Archive for category The Board Room

Evaluating Your Small Business Strategy

Jul 8

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

Countless people set themselves personal goals in life, but in many cases, small business owners don’t do themselves the same favour. Without setting time aside to consider, plan and implement a solid strategy for any business, its success can be often hindered or compromised.

In these tough economic times, owners are struggling to make their business grow, but strangely enough, there is great opportunity for companies to make leaps and bounds while the market is down.

Take a Step Back

Being in the day-to-day running of your business can alter your perception of how effectively it is run. Take the time to look at every facet of your business to gain the most unbiased perspective.

What kind of relationships do you have with suppliers? Is there any way you can leverage the associations you have with them to gain better pricing or additional extras (like longer trading terms to increase cash flow) that they don’t usually provide?

Do employees see their position as a job or a career? One of the most difficult tasks an employer can face is motivating their staff so that they are more productive. Try to introduce creative, cost effective ideas to improve staff morale, which will ultimately allow your business to be more successful in so many different ways – higher customer satisfaction, increased work output, less mistakes and a much nicer place for everyone to work.

What are your sales margins? Taking a realistic look at how much you are making on your products and services is crucial to allowing your business to grow. A small increase in sales margin may not seem like much in isolation, but calculated over a year, this additional profit can make quite a difference to your bottom line.

In many cases, customers will expect to see increases in prices every few years, purely because of inflation. If you do apply increases, be transparent to your valued clientele – it will only reaffirm why they should continue to spend their money with you.

What are your competitors doing? If they are blazing trails in your area or industry, find out why and how. Start to follow their lead and see where you can even improve on their practises. But another, far more powerful way to knock down competition is to find out what they are doing badly. By being exceptionally great at what your competitors do badly, it will soon put you miles in front.

Planning – What to Consider

After all the research has been done, it’s important to spend some time planning how you will turn all of these findings into meaningful actions. There is a fine balance between continuing to maintain a high service level in your business and being able to implement new processes, procedures and projects. Figure out what elements can be immediately implemented into your business and what will take more time and resources. Once you’ve determined this, you can then allocate timelines to these more lengthy projects so as not to interrupt the flow of your business. Many strategies tend to stretch over several years, so make sure you build some level of flexibility in to allow for changes in your business, the economy and the marketplace.

Implementation – Getting Your Hands Dirty

It’s all well and good to research and develop business strategy, but sometimes the hardest part can actually be doing the work involved. The best way to avoid being overwhelmed with implementing the strategy is to break up each task and set key goals and milestones. Once you have completed the task or project successfully, make sure you take the time to look back on what you have done and be constructively critical. If you have an upcoming project of a similar nature, it will allow you to become more efficient in implementing your business strategy.

All in all, developing a business strategy gives you the chance to recognise opportunities and shortcomings that may not have been realised otherwise. While each business can be very different, the foundations of a solid business strategy are ultimately the same and can be applied to most companies, regardless of their service offering or industry.

An article provided to us by one of our site sponsors – NRMA Business Insurance

Tags: economics, employees, implementation, margins, Planning, relationships, suppliers

My favourite web tools. Part 1

Jul 2

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 2 Comments

This isn’t a long list. In fact it’s only a few. However, they are products that I use every single day, and i’ve actually come to rely heavily on them, so I guess a short list of quality is better than a long list of lower quality, right? This is part 1, part 2 & 3 will follow in the coming weeks.

Part 1 – Roboform.

If you are like me, you have dozens, if not hundreds of log ins and passwords to remember.

I have several websites and blogs to manage and they each have a log in for the blog, one for the forum, one for the admin etc etc, I bank accounts, supplier sites – the list goes on. As of today, I have 212 log ins to various websites, all needing me to remember the URL, the log in name, and the password – yeah, that surprised even me

I also use the web a lot these days, like most of us, for purchasing, researching, enquiring products and services. So i’m constantly filling in forms – Name, address, age, hair colour……. – very time consuming.

About two years ago, I found the very nifty product – Roboform. Roboform is a little bit of software you load straight onto your PC that securely stores all your personal info.

RoboForm’s Key Features are;

So Easy – You remember one password, RoboForm remembers the rest. I suggest you don’t use your beagle’s name, ok?
Saves Time – With ONE CLICK RoboForm goes to a website and logs you in automatically. I can log into any site on the list – no finding the site, no remembering the log in, no remembering the password.
Saves More Time – RoboForm also fills long registration and checkout forms with one click. Roboform will fill in just about any form you find on the web. I save lots of time when signing up for service, newsletter, buying a product, making an enquiry. I’ve found a few it wont work with, like java applet stuff, but even then you can copy and paste faster then you can type it all in.
Secures Your Information – Stores passwords on YOUR computer, protects them with AES encryption. Hey, nothing is bullet proof, but Roboform’s encryption is far stronger than having your browser store your passwords in the cache.
Strengthens Passwords – Generates random passwords that hackers cannot guess. A strong password has, letters (a mix of upper and lower case), symbols, numbers, is min 8 digits long, and is apparently random in appearance. So, a strong password looks like this – 1&xT44B! – a weak password would be – Franklin (your beagle’s name that you use for every password, banking, your blog, your facebook, the lot!) The problem is of course, how do you possibly remember a password like the strong one, let alone remember dozens or hundreds of different ones? Roboform features a password generator that you can set to generate passwords of different length, different types of digits (numbers, upper / lower case text, symbols). It will fill the forms on the fly, and copy the password to you clipboard if the form you are using won’t allow auto fill in (some more secure sites like banks won’t allow auto fill in to stop robots)
Fights Phishing – Phishing is when you get those emails from a bank or PayPal or some such asking you to log in and confirm your details. Often these fake sites look so real that many unsuspecting users will “log in” and hand their name and password to the thieves on a silver platter.Fills passwords only on matching web sites. Just for the record, your bank will NEVER email you and ask you to log in.
Defeats Keyloggers – Somewhere along the line, we have all been infected by a malicious virus. A common threat are keyloggers, simply put, a virus records every keystroke, and send a small text file to the data thief at a pre-determined time. Roboform doesn’t use the keyboard to fill in your passwords, or to fill forms (like credit card forms), so keyloggers are rendered ineffective. You can also use your mouse to fill in the master password, so even that can be kept secure.
Simple to Use – Just download RoboForm and learn as you go. It really is intuitive and easy to use. Even if you are very new to the interweb, you will be Roboforming like a pro in no time.

There are a few other features – you can find more details here – too many for me to detail, but the three above are the ones I use every day. In fact, i’m using it right now. I can quickly and easily skip between different sites. At the moment i’m working from home, so i’m skipping between logging into the work network, Vertical Response, the WordPress log in for this blog, and the admin for www.freepromotips.com.au. Too easy!

The good folks at Robofrom also have a portable version – Roboform2go – for installation onto a usb. You can take that with you and log in on any PC (the portable version doesn’t work on your Mac)

When you buy Roboform, you also get access to the online system, which means you can even log into your account from anywhere without Roboform2go (I find having a USB easier and more convenient myself)

It’s ready to go for PC’s, but they haven’t yet produced a MAC friendly version. I’m told that will come, but for the moment they have created a system utilising the online product, and a java applet that sits in your safari or firefox menu bar (it may work in other browsers, but I don’t know. I only use Safari of Firefox on my Mac)

If you think that sounds good, you can trial it free or buy it here.

That’s my favourite web tool.Part 2 next week – Goodsync.

Bren

Tags: business, business success, business tools, innovation, web security, web tools

Featured forum member

Jul 2

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, People!, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

1. How did you get started in business?

I think I got started in business from birth. My Mum and Dad had corner stores and I was taught business skills at an early age. (I can remember balancing the till while in primary school… It was one of the ways we learnt to count).

After school I worked in One Hour Photoshops, working my way to Manager by the time I was 19. In 1995 I was offered a “job” at a lab as manager.. Turned out they wanted someone to buy it, so I did. This led to the expansion to 2 suburban Kodak Express stores. In 2001 someone offered me an offer too good to refuse so I took it ? (I took a year off and then took up a position as the EA to the Managing Director of the No 3 Photographic Supplier in Aus.)

Meanwhile my hubby, Mick, had been working in various companies doing Security Screens, Window installation, Blinds, Awnings etc. In 1998, I convinced him he should go out on his own. This business – Abacus Screens and Security – while successful, it suffered from my lack of time to manage the business side of things. (Advertising not planned, very much RE-active rather than PRO-active).

In 2000, he was offered a job at one of his suppliers so he took it. Lesson 1: ONE business at a time ?

Fast forward to 2005 and we moved from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. Mick secured a position at a local screen company. (I am still travelling to Bris 3 days a week). Mick learnt very quickly, the coast was grossly under serviced in the security screen business, so we resurrected Abacus Screens in October 2006

Understanding the problems from “Abacus Mach I” we put a number of things in place up front.

We made sure we had enough money to start. Printing, advertising, good ute, etc etc etc. Also enough “buffer cash” for 3 months wages, just to take the pressure off.
We joined a couple of networking clubs, so we had people to talk to and bounce ideas off.
Mick spent a fair bit of time scoping out who he knew (Lots of his old colleagues have moved to the coast and are now in management and decision making positions with building, window or aluminium companies)

Nearly 2 years down the track and all in going along VERY well.

