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A childhood passion for “all things nice” had turned into a successful business for Bianca Kristallis, founder of Pamper Hamper, an online luxury gift hamper service that delivers nationally. Pamper Hamper delivers gifts in its signature white box with distinctive black and white ribbon trim. And it’s borne from Kristallis’s obsession with wrapping.

How much money do you need to fund your retirement? In the past this has been a difficult question to answer but as analysts, academics and superannuation/investment specialists have put their heads together to crunch the numbers, things have become a little clearer. It’s no surprise that it all depends on your life expectancy, work plans, investment returns and desired lifestyle – basic, modest or comfortable.

You might think that the 2007-2008 financial crisis was an unpredictable one-time crash. But Didier Sornette and his Financial Crisis Observatory have plotted a set of early warning signs for unstable, growing systems, tracking the moment when any bubble is about to pop. (And he’s seeing it happen again, right now.)

Didier Sornette studies whether it is possible to anticipate big changes or predict crises in complex systems.

This month’s Client in Focus is Ray and Colleen Sullivan, owners of Leader Hydraulics.

We speak to Ray and Colleen on the success of their business since taking over ownership in 2008 and discuss the challenges they encounter on a day-to-day basis.

For business owners in the building and construction industry, by 21 July (28 July for quarterly instalment lodgers) you will need to report to the Australian Taxation Office all payments made to contractors during the financial year.

There are two important changes all employers should be aware of in relation to superannuation and new gender equality reporting requirements. The first of these is the changes to the superannuation regime which increase employer’s superannuation obligations starting from the 1st July 2013 to compulsory contributions of 9.25%.

Great investors don’t just read about world events, they analyse the likely trickle-down effects of those events on the industries and sectors in which they invest.

Poor time management can have terrible consequences for small business owners overwhelmed by challenging priorities. Some simple changes are worth trying for a better night’s sleep.

Plenty of people need jobs with very flexible hours – but it’s difficult for those people to join with the employers who need them.

Wingham Rowan, founder of social-business Silvers-of-Time which runs online markets for micro-working and micro-volunteering, explains how the same technology that powers modern financial markets can help employer’s book workers for ‘silvers of time’.

This month’s Client in Focus is family business, Galley Kitchens.

This month, Managing Directors and Paul and Liarne Ray talk about how they managed to grow the business during the financial crisis and remain a market leader in the region.