The end of financial year can easily become one giant checklist.

• Update your fees.
• Review payroll.
• Read the latest Fair Work announcements.
• Talk to your accountant.
• Tick the boxes.

and then.....move on.

But what if we're missing one of the biggest opportunities of the year?

In this episode I'm joined by one of my closest friends and long-time business sounding boards, Ngaire Turnbull. Ngaire spent 14 years as a practice owner and comes from a family deeply rooted in small business. Every conversation I have with her leaves me thinking differently about business, and this one was no exception.

Together we unpack why the start of a new financial year is about much more than compliance. It's a chance to pause, reflect and make intentional decisions about the health of your practice, not just financially, but personally as well.

We also have a very honest conversation about something many practice owners experience but rarely admit: the fear, shame and overwhelm that can come when the numbers aren't where you hoped they would be.

If you've ever laid awake wondering how you're going to make everything work, this episode is for you.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why EOFY shouldn't just be another checklist.
• The opportunities that come from reflecting on the past 12 months.
• Why so many practice owners avoid looking at their numbers.
• The emotional impact of financial stress in business.
• How knowledge can replace fear and help you make better decisions.
• The financial indicators Ngaire watched most closely throughout the year.
• The importance of tracking the right numbers, but not every number!

Whether you're feeling confident about your numbers or avoiding opening your profit and loss report altogether, I hope this conversation reminds you that you're not alone, and that sometimes the smallest habits create the biggest changes.

If you'd like more practical support around understanding your numbers, creating a financially healthy practice and running your business with both confidence and compassion, I'd love to welcome you into The Connection community.

You can find out more at theconnectionco.com.au.

Mentioned in this episode:

Free Webinar: The New Allied Health Award Changes Explained - 4 August | 10am AEST | Live Online via Zoom

Join me for this free, practical webinar where i'll explain what the changes mean for your practice, what you'll need to do before they take effect, and how to navigate them with confidence (without the legal jargon).

Save your seat to the Webinar here.

Foreign.

Welcome to my Good Allied Health Practice, the podcast for allied health business owners who are looking to bring smart and heart together on their journey.

On the podcast, I'll cover things about being vulnerable and brave, pivoting failures, good wins, things that work, things that don't work, and I'll talk with other practice owners who are doing good in their journeys. I'm Amy Geach, practice owner and mum, and I'm here because I believe in you. So let's go forward on this journey together.

Hello and welcome back to the podcast. Welcome.

I am your host, Amy Gates, and I am really excited today to bring on a phenomenal speaker who I have had the privilege of knowing for many, many, many years now. We first met at a conference and developed a friendship in business that we have maintained and kept going ever since.

And it has grown and blossomed into one of the most beautiful friendships that I have had. And I'm so excited to have her on the show today. It is the incredible Nairi Turnbull.

She's been a founding member here at the Connection and is still a member with us today.

She was one of the founding participants of my mastermind group that I run, and she has been in business for 14 years herself and prior to that was involved in her husband's business and just comes from a family of small business knowledge. So I'm so excited to share her wisdom with you today.

Every time I chat with Nairi about business, I take away lots of aha moments and she's a very grounding person and let's hear what she has to say. So without further ado, I bring to you the incredible Nairi Turnbull. Hi, Nairi, how are you? Welcome to the podcast today.

Hi, Ames, thanks so much for asking me on. It's an absolute pleasure. I love podcasts, so actually being a guest is kind of a bucket list item for me.

I know you love podcasts because even before I started my own podcast, you used to send me links to podcast episodes that you love. So I think you got me into podcasts ages ago and I do love podcasts as well.

I'm very glad. I'm sure I've brought another podcast lover into the world.

You have. Look what you have unleashed.

I have wanted to have you on my podcast for a very long time and I think when I was planning and I was thinking what kind of guests would I like, I think you were pretty much up there, number number one, because over the years that I have got to know you and I think started as the like little business acquaintances, didn't we at a conference?

Yeah, we did. Yeah.

And then we just. Our business, I don't know, friendship blossomed and then our everything. Other friendship as well.

And I've always loved talking to you about business, always. Because one, you are just a pocket of wisdom on any topic. And I love it.

I feel like I can talk to you about anything business and you have something very wise to say. And I love that so much. But also too, I find that you are very good at cutting through. I love that too. And I think we used to.

You're known as that when you're in my mastermind, we. You would be the have the filter on. And I love that. I love that. Because sometimes we need that person to just say, no, not doing that.

But also you're a very encouraging person and I love that about you as well.

Oh, thank you. That's so kind of you to say all of that. And I hope I wasn't too blunt.

No, no. When I say cut through the. Not blunt. Not blunt, but just smart. Smart with heart, you know.

Oh, thank you.

Yeah. Smart with heart.

Smart with heart.

Yeah. And not not allowing people to go far, far down rabbit holes. You're good. You could pull people back up and go, that's not smart down there.

That's a bit smarter over here. And yeah, really good like that.

So, yeah, maybe that's because I've been down a lot of rabbit holes myself.

It's one of my favorite sayings down a rabbit hole. I'm gonna make a shirt one day. I love it. All right.

One of the reasons I wanted to have you on at this time of year is because at the time of recording this, we. We have just clocked over into the new financial year.

And one thing I find around this time of year is sometimes it can turn into just a bit of a giant checklist where I see practice owners updating fees in their practice software program. They're trying to deal with payroll and fair work, announcements about minimum award and making sure everyone's being paid fairly.

They're trying to talk to accountants if they got that in before the end of financial year, all the things. And it literally just ends up feeling a little bit like, got to get through the checklist.

And we get through that, and then we get into the new financial year. And sometimes I think we miss. Have missed opportunities when we clock over into that new financial year.

So I wanted to tap into your wisdoms around this. What do you think practice owners miss by treating that end of financial year a bit like a list of jobs.

And I don't think we do it intentionally, but we just kind of default into that checklist mode.

Yeah, I think you're absolutely right because it's, it's busy. It's a busy time of year, and I think we're really good at the start of a calendar year at stopping and having a look.

But I think end of financial year is this amazing opportunity for reflection. It's another point in time for your business to actually have a look at its health and how it's going.