2. What inspired you to become part of the FBT forum?

Gosh it is soooo long ago now ? From memory I was googling something to do with business and came across FBT. I am a forum junkie and join anything !!! Most though get deleted from my Favourites after 3 months or so when I get bored. So I guess the fact I have been a fairly active member for the past 24 months or so is testimony that the forum is vibrant and above all RELEVANT!!

3. What have been your three biggest business challenges (so far) and how have you overcome them?

Finding staff- As with many communities, we have a skills shortage on the coast. (Hmmm Well maybe not We have a “committed worker shortage”. Talk to many business owners (especially “tradie types” in any coastal community) and , if the surf is pumping, the sickie rate is high ?)
We have overcome this by asking prospective employees LOTS of questions (I asked the forum to give me some questions to ask – Thanks Guys!!) and following up references. My number one telling question with references is “Would you be happy to have “Fred” work for you again?”
Marketing – With my background in retail I have great skills in creating a rapport to keep customers coming back and back. Abacus presents a different scenario wherein, generally, we only see our customers once or twice Overcoming this is an ongoing process. I ask a LOT of questions of similar, non-competing businesses. Eg our local winner of “Young Woman in Business” is in the steel shed business, so I rang her up, took her out for coffee and picked her brain.
Managing Growth – Mick is getting a reputation among builders for being good ? So being able to say NO is difficult. We have learnt to say No gently, “No you can’t have it in 5 days but is 7 ok?” If he delivers in 5 Great!! But at least he doesn’t have to. Having a buffer allows us to outsource the manufacturing if need be.

4. What five tips would you give to a person starting in business?

Know your craft. (It astounds me how many people have NO idea about any part of the business they are in – Often seen in franchise owners)

Learn the basics of book keeping. It is VITALLY important to know the basics of profit and loss and the difference between Gross profit and Nett profit. I see too many people who think they can buy something for $10, sell it for $20 and think they have made $10!!

Work ON the business. Of course you will read that everywhere, but what does it mean? It is the time to do bookwork, time to think of marketing strategies, time to work on staffing, time for networking. You need to MAKE time. If you feel you have no time because you are actually doing the job- get some staff and let them do the job!! If you have staff for 1 day, use that day to work ON your business.

Make sure you (and your family)are healthy. As an employee, it is ok to have a day off to be sick or look after the kids when they are sick. It is much more difficult to do this as a small business. Keep fit and eat well.

Balance family life Keep a diary. USE it. I have been known to schedule family time. But it IS important to block time out in your diary for yourself. Remember that in the overall scheme of life, your kids and family is worth FAR more than any business. Little Billy’s birthday party is infinitely more important than any business meeting. If you already had a meeting with Client A and Client B wanted to meet at the same time, you would reschedule… Family is ALWAYS Client A!!.

5. Is there anything you would like to say about being in business, and or being an active part of learning more from Internet type forums?
Internet forums can be a good source of information and networking. FBT has a great cross section of industries and people who are ready to help. There is no such thing as a silly question!

6. The best part about being in business is…
The journey ?
I like to think of any of our businesses like a baby. They took a year or so of sleepless nights and teething troubles, then they walk all by themselves and eventually don’t need you anymore ? Along the way you need to guide and point them in the right direction, they won’t just grow on their own. Discipline is important and , if you get it right, you raise a healthy self sufficient entity, with a life of its own.

Mick Moynihan & Sue Josephson

Abacus Screens
25/6 Beerburrum Street
DICKY BEACH Qld 4551
Ph 5491 5489
Fax 5439 4125
www.abacusscreens.com.au

Tags: business, business success, business women, Effective Networking, have fun in business, Leadership, mums in business, People!, Planning, small business marketing, women in business

The eco friendly recruiter

Jul 2

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, People! | 1 Comment

When your business is madly intent on hiring staff, they probably do like many others do and follow a standard formula…

Advertise - get responses – sort – send a note back saying “we have received” – Then a “thanks but no thanks” note to the short listed ones… – interview etc… Oh what a hassle.

Some of you will be Thinking cut out the note sending part… “I just ignore the people it’s my business and why should I care”. Sorry to feel you might think this way, however a short letter can at least let the good folks know you do care and respect their time and effort for applying, after all their efforts in your business could make you extra $$.

However if things are done a little differently you could make things a little easier and in the process possibly speed things up.

Recently I saw something, which turned the standard formula slightly on its head. First the company asked for short email responses to a bunch of simple criteria (less paper up front, and it shows they have SOME degree of computer literacy.) Then they replied to the email with the following email letter.

The response letter simply read…. “Thanks for your application, if you are required for an interview we will call you.”

Nothing more to say, no need for a second letter out, no need to say “The standard of applications was high etc.” none of that.

The other thing they did, was not ask for a resume or long responses to a heap of selection criteria… They asked for just short responses in the first instance. If the person then “made the grade” they got a phone call for a brief phone interview.

The good thing about this from my perspective was the way they would have probably caught a heap of people off guard, those who are used to the selection criteria bit… They would have had to think outside the square.

Interesting, they saved paper, they saved time, tested some IT skills and therefore saved money…

Are there other ways we can all recruit staff which will save us time and money and probably show a little creativity to boot? Yes.

Do you have staff? STOP NOW!

Jun 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Health and Safety Dept, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Pay attention people, all hell could break loose with your staff and you may not even know it! Ok I may be exaggerating a little but the thing is you could have a potential problem so stop now and read on…

Here’s the issue, you figure the people you employed will have some common sense and do the right thing in your business, know their skills, apply them well and be a productive part of your business community. But wait, what if you learned they may not have so much common sense after all, don’t feel bad (just yet) many people seem to fall into this category…

The specific issue this time is OHS, lets set a scene to explain why. You explain the OHS system when you employed a person and figure they will remember to let you know if an incident happens, even if it is a minor one or even if it has the possibility of happening. But over time they forget.

Lets go a step further, the staff member in question, twists quickly in the course of doing their job, no lifting of an object… just a twist, lets say to change direction while walking… In an instant they feel some pain in their back, a strain or sprain of some kind.

They think to themselves, “I wasn’t doing anything at the time, and even though I am at work there is nothing to report.” well not true, they have an injury which took place at work, not due to work but AT WORK. Therefore it should be reported. In this case however it wasn’t.

The issue becomes greater as the person decides the next day to take time out to se a Doctor as the pain is worse and needs to be seen to. Their Doctor is busy so they go to another, see a long waiting list and decide to give it a miss, they have missed a day of work and will see if they can sleep it off. The next day they return to work still a little sore from the ordeal.

Chances are it may never turn out to be an issue for the person or the organisation, but what if it did.

Lets say the person does have an issue, and on advice they get legal advice, the solicitor tries to pin down what took place and the OHS records at the business show nothing reported, then they close the book and say “Sorry it’s doubtful there is any case for the company to answer as there are no records of an incident taking place, was there a witness? No, oh well then there is nothing to make your story stick…”

Interesting story, but in real life such a situation can be tragic for the employee if they can not pursue any action, tragic for the company if they lose an employee or end up with one who may be able to only do some of their original duties, which could be tough all round. Or imagine they just spread the word your organisation is lousy for not looking after people, more mud, and some will stick.

The moral here is to keep training and reminding your staff to be highly aware of safety issues, making it a number one priority always, and reporting the simplest thing, actual or potential, which could be a risk to the organisation or a person. Lets hope the subject of our story has no further issues and the sprain gets better soon!

Are you really insured?

May 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Are you really insured?

When business does not go as planned the owner can end up in a serious bind, this can be the case when an event like a storm ruins things, in some cases even wiping out the business. But lets take the idea a bit further… what if you didn’t have private health insurance and you needed medical attention now and not some time in the future when the Government scheme can fit you in? Or you are on a business trip and did not get travel insurance?

In business as in life things can go wrong fairly quickly and people find themselves saying “If only we had…” or “Are you sure we paid that last premium?” The peace of mind they may have once had fades fast. When disaster strikes you want to be sure you covered your bases. Private health insurance exists: to give you a fast personal health service when you need it most and the team at http://hbf.com.au may be one of the providers you turn to for a starting point.

You will have seen news reports of natural disasters tragically affecting lives, and some of you will appreciate the follow on effect a disaster can have on the wider community when the shock of a nasty event subsides. Sure our current medical support services can help out in a crisis (Australia) but when the follow up or specialist services are required you can be at risk if you don’t have private health cover. Imagine if you are overseas and are caught with a medical situation, you want to make sure the travel insurance is in place.

In many communities small businesses make a huge impact on local employment, and the provision of so many necessary services. Not only does a disaster wipe out these things, but the potential income loss for the owner can be huge, good business cover can help out there but on the personal side health cover is often overlooked and it can be at the peril of the business if you are not able to be there to run things.

I guess Insurance is about peace of mind in knowing that should a situation arise where it’s needed it’s there to cover you. For those into business speak, it’s about risk management and finding ways to minimise those risks wether you are here or overseas getting the right cover can make a world of difference.

Perhaps insurance should be seen more like a good friend, often not seen until needed, but, when needed, they are worth their weight in gold. On the books of the business the “expense” of insurance would end up in the liabilities column, but when you need to make a claim you might soon view it as an asset. Your health is all that matters and nowhere does that matter more than when you’re overseas http://hbf.com.au/travel/ can be the answer to your travel insurance needs.

Let’s face it often people pay for the their business, car and home insurance with ease (they are used to that) but their health and travel insurance may be seen as an expense at the time. I’m not sure that would give me peace of mind, how about you?

Remember it’s an investment to make your life easier by giving you peace of mind in knowing you are covered if disaster strikes and you need the support and protection of a good friend!

