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‘I work just 5 hours a week’

'I work just 5 hours a week'

I never was the entrepreneurial type. But after losing my job as an audio engineer in 2009, I had to get creative to make ends meet.

Thirteen years later, at age 39, I’ve built two online businesses that earn me a combined $160,000 a month in passive income. I also recently published a book, “How to Get Paid for What You Know.”

The first business I started was The Recording Revolution, a music and education blog that sells music production courses. The second, which I started in 2018, teaches people how to make money off their passions, like I did. It’s the most lucrative business, thanks to online course and coaching program sales, as well as affiliate commissions.

Graham Cochrane started his first business in 2009. Since then, he’s scaled two online companies and now grosses about $120,000 per month.

Photo: John Olson for CNBC Make It

Around 2,800 people use my products, and my goal is to help more entrepreneurs grow their online businesses while working fewer hours.

My top priorities are spending time with family and being able to give back, so I’ve set up my work and personal life to be able to focus on those key values.

Here’s what my typical day looks like:

Mornings start slow and easy

I usually wake up at 5 am — before the kids — because I always want an hour to myself. I’ll start with coffee and my Bible.

After some reading, praying and journaling, I’ll make breakfast with my wife and wake the kids. We’ll spend 20 to 30 minutes eating together in the kitchen before I drop them off at school by 7:30 am

Then I head back to my home office, or do a quick gym session if I’m in the mood.

Graham and his wife have breakfast with their children in the morning before talking through their schedule.

Photo: John Olson for CNBC Make It

I work just five hours a week — Mondays and Wednesdays

On Mondays, I plan and create YouTube videos and podcast episodes. Potential customers usually find me through this free online content. If they like it, they can sign up for my newsletter and get emails about free resources and premium online courses.

I make a chunk of passive income from these courses. I’ve designed my business system to automatically send emails, so the bulk of my work is just to maintain a steady flow of new, free content.

Recording videos and podcasts takes about two hours. I also have someone who edits and uploads the content. My remaining hour on Mondays is dedicated to answering emails or giving advice to members of my Six-Figure Coaching Community.

On Wednesdays, I spend time on community interaction, then host a 90-minute live call with my advanced business coaching students.

Graham spends about five hours a week creating content and managing his businesses.

Photo: John Olson for CNBC Make It

Once a month, I film an exclusive training for members of my paid community which adds about two extra hours of work per month to my schedule.

I’ve never been a fan of the hustle culture; I don’t believe it’s healthy or wise. If you can find a way to build systems into your business so that it mostly runs on its own, you don’t need to waste time doing constant upkeep.

After all, what’s the point of “being your own boss” if you’re working all the time?

Family time is my No. 1 priority

People often ask me what I do with all the extra time in my week, and my answer isn’t the most exciting. I run errands, hit the gym, go to the car wash, have coffee or lunch with a friend, or dive into a good book. Right now, I’m reading “Living Fearless” by Jamie Winship.

But most importantly, I spend time with my family. Fridays are considered as “date days” with my wife. We work out, go out to lunch, catch up on life, talk about the kids, and meet with our marriage counselor.

Lately, we’ve been focusing on how to communicate better when we have disagreements. No marriage is perfect, and the work I’ve put into our relationship has made me a better husband and father.

My wife and I never compromise on picking up the kids from school together. We want to be home when they are. Our other non-negotiable is family dinner. We sit down to a tech-free dinner every night. Most evenings, my wife cooks and I do the dishes. But we also eat out a few times a week.

“My schedule has two non-negotiables,” says Graham: “I pick my daughters up from school every day, and our family eats dinner together every night.”

Photo: John Olson for CNBC Make It

We love going out for walks, swimming in the pool, watching movies or playing Nintendo Switch with the kids. By spending time together, we hope to teach them essential life skills like how to share feelings and be kind to each other. I also want them to feel like valuable, included members of the family.

We’re big on traveling, too — both locally in Florida and around the world. A few summers ago, we spent a month in the South of France. And just this spring, we stayed in Puerto Rico for three weeks. Having the time and flexibility to make these kinds of memories together is priceless.

Radical generosity a core value

We attend church every Sunday, and often do volunteer work with local organizations that help the unhoused population in our city.

My philosophy is that I make this money so that I can give most of my profits away to charities and my local church, groups that are doing a lot of good in the world.

Right now, my wife and I donate 30% of our income, but we are hoping to eventually give away 50%.

Graham Cochrane is founder of The Recording Revolution, author of “How to Get Paid for What You Know″and is a business coach to over 2,800 customers worldwide. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter.

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Categories
US

Why IRS’ $80B expansion is a ‘nightmare’ for small businesses

Why IRS' $80B expansion is a 'nightmare' for small businesses

Small business owners may soon be in for a lengthy and expensive battle with the IRS, tax experts warn.

