Smart Business Growth with Nicky & Ness

Wealth Building Wisdom with Christine Lusher

• Nicky & Ness • Season 2 • Episode 17

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In this episode, Nicky, Ness and their guest Christine delve into the intricacies of smart growth in business, focusing particularly on profit and financial planning. They explore the evolution of financial priorities from corporate careers to entrepreneurship, debunk myths surrounding financial planners, and highlight the importance of proactive wealth management at every life stage.

Episode Highlights:

  • The significance of profit and financial management in both corporate and entrepreneurial pursuits.
  • The pivotal role of financial planners in navigating complex financial landscapes, especially during life transitions.
  • Dispelling misconceptions about financial planners and understanding the value they bring beyond investments.
  • The benefits of consulting a financial planner, from maximising wealth to minimising financial risks.
  • Exploring the interplay between personal and business finances and the importance of strategic planning.
  • Strategies for wealth creation, including diversifying income streams and setting realistic financial goals.
  • The concept of a financial independence figure and its role in planning for retirement and future financial security.
  • Overcoming the fear and inertia associated with financial planning by envisioning the benefits of proactive action.
  • Practical steps individuals can take to kickstart their journey towards financial empowerment, including clarifying financial goals and seeking professional guidance.

As Nicky, Ness and Christine conclude their conversation, they emphasise the transformative potential of proactive financial planning and encourage listeners to take actionable steps towards building a brighter financial future. Connect with Christine on LinkedIn or visit the Lush Wealth website for valuable insights and resources to kickstart your journey towards financial freedom.

Website: https://www.lushwealth.au/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lush_wealth/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-lusher-financial-planner-for-women-financial-adviser-australia/ 

Learn more about Nicky and Ness https://businesstogether.com.au

Buy a copy of Healthy Hustle: The New Blueprint to Thrive in Business & Life www.healthyhustle.com.au

Follow us on socials
Instagram - @b2businesstogether
Facebook - @B2BusinessTogether

Connect on LinkedIn
Nicky LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/connectwithnicky/
Ness LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessamedling/

Give us a call
Nicky Miklos-Woodley 0403 191 404
Vanessa (Ness) Medling 0400 226 875

Or send us an email hello@businesstogether.com.au

Music by Jules Miklos-Woodley

Nicky:

Welcome to the Smart Business Growth Podcast with Nicky and Ness.

Ness:

We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of country, the Turrbal and Bunurong people of Brisbane and Melbourne respectively, where Nicky and I both work and live, both work and live. Christine Lusher is a certified financial planner and financial advisor at Lush Wealth and, in 2023, was the winner of the Independent Financial Advisor Regional Advisor of the Year. She has over 20 years experience as a practicing financial advisor and founded her business, lush Wealth back in 2008. Christine developed the Lush Life financial planning program specifically for women, but if you're a man listening to this, then don't tune out thinking that you're not going to gain any value out of this discussion, because the complete opposite is true. We covered off such a broad range of topics in this chat, from answering the question why is now a good time to engage a financial planner? To what do they do, and we even busted some myths along the way. So, no matter how old you are, whether you're a business owner or an employee, you're going to gain some great insights through this chat about growing your wealth in a smart way, because it's never, ever too late to get started. Speaking of getting started, let's jump straight in.

Ness:

So Nicky and I often talk about smart growth in business and really focused on a few key areas, of which one of them is profit.

Ness:

Profit's my favorite thing in the world to talk about, and finances and money.

Ness:

And it surprises me at times, just reflecting on my own career and my own journey, where it hasn't actually been top of mind for me to think about when I was working back in corporate days how can I make the most out of the money that I'm earning as a leader and then in my own business.

Ness:

It certainly piqued my interest around what can I do differently to build wealth as a business owner? And what I've found is by focusing on all things you know to do with finances in business and profit and understanding the bigger picture of how we can really set ourselves up for future financial wealth is that the more I understand, the better I become at being profitable in business and we work with small, large businesses and it surprises me even with some of our clients who have a high turnover in their business. They're not accountants, they're not financial planners, they're not people who necessarily understand all the figures at some depth. And, christine, I guess what I really would love to start a conversation with you about as a financial planner is whether you are a business owner, or whether you are working your corporate career. At what stage? Or why would somebody want to start talking with a financial planner?

