By Paul Hilton

Things are better than what you read!

We approach another end to a financial year that really is not much different to last year in regards to uncertainty in world economies. However, if we look past the major headlines and focus on the real facts, the world and Australia are actually in better shape than we think.

The facts are:

• We have had austerity measures accepted in troubled European countries; • The Euro is still together and the major countries want this to remain; • The US economy is improving and, while there are still hurdles ahead, there is no doubt there is improvement from last year; • Australia has bypassed all major issues of overseas countries; • Australia has low unemployment; • Australia has continued economic growth; • The Australian dollar has come off its historic highs; • Inflation in Australia remains in check; • Interest rates are coming down.

Australia has issues to address but there are always economic challenges in a growing economy, such as:

• The mining boom and the associated industries have created an imbalance in our economy, especially to our traditional Australian businesses; • Our Federal leaders focus more on scoring political points than running our great country; • Many years of neglect to infrastructure spending has created a bottle neck.

As business owners we cannot sit back and expect things to improve if we keep doing the same as before. The Australian economy has changed, possibly forever. Our traditional businesses are being challenged, therefore we need to think and perform differently. This is not easy; however, if it was easy it would be the norm.

Surveys have shown the Australian citizen is more pessimistic about the future than any other developed country. We have not experienced the pain of countries such as Ireland, Greece, USA or England. I am at a loss as to why we are so negative. So let’s look at how lucky we are to be living in this great country, accept that there are challenges but they are nothing compared to our fellow trading partners. There are great opportunities out there if we are prepared to look at things in a different light.

If your business needs another set of eyes, sit down with your adviser and see what opportunities may be out there.