Good connections

Jun 15

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

One of our guru lads over here is Ross Hill, on his Blog is a great piece of intriguing information I think all businesspeople and educators can learn a lot from.

He starts off talking about games and what makes them addictive… Then he goes on to show the comparison to social media (“aint” that the buzz at the moment) then I figure if you know what makes social media addictive, you could create a business that is addictive for your customers.

Imagine that people addicted to what you have, and they keep coming back to buy more… Yep the old loyal customer routine. Only now (thanks to Ross and others…) we can start to build an understanding of how that happens, so lets do it for business. Oh I mentioned educators as well, in a stale classroom, sit down, shut up, take down these notes… a fresh perspective on what engages people has got to be useful!

I’m going to cut to the chase here… The five central elements of Game Mechanics are:

Collecting things.
Earning Points.
Getting/giving feedback.
Exchanges/Gifting.
User Customization.

In looking at the game mechanics and the social media link up to it there are plenty of things that make these points work, If you ever played pinball, getting the high score was way cool, in the latter day digital gamers world collecting things to give you more power, gifts, tokens etc was way cool too. then in a connected world being able to give feedback via facebook, twitter etc became a big buzz. then they allowed “games” of giving flowers, plants (virtual etc…)

Let’s go across to:

Business…

Collecting things – Tokens in adverts.
Earning points – Buy five things get the sixth one free or at a discount (loyalty card ticked off.)
Getting/giving feedback – Hello – how are you – query form.
Exchanges/gifting – For every $10 you spend we give $1 to charity…
Customisation – if you have an online store they can personalise in some way then that’s useful.

Education…

Collect and bring things for show and tell.
Get points for good behaviour.
Discussing progress – giving feedback on what they liked in class.
Exchanges of information in group sessions
Customising by selecting which type of final assessment device they want to choose.

These are a few examples of possibilities, I’m sure there are plenty more, the thing is making sure you can provide enough to ensure your service is the one they are addicted to.

If you are still not sure about any of this check out Mc Donald’s and think about their happy meals for kids… you get a toy to collect, while the parent is there they probably buy something too, so even just having a single part of the formula in place can be highly valuable. Now put on your thinking caps and come up with a few ways you can use this information to your advantage.

I’m almost excited about the prospect of saying AND… lets add in our target market personality types, motivators and Drivers it would really assist us to be able truly effectively hit them between the eye’s with solid targeted information they want to act on… but perhaps I better leave that for another day… Oh and remember if you need assistance to figure out ways to do this sort of thing chat to your friendly branding expert, they are sure to help.

Tags: business mechanics, business success, creativity, game mechanics, innovation, lateral thinking, loyalty programs, Planning, strategy, The Customer Service Dept

Workplace Bullying Policy

Jun 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Don’t turn off and stop reading because you are a small business, Don’t stop reading because you believe you have all the bases covered on this one, and just because your people in the HR department say there is no need for such a thing due to no cases of it at this point be wary of that.

Imagine you employ a bright eyed graduate or fresh faced school leaver brimming with interest and potential, then after a few weeks you see them with less of a smile, less of a pep in their step. For most people watching this person they might say, yep the realities of being in a job have kicked in, he he!

That can be the case, but what if they have found their supervisor or a co-worker has given then some grief, a few terse words, a few statements which have impacted on their esteem. This might seem like petty stuff but the impact of this sort of situation can get out of hand very quickly, the worker may feel powerless, in a bind, awkward, berated, useless and so on.

Your business has a duty of care, you have a duty of care and this needs to be stated up front that everyone in the organisation also has a duty of care. Therefore that being the case guidelines need to be in place to clearly out line what actions are taken in situations like this and to spell out some basics as to what might constitute bullying, harassment and other situations which might impact a persons esteem.

Okay so now a bunch of you are saying “Hey the hell do I have to care about a persons esteem? Heck I pay them to do a job, they should do it and put up with the situation, they should harden up, the world is a tough place…”

My view on that is how can you not care about a person you employ… If you are not into caring, avoid being in business. If you don’t care, your customers won’t either and then your staff will soon disappear. Yes it’s that basic, and you need to ensure you have the situation covered or you could be caught out VERY QUICKLY.

So do the right thing and have one ready to implement now, I suggest at the very least you do a search on google and see what comes up, grab one that suits and use it. for a rock solid start try the public service in your country and see what they have you can edit to make it your own. one I looked at recently had a 44 page doc you could download easily enough and it had various examples as well. http://www.apsc.gov.au/ethics/respect.pdf

To finish, imagine this, you are interviewing people for a job, on telling them about the organisation you are able to show them a copy of your bullying policy. It shows you care, it shows you will not tolerate people who don’t care, it shows you want to have happy people enjoying being part of the team, together everyone feels safe and in a organisation which values people, enough said…

Tags: bullying, HR, Leadership, Planning, Risk Management, workplace safety

Basics are basics…

Jun 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, Leadership, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

It’s June 2009 the global financial crisis is still happening. Watched a documentary on Chinese businesses going under, huge factories closed down, lots of out of region migrant workers now displaced. Sure this was one province (Guangdong) and particularly one city Dong Guan, so probably not a big cross section to measure by. The show was on SBS Australia’s Dateline (May 31) and showed a range of businesses closed and gutted out.

Here’s a quote from the show “In Guangdong province alone, 60,000 factories have now closed down and millions of migrant workers are searching for work.”

My first thought was what were they making? well it’s interesting the businesses included a printing plant, toy factories, and jewelry manufacturing… My second thought was do they make for the local market or export, export… third question, is the product a need or a want, mainly want.

So it comes down to the basics if the majority of what is produced is not for needs when a downturn comes the wants are dropped first. When an external order from overseas is pulled then the whole thing can collapse quickly. as the local economy is hanging on wants, the failure of one is felt across all.

Learn from this huge scale disaster and make sure you have a balance of income from needs based sources as well as wants based sources. If you have shares in a grocery company Co for example it seems logical that they supply the needs of people, then take your own business think about how you can supply to the needs based customers. Think carefully about this as a form of insurance to ensure you can balance your wants and needs to ensure sustainability.

Getting Marketing to Critical Mass

May 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept | 5 Comments

For businesses starting out, and those who may have just swapped their “marketing person” to someone new, you need to be aware there is a marketing critical mass.

I figure it as the point where the marketing being done has reached a level where a balance has been reached between the income level in the business covers the costs and leaves a profit. It’s the sort of point of satisfaction, knowing your business is getting enough of what it deserves.

To reach this critical mass can be tricky though, at first it’s devices which will probably be around for a long while, like signage on a store, then through to consumables like adverts and business cards. So perhaps you have to look at marketing non consumables (or low consumables) as start up costs, then measure marketing from the consumable start up point.

For the business which has been going a while a swap in marketing people can spell a huge challenge, especially if they are wanting to try new things… what may have been a sensible campaign going along well can be scrapped by the newbie out to impress, oops! For the new business operator sometimes just having enough cash to get to critical mass is a challenge.

Examples, you may have 5000 business cards and y have paid for them, however they are not doing much stuck in your desk drawer, even when you get them out in circulation it does not mean instant cash for your business. The same with adverts, unless there is something to cause the reader to act, then the result can take a while to kick in, in fact many advertisers find it takes 6 or more repeats of an advert to have an effect.

Another factor to marketing effectiveness is a simple one, know that when you advertise a specific product (like car tyres for instance) it requires someone to take note of the advert and then take action, when they require that product, or can see it may be useful to have at some later stage. Therefore if you want people to buy what you have, your advertising needs to be there when they want what you have. In the tyre example people may see an advert for tyres from five different organisations, but none registers until they need or want them.

When your business has it’s marketing sorted out to create a critical mass, you can then “tweak” things to make it perform better. Effective measurement of what’s working is then vital to ensure you know what’s marketing you might want to alter.

Clearly marketing is critical to your businesses success, how you go about getting it to a suitable level should now be easier and not get into a mess. To sove the whole challenge perhaps you should chat to your friendly branding expert who might just be able to help you out.

Tags: critical marketing, marketing success, starting in marketing, starting your marketing campaign, The Marketing Dept

Business is…

May 23

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

There are many types of business primary, secondary etc… but I have just had a thought about other “types” of business and felt it useful to share.

In the most part a business is about creating a device to provide a product or service and make a profit from it, however it goes a bit further than that. I feel it’s important to make a few distinctions.

Job – not a Biz – Turn up – do work – go home – repeat.
Low level Biz Operator – as above – not much scope to get ahead – Some franchises can feel like this.
Low level Biz Owner – Some growth as the biz operator gets some leverage by having staff do the work, with input from the owner.
Mid level Biz Owner – Better growth limited input to the biz as the staff do it all with a manager in place or similar – perhaps develops other businesses or franchises of one business.
Upper level Biz Owner – As previous but developing assets to utilise the growth’s potential.
Top level Biz Owner – Utilises others to do the work, from developing more assets to creating more businesses.

Which level do you want to be at and what will it take to get you there? Notice it’s all about growth and profit leading to leverage, with leverage you can do more. When you learn the skills and mindset required to do this you get to play at a new level each time learning more skills and mindset tweaks to assist you. Note at each level and with more leverage you can assist more people, develop greater security and achieve more.

Happiness – workplace style…

May 19

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People! | No Comments

Just for a moment think about your life, do you do things better when you are happy or grumpy/sad? Now think about business, do you prefer to deal with people who are grumpy/sad or happy?