A key provision in the Inflation Reduction Act — which throws an extra $80 billion to the IRS to improve the agency’s collection of under-reported income — will end up targeting small business owners to pay for the legislation, according to nonpartisan watchdog the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The group estimates that between 78% and 90% of the estimated additional $200 billion the IRS will collect will come from small businesses making less than $200,000 annually.

Just 4% to 9% would come from businesses making north of $500,000 a year — meaning the legislation is in sharp contrast to President Biden’s longstanding claim that he wouldn’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000.

“The IRS will have to target small and medium businesses because they won’t fight back,” Joe Hinchman, executive vice president at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, told The Post. “We’ve seen this play out before … the IRS says ‘We’re going after the rich’ but when you’re trying to raise that much money, the rich can only get you so far.”

I.R.S.
Increasing the number of IRS agents could hurt small businesses most.
Getty Images

In fact, going after the lower and middle class can actually be more lucrative for IRS auditors than trying to get more money from the wealthy. “The rich have their lawyers and fight it — that’s why the poor are easier to go after,” Hinchman adds.

Accordingly, tax experts warn that the IRS’s audits will be far more painful and costly for small business owners — even for those who think they’re filing their taxes correctly.

manchin
Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer have reached a deal that would give the IRS an extra $80 billion.
Getty Images

“Most small businesses aren’t doing anything wrong,” Daniel Bunn, executive vice president at the Tax Foundation, told The Post. “We don’t make the tax code simple and the complicated tax code makes it difficult for small business owners to comply with all the requirements.”

Even if small business owners get everything right, they may still be faced with a headache since part of the IRS expansion will involve sending out more notices and letters to businesses, Bunn adds. For individual contractors or small businesses, an IRS letter that they owe more money or made an error on their taxes can put them underwater.

“Anytime you get an IRS letter, it could take months or years to get it settled — we’re talking many thousands of dollars to address,” Bunn added. “Large companies have constant reviews and lawyers going through everything… small business doesn’t have the resources to fight back in the way.”

The White House has dismissed claims the bill will hurt lower- and middle-income Americans, instead noting the JCT estimate doesn’t take into account how much the bill will offset costs for average Americans like prescription drugs.

But tax experts aren’t so sanguine about the reality of giving the IRS more resources.

“The approach here is to double the IRS workforce, take the leash off, and see how much they can collect,” Hinchman adds. “I think they’ll collect it but it will be quite painful.”

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Categories
US

Why IRS’ $80B expansion is a ‘nightmare’ for small businesses

Why IRS' $80B expansion is a 'nightmare' for small businesses

Small business owners may soon be in for a lengthy and expensive battle with the IRS, tax experts warn.

A key provision in the Inflation Reduction Act — which throws an extra $80 billion to the IRS to improve the agency’s collection of under-reported income — will end up targeting small business owners to pay for the legislation, according to nonpartisan watchdog the Joint Committee on Taxation.

The group estimates that between 78% and 90% of the estimated additional $200 billion the IRS will collect will come from small businesses making less than $200,000 annually.

Just 4% to 9% would come from businesses making north of $500,000 a year — meaning the legislation is in sharp contrast to President Biden’s longstanding claim that he wouldn’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000.

“The IRS will have to target small and medium businesses because they won’t fight back,” Joe Hinchman, executive vice president at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, told The Post. “We’ve seen this play out before … the IRS says ‘We’re going after the rich’ but when you’re trying to raise that much money, the rich can only get you so far.”

I.R.S.
Increasing the number of IRS agents could hurt small businesses most.
Getty Images

In fact, going after the lower and middle class can actually be more lucrative for IRS auditors than trying to get more money from the wealthy. “The rich have their lawyers and fight it — that’s why the poor are easier to go after,” Hinchman adds.

Accordingly, tax experts warn that the IRS’s audits will be far more painful and costly for small business owners — even for those who think they’re filing their taxes correctly.

manchin
Sens. Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer have reached a deal that would give the IRS an extra $80 billion.
Getty Images

“Most small businesses aren’t doing anything wrong,” Daniel Bunn, executive vice president at the Tax Foundation, told The Post. “We don’t make the tax code simple and the complicated tax code makes it difficult for small business owners to comply with all the requirements.”

Even if small business owners get everything right, they may still be faced with a headache since part of the IRS expansion will involve sending out more notices and letters to businesses, Bunn adds. For individual contractors or small businesses, an IRS letter that they owe more money or made an error on their taxes can put them underwater.

“Anytime you get an IRS letter, it could take months or years to get it settled — we’re talking many thousands of dollars to address,” Bunn added. “Large companies have constant reviews and lawyers going through everything… small business doesn’t have the resources to fight back in the way.”

