Starting your own business is a dream of so many Australians who want to be their own boss. But it is certainly a daunting prospect.

The first concern is whether you’re the right type of person to start a business. People question whether their personality would be suitable and often find reasons why they shouldn’t.

However, there is no one type of person that starts their own business. The one thing, which will set your business idea apart from everyone else’s, will be your individual skills, talent and enthusiasm.

As well as skills and ambition you will need to decide why running your own business is the right decision. Many people want more freedom and think that becoming their own boss is the way to achieve this.

You will certainly have the freedom to make your own choices and decide how the business is going to progress, running your own business needs commitment and determination.

But I reckon you also need to have the right type of personality. Complete this quick quiz to see whether “you’ve got it”.

Should I put extra money in my super fund weekly? I am worried that in 25 years when I do retire my super fund will no longer be around and all that money will be lost! Anna, via email

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their superannuation is assuming that 9 per cent employer contributions will be enough for a comfortable retirement. If you settle for 9%, you’ll end up with around half of what you’ll need in order to maintain the same level of lifestyle, maybe not even that much.

The average person retires with around $140 000 in their super fund for men, and just $70 000 for women. If you are planning to retire on about 75% of your current income, that means you’ll need to contribute about 15% of your salary each year for your entire working life.

The point is, if you want a comfortable retirement it’s absolutely necessary to make extra payments into your super, because the compulsory amount going in is not enough.

When making extra contributions, it’s a good idea to set up a salary sacrifice agenda, where a portion of your pre-tax salary goes straight into your super fund. Not only are you growing your nest egg, you’re reducing your taxable income and therefore the amount of tax you pay.

Super contributions should be a part of your weekly or monthly budget. Put in as much as you can afford, but even throwing in as little as $20 each week will make a huge difference to the amount you end up with when you stop working.

Australia is a democratic country. But democracy is all about inclusion of the people, about giving the public the right to be informed to make a decision. So it annoys me a little bit when politicians sit us on the sidelines while they do their work, then expect us to believe them when they tell us what’s going on.

It’s the backroom, behind closed doors deals which are done and then we’re all spun some line on went on.

Gillard and Abbott are playing their games right now, trying to woo these independents who’ve suddenly become rather powerful. The Prime Minister said that transparency is going to be important, despite the fact that negotiations are going to be held in private, with “regular updates to the public”.

The Independents keep telling us a hung parliament is good for democracy. That will change the way politics is conducted because it will be more open, transparent and with more checks and balances.

So what is the first thing they do? They go in to secret, behind closed doors negotiations with the major parties to determine who they will make King (or queen).

Well I don’t think that’s good enough to be honest. If they want transparency, why not conduct these secret meetings and negotiations out in the open for all to see? Why not take on a Senate Committee hearing-style meeting where the public can be witness to what is happening. After all, the parties are theoretically supposed to be representing us, working for us. If you were the boss of a big company, wouldn’t you want to be in the meeting where your employees are deciding the fate of your organisation?