Jen:
Mel, I'm so excited to have you with us. How are you today?
Mel Browne:
I'm okay. Thank you so much for having me. I'm hoping my voice lasts.
Jen:
I'm sure it will. And if you need
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
to stop and cough, then that's absolutely okay. I
Mel Browne:
Good.
Jen:
think there's a lot of,
Mel Browne:
Ha
Jen:
there'll
Mel Browne:
ha
Jen:
be a lot of moms
Mel Browne:
ha.
Jen:
listening obviously, and they can totally relate to winter.
Mel Browne:
Awesome.
Jen:
Yep. So now we start every episode of the Mom Safe Movement podcast with a word, a win and a working on. Now with the word, if you've had a shit fight of a day, you do not have to show up with positivity.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, my word would definitely be tired. I said to Lorsie this morning, who I work with, whenever you're sick, I feel like you just need, especially when it's been a long sickness like this has been, I feel like you need a week off just to recover. So yeah, I'm tired today. So that's my word. What's the next one? My win.
Jen:
I win.
Mel Browne:
win be? That's a great question. I feel like it's always easier to say what's tough than what your win is.
Jen:
So true.
Mel Browne:
Probably when we just kicked over to a financial year and I had a really brief look at my revenue and I took my eyes off it a bit this year and didn't have a target for it and I was pleasantly surprised. So I'll say that's a win.
Jen:
Nuts.
Mel Browne:
And what was the third one? I can tell
Jen:
something
Mel Browne:
my mind's
Jen:
that you're
Mel Browne:
not
Jen:
working
Mel Browne:
here.
Jen:
on.
Mel Browne:
Oh, so Lawsey and I are madly working on our next launch. So we're working on lead generations that we think people will find really helpful. Like, for example, one of the ones we're working on today is using ChatGP, ChatGPT to save 20% on your food budget and give you recipes and the whole shebang. So, yeah,
Jen:
cool
Mel Browne:
we've got
Jen:
I
Mel Browne:
some
Jen:
did that
Mel Browne:
really
Jen:
in my
Mel Browne:
cool
Jen:
life.
Mel Browne:
ones. Yeah,
Jen:
Interesting
Mel Browne:
when it's
Jen:
is
Mel Browne:
done, I'll let you know.
Jen:
yeah that'd be great and with chat GPT actually I saw someone post something about managing like doing better with their finances using chat GPT and you
Mel Browne:
Oh
Jen:
had
Mel Browne:
yeah,
Jen:
to like
Mel Browne:
it's amazing.
Jen:
say you know what money you wanted to save maybe what your income was and I was like but do I want to give that much information to chat GPT which may be questioned.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, I have to confess, I don't know that I would be telling it what I own or what I own and my income and the rest of it. Although having said that, that's very generic information that a lot of people could figure out.
Jen:
true.
Mel Browne:
What I absolutely would not be doing is saying, here's my BSP and account number
Jen:
Hahaha
Mel Browne:
and my credit card number and all of those personal information. Maybe
Jen:
Yeah,
Mel Browne:
just not that.
Jen:
maybe not that definitely cool. So Mel, this podcast is for trainers that work with moms within their fitness business and also for moms themselves. So throughout this conversation, what I'd really like to do is, it is more business focused, but I know that you've got a wealth of knowledge that can support any person wanting to do better in their finances. So
Mel Browne:
and
Jen:
we'll
Mel Browne:
their businesses.
Jen:
ask a few questions and
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
in their businesses, absolutely, but. Would you be able to share a little bit about your journey and how you got to do what you do today?
Mel Browne:
Yeah, so if you asked me when I was a teenager where I would be at today, this is so not the position I thought probably by now I'd my kids would be grown up and I would have been a lawyer for all of this time. And I'm today I am purposefully child free. So I'm always when I'm talking to moms, I'm always with that mindset of I am so I love that we all have choice now.
Jen:
Mmm.
Mel Browne:
around family and around lives and blending and all that sort of stuff. And that I, my story is, well, that's what my expectation was because I lived in the Western suburbs and that's all I saw growing up. So I thought that that's the path that everyone went down. And it wasn't until my late twenties that I realized I didn't want kids. The marriage that I was in was so toxic and unhappy. And I didn't know that I liked what I was doing either. So I had gone from being a lawyer to being an accountant because I hated the law aspect of it. It wasn't as glamorous as it looked on TV. So it took a year to decide what I wanted to do. And during that time, during that marriage breakdown, my ex-husband said to me that he didn't think I'd ever make it on my own. And I am super competitive and I'm also very rash. and I have the tendency to be very rash. So I took every cent in my business and personal bank account and all of the divorce proceeds. He bought a Porsche, I gave it all to Opportunity International so that he could never say that any of my success from then on equated to him.
Jen:
Wow.
Mel Browne:
And I tell the story that I wanted to ring Opportunity International the next day and say, can I have that money back? I'm the charity and I've had women say to me, that's such a boss move what you did. It was so not a boss move, it was stupid. And it meant that for the next few years, I had to move into a frat house with five friends into a moldy little basement at a bedroom. And I remember lying there with all my stuff which filled that room going, this is not where I imagined that I would be in my mid thirties. You know, comparing myself to friends who just started having kids and. owned their own home and I felt like such a fraud and such a failure because I was an accountant, you know, I was supposed to be able to do money and I grew up with that expectation that you don't, a very fundamental religious household where you do not get divorced.
Jen:
Mmm.
Mel Browne:
So it was really, it was a really tough time in my life but I, through that, I realized that I didn't want, it was, accounting was a conduit. What I really loved was helping people grow their businesses and grow their wealth. And I loved helping women particularly do that. So that's the thing that I've done consistently since then. And through doing that, I've also taught myself how to grow my own wealth to the point where in my 40s, I had the choice to work or not. And it really was only when my husband a couple of years ago when we both sold our businesses pre-COVID.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
And he, I thought, excellent, this is our next stage. We're gonna go live overseas for three months and kind of look at what's next and then COVID hit. And he decided through COVID that he actually wanted to keep going. He wanted to keep working and working with sporting teams. And he works with Jess Fox and went to the Tokyo Olympics with her, which was incredible moment. But I was there going, oh, okay. Well, I guess I'm. just going to twiddle my thumbs and I'm not a stay at home and wait for my man person.
Jen:
Yup.
