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Small Business E-zine full off tips and ideas from a diverse range of business experts.
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Let’s Talk Business
1
Let’s Talk Business Back To Basics Business Solutions - Support for Small Business
Volume 2 Issue 20 - July 2014
Inside this issue
Cover Story - Doing Retail in Australia ......................2
18 Powerful Ideas to Reward
Your Team
Dr Tim Baker …..….............3
Biz Snippets …………….......4
Employees or Team
Members?
Dennis Chiron .......... ...........5
Corporate Psychopaths - Do
you have one in your
Business?
Geoff Butler ………………..6
Health Check Your Business
Jo-Anne Chaplin ………......7
Every Customer You Want, Is
Already Somebody Else’s
Dan Buzer ………………...8
More Facebook For Ideas and
Tips
Karen Ahl ……..………….9
Innovate - Just Do It!
Peter Nicol ………………..10
Inspections, Checklists and
Procedure Audits
Ron Court …..…….….…...11
4 Simple Ways To Be More
Productive
Karen Davey-Thorpe …....12
The Sins of the BIG Banks
Paul Gillmore ….................13
Editor’s BizTips ………….14
LTB Objectives …..........…15
Photograph courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald
COSBOA’s Submission To The
Productivity Study Into The Costs
Of Doing Retail In Australia
“It’s all about Red Tape and Wages”
Let’s Talk Business
2
Cost of doing Retail in Australia is All About Red Tape and Wages
COSBOA’s Submission to the Productivity Study
Initially “sparked” by the Audit’s
Commission wage proposal,
COCBOA (and other business
leaders) came out “firing”.
Business and industry leaders have
warned against reducing the minimum
wage to 44 per cent of average weekly
earnings as recommended by the
government’s commission of audit.
The minimum wage is currently set at
$622 a week or 56 per cent of average
weekly earnings, with the commission
of audit suggesting the reduction be
phased in over ten years.
Under the proposal, the concept of a
nationally consistent minimum wage
would be abolished with the states and
territories allowed to set their own
minimum wages based on the new
benchmark.
The move would cut $136 dollars per
week off the value of the minimum
wage in today’s dollars, reducing it to
roughly $12 an hour or about $480 per
week.
COSBOA focuses on the cost of doing
business for small business. We focus
not just on dollar costs but also on costs
in time and stress for the small business
person.
A small business is after all a person or
maybe a couple but it is inherently
different from big business where
everyone is an employee and everyone
gets paid for what they do.
There should be no expectation that a
small business is just a smaller version
of a big business.
There should be no expectation that a
small business person is just an
employee of a landlord at their beck and
call.
There should be no expectation that a
retailer can compete with large
businesses fairly when costs are high
and costs for the large businesses are
low due to their capacity to use their
dominance not their better management
skills or their better efficiency.
Our response is short but to the point –
the biggest cost to small business in
retail is to be found in rent, wages,
training of employees and time spent
doing compliance and paperwork.
Rent
There is no doubt that rent in Australia is
too high and that is due to the
domination of retail by a few large
landlords combined with a failure to
consider urban planning issues when
assessing whether competition is fair
and reasonable.
As a result we have more and more local
retail monopolies around Australia
where the only viable place to open a
business is in the large shopping mall
and that provides the landlords with the
opportunity to use their position to
unfairly and unnecessarily increase rent.
The large landlords are mainly
Westfields, Stocklands, Federation
Centres (ex Centro) and the Queensland
Investment Corporation (QIC) among
others.
They work closely with large developers
to influence local councils to change
regulations to suit their needs. If the
council does not meet the needs and
demands of the developers appeals will
be made to state appeal tribunals and the
large developers normally win.
The partnership between the landlords
and Coles and Woolworths, who
dominate retail, provides a perfect storm
for small business who cannot compete
giants large retailers when rents are so
high.
This must change.
Wages
The greatest issue to do with wages is
the high penalty rates. COSBOA notes
that recently the Fair Work
Commission decreased penalty rates in
the Hospitality Industry and we hope
and expect that the same will occur in
the retail sector.
Currently penalty rates for Sundays
are at least double time and penalty
rates for public holidays are triple
time.
This makes opening a shop on those
days a loss making event.
Many businesses have had to close on
those days. This is compounded by the
domination f the landlords.
These large landlords will force shop
keepers to open on those days so that
their shopping mall looks like it is
busy.
The shopkeeper is forced to either
work seven days a week with a cost to
health and family well being or to
employ someone to work the whop
which creates a loss to the business
and a decrease in their family income.
This also must change.
There still exists compliance that is
unnecessary and detracts from retailers
doing good business.
Removing retailers from unnecessary
compliance will decrease costs.
Two initial examples are:
1. Remove employers from
superannuation collection
2. Paid Parental Leave demands
that are not manageable
Let’s Talk Business
3
Here are ten practical and powerful
ideas for extrinsically rewarding a high
performing team:
Giving verbal praise at a staff
meeting;
Inviting the team to present its work
at a staff meeting;
Prominently displaying a poster
showing team photographs and
accomplishments;
Sending the team on an outing, such
as a boat trip or to a sporting event;
Inviting the team to the business
owner's home for a barbecue;
Placing a photograph and story about
the team in the company newsletter
of community newspaper;
Encouraging team members to attend
and present at professional
conferences by paying travel
expenses;
Asking the GM to attend a attend a
team meeting to praise its
performance;
Sending a letter to the GM detailing
the team's work; and
Giving each team member a T-shirt,
hat, or mug with his or her name (or
team's name) on it.
