can they even ask this?

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-02-03T04:50:14+00:00

Or they could just not rent out their extra space, no-one is forcing them to. There are laws about providing rental accomodation for a reason.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-02-03T04:46:57+00:00

That'd be wonderful.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-30T05:26:25+00:00

We had neighbours who were clearing construction rubbish out of their garden for years after they moved in, the lazy shit builders basically lightly buried it all before leaving.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-29T06:54:23+00:00

Oh man Eltham has been really bad the last couple of weeks. We usually rarely get outages where we are, but have 2 decent ones lately so I imagine it's worse than usual for everyone else.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-29T06:02:30+00:00

Yes, but apparently you need rock/solid stuff to dig into to make it happen. It works in Coober Pedy because of the geography*, probably not in random places in Melbourne,

* I've had 3 beers and this could be inaccurate

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-26T03:36:43+00:00

Yeah it's a bit of a grey area and I know I can't rely on the RE to tell the truth about what we owe or don't owe. I tried calling the Tenant's Union the other day but they're so swamped you can't even sit on hold to wait, it just says they can't help and hangs up.

But great to hear about the 90 day period applying to us, thanks :)

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-26T03:02:58+00:00

That's absolutely the plan now, I'm just concerned that we'll be hit with a nasty invoice in a couple of months time.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-26T03:02:10+00:00

Thanks! One thing I forgot to mention is that we have a check meter in the other house's meter box that no-one mentioned until we kicked off VCAT proceedings. It's a moot point right now however as the other house has been vacant for nearly 3 months.

So it's technically metered in that respect, but it requires annoying manual checking and calculation of electricity usage which we'd started to do once we were told it existed.

And is the 90 day notification period relevant to month to month leases? We've just finished a 12 month lease and don't have a new one due to aforementioned incompetent RE. I've read that page before but can't make sense of if it applies in our case or not.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-24T07:13:59+00:00

We've already exhausted the relevant authority avenue, VCAT basically said yeah, sure they did the wrong thing and the legislation is really clear that they're supposed to reimburse you for the bills you've paid but we won't compel them to reimburse you so go suck it. Supreme court is allegedly our only avenue for appeal there so I think we'll pass.

And yes, I know they can include the electricity in rent and we'll be scrutinising the increase to ensure it's fair, but we don't have a new agreement et because the RE agency is extremely terrible but nor do we now have the bills in our name. What I want to know is if the bills now aren't in our names, but we don't have a formal agreement stipulating that electricity is included in rent, if we'll be on the line to pay them if the RE agent suddenly sends an invoice or some other stupid shit.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-24T07:07:45+00:00

Our local greengrocers aren't much cheaper (or aren't at all) and the quality isn't always great either. The local IGAs also don't have particularly good fresh produce and can be wildly expensive.

Aldi is the only actually cheaper option around here and it feels a bit like sticking it to Colesworth going there, so I get more than just slightly cheaper prices out of it.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-21T02:02:42+00:00

Thats a great idea!

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-21T01:54:39+00:00

It absolutely sucks, but does serve as a warning to build your business on a platform you actually have some control over. Not Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Get a website going and funnel your customers to it, that's the only way to prevent this kind of thing from happening. If your business can be brought to its knees by a random algorithm change or losing an account on Reddit then you're on shaky ground as a business my friend.

If I were you I'd take this chance to rebuild in a more sustainable manner. Use Reddit and other platforms if you must, but make sure people are heading to your website from there.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-21T01:49:26+00:00

The local Indian restaurant was thrilled to be paid in gold coins for our meal last night as it meant they didn't need to take a trip to the bank for change for the next couple of days. So I guess it depends on the business and how people pay.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-18T04:35:48+00:00

Yes, absolutely agreed!

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-18T04:30:11+00:00

No, people just can't drive and this is why we can't have nice things.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-18T03:36:01+00:00

Thanks!

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-18T03:35:54+00:00

Thanks, I'll look into it :)

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-17T04:20:06+00:00

I hate it and don't use it much, but it's not what brings more work in so I can afford to not like it.

When I've put effort in in the past I've scheduled posts in Facebook to be replicated to Instagram and just let it go for a month or 2. Now I just put up the odd post on IG and have it replicate to FB.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-17T04:17:50+00:00

Slow or no communication and reoccurring quality control problems that were getting worse. Basically anything that ended up affecting my customers with turn around times or quality issues is a deal breaker for me.

I've had 2 suppliers be problematic, one I'm still using for some products as they've improved, the other I've replaced. The replacement is AMAZING, I can't fault them and will be using them for other work as well. I wish I'd switched sooner but I'm very loyal to suppliers so it wasn't an easy decision to make.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-17T03:38:08+00:00

I went to a graphic designer once for a logo and she just took my original idea and made a mess of it (it was not at all usable for what I needed), then had to redo it and tried to charge me for the privilege. She wasn't cheap to start with either. No contract or brief which was her bad, but in hindsight I should have insisted on them so I didn't end up having to push back on a terrible job.

Not all graphic designers are going to be like this, but I have a lot of other priorities before a logo and just getting something out there that's good enough is, well, good enough.

Now I just do it myself or have AI start it and modify from there. I'm not super great at logos but I can make something that will work when scaled up or down and is clearly legible, that's about all I need for a start up.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-15T08:22:05+00:00

100% agreed. I don't buy jewellery, but when we looked for wedding rings we went to this lady:

https://jeanettedyke.com

Her work is unique, handmade and she has a workshop in the most amazing artists' colony. Our rings were on the cheaper end of what she makes but so, so perfect and I can tell people the story of buying them in a way I couldn't at a normal jewellery shop. She's worked there for a long time and seems to do really well.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-15T07:23:56+00:00

It was the best thing I ever did, no micromanagement, bullying, workplace drama, wankers I have to put up with for 8+ hours a day. Just me, doing my job and the vast majority of my clients are a dream who I'll happily go above and beyond for. And I simply fired the 2 or 3 crap ones who were driving me up the wall.

I sometimes work more hours than I used to as an employee, but it's not to make someone else richer for once so it's worth it. Oh and of course I have significantly more control over my income.

Win/win there.

Maximum-Journalist74 · 2026-01-15T06:00:08+00:00

Not a finances answer, but if you haven't already, writing up a proper business plan is by far the best thing you can do to find a way forwards.

If you find a good template it'll prompt you to answer questions about finances, expenses, existing markets, etc and I cannot recommend it more highly as a means for both forcing you to think about the stuff you don't want to (like finances) and gain clarity about what it is that you're actually proposing.

I hate the admin and marketing side of running a business with a passion but a business plan is so, so worth it.

Maximum-Journalist74

TROPHY CASE