Christine:

I guess it's very different depending on the person. There is generally a few key, I guess, life stages where people will start to think about consulting a financial planner. But definitely I guess in that midlife maybe people have grown their career a little bit, they've maybe purchased their first home, have a decent mortgage, maybe some kids, and life just gets busy and what can happen is life gets so busy that there's no real strategy in place for their finances, so things are just sort of ticking along rather than there being an actual plan in place. So at that stage it's a great time to check in with a financial planner, because the longer you leave it, things just flow along and they may not be flowing along as they could be if you actually get some advice. So that's a great point to get advice if you're a busy business owner or an executive.

Ness:

Yeah, and so what would be the benefit then of taking that opportunity to speak to someone who is looking at? I mean, like I didn't really even understand, or maybe I had a myth that financial planners were really old men and probably based on my mum and my dad's financial plan. It was just something for old people, right? So it wasn't something that was trendy and cool as I was growing up. So why would somebody and I think there's a myth that they're expensive and that they I'm on a roll now and they are always affiliated with something where they're going to get a kick back and so there's a lot of scepticism in the circles I move in, at least, around financial planners. So what would be the benefits for somebody to actually start investing their income and their time in working with someone like you?

Christine:

Yeah, I mean, I agree there's a lot of misconceptions. People think financial advisors are like stockbrokers or just going to sell you an investment that they're affiliated with or maybe just set me up some insurance. So there's a lot of that type of thing. But what financial planners really do in essence is, yes, we recommend investments and we might set you up some insurance, but we also look at your cash flow and your budgeting and making sure that everything is working as best it can be. And the good thing and the main benefits that you get from a financial planner is it's somebody independent, that's not emotionally attached to your life, to give you some advice and that has a technical background on tax and investing and all those things to make your situation better. So it's like outsourcing. Most people, to some extent, can manage their finances, but if you outsource it, it will cost you money but you'll probably get a better outcome. So, yeah, that's the benefits that we see with making, with consulting, a financial planner.

Christine:

The other big benefit is we stop people making terrible decisions if someone wants to go and invest in something that they've suddenly got excited about. It's like we'll pull them back in and go. Let's remember your financial plan. Let's remember what we're doing. How does that fit in? And don't rush in and make that decision. Take your time to you know, consider why this investment opportunity is so amazing, where it's come from, and bring it back to your actual financial plan. So it's about making you money. It's also about preventing you losing money.

Nicky:

Yeah, oh, okay, yes, I definitely need a financial planner. Impulse decisions is what's coming up for me there. Jules and I are terrible at that, and what I'm kind of hearing in this as well, it's that it's not about something's gone wrong or it's going from good to great. So it's that tipping point of life where there's some success has been established, there's some cash to kind of play around with, things are going pretty good, and sometimes we don't know what we don't know because we're not professionals in this space. So, taking what could be working quite well and good to taking it to something that is great and I love what you said around it could be working quite well and good to taking it to something that is great, and I love what you said around. It could be making money or, you know, minimizing risk of losing money, essentially, which sounds definitely delightful. So what are the things? We often joke, because Ness, as you know, loves money, finance, all those things and I'm learning, I'm on a learning curve. So we had a conversation the other day, actually, and there's something that is also, I'm reminded.

Nicky:

The subtleties of this message for me is around let's not get into that position wherever we are, where we look back and go. I wish I'd done this 10 years ago. I wish I'd done this five years ago. I wish I did this 12 months at the right time to a certain extent is actually just now. Even start researching, which comes to a question for me what do we look out for? How do we know? Because, as Ness said, there's a lot of myths and actually I was thinking about the myths, just as you shared it, ness, that was so good and there are a lot of myths out there around financial planners, or who makes a good one, or who to trust, like. I think that's a big consideration, because we are bombarded with so many options and it's overwhelming, right, like. It's kind of like where do I go? Who do I trust? How do we know who to trust and how do we know if it's a good quality financial planner that we're reaching out to?

Christine:

The first thing you need to do is just make sure that they're actually a financial planner. Like there's a lot of people marketing themselves out there that may be money coaches or this or that, but you need to go to the ASIC register and actually check that they're a licensed financial planner, Because if they're not, it's like I always say I wouldn't get an electrician to come into my house unless they're qualified and licensed. It's the same with your finances Financial planners have the professional indemnity experience, the insurance, the licensee regulations, the complaints policy all that type of stuff that will back you up if something goes wrong. And I also believe that you should look for someone that is a certified financial planner that's associated with the Financial Planning Association of Australia or the FAAA as they are now. So just going for somebody that actually puts themselves out there as an actual professional rather than, you know, somebody that may not have qualifications, because there is still a lot of cowboys in the finance industry. So just making sure that they are actually registered and licensed properly.