It’s a no brainer really, however there are many people looking to change jobs, move on, move up, move out! Why generally because they are unhappy. As an employer it’s part of your unwritten “duty of care” to provide an environment where staff are happy.

A small family business might seem like a great thing and how you treat family can be quite different from general staff. You might be happy to work at an old desk loaded with irrelevant papers and bits and pieces, but an employee probably will be put off by that.

I guess the moral of this is think about it. Take time to evaluate, if a new employee is due to start next week, make it a major priority to make their starting off in your business fantastic.

Here’s a few reasons why:

Change can be difficult for people, new surrounds new names, new everything! It can take a while to get used to.
Moving jobs means altering routines, wake up times, transport changes, family routines alter.
A new job with different systems can take quite a while to adapt to.
A new role may mean there are changes to who is leading who, this can cause challenges.

So imagine starting them off in the ideal situation…

Start them with half a day’s work, late in a week, so there is little monday rush and weekend panic.
Be their “work buddy” show them where everything is and how things are done.
Check in with them regularly to see what stands out as issue, then aim to resolve them fast.
Make sure all the “paperwork” is sorted for their superannuation and so on, early…
Advise all other staff to wear their name tags more often in that start up phase so the new person does not stress about things like names.

We could make a really long list here (please do!) and I hope you get the idea. Happiness even in a recession is vital to ensure your staff perform to their best ability, perhaps not in the short term but later on when they are up to speed.

Make time to be there for the new recruit and ensure as many things as possible go right for them so they feel at ease.

Are you Yammering?

Apr 22

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, People!, Planning, The Operations Dept | 2 Comments

https://www.yammer.com/

This is like Twitter, but just for your organistation. If you have a bunch of people with intra company email addresses, they can connect and chat, just like twitter does on a global scale. It works on the premise of “what are you doing now?” as the main question. Then as people use it they find others working on things similar to them, or they may have an answer or a resource for someone else where working on something.

Productivity tools just got a kick in the backside folks!

Arts based recovery?

Apr 19

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

Years ago when the “recession we had to have” was on (late 80′s) there was a push at one stage for an Arts Led Recovery. Perhaps it’s time to look at it again and try a fresh tack in the “G.F.Crisis”.

Locally there is a small Arts following with a few commercial galleries and a regional one with some contemporary artists hiding in the bushes somewhere.

However on the Weekend I was in Melbourne for “Art 09″ a giant expo of art from a range of Commercial Art Galleries and a lot of “art” was bought, thousands flock in, thrashed their credit cards and went off with smiles and art in hand.

A lot of discussion took place (and will for a few weeks to come) about the merits of the event and the possibilities for those wanting to have display spaces next time, as well as other ways to “make art pay”. It’s a topic dear to my heart (being an Artist might do that…)

To get on with the process it’s probably important to say, it’s about income (when people buy stuff that’s what happens folks…) then about the art (the product), then the artist (the producer…) The flow on is therefore about sustainability to be able to then have a profit and see the spread of the income to the wider community. Note with no margin there is no spread so the profit is important (both monetary and other).

I’m thinking that not everyone wants a contemporary piece in their home, (well not a big 1 X 3 metre piece anyway). However there is sure to be ways to encourage people to consider the works (at the moment much is hidden under the bed of Artists wanting to become the next big thing…) to enlighten them etc…

One initiative I saw a while back, was art in vending machines, (clearly very small pieces). however it is not until people start to explore ideas that ways to “make Art pay.” will we see the flow on. Also the flow on of interest in creative endeavours and not just the cash transaction.

There is scope for exploration for ways to make it pay, for now lets consider the fact that we have a solid core of artists, galleries and punters willing to purchase. So lets find ways to get the ball rolling.

Free Training YAY! ??

Apr 19

Posted by Steve Gray in People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

Local paper, classified training section, courses on offer with local accredited training org’s there are free courses in pre apprenticeship training, and various others to assist to up skill people… seems good, fairly non eventful stuff. It looks like the government and trying to boost things along with the freebies (have done for some time now…

However I looked down to see a small business start up course to explore new biz ideas, read through, looked okay but you have to pay… hmm at first I ranted and raved to the wife about “THIS SHOULD BE FREE!! dammit!” then got the raised eyebrow and a chat about “yeah, yeah… bla blahhhh… get over it..” and I stopped, then thought…

Hmm they should pay but then at the successful completion of the course get their money back… a money back redemption, perhaps a discount or a carry over to another course to take the idea further, or better still a chance to thrash the idea out that bit deeper with a mentor.

A nine week program, Perhaps I should go along and play devils advocate… thoughts?

Companies shirk responsibilities

Apr 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Ok so this is my view… but how dare a company employ people and not cover their entitlements when the whole thing goes belly up…

Here’s an example from our local newspaper, on Melba Industries.

The company does not have the funds to cover their staff entitlements now they are being liquidated. As business go along they find the money (put it away earlier) to cover tax requirements, and allegedly the same with Superannuation payments etc… so why not put away an amount to cover entitlements.

Or at worst I guess it could come out of a DRF (Debt Reserve Fund) of some kind. How about some form of insurance they have to pay into, or a compulsory savings plan for employee entitlements, that way the real profits could show through and the issue could not be so big.

Hey folks don’t hold your breath waiting for the government to do something about it, do the right thing from the start, take the whole duty of care situation more seriously and cover those entitlements.

Sustainability, a thought or two.

Apr 8

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

In tougher economic times the idea of sustainability may take on a fresh meaning, the big car guys didn’t get it, they have put their hands out… many other companies are down the tubes to, they also have their hands out.

Before a revolution kicks in and angry mobs demand “jobs and justice” I am reminded of a “trend” a few years back which offered some promise but seemed to rarely deliver.

A friend was telling me about grants his organisation was applying for (not for profit) one of the criteria was based on “making the project your grant will be used on, sustainable.” simply put he said on discussing the issue with work colleagues, the best they could do was come up with a few ideas around energy efficient office equipment, using recycled paper and that sort of bent on sustainability.

I said, “It’s funny but I get the view they want you to take the $$ and be able to sustain those $$ for as long as possible.” Simply put if they give you $100K towards a worker and some resources, you would then get at least double that return from that workers output, therefore sustaining their job and building more resources.

He went wide eyed for a moment, first thought was “How do you get $200k from a $100k ‘investment’ in a person?” while his second thought was “But we would have to do some project which was going to make us money from sources other than the grant…”

He was stuck, or at least his current paradigm was stuck, he had to now think outside the square as to how either of these might happen.

Sometimes we have to look out for fresh ways to tackle things so we can make our organisations more sustainable, and whichever way you look at it both are useful. In tougher times those that made the transition to being more fundamentally sustainable will reap the benefit, those who created a “want type” business where people walk away when spare cash is not about, will (in the main) feel the “pinch”.

Forum down… but not out!

Mar 30

Posted by Steve Gray in IT Dept, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

A huge apology to all who want to view our Business Forum… We have had an issue with a “hacker”, and have to wait for the “rescue squad” to put back the pieces, I guess it will give people a break from their “forum fix” and give them a chance to read the main articles and comment in here!

It makes things hard when on Saturday I handed out a bunch of FBT cards at a business function, rather annoying!

Conservative or smart…

Mar 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Finance, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

As more companies go down, and an unrepentant writhing takes place as people follow the sense of fear pervading workplaces, I am left to ask… Were these big companies not smart, or perhaps should they have been conservative?

Ok a boom is a boom, bust is what it says and no one wants to go bust. So how then do you even out the ride and make things settle down into a form of business which can handle the tougher times. Get conservative, get smart.

There is heaps of info on business smarts, same probably for being conservative (chat to your accountant if you don’t follow…) the idea is to put in action plans to ensure you cover your butt. Meaning put some cash away for a rainy day. If you have more than enough then you can invest some of the rainy day money (preferably into things which you can sell and turn back into cash readily.) then as the investments grow you might be in a position to take on some longer term assets which return an income (read rental property)

By taking this sort of stance you make sure your business has a back up plan and a solid foundation to build security with.

I guess it all comes down to the aim of the business, do you aim to be in business for the long haul and reap it’s various rewards, or simply take risks and live in the fast lane for a while… Conservative or smart, perhaps it’s both.

Down up, left right which way & what next!?

Mar 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, Risk Management | No Comments

Positives and negatives abound in the new found financial meltdown news, some people have lost value but not $$ (Big business CEO’s who find their stock options are “a little short on value”) while others have lost $$ but not value (e.g. work has dropped off for some contractors).

Despite all this the average “Joe” is now fighting to keep their jobs or hoping to get another one where the boss is not giving them grief and so the applications for positions has gone down but the number of applicants has gone up. Strange times call for strange answers…

Ages ago I wrote about a tourist town in New Zealand doing Ok, but what would happen in tough times? they supplied to the “wants” of the world and not the “needs” of the world. This put a few noses out of joint, but unfortunately the minute things went haywire so to did the tourists… bye bye, back another day when things pick up.

It comes down to balance (yeah too easy for me to say huh…) if the overview of the situation is too much one way (providing just wants) then hassles occur… if you provide to just needs then there are no want type situations to be taken advantage of. (imagine a supermarket, which just provided basics and NOTHING else… It equates to all work and no play.

So much for macro economic theory (of which I know little formally) what about Micro? Well the situation is this. You are in charge of the $$ at home and the things under your control, so you had better figure out how to balance things there (strangely similar? yep!)

