save

To save successfully it is important to have a goal. Ask yourself, how much do I want to save and by when i.e. ‘I want to have $1,200 by Christmas’, then work backwards. Ok, if Christmas is 26 weeks away I will have to save $46 a week,

26 x $46 = $1196.

But this is EVERY week, if you are likely to miss a few weeks over the next 6 months allow for this and factor it into your weekly amount say an extra $10. Therefore,

26 x $56 - $224 (4 missed weeks) = $1232.

If you currently have debt this should be your number one priority to save for and pay off. As a young person I often hear old people say, ‘In my day we didn’t live beyond our means and only bought things when we had the money in the bank.’ Well this is good in theory but our generation realizes that life is short and we take opportunities when they arise. This doesn’t mean you will never pay it back, it just means you have chosen to enjoy it now and pay for it later. When the ‘later’ comes be sure to pay your debts off from the one with the highest interest first. Many people make the mistake of paying the largest amount off first. The interest you save by paying off a higher interest card first will enable to you pay the lower one of faster later.

Tips on how to save

- Have multiple bank accounts, one for spending, and one for long term saving and one for medium term saving. This will stop you from spending it all at once.

- Look for account with high interest rates and low minimum amounts and charges.

- As soon as you receive income put the planned savings amount away. Do not wait until the end of the month to put it away because you will have spent it.

- Give yourself your planned spending amount in cash at the beginning of the week so you can see exactly how much you have left.

- If you are not good with cash buy things ahead of time so you’re not put in the situation of buying something on the spot where you are tempted to overspend.

- Consolidate multiple debts into one low interest loan, even if this means your parents pay your debts and you owe them the total amount.

- Avoid expensive supermarkets such as Safeway and Coles. Do your grocery shopping at markets such as Box Hill, Queen Victoria or Prahran for the vegetable, fruit and meat and get the other stuff from Aldi or BigW.

- Re-fill water bottles instead of buying new ones daily

- Buy your Metcards in bulk, 10 trips or monthly can save up to 20%

- Ask if you are eligible for discounts at bookshops, utilities, ticketing places etc.

- Structure your pay to include monthly bonuses and save the lump sum.

- Save any windfall or unexpected money such as tax returns, presents etc.

- Speak to your phone, internet, and utility providers regularly to see if any new cheaper plans are available.

- Plan your days spending as you start the day, don’t wait until you’re starving to think about how much you want to spend on lunch.

- Spend as regularly but spend less. Instead of getting the large meal, get the medium. Buy one CD instead of three.

BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH

‘Free Prize Inside’ By Seth Godin

All marketing students will know the prolific author Seth Godin, and probably have read his books ‘Purple Cow’ or ‘Permission Marketing’ (if you haven’t you should do so quickly before anyone realizes you haven’t!) His next read, ‘Free Prize Inside’ endeavors to offer ‘the next big marketing idea’.

Published in 2004 this bite size book is packaged in a cereal box with the book acting as the ‘free prize’. It can be read in a day or two and will get you itching to put its’ ideas into practice. Although pitched as a marketing man, Godin’s books, blogs, web presentations are interesting for anyone in business, which is everyone! He is a modern thinker and understands the modern consumer intimately, essential for us young movers and shakers in any industry.

‘Free Prize Inside’ is short and snappy in writing style, making it an easy read. It offers great practical advice in ‘cut out and carry with you’ form such as, ‘You can’t buy attention’ and ‘The harder you try to play it safe the more likely you are to fail’. He uses examples ranging from Redbull to David Letterman’s teeth to Yahoo! And demonstrates ideas in really simple graphs for visual people like myself!

In true marketing form he spends the first few chapters pumping up the book and how great it is that you’re reading it, someone bought it for you, you should buy it for other people etc. He includes a bit of business jargon some of which he has coined himself over the years such as, ‘champion’, ‘purple cow’, ‘edges’ but all in all very easy to understand.

My advice to best enjoy the Godin theology is to grab a copy of ‘Free Prize Inside’, skim over the headings, read the bits that sound interesting and sign up to his blog or watch some YouTube clips. However you do it, I hope you enjoy!