Ness:

That probably goes to some of that sort of reason why people are a little bit sceptical, because you know people hear stories about situations that go bad. One of the things that comes to mind, christine, is do you help business owners to look at their you mentioned cash flow and things like that. Do you help, or do financial planners help, business owners in their business decisions as well, or is it more just for your superannuation and investments outside of business?

Christine:

Yeah, they are interrelated, I guess in relation to structuring your business finances. That's definitely an accountant's role. Financial planners, or the style of financial planner that I am, certainly works more with somebody's personal finances, but then it is interrelated with your business where it's. You know you need to make sure that you pay yourself and pay yourself in the most tax effective manner. So how do you get that money out of your business? So we do work quite closely with accountants and you know I'll look at a client's you know company finances to work out how the best to get that out there. But in relation to company structuring, that's certainly the realm of an accounting.

Ness:

Because I would imagine that you know, for some business owners, they start their business and they build it up over a period of time and they want to sell it, and so that does then impact on how much wealth they can generate and create, depending on what they do with the money that they make whilst they're in the business, and then you know how they're setting themselves up into the future.

Ness:

So it's almost that whole concept, which I've talked about in the past, of multiple income streams, so that we're not just thinking that the money we take out of the business or the wage we take from the business is is the only money that we have, because there's other ways to invest it, through shares or through, you know, even within super, their shares, and then there could be property and all of those kinds of things. So when you're keen to get, you know, to get this concept of multiple income streams, I imagine that sometimes, if you're on your own making those decisions without all that future thinking and the future knowledge, it can be a bit of a mind field of where the problems or the risk could actually be quite high.

Christine:

Yeah, and also, you know, when it comes to small medium businesses, making sure that person is actually paying themselves adequately or, you know, equivalent to if they were working to another business or a private business, because what we you know, maybe the business can be sold one day. But putting all your eggs in that oh, I'm going to build up a business and I'm going to sell it for a million dollars is quite risky. So you also want to make sure that you're drawing yourself an adequate salary every year and that with that salary you can also invest and build other income streams and not just putting your eggs in all the one basket of less. I've got this business and it's worth this because hopefully you can sell it, but it's risky.

Nicky:

Because the other thing as well we talk about is we want to be building a business that's in a position to sell if we want to, but some people choose not to Do the Smart Growth Survey. In under 60 seconds to get your hands on our Smart Growth Blueprint, you'll get immediate access to our four favorite strategies for sales, profit planning and team, and you'll identify which phase of smart growth your business is currently in, whether it's crisis, build growth or momentum mode, so that you can move your way to the next phase with ease. All you have to do is click the link in the show notes. I feel like and I'd love your thoughts on this I feel like when I was a leader in a corporate role, I feel like times have changed, in that there was a mindset or certainly for me anyway, maybe it wasn't for other people but this mindset of I have an income, that's it.

Nicky:

It's a set amount and that's it, whereas now I'm seeing more leaders.

Nicky:

So, and this whole piece around well, if I go into business, then I can earn more money. The sky's the limit which we certainly can have a lot more control sometimes, I suppose, on what that amount might be, although, as you said, how often that's the dream and the reality is so different and business owners aren't even paying themselves. But then also, I think the shift is there's a real opportunity now for leaders to look at their income and look at how do I work smarter with this. So when we even talk about smart growth, it's not just smart growth of the business, it's smart growth of our income, our revenue and Ness touching on multiple income streams and revenue streams. So I'm curious to pick your brain around. Do you agree that there's a shift, that there's a feeling that there's more opportunity to make our money work for us, whether we're in leadership roles, a day job or owning a business? And I'm also curious around what do you think are the best ways for any individual business or leader or day job to create wealth? I threw in a double.

Christine:

I mean definitely. I think people I mean what I've seen are becoming more aware that, you know, no one has, you know, the job, a company job for life anymore. So we're all moving in and out of different roles and maybe having a second career or job change midway. So there's certainly that shift has changed from yeah, I'm just going to earn my salary my whole life to it's like maybe I'll have this job and then, if I get enough money, I might start a small investment to diversify myself. So, yes, really do believe that there is a big shift and I have seen that with you know very some young people as well. Like we do have, quite you know, young clients that are coming in at the start of their careers. They might be earning you know good money and they want to set themselves up from the start to say, yeah, like I'm, like maybe the female in the relationship might have some time off for some kids, so she wants to prepare for that even before she's had kids or got married.

