Written by Condon Associates on 1 February 2010

Happy New Year and welcome to 2010. Gone are the Naughties and now we can enter the Teens with interest and a positive frame of mind.

Even though we are only a few weeks into the new decade and business is not yet into the full swing of things for the year, there has still been an amazing variety of news that has popped up.

2009 ended with many Australians happy for it to be over and to see the back of the Global Financial Crisis. This was certainly reinforced by the Stock Market reaching its highest levels since 2008 – very quickly I must add.

However 2010 begins with much talk in the market regarding the limited future of video stores and travel agencies. This is due to their respective markets being overrun by technology that has changed the way consumers acquire their products and knowledge. Consumers no longer need to visit a travel agent or video store, when they can do it all from the comfort of their own home with the simple click of a mouse.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as this has been predicted for some time now and measures should have been taken by those in these industries well before now. While there will definitely be changes – and businesses that will close – those businesses that provide a truly memorable customer experience for a genuinely fair price are more likely to survive.

Next that old chestnut – the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) – is once again in the news as they plan on going out again and savaging the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector by increasing their attention on defaulting taxpayers. The main targets here are not those that have managed through the tough times but those that are habitual non payers of tax.

Tough times can often provide opportunities for leniency from many quarters, alas many business owners don’t focus on the real information to prop up a failing concern. It is extremely important to focus on the important information and when it doesn’t look good – as I always say – take action early. Doing the same thing day in and day out and expecting a different result will only ultimately provide disappointment and financial loss.

In other news, many in the industry are predicting a boom in the unit market in Australia, yet the property market in the US continues to fail. Car sales are gradually improving but other areas are failing and there is the ever present threat of further interest rate rises.

All in all I think we will be in for an interesting year and decade.

Finally, we also enter the new decade with a Senate Inquiry into the Insolvency industry. Let us all hope that it is productive and achieves something positive. I’d like to see progressive steps taken to ensure positive returns to creditors, the maintenance of sound businesses and the resulting trade and employment that go with them. For those of you interested in this Senate Inquiry submissions need to be lodged by February 12 if anyone wishes to do so.

Enjoy the read and once again – happy new year!