A Good Home Life with Housemates

After two years working in Real Estate I have heard a lot of bad housemate stories. Many tenants have had to leave houses due to messiness, inconsiderate noise, not paying rent on time and privacy issues. Apart from the odd unreasonable freak many of these household issues can be sorted out with a bit of ‘living’ preparation. Sit down and think about what is really important to you at home. Do you enjoy things being clean or would you rather live life and worry about the mess later? Discuss these things with your housemates at the beginning of the lease so everyone is very clear on everyone else’s expectations. Pin up these expectations somewhere communal so all housemates and their guests are reminded regularly. I have outlined some of the things I think are important to include.

Consider Other People and Their Belongings

§ Keep other housemate current with major life changes such as change of jobs, university courses, selling a car etc. as this may impact the whole house

§ When making decisions on or changing shared spaces such as where couches and TV’s are, or financial things such as internet you must consult with others and agree

§ Always ask to borrow clothes and personal items in person or via txt message

Guests are to be Respectful of Everyone

§ Guests are to be attended to by their host who is responsible for the guests behaviour

§ When returning home check if housemates are sleeping. If so, act quietly & SMS if anyone is staying over

§ Only people known/introduced to all housemates are allowed to stay over night

§ Guests may eat shared household and hosts personal food in moderation

§ If more then 5-6 people including host come over for a long period of time, a days notice to all housemates is required

§ If guests stay more then 3 - 4 nights a fortnight proportional contribution to household expenses is payable as agreed by housemates

Keep House and Housemates Safe at All Times

§ Locked and deadlocked front door when leaving the house empty

§ Front door is to be snipped locked so you can leave easy in case of emergency while people are sleeping

§ No spare keys are to be handed out to guests or hidden outside unless agreed to by all housemates

§ Do not discuss with others if the house is vacant or when a housemate is home alone for periods of time

All Bills to be Paid on Time

§ Rent paid weekly to main tenant

§ Water and Electricity and Gas to be paid quarterly by main tenant and reimbursed by each tenant pro-rata, according to period since commencement of lease

§ Use of utilities are to be used in reasonable amounts i.e. heaters, water, lights turned off when not in use

§ Gardening, shopping, shared household expenses to be recorded on household calendar and reimbursed monthly so each housemate has paid their share.

Household cleaning tasks to be shared among housemates

To be done fortnightly

Bathroom - Shower, Toilet, Sink, Floors

Vacuuming - All shared areas, and quickly in each bedroom

Outside – Watering, Mow lawns, Recycle bin out/in

Dusting - Surfaces, spider webs, books shelves

Moping – Tiled areas

To be done weekly

Outside – Garbage bin out/in

Lounge - Tidy and put personal items away when finished

Office - Tidy and put personal items away regularly

To be done daily

Kitchen

- Clean all dishes left in and around sink

- Stack dishwasher as you go and turn on when full

- Keep bench and table clear and clean each night

Top Ten Things Oprah Taught Me

Years of Oprah viewing has taught me many life lessons. From how to live my best life to improving relationships to staying fit, I am never short of an Oprah-ism for any occasion. So to save all you valuable time I have plucked out the top ten things Oprah has taught me from the hundreds of hours of Oprah gold. Enjoy.

1) Live your best life

The overriding message of the Oprah philosophy is based on the idea, ‘If you want the best the world has to offer, offer the world your best.’

Based on the Reverend Jesse Jackson quote and Sidney Poitier philosophy, ‘Excellence is the best deterrent to racism. Therefore, be excellent.’ I agree with Oprah when she says that, ‘this is the most fulfilling path to personal freedom.’

2) Believe Peoples’ Character Ideas

If someone tells you who they believe them! They know themselves better then you do.

When people make comments such as 'I'm selfish' or 'I'm mean', you can save yourself time and effort by believing them as they already know their own history and relationships.

3) Have Aha! Moments

The greatest enlightenment you can have as we learn about life is when you hear something and think, 'I never thought of it that way'.

If you can think of things in a different way it means you are growing and challenging your own ideas and removing prejudices.

4) Love Doesn't Hurt

Relationships should not physically hurt. Any guy who says he loves you but displays threatening or abusing behavior, is lying about the love.

Over 10% of females are said to have been abused by a male in a relationship. Many girls depend emotionally on men and stay in these relationships. Stand up for yourself, complete yourself and end the abuse.

