Let’s Talk About Debt
Last year, I decided that I wanted all of our teachers to be employed rather than contractors.
I didn’t like how blurred the lines were for contractors — did we pay super or didn’t we?
(P.S. You do. Everyone does. All contractors in our industry and most other industries are legally entitled to 12% super.)
Add to that the devastating (but honestly, I should’ve seen it coming) sudden loss of Nin Yoga Castle Hill after being open for only 3 months, taking time off to care for my dad in stage four, and the rising cost of everythingggggg, and suddenly… every BAS period came with a painful price.
Around $15k every three months and rising, to be exact.
That’s something the studio simply couldn’t sustain with under 100 members.
I’ve cried over this.
I’ve ignored it.
I’ve pretended it wasn’t happening.
But I’m writing this here because I’ve come to realise that the moment I started talking about it, out loud, to friends, to mentors, to anyone who’d listen, something shifted.
The weight didn’t disappear, but it got lighter.
Yes, I have an ATO debt of over $65k.
Yes, the interest rate is 10.78%.
Yes, the debt continues to grow every three months, with most of it coming from tax withheld for employees.
This is the kind of situation that quietly breaks small businesses. Not because they don’t care, but because the shame of it makes them stop asking for help.
Shame that sounds like:
“I should be putting the money away every week”
“This debt should come before everything else because of the interest rate, even before payroll and rent”
“It's not like I'm spending money on anything unnecessary, why cant my revenue sustain my overheads? Did I sign up for a flawed business model?”
“I am doing everything all my mentors over the years tell me to do, how did I still get here? Is it me?”
I’ve seen this silence destroy others, so I’m sharing this because I want to prevent that.
Here’s what I keep reminding myself:
This business has been the exception for over eight years. We’ll figure this out, too.
I’m not the first small business owner to go through this. Others have survived much, much worse tax-wise.
The ATO may not make it easy, but sometimes persistence (and a polite but relentless number of calls) can make a difference. Everyone appreciates open communication — even the big, bad and scary government.
And more importantly, debt doesn’t define the value of your business or your worth as a human.
Running a business is messy, unpredictable, and at times, sooooooo deeply uncomfortable. Every day, you’re confronted with your faults and your fears — and that’s exhausting in its own right.
But it’s also one of the most creative, courageous, and growth-filled things (as far as I know, anyway) that anyone can do.
I haven’t solved this problem yet. I don’t have the magic answer. But I am learning to look it in the eye instead of turning away.
I’m choosing to believe that with time, consistency, and support, things will shift. They always do. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in eight years of running Nin Yoga, it’s that community and resilience always outlast fear.
So, if you’re reading this and facing your own version of a mountain — whether it’s financial, emotional, or personal — don’t let it silence you.
Talk about it.
Ask for help.
Keep showing up.
It’s okay to not have it figured out.
It’s okay to be scared.
And it’s also okay to trust that this, too, will eventually find its balance.
That’s what I’m doing.
One payroll, one BAS, one conversation at a time.
Annika xx