Business By Design

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This week, the mic flips! Mena takes the lead and interviews Stuart about the biggest lessons he’s learned in nearly 25 years of running a business. From the importance of focusing on internal resilience rather than external noise, to the three critical pillars—people, systems, and product—Stuart shares the wins, mistakes, and mindset shifts that have shaped his entrepreneurial journey.

They discuss why knowing your numbers isn't optional, how culture can make or break a team, and how early mistakes (like obsessing over short-term results) led to long-term insights. Whether you're just starting out or deep into your business journey, this episode is a goldmine of real-world wisdom from the frontlines.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

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Buying or partnering with a business isn’t just a numbers game. In this comprehensive episode, Stuart and Mena unpack the often-overlooked non-financial considerations that can make or break a deal.

From strategic alignment and cultural fit to customer base stability, employee morale, operational systems, and intellectual property—this episode guides you through the full landscape of due diligence beyond the balance sheet.

If you’re evaluating a business opportunity, this episode will help you make a thoughtful, strategic, and sustainable decision—not just a profitable one.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

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Getting profit out of your trading entity isn’t as simple as it seems—and doing it wrong could cost you. In this strategy-focused episode, Stuart and Mena dive into how to distribute profits in a way that aligns with your financial goals and keeps your tax bill as low as legally possible.

They explore thresholds for personal income when to use corporate beneficiaries or trusts, navigating Division 293, and avoiding Div 7A traps. Whether you need cash now or want to retain profits for future use, this episode equips you with the strategic insight to make the smartest move.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

An accountant’s job is more than ticking boxes—it’s about taking a 360° view of your finances. In this episode, Stuart and Mena outline what a true financial health check should include when your accountant prepares your year-end tax work.

They cover business health ratios, structural reviews, profit distribution planning, personal asset and liability audits, and key insurance and investment considerations. Whether you're a business owner or a PAYG client, this episode reveals the deeper layers of accounting that support long-term success.

📌 Referenced episodes:

• Business Structuring (S05E03)
• Financial Ratios & Health (S03E32)
• Asset Protection (S04E24)

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

A Labor Party win brings a wave of policy changes—some offering opportunities, others increasing complexity for small businesses. In this timely episode, Stuart and Mena unpack the key reforms and proposals affecting entrepreneurs and business owners.

From tighter labour market conditions and ATO crackdowns on trusts to the $3 million super tax and incentives like the extended instant asset write-off and energy grants—this episode breaks down what’s real, what’s likely, and what you should prepare for.

They also discuss housing market impacts, fee-free TAFE expansions, IR reforms, and the looming SG rate increase. If you're a small business owner navigating policy shifts under Labor, this episode is your essential briefing.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

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Want to dramatically grow your business profits? Stuart and Mena reveal that instead of focusing on dozens of small changes, most businesses should laser in on one to three profit multipliers.

They break it down into four critical areas: People, Pricing, Product, and Process—and show how mastering just one can transform your business. Learn how to build a culture that retains top talent, charge what you’re truly worth, refine your offerings, and create systems that scale.

With actionable examples, strategies, and tools, this episode is your roadmap to identifying and doubling down on the one area that could multiply your profits and set your business apart.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

Sudden wealth sounds like a dream—until it isn’t. In this deeply insightful episode, Stuart and Mena unpack financial decision paralysis, a common yet overlooked phenomenon that hits when wealth arrives through inheritance, a business exit, or property windfall.

They go beyond the typical “overwhelm” narrative to explore identity shifts, fear of mistakes, conflicting advice, and how to reclaim clarity through a structured approach. From building your own decision-making principles to assembling a unified advisory team, this episode offers a practical playbook for regaining control.

If you’ve come into wealth—or anticipate doing so—this episode will help you move from reactive to empowered architect of your financial future.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

Effective tax planning isn’t just for big corporations — it’s an essential lever for small business success. In this power-packed episode, Stuart and Mena walk through the ultimate small business tax planning checklist to help you preserve capital, reduce liabilities, and build long-term wealth.

They explore forecasting profit and tax positions, optimising superannuation strategies, reviewing bad debts, plant and equipment, FBT, stock on hand, and your business structure. Learn how to align tax planning with your commercial strategy and avoid the end-of-financial-year panic.

If you’re serious about building a thriving, tax-efficient business, this episode is your go-to guide.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

As 30 June approaches, Stuart and Mena shift focus to PAYG employees and individual taxpayers, sharing key tax planning strategies that can help you save money and avoid surprises at tax time.

From super contributions (including carry-forward and spousal strategies) to income protection insurance, salary packaging, home office expenses, and even timing of income, this episode offers practical tips to help you make the most of what's available to you.

They also highlight deductions you might be overlooking and how negative gearing and prepaying interest can play into your tax strategy. If you’re a PAYG earner looking to minimise tax and boost your financial position, this is the episode for you.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.

Send us Fan Mail

Audit activity is ramping up fast. In this crucial episode, Stuart and Mena reveal the sharp rise in ATO audits they've seen in the past few months, with more cases than in their combined careers to date. If you're a business owner, investor, or employee with deductions, this is a must-listen.

They break down the key audit hotspots the ATO is zeroing in on right now:
 • Rental Properties – especially repairs vs. capital improvements and incorrectly claimed interest on mixed-use loans
• Work-Related Expenses – With the updated fixed-rate method for working from home now in full effect, comprehensive records are no longer optional
• Property & Construction – audits are targeting GST misreporting, incorrect CGT treatment, and unreported sales tied to real estate transactions

Stuart and Mena offer practical guidance on how to stay compliant, choose the best deduction methods, and avoid common traps. They also stress the importance of a proactive, holistic accountant and highlight the benefits of audit insurance.

If you want to stay off the ATO’s radar and keep your finances audit-proof, don’t miss this timely episode.

If this episode resonated with you, please leave a rating on your favourite podcast platform. It helps us reach more incredible listeners like you. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

Click here to subscribe to our weekly email.

Work with Mena & Stuart's team: At ProSolution Private Clients we encourage clients to adopt a holistic and evidence-based approach when making financial decisions. Visit our website.

Follow us: Stuart: Twitter/X and LinkedIn.  Mena: LinkedIn

IMPORTANT: This podcast provides general information about finance, taxes, and credit. This means that the content does not consider your specific objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is crucial for you to assess whether the information is suitable for your circumstances before taking any actions based on it. If you find yourself uncertain about the relevance or your specific needs, it is advisable to seek advice from a licensed and trustworthy professional.