My Personal Cancer Story

by Ron on December 22, 2011

First of all, I’d like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Healthy Happy New Year and that 2012 brings continued success.

In our last edition we mentioned some of the changes that were happening in the market place. But nothing could have prepared me for the biggest challenge in my life.

In September, I was diagnosed with a head and neck cancer after discovering a lump in my neck. I must say it was a very surreal experience as the first thought, I think we all have is that “it will never happen to me”. Following that initial diagnosis things moved very quickly. 2 separate operations, eight teeth removed and 7 weeks of Chemo & Radiation and as I write, the treatment has just completed. I am still in hospital being treated for the side effects that can continue after treatment has stopped.

There is no doubt that this will be a life changing experience and even though my prognosis is very good; it’s the way you handle the process after being challenged by your own mortality. That will have a lasting impact on me forever.

I wanted to pass on some of my thoughts that I have had during this process. If it can help one person it has been worthwhile.

  • Never take anything for granted…..from a health point get any lumps etc. checked out.
  • Take each day as it comes…..live in the now……not yesterday….not tomorrow.
  • Have great support networks……family and friends have been unbelievable in their support……(cooking food, childminding, drop offs/pick ups to and from the hospital, gardening, etc…..if they love you they will be there for you)
  • Don’t be afraid to take a risk……what’s the worst thing that can happen?
  • Have an amazing attitude….it will help you get though whatever challenge you might be facing.
  • 3 little words…….I’ll handle it………

We will be back bigger and better in 2012.

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The Advantages of Using a Finance Broker

by Ron on August 9, 2011

Welcome to  the latest instalment of Ron’s Rant.  We have been a bit quiet of late because we are going through some exiting changes, which we will share with you next month.

In the meantime, I would like to share some insight on the advantages of using a finance broker.  With access to bank funding severely tightened at present, more and more small-to-medium businesses are asking finance brokers to go into bat for them.

Finance brokers can negotiate and secure better deals for overdrafts, debtor finance facilities, mortgages, and equipment funding because of their direct links to the key lending decision-makers at the banks.  Due to bank funding for small-to-medium businesses becoming more difficult to secure, the process of obtaining finance has become that much tougher.

For a long time, businesses had easy access to funding from the banks, without the need to form a working relationship and that was primarily a result of the deregulation of capital markets.  However, due to the rising number of bad debts, a good working relationship with your primary lender has become important again.

The reality is that, most small-to-medium business do not have relationships with the key lending decision-makers, because they are not dealing with them on a day-to-day basis and therefore they are finding it very hard to secure funding.

With the new financial year upon us, businesses are looking at their capital expenditure and we believe that it is vitally important for businesses have access to funding.  That’s where we come in.

More businesses are using their finance brokers to act as a conduit between themselves and their banks to try and secure funding on favourable terms instead of trying to go it alone.  Generally we go in to negotiate the best terms on behalf of the business and if the terms on offer are not favourable, we will take the business to another bank.

The global financial crisis has resulted in a fundamental shift in the relationship between banks and the business sector, and many businesses are finding themselves out in the cold. We act as a buffer between the client and the bank, and we can go straight to the right people inside the banks because we already have the relationships in place.

As mentioned earlier, we have some exiting changes happening and look forward to sharing them with you soon.

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Helping to level the playing field

May 4, 2011

A good reputation with the Tax Office brings more advantages than it might at first appear. Financiers also take note of a company’s tax history.  In recent months there has been an increasing tendency with financiers to condition their finance approvals for equipment finance and overdraft facilities with a requirement to obtain a written statement [...]

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Is the biggest threat to your business, your bank?

April 24, 2011

Australia’s small to medium business sector is having increasing difficulty accessing bank finance and this is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future.  Even though they continue to advertise it, we have strong doubts that the banks really want to service small to medium sized businesses and are seeing articles on an almost [...]

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