Nicky:

Wow, that's so good.

Christine:

People are very much preparing a lot earlier to set themselves up. Some people are and some people are not, and you know. I guess the other side of the question is you know, with our superannuation system it's been around for a fair while now we've all got superannuation, so we are all a lot more used to having some investment, even if we don't pay that much attention to it, and then we all will have some form of income stream eventually. So it's just about. You know, is my superannuation enough or do I want something else?

Ness:

as well, when you say that, I think about all the years when I was working in corporate, when probably, yeah, before children, when they're little and they go we're having a superannuation seminar and I go, don't need to go, that that's miles away. God, I wish I had have gone to that. Anyway, speaking of superannuation you talk about let me get the language right it's a financial independence figure. Can you help us understand a little bit more about what that is?

Christine:

Yeah. So I deal with a lot of I guess predominantly women, but they can be men as well that get to midlife or after and maybe want a career change and they come and say to me I want to reduce my work days, maybe just because they want to help out their grandchildren or kids or babysit or do something else with their time, or maybe because they want to start a business on the side with those extra days. So it's like can I afford to do it? If I take a two day a week salary cut? What can I afford to do it and how is that going to affect my future? When can I eventually retire and how much can I live on?

Christine:

So my financial independence figure it's similar to retirement numbers in that it looks at how much money you're living on now and what that future is going to look like. So if you reduce your income, how is that going to affect your retirement? When you do eventually stop working full time and that is going to be different for everyone because everyone is working longer it's not just stop at 65 and get the pension. The pension is 67 now, so that's changing a lot. So it's just getting those numbers in place and it's a moving number. It's not one number. It's a series of sort of figures that can help people make decisions about their life.

Ness:

That sounds pretty cool yeah it is.

Nicky:

Definitely is this piece like even when you were joking Ness about. I wish I would have gone to that superannuation seminar and it fills me with a lot of joy and hope that these young people are coming through and asking for. But I think the conversations are so important and thinking about these things as early as we can. So if you're listening and you're 50 years old, great, then it's when you're 50,. If you haven't thought about this, if you're listening and you're 30, great, then that's the starting point. If you're 60, like it doesn't. Don't get caught up in the fear I think as well of I should have. I wish I would have. It's too late for me. What would you say to that? Christine? Around you know there's lots of different ages and demographics of people that are listening to this. This fear of it's too late. Why should I even bother?

Christine:

Yeah, I mean there's always improvements that can be made. Like everyone always says, I wish I did it five years ago. When it comes to financial advice, that's honestly what people always say to me. I've had a man the other day that came in. He's pretty much on the crux of retirement and he really should have come in to see a financial planner multiple a decade ago, if not earlier. But there's still work that we can do to improve his situation if he comes in now. So it's just not accepting that what is on in front of you on paper or in your financials can't change. It can change. Financial planners do know strategies that, unless you're really into finance, you won't know about. We do have access to tools modelling tools that are very powerful and that can improve your situation. So it's never too late to improve your financial situation or at least get advice around what's possible.

Ness:

Absolutely. It's interesting. We came across each other through LinkedIn and one of the things that I found really intriguing about the way you communicated through LinkedIn it's almost like this passion and this soapbox, and it was, like you know, really refreshing to see somebody talking about financial planning in a very different manner. So my question to you is what is the thing that gets you really riled up and on your soapbox about this?

Christine:

Good question. People saying telling me after that financial planning advice fees too expensive and thinking that they cannot afford professional advice. I guess if you are, you know an executive, maybe you have never paid for a solicitor or any sort of professional other than you know your accountant to get your taxes done. Or maybe you've been through a divorce and you've paid some legal fees then. But to pay for a professional to help you out with something that you can potentially do yourself is difficult and potentially when you go and see a financial planner it's not always.

Christine:

If you pay me $6,000, I'm definitely going to make you $60,000. It's more of a process than that. We can't set out and guarantee that, but we know that we will make a difference to your financials over time. So it's just having the confidence that it is a leap of faith because there's you know there's no guarantee, but it definitely does make a difference to people's lives. So you know not being scared of putting that little bit of investment into yourself for financial planning, because I know that people will be better off in the long run.