On the other hand, some people respond
to intrinsic rewards. Here are eight
ideas:
1. Asking the team to accept a new
challenge;
2. Writing timely, thoughtful
comments in the margins on team
reports;
3. Giving the team the opportunity to
meet off-site;
4. Giving the team improved
resources, such as new equipment;
5. Asking the team's opinion about
how to handle problems or new
business opportunities;
6. Asking the team to help another
team start up or solve a problem;
7. offering to pitch in and help the
team directly; and
8. empowering the team to act
independently.
Both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards are
effective in rewarding and reinforcing
exceptional team performance. Their
value will depend on the team's
preference, the culture of your
organization, and the resources at the
disposal of the manager. A
combination is often the most
effective form of recognition.
This is an extract from Tim Baker's
latest book - Attracting and
Retaining Talent: Becoming an
Employer of Choice. This book can
be purchased from Amazon or
directly from the author.
Dr Tim Baker is an international
consultant and author of four
books. (http://
www.winnersatwork.com.au)
He was voted one of the 50 Most
Talented Global Training &
Development Leaders by the World
HRD Congress last year.
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
www.winnersatwork.com.au
www.about.me/tim.baker
tim@winnersatwork.com.au
Telephone. +61 7 3899 8881
18 Powerful Ideas to
Reward Your Team
Editor’s Note:
Dr. Tim Baker is an international consultant, successful author, keynote speaker, master trainer, executive coach, university lecturer and skilful facilitator.
In a nutshell, he has conducted over 2,430 seminars, workshops and keynote addresses to over 45,000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups.
"“Dr Baker leads the world in
offering an innovative new approach
to appraising employee performance.
His research and energy in the
specialised field of performance
management is evidenced by his
international profile as a renowned
speaker, management consultant and
facilitator". Stephen Hartley,
Australia’s leading expert on project
management and author of "Project
Management: Principles, Processes
and Practices.
Let’s Talk Business
4
Then he looked around and said,
"Make sure the elephants don't see
what the rabbits are up to."
==== that was Management
Japanese vs.
American
Management Style
Two teams of
American and
Japanese corporations have a boat
race. On the big day the Japanese
win by a mile.
The discouraged Americans hire a
consulting firm to investigate the
problem. The findings are that the
Japanese team had eight people
rowing and one person steering while
the American team had one rower
and eight people steering. Based on
these results, the American team is
completely reorganized to include
four steering managers, four steering
area managers and a new
performance review system for the
person rowing the boat to provide
work incentive.
The following year the Japanese win
again, so the Americans lay off the
rower for poor performance and give
the manager a bonus for discovering
the problem.
Ten ways to know
that you are Dating
a Business
Consultant
1. Refers to those "intimate moments" as "Win-Win situations"
2. Valentine`s Day card has bullet points
3. Can`t be trusted with the car (too accustomed to beating up rentals)
4. Celebrates anniversary by conducting a performance review
5. Ends any argument by saying "let`s talk about this offline"
6. Tries to call room service from the bedroom
7. Congratulates your parents for successful value creation
8. Takes a half-day at the office because, "Sunday is YOUR day"
9. Talks to the waiter about process flow when dinner arrives late
10. Referred to the first month of your relationship as a "diagnostic period"
If you see a bandwagon, it’s too
late. James Goldsmith
Run your idea up the flagpole
and see if anyone salutes it.
Failure is not an option—it
comes bundled with the software.
Eagles might soar, but weasels
don’t get sucked into jet engines.
A meeting is an event at which
the minutes are kept and the
hours are lost.
Nothing is illegal if a hundred
businessmen decide to do it.
Andrew Young
If it’s stupid but works, it isn’t
stupid.
Corporate
Governance
A crow was sitting
on a tree, doing
nothing all day. A
small rabbit saw the crow and asked
him: "Can I also sit like you and do
nothing all day long?" The crow
answered: "Sure, why not." So, the
rabbit sat on the ground below the
crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox
appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate
it.
Q: What can we learn from this?
A: To be sitting and doing nothing,
you must be sitting very high up.
Leadership vs.
Management
When Noah heard the
weather forecast he
ordered the building
of the ark.
==== that was Leadership
HUMOUROUS SIGNS
QUOTES & QUIPS
Let’s Talk Business
5
Employees or Team Members? Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Skype: dennis.chiron2
As we start to approach football final
time it becomes clear that some teams
are demonstrably better than others -
these are the ones that still have the
chance to play in and win the Grand
Final.
What is it that makes the difference?
After all, every team has its share of
brilliant players. Is it the team with the
most brilliant players that wins? The
answer is likely to be "No".
The winning "team" is most likely to be
the one that most understands the
meaning of the word itself. Just what
does make a good team?
Whilst the team is made up of
individuals, each one shares the same
vision, the same mission and the same
goals.- To be the best - To win the
Grand Final - To provide the strongest
following and keep the club financially
viable so it can continue to win. To
achieve these, it needs to establish and
follow a plan.