5) You Teach Others How to Treat You

Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, ‘Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.’ Dr. Phil regularly asks his guests, ‘Where did they get the idea they could treat you so badly? From you! You let them do it.’

6) Be Grateful Everyday

Oprah believes the, ‘magic of gratitude’ is the more grateful you are, the more you have to be grateful for.

Hard core’s like myself keep daily gratitude journals and look for five things a day to be grateful for. Getting up in the morning is different when you are looking for grateful acts.

7) Eat Breakfast!

Eating breakfast is like starting the car engine in the morning, it gets the metabolism working.

Oprah’s buddies Dr. Oz and personal trainer Bob Greene insist we eat breakfast and exercise everyday to get the heart pumping and body running well.

8) Make Wildest Dreams Come True
A simple act of kindness or time can go a long way, making others and yourself feel like a million bucks!
The 20^th season of Oprah was all about Wildest Dreams and my favorite guest was Bernadette, an amazing Starbucks employee whom was supporting a family of twelve. Oprah swung in and helped her and her children, nieces and nephew and mother. I tear up remembering how overwhelmed with joy Bernadette was.

9) Surround Yourself with Beauty
Take time and care to make your home nice no matter what your budget is. Showing pride in your external world then allows you to look after your inner being.

Oprah talks about when she was younger and living in hardship she would find flowers to display or pin pictures up on the walls, anyway to show beauty around her.

10) Pay Debts Fast
Structure your repayments so you are repaying the loan with the highest interest rate off first.

Finance expert Suze Orman reminds us that many people make the mistake of repaying the loan with the largest amount owing first, forgetting the extra interest could be saved and help you pay off your debts faster!

Read the further articles and questions at www.nzgirl.co.nz! And while you're there sign up and check out their great fashion, travel and useful girl power advice!

Asking for a Pay Rise

Asking for a pay rise can often be daunting yet VERY IMPORTNANT. I often throw my hands up after the third parking ticket of the month and exclaim, ‘I wish I was rich…that would solve all my life problems!’ Usually a nearby slightly scared friend or family member will point out that parking in the right places might also help. Annoyingly I do agree with them, sometimes you must DECREASE your spending to save money, and sometimes you must also INCREASE your earning capacity.

As a student it is often hard to do either. Living on the ‘student knife edge’ where opulence and poverty can mean the difference between walking to uni and catching a tram. Demanding a higher wage can also be hard as you may be inflexible to your employers needs due to university commitments.

Student jobs can range from flipping burgers and making coffees to part time assistant roles and office jobs but no matter what industry or position you are in all jobs work on a basic supply and demand structure. It has been said that dirty, dangerous and demeaning jobs often pay best. Cleaning windows downtown pays well, but cleaning very dirty windows on the 80th floor pays better.

So, when thinking about approaching your manager or boss one good way to prepare yourself is to do your research. Ask yourself the following questions, have I demonstrated that I am competent in my role? Have I signed any sort of agreement that would limit my earning capacity? Is my direct manager the correct person to discuss this with? Or is the human resources department or store manager more appropriate? Be very careful with this questions as going above a mangers head can often damage your relationship with them and hard your chances of getting what you want.

The next thing to do is arm yourself with industry standards of pay, speak to the institution or association in the field you work in and ask them how the pay scale works. Find out where the industry skill shortages are, how you can fulfil them? Maybe you need to get another qualification, move interstate, change your pay structure from part time to casual or maybe you already have the skills and are working in the right place! Use this information to give yourself confidence when you approach your boss or maybe to realise that its time to find a new job!

When asking for a pay rise it is always good use inclusive word such as ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘I’ a lot, ‘I feel I contribute a lot and we have achieved great results’ rather then, ‘Don’t you think I contribute a lot?’ Keep in mind THEY the employer must benefit from this rise as well. NEVER justify a pay rise by telling them how your personal expenses have gone up, ‘I’m paying back my HECS’ or ‘I’ve bought a car and need more money for petrol’. You must show them how they will benefit from you remaining with them or taking on additional responsibilities and tasks, ‘I have shown through my six months of work here that I am reliable and trustworthy and can therefore close the shop or help train the new workers.’