So, you know, one of the good things, and I'm, you know, an inverted comment, good things about end of financial year is that it's regulated like you have to do it, you have to do your tax return, you have to do all of these different things. It's the rules we play by. So it's a really good point for accountability and for reflection. So I think it's a.

It is often a bit of a missed opportunity for that. We're really good at the start of the year of doing the. What do we want this year to look like and, you know, what are our goals for the year?

Because it feels natural to do it. Then I think the start of a year, a calendar year, and I think sometimes we're a bit quieter at the start of a year as well. So it kind of.

That feels like a really natural time to do it.

But I think mid year, the start of the financial year, is a really beautiful time to reflect, reflect over those financials that have gone for the past 12 months and what you want to do for the next 12 months. So I feel like if you want to review what stats you're collecting, this is a really good time.

We generally do a cleanup our books or the accountant does a cleanup of our books. So we do a stock tape. We often will look at our assets. What are we depreciating, potentially updating our asset registers.

So I feel like it's also a time to feel more in control and to feel more knowledgeable because there's all this beautiful, rich information that we got the opportunity to have and to move forward with. And I used to go, oh, I'm a financial year. Oh, it's so stressful. But actually I loved it in the end.

So, yeah, I think maybe a bit of a shift, a refrain. And it's this.

There's lots of opportunity to have a look at the business, the financial health of the business, and getting more information and feeling more in control of your business.

I love it. I love it. I think you're spot on because I'm going to throw in a wild card question here.

Yeah, I love it. Good.

Yeah, good.

Yeah.

So, Nairi, I do think one of the reasons people try and rush through this time of year, or just let's get all the boxes ticked on the to do list and keep going and not give ourselves that time to pause. Do you feel like some of it could be because we're in a bit of a. Ah, it's halfway through the year.

And I said way back at the start of the year I was going to do all these things and I haven't got them done yet. So some of it's a bit of. I'm just gonna get into a bit of denial there or.

Yeah, yeah, the ostrich strategy.

Yes.

I'm just gonna stick my head in the sand. And also I think probably people might be a bit afraid of what the numbers are going to actually say.

Yeah.

So there's a bit of that fear around. Oh, crap. Maybe it's going to be worse than I thought. Oh, my goodness, what if I get this enormous tax bill? How am I going to afford that?

Or how am I going to manage that with my cash flow? So I think there's a lot of fear. And also, maybe, also I don't understand it.

Well, yes, yes.

So there's all of this information. What do I do with it? Like.

Yeah, so I think there's, I think there's quite a lot of layers to that and I just want to get it over and done with because I just. Yeah, let's just ostrich it.

Yeah, I, I completely agree. And I think one thing I see a little bit of is practice owners that attach improving the finances with working harder.

And I think people get to this time of year and think, oh, do I even want to look at the profit and loss? Because I'm already working really hard and if it doesn't show what I was hoping, have I got to work harder?

And I think that can put people off even looking at things or leaning in.

Absolutely.

And I think the further along I got in business because I was really proud, prided myself on this very strong work ethic, being an incredibly hard worker, putting in the hours. But it's that whole work smarter, not harder thing. Very hard to embrace. When you, yeah, you do work really hard. You do do the long hours.

You're passionate about your business. Business, it's you, it's, you know, it's like a child to you. You want it to do well.

But yeah, you as I've gotten further along in business, you know, I've realized that it needs to be smarter and, and it's that whole, you know, growth versus profit. Yes. I've grown. Maybe my income's grown by, you know, 30%. Amazing. But my expenses have grown more and my profit margins less.

So it's, you know, I think, I think absolutely. We, we throw ourselves in, we sacrifice so much as business owners.

We, I think people who've never run a business before really don't understand the hours that are required, the responsibility that lies at your shoulders, the worry when you're lying in bed at night.

And so, yeah, if I've worked really hard for 12 months and actually I've done worse than the previous year, I can't, I don't know what I'm going to do because my strategy doesn't work.

Yes.

And I've got X number of hours and I've already given everything. There's no more hours in me. I know.

Yeah. Yeah, it's like that. It's like that. Yeah.

And I think that's sometimes where a good accountant can make or break that new financial year going forward.

Because if you've got someone really great that can talk to you on, on the level that you need with potential strategies and what they might, might look like.

Yeah.

Compared to someone who might just come in and go, we'll stop doing that. And if that thing they're asking you to stop is the thing that actually lights you up.

Absolutely.

That doesn't always go well either.

No, that's right. That's right.

Cool. I love it. All right, now I know you were a practice owner for long time.

Tell me about what end of financial year felt like for you as a practice owner. So did you find that there were sweet spots that you could learn from or did you yourself get caught up in checklist land?

Like, what, what was it like for you and how did you, over time, I suppose, learn to embrace that end of financial year a little bit more?

Yeah, I was really lucky because I grew up in a family business. So from day dot, from the day I was born, we had, there was a family business and, you know, it was a priority.

So my husband also has his own business and I was involved in that early on as well. So I probably came into it with a bit of an advantage because I hadn't used my ops since I was 14 years old.

Like, you know, so I actually had a bit of an understanding about what end of financial year was, how stressful it was, you know, don't don't touch any of these papers that we've got out on the dining table. You know, like. So I had an appreciation of that, so I was lucky. So I knew in essence that it was important and I knew that things needed to be done.

But even so, to start with, I probably had a really haphazard approach because. And maybe I had a false sense of, oh, yeah, I know, I know a bit. And then I didn't know a bit and then I had to really learn as I went along.

But fairly quickly I. I realized, and this is also my personality, I. I needed a routine and I needed a, I guess like a procedure or a checklist or these were the things that needed to happen. And I probably, to start with, didn't realize how early I needed to do those things. Yes. So I'm much better at that now.

And I would keep this like end of financial year procedure or, you know, checklist, and I would update it every year because every year, even being super organized every year it needed to be changed or amended and that might be because something changed in the business. It might be legislation changes and now we have to report differently or, you know, single touch payroll and now the new super changes.

