Budget 2016: business blooming, but a rethink now looms

Entrepreneur Helen Pow has set up an online florist and ­delivery business while ensuring she contributes to her super fund.

Helen Pow, 31, owner of The Little Posy Co in Fremantle in WA. ‘I want other sources of ­income too.’ Picture: Colin Murty

Young entrepreneur Helen Pow has set up an online florist and ­delivery business in Fremantle, and is poised to expand in two states, all while ensuring she contributes to her super fund.

The 31-year-old owner of The Little Posy Co — a small business success she has built to employ 16 delivery drivers since launching 18 months ago — has always believed her superannuation would fund her retirement.

But she says changes unveiled in the budget will force her to rethink after the government capped the amount she can invest from her after-tax income into her fund at $500,000 over her lifetime.

“An obvious priority for me is my business; it’s part of my retirement plan and it’s where a lot of my income will be reinvested as I go,” Ms Pow said yesterday.

Her company has developed a cult following with its simple and popular premise, based on one posy Ms Pow designs a day, priced at $33 including delivery to most of Perth. “It’s a big part of my plan for my future,” she added, with the budget’s extra tax cuts for small business on top of last year’s ­deductions for equipment “very helpful”.

“But I want other sources of ­income too,’’ said Ms Pow, who would also consider buying an investment property in the hope of benefiting from negative gearing.

While she has no plans to stop funding her super, with the business expanding to Brisbane and Sydney in October, and dreams of opening in Melbourne, her cash flow won’t always be predictable.

Ms Pow also envisions taking advantage of new rules that allow her to roll three years of contribution into one: “It could be useful in the future, I know friends have stalled when saving for retirement when they started a family, but it could also make sense (to roll over contributions) depending on where my business is up to.’’