Mel Browne:
So I started to create a course and realize I love like this next transition for me is helping women and their families grow their wealth, learn about all those money stories and those money lessons that we never got taught at school,
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
how to create your own financial plan, how to invest and do it for yourself no matter the position that you're in. So I've been doing that for the last three years. I've had almost 3000 people go through my programs and I love it. I love that I've kind of discovered quite accidentally that thing that I can do anywhere and totally lights me up and creates such an impact.
Jen:
Yeah, I love that story Mel. Like I think one, it shows your personality and just like, I'm just gonna do this thing and make
Mel Browne:
Hell yeah.
Jen:
it mine. But also when you say that, like in your 30s, a lot of people, I mean, 30s now, once you're beyond 30, 30 isn't old. But once a lot of people kind of must think that you've been doing this since, you know, you hear the people that bought their first house when they were 18 or they did, and maybe you did that within your marriage, I'm not sure. But
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
Starting again is really important
Mel Browne:
It's hard.
Jen:
for women to understand
Mel Browne:
Yes!
Jen:
that you can do that at any point.
Mel Browne:
And you can do it at any age. And we've had women through our program where COVID really ripped apart a lot of couples. It
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
really quickened though, that uncoupling. So we've had women in their 50s join and realize that, oh, I have to face my finances for the first time perhaps. And actually this is doable. I, you know, we're all gonna be living a lot longer, God willing, and it's making sure that we have choice no matter.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
the age and circumstance wearing.
Jen:
Yeah, yeah, I like it. And I think the eyes wide open philosophy towards finances
Mel Browne:
Yes.
Jen:
is so important. Like I have trainers all the time that come in and they're like, oh yeah, kind of I'm doing this thing. And I don't really know how much money I'm taking home. And, or I can think of one woman, especially that was single mom, huge financial stress, knew that she needed to do something, which is why she came into MomSafe, but did not want to face the numbers on a page. And it's been a process and I've spent a lot of time with it. And I'm not a money expert, but I have messed it up. Look, I spent two years of my, when I was running my fitness business, my business was turning over about $200,000. And at the end of the year, my personal tax return was $14,000.
Mel Browne:
Oh yeah,
Jen:
So
Mel Browne:
mm-hmm.
Jen:
I know from an amateur perspective, how not to do it. But yeah, so I guess, oh, go on.
Mel Browne:
love that story that you just told though, because I find it really intriguing that I betcha that person that came to you from the fitness business, if you said to them, when you train someone next, you can't know any of their details, we don't want you to face their numbers and what their goals are, they'd go, but I can't train someone that way. And yet they're essentially doing that for their business. So it's just, it's real. And I find that bias and that unconscious bias. So interesting. where in your business and in your line of work with the people that you work with, they need to know all the numbers. And
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
it's really just applying that same lens to their own businesses and finances.
Jen:
It is, and we find there's a lot of, I think the problem is that people in fitness are so passionate about what they do,
Mel Browne:
Yup.
Jen:
they almost don't care if they're not earning what they should be earning or what they
Mel Browne:
Yes.
Jen:
could be earning.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, I get that. I get that. And it's really important for them to understand they're not charities. If they're
Jen:
Yes.
Mel Browne:
set up as that, fantastic, but they're not charities.
Jen:
Absolutely.
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
So on that, if you've got some, let's say the person in front of us is just starting to run their own fitness business and doesn't know where to start when it comes to that business finances, what would you, what, I guess what advice or what things would they need to put in place to get on top from the get go?
Mel Browne:
So I would wanna make sure that you had access to your numbers from the get-go. So that would be making sure you had a great accounting solution like Xero or Quicken or there's so many versions out there. And a great accountant. Because if you want that relationship from the start of understanding the taxes I need to put aside, when I need to register for the next level and how to find the reports that I need.
Jen:
Hmm.
Mel Browne:
so that you're not just focused on the $200,000 that you're making, you're also focused on the $14,000 that you're not making. So that's really important. So that would be one. The second thing I think it's really important to understand is where do you sit in the marketplace? And what's your niche? What's the value that you bring and how are you gonna price that? Because too many people are starting businesses to solve a need, but not thinking about... Well, do I want to be the McDonald's or the Louis Vuitton or the, you know, what, where do I sit in the marketplace? And therefore, how am I going to price appropriately? Because if you're just valuing you, or if you're just trying to figure out, well, I know where everyone sits pricing wise, and I'll just price somewhere in the middle, that's not necessarily going to be appropriate for what you want. And so figuring out your pricing is really important. But three, it's also figuring out what do you want to make out of your business? So I
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
think you need to work it back and go, right. If I want to make 50 grand a year in the hand and my, and I need to, and my costs are roughly 50, then I have to make a hundred K. Great. Well, if I'm charging out my time at a hundred bucks a throw, then that means that I need a thousand sessions every year. I can break that down to every week. You know, we need to be able to. break this down so that we then know, okay, I now know the numbers that I need to attack. So therefore, what's my marketing plan? What's my leads? What my conversion? So it really comes down to the numbers. In the same way, if you're working with someone, you'd need to understand potentially they'd be mine, they wait and they're targets. You've got to figure that out for yourself
Jen:
Yeah,
Mel Browne:
as well.
Jen:
I love that you said that a lot of people say to me, what shall I charge? And I'm like, we're lucky
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
because we're sitting in the specialized mom space. So it's always, well, you're going to charge more than the people around you. But how much do you want to earn per week and how much do you want to work? And then figure
Mel Browne:
Uh
Jen:
out how much
Mel Browne:
huh,
Jen:
you want to charge.
Mel Browne:
exactly.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, and there's so many ways to do that as well. And you know, yes, you might do some one-on-one. Yes, you might do some online. Yes, you might be selling programs. It's figuring out, I don't just have to do it with one thing. I
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
might build up the one thing first, but in the same way that I'm a real advocate for multiple streams of income personally, we wanna have multiple streams of income on our businesses as well. And we saw gyms and personal trainers race to do that when COVID hit. But it's doing that when times are good as well.
Jen:
Yeah, having
Mel Browne:
So that
Jen:
that
Mel Browne:
when
Jen:
diversity.
Mel Browne:
people, yeah, we're in times of interest rate rises and inflation. One of the first things people can get rid of that seems like a luxury are their trainers, but if they're, if we're offering options, then that might be something that I'm not just saying yes or no to it's, Oh,
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
actually I can't afford you, but I can afford. this version of you. Great, I'll at least start with that.
Jen:
Yeah, that's interesting too, because I've been kind of because I support a lot of trainers, I've been going, if people are leaving because they can't afford what you're delivering now, how do we change the offering without devaluing ourselves?