You know that, that's changed now so we don't have to do group certificates anymore. And you know, so that procedure changes every single year.

So don't beat yourself up because you go, I felt really organised, I thought I was organized. Now I've got these. Yeah, because that's the nature of everything. You know, it changes and you have to adapt and you have to go with it.

But essentially now I think my end of financial year really starts in April.

And I think partly because the accountants are so busy when it gets to the mid May to June, and trying to get FaceTime with them or even a phone call or an email is very, very difficult.

And so April is when I started and it's really important to get some time with your accountant to do that tax planning just before the end of the year. And I think there are important dates that you need to know that and they change.

And the accountants know that, but we may not know that, but sitting with them. And I think this speaks back to exactly what we were just talking about, that fear and that, oh my God, I'm just going to stick my head in the set.

If you're starting in April with your accountant, they're already tracking and going, this is roughly what I think the tax position is going to be.

Yes.

So you've got time to get prepared for that potential. So I feel like April is a good time to start and to start pulling out that procedure or that checklist and go, what do we need to do?

Oh, we need to do a stock take. Oh, we need to book that in or who's going to do that? So it's not this mad scramble at the end or what assets have I written off?

Did we buy that this year? So I think definitely became more of a routine.

And that's not to say it didn't get busy, because it does, but it's less so and there's less stress involved because you've got some things in place.

So I think starting earlier, like you say in April with the finance things, means that when Fairwear fair work roll out there, here are our updated award rates and we're going to tell you about them on the 1st of July and get organized like you've got a little bit more time then to do those types of things because you've already started that finance stuff earlier. So.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Found that worked for you as well.

Yeah. And look, it might.

Maybe April's too early for some, but don't leave it until 1st of June to go, oh, I haven't booked a meeting with my accountant and oh, what are we going to do? Because those weeks are going to go. Yeah, really quickly.

Yeah, quickly, absolutely.

Yeah.

I find too, that my routine each year changes and like you say, a lot of it is due to, you know, the way we have to report and new things that come about. But I also found, and I'm wondering if you've had this too, I changed myself as well.

Like a routine that might have worked for me two years ago doesn't. The same routine might not work for me now. I learn more about myself as I go along in business. So do you.

Did you find that too, that you either got quicker at some things or you're like, actually, I don't know a lot about that. I need to dig into that topic a little bit more. So I think developing myself meant my routine changes yearly too.

100%. Absolutely. And I think, I think in our mastermind we did. Was it the disc? Kind of, yes.

And I really, for most of my early business career, I was definitely. I can't remember which letter, but as I grew, I definitely went into the eye.

I think it is so being far more analytical and, you know, that's that maturing and that, that learning from your mistakes and growing and, and feeling more confident as you go along and you do change. Yeah, absolutely. Because the things that maybe I wanted to track or do before end of financial year are not.

I'm not as worried about those anymore because I know. I now know these things. Yeah.

Yeah. Love it.

Okay, tell me, as a practice owner, you would have had signs in your practice that you were going to finish up with a good year or perhaps signs that it wasn't going to be a great end to the financial year if that happened for you. What are some of those signs that you could see that other people could learn from as well? And we all know, like, the profit and loss is a big one.

What are other things that gave you a sense of whether you felt like you'd had a good year?

Oh, absolutely. So profit loss is always number one for me because I look at that. I used to look at that thing like you wouldn't believe. Why am I doing this?

Oh, hopefully this is why. Definitely. I think there are a few others which let me know that things were good.

One is cash in bank, because we know how hard in small business cash flow can be.

Yes.

So have I got some cash in the bank set aside somewhere? And maybe it starts at, I just want to have a couple of hundred dollars and nobody touches it. Or, you know, has that. Has that grown in time?

So as you go along, can I add to that asset and does that asset grow as well as my business grow? Grow? Yeah, cash in bank, definitely. And I think, look, one of the things through Covid that covert really taught me about having some cash.

Yes.

Because all of a sudden your normal income's changed and you're like, holy moly. Like, how. What are we doing? How are we paying the staff? Oh, my gosh.

So that was a huge learning for me because I think if you're managing with the cash coming in and cash going out, you go, oh, yeah, we're doing well. But it's when the really tough times, those really unexpected things come. Having cash is so important.

So that was, you know, and that was later on in my business ownership was, yeah, cash. That's a. That's showing me we've had a good year, that we've got cash in the bank. I love that dividend. Can. Has the business paid you a dividend?

Is it able to. Are you sitting with your accountant and they're saying, yeah, I think we. We need to push a dividend out now?

Saying that you're getting a dividend and actually paying the dividend. Very different things. Yes. Because. Oh, yeah, dividend. Yeah, but I can't pay. I can't afford It. Yeah.

So, yes, dividends are another factor that you should be. And, you know, I think that's something that you need to celebrate when you do actually pay yourself a dividend.

Yeah.

And that was always really nice feeling, was going, yes, I've got the money to actually pay a dividend. Like, oh, that, That's a really good sign that the business is healthy.

Yes.

Financially doing really well because we can actually pay these dividends. So I really like that. I think the other things that would tell me if we've had a good year or maybe not a good year is how much debt we have.

So it definitely changes how you feel. If you've got lots of debt, it doesn't matter what the other stuff's doing feels terrible.

And it, it takes a lot of very, very hard work and diligence to become debt free. It is a lot of. A lot of work and it means you've got to go without. It's really tough.

So if you've had a period where you've had some debt and then you've become debt free, that is a huge sign, because. Huge sign that your business has done really well.

Yeah. Yeah.

In order to do that, it's. It's massive, particularly if there's interest accruing on your debt. So, you know, like, it's. It's a really. I think that's another thing to.

That should really be celebrated. I agree. Yeah.

We celebrate enough of these finances at all, we get to end of year and we're like, oh, what's the profit and loss?

Oh, yep.

That's a bit better than I thought. Or not. That didn't quite go as well as I'd planned.

Yeah.

And then, yeah, it's just move on, I mean, all the time. But I do think at end of financial year, it. It would be great if we celebrated it so much more.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And the other thing I think to note about debt is we've got low debt versus no debt versus good debt. Yes.