In business, it is exactly the same. You
and your employees are a team. As in
sport, your business will only be as
strong as your weakest link. With
teamwork and planning, even this
weakest link can be made much
stronger thus providing greater support
for your attacking strategies.
As the owner of the business or the
Manager, you are the coach. You are
aware of the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats of your
business (SWOT).
By working on these with your team
members, you can prepare strategies.
I say "with" your team members, as
they must be part of this planning
process.
If your team members do not play a
part in the planning and do not know
the reasons for your planning decisions,
then you cannot expect them to
wholeheartedly support you.
Gone are the days (thankfully) when
blind obedience of fatuous orders led to
the sort of fiasco typified by the Charge
of the Light Brigade. These days
people are far more educated. These
days most employees actually WANT
to provide input to your decision
making.
If you are truthful to yourself, you
might even come to the conclusion that
many of your employees are actually
brighter than you are. This is an
opportunity, not a threat!
The most important rule for your
business must be to get the work in and
make the sale. If this is true, then the
most important person in your business
must be your client.
This is something that you and your
whole team must be aware of.
Everything must be focussed on client
satisfaction. As a team, every member
must be concentrating on producing
goods or services that provide customer
satisfaction.
Remember - the customer is always
right. If the customer is also satisfied,
then the Grand Final is yours for the
taking!
Defining Roles
Most problems that develop in a team
occur because team roles are not clearly
defined. Supervisors and team leaders
are not the only ones with special roles
and responsibilities. Employees also
must know what is expected of them
and what they will be accountable for in
their new environment.
There are two basic types of roles and
responsibilities that employees should
be expected to assume and to be
evaluated on. The first role is that of
technical expert.
The employee must be able to do the
work well. The second type is the social
role that involves the management of
the processes of the team. Both roles are
important to the team's success and
performance improvement.
In his book, Building Productive
Teams, Glenn H. Varney explains the
importance of clarifying the roles of
team members.
He observes, "During any discussion of
roles and responsibilities, team
members need to clearly know their
specific tasks and the areas for which
they will be held accountable. Everyone
in the team should also know what
everyone else is responsible for. This
will build strength and mutual support."
Let’s Talk Business
6
Most of us at some time or another
have worked in an organization
with someone who had an innate
ability to ‘kiss up and kick down’,
seemingly without the boss being
aware of their actions.
The important thing for us as
owners and managers is to be able
to recognize these individuals, and
take action before they undo all the
effort we have put into building our
corporate culture.
After all, they can appear to us to be
highly motivated operators who get
things done, and are therefore much
more likely to be rewarded than
removed.
So what is a Corporate
Psychopath?
Robert Hare, a University of British
Columbia Professor is thought to be
the first to use the term when he
compared the similarity of some of
the personality traits of the heads to
some of the world’s largest
corporations to those of serial
killers and other kinds of violent
criminals.
It seems that around 1% of the
general population isn’t burdened
by conscience.
Psychopaths have a profound lack
of empathy, but possess an
astounding ability to fake it. They
seduce their victims with charm that
masks their true nature as
pathological liars, master con
artists, and heartless manipulators.
They crave constant stimulation, so
they seek thrills from real-life
‘games’ they can win – and take
pleasure from their power over
other people.
But wait, you say: Don’t bona
fide psychopaths become serial
killers or other kinds of violent
offenders, rather than the guys in the
next cubicle? That was the
conventional wisdom.
On the broad continuum between the
ethical every-day person and the
predatory killer, there’s plenty of
room for people who are ruthless but
not violent.
New York psychologist, Paul Babiak
says ‘If I wasn’t studying
psychopaths in prison; I’d do it at the
stock exchange.’
Hare continues that ‘There are
certainly more people in the business
world that would score high in the
psychopathic dimension than in the
general population.’
Organizational chaos provides both
the necessary stimulation for
psychopathic thrill seeking and
sufficient cover for manipulation and
abusive behavior.
Corporate psychopaths tend to
exhibit the following traits: glibness
and superficial charm; a grandiose
sense of self-worth, pathological
lying; lack of remorse or guilt;
coldness covered up by dramatic
emotional displays that are actually
play-acting; and failure to accept
responsibility for their own actions.
Sound like anyone you know?
The damage this type of person can
do to your organization is enormous,
both in terms of staff and clients.
The unfortunate thing is that you will
probably find them to be both
charming and high performing, at least
until you become their next target.
Indeed, you’ll probably find yourself
promoting them ahead of their peers.
How can I avoid the fallout?
It’s all a question of risk management,
and we can’t completely eliminate the
possibility of ending up with a
corporate psychopath in our team.
However, I think there are three major
actions we can take to minimize the
risk:
Firstly, use tools such as psychometric
testing during recruiting, to minimize
the risk of potentially inviting one into
the fold, particularly into a position of
influence.
Secondly, 360 degree feedback
mechanisms may assist to highlight
emerging concerns amongst team
members and fellow workers; and
Thirdly, corporate psychopaths thrive
in organizational chaos, so having in
place a strong philosophy of structure,
systems and measurement may be your
best defence against attracting and
retaining them.
Remember they crave constant
stimulation, so if you demand
accountability and performance against
key objectives, they may seek out an
easier target.
There are plenty of other businesses out
there that might not be as organized as
yours.