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
What would you have? How would you solve that? Would you? And that's not necessarily online because I think that
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
there's yes, there's the online space and we can do one to many really easily online.
Mel Browne:
Mm.
Jen:
Yeah, what would you, what's your instinct when it comes to that?
Mel Browne:
Well, personally, what I'm looking for, my husband always laughs because he's a physiotherapist and he just doesn't understand why people pay for training and why they can't just solve it for themselves.
Jen:
Hahaha
Mel Browne:
And I always explain to him, you know, I used to do a place state league netball. I know how to get myself fit for state league netball. I don't know how to just be life fit. And he doesn't really get that. So I personally, I get him to set me programs. that I can then just go away and act, but I want the program written for me. And so I would pay for that any day of the week, which I presume is gonna be a cheaper version than if you come and do it with me.
Jen:
Absolutely.
Mel Browne:
So at the very least to have personalized programs, but also programs that I can just pay for, that will get me maybe six different.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
things and that I can just grab and maybe pay four, five bucks for without even thinking. So I think we need to have a funnel
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
of things where it might be here's the suite of things, but then here's the lesser version and another lesser and another lesser. So people can then enter and be able to do business with you at their price point. But if you're the Louis Vuitton of that, you might not, for you, it might just be it's me and that's it.
Jen:
Hmm.
Mel Browne:
And this is what it is. But for someone else, they might have the funnel. It's figuring out your niche and how you're gonna charge.
Jen:
Yeah, and it's interesting when you talk about being the Louis Vuitton, is your market actually affected by what's going on in the world right now
Mel Browne:
Exactly.
Jen:
anyway, because it's really important that we don't just assume no one can pay for what we're delivering.
Mel Browne:
Absolutely. And that's such a great point because people are, there was a NAB survey done at the, the results came out this last week, week before, and it was people are still spending money.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
They're just researching and they're choosing to spend it strategically. So they're cutting back on holidays. They're even cutting back on coffees at the moment and lunches and eating out. The research was showing, but they're also spending according to their values. They're just being more purposeful.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
So it's making sure that you're there to catch that spend because you've attributed the value. And you might've, if you're talking to customers and clients, you might say, instead of coming weekly, you might come fortnightly. So there's so many ways to show how to save, but you're right, it's presuming that people
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
might be happy not to. Because if you could equate the cost of not spending with you, so it might be, yes, you could choose not to, but the flip side of that is, higher stress, potentially more money spent on sickness and doctors and who knows what. So the opportunity cost of not doing it, that's what I would wanna talk about as well.
Jen:
I love that and I'm just picturing your Instagram now with all the different, especially where we'll sort of talk about superannuation in a minute, but challenge
Mel Browne:
Mmm
Jen:
to anyone listening if you can come up with some kind of infographic that is the opportunity cost, make sure you tag
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
me and Mel in that because I'd be excited to see that.
Mel Browne:
Definitely. I know Tim Ferriss talked about this, where he was talking about his elderly parents, and he was talking about what he was happy to be frugal on and what he was going to overspend on. And he said that he will always, so his thing with his parents was he overspent on personal training for them and gym membership because he worked out early on that saved him money on the cost of their care when they were strong.
Jen:
Wow.
Mel Browne:
So that opportunity cost infographic. I mean, and that's Tim Ferriss's language, who's served for our work week on something he discovered. So,
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
you know, if you've got elderly parents and you feel like you're the sandwich generation, hey, this might be a way to actually alleviate some of that cost.
Jen:
I love that. I love it. I like it. Okay, you talked Mel before I heard you talk about key metrics.
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
What are the key metrics that all our fitness business owners need to make sure that they're on top of all of the time?
Mel Browne:
So there are so many that you could follow, but the ones that I think, if you're wanting to grow your business and you're a new business, leads and conversion rates have got to be two things that you're all over. So chasing those leads and then understanding what you're converting. Cause you might be getting a stack of leads but you're not converting them, either
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
because they're the wrong leads or it might just be that your conversion is 20%. So you just need a bucket look at that. full bucket full of leads. So leads and conversion rates are two. And then for any business more than six months old, retention rate is massive. I see far too many businesses concentrating on new people in the door and not on loving the existing ones that you've got and continuing to ask the question, what else do they want? What else do they want? Next, one is your average sale price. So understanding. how much does the average person spend with me in a year? Because you might be surprised at what that figure is and people that you were kind of discounting or thinking, oh, they're not worth it. You go, oh, wow, they're really worth it if I look at their lifetime value or if I look at their average sale. And then looking at ways to increase that and then things like your net profit and then your cashflow. Because it's one thing to get. at sales, but it's another thing entirely to actually be paid. And
Jen:
Yes.
Mel Browne:
if you're not getting paid, then that's problematic.
Jen:
Yeah. And what do you think about personal trainers that take cash payments? What do they need to be aware of in the future?
Mel Browne:
Ugh. So take cash payments and then bank them. So that would be a
Jen:
So
Mel Browne:
start.
Jen:
you then you got to pay tax on the right.
Mel Browne:
Exactly. So I get told all the time, Oh my gosh, it's not worth it. Cause then I have to pay tax. It's not worth it if you don't pay tax because you can't build wealth. You can't put it into super. The only thing you can do with cash is you can eat it and poop it out. You can't spend it on travel. You can't buy clothes and then post it. eating it and pooping it. That's the only two things you can do. And it's just not worth it. For me, I would rather pay the tax any day of the week and wealth, like what a wonderful problem to sit down
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
and go, should I put more money into super? Should I donate? If I don't wanna pay tax, donate it. Like there's so many things I can do. Do I negatively gear investments? I can solve the problem of minimizing your tax. that you've got to have the profit to be able to deal with that problem in the first place.
Jen:
Yeah, I like that. And I remember when Ben and I we went to get a mortgage for the first time and I had
Mel Browne:
Ugh.
Jen:
realized that I needed to start banking my cash. I was in my early 20s at the time so I'd give myself a little bit of a break but it's like three years before they recognize anything right.
Mel Browne:
It's generally two now.
Jen:
Okay.
Mel Browne:
And certainly there are some banks that will only look at one year, but usually what you're gonna pay is a high, if they're hard loans to get, and you'll often pay the low-doc loans or one year loans, you'll often pay a higher rate of interest. So there's a cost to that cash. So for me, it's always better to put it through and then have a great accountant that can help you with a plan for it versus. not just and when you get the cash you tend to overspend it anyway I've got a mate who still gets a little bit of cash in and he just wastes it because it's like
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
oh free money like no dude it's not just bank it let's create a plan for it.