In terms of when to ask for a pay rise, timing is everything. When approaching your manager make it clear what you want, how to get it and a time frame. Ask your manager, ‘I wanted to map out my key performance indicators required to receive a $3 an hour pay rise at my next review.’ Then stay quiet. Let them talk themselves into helping you. My father always says, ‘the first one to speak in a negotiation looses.’ As an employee it can be tempting to settle for less then you want to avoid confrontation or discomfort.

To Feature in April RMIT Catalyst Magazine

BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH

“BASIC BLACK: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)” By Cathie Black President Hearst Magazines

A friend recently passed on the book, ‘Basic Black’ to me touting it was a great and easy read and rare to find a female business women at the top of her game actually stand up and tell people about herself. I agree, most business books are written by men and many business autobiographies are about these men. It seems that once one achieves success of any sort they rush out and print a million hardbacks. Richard Branson has done it, Donald Trump seems to do it every year. But where are the women?

Cathie Black has released her business book with female style and is not ashamed to show it. She tackles female issues head on with a matter of fact manner that is liberating. These issues include how to compete in a male dominated field, how to use your female advantage, feelings of being intimidated, and managing personal pressures at home etc.

This considered it is certainly not for a female only audience. Black draws on her astounding four decades in the media business and has been described by the Financial Times as “one of the leading figures in American publishing over the past two decades” as the head of Hearst Magazines, one of the worlds largest publishers of monthly magazines.

The book itself has been translated into twelve languages and has seen great success in book charts around the world. Black breaks the chapters into practical case studies, tips and personal anecdotes with cameos of people such as Rupert Murdoch, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Francis Ford Coppola, Harvey Weinstein, and Al Neuharth.

A testament to her credentials, Black is one of very few who has appeared on Fortune magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women in American Business" list every year since its 1998 début. What more do you need? Get out and read it!

Useful Relevent Links

Industry Based Learning
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/ict/ibl
http://www.anzgraduates.com.au
http://www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au
http://careers.deloitte.com/studentgrad.aspx

Industry Pay Levels
http://www.linkrecruitment.com.au (Salary Survey Snapshots)
http://au.hudson.com (Salary Guides)

Pay Rise Advice
http://www.seek.com.au (Winning salary negotiations)
http://www.careerone.com.au/jobs (Payrise, Video)

Industry Associations
http://www.graduateopportunities.com/industry_info
http://www.skillsinfo.gov.au

Reader Questions & Answers

Question

Hi Linda-Margaret,
My understanding of the Reserve Bank hiking interest rates up is that they are trying to curb inflation, which due to our booming economy (thanks to full employment among other things), is growing at too fast a rate. Therefore, the Reserve Bank uses interest rates to clamp on spending, to slow inflation down. Is this what is really happening? Do you think that people will turn to credit to make up the difference in spending, or curb their spending, as the RB want?
Also, it annoys me that the government doesn't do anything to support the RB like making an announcement to explain to the people about why interest rates are going up. Most people don't understand, and they think it’s just the RB trying to get more money. What do you think?
Juliet from Surrey Hills

Answer

Hi Juliet,
Great questions! Your right, the RB puts up interest rates to curb inflation and growth in consumer spending, by increasing mortgage repayments. The problem is the effect isn’t instant. This is the lesson learnt from the 1980's 'recession we had to have.' They jacked interest rates up then, when nobody changed they did it again, and again, and again. Interest rate rises can take 6-12 months to take effect. People struggle for a while, use their credit cards to get by then, as a last resort stop spending. We will probably see it get worse before it gets better I think.
It is true lots of people think the government controls interest rates. The government does very little to dispel this rumour while the rates are low and the economy is good. Reasons for interest rate changes are released by the RB after their monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month http://www.rba.gov.au/MediaReleases/2008/mr_08_03.html.
Cheers, Linda-Margaret

NUMBER CRUNCH

How will all this affect you?

Your rent

New tenancy agreements will be more expensive

Ongoing tenancy agreements are restricted under law regarding often they can increase and by how much

Your mortgage

National cash interest rates at 7.25%, the highest since December 1994

Victorian house prices remaining the same or increasing (depending on location)

A tough time to enter the property market

Job opportunities

Domestic consumer services roles may decrease e.g. hospitality, retails

Exportable skills may be under greater demand e.g. niche manufacturing, financial services

Unions and employees campaign for pay increases to meet increased cost of living

Traveling

Australian $0.90 (and over) = American $1.00

Great time to go overseas!