So don't forget that low debt and no debt is great, but there's also good debt. So don't, don't think that, oh, you know, this asset that I have debt on. Oh, that's really bad. It's not, you know, but it's. It's. Yeah.

So just remembering that good debt is good debt. So. Yeah. Yeah. And then the other thing, I think only the last thing that would tell me if it was a good year or not was how stressed I was. Yes.

Like, you know, oh, my gosh, you know how do I still have all my hair? Yeah. How am I feeling about it all? Have I felt like I've slid into the finish line, being dragged across the line battered and bruised?

Or have I just completed my PB at a marathon and I'm like, you know, absolutely flying across the finish line? Because it is about how it feels for you too. So it can be doing really well, but what's the toll it's taken on you to get there? Yeah.

Oh, wisdom. The pockets of wisdom that come from you are phenomenal. Here's my next question.

Yeah. Okay.

I think this can happen to any practice owner, but have you had a time in your practice where it doesn't have to be end of financial year?

Could be at any time where you thought, this isn't working anymore financially, like, it might have felt really hard, or cash was super tight, you were counting every dollar. I've had these moments in my own practice, and you just start to feel a bit defeated. And then decisions come from that place of money fear.

And I think when we get into that little loop of cash feeling tight, not as much income coming in, making decisions from money fear, like, it's not an. It's not a nice place to be in. Have you had that? And how did you pull out of that?

Oh, 100% have had that. I don't know anyone in business who hasn't. Yeah, I've had it a few times. Oh, absolutely. And it is so stressful. And the toll it takes on you is huge.

I just remember not being able to sleep. Yep. Lying in bed going, oh, my God. Feeling nauseous.

Yes.

Walking into the practice going, how can I even be walking in here? Like. Like, how can I. How can I front up when I'm a fraud or. Yeah. I've got no idea what I'm doing, obviously. And how am I getting.

How's this going so wrong? How are we in this position where, you know, we're smart people, we've been university. And you know, how.

How on earth have we got to this point and, you know, it's. And. And you're lying there going, oh, my God, I might have to sack somebody. Oh, my God. They've got kids.

Yep.

Oh, my God. What happens if the business goes under? Oh, my God. And. And that spiral, that catastrophizing just goes up a notch.

And I. I think, you know, because you're going, my house is on the line or mine. Yeah. You know, like, holy moly. Yeah. So that's how it feels. And it constant. You can't distract yourself from it either. So it just is this. Yeah.

Circles back.

Yeah. It's this shroud sitting over you.

Yeah, yeah. If. Even if you try and distract yourself, like sometimes in the past the kids might have said, you know, watch this movie with me, mom.

And I'm just sitting there the whole time, like, just, I don't even know what's going on in the movie because my brain just keeps back to, oh, I need to go and look in the bank account again and see if that money's come in. Or, you know, like.

Yes. Constantly checking the bank account. Yeah, yeah, constantly.

So that hyper vigilance then kicks in and you're like, oh, but I don't know what to do with this hyper vigilance. And ah, yuck. This feels awful. Yeah.

And it feels. I don't know if embarrassed is the word.

Yes. But shame. Shame. Yeah, it's shame.

Something that I have built is not working right now. Like the carrying that in my brain, I, I reckon that's one of the hardest.

Yes.

I've carried as a business owner.

Yeah.

I've created this and I've made the decisions that have landed me here. And yeah. Then, then you just, I, I know I have just started beating up on myself like.

Yes.

Did I become complacent? Why haven't I been looking at the numbers earlier? You know, because I thought just jumping in, treating clients was where I needed.

To be at the time. Yes, yes. I'll just treat Saturdays. Yeah. I'll do late nights and early mornings because, oh, more people want to come then.

And that's how I'll increase the income. Yeah.

But if your expenses are more than your income, it doesn't matter how many bums on seats and how many hours you're going to do, you're going to continue to hemorrhage money. So. Yeah, it feels awful. It's that. It's shame.

And you know, you and I done a lot of reading and watching of Brene Brown and shame is an incredibly powerful emotion. And yeah, that's where you sit and you just feel rubbish, absolute rubbish.

And it encroaches into your non work time, your family, like everyone knows it, everyone can see something's not right. So it is, it's an awful, awful situation. Yeah. And I think then getting on to what did I do about it?

Well, I remember distinctly walking with my husband and just going, we might have to sack someone. I think I'm going to vomit. Like, da, da, da. And he goes, okay, it's very logical.

He Goes, okay, what are we going to need to cover if the business goes under? What do we need to cover? So I went, oh, well, you know, there's a little bit of leave liabilities, but not much.

And how much, it's like numbers, how much? This much. And he goes, right, and how long's the lease for?

And I said, well, at least is this, and this is what it is per month, but you know, we just need to cover it until we go to another tenant. He goes, okay, so read this much. He said, you and I can cover that if we have to, we can cover that. It will be okay.

And so what reason, what that really comes back to, and the thing that I've learned not just from that experience is, you know, they say knowledge is, is power. I don't know about power, but it's empowering and it's safety because once you know where you stand, you can make a plan. So it's this big unknown.

It's the catastrophizing, it's the stress fog, it's the shroud of shame. It's all that stuff means that we go, I don't know what to do.

But what happens when you go to the numbers or you get the knowledge and the information, you know where you're at and you can make the next step forward. And doing that means that you, you are in more control and you have more options.

So one of the things that, there are a few things that helped me to do that as well was my family, because obviously my support system, but also your wonderful membership, Amy, the connection. Because if you don't have people around you in business, they don't understand and you need that empathy at that moment.

You need somebody going, yeah, it's hard, it's really tough. And hey, vent to me. Maybe I'll come up with some helpful suggestions, but I'm just here to listen. And so there was definitely that.

But the, the thing on this specific time I'm thinking about that helped was your very first know your numbers course, Amy, that we came to and you ran a, you ran a half day course in Adelaide. Yes, I remember the room.

Yes, I remember that there.

And the whole time it was like light bulbs were going off in my head. Oh my God. And I quickly went back and like put all the figures in. I was like, we're not charging enough. That's, that's the problem.