Jen:
I, the free money thing, I used to find $50 notes in clothes that had been through the wash.
Mel Browne:
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Jen:
And it was like, it was cool, cause it's like, wow, $50, but on the flip side, it's like how fucking irresponsible to
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
just not care where my money's going, cause I feel like I'm getting more.
Mel Browne:
Exactly, exactly.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
And I mean, if worst case, you can just spend 15 cents in the dollar and put it into super if you hate tax that much, that's a way that you'll pay very, very small amount of tax.
Jen:
Let's talk about super then, cause I know that again, let's talk about it from a small business owner, because again, even if they are paying tax, they're not paying super.
Mel Browne:
Yes.
Jen:
So how do we sort that out? And someone did ask a question when I popped it in the group for you about best super funds. So you
Mel Browne:
Yeah,
Jen:
can answer
Mel Browne:
sure.
Jen:
that. Yep.
Mel Browne:
So I'm a fan of paying the super as if you had gone and got a job. So if you could be hired by Jim tomorrow and be paid 70, 80 grand, I would want you to pay super as if you were earning that much. Because the opportunity cost of you not doing that, when I speak to moms that have their own business, often they feel it's selfish to pay super, but I'm here to say that it's like putting the oxygen mask on a plane. It
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
is not selfish. And too many people will argue with me, yes, but I get his super if something was to happen. And again, not necessarily. Way too often I see women go, you know what, it's not worth it, or you get the house, you get the super. And there is a reckoning where too many women miss out. So one, if you're having a super break, talk to your partner and say, great, how can we make sure that we're splitting? cost of this super and contributing to my super. But two, you ultimately want to pay super as if you went out and got a job. And to really say to yourself, it's not selfish, I'm doing this because I'm putting on my own oxygen mask. And pay it regularly, you know, pay it fortnightly or monthly or quarterly, and make it automated so that you just don't miss
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
it. And as to what fun the answer is, it depends. So if you were really into ethical investing, you might look at ethical super or verb super. If you really didn't care and it was just about fees, you might look at an industry fund. If you wanted both, if you cared and you cared about fees, you might look at an industry fund with an ethical portfolio. But there are comparison websites like Canstar that will help you to compare. different super funds so you can compare fees and how to invest.
Jen:
Yep, awesome. Mel, what I heard you say then, taking a super break, so that would generally apply to women having babies and not working. What's the cost of that?
Mel Browne:
So it's really interesting. So it's both having babies and also having our own business because too often when we go into business, we don't pay super for ourselves. So I did some research and if we look at the average wage, which at the time was about 70 grand, the average career gap, which if you have two kids, it's often about five years.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
What most people consider is the salary costs. that don't consider. So often it would be a couple sitting in before me and they said, oh, childcare's not worth it. It's 50% of her wage. At which
Jen:
I'm
Mel Browne:
point
Jen:
glad you're
Mel Browne:
I would,
Jen:
going to say this because this was my next question.
Mel Browne:
oh,
Jen:
So good.
Mel Browne:
pissed me off. And I would almost always say, I didn't understand. I didn't realize it was only her having the child. I thought it was both of you. What percentages of it is childcare of both of your wage? At which point they could never tell me, never.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
Cause they never thought to consider it. So that would be one. And then I would say, and also you've considered the super haven't you? And they never ever had. So the super is not just the 70 grand, oh no, the super is generally about 36 grand on at that 70 grand wage over the five years. But what we forget is the compounding nature of that. So if I let that compound for 30 years, that then is worth about $700,000.
Jen:
Mmm.
Mel Browne:
And that's the nasty piece. that people are forgetting. So if you are about to go into a career break, if you're in a career break or if you're out of it, it's just about being aware of that and choosing to have conversations with your partner. Because whether or not you choose to stop working or not, I'm all for choice. But it's understanding the financial implications of that and talking to your partner and saying, how can we make sure we catch that up? And a really easy way to do that is to say to your partner during that time, I want you to split your super with me. And most people don't know you can do that. And if your partner goes, why would I do that? You get it if something was to happen to me. That's for me is so not an acceptable argument.
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
And that would be like saying, well, that's fine. But that would be like saying, if you earn all the money, you would own, you would have the bank account in your name and only, and make all the decisions. and dole out the money to me only if something happens to you, which is financial abuse. And that's not what you want for me, is
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
it? So it's just being prepared to have those awkward conversations.
Jen:
Yeah, I particularly like the childcare element because I have a lot of conversations with often mums move into the working with mum space when they have a baby. So they were maybe a personal trainer beforehand, they have a baby, then they choose to become a personal trainer that wants to work with mums. But they're sitting in that either maternity leave or you know, I can't start my business because I can't afford the childcare and it's like, it's the, I can't afford the childcare.
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
And I love you turning both the super and the childcare costs on their head because it's like, this is a partnership surely.
Mel Browne:
Exactly. And I would say childcare, if you really wanted to build that business, childcare is simply the cost of doing business for you.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
So if it was going to take you three years to get to that hundred K and you just said, oh, childcare is not worth it. I'm going to wait to start it and just say, childcare might cost you 25, 30 grand a year for three years. The opportunity cost of not doing that means it's just another three years then till you build that business in which cut time. competitor could have moved in, someone else could have grabbed that space. Like it's just, for me, the argument around it's not worth it is such a poor argument.
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
If you want your kids at home with you, perfect. But if arguing that it's not worth it, for me, that's such, I think it's a lazy argument.
Jen:
I think, yeah, women moms are really good at putting glass ceilings on themselves. So the other one that I hear is it being a hobby business. And
Mel Browne:
Yes.
Jen:
it's like, that's fine. And to be quite honest, like the when I first started Body Beyond Baby, which was my first business, which was group exercise for moms, that I knew that the first three to four years of that business were for me to be able to start to build a foundation layer. for the business not to cost me any money in terms of paying the childcare costs. But
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
if I didn't start it then, I wouldn't be able to build on it. So at no point was it a hobby. It was a thought out process that I was going through in that season of life.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, absolutely. And it's also looking at it and going, I only want to equate 15 hours to it. So maybe that's two days of childcare, but sitting down and doing that process that I talked about earlier, okay, well, if childcare costs me X amount, and I want to make more than that, then
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
how much do I need to charge? How many bodies do I need in? Like working it back so that you can, even if you need to take that to your partner to go, this is my plan. This is why I want to pay for childcare, because this is how much it's going to pay. Might take me 12 months or 18 months, but this is what I want to build.