Geoff Butler FAIM AP, MAITD MACE
Principal/Business Improvement & Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile: 0414 943072
Fax: 3036 6131
Email: geoff@businessoptimizers.com.au
Skype: business.optimizers1
Corporate Psychopaths ….
Do You Have One In
Your Business?
WORKS HERE
Let’s Talk Business
7
Jo-Anne Chaplin
Tax & Superannuation Professionals Pty Ltd
PH 07 3410 8116 / Mobile 0457 960 566
Email : taxandsuperprofessionals@gmail.com
Web: www.taxandsuperprofessionals.com.au
I am a qualified Accountant and will celebrate my 20th anniversary as a
Registered Tax Agent this year. During my time in Public Practice I have
assisted clients to achieve business growth and prosperity. My earlier career
included positions in banking, manufacturing, construction and retail. My
particular interest is in promoting a culture of using local industries and
business in order to build a strong community.
Health Check Your Business
With the new financial year
beginning, it’s the perfect opportunity
to:
1. Review last year’s trading to see
where improvements can be made
2. Investigate problem areas to
identify solutions to avoid the
same problems repeating
themselves
3. Look at new ways of marketing
your business
4. Identify new or more efficient
ways of doing the same work
5. Set some targets – sales –
financial – KPIs for the coming
year
6. Review your plant & equipment –
what capital expenditure are you
going to have to undertake in the
next 12 months
A review of your past year’s trading
will help you understand if your
pricing is right, if your buying price is
the best on offer, your inventories are
at the right level and if your staffing
model is correct.
Benchmark your results against those
for your industry. Were last year’s
profits enough to carry your business
into the next year?
If there were problems during the past
financial year, how were they
overcome? Was the action taken
successful? What procedures have
been put in place to identify future
problem areas before they arise. What
would you have done differently (with
the benefit of hindsight)? Have you
changed your policies and procedures
and taken the matter up with your staff?
What did you spend on advertising and
promotion last year? Was it effective?
Is it time to look at new approaches to
your marketing?
Setting targets is all about staying on
track, and managing your business.
Small business owners tend to get lost
in the day to day working of their
business. This is because they ARE the
business!
To make sure that some attention is
placed on where the business is headed,
use targets to measure progress, and
review them at regular intervals.
Financial targets, are a budget to make
sure that cashflow will be available for
known expenses, and for estimated
expenses.
Model the new year’s budget on last
year’s actual trading, then uplift for the
expected increase in turnover. When
finalised you will see where the slow
months will be, and be able to
provide for them early.
New ways of doing the same job are
always confronting to owners and
staff alike. Some of the new
technology being offered is not as
good as it claims, but there are other
ones that will help you save time and
money within your business. Put on
your creative hat, and think outside
the box. What are your competitors
doing?
Does your industry association have
some information that will help?
KPIs are Key Performance Indicators.
These are only limited by your
imagination. The main ones are of
course, those which relate to main
work procedures.
Examples are statutory reporting, HR
management, staff training, licensing
etc. You could also develop
measurements which relate solely to
your business – ie a retailer may like
to implement a KPI over the sales of
widgets per square metres of floor
space.
My firm offers Chief Financial
Officer services to small business, in
which we review all the matters
raised above, and more. If you would
like a business health check, then
please contact me.
Let’s Talk Business
8
“..Every Customer You Want, is Already
Somebody Else’s Customer! ..”
Mike is a great car mechanic. One of
the best! His business is good at what it
does, has been around for many years
and has hundreds of long-time repeat
customers that trust him with their
vehicles.
But an important part of Mike’s
business is completely broken. Let me
explain …
Often Mike is asked by his customers,
“Hey Mike, who would you
recommend for x, y, z”? Mike picks up
one of the many business cards on his
counter, passes it over without another
thought and in that one action commits
three of the most common, wasteful
and business stagnating sins there are.
Let’s break them down …
1. Gave up Control of the Referral:
Mike will probably never know if
that customer actually used the
services of the person he
recommended.
2. Missed out on Credit: How will the
referred business know that Mike
referred them? If they don’t know
about the support they’re getting its
likely sending people back to Mike
is not at the top of their mind.
3. A Bad Referral: Every time we
refer another person’s products or
services we’re taking a HUGE risk.
If his customer doesn’t get what
he’s after that could reflect badly
on Mike.
But the biggest thing Mike is losing out
on is something that successful
business owners spend their waking
hours pondering almost non-stop.
“What is a great win-win opportunity for
me to help my customers and at the same
time get introduced to other prospective
ideal customer’s?”
What if Mike compiled the business
cards of the people he recommends the
products and services for into a booklet?
It could be called “Mike the Mechanic’s
Guide to Local Tried & Tested Vehicle
Industry Professionals”. It could have
$10,000 of value if all the people in the
booklet had a special offer each (40
people with offers valued at $250 each =
$10,000). A local map pointing out
where everyone was located and more!
Now, what if Mike didn’t just stack the
booklets up on his counter and let
‘anyone’ grab one?
He could bring it out when listening to
what the customer wants before the work
even starts. Mike explains to his
customer that at some stage they might
need tires, bull-bars, body work, car
detailing, windshields and more.
Now Mike has become a ‘portal’, or a
central hub of anything to do with the
automotive world in his area. A force to
be reckoned with!