That's the problem. The light bulb moment. Oh. But many of them, it was like lots of little ping, ping, ping, ping, pings. I was just Going, oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. And. And abs. And within a month, the entire thing had turned around.

The entire ship had turned, and we were forging straight ahead, and I just went, oh, my God, this is. This is phenomenal. And. But it was also going into that course feeling dejected and like a failure, and I left going, I've got something I can do.

Oh, my gosh.

I've got things to do. I can. I can try and figure the way out of this. And.

Yeah.

And. And we did.

Because you could have very easily decided, I'm not going to that workshop. What's the point?

What if I have to say I'm doing really badly right now, and I don't even know if we can keep the doors open?

Yeah. Yeah. I think there'd be a lot of people who would absolutely lean towards. I don't. I don't want to be.

Put myself in that situation where I might feel worse.

Yeah.

And every time Amy, personally and professionally that I've seen sat down and I've done the numbers, when something like this happens, every single time I finish and go, why didn't I do that sooner? I feel so much better.

Yeah.

Physically, emotionally immediate, I know what I've got to do. So it's that initial fear, and I don't want to do this. This could be really bad.

I guarantee, most of the time it's not anywhere near as bad as you think it is.

Yeah.

Or your brain is telling you it is.

Whenever I've been tight, my brain has gone, oh, there's not enough referrals coming in. Oh, what's happened? Like, oh, people aren't liking us as much anymore. Like, I'll go fully down that hole.

Yep.

And then when I go and look at the numbers, I think, oh, no. Well, our referrals haven't dropped. Oh, they must have dropped compared to last year. And then I'll compare to last year and go, no, no, that's.

That's not it. And yeah, I think I like that you said earlier about knowledge is power, because I've never loved that phrase. I think it's just a bit me.

It's a bit icky for me. I don't like it. But I liked when you said that that can bring that safety. And I. Yes. It's almost like a bit of a safety blanket for your brain.

Yes.

Just, you know, like a little weighted blanket. Calm down. And what. What do we need to move forward with? I love that.

That's right.

Okay. Nairi. I'm loving all of this.

What are your top three ways that you would recommend people should just pause and assess for their financial strength and whether their practice is healthy? What should they be looking back at in the previous financial year to, to get some ideas for.

From. Yeah, really good question. So I think two, we've touched on my favorite profit and loss. And number two, assets and cash.

Yes.

So, and I guess falling in under that is like we talked about, your debt. Is my debt less, that sort of thing.

But, but the, one of the ones that I really, I think is a really good way is am I paying myself as the business owner, my market rate? Yes, because for a long time we didn't, we didn't do that. Yeah. And I think that.

And rightly so, when you start a business, you know, you've got to try and keep your expenses low. You know, you're often operating on bare bones and the smell of an oily rag. And so you start out that way and it's very easy.

Then you go, oh, well, I need a new staff members, so I'll pay them off. We'll go a pay rise because I need them.

Yes.

So you do that. And then there's always reasons to not pay yourself. Oh yeah, all the time. No, no, I'll just eat baked beans on toast for another six months.

So I think that it's really important to, if you, if you start out not paying yourself your market rate, that's fine, but have some levers or some triggers that you go. When we get to this point though, yeah, I'm gonna give myself a little increase.

And it might not be you go all the way up to the top, but you got to give yourself a pay rise in there as well. So have I given myself market rate? Am I at market rate or have I gotten a bit closer to that?

And I think the other thing to note is when businesses of value, the, you know, that's, if you're not paying yourself a market rate, that, that actually gets taken out of the value of the business because they go, well, if we have to pay someone to do that job, that's going to increase the expenses. So like there's, there's reasons to do it and there's reasons to start at a lower rate.

Don't forget yourself and try really hard when you can to get yourself up to market rate. Because if you got sick suddenly and had to leave, which has happened to me, I had to stop work on a dime. Yeah.

Who's going to do that job and how you've got to Pay someone.

Yes.

So, you know, it's about valuing what you do and prioritizing yourself as well within what the business can afford at the time. Yeah. I think that's another way you can look at the financial strength of your practice.

I love that. That's really interesting. I went recently when I was packing up my woggle rooms. I came across like, it's 20 years old, this little book, wages book.

I think I must have got it from, like the news agency or something. And I'd written in, you know, my pay each fortnight. It was so interesting to go back and look at how many of those fortnights I missed.

Yes.

Just had a zero down and my son was looking at it and he's going, mom, wouldn't even like paying yourself back then pretty well. Like, yeah, you forget what you do. You know, I knew that it was.

I prioritized other things over paying myself, but I don't think I realized to what extent. Extent. Till I, you know, learned later on not to do that. And then we went back recently and found this wages book.

Even the weeks I did pay myself, I was like, oh, that's.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's. It's funny to reflect on why did I do that for so long.

Yes. Hindsight, I think, for me, I didn't know enough then about running a business. I didn't know.

I wasn't really thinking, like, well, I've got to generate this much income to be able to afford that. I was just, yes. Oh, a patient needs seeing. Put them in the diary, you know.

Exactly.

That's all my brain thought of back. Way back when I first.

Yep.

Yeah, well, yeah, I'm loving all of this. All right, now, this one would love to hear your thoughts because every Friday in the membership I have share your win.

And I spent many, many, many years early on not. Not talking about wins or sharing wins. You know, it was just. Let's just get on with it.

So I know we touched earlier on celebrating stuff at the end of financial year, and I.

And I love that, but what other things do you think we forget to celebrate as practice owners that we should spend more time pausing and acknowledging? I know for me, things like, I've actually got a great team, I love my team. They are phenomenal.

Or even just, you know, the number of clients we've had through the doors in a year that we are creating so much impact for, we don't celebrate those things like we should.

Absolutely. I think. And I think that talks to the busyness potentially as well, I've got so much on my to do list. I'm just moving on.

Yes.

Or did that happen? Oh, okay, Great. Next. So there's definitely that. I think that impacts it.

I think when you get through a really tough patch or something, that's been really tricky. So, you know, that could be really difficult performance management or you've had to exit someone out of your business.