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
And I think it's understanding that you're worth it. And I think too many women and moms have that, put everyone else first and me last, because that's part of being a mom. But it's also that I'm not worth it personally.
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
and realizing that actually you are, and to ask for these.
Jen:
Yeah, there's so many when you start talking about self worth, there's so many layers
Mel Browne:
Ugh.
Jen:
in, you know, even I my head then goes out of financial space into the postpartum weight loss space where so many women are trying to lose weight because they think it'll, you know, reinforce their self worth or they'll be able to get that externally. So
Mel Browne:
Mm-hmm.
Jen:
moms especially are already fighting this battle of worth inside them and then to add in, you know, ask feeling like you have to ask for money feeling like you have to ask permission to do things. which
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
then if you start to turn it around, the sooner that they start to do these things, the sooner they'll realize that that's got nothing to do with their self-worth and they get to build their sense of self-worth through implementing the right things within their finances.
Mel Browne:
Absolutely. And I see that not enoughness as
Jen:
Hmm.
Mel Browne:
being such a stumbling block for so many women in so many areas of life. Cause money's not in a silo as you said, it's also how you feel about yourself physically. It's all, you know, it's so many, it's our relationships. It's so many different parts of our life. And if we can address that and start to heal from that, then all of those different parts of your life. are going to be influenced and strengthened.
Jen:
Yep, absolutely. Let's um, GST and that's another glass
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
ceiling that fitness businesses like to put on themselves. So
Mel Browne:
Uh-huh.
Jen:
talk to me about we've just reached the end of the financial year. Somebody maybe they earned $60,000 last year, they're going I don't really want to earn pay GST. I'm like, one get over it. But
Mel Browne:
Yah.
Jen:
once they manage to get over it, what do they need to put in place? to make sure that they're not caught out at the end of the next financial year.
Mel Browne:
So that's why you wanna keep an eye on your numbers because if you, it's not a good enough excuse to say, oh, but I didn't realize. So if you're keeping an eye on your numbers, and this might be something you do every month or every quarter, you're gonna realize if you go over that magic amount of, I think it's $75,000 ad
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
dollars. And once you realize you're gonna go over that during the year, that's when you have to register for GST. So at that point you wanna register, and this is the uncomfortable part where at that point essentially put your prices up. So it might be if I'm, I'm a fan of you might register before you get there. Because if you're going to have to put your prices up anyway, then you may as well do it and be able to explain the value on it. Because if you're trying to say to your target audience, oh, I have to register for GST, therefore my prices are going up by 10%. They don't care. They see that as your problem. So you may as well start to get that uh, price buildup started to be built in so that when you need to register for GST, it's already there and you're already used to putting that tax aside in another bank account.
Jen:
Yeah, nice. I like it. What about investing mail? So we've talked a little bit about,
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
I guess getting our business finances in, in check, we've talked a little bit about super and also GST, but is it enough to rely on super?
Mel Browne:
Oh, God, no. So for me, I never want to be at the mercy of one thing, which
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
we saw it when COVID hit. Too many people were, it was just their business or it was just their wage, which meant that when that lever turned off, that's it. And
Jen:
Hmm.
Mel Browne:
I see too many people, their house that they'll own and super, and that's it. And we know super rules can change and you can't eat your house, meaning unless you're willing to bring in a boarder, get a reverse mortgage or sell it, money from it. So we want to make sure we've got multiple streams of income, which for me means investing. So yes, we want to contribute to super, but we also want to build wealth outside of super. And the three ways, the three main ways we do that is through our businesses, through shares and through property, but it's making sure we're doing it in all those different areas so that we've got that multiple income streams. And we don't need... A lot of people, more and more women have started investing in shares since COVID, which I've loved. And women were the biggest take up of share investors in the last two years, which again, is super exciting. But it is realising that it's a skill. So it's learning how to invest, but also understanding it's the great equaliser. You don't
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
need a lot of money. You don't need tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a deposit. You can do it with as little as 20 bucks a week if you really wanted to.
Jen:
The 20 bucks a week feels like such a small amount that so many people just go don't, you know, it's the lowest thing on their list. Can
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
you share some of your numbers on what that means in terms of compounding interest? Because
Mel Browne:
Absolutely.
Jen:
I think that's a good motivation.
Mel Browne:
Definitely. And I will bring up my, given that my brain is still not working properly.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
Let me bring up and I'll give you some examples. So for example, if I was to invest 200 bucks a month, where is my...
Jen:
So 50 bucks a week.
Mel Browne:
50 bucks a week and this does not want to play. Sorry, of course now, my.
Jen:
That's okay. We can, we've got a good cut point there and I've written down the time code, so take your time.
Mel Browne:
Ah, cool. Just when I went to look for the
Jen:
Sorry, I just
Mel Browne:
data.
Jen:
landed that on you. Hehehehe.
Mel Browne:
No, no, and I'm like, I want to get this right. I don't want to make it up. Okay. So if you invested 20 bucks a day for 30 years,
Jen:
20
Mel Browne:
with
Jen:
bucks
Mel Browne:
an average,
Jen:
a day.
Mel Browne:
20 bucks a day
Jen:
So
Mel Browne:
for
Jen:
that's
Mel Browne:
30
Jen:
140
Mel Browne:
years, 140
Jen:
bucks a week.
Mel Browne:
a week,
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
yeah. So we'll do a few different things and you can,
Jen:
Co.
Mel Browne:
if... Anyone who wants to check my ad, we've got lots of calculators on our website. So 20 bucks a day over 30 years at 8%. And you might think 8% is a lot, but the average share market return in Australia is 9.8. So it's actually not.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
Um, that's going to, I feel like I need to drum roll before I say this.
Jen:
I'm sorry.
Mel Browne:
That's going to bring in over $900,000 after 30 years. So 20 bucks a day. Uh, that's. know, that's lunch.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
If you're going out and buying that, it's really easy to figure out where could I find this. So it sounds like a lot, but it's actually not. Or if we do smaller amounts, so $200 a month. So that's
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
a lot more palatable.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
200 bucks a month or 50 bucks a week over 30 years at 8%. That's almost $300,000. Versus just say I used exactly that same amount of money. that instead of doing 200 bucks a month, because I went, you know what, that's not worth it. I'm gonna wait till I pay off my house and I've got a bit more money. So just say I did 600 bucks a month over 10 years, because I waited till I paid off my house at 8%, that's gonna give me $100,000 versus 300,000. And that is the power of compound interest, where it's starting with small amounts today. versus waiting till I know what to do or waiting till I've got more to invest. Sure, at start now, and then as you have more, add more. But for me, the real takeaway that I want people to hear is to start small today.