The White House has dismissed claims the bill will hurt lower- and middle-income Americans, instead noting the JCT estimate doesn’t take into account how much the bill will offset costs for average Americans like prescription drugs.

But tax experts aren’t so sanguine about the reality of giving the IRS more resources.

“The approach here is to double the IRS workforce, take the leash off, and see how much they can collect,” Hinchman adds. “I think they’ll collect it but it will be quite painful.”

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Categories
Australia

Skills shortage in automotive industry reaches ‘crisis’ levels, as businesses close

A man in a cap stands in a garage full of cars

Clinton Godde gets enough work at his WA garage for more than half a dozen staff but an “abysmal” skills shortage in the car industry has meant he has been unable to get enough skilled workers to turn a profit.

The automotive industry estimates there are close to 40,000 vacancies for jobs such as mechanics, motor trimmers, panel beaters, and spray painters across Australia as it struggles through what is believed to be the worst worker shortage in two decades.

Mr Godde, who runs a garage in the eastern Perth suburb of Bellevue, said the shortage pre-dated COVID-19 and was showing no sign of easing.

“This is a blight that is just continuing,” Mr Godde said.

“I have been looking for staff seriously for two to three years and prior to that I have been looking for a motor vehicle trimmer for six or seven years.”

A close up of a man with a beard and a brown hat
Small business owner Clinton Godde says staff shortages mean he is not making any money.(ABC News: Jacqueline Lynch)

Mr Godde said the lack of experienced workers had taken a toll on his businesses.

“I am continuing to tread water and keep my head above the water line,” he said.

“I’m not making any money. I don’t want to say I’m going backwards but, if you stay stagnant long enough, it’s hard to know which way you’re turning.

“To have six or seven guys that are churning out work and the cashflow that revolves around that is really, really noticeable and I haven’t had that cash flow for probably the last three years.

“I quite often think I should go and be a farmer or something.”

‘Crisis’ level shortage closes businesses

The WA Motor Trade Association CEO Stephen Moir said, with skills shortages at “crisis” levels across Australia, Mr Godde’s story was not unusual.

“It’s not unique at all. In fact, it’s common,” Mr Moir said.

He said some businesses had already shut up shop.

“It seems unusual that a business would close as a result of too much work but we’ve got to remember that these are mum-and-dad businesses and the pressure of that can be too much,” he said.

“We’ve seen a few shops closing as a result of demand. They just can’t keep up.”

A man in a suit and tie stands in front of a car with the bonnet open
WA Motor Trades Association CEO Stephen Moir says more needs to be done to get skilled workers from overseas.(ABC News: Jacqueline Lynch)

The association has taken on a record number of trainees this year but it is expected to be several years before they are work-ready.

In the meantime, Mr Moir said the federal government needed to make it easier, quicker, and more affordable for small businesses to bring in skilled workers from overseas.

“Right now on average it will cost a small business $20,000 to bring one migrant worker across,” he said.

“That is exceptionally high for a small businesses to cope with but when you’re needing four, five or six staff members that becomes almost impossible.”

A man with a beard fixing a car
Clinton Godde is doing work himself at his small business because he cannot get enough skilled staff.(ABC News: Jacqueline Lynch)

There are already more than 2,400 skilled migrant workers currently employed in Australia’s automotive industry, with almost 700 in Western Australia.

However, the Department of Home Affairs said it acknowledged the pressure skills shortages were putting on the community.

“The upcoming Jobs and Skills Summit will provide the opportunity for meaningful consultation with industry stakeholders to address labor shortages and ensure Australia’s economic recovery from COVID-19,” a spokesperson said.

The department said the cost of bringing in skilled workers included a tax-deductible levy.

Customers wait weeks, months for work

Worker shortages have taken their toll on customers, with people waiting up to six weeks for a standard service or even months to get their car repaired, refurbished, or restored.

Kalgoorlie resident Mandy Reidy has been waiting almost a year to get her old EJ Holden out of the garage and onto the road.

An old photograph of a woman and her dog and an EJ Holden
Mandy Reidy has been waiting about a year to refurbish a car similar to the one she took across the Nullarbor almost 30 years ago.(Supplied: Mandy Reidy)

Ms Reidy said she had reached out to several businesses to try to get the vehicle restored.

“I have looked locally, I have had people suggested from the eastern states… it’s just about a year now that I have been waiting and I still have to wait,” she said.

“It’s a bit slow-paced and I have found that with other sources that I have reached out to try to get the car restored are just either a one-man band or they can’t find workers.”

Ms Reidy bought the vehicle from a friend, to remind her of the EJ Holden she took on a road trip across the Nullarbor nearly 30 years ago.

“It means a lot to me and I just want to be able to drive it again.”

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