Like, and that's been really hard. Or that. Yeah. To actually acknowledge. Oh, survived that.

Yes.

And acknowledge it and celebrate it, however. Suits you. Like, for someone, it might be a nice prosecco someone, it might be going out for dinner or it might be just talking with somebody.

But acknowledge that that was hard because that's a win. Like, it might not feel like, but it is. It makes us resilient. We learn.

Yeah. Sometimes we. We downplay them.

I know when I've been in financial stress in the business, and then I'll have a month where I'm like, oh, gee, I clawed my way back pretty well in that month. But it's almost like, yeah. But I'm still not where I want to be. So I can't celebrate that yet.

Or I got myself into that position. I don't deserve to celebrate it because I shouldn't have been there in the first place. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No. No drinky poo for you.

No.

No nice cocktail by the pool for you. Yes. And so I think, I think, I really think that the tough. You know, we're forged in those times. Yes. And I think that actually needs. I might.

And it doesn't have to be a big celebration. It can just be a moment where you go, that was really hard. And I got through it.

Yeah.

And I'm still putting one foot in front of the other. Like, this is. Yeah, Yeah. I think that that's important. I think another thing is anniversaries, so business anniversaries. And we.

We're kind of good at this. But then we got to 10 years, or nearly 10 years, and we were like, we need to do something. 10. Most small businesses fail in the first. However.

Can't even remember how many years now. Yeah, it is. So you've actually gone past most. So the 10 year. And we had a party. We did a logo with like a ten year thing. We did shirt.

And it was fun and it was a way to go. And everyone got involved and our patients got involved and our referrals got involved our families. And it was the best party. I had the best night.

I was like one of the last ones there. It was so good. And it was just a really good way of going, yeah, let's tie a ribbon on this decade. Let's tie a ribbon on it and go, congratulations.

Pat yourselves on the back and give yourself a reward for it. And then, because really, it's again, it's that busyness, that not busy, but, you know, the business rolls on. It's day in, day out.

You go, oh, it was our business anniversary last month. Like your wedding anniversary. After a while, if you're lucky, you go, oh, our wedding anniversary was two months ago.

How many years are we married for? 20. Done something for that? We did, but it feels like that most years. So, yeah.

So actually planning something in for that, and I think that that is just existing after a certain period of time is a win.

Yes.

I'm still going because it is hard. It's really hard. Yaka. And. And it's harder and harder in small business now.

I still absolutely love business, small business, and wouldn't do anything else potentially. But I think, yeah, acknowledging that you're there is great.

And I think the other way that I knew, one of the things that I really was very proud of and so my big win was the way I felt going into work. So I would pull into the car park, I'd be so happy to get to work. I walk in, like, there's that feeling when I walked in. Oh, hi.

And the staff and the patients would be like, hello. And I think it's that feeling that I got that all of that hard work, all of the stress, tears, the organizing, the. You know, it's worth something.

And I think it's exactly like. It's a bit like you were saying, you know, if the practice created this beautiful place to work, people wanted to come to work. I got to.

We got to provide income for other people's families.

But the other thing was that the patients loved coming, and we genuinely made a difference in their lives, and we made them feel a certain way when they came to our practice. And having that impact was really special. And I don't know that I. We celebrated that very much, but it was a privilege.

It was a privilege to be able to do that and to create that place. And, yeah. To walk in and feel, I love being here and I love doing this. And, yeah, this is kind of great. This is cool. I'm happy. And. Yeah.

Oh, that's the best.

Yeah.

I love that so much. And I think sometimes what stops people getting to those moments is too much comparison.

Yes.

With what everybody else is doing or what Everybody else is achieving and then forgetting the brilliant things that you've achieved yourself. And people are probably looking at you going, oh, wow.

But you're too busy looking out going, oh, I don't have what they have or I haven't got there where they are.

Yeah.

I think that holds a lot of people up from.

Yeah, you're right. I mean, that's a really good point.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Sometimes too, we don't celebrate the wins because we just don't sometimes feel like we've got anyone to tell it to. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah.

We're not great at tooting our own horns. No.

Oh, Australia does not like at all. Puppy. Oh, no, don't.

Don't start tooting anything. We need to be tooting more.

And yes.

Thing at our kitchen table when we have dinner, which is called what's the question? And like it. It has Peter patted off as the kids have got a little bit older. But we used to ask a question every night.

We take turns asking the question. And sometimes I would orchestrate straight the question so I could share business win.

I love it. You gotta do it. You gotta get it in somewhere.

I would. Because sometimes when the kids are little, the questions might be something like, what's your favorite pastor? And like.

And I love all those questions as well. Every now and then I'd be like, what were you really proud of this week? I would do it because I wanted, you know, to be able to share my win.

But, yeah, I feel like a lot of people just don't.

Yeah.

Tell anyone.

Yeah, absolutely. And you can operate in a bit of a silo.

And I think for business owners who don't have a business partner or in regional areas as well, like, you know, you often feel a bit alone.

Yeah.

And that's where I think, like your membership comes in or having a network or. Yeah. Even just one person that you can go just. Can I just tell you this?

Yeah.

Yeah.

All right, let's. Let's look forward to new financial year.

Okay.

We are. We are just in that right now.

Yeah.

Tell me, what habits would you recommend for our listeners today that they should consider going into this new financial year that would help strengthen things for them in the background and it could be financial stuff, but yeah, non financial stuff as well.

Yeah. Okay. Well, financial stuff. I think one of the things I learned from you is work out what's important and track it.

So every practice is going to be different in terms of what is important and what you need to track. There is so much data you can track.

And you know, nowadays our programs are so good at generating all sorts of things that you could have spreadsheets for days. And that I think just adds to confusion.

Yes.

So I think working out what the important information is that you need. So for example, for me, I needed to know our break even number. So that was what did we have to earn every day so that the lights could stay on?

Yeah.

And everyone can get paid. So that's no profit. That is just. This covers all the costs so that I could check at the end of every day how much income.

And I did that for a long time. How much income came in today.

Yes.

And then I would share that with my.

Yes, I've seen your admin person in the wagger practice. This is when I just had one practice.

