Entrepreneur Business: Analysis suggests calls to cut GST threshold for overseas sales may not work, Young developer to face rape trial, Christmas trading chaos continues

Dear SmartCompany reader,

As calls grow for the Government to protect Australian retailers by lowering the GST threshold on overseas purchases from $1,000, SmartCompany has crunched the numbers to reveal that even halving the threshold wouldn’t stop the overseas shopping rush. And as James Thomson argues in Entrepreneur Watch, it’s not a long-term solution anyway. We’ve also got news of a Young Rich list member who has been committed to stand trial for rape, the latest on collapsed franchise brand Cookie Man, and the story behind Thorn Group’s decision to dump its online retailer, BigBrownBox.

And don’t miss today’s entrepreneur interview with LookSmart Alterations founder Abraham Hatoum. It’s an inspiring story about a business owner who has beaten war, murder and poverty to create a $30 million business.

For all this and more, head to the home page.

News

Lunch with an Entrepreneur
The long battle Lots of entrepreneurs have great rags-to-riches stories, but few can top Abraham Hatoum, who battled murder, war and poverty to build a 100-strong franchise business. BY JAMES THOMSON.

Top Story
The state of security Despite a general decline in reported break and entry, robbery and theft, cautious households and businesses are increasingly investing in security preventative measures. BY ROBERT BRYANT.

Aunty B
I'm starting to stress about the launch. Help! The most important thing to focus on now is your marketing plan. Got one? Yeah, sorry. That's not a marketing plan. That's a plan to promote yourself.

Trends

Profitable growth
Julia Bickerstaff Do you have the foresight to make the tough decisions before you need to? While it's completely human to put off the tough decisions until the last possible moment, it's rarely judicious.

The Digital Bottom Line
Brendan Lewis Five things I hate hearing I'm a bit tired and cranky this week from competing deadlines, so I thought I would share lines I hate hearing and which instantly kill any meeting for me.

Internet secrets
Craig Reardon Groups prove to be social networking's 'killer app' for SMEs Groups are relatively low maintenance for a high ROI.

Entrepreneur Watch
James Thomson No quick fix for retailers Calls for the Government to lower the GST threshold on overseas purchases won’t help our retailers in the long run.

Coming Up

Can Australia’s group buying sector explosion really last?

Best wishes,
Amanda Gome
Founder / Publisher
SmartCompany.com.au

I always ask people, who comes first, the employee or the customer? And 95% of people say the customer comes first.

I say absolutely wrong, the person that should come first is the employee. Because if your employee is happy, they will treat the customer right. If you don't treat your employees well and you don't look after them, how do you expect them to look after your customers? And that's why I say put your people first, sales and profits will follow. That's my strategy.

Abraham Hatoum, LookSmart Alternations

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