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e-news | July 22nd, 2010 |
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Business News |
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Business NewsWorkplace safety goes socialThere is a new space for businesses to get social to stay safe, with the recent launch of the WorkSafe.HomeSafe fan page on the popular social networking site, Facebook. An initiative of WorkCover NSW, WorkSafe.HomeSafe gives employers, workers, and their families, a place to share their ideas and reasons for staying safe at work. And with contributions from work health and safety regulators across the country, it also offers trusted information and advice. WorkCover is now inviting all employers and workers to become a fan of WorkSafe.HomeSafe on Facebook, and join the growing community sharing their work safety thoughts, experiences and information. WorkSafe.HomeSafe is lively and interactive, with regular discussions, safety videos, news stories, surveys and links to relevant work health and safety information. With support from workplace health and safety regulators from across the country and ‘fans’ of the page coming from all over Australia and overseas, it makes information shared on the WorkSafe.HomeSafe page relevant for all Australian workers and employers. To become a fan you will need a Facebook account then simply visit www.facebook.com/worksafe.homesafe and click on the fan ‘button’. Standard Business Reporting launch a resounding successThe start of the new financial year heralded the launch of the government's new Standard Business Reporting (SBR) initiative. The scheme offers businesses, accountants, bookkeepers, tax agents and payroll professionals a quick and easy way to lodge forms and reports with government. Using SBR-enabled software, reporting professionals can lodge forms using their own accounting system using their own secure sign-on AUSkey. According to the Finance Ministry over 51,000 AUSkeys have been issued to over 36,000 Australian businesses in just over five weeks.
SBR reports include the Business Activity Statement, Tax File Number Declarations, PAYG payment summaries, payroll, tax returns and financial statements. Once fully implemented the initiative is expected to deliver nearly $800 million savings to business annually by increasing efficiency in their reporting. Comparing your business to local industryImagine the benefit to small businesses of having an online tool that can pinpoint hourly sales patterns and accurately map busy and slow times. A breakthrough has emerged in the form of ANZ Business Insights, a free website containing data and reports that provide a snapshot of a business while comparing it against the local industry. It draws on aggregated data from millions of credit card, debit card and merchant transactions a week. Nick Reade, ANZ General Manager for Small Business, says the tool is like a silent business partner that can help inform owners on issues ranging from staffing requirements and sales trends to customer demographics and growth opportunities. “You don’t have to make business decisions on a gut feeling anymore,” he says. ANZ Business Insights is specially designed for small business retailers. Those that process debit, credit or merchant transactions stand to benefit most from the new website. It lets business owners plot sales, traffic and customer demographics and can inform decisions on a broad range of issues, including extending or shortening opening hours; designing marketing plans around customer buying habits; knowing when to take holidays or do renovations without affecting sales; and identifying sales locations that could be better targeted. “A clothing outlet, for example, might see that their average sale value is lower than similar competitors and introduce a new line of premium clothing,” Reade says. “It is meaningful local data that takes a lot of the guesswork out of planning.” Charts and graphs available on the site cover areas such as sales, turnover, market share and customer insights. The site is secure and business owners must register to use the tool. To sign up visit www.anzbusinessinsights.com My Business: Achieving retail success with social mediaConnecting with customers has always been a crucial factor in any retail business. In July's My Business magazine retail guru Brian Walker outlines some of the benefits social media can bring your business. It may sound daunting, but according to Walker it can be very profitable and a lot of fun. It's no longer about opening the shutter door at 9am and closing it at 5pm. Customers are visiting you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, whether that be in our physical stores, our online stores and e-commerce channels or through social media. E-commerce growth rates are exploding - the take up rate in Australia for 2009 was 25 percent and South East Asia was at 66.3 percent. Over 7,900,000 Australians are actively using facebook. That's a third of our total population! This captive audience has enormous business potential, so join in. Get to know your customers, listen to them and share with them. By subscribing to services like Google Alert and Twitter search, you can listen in real-time to what your customers are saying about you. Your online channels as well as social media and the various blog sites and discussion forums will provide an abundance of information, consumer feedback and trends. New web portal will connect employers with MBA talentUQ Business School is to launch the Career Companion, an online portal designed to give businesses direct access to a high quality, MBA-grade talent pool. MBA graduates will upload their profiles to their site so that even if they are not actively job hunting they can stay abreast of any opportunities that arise and remain visible to potential employers. Selected employers will be granted free access to the service for a 12 month period to assist them with their recruitment process, or simply to help them identify talent. Employers will be able to access the system from August 1, 2010.