Basic investing 101 says “Have a balanced portfolio” so you buy shares across a range of areas, resources banking etc… This helps to balance things if one goes up and the others go down, but if the HWOLE share market goes down, stiff luck. What it really means is, have some $$ in shares, some in business, some in Investment properties, some in the bank. In tough times you can shift things about to suit.

For most people the balanced portfolio idea outlined is nice but few have the ability to fund this many investment options. Challenging and frustrating all at once, so this is where a BIGGER picture plan comes into being. If you have just shares what are you saving for? An investment property… or the chance to put profits into the bank. Either way your plan should show you the way.

Lets face it many people have been caught out by the current financial dilemma and many more will feel pain before it’s over, but there are those who have taken a balanced approach and will not be doing things so tough as others. Half their luck. let’s hope in the positive future we can all heed their wisdom and build a sustainable portfolio for long term financial support.

Jobs slashed, businesses fold… NEXT!

Feb 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Pacific Brands Australia announced over 1800 jobs to go in the next 18 months.. jobs to go off shore.

Those who are regulars here will know I have sprouted wistfully about the doom and gloom, however this time I want to take a “positive swipe” at the situation and ignore the nay sayers cutting jobs and propping up the shareholders (or so it might seem).

I have long been a proponent for the Cooperative business model, it has shareholders like most businesses however they generally have a vested interest in the business and provide a “different” backbone or foundation for the business, as opposed to a seemingly “slash and burn” approach of some public organisations.

So I ask…

What if the workers were able to form a cooperative and take over from where their employer has left off.
What if the Company was to utilise the strength of unity of the workers and explore sourcing the goods from a Coop they assist to set up to keep the jobs here and not ship them OS.
What if people were put down as a profit and not as a liability…

Lots to explore, but in the end we let this stuff happen, perhaps it’s time to take a stance, set up some great business models to be able to handle these situations better. After all 1800+ jobs can be a bit much.

Crunch time is nigh…

Feb 18

Posted by Steve Gray in People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

On the news this morning more jobs lost 600 here 400 there and that’s just in Australia… so where to from here?

Well people will pull their heads in then even more slowly let them out, I guess the smart money is on businesses, which provide a need for customers, then there’s those which put a spin on their want type of business so it sounds like people need it. (check out any of the infomercials selling “stuff” on the TV…)

The challenge as I see it, is being able to overcome the time factor in the ongoing “recession” just how long will it take to get beyond the tipping point and back to reality? The last recession we had was in the late 80′s and once revealed I guess it was 9 – 12 months before things bounced back.

During that recession, I was delivering Pizzas and attending my second chunk of Uni. So I was more or less out of the loop so to speak. One thing, which stood out, was, although there were plenty of people doing it tough, there were still people with cash to spare (Most nights of the week our little Pizza store had upwards of five drivers zipping about the burbs delivering $15+ hot and tasty pizzas… ok more luke warm and barely tasty…).

So now we are starting to see the jobs fall, and people panic a little what really happens in the background?

Well, bigger businesses have less exports, then they put off workers in big chunks, that causes the local community those people come from to hiccup… Once previous solid communities reel under the instant burden of a whole bunch of homes coming onto the market, the good people from those homes scramble to find work, relearn, redeploy, retire, relocate or rest… The real estate and share prices take a beating and things stabilise as they find their value.

In the scramble the majority of folks and businesses will be running about screaming “the sky is falling!”, while at the top of the heap, (read top 3 – 10%) a bit of shuffling takes place in their seats, buttons are pushed, memos are sent, meetings are held and a dip in their finances is about all that shows as they adjust the position of their sails, nudge the tiller and head for clearer open water. It seems these businesses have different GPS devices to the rest…

The lesson from the top of the heap is to cover your butt and make sure that during the up times you let your profits run, so in the lean times you work the profit margin hard so it shows it’s true worth in the lean times. The lesson from the bottom of the heap is “PANIC!, push and shove, the fastest and fittest will survive…”

Tough times show the real side of people and businesses I guess, lets just hope there are more of the top of the heap types about, so we can learn from and heed their advice.

Bushfire innovation

Feb 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

For many this might seem like a curious title but I hope it makes sense as you read on.

For many the horror of the Victorian bushfires will be an ongoing battle as they come to terms with personal loss on an unimaginable scale. For those watching from a short distance they are living the horror with some degree of distance from direct involvement but perhaps with some knowledge of friends or relatives affected in some way… Then there are those further way from involvement but still seeing and hearing about the issues those on the “front line” are facing.

Each time a bushfire of any magnitude does it’s thing various changes take place in policies and procedures at various levels of government. in the 1936 fires they created the CFA (Country Fire Authority) then with the Ash Wednesday fires in the 1980′s they got better at disaster and fire management. This time around I feel sure there will be changes yet some of the things that could have been done are really simple and no brainers, let me explain.

In many of the fire areas houses were old and made of timber with metal roofing, over 1,000 of these were burnt to the ground.

Over 800 people have died, having no where to run when they could not fight the fires.

Both of these challenges could have been dealt with.

There are earth houses, these are simply structures cut into a hillside, then a “shape” is formed out of concrete slabs or poured forms with windows across the open slope of the hill, on top they put about 1 metre of dirt to cover the structure. the dirt forms a great insulating layer both from the std elements as well as the extremes of fire.
A few people survived the ravages of the fire by having a cellar or basement to retreat to which was made from concrete and provided protection. Simple structures like a concrete style tank made for this purpose could provide relief similar to a panic room built into some modern homes for security conscious people.

Both of these options do not suit everyone, of course! However they are existing devices which have been proven and could be very useful in the future.

What it boils down to is having the ability to innovate, think creatively and develop a range of options to suit our situation, so living in areas where this level of risk is apparent can be minimised. Perhaps it will provide a business opportunity which can revitalise the building industry as many builders will be kept very busy re building. Hopefully the haste to re build will not force people to build unsustainable structures, which will cause difficulty when the next fire comes along.

and now….

Feb 10

Posted by Steve Gray in Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Your are in the midst of the economic whatsit… and you are doing what?

perhaps you are planning what to do… Pulling your hair out as prices alter before your eyes, competitors cut their margins to keep afloat, petrol prices go up (again) staff are nervous and looking elsewhere, your partners and or shareholders are asking questions, your accounting team are fudging (oops read working with) your numbers, suppliers want to be paid…. and so forth and so on.

STOP!

Ask this one question… Is it any different (REALLY) to “normal business”, so someone turned up the volume on a few things… Amazing how that makes you think, worry, get nervous/anxious.

As the pressure rises, do you think “Can it get any worse?” Do you feel humbled by the bushfire and flood crisis in Australia thinking so many have lost so much and you are ok… Is all this pushing your threshold to the limit? If it’s not, what will!

Note folks this is the status quo, if it’s not the environment – financial crisis – staffing issues – bushfires – floods – customers pulling their heads in etc… (the list goes on) then it’s something else.

Therefore the resultant writing on the wall is “it’s getting tougher to do business” so you had better have heeded the warnings the business guru’s put out ages ago and innovate. (Read the ability to go left not right, or up not down.)

If you can do that chances are you can make some headway.

We are dumb… USE IT!

Feb 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

Ok.. some of you are… (not you specifically…)

I wanted to raise your interest in a thought I had this morning watching the news, someone did something dumb and I thought “Derrh! what an idiot”, then I started to mentally add up the dumb stuff…