Cost of living

Petrol prices continue to rise, $1.50 to $3.00 a liter in the next 12 months

Basic goods will increase as transport and other costs increase

Stock Market

Funds move away from America and into emerging markets or the more ‘secure’ minerals oil and gold

Australian Recession?

The buzz word of this month is ‘recession’. But what does it mean? How do we know when we are in one and how will it change your life?

What is a recession?

In the purist of economics lingo a recession is either, a decline in a country's total gross domestic product (The total amount of value produced by the country in traded goods and services) or a negative real economic growth. These trends must continue for two or more consecutive quarters of a year.

The colloquial understanding is that the economy slows and consumers feel they have less money to spend on increasingly expensive things.

There are many reasons people are scared of recessions. A recession could mean interest rates go up as the reserve bank tries to control consumer spending, people are spending less money therefore businesses make less money, leading to a reduction in staff and job loses. House prices may drop as less people are buying houses causing an over supply and people may be less likely to invest funds in shares or business to grow for fear of an uncertain market.

BUT I prefer to look at a recession as we do the current drought.

The amount of water in the world remains constant. Whether it is in the form of ice, rain, sea or clouds there is always the same amount. If you follow the analogy that money is like water the value of money may change from assets to cash to options etc. but it can still be found. Therefore, just because Australia is going through a drought or a recession does not mean it is not raining somewhere and someone is getting rich. Do you like my little analogy? Yes? So let’s continue with it.

If there is less money coming into or being produced by our economy, businesses and individuals tend to be more conservative with the money they do have. If people are worried about the value of their house and security of their jobs they are less likely in invest in risky shares or buy the newest biggest LCD TV screen they picked out at Dick Smiths. Most will say, ‘Honey, let’s wait until next year to get that swimming pool installed’. Times this by 20 million people and we have ‘low consumer confidence’ and a further weakening of the economy.

Is Australia heading to a recession?

Most economists are waiting to see which will affect Australia more, Americas’ economic cold or Chinas’ economic growth steroids! Traditionally, America would have won but our location to China and other rapidly growing Asian and emerging countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and India could mean our business and services sectors will continue to grow supporting our economy during this period.

Some experts have reminded us that it will probably still FEEL like a recession even if we don’t meet the textbook definitions BECAUSE Australian consumers/individuals are currently in HUGE personal debt. The mortgage ‘stress’ felt by this months twelfth consecutive interest rate rise has delivered the lowest consumer confidence figures in fourteen years demonstrating the everyday persons’ concerns!

But maybe the conservative tightening of the proverbial ‘consumer spending belt’ will actually be the painful step we have to take to whip our personal debt into shape. The treadmill work out that will prevent the recession heart attack? Australians have been buying up LCD screens, holidays, new cars at an amazing rate for decades – like candy! The halcyon spending spree must slow or come to an end before Australia can build a foundation of sound, across the board economic security.

BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH!

‘The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement’, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt published in 1984.
A business book that is easy to read! AND extremely useful! Goldratt writes many of his books as a piece of fiction with main characters, stories and love stories while explaining interesting business ideas.

This book delves into Goldratt’s ‘Theory of Constraints’, a model to manage business processes he developed as a business consultant.

The main protagonist, Alex Rogo, the manager of a failing metalwork plant, learns how to manage bottlenecks (constraints) in a manufacturing process, project management and the art of negotiation.

Set in America the concepts can be easily transferred into any business whether it is small, large, in manufacturing or service orientated. If you want to run your own business or get a promotion this book is a MUST READ. Other books in the series include ‘It’s not luck’ (I’m onto this one now!) and ‘The Haystack Syndrome’.

Starting a New Tenancy in the New Year!

December through to March are said to be the busiest times of the year for starting new tenancies. Particularly for students whom are preparing to commence a year of study. This can lead to high demands for available properties and strong competition between applicants!

Once you have chosen your desired location, picked a price range and number of bedrooms you require etc. follow these tips to help you secure your desired property.