We would do that religiously, would track the income because we knew what target we had to hit every single week. And I think the moment we stopped doing that was probably one of the times when I.

We went into financial stress because I just, I think we did it for a while where I thought, yeah, oh, I don't really need to keep looking at that.

It's okay, it's going okay.

It's fine, it's fine. And then the minute I stopped looking at it.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I used to look because I knew what break even was for the week. So I used to go, okay, we're at Thursday afternoon. Oh, we've hit break even.

Oh, Friday's a bonus. You know, like changing my mindset around. That was really good. But I would track it every day, then every week and every month.

And like, it did stop being daily.

Yes.

But I would track it weekly, even as when the practice was running really well every week. Have we hit break even? Yes, we have. And that was just a quick check in with Cool. So I love that. Yep. Okay. And that was for my brain. Right.

So that was like, I need to know that we've hit that. Because if we're not hitting that for a number of weeks, I gotta, I gotta do something. So it was like a relief for me to be able to do that.

And I go, yep, we're okay, we're okay. So break even was always incredibly important for me.

I'm picturing you on a Friday knowing that you've hit your break even. Friday's a bonus day. And just picture you. Yeah, Be like a ray of sunshine.

I'm like, woohoo. Wandering around there. How you going? Can I make a cup of tea? I'm doing a coffee run. It's on us. I love it. Yeah, yeah.

Because like, yeah, it was important for me to know that and then, and also I'd learned from experience not to let it go too far to know earlier when things had started to turn and get curious, get really curious, really deep, why is this happening? And then maybe you go into a lot of more of those numbers that maybe you don't look at so often.

Yeah, but, but to work out what was important, to break even was super important for me. The, you know, and, and, you know, there were other metrics that were important to me.

But working out what works for you first I think is really important. What you need to be looking at and then a system to track it. So I think that you can figure out. But what I want to.

When I'm thinking about setting up a new financial year is I think it would be really, really good.

And this is something we find hard because oftentimes we're still doing a bit of clinical work or other things come in, you go, I need to do that is to set aside regular time that is absolutely non negotiable. Locked in to work on tracking and managing the finances and protected at all costs.

Yes.

So that doesn't have to be during the week, like for a long time there it was a Saturday morning ritual for me and I loved it because I would say, chrissy, kids, I go and get a coffee and I go into the clinic which had nobody in. It was quiet and serene and I put on my diffuser with some nice oils and your socks. Oh, exactly.

And I'd have music I liked playing and I would sit there and I would write, this is my time to do this.

Yeah, I love it.

And so, you know, that doesn't have to be Saturday morning, but you might go, you know what, I work really well in the mornings, so I need an hour at the first hour of one day. That's my time and nobody deserve it. And really be. You can be blunt in the end if you have to, but this is my. This is the time. This is the time.

It's really important because I'm working on making sure the business is financially stable.

Yeah. You bought those elements in to help you love that time on a Saturday morning.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

It wasn't a chore, it was almost something you were looking forward to.

Yes. And once I have my system set up, once I had my spreadsheet set up and I knew what I was tracking, it became easier as I did it.

And so it didn't feel onerous yeah. And then maybe I got through that quickly and I was like, oh, okay. I've been meaning to look at this in terms of the finances.

Oh, I'll start on that now. So it gives you this protected space to do that. And. And I would start weekly. If you're starting. I would start weekly.

I would start weekly and then stretch it out because. Because it takes time to learn and upskill on using a system, whatever you design your system to be.

And then over time, what you need, you, you know, you stretch it out to fortnightly or monthly. And so that, that whole concept of chipping away at it is way better. Like small amounts, regularly.

So much better than getting to near end of finance and going, shit, I haven't. I haven't tracked anything.

Yeah.

Oh, my God, where do I go to get that? Oh, my God, what was I looking at?

People can't find this stuff again. I'm so pleased you said weekly because. Yeah, sometimes we say monthly because we don't want it to feel like a big one or a task.

Like, well, you only have to do it monthly and it's. And it's like, sounds better. But when you start doing it monthly, four weeks have gone past. Like, where was that spreadsheet?

I don't even know where I saved that now. And how did, where did I. I can't remember how I worked out that number. And then you got to re. Figure all that out again. And then. Yeah.

Where do I get that report from in my bookkeeping software?

Yes.

Where do I. Where do I go in my online banking portal to get that statement or. Yeah, and I think, I think, yeah, it's like fitness training.

Yes.

You're improving that, that fitness around managing your finances. And it's much easier to little clip. It's little snippets weekly.

And then it becomes habit and routine and you get faster at it and it doesn't feel as big and. Yeah, so I definitely think that that's like a habit that I would recommend. Yeah.

And then I think one of the other habits I'm going to recommend and it kind of ties into what I've just said. A friend of mine taught me this and it's setting up your workspace before you start. You take a couple of minutes. Yeah.

To like, I can't work with clutter.

No, I can't either. I can't.

And I know people can, and that's fine because we're all different. So for me, I would clean my desk if I had the chance, if there was A plant outside that had a little flower on it.

I'll go and cut that flower and put it in a little vase I would put. Because I like, you know, nature's so good for us. I would get my diffuser on with the smell I liked. And I was really fussy about smells.

Like, you know, have a nice smell, have my coffee and, you know, and really set the space up first before you start working. And that's helped. Not just in financials, but anytime. Anytime. I really need to kind of lock in and maybe I'm going to do a pomodoro time.

Yeah.

I will set my workspace up, get my environment right. And then headphones, headphones on for me. I block everything else out away. I go into it. Yeah.

So, you know, find something that works for you like that. It's not going to work for everybody, but. Yeah.

And I think, you know, I know you and I are ots, but, you know, it's that bringing those sensory elements in.

Yes.

Yeah.

I'll cut stuff off if there's clutter. Like, I'll put off deep work.

Yes.

Clutter around.

And sometimes if I can't put it off, but I haven't tackled the clutter, I'll go out to the kitchen where there wasn't clutter, and I'll sit there and. And do it. Just because it. Yeah. I find it really hard to get my brain going.

Yeah. Sometimes. Sometimes I need a complete change of environment, regardless. So it might be. So recently I went to a park nearby and just.

I couldn't take a lap.

I just took my notebook and just like, just that. Having that. Yeah. Change of environment. It could be a coffee shop. You love. It could be, I don't know, your sister's lounge room, which is.

I've also done so. Yeah. I think that helping me find those things is. Is great. Can be great.

But from the financial perspective, you need to guard that time and you need to prioritize it because the healthy financial health of your business will not. Will not improve unless you actually work on it and you protect that time. So. And. And it. Honestly, it's. It's did really well for us. Yeah. Yeah.

A quote that I've heard kind of recently, which really spoke to me was if it feels too big or you don't know where to start, it means that the first step or the first task isn't small enough.

Oh, I love this.

Yes. So when you've got something like this, you're sitting in front of. Oh, God, I need to. Need to look at my numbers, it's new financial year.

What am I doing? What am I doing? If it feels that way, you need to stop and just come right back down and go, what is the very first thing I have to do?

And I'm going to let all the other noise go because I think once we complete something, we get that little.

Oh, yes.

Oh, what's next?

Y.

So we feel really good about moving forward.

So I love when you were talking earlier about setting the environment up, because that can be a good first step.

That is achievable. Yes.

And then that just can then flow on. And if you have a little checklist of. All right, well, this is what I've got to work through.

Yes. I think that can.

Yeah, I love that.

Yeah, that's a great quote of that one. Yeah, I really like that too. Yeah, I think. Don't feel that you have to have an expensive, complicated, super techy solution.

You can have a really basic spreadsheet that just tracks a couple of key metrics and that's your system.

Yeah.

And just go with that.

I love that.

It's better than nothing.

I'm going to ask you if there is one thing you think every practice owner should put on their to do list in July that their future self will thank them for. What would that one thing be?

Oh, so I think we've sort of talked about it and it's to set up and Rollo or rollover your tracking spreadsheets for your practice and your budgets, your KPIs or your, you know, the things that you're tracking if you don't have them to set up a really basic one. Put the time in to do the work on like we talked about, protect it and just start. Just start. It's the just start bit. Yeah. Get. We get caught up with.

I've got to set it up really nicely and I need to have like it really. And I like having it really pretty. But. But really, does it have to be pretty?

Yes.

No. It's numbers on a spreadsheet to give us information. So just start and. And do it often. Yeah. And. And, and you're gonna find that it's that whole.

I think we talk about all the time. Future me is going to thank me for this. Yes, that. All the time.

And then when it happened, as a way of acknowledging it, I would say present me is thankful for past me. Thank you past me for doing that, because now I feel great.

Yeah, I love that. I love that. And I agree.

I think people, if people don't have Some, some way of tracking things that, that is a perfect starting spot and you don't need to find out how everybody else is doing it and, and waste your time trying to find a perfect way. Just.

Yeah.

And it will evolve over time and it will allow yourself that permission slip that it can be fluid and it can evolve and it's just, you just have to, to make a starting point and it might not be the spreadsheet you use in 12 months time, but it just needs to get you started today.

That's beautifully said, Amy. Absolutely. And your confidence will grow.

Yes.

The more you do it, it's. Your confidence will grow. You will feel good.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I'm loving this. I could talk to you all day, but I've got one final question for you because I think you're really great at mindset.

And so I want to ask you what is one mindset shift that could completely change the next 12 months for a practice owner?

I love this question so much. So much. Can I leave you with two? Can I leave you with one that's like a business, financially one?

Yeah.

And I'm going to leave a personal one as well. Yeah. So I'll speak to the business one first.

And this is something that I've been taught and it is that, you know, the business gets a say in the meeting or a seat at the table. And what I mean by that is that the business in and of itself is an entity that needs to be nurtured and protected at all costs.

The financial health of your business is the most important thing.

And when you start to think about the business as an entity, not just the thing that, yes, earns your money and, you know, whatever, it changes how you make decisions. And it is really powerful because if, if that entity isn't looked after, nobody has a job, nobody has income, nobody's family have income.

No patients get seen. Yep. And you might think, oh, no, patients get seen.

But when we talk about working in health, we are talking about people's feet, their hands, their function, their participation in the world. It's really important stuff that we actually do in healthcare. And so you have to look after the financial viability of your, your business.

And it has to be this thing, this entity that you protect. So the decisions that you make, you know, is that a good choice for the business? So, yeah, it's. The business gets to say in the meeting.

I love this. I've never heard that before in a way where it just gives you that visual imagery of the business having a seat at the table. Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's so helpful. I love that.

I love that. It. And, you know, it's. It's the financial stuff. It's about risk mitigation. It's about HR decisions that you make.

You know, it's that that entity has to be protected. Yeah. So when you think about it like that, you guard it.

You.

You look after it. So, yeah, that. That's. That's a bit of a mindset shift. Yeah.

That's like a mic drop, Nairy wisdom right there.

Well, I can't claim it because it came from my dad.

Oh, yeah.

Yes. And. And inherently I was doing that.

Yeah.

But he just put it into words for me and I was like, yes, yes.

Love it.

Go, dad.

So good.

Yeah. And then the personal one is to be gentle to and kind to yourself.

I think we as business owners really have a lot on our shoulders, and we often use mistakes or what we perceive as failures as a stick with which to beat ourselves up. Up with.

Yeah.

And it's not true. It's. It's how we grow. They're not failures.

I also think one of the other things is that we make the best choices at the time with the information that we have at hand. So, you know, we try really hard and just be kind to yourself. Be kind to yourself physically and emotionally, financially, look after yourself. And.

Yeah, that would be my personal one.

I'm not even going to comment on that one because you've said it so beautifully.

Thank you.

Oh, thank you, Nyri, for being here with me today. As I said, could talk to you all day about all and we will definitely have you back on podcast. So thank you for being here.

I have loved every minute of it.

Thanks so much for having me, Amy. It's been an absolute pleasure.

Thank you for being here. I am incredibly grateful. If you have a friend that would find this helpful, please go ahead and share it with them too.

You can learn more about me and how to be part of my allied health connection community [email protected].

Sam.