Stop violence against women, great idea, but why not just Stop Violence…
War, probably the dumbest concept of all time…
Teachers stand and deliver to classes with an attention span of two seconds, heck cut the crap give the kids engaging material which causes them to want to be interested.
Cigarettes, no nutritional value, no other value, not even cool anymore… BUT people buy them. I don’t get it, never have, never will, dumb…
Barriers on high bridges to stop suiciders jumping, no biggy put them in NOW! Or give them a trampoline to make it a fun exit… (apologies if that offends).
Transport ticketing systems that cost millions and don’t work, hmm other countries have systems that work, copy them…
Solar panels for power on roofs, umm, hey guys someone start a publicly listed energy Co that wants to put them on the roofs of businesses, let alone houses, the economy of scale makes it useful surely. Could be a way of stimulating the share market again…
Cars that burglars can break into easily still. just set a std guideline that says the car Co’s have to fix the problem now… how long has this been an issue… grr DUMB.
Paperless offices, great idea, simple answer, stop selling printers… then watch people sort out the issue fast.
Empty shops, as long as shops are owned by private enterprise there will be issues. Too many too expensive and in poor order. Too many are running at a loss so they don’t have to pay too much tax, yep that’s why there are so many crap ones about.
Too many grumpy old guys, over fifty, out of work, become grumpy and a burden somehow. No one likes a grumpy person, and too many guys over fifty (oops that’s me too!) have to contend with being redundant and replaced (young kids are cheaper, faster and tech savvy…. grr!) run down… I call it “Death of a Salesman syndrome” (after the play and book of the same name.) The wisdom these guys can have collectively should be used (somehow) and not shelved.
Councils… (I guess that speaks for itself in some ways.) many people whinge about them…
Defence forces (perhaps that should be offence forces) what if they were peace keeping forces that if a hostile situation broke out they could be quickly retrained to shoot etc… a humanitarin force not in combat camoflague.
Water, it’s every where, but not a drop to drink (too salty) but hey we have to import the technology and use up precious power to run a desalination plant… (when we get it) and will it be enough? and hey why not put the water in to the top of the river system so the whole state can benefit… dumb, and why not investigate a solar powered one? Anyone go a prototype of a portable model?
Too much alcohol is causing major punch ups and violence… so stop serving it in ways where people can consume too much.
No power, we are running out of power on hot days to run airconditioners, they still sell heaps of them though… any solar power cells in your area? What about a wind turbine? Heck there are enough power poles, can we have mini turbines to mount atop these?
We have water usage issues, yet they still sell inefficient washing machines, dishwashers etc. DUMB, just sell us the best, hey do that for power too.
Every year thousands of new businesses start up and lose HEAPS of money when they go belly up in a few months… DUMB! Lets come up with ways to set up these start ups so they have the BEST chance of thriving. lets create “thinkubators” to make it easy for them to learn about business, research, get started and supported in the all too important start up phase. heck a stimulus package for businesses like this could have BRILLIANT flow on effects… I guess this means the government ins DUMB for not thinking of it.
$2 shops, heck I can buy all sorts of garbage for next to nothing, do we need it? nope, do we want it? not really does it help the economy? hmm ask people in local manufacturing if it helps them… does it help the businesses in high st anywhere look good? nup… dumb…
Op shops that open in main streets next to or near fashion shops… ooh nothing drags down retail areas more than an op shop. OKAY! they have their place BUT can we have some control please… and why so many…(It’s a sign of the times I guess…) DUMB (perhaps it’s the council for not providing guidelines here.)
Hand done signs on windows of stores, sure Uncle Harry is a dab hand with a brush, but your specials painted by him on the window look like garbage… you saved how much? and made how much? Nup not bright… in fact DUMB.
Bullying… As the economy slips further down the gurgler, Bullies everywhere are able to inflict more pain and hassle on their victims… “they can’t go elsewhere, so they have to put up with me…” (sinister chuckle ensues). Its an OHS ISSUE plan for it, do something and kick their butts.
I need a license for a car but not to be a parent, that makes sense… NOT, DUMB… how many dysfunctional families can the world take! Teacher’s everywhere will be able to tell you the hassles they cause. Simple tip folks, a parent’s key role is to build the child’s self esteem… Does it happen enough… nope.
Welfare organisations, why so many? Surely five admin departments is better than 25… The cost saving surely is worth it. DUMB! “Oh lets help more people… oops no money left… oh what a pity…”

Go on add to the list (in the comments section please.)

BUT figure out ways to make money out of any of these ideas and you might well be sitting on a goldmine…

A thought to finish on… Frank Zappa (musician) in one of his songs loosely said “If we are created in gods image, therefore if we are DUMB then GOD IS DUMB, and maybe even a little ugly on the side…”

Stimulus package 09

Feb 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Risk Management | No Comments

The Australian Government is due to release details of it’s next economic stimulus package today 3/2/09.

The previous stimulus package drew bad reviews from what many saw was a flawed package (handouts to family’s). The feeling seemed to be that the money went to frivilous purchases (gambling among them) while some saved the money for “A rainy day”.

The answer? Well the new package will be interesting to see, however the view from my side is this… Support and stimulate those with the most to give back to the community (in long term possible effect) the smaller business sector.

Imagine if they provided a range of effective support services to allow them to sustain their businesses through the challenging times, and then provide a platform to grow from when things pick up. In short training the business community to survive so they can thrive.

Over time the statistics on business failures has never been favourable so perhaps now is a great chance to address this issue. For too long it has been too easy for people to THROW away their hard earned dollars on a business idea they figure will bring them riches beyond compare, yet many find they have to work harder than ever to attempt to survive let alone thrive.

There are already all sorts of support packages available to those in the know, however a more coordinated approach beginning with an online overview of successful business practices etc might be a start, then follow this up with enterprise training packages aimed at giving the end user short sharp answers to pressing business challenges.

I know it may not happen, however the resultant flow on to the community could be immense.

Are you taking part in the economic downturn?

Feb 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

If you are listening to the news you are, doom and gloom at every turn.

Many businesses will give up, walk away and say things like “It was out of our hands…” “We were at wits end…” “It wore us down…”

So make a decision, to stand and deliver or fold under the pressure. The key thing is MAKE A DECISION.

Is what you have still useful? – If for instance you are selling out of date fashions you were able to “buy for a song” you may be pushing uphill. Being relevant, researched and ready is a big part of the battle, so know if what you have is viable.
Set solid goals – Where do you want to be headed? If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know if you get there? Goals for cash-flow, profit margins, staffing levels, marketing, management etc… make those plans ROCK SOLID then implement them.
Make your systems work – No systems (or few) then get them up to speed. Some systems but not working, go for a tune up so you can reach full speed. Do some research find out if what you have is suitable, effective etc. You are on the net so start here.
Get the team on board – You want to succeed? So do I… here’s the plan, sell more, smile more, do more with less, watch out for the competition, be great at what you do… (To name a few) now have a heart to heart with the team, and keep them on board! Now is not the time for mutiny.
Chat to the Stakeholders – Thats the team, the customers, the banks, suppliers anyone connected to your business. Keep them quietly confident your business is here to stay, then use any chat to research what you do, is it good or great? Then use the info to make things work more effectively.
Measure – How does your business measure up with the competition? What do they do better? Now ask if you can match it AT LEAST, or better it with ease.

Innovate now…

Jan 31

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

Economic indicators for the global downturn etc are rocking the ‘system’ to the core, now more than ever we need to innovate rather than blindly continue to do what we always have done.

Businesses need to reevaluate where they are at, what capacity, scope and skills they have. Instead of running scared and waiting for the “sky is falling” syndrome to kick in, they need to come up with their own answers to the challenges that lay ahead and tackle these with dogged determination.

I guess the same can be said of governments, innovate now so they can lead the way.

A possible example is the way the Australian Government is handing out what I will call “recovery packages” allegedly a whole bunch of people took their handouts and went straight to gamble it away on poker machines… not very useful to some, but a spreading of the good will nonetheless. Innovative, hmm hardly but it was to be expected I guess.

What if the government had taken those millions and put it into “capacity building” such as training small business, training redundant workers with short sharp and to the point sessions to give them options, and not just options that lead to longer course pathways… Imagine a place where people could readily brainstorm future paths to personal and professional growth, where business ideas could be readily explored and evaluated, Where open thinking paved a way to overcome closed minded “that will never work” thinking.

Any time is a good time to innovate, now it seems we need to work on it more than ever, but let’s face bare facts, are you prepared or even trained to innovate? Chances are no… Perhaps now is the time to take matters into your own hands, to take positive action.

Think outside the square and come up with ways to turn the situation from a capitalist nightmare to a capitalists dream. 6 billion people with a dream beats 6 billion with a nightmare…

Change Happens, Handle it…

Jan 23

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

With lots of things happening in the world it makes sense to get a perspective on things, some change you are experiencing may be good, some the opposite. Here are a few things which you may find of value in changing times.

Be positive and have a sense of optimism – So things are changing… You can say “Oh woe is me…” or you can say “Whoa! Things are changing WOO HOO!” the choice is yours, an optimistic approach generally works out for the better, it puts your “spirit” somehow into the right frame to handle and accept things.
Change can be good – Ignore it and it can be bad too… – You need to decide fast what’s happening and what fits to your core values and beliefs, if it fits well then go for it, if it doesn’t consider taking another path.
You have a range of skills to handle change already – You’re an adult right? You have fallen over and picked yourself up from an early age, some of us may seem to fall over more often, so some of us may have more skills to deal with the situation. Reflect and remember all those things you have overcome, were you stronger at the end of it? Chances are yes… Tally up the skills you have, now put them into action.
Not letting excuses and negative emotions stop you – Feel the fear and do it anyway can be useful at times, and this may be one of them. Ask yourself what are my excuses and negative emotions around this issue and what would I prefer them to be? Go on write them down so you can tackle them HEAD ON.
The more you resist change, the more things may not happen how you want – I am not saying this is always the case but often it seems this way, and have you ever met someone that said “I should have done this earlier?” uh huh… and where would you prefer to be, starting out early or late? And ask this was anything I resisted in a change way in the past ever really that bad?
What stories are you telling yourself? – Your self-talk is the one thing, which might just be holding you back, check out No: 4 again… is it your self-talk trying to “protect you?” from what? The unknown? Is it really unknown? Or is your self-talk wanting to “set you free” and explore everything this new change may bring…
Deeper meaning, is it part of that? – Some of you will have a faith, which may suggest you are part of a bigger plan, some of you may have figured it out for yourself… Some of you look at the chaos and challenges and say meaning is impossible, check out No:1 again and ask “Which do I want to be part of, a bigger plan or not, Chances are your “gods” (or demons…) will make sure it happens for you the way you want.
Get a support team – Ask who can help me, who will understand? Then take a leap of faith to get them on board, they might be an email contact, a person to call on the phone, a buddy you can catch up with live. Whoever and however, carefully consider getting a team, a rock solid positive team of people who can hold you to the standard you want to be held to.
Create a plan and take action – If you have not started jotting down things from the above list already I would be surprised. I care not for what sort of plan it is, but write it down! Perhaps keep a plan journal, consider reading your key plan points daily, or a wall plan, gather photo’s and collage a new you lifestyle plan on a wall chart… Keep it simple, real and vibrant. It’s your life, live it the right way, the way that makes the most sense to you. Oh and yes, take action, all the best thoughts in the world are worthless without action.