Be sure to send in a great application!
To be good it must be COMPLETE with all names, phone numbers and 100 points of identification (eg. A passport, current visa, Medicare card, drivers licence and a bill equals 100 points) also, make sure you sign where necessary and include important details of lease commencement dates and tenancy length.

Make sure you can afford the property
If you have a healthy salary show it with pay slips, (Rule of thumb should be, your after tax weekly earnings are double the weekly rent.) If you are a student without such an income try to show a healthy bank statement (eg minimum of 3- 6 months rent in savings) and look at having a parent join you on the lease. Overseas students may even be able to have parents sign parental rental guarantees for them.

Present yourself well
Be polite and well dressed when you go to see properties and talk on the phone. Often receptionists will be the ones checking your application and recommending you to the property managers. Landlords will be looking for responsible/neat people, so don’t stand around smoking or be late to an inspection! Most agencies when you borrow keys to inspect properties require a $50 cash deposit and photo ID.

Know the availability
Ring the agent and ask when the property is available to inspect and when they want someone moved in by. Ask if it you can apply before inspecting the property. Often if your application is then not successful the agent may find you another property. Most landlords will not be flexible on the move in date by more then 1-2 weeks and require a 12 month lease at the beginning of the year.

Overseas Students Visas
Be sure to include copies of current visas that remain valid though out the length of the lease (e.g. if you are signing a lease until January 2009, make sure your visa does not expire in 2008!)

For further advice and information you can download the Victorian Consumer Affairs booklet which is really easy to understand and very helpful from http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/. Read the Business Person review of the Minister for Consumer Affairs.

Good luck!

Business Nerd of the Month! David ‘Kochie’

Business Nerd of the Month! David ‘Kochie’ Koch, is best known as an Australian television personality, and financial commentator. He currently presents 7's Sunrise morning program each weekday and Where Are They Now. Koch hosts Australia's top-rated small business show, My Business, which airs on Sunday mornings on 7.Koch founded Personal Investment magazine and My Business magazine, the largest-circulation small business magazine in Australia. He also provides business and financial commentary for several publications, including Pacific Magazines and AFR Investor. Koch was a director of the NSW Small Business Development Corporation for eight years and as the current director of Pinstripe Media Pty Ltd, he speaks regularly at corporate events about small business, finance and investment issues.He was nominated for a Silver Logie in 2004 and 2005 for Best TV Presenter. The Money Management newspaper recognised Koch as one of the 10 most influential people of all time in the financial services industry and he has written several practical books on family and business financial management. Reader's Digest listed him in the top 50 Most Trusted Australians and he was recently named 2007 Australian Father of The Year by the Australian Father's Day Council. Yeah, we love successful nerds!

Housing Affordability

Hello fine readers! As promised last month I am going to delve into the world of ‘housing affordability’ come on this crazy journey with me as I try to understand the complex world that is….economics.

Unless you are literally living in a cave or under a rock, housing affordability is going to matter to you, hence why the current ‘crisis’ is getting such considerable media coverage.

The topic is complex as it is influenced by many economic factors. Any combination of such factors can create varying outcomes on individuals and community. Economists, banks, politicians and business people all monitor certain statistics to map trends and anticipate moves in the market. These factors and statistics include:
- The number of new housing approvals
- The reserve banks’ interest rates
- Credit and debt and international markets
- The number of approved home loans
- The housing costs to purchase, rent, build and renovate
- Individual income rates of pay
- Consumer confidence and employment growth
- Inflation rates
- Growth in population

To try and understand what is contributing to Victoria’s low housing affordability I will look at each of the above basic factors and discuss the influence they may be having. As you read you will see that each factor relies on and influences each other.

New Housing Approvals
Housing approvals are important as they can forecast what will be built in the coming months and years. In July housing approvals increased by 15.3 per cent from the previous month to 3,625, but they were still down 5 per cent on the same time last year. Housing approvals peaked in August 2002 and five years on there is still no recovery despite Government first homebuyer and rebate incentives. 2006/07 figures show there would have been approximately 39,000 new dwellings built in Victoria, which is 3,000 fewer than the required 42,400 to fill the need. As fewer homes are being built and more people move to Melbourne supply decreases and demand increases. This will lead to an increase in cost.