But Mike could be even savvier than
that. He could say “Mrs Jones, you’re
in need of an auto-electrician. I’ll email
Rob at Rob’s Auto Electrics with your
details, your vehicle’s details and the
work we have discussed that you need
done. That way you don’t have to
remember everything yourself.
Would that be helpful for you?” Notice
how many boxes this one easy process
ticks and everyone wins!
Then, at the end of this unique service
from Mike the mechanic and Rob the
auto-electrician, Mrs Jones gets a
‘Thank You’ letter in the mail
personalised by Mike.
Within the folds of the letter slips out a
free car wash voucher from Mary’s
Local Mobile Car Detailing company
valued at $60.
Now ask yourself … if you were a
customer of Mike’s, would you tell
your friends about this extraordinary
experience?
Of course you would! It’s not hard or
expensive, but it does take a little bit of
guidance and know how.
If you would like to experience a
complimentary review of your business
that takes less than an hour, call Dan at
Profit Mechanics on 0414 567 188. An
easy to understand business
performance questionnaire will be
rushed to you so you can see where
profit may be leaking from your
business and how to fix it.
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
www.profitmechanics.net/ dan@profitmechanics.net
Let’s Talk Business
9
In a previous issue of Let’s Talk
Business, I covered a simple
Monday to Sunday Facebook
strategy [click here to read it online].
It covered the ‘type’ of posts that
suits each day of the week and helps
gain the most amount of response
from your Facebook efforts.
Due to the popularity of this topic, I
thought I would go a few steps
further.
Some ideas to get started
Use your own photos
If you are at all handy with a camera
(and even if you are not)…take your
own photos. You can transform
these into cool Memes (they are
those images with words on them).
Your Meme can be funny,
meaningful, inspirational or
factual...just be interesting. Here is
one I created in about 3 minutes for
FREE at imgflip.com.
Upload your own image to http://
makeameme.org/ or https://
imgflip.com/memegenerator and
make your own Memes – there are
heaps of other free programs and
Apps for your smart phone...just
search.
Like other Business pages
Once you have your Business
Facebook page set-up, YOUR
BUSINESS PAGE can LIKE other
Business Pages. Go to the effort of
clicking of switching your identity.
[Find a Youtube video on how to
switch…it is different on smartphone
apps vs computers].
Then, while logged in as your business,
use the search bar to find other
businesses, famous people, brands and
organisations. Find pages that you
would like to follow or align with your
business. You can also like pages where
your potential customers ‘hang out’…
e.g. pages for mums, health nuts or car
enthusiasts. Once “your business page”
likes them, “your business page” can
follow these other pages via your
Business Page “home” feed.
Share other people’s content
Now that you have liked a bunch of
other pages, you now have a Feed
bursting with updates from them.
SHARE their posts where relevant/
appropriate onto your business
Facebook page. This is a great way of
creating the illusion activity on your
business Facebook page without
needing to create it each and every time.
PLUS, whoever runs the page you just
shared something from will get a
notification letting them know…it’s a
great way to network and subtly get
your business name in people’s faces.
Promote others
By posting, and sharing helpful
information about, events, fundraisers,
causes and businesses (that are not
yours) you can improve your business
reputation. This can also open some
doors in terms of being invited to
participate in different events/projects
due to your online ‘connections’. It is
also a great way of being seen
associated with or at least supporting,
local business and events.
Manage via your Smart phone
Using an App like “Page Manager” is
highly recommended to, more easily,
manage your business page/s vs your
personal profile. This is a great tool if
you have more than one page to
manage.
Scheduling tools
See the little clock icon in the bottom
left hand corner of this graphic? This
little icon allows you to schedule your
post to appear on a future date. Going
away on holiday? Don’t have time to
commit each day? THEN USE THIS
TOOL! You can schedule your “Merry
Christmas” message RIGHT NOW. It
will appear on your business page while
you are tucking into your Christmas
lunch without you so much as looking at
your Facebook account. This feature
only works for Business Pages –
Personal Profiles (or Friends pages)
only allow you to backdate posts.
Just send us your Facebook Questions
and we might even do an article
answering them all.
For further information, please feel free
to email Karen ~ The Webgirl.
Karen Ahl Bac. Bus (Mark, Man), TAE40110,
Cert IV IT Caboolture, Queensland
Ph 0415 142 178
www.web-sta.com.au info@web-sta.com.au
More Facebook for Business Ideas and Tips
Let’s Talk Business
10
Peter Nicol
Wisdom Marketing & Management Services
0417627097
www.wisdommarketing.com.au
manager@wisdommarketing.com.au
Innovate …. Just Do It! Some years ago I was struggling with a
problem at the newspaper I worked for
as the Marketing Manager. It was a
complex problem, and one that I
needed to resolve. In those times
newspapers before the internet, and the
digital age were a most unique medium
(they still are). They were the retailers
medium. However, like any industry
enjoying its time in the sun some
arrogance had slipped into the style
and delivery of advertising by many of
the proprietors. Retailers hungry for
sales began to use catalogues to convey
their message.
Consequently, advertising volumes
declined. However, the retailers used
newspapers to carry them, as the paper
was a welcome guest in the home. The
longest journey a catalogue had to
make was from the post box into the
house. Many catalogues ended their
journey at the letterbox and into the
rubbish.