Recruiting in tough times

Jan 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

The economy is in turmoil, your staff are jittery, the sales forecasts are still okay and you actually need more staff, we live in interesting times! But to recruit takes up precious time and resources, the position you have in mind is just not quite up to using the recruitment company so you want try a more creative approach, after all the standard methods still have some quirks, issues and challenges. The number one thing is the time they take up.

You get some ideas together and decide to go for it, but what might be a way to cut back on the sheer volume of applications the role might attract from job seekers?

Consider a different approach, here are some thoughts.

The role and the job – You probably have a fairly good idea of the responsibilities the new employee will undertake, logical task skills are one thing, however knowing the type of personality which will fit with the role, the team and the company is another. Visualise the right type of person, how they act, hold themselves and perform, now go and find that person.
The advert – Normally adverts cost a bunch, but if you keep it short sharp and to the point you can keep costs down.
The web edge - It’s not new to have a recruitment section on your website, (usually an email address to send applications to) but as a filtering device it might be a fresh approach. Use the advert to send people to the web page, there you can set up a page relatively cost effectively and alter it to suit. Ask the big questions you want answered after telling them the basics about the job and remuneration. Also outline the process in steps so they have an idea of what’s happening.
Keep your resume – They are usually a few pages, a lot of scanning and or printing has to take place etc… what a hassle, I would rather scan a single page than 4+. Therefore ask the applicant to create a one page response to a few questions citing examples of how they did things in set situations.
Call them – From the process above you now have a bunch of one page responses from candidates. Now you can formulate a quick phone interview process, you ring and tell them you want some short responses to assist you in going further… it might go something like this… “Give me a snapshot of your resume, e.g. a few places you have worked and achievements, you have 1 minute” time them and see what happens, if they are engrossing in a positive way you can decide to let them chat on or stop them. You could even make it 30 seconds. Add a few questions to delve deeper on some key issues (team work and communication might be a start.) Now make sure you can short list from this bunch and let the really no goers know via email.
Short list – The good ones are left, you could pick a few and re call them and ask more questions, you could invite them to a group session (five people in a room for 1/2 an hr is cheaper time wise than five 1/2 hour sessions at separate interviews.) Or you could ask them to create another 1 page response, or even send in their resume… You could also just interview them, either way go with your heart on who stands out from the crowd first and then go for the logical fit later.

This type of process can be useful for many roles, it makes it easier to sort the main players out and gives you the chance to get through the candidates fast. Happy hunting!

Tags: employee recruitment, hr leadership, recruitment

Hard Financial Reality

Dec 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

How many times have you heard terms like, “Never give up”, “Play hard”, “It’s all about taking risks…”, “Put your money where your mouth is”, “To make money you need to spend money” “If only we can make it through this rough patch”, “Set lofty goals to get results”, “Put it on the plastic…”, “It’ll be alright on the night”, “If only I had a bit more credit..”

And of course a whole lot more. Many of these are to do with life in general and business as well (often there is a strong connection with both!). The issue, being able to ensure your business is in good position so the above “terms” don’t effect you.

Easy to say but hard to do so lets look at some basics… You sell services or products, your business must therefore make money, you pay for things with that and have some left over all going well. If not you are running a charity and are waiting for the next “grant” to prop you up, if you are in private business this can only happen for so long before things get too bad to continue.

Running out of cash happens, running up a credit card bill happens too! Often too easily, you max the card out, the bank gives you more, the monthly repayments get stretched and before long its out of control. If you have become dependent on it, it becomes a drug.

Over the years I have seen drugs claim lives, and the credit drug seems to almost be just as strong as any substance around! The aim therefore is to ensure you can run without the credit card.

I have had to cut up about three credit cards in my life so far and have now vowed to not have a personal credit card of any kind, a mortgage, or line of credit for an asset sure, but only if I know I can service those loans and do my darndest to reduce the amount owing. My wife first alerted me to my “addiction” and cut up the first card, I owed $1,800 and it was creeping out (doesn’t seem much now but back then I could barely make the repayments if at all.) She looked at the monthly account and there was not a purchase on it for the past four months, I was just paying off things well in the past and not keeping up. The third time… you DON”T want to know… (And I am not telling!)

The next time was a card my wife was offered (special deal in the mail..) she wanted it, she got addicted slightly, I closed the account, I had a card for that account as well and it was not long before the bank was offering us a higher limit… that was the signal to get out so we did. Note it was MUCH harder to close the account than it was to open it.

In business however the stakes can be higher, a big loan to do capital works, buy new stock, the list goes on, but the ability to pay the loan/s back should be a critical factor in doing these things. At the time of writing this we are in the depths of a big financial downturn, the government is handing out cash to families etc to prop things up so more than ever having a good approach to credit risk is vital.

Oh and if you think you can have a credit card account and not tell your partner, think again… they will figure it out at some stage, and the proverbial will hit the fan, and don’t think for a minute it will be evenly distributed.

Here are a few points to stop the sleepless nights, constant worry and hassle credit can bring to some.

Use it wisely – If you must have credit, never increase the limit past a reasonable amount you know you can readily repay.
Cut it up – This piece of plastic is probably killing you slowly, the stress, the hassle. GET RID OF IT cut it up NOW. Then make repayments to reduce it’s stranglehold NOW.
Re finance – avoid high interest payments, scrap the card but get a personal loan with less interest to take the pressure off the higher repayments, Ok it’s still a loan but at least the repayments are less and you can’t “dip back in and use it”.
Some people have the strength – Chances are you don’t have the strength to use it wisely and it will creep up on you like some form of insidious cancer, whether you can handle it or you can’t, decide now! AND TAKE ACTION.
Evaluate your position – If you have to pay it out can you? Is it really for emergencies and what constitutes an emergency? Is it just for business or other use as well? Can you up your profits or turnover to make the repayments if you do max it out?
Plan – To make your business profitable, so you can avoid getting into a credit crunch. If you keep not making a profit, then something needs to alter. Prices up? More sales? New products or services? Better service? Better customers?
Get advice NOW – There are financial support and counseling services available, USE THEM. If you have to hire a business coach to help you I guess that could be useful too (Just don’t put it on the credit card!)

Take action to get your business and or personal life in order so you can avoid being stretched, stressed, hassled and have sleepless nights that don’t help your performance at all. “Stop worrying and start living…” Oops! Another term for the list!

December 2008 Featured Forum Member

Dec 11

Posted by Bren Ryan in The Board Room | No Comments

We wanted to know more about some of our active forum members…… so we asked them

Steve spoke to Sue from Abacus Screens……..

1. How did you get started in business?

LOL I think I got started in business from birth. My Mum and Dad had corner stores and I was taught business skills at an early age. (I can remember balancing the till while in primary school…It was one of the ways we learnt to count ?) After school I worked in One Hour Photoshops, working my way to manager by the time I was 19. In 1995 I was offered a “job” at a lab as manager..turned out to be they wanted someone to buy it, so I did ?. This led to the expansion to 2 suburban Kodak Express stores. In 2001 someone offered me an offer too good to refuse so I took it ? (I took a year off and then took up a position as the EA to the Managing Director of the No 3 Photographic Supplier in Aus.)

Meanwhile my hubby, Mick, had been working in various companies doing Security Screens, Window installation, Blinds, Awnings etc. In 1998, I convinced him he should go out on his own. This business – Abacus Screens and Security – while successful, suffered from my lack of time to manage the business side of things.
(Advertising not planned but very much RE-active rather than PRO-active )
In 2000, he was offered a job at one of his suppliers so he took it. Lesson 1: ONE business at a time ?

Fast forward to 2005 and we moved from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. Mick secured a position at a local screen company. (I am still travelling to Bris 3 days a week). Mick learnt very quickly that the coast was grossly under serviced in the security screen business, so we resurrected Abacus Screens in October 2006

Understanding the problems from “Abacus Mach I” we put a number of things in place up front.
A: We made sure we had enough money to start. Printing, advertising, good ute, etc etc etc. Also enough “buffer cash” for 3 months wages, just to take the pressure off.
B: We joined a couple of networking clubs, so we had people to talk to and bounce ideas off.
C: Mick spent a fair bit of time scoping out who he knew (Lots of his old colleagues have moved to the coast and are now in management and decision making positions with building, window or aluminium companies)

Nearly 2 years down the track and all in going along VERY well.

2. What inspired you to become part of the FBT forum?

Gosh it is soooo long ago now ? From memory I was googling something to do with business and came across FBT. I am a forum junkie and join anything !!! Most though get deleted from my Favourites after 3 months or so when I get bored. So I guess the fact that I have been a fairly active member for the past 16 months or so is testimony that the forum is vibrant and above all RELEVANT!!

3. What have been your three biggest business challenges (so far) and how have you overcome them?

1: Finding staff- As with many communities, we have a skills shortage on the coast. (Hmmm Well maybe not We have a “committed worker shortage”. Talk to many business owners (especially “tradie types” in any coastal community) and , if the surf is pumping, the sickie rate is high ?)
We have overcome this by asking prospective employees LOTS of questions (I asked the forum to give me some questions to ask – Thanks Guys!!) and following up references. My number one telling question with references is “Would you be happy to have “Fred” work for you again?”
2: Marketing – With my background in retail I have great skills in creating a rapport to keep customers coming back and back. Abacus presents a different scenario wherein, generally, we only see our customers once or twice Overcoming this is an ongoing process. I ask a LOT of questions of similar, non-competing businesses. Eg our local winner of “Young woman in Business” is in the steel shed business, so I rang her up, took her out for coffee and picked her brain.
3: Managing Growth – Mick is getting a reputation among builders for being good ? So being able to say NO is difficult. We have learnt to say No gently, “No you can’t have it in 5 days but is 7 ok?” If he delivers in 5 Great!! But at least he doesn’t have to. Having a buffer allows us to outsource the manufacturing if need be.

4. What five tips would you give to a person starting in business?

Know your craft. (It astounds me how many people have NO idea about any part of the business they are in – Often seen in franchise owners)
Learn the basics of book keeping. It is VITALLY important to know the basics of profit and loss and the difference between Gross profit and Nett profit. I see too many people who think they can buy something for $10, sell it for $20 and think they have made $10!!
Work ON the business. Of course you will read that everywhere, but what does it mean? It is the time to do bookwork, time to think of marketing strategies, time to work on staffing, time for networking. You need to MAKE time. If you feel you have no time because you are actually doing the job- get some staff and let them do the job!! If you have staff for 1 day, use that day to work ON your business.
Make sure you (and your family)are healthy. As an employee, it is ok to have a day off to be sick or look after the kids when they are sick. It is much more difficult to do this as a small business. Keep fit and eat well.
Balance family life Keep a diary. USE it. I have been known to schedule family time ? But it IS important to block time out in your diary for yourself. Remember than in the overall scheme of life your kids and family is worth FAR more than any business. Little Billy’s birthday party is infinitely more important than any business meeting. If you already had a meeting with Client A and Client B wanted to meet you would reschedule… Family is ALWAYS Client A!!.

5. Is there anything you would like to say about being in business, and or being an active part of learning more from Internet type forums?

Internet forums can be a good source of information and networking. FBT has a great cross section of industries and people who are ready to help There is no such thing as a silly question ?

6. The best part about being in business is…

The journey ?
I like to think of any of our businesses like a baby. They took a year or so of sleepless nights and teething troubles, then they walk all by themselves and eventually don’t need you anymore ? Along the way you need to guide and point them in the right direction, they won’t just grow on their own. Discipline is important and , if you get it right, you raise a healthy self sufficient entity that has a life of its own.

Mick Moynihan & Sue Josephson

Abacus Screens
25/6 Beerburrum Street
DICKY BEACH Qld 4551
Ph 5491 5489
Fax 5439 4125
www.abacusscreens.com.au

More doom and gloom, if only they had….

Nov 19

Posted by Steve Gray in The Board Room | No Comments

Yes if only the big Co’s going down in these tough times had set up some form of Structural integrity system that had been ready to support a system in criscic then this current downturn would be quite different.

Call it debt reserve fund, or a risk management strategy…. either way it could have aved the bacon. Doubtless there is someone in side these big Co’s (GM, ABC leaning etc) that is saying “I told you so”… and the same with some business professors I am sure.

Therefore before crap hits the fan make sure your organisation has enough support to keep things viable, lean and hunrgy all the way, even the squirrels know to put things away for that rainy day.

I see it as a basic foundation that needs more support, so if they are a publicly listed Co, don’t just rely on the shareholders, shore up the foundations so they don’t get washed away.

Asset protection

Nov 7

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

In turbulent times there are the basics that need to be looked after like revenue needs to be more than expenses, but then again that should always happen, but in doing the basics an asset protection policy is always good too, who would like to loose a good performing asset right? but I am seeing too much of organisations not looking out for their assets, in particular the employees. So check this article out, It has a few clues.

Even in our own site we have lots of articles on employee engagement to give you more clues.

In closing I think that the basics are often underrated, so ask yourself what are the basics of a successful business and how can we maintain and then build on the basics, provide protection (security) and communicate that your organisation is here for the long haul, in an environment of fear, the security or sense of it will be well worth it in the long run.

Change, innovation and pure survival…

Oct 29

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 1 Comment

In the tumultuous financial crisis and the uncertainty it causes, there is one thing for certain, Change is happening. Sure it’s not a change that organisations implemented, and for many it’s a change they did not have a contingency plan for but it’s happening and if your organisation needs to do something about it, then your training in innovation will put you in good stead… What’s that you have no training in innovation… ooh.

Well lets get one thing straight the ability to handle change is important, the attitude, the planning, the stance the leadership skills, they are all important in an age where Improvise, adapt, overcome becomes the hallmark of a survivor.

If you need to be able to think about new strategies and brainstorm with others, then petty office politics and ineffective interpersonal communication needs to be put aside. In a crisis it can be “every man for himself” or “Lets get the team together and nut out the best way forward NOW…”

Either way it probably comes down to you the leader to find a way forward, to make the right moves (or at least have a go) sure you might make mistakes, sure the road might be tough, sure there can be unexpected thing pop up, but if you don’t face reality then you might be wondering what’s happening next.

Wonder no longer, and be the one that sets the team up to thrive, if they fall short of that they survive, so the high goal needs to be there to ensure things go on. It’s up to the senior people in the organisation to provide the leadership, to use innovative and creative techniques.

In sot if you are not providing the right environment, skills, attitudes and mindset to make it through then folks the end is nigh, but if you are putting you best feet forwad, then if the grim hand of failure comes your way you will have known you put in a top effort to weather the storm. I guess the decision to act and make a stand is up to you, or not…

On the edge…

Oct 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

When tough times strike my heart goes out to those businesses on the edge, and of course instead of talking about daily things that can trip up a marginal business, we are now talking about bigger fundamental global meltdown type trip ups.

So when the going gets tough how many of the businesses on the edge have a debt reserve fund, or a plan b, or an innovative structure, system, marketing plan etc to get them out of the jam? probably too few. Then on the business front, if they are a “want” type of business do they have their fingers in the pie of a “needs based” business to be able to handle the changing spend patterns of consumers… probably not.

Here’s 8 quick points to give you the edge in tough times.

Have a plan A, then have a plan B, just in case!
Have some reserves, stuff happens so be ready for downturns.
Needs based V’s Want based, if you sell gifts for example, you might want to look at developing a needs based business to complement it, this way you cover your butt when customers walk away from the niceties. Consider diversifying into an online business of some kind that is easy to manage from your want based business, get busy while it’s quiet.
Keep marketing, but make sure it’s making you money, don’t throw money out and get NOTHING back, measure it carefully, get smart about how it works.
Keep the team informed, fear can run deep and fast, let them know what you are doing or plan to do to weather the storm. Batten down the hatches but make sure they know where the exits are…
Lead, now more than ever the team needs you, teach them GREAT customer service, if people get picky you need to have the BEST people upfront, with the BEST service, now more than ever. Get out on the floor and look for gaps, are they smiling, are they happy, do they know the products and or services inside and out? No? train them…
Be nimble, change is a given so learn to love it, zig when the others lag or zag. This way you can be there when the others have fallen by the wayside.
Improve your systems, now is a great time to tighten up on how things tick over, ask hard questions like “Are we doing things the best way?” “How can I jump start and or utilise my peoples collective intelligence to give us a lasting edge?”

You get the idea, make a difference, a poisitive difference so your business can take on the challenges tough times provide and see it through successfully. So jump up to the whiteboard and make a start NOW!

Banks and the meltdown

Oct 10

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

An interesting letter to the editor in a local paper about Ben Chifley’s (past Australian Prime Minister) idea of a nationalised bank being a must have.. Well we had that in Australia with the commonwealth bank then that was privatised…

Okay so what if We had a bank that had some form of Co-operative approach or structure. One where the people had a say in how it worked, one where the idea of prudency was revered, where cash (and the customer) were king, and other assets were of value too, but the cash side kept building (perhaps to a debt reserve fund or similar). A bank where the people really cared because the bank was the people. A bank where you as a customer felt like the service team really did care, a bank where the service team not only handed out loans for building houses and businesses but turned up to see it finished…. In short a bank that set it’s own highly rigourous standards without the Government having to intervene, as the bank not only met the stds set but exceeded them with ease at every turn.

In a time of greed, money grabs, plunging values and challenges a co-operative approach could make a world of difference.

Local music scene gets a boost! Yay Geelong…

Oct 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business | No Comments

In a stand against getting snubbed by some big bands, a Geelong based team put together a music show to set the town toe tapping and grooving to the beat of their own drum… Lets hope they get the support they need to make it successful!

The art of business or the business of art…?

Oct 4

Posted by Steve Gray in The Board Room | No Comments

In a recent interview with an Art Gallery Director the team at the Visual Arts blog Art-Resource have compiled a seven step list for artists wanting to get represented by an Art Gallery. Great list, but I also think it’s of value for us in a wider business context and how we match what we are offering to a client or a retail distibutor. See if you can draw some analogies too.

Your business and the flurry of market meltdowns

Oct 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept | No Comments

An interesting article in the Melb Age newspaper on the flow on effect to smaller businesses.

In an interesting basic view, if the big banks can’t get money to lend, or they are pulling their heads in “Just in case” then your chances of getting credit of some kind may well be hampered, in the short term maybe not a big deal, but in the bigger picture the squeeze could be on!

New Forum Topics

Vacuum Robot Business
Any experience working with Ar...
How can i get started as a vir...
Does anyone have information o...
What are the responsbilities o...

You are currently browsing the archives for the The Board Room category.

Its all about business.

Archive for category The Board Room

An article provided to us by one of our site sponsors – NRMA Business Insurance

New Forum Topics

Featured Links

Categories

Tag Cloud

Archives