Housing Costs
The average house price in Melbourne is now $420,000, up more than 10 per cent over the past 12 months. In Sydney, this figure is closer to $520,000. Both cities are now among the English-speaking world's least affordable housing markets. Research has shown that in Melbourne a 605sq m allotment in Tarneit, 27km southwest of the CBD, costs $249,600. 2km further west at Manor Lakes, prices are starting at $255,600. In Sydney a house and land package on a smaller block in St Helen's Park, 48km south of the CBD, is $400,000.

Affordability is affecting the whole country. In Brisbane, outer suburban housing starts at $320,000 in Jimboomba. On the Gold Coast places like Yatala and Pimpama, halfway to Brisbane are starting at $320,000. In comparison suburban affordability in Melbourne is quiet attractive to many Australians. This has lead to an increase in Victoria’s population which places a greater demand on the market.

Other housing costs have also increased contributing the low housing affordability. Renovation costs have jumped almost 6 per cent in the past 12 months dramatically increasing the price for those hoping to enter the property market by purchasing a ‘do-er up-er’. Rental prices have also increased with the decrease in available rental properties due to the number of owner occupiers purchasing.

Home Loans
Australians took out fewer home loans in July then June 2007. Some believe the fall was a correction after a strong rise in June as a result of this years’ superannuation opportunity to put up to $1 million in and receive a tax discount. More than 63,500 people took out home loans in July, down 4.1 per cent. Economists had expected only a 2 per cent fall. The number of loans for new dwellings dropped 3.3 per cent. In general, fewer home loans reflect the restraint on purchasers to enter the housing market and poor value available. Less homeowners can also lead to more renters as people choose to rent or stay in the family home longer before they purchase, thus putting pressure on the rental markets.

The reserve banks’ interest rates
It must be made clear that the Reserve Bank is independent of the government and the forthcoming election, despite general opinion, will have no bearing on their decisions to change rates.

On Tuesday 7th of August 2007 the Reserve Bank of Australia announced it had lifted official interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.50 percent, an 11-year high and the first rise in rates since last November 2006. The rise in interest rates will add around $50 a month to repayments on the average $250,000 mortgage. Many believe that rates may rise again this year if a return of stability to the money market does not occur and international economic pressures are not contained and spill over into Australia.

The fall in home ownership is expected to worsen in coming months as the effects of the interest rate rise takes hold. An interest rate rise can often taken 6-18months for its full effect to be felt. The possibility of a November rate rise is currently at 50 per cent at best.
Many believe the deciding factor would be an abnormally high October inflation figure.
This speculation of another interest rate rise may be the reason behind the slowing demand for home loans discussed above. Any interest rate rises will affect anyone with a mortgage particularly those first homebuyers whom may have already extended themselves to meet their current home loan.

Growth in Population
Melbourne attracted 61,000 new residents in the year to June 2006, while Sydney attracted only 35,000. For the first100 years after Federation, Sydney achieved a greater annual population growth than Melbourne every year. But this is no longer the case as Australians choose which city and which living environment they prefer. Of the new population a considerable amount are nuclear structured families. Research shows that over 5 year Sydney attracted 5,000 net extra traditional nuclear families where as Melbourne attracted 11,000. This population growth coupled with the shortage of new housing approvals would lead to a rise in housing costs in the year ahead.

Individual income rates of pay
As the gap widens between the rich and the poor, even people in ‘good jobs’ are finding themselves unable to live near their place of employment. A large proportion of these people are spending up to 50 percent of their income on their homes. With such a large percentage of income being spent on rent or house payments tremendous burden has now been placed on finances for food, utilities and transportation.
The deterioration of housing affordability has been worsened by salaries that haven't risen nearly as fast as house prices.
Studies have shown that the median house price in Melbourne is between six and seven times median household income and in Sydney housing costs measured between eight and nine times earnings. This unbalanced relationship between housing costs and income is a major contributing factor to the low affordability being experienced across Australia.

So, I hope this whirlwind tour of economics and housing factors has been beneficial! Despite sounding quiet doom and gloom for the future it must be remembered that all markets work in cycles and everything therefore is relative. So stay positive and continue to look for the bargains and opportunities that can be found in all sorts of markets.

Look forward to next months issue where I tackle the most frequently asked Real Estate questions.