People trusted newspapers and,
catalogues inserted into them usually
got outstanding results. Nowadays,
with circulations dwindling coverage
of a market is difficult using paid
papers, as they simply do not have the
coverage of days gone by.
New players came into being who
offered to deliver the catalogues and
systemised a difficult job and, today
catalogue printing and distribution is a
booming industry with massive presses
around the country producing
catalogues by the millions in one print
run.
My problem? Well I did for a while
prove that my audience of readers was
better than a letterbox drop and for a
while I won this battle. However
innovation on the part of the letterbox
delivery people and Australia Post
brought in millions of dollars and a
new industry was born and, I got the
little that was left.
In Toowoomba where I live there was
a family Company that made cordials
and aerated soft drinks. It had done so
since about 1913. They were a
generational business with father and
sons passing the business on. In the
late 50’s early 60’s the introduction of
better roads and transport; larger
aerated soft drink makers from outside
the region were able to deliver their
goods cost effectively.
The Company could see that there was
a need to innovate. The family
reasoned that if they could supply a
cold drink at the point of sale then they
would have the “edge”. The family
commenced making small refrigerated
cabinets that held their drink
exclusively. Sales soared. Then their
competitors asked if they could make
refrigerated cabinets for them. You
guessed it, they did, and, the business
some 20 years later was the largest
supplier of refrigerated display and
merchandising cabinets in Australia.
Here are two examples of how
innovation has changed the way
businesses are run. It also shows how
you have to take the long term
view of how your thinking must
work.
Businesses have to make change
their mantra. Just like a restaurant
changes its menu every so often
then, so must all business have a
culture of being prepared to
change.
Innovation can be subtle but
nonetheless it must still have a
positive long term impact on the
business, the customers, and
indeed the profitability. Every
inventor tries to build a better
mouse trap.
Do NOT let your business
languish for a moment. It is your
responsibility to make sure that
that you are vigilant and keep your
eyes and ears open for that funny
little knock or rattle in your
economic engine room.
See if it is a threat and, make
decisions strategically not
reactively. Having the enemy at
the gate can be a folly so look and
assess dangers and scale the
responses accordingly. Innovate
where needed not just because it
feels good.
Innovation can be internal change
with little impact on the client’s
perception. New processes to
make things better or faster are the
keys to a successful enterprise and
profitability. Innovate or perish.
Let’s Talk Business
11
Periodically, say quarterly, the
supervisor should conduct a separate
assessment of the inspections.
The purpose of workplace inspections is
to identify those hazards to which
employees may be exposed, so that risks
can be assessed and controlled where
necessary.
Persons conducting inspections can
develop "tunnel vision" if the person
works in the same area he/she is
inspecting.
This phenomenon occurs due to the
familiarisation of hazards in the
workplace and results in the failure to
clearly identify hazards.
The minimum requirement is that a
written procedure for inspections is
developed which:
defines responsibility;
stipulates the frequency of
inspections (which should be on a
regular basis);
gives precedence to consultation
with worker health and safety
representatives;
recommends appropriate corrective
action within specified timeframes;
sets priorities for corrective action;
assigns personnel for corrective
action;
provides feedback to the health and
safety committee;
provides feedback to work groups;
and
has a follow-up or review of
corrective action.
Problems and benefits of checklists The checklist is a widely used
instrument and is ideal as a starting point
in workplace inspections.
There are numerous checklists provided
in occupational health and safety
literature and predominantly there are
two different standard rating systems for
Ron Court, AMC, Dip (Funerals) ,Cert IV OH&S, Cert IV Training & Assessment TAE, MQJA, JP (Qual)
OH&S Advisor
0419 679 619 roncourt@aapt.net.au
Inspections, Checklists and Procedure Audits
describing hazards:
Yes/no or satisfactory/
unsatisfactory;
and
Scale system
Adequate training must be provided
to overcome this problem. It may
also be good practice for inspecting
to be done by someone from
outside the work area..
Use specific work area checklists Checklists should be developed for
each different type of work area.
If an incident (injury, damage or
near miss) is reported, a review of
the checklist must be undertaken to
ensure that all necessary aspects are
being checked.
Sample Checklist Are aisles clear?
Are the aisles clear of electrical
leads?
Adequate work space?
Is the workplace adequately lit?
Are electrical leads in good
condition?
Are electrical leads tagged and
maintained?
Is the floor surface slip
resistant?
Are safety signs displayed?
Are there emergency
procedures to follow in case of
an accident or fire?
Is there an appropriate first aid
kit nearby?
Have the extinguishers been
recently serviced?
Are there adequate directions
towards fire exits?
You can get information about your
OH&S obligations and other
valuable OH&S resources both in
hard copy and online from their
websites.
http://www.deir.qld.gov.au
Purpose of inspections
Inspections are necessary to:
identify aspects of the working
environment and work tasks that
could contribute to injury/damage -
and thus allow unacceptable
conditions or conduct to be
addressed;
review workplace standards in
accordance with legal and company
requirements; and
provide a systematic means, for
those who are at risk of injury, to
help control the working conditions.
Inspections are an essential element
in hazard reduction because issues
must be identified, assessed, fixed
or reported. In this way hazards are
reduced and thus the workplace is
safer. Inspections are only part of
the hazard control strategy. They
are complemented by:
plant and equipment audits;
task analysis and introduction of
safety procedures;
control and monitoring of
materials;
employee training; and
consultative procedures.