Jen:
Yeah, and I think that obviously, if we're talking to moms, they're thinking about kids as well. So if you think about setting your kids up, you
Mel Browne:
Yes!
Jen:
know, so many parents are worried about their kids financial future. And
Mel Browne:
Mm-hmm.
Jen:
that just puts it into a such a, you know, by the time your child is 30 or 40, like, obviously, well, hopefully you'd handed over to them prior that. But if you a
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
condition of handover was will know you need to continue to, to add to this yourself, then that's
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
a huge like that's a deposit or you know,
Mel Browne:
Yeah, I mean, imagine being able to at age 30, say here's a million dollars. And you could, you might say, I don't have 20 bucks a day, but you might say to grandparents and to different ones, you know what, they have so much. Get them something tiny that's worth no more than 20 bucks for their birthday and Christmases, and then give us cash for the rest. And that cash we're gonna put towards this, which means that we'll have the equivalent of that. If you did that for 30 years, I mean, that's a million bucks that you're giving your kids.
Jen:
That's a revelation
Mel Browne:
That's
Jen:
because
Mel Browne:
an extraordinary amount.
Jen:
yeah, and so many people now are saying my kids are never going to be able to buy a house and it's like,
Mel Browne:
Yep.
Jen:
well, actually, if you
Mel Browne:
They
Jen:
do
Mel Browne:
could
Jen:
this now,
Mel Browne:
if,
Jen:
yeah,
Mel Browne:
yep, or
Jen:
yeah.
Mel Browne:
200, 200 bucks a month over 30 years. So
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
that's, that's talking to everyone and saying, hey, cash not present. So saying for yourselves saying this is what we're going to put aside 300 K. I mean, that's an amazing amount to go
Jen:
It's
Mel Browne:
towards
Jen:
huge.
Mel Browne:
something as well.
Jen:
Absolutely. So a couple of business questions. We had another one, and I just wanna make sure I get this question right. So the question, it was from Lisa, if she's listening, was she's running a small fitness business. What percentage profit per year growth should she be aiming for? And I think profit might be the wrong word, maybe net income, and then you gotta figure out your own profit.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, so the answer is it depends. So essentially she's saying how much to should I be growing each
Jen:
Yes,
Mel Browne:
year?
Jen:
yep.
Mel Browne:
And the answer is it depends. So what we want to always be doing is growing, because if we're not, then we're going backwards. So if you atrophy, if you decide, you know what, I'm happy to stay at $100,000. I don't want to grow because of inflation in five years time, that hundred thousand is potentially only worth $90,000
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
because of in because the cost of money is more expensive. So we wanna make sure we're growing. So I would say at the very least, we wanna grow with inflation. And inflation runs about 2 1⁄4% per year on average. So at the very least we want that. But it's really sitting down and saying to you, well, what do I want? Because I might look at Lisa's business and go, oh my gosh, you could grow 10, 20% easy every year, but she might go, but I don't want that.
Jen:
Hmm.
Mel Browne:
So it's sitting down and answering that question for yourself around actually what business do I want? What profit do I want? How quickly do I wanna get there? And then that then brings you to the answer around how much do I wanna grow it. With my accounting business for a while, I remember when I decided had some really significant growth targets and we decided we wanted it 50% every single year
Jen:
Wow.
Mel Browne:
for five years and we did it. because we just put in place activities, we monitored our results consistently, we looked as much at retention as we did at average sale. And for us, that was so doable. Now it's a really, like I know the argument is it's a really tough market. From last year to this year, we've grown by 25%
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
in money in an area where you would argue that it's probably. bit of a grudge purchase and not something people necessarily want to spend money on. We've got significant growth targets for the next two years. So I think it really depends on what you want out of your business, but you definitely want to be at least in line with inflation.
Jen:
Yeah, I like that answer. And also making sure that the net income is, well, that your profit is growing with that income.
Mel Browne:
Absolutely. Yes. You want to look at your sales and your net profit, because
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
if your sales are growing, but your net profit is going backwards, which happens in a lot of businesses as they start to bloat and take on more and more
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
expenses. And that can also happen. So if you're a business before you take on staff, so if you take on staff, your business profit is going to go backwards, potentially the next year. So it's realizing that sometimes it's appropriate for it to go back, to go backwards. during growth stages, but you never want to stay there.
Jen:
Yeah, I think I spend a lot of time with fitness businesses that have tried to grow by bringing on contractors, but then
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
they actually all they've done is eat into the money that they take home. They put on more classes, the classes don't get full,
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
and it just becomes this, you know, shit show that is completely out of alignment with their values. Or maybe they were trying to get in alignment by growing and then removing themselves from the business a bit and then it just becomes
Mel Browne:
Yep.
Jen:
they're better off. doing it on their own, taking more holidays, having more boundaries, knowing their capacity of their classes and really filling them up, then trying
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
to, yeah.
Mel Browne:
And maybe having at looking saying, I don't want contractors to run classes, but I'm going to look at other ways for my clients to engage with me, uh, where it's not going to involve a contractor, but they can still purchase. Um, and it's not going to be reliant on my time.
Jen:
what would your I mean I know we talked about online programs there but she Lisa also
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
did ask Mel has her small business hacks so maybe that's a good segue into that.
Mel Browne:
Small business hacks, I think you've got to keep your eye on your numbers. If you don't have your eye on your numbers, you've got to have goals. If you don't have goals, then what are you actually aiming for? In which case, it's just going to be average. And my one of my hacks is I always just say we have a target. You had a target of one hundred thousand dollars. I would never aim for one hundred. I'd aim for two or even five and ask the question, well, what would? what would I need to be doing to reach two or five? Because often that hundred becomes a ceiling that we put in place for us. And by putting two and five in place, it's just usually you figure out it, you either need to do a different type of activity or you aim for that and often you shoot past that ceiling target we had in place. So one of the big hacks Lawsey and I consistently use is to always move our target or 10 times our target. say, all right, instead of a million bucks, what if we went for 10 mil? What would that look like? And so that's a fun one that I use consistently.
Jen:
I like that. It's funny because you can very easily, if you don't set the bar high, you can very easily just lower it and lower it and go, Scott, I'll
Mel Browne:
Yeah,
Jen:
just be happy with that. I'll just be happy with that. So it's almost
Mel Browne:
totally.
Jen:
like you've got to set it up there before you allow yourself to bring it back down anyway.
Mel Browne:
Yeah, our current one is what if it was 10 million and I only worked 15 hours a week? Like,
Jen:
I love that.