To register your interest in the service email Tim Burton at UQ Business School at tburton@bel.uq.edu.au 20 copies of 'How I sold my business for $4m!' to give awayOwen Joyce has joined forces with Andrew Vincent, regular My Business contributor and the creator of the Channel 9 television series Your Business Success. They have combined to offer a unique business improvement program for business owners that want more than just a job. In recent years Owen has been working as a business coach helping owners improve their business skills and knowledge so they can build saleable businesses. Owen knows what he is talking about. He set up a business called Self Cert which provided e-learning solutions for IT Professionals. In just five years he built up a business from zero to $5 million in turnover and then sold it to Seek.com for $4 million. Owen wanted to make sure he didn’t repeat many of the mistakes he made in the early days so he started writing a few notes on his experience which grew into a book called ‘Practical Guidelines for Success’. Owen shares his experience on how he raised starting capital, the trial and error of marketing, building successful partnerships, how to employ and train the right people and building a financial model that was ultimately attractive to a purchaser. He shares many of the mistakes he made along the way and explains how you can avoid them. Owen has just updated his book and the new edition is available in bookstores now (RRP $24.95). He has made 20 copies available to the first 20 My Business readers that go to his website and order. Owen will also make 30 copies available in e-book format as well. Register for your copy now at www.yourbusinesssuccess.com.au/MyBusinessBookOffer My Business: Effective conflict resolution can improve the profitability of your businessSome conflict in business is healthy - it can stimulate ideas, creativity and healthy debate for problem solving. But, as Karen Adamedes explains in the July issue of My Business magazine unresolved conflicts can permanently damage your relationships and your business. Adamedes' top 10 tips for helping you resolve conflict in your business are: 1. Prepare - make sure you know your facts before you intervene 2. Identify the key issues involved 3. Develop some potential alternatives to resolve the situation 4. Involve others in decision-making process 5. Have the conversations you need to have discreetly, one-to-one 6. Approach issues from the other person's perspective 7. Ask questions to convey your appreciation of their position 8. Acknowledge past success, experience and skills 9. Don't put off tough conversations. They only get harder the longer you leave them 10. Conflict is part of the process of negotiation and problem-solving in business, so don't take it personally. When it's over, dust yourself off and get on with it. My Business: For investors, a good team is more important than a good productIn the July issue of My Business magazine Angel investor Jordan Green reflects on some advice given to him by some Venture Capitalists while he was living and working in Silicon Valley - Always invest in an A-grade team with a B-grade product rather than a B-grade team with an A-grade product. The assumption is that an early-stage company is growing in a dynamic, rapidly changing environment and what starts out as a product perfectly suited to the market opportunity will lose its edge as the market changes. A great team will, hopefully, always find a way to adapt and keep their business relevant and valuable while a second-rate team will struggle to keep up with the changing world. Every failure that Green can recall in a business in which he has worked or invested has been due to the failure of the people. Sometimes it's an innocent result - caused by the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time - but in Green's experience, the players in these dramas are usually good people and, as such, are open to advice and help. More often, disaster is caused by either a single pivotal individual or a small team of collaborators who hold the view that their interests are paramount over everything and everyone else. These people fail to recognise what is actually in their interest, istead holding clearly to their egos and blind belief in their own infallibility. Don't miss out on entering the 2010 ActionCOACH My Business AwardsThe team at My Business magazine invites you to enter the 2010 ActionCOACH My Business Awards. You can be in the running to have your business recognised for achieving excellence in your field. There are a total of 10 categories in this year’s Awards, plus the overall ActionCOACH Award for Outstanding Excellence. The Winner from each category is automatically entered into this Award.
1.The GIO Award for Best Small Business You are invited to enter the Awards up until Friday 20th August 2010. Enter online at www.mybusiness.com.au/awards10 or post your submission according to the entry guidelines. Our past Award finalists and winners have benefited from the resulting publicity and exposure through My Business magazine, and sponsor networks. With the numerous leveraging opportunities involved in such a credible Awards program, why would you not want to be in it? Also, each category’s three finalists will receive one free ticket to attend the Gala Awards presentation ceremony on Friday 24th September 2010 at The Ivy Room, Sydney. It will be a fabulous night of fun, food and entertainment, compared by James O'Loghlin, host of “The New Inventors” on ABC TV, as we celebrate the best of the best. Complimentary books for readersMy Business is offering readers the chance to receive complimentary books in exchange for writing a short review of them for publication in the next My Business e-newsletter. This month the Australian & New Zealand Edition of Bookkeeping for Dummies is up for grabs. The latest in publisher John Wiley & Sons' popular For Dummies series it aims to demystify the art of bookkeeping with easy-to-follow advice from the experts. If you would like to review this title for the My Business e-newsletter simply email your name, address and company name to mybusinesseditor@halledit.com.au by 22 July. EventsTake your business to new heights by attending MYBIZ EXPO 2010
Bookings are now being taken for the 2010 MYBIZ EXPO. The expo gives business owners the opportunity to meet over 50 business experts face-to-face, to attend free masterclasses on such issues as industrial relations, franchising, cash flow, social media and taxation, and, of course, to network with literally hundreds of like-minded business people. One day at the MYBIZ EXPO will give you enough insights, inspiration and contacts for you to reference throughout the year. Successful entrepreneurs will outline their strategies for success, while a host of speakers will discuss the latest business trends, products and services that are relevant to your business. And the best news - it's free! For more information and to register visit www.mybizexpo.com.au. | |||