Develop inspection procedure
As a minimum, it is recommended
that all facilities be inspected at least
once a month.
Depending on the risks, the dynamics
of the work and the results of
inspections and other factors, this may
need increasing.
The inspection should not be by the
same person each time but should be
done with the worker health and
safety representative.
Let’s Talk Business
12
to spend your ‘extra’ time any way
you like.
1. Find out what activities you are
wasting your time. Before you
can solve a problem, you need to
understand it. If you’re not sure
where you’re losing time, track
what you do for a week. There
are a myriad of tools you can use
to do this. From the good old
fashioned pen and notebook, to
the planner in your smart phone.
You may be surprised just how
much time you are spending each
day checking social media sites
or getting distracted with articles
on the web. Just like a diet
journal, recording how you spend
your time can help you
understand what you are
spending your time on and what
you need to change.
2. Utilise apps to help you block or
limit your internet usage. To
reduce or prevent you wasting
precious time on excessive
Internet use, there are a range of
software apps you can use to
block your online distractions.
For example, the app called Freedom
bans you from surfing the net for up
to eight hours at a time. At the end of
your time offline, the app allows you
back on the Internet. You simply turn
it on, tell it how long you want to
focus (which may be anything from
15 minutes to 8 hours). You can even
pre-schedule the times you want it to
run. Apps to block social media sites
Karen Davey-Thorpe AAIDC CC
Smart n Savvy Business Solutions
1800 899 198
clientservices@smartnsavvybusinesssolutions.com.au
and specific functions on your
smart phones are also available for
a small monthly fee.
3. Delete software applications
that are a distraction. Given
there is an app for just about
everything, it doesn’t mean you
need to have it or use it. Get
rid of apps such as games or
anything that isn’t providing
value to you. Cutting down on
these apps will remove the
distractions from you.
4. Have a No-phone policy for
specific hours within your day.
Schedule hours in the day when
phones aren’t allowed. This
may be a set period of time
outside of your primary
business hours. Turn your
phone off. Place it in another
room or leave it in the car.
Look for creative ways to
completely remove the
temptation of making or
receiving phone calls.
Whether it’s your phone, the
Internet or some other distraction,
when you eliminate your biggest
distractions, you create a more
productive environment conducive
to getting more done.
What tools, techniques or methods
have you used that have helped you
create a more productive
environment? Please email me
with your ideas, tips and tricks. I’d
love to hear what’s worked for you.
Given some of the creativity displayed
in YouTube clips of late, clearly some
people have more time on their hands
than they know what to do with. This
is not the case for business owners.
As we all know, no business owner
can afford to waste their time on
something that produces no benefit for
themselves or their clients.
These days there are a lot of
distractions that keep us from being
productive. In fact, there are some
major time-vacuums that can take an
enormous amount of energy to resist.
The incessant ping and buzz of email
and text notifications being delivered
to your phone, surfing the Internet
with a particular aim in mind, then
being distracted by the plethora of
information at your fingertips…
Wasting seconds, minutes and
sometimes hours during the day on
these can put a serious dent in your
productivity. Turning off your phone
and the Internet creates a more
productive environment and allows
you breathing space to think or to get
absorbed in the task at hand. Some of
the most successful business owners I
have spoken with all have the ability
to be the master of their time and are
unapologetic for the discipline they
exercise protecting this precious
commodity.
So today I’d like to share four easy
ways you can create a more
productive working environment for
yourself - void of time-wasters and
distractions - so you can get more
done, thereby giving you the freedom
4 Simple Ways To Be More Productive
Let’s Talk Business
13
We have heard much about
Commonwealth Bank Financial
Planning recently and there has been
new legislation (FOFA) that is supposed
to protect consumers but it seems that
people are still getting a raw deal.
Our superannuation is our responsibility
but if we can’t trust our big banks what
are we meant to do?
We have heard about “dodgy financial
advice” from CBA Financial Planning
(CBA FP) but they are not the only ones.
Most large financial institutions have a
similar business model based around
vertical integration. This is where the
product manufacturer creates an
investment product such as a managed
fund or a superannuation product. They
also own the distribution network such
as branches and staff to sell their
products.
This might sound OK at first glance but
it raises the questions of conflict of
interest and conflicted remuneration. For
example a big bank might say to it’s
employees (financial planners) that they
MUST ONLY sell bank products AND
they must sell a minimum in order to
keep their jobs !
So what, I hear you say? Well, if your
job (your ability to pay your mortgage
and feed your family) was on the line,
you might “do whatever it takes” to keep
your family afloat – again, so what?
The Conflict is clear
Advisors are supposed to act in the best
interests of their clients but they are
required to not only sell the bank’s
products alone but to sell a minimum
amount. They have a points system and
if they meet their target or Key
Performance Indicator (KPI) they keep
their job. If they exceed, then they are
paid a bonus for “selling more”. This
“Minimum Sales Target” concept
extends all the way down to the teller
who smiles and asks, “you have a lot of
money in your account, would you like
to see our financial planner, would you
like to upgrade your home/investment
loan or would you like some life or
income protection insurance?”