Mel Browne:
what would that business look like? And it doesn't mean you're gonna get there, but you're gonna get to a very different business than if you went, what does a million look like? Because then that's just gonna be more of the same.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
So it's asking those, for me, it's always asking those creative questions. Another one, a question I really like is what would kill my company? So, and we all know COVID,
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
but to sit down and go, at what could happen that would destroy my company tomorrow. And then to go and do whatever, that can then put in place strategies for you to strengthen it.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
Or to ask the opposite question and say, if I was to start another version of my company up tomorrow, what would I do instead? And often you'll come up with things that annoy you now. You're like, oh, I'd never do this, I'd never do this, I'd never do that. and then go and do that in your business.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
So we used to do those provocative questions every single year with my accounting firm. And we do it with each business now. And it always brings that really creative energy to your business.
Jen:
I love that. And there's so many, yeah, I mean, all that stands out for me with no, not all a big thing that stands out for me with a lot of the businesses that I work with is glass ceiling after glass
Mel Browne:
Oh,
Jen:
ceiling
Mel Browne:
yeah.
Jen:
after glass ceiling. So I love the concept of just blowing that up and
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
going, you know what, you actually get to dream bigger than you are. And because you're staying at home with your kids now and you feel like it's a bit of a hobby, like, let's just not know that that's your season right now, but you've got the
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
rest of your life in front of you.
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
And dream
Mel Browne:
But
Jen:
big.
Mel Browne:
to ask the question, so if I was only wanting to put 15 hours of my time into this business,
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
but I wanted to earn, how can I earn $100,000 with only 15 hours? And so there your answer around the sort of business that you're going to have with that is going to be very different than a time traded business.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
So it's thinking about life. For me, it's thinking about the end goal. Like, who would this be sold to? Who would who would take this over? What sort of business do I ultimately want to be running? Because that's the sort of activity I need to be putting in place to make
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
sure that you don't accidentally end up with a business that you hate just because you think that that's the business that you should be growing it to.
Jen:
Yeah, I like that we talk a lot about making sure that you they grow their business in alignment with their whole life values, not just the
Mel Browne:
Yes,
Jen:
business values, because it's so easy
Mel Browne:
I love
Jen:
to
Mel Browne:
that.
Jen:
create a business that is seems successful from a financial perspective or from an outsider looking in, but it puts them in complete
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
conflict with their kids and their you know, their family and their own health and fitness. Yeah, you just said something and I wanted to circle back but it's gone. That's okay. It'll come back to me. If somebody, I've got just a few more questions, if their business has stalled, and
Mel Browne:
Mm.
Jen:
we have talked about different products and things like that, what would be the first thing that you would look at from a financial sense?
Mel Browne:
So I'd look at why, is it economic conditions? So I'd look at the micro and the macro. So is it economic conditions as to why it stalled? Have I priced myself out of the market?
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
Is there a reason that something has happened? Is there a competitor that's entered my industry? Or is it just that I've saturated with the niche that I've chosen and actually I need to go to another niche? So I'd look at those conditions first, then I'd look at what I was doing and decide, have the people just heard everything that I like, have I saturated with the message that I've been taking? Or are there things that, there are other things that I should be talking about, or maybe it's still because all I've been doing is trying to find new customers, but I haven't actually been loving my existing ones. So my business has become like a leaky bucket where I'm losing customers and having to fill them. I think sometimes businesses stall because we get to these different levels in business that it's quite not easy to get to, but we can't, we can rely on passion to some respect to get us to a certain point in business. But at that point, I would argue that to remove that stalling, we've got to understand the numbers side of the business. We've got to understand leads, conversion, retention rate, average sale, number of times your customers do business with you. profit, like all of those things can't just be words. We actually have to be great at business so that we know the levers that we pull. That's not just a marketing lever.
Jen:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Last kind of almost I don't want to end on this question. So I need to finish and finish with another one. But what are the biggest mistakes either you've made or you've seen other small businesses make either in business or in finances?
Mel Browne:
One big mistake for me is definitely taking my eyes off the numbers. And it's really easy for an accountant to do it because I just think, well, but I know this and every time I take my eye off it is when my business suffers because of it. So that would be a mistake. Another mistake is just momentum. So there've been seasons such as my husband was really unwell last year where I just took my foot off the pedal. I took my eyes off the numbers and I'm really comfortable that I did it, but it highlighted that my business was too reliant on me and I needed to put more processes and people in place so that it wasn't. But the third thing that was, there has been a huge mistake consistently in my businesses is not backing myself enough and not starting earlier enough. And there's been so many instances where I'm a great implementer. So I'll create something and then I'll just put it aside and go on to the next instead of sticking with it and really pushing it and going, okay, what's the possibility for what this could actually be? And I'm convinced the success of what I'm doing now is cause I've stuck with it. I haven't diverted from the message. I haven't diverted from, this is what I'm an expert in. I've just, kept going and going. And even if I've been a bit bored with it, it's like, yep, but people aren't bored with it yet. They still need it. So don't get diverted with bright shiny, just stick with it.
Jen:
I love that because we do so much and I speak to so many
Mel Browne:
Oh
Jen:
exercise
Mel Browne:
yes.
Jen:
professionals that are like, well, I'm doing this and it's working and now it's this thing or it's doing this and it's
Mel Browne:
Mm-hmm.
Jen:
not working quite as well as I would like it to be. So now I'm going to
Mel Browne:
So
Jen:
create
Mel Browne:
I abandoned
Jen:
this program
Mel Browne:
it.
Jen:
and this program and this program or, and I have to
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
say, I'm definitely guilty of that myself. So I'm spending
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
this year finishing off. I've got two or three projects that they've been there for a long time, but I've done exactly that. Like I created a free program for moms and I've got like, I know that the the potential that it has with the right partnerships, but I've not executed the partnerships
Mel Browne:
Mm-hmm.
Jen:
because I've gone on to doing
Mel Browne:
Yes.
Jen:
something else. So
Mel Browne:
Yep.
Jen:
yeah,
Mel Browne:
So it's finishing those things
Jen:
absolutely.
Mel Browne:
rather than just going on to the next. Yeah.
Jen:
Yeah, yeah, I love it. To finish on a positive, and I don't know if you can think about this off the top of your head, can you think of a small business owner that you've worked with that has made some changes and the potential outcomes that they've had that might inspire? other small business owners, specifically fitness business owners, listening to get their shit together.
Mel Browne:
Oh my gosh, I can think of so many, but I'm thinking of, so I've got three examples that immediately came to
Jen:
Awesome.
Mel Browne:
mind. So one was a creative business. So she was a, like a graphic design agency and she was super smart, but kept saying to me, no, I'm not just not a numbers person, Mel, I'm not a numbers person. And I said, if you put your creativity into your numbers, you will absolutely smash it. And we sat down together and we had a plan that we wanted to double a business in 12 months. By understanding her numbers, creative design industry took her 12 months and she doubled a business. And this was probably close to the GFC, so it was quite tough, but she did it by all of those numbers that I was talking about, she moved them by less than 10%. So that was a huge one. Had another one which was a tradie where they were about a $15 million business, but their profit was about 2%. And that's that thing around you can grow, but are you growing profitably? So we put everyone in their business. They had a target of 30% profitability. And if I walked into their business and said to the apprentice, what's your target? He goes, 30%. Like everyone knew their target and they didn't want to grow anymore until they increased their profit. They never hit 30, but they hit 22.
Jen:
Okay.
Mel Browne:
And if we're talking 15 million or whatever the business was doing, it's a massive increase,
Jen:
Yeah.
Mel Browne:
like massive. We're talking a million bucks plus. And the third one is a beautiful skincare business, which is at retail stores and has been around for a long time. And, and I remember saying to them, why? aren't you talking to your customers more? Like, why aren't you email marketing? And I think email marketing is one of the most forgotten
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
markets. And what they were doing is very much finding new customers and not retention rate for their existing customers. And I said to them, and when I talked to her about going and talking to their existing customers, she said, but I don't have anything really to talk to them about. I said, well, talk to them about that. Trust me, your customers don't know all your products because they don't care as much as you. but also talk to them about how they might use them and the ingredients that are in them. You've got so much to talk about. And every time she did her boost in sales was substantial to the point where today that's simply a strategy that they have an email strategy now. If three times a week an email will go out and their sales get boosted as a result. So email is such a cheap, free version of marketing and so many businesses aren't don't
Jen:
Hmm.
Mel Browne:
have a retention strategy. So there are three different examples where all three businesses went back to their numbers, picked, there were different numbers for each business
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
and by concentrating on them and the activity they needed to do, they all substantially increased their business.
Jen:
I love it. And I specifically love the email one because it's so
Mel Browne:
Ugh,
Jen:
relevant
Mel Browne:
so easy.
Jen:
to trainers. And when
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
you were saying that it's almost like, you know, you work your ass off to get someone's email address, and then you just chuck
Mel Browne:
Mm-hmm.
Jen:
it in a bin.
Mel Browne:
Dang you.
Jen:
Unless
Mel Browne:
Yeah,
Jen:
they buy
Mel Browne:
don't do
Jen:
from
Mel Browne:
anything
Jen:
you
Mel Browne:
with
Jen:
instantly,
Mel Browne:
it
Jen:
you'd be like, I don't care about you. And it's
Mel Browne:
Yup.
Jen:
there are some statistics and I can't remember them, but people need something like seven to 11 touch
Mel Browne:
Seven.
Jen:
points, seven touch points before they even before they buy from you anyway.
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
So
Mel Browne:
And
Jen:
yeah.
Mel Browne:
the seven touch points in amongst the noise that we currently have around marketing. So I think we need far more than seven, but we want them. I think we think that we're annoying our people by spamming their inbox, but if they've given us the email, they want to hear from us. So
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
it's kind of being rude by, it's like going at, it's like you were at a bar, you've asked someone out. They've given you their number and you're like, well, I'm just going to hope that they just show up on a date with me. No, you're going to text them. You're going to start a conversation. So you want to start a conversation with your customers.
Jen:
Yeah and hold the conversation. Yeah
Mel Browne:
Yes.
Jen:
absolutely,
Mel Browne:
Yeah, yeah, you want to woo them.
Jen:
absolutely. Um Mel you shared lots with us and I know you've got lots of other resources and things that people listening might want to get their hands on. Have you got anything you'd like to share or where you want to, how they can find out more about you, come find you, follow you,
Mel Browne:
Yeah,
Jen:
all of the
Mel Browne:
well,
Jen:
things?
Mel Browne:
we'll give you a link with lots of different ways that you can try everything from like maybe if pricing masterclass and more.
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
And that way, if you want help with your business or your personal finances, you can just go to that one link and
Jen:
Amazing.
Mel Browne:
then you can find me from there or come play with me on Insta. I have lots and lots of
Jen:
You
Mel Browne:
free
Jen:
have
Mel Browne:
stuff
Jen:
great
Mel Browne:
there
Jen:
stuff, great
Mel Browne:
at
Jen:
posts.
Mel Browne:
melbrown.money.
Jen:
And I'll just, just so everyone knows about, you've talked a lot about your course, what,
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
just so that they know what it is, tell us a little
Mel Browne:
Yes,
Jen:
bit about
Mel Browne:
so it's
Jen:
that.
Mel Browne:
called
Jen:
Yep.
Mel Browne:
the My Financial Adopting Plan. I run it three times a year. It's an eight-week course that runs for 12 weeks with a membership off the back of it. And you will learn how to do money in a way that works for you,
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mel Browne:
including creating your very own financial plan, which you would pay a financial planner 3 and 1.5 grand for. We're incredibly proud of it. We've had extraordinary results from more than 3 million invested in shares. from our whole group, investment properties bought, debt payback, and like real life changing, tangible results.
Jen:
Mm.
Mel Browne:
So if you're looking to do something different with your finances, or when I'm talking about investing, if you're like, oh, I don't know where to start with that, then come and check out our program. We open the doors again in, we've got some free training in August, some really cool free training, and then September we open our doors.
Jen:
Yeah, and I can vouch Ben and I went through the course and I can't say that we've actioned everything, but we've actioned some things.
Mel Browne:
Mmm.
Jen:
And it's a beautiful course on the inside and it's really easy to follow along, I guess at your own pace, but staying with the weeks and get
Mel Browne:
Yeah.
Jen:
that information that you just wanna ask those questions if you don't know where to start or the biggest thing that I wanted to understand more was the investing. So that was really helpful. Yep,
Mel Browne:
Oh good, I love
Jen:
fantastic.
Mel Browne:
hearing that.
Jen:
Awesome. Well thank you so much for joining us today. It's been an absolute pleasure to have a chat and
Mel Browne:
You're so welcome.
Jen:
yeah I look forward to chatting with you soon. Thanks Mel.
Mel Browne:
Thanks for having me.
Jen:
Thank you.