Ness:

And I think actually it's funny you say that because I think it was that post where it was like you know, you provided some examples around how much we might be spending a year on various things, like you know, going out or you know, just the hairdressers, like for all our female listeners out there, I'm sure you hear me. So things that we just kind of assume is just part of everyday life and we budget for. That was probably the thing that got me really interested around looking at it through a different lens, and as coaches, that's what we talk to our clients about looking at something through a different perspective or asking different questions and helping them reframe what their thinking is. So if there's an opportunity and not a guarantee, but an opportunity to, one, increase your wealth over a period of time but two, get your head in the game around money, because I think that I, just from the people that I've come into contact with through our business and me personally, there's only a positive benefit to get your head out of the sand and start looking into finances more and more.

Ness:

And I think that there are so many different reasons why people choose not to and they run businesses, which surprises me. So, or they're senior level executives that are dealing with budgets of up to millions of dollars. So it really is this great opportunity to go. Well, if I'm doing it in the business, how about I do something outside of the business? It's going to help me. I feel like I was. You were going to say something, Nicky. I was just going to say.

Nicky:

I think one of the biggest challenges is that it's about needing to be proactive about something when there's not a problem. So if we think about motivators and move towards pleasure and move away from pain, it's so much easier to move away from pain. And a lot of what we're talking about is things are pretty good, like things are pretty good, we're cruising along and it's an investment we're making now for our future. There's no doubt that what we're talking about is we will look back you know we often talk about our future selves will thank us or in the future, we go oh gosh, I love my past self for setting this up for me and it's so good, and that is exactly what we're talking about here.

Nicky:

So the pain might not be so bad that I have got to do something and take action, but it's about what would my future self think of thank me for if I took some action now, if I made this investment in my future now, because even, christine, when you were talking the solicitors for divorce, that's an immediate pain. I have to pay for it. So that's when we often are in these types of situations where we see the investment. So that's probably the biggest mental shift that I invite everybody listening to take around. Okay, so the pain might not be so bad now, but what would my future self thank me for in five years time?

Nicky:

And actually, let's think about what is my retirement age. Is it 10 years, is it 20 years, is it five years, is it three? And don't let fear take over, because, as Christine said, I love that. There's always something you can do now. It would just be even better if there was more time. So, on this note, christine, we love to finish our episodes with one actionable action that our listeners can take away, and we probably will do it ourselves as well. What is something in light of this conversation around and I think it's really appropriate, because you know the fact that it can be really easy not to take action with this what's one actionable action our listeners can take to actually move towards that future self, that future ideal of whatever that looks like, to get unstuck from being okay, good enough. Unstuck from good enough.

Christine:

I always like to ask you know potential new clients, just to think about, well, what would more money mean for you, you know, would it mean you could go on another holiday, or could you buy a new car, or could you work less and do something else with your time? Write down what would more money mean for you, and that's the starting point to then well, if I see a financial planner, will they make me more money? Mean for you, and that's the starting point to then, well, if I see a financial planner, will they make me more money? And then also, seeing a financial planner may free up your brain space to actually do other things with your time, so it's a win. So just write down what can you do with a bit more money in now or in the future?

Nicky:

And a bit more time. By the sound of it as well. A bit more money, a bit more time. Yes, please, okay, where do I sign?

Ness:

up and I think, wow, what a great question to ask, because that can really get your imagination going. Thank you so much, christine, for joining us. I know you hang out on LinkedIn. We'll definitely put your links into the show notes, but where else can people find out about you if they want to? As Nicky often says, what do you say? Friendly, stalk?

Nicky:

Friendly stalk. Brandly stalk, not just stalking. People, brandly stalking.

Christine:

Our website is lushwealthau no com, or we're on Instagram as well, which is lush, underscore, wealth, fabulous.

Ness:

Well, do yourselves a favor in the words of Molly, and make sure you get on and follow Christine, because she is sharing some really great content, and hopefully this has helped you to think about your future wealth and what you can do to set yourself up for a very fun retirement that isn't just relying on government pension. Thanks everyone. We look forward to being in your ears again next week. Bye, thanks for listening to today's ep. If you loved what you heard, connect with us over on LinkedIn and let's continue the conversation over there.

Ness:

Nicky and I are obsessed with helping businesses install smart business growth strategies and leveraging people leadership for peak performance. We bring two business minds and two perspectives into your business, and our number one goal is to make sure that your business is thriving, your team are thriving and you are thriving. We offer a 30-day business diagnostic, taking you from chaos to clarity in just 30 days. Are you curious to find out more? Send us an email or go old school and give us a call. Until next time, happy listening and here's to thriving in business and in life.