Let’s be clear about this – if they don’t
funnel a certain number of clients to the
mortgage department, financial planner
or insurance person, they could lose
their job – they are not meeting their
KPI’s !
Interestingly, the regulator ASIC, has
reviewed banks and large financial
institutions such as fund managers (like
MLC, Colonial First State, Macquarie,
OnePath etc) or any of the Industry
Superannuation Funds (such as
Sunsuper, Australian Super, Cbus, Host,
Plum etc). Their view that selling their
own financial products to the exclusion
of ALL others is deemed NOT a conflict
of interest.
My question is ‘How can it NOT be a
conflict of interest’ when clients are not
made aware of this, their choice is
severely limited and employees are
Paul GILLMORE DFS
Founder and Director
Southern Cross Financial Services
07 5429 5561
0402 685 032
paul@sc-fs.com.au
being paid to sell those products to
the exclusion of all others?
Strategy v Product Flog
It raises the serious question of the
Corporate Imperative to make more
money versus the best interests of
the client. If management has
decided that they will track and
enforce KPI’s then you can hardly
blame the financial planners, tellers
or under managers for doing what
they are told to do at work.
It raises the deeply fundamental
question of how you achieve your
financial goals. Do you work out
how someone might achieve by
understanding their current financial
position, creating a moral, legal and
ethical strategy then use the
legislation and available products to
the clients advantage OR do you
just sell them your product because
you have to?
Corporate v Independent Advice
If 80% of financial planners are
working for big banks or
institutiions then most people are
subject to the Corporate Imperative
because 80% of planners are
employed by them.
Alternatively, you could seek an
independent advisor who works for
YOU and is paid for achieving a
good outcome for YOU as opposed
to corporate profits – I think the
choice is clear.
The Sins of the BIG Banks
Let’s Talk Business
14
Are You Thinking Small ?
Are you finding yourself in a rut,
because you’re stuck thinking
small? As the owner of a small
business, you wear many hats. And
in the day-to-day hustle and bustle
of making sure orders get filled,
customers get served and bills get
paid, it’s all too easy to start
thinking small. Most of us never
reach the level of accomplishment
that we dream of, mainly because of
“small” thinking.
Thinking big is a habit that we
naturally grow and develop over
time. It is a habit that allows us to
stretch our imaginations and expand
our personal potential. However,
thinking big will never become a
reality for any of us if we continue
to indulge in the following limiting
habits that ironically force us to
think small:
Procrastination holds you back
and pulls you away from
moving forward in your life.
Short-term thinking denies
you the ability to see solutions
that lie a few steps ahead
Solving insignificant problems distracts you from what’s most
important and from the
BIGGER picture.
Over-analyzing things wastes
time and energy on small
matters that are of little
significance.
These habits will constrict your
ability to think big, because they
force you to think small, to think
about insignificant events and
circumstances in unproductive ways,
thus draining all your creative
energies from the inside out. What
do you do to keep yourself thinking
big?
means you connect with people on
their schedules. There are also both
local and international organizations
whose goal is to promote
networking.
The largest of these is Business
Network International. You should
also start promoting your business
to people you already know and ask
them if they know others who might
be interested in your products or
services.
A Simple Strategy
Firstly, a marketing strategy that
you should take advantage of both
offline and online is networking.
This is probably the single most
important strategy you can look
into. As a small business, you will
find that one of your first and most
important hurdles is simply getting
people to know that you exist.
If people don’t know about you or
your business and that you have
amazing widgets or services to sell,
they’re not going to ask to buy those
widgets or hire you for those
services, regardless of how
wonderful and amazing they might
be.
So your first job as a small business
entrepreneur will be to get the word
out.
While not all of these people will
turn into customers, getting the
word out means at least some of
them will share the information with
people who might be interested in
what you have to offer, and that
awareness and publicity can lead to
a breakthrough in sales down the
road.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
One of the satisfactions - and
sometimes thrills - of being in business
for yourself is unexpectedly meeting or
getting a call from someone who wants
what you offer.
But for this to happen, you need to get
the word out that you're in business.
While most business owners think the
best way to do this is through
advertising or using direct mail,
experience has shown us that while
these avenues may help increase your
visibility, they're not the activities
that'll produce the quickest or the surest
results.
So just how can you best let people
know you're in business? Here are
several methods that have been praised
over and over by people we've
interviewed about how they got their
business rolling:
Face-to-Face Time
Solicit customers you're familiar with.
One of the best ways to generate
business is to directly solicit the people
or businesses who will be likely buy
your services, and you should start with
people you already know. If you're in
the gift balloon business, for example
consider contacting the managers of
restaurants where you're been a regular
patron. If you're at all nervous about
contacting people, you can warm up
cold-calls by first sending post cards or
e-mail.
Network.
If you haven't joined any business
organizations in your area yet, now's a
good time to think about doing so.
Then you can begin networking
through these business and trade
organizations. Going to these
organization's meetings and events
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Skype: dennis.chiron2
Let’s Talk Business
15
“Let’s Talk Business” Small Business Publication
PO Box 569 Bribie Island QLD 4507 P| 0451 184 599 dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
PUBLISHER: Marketing Means Business
“Let’s Talk Business” is
distributed to 2,730 business email
addresses within Australia and
Internationally.
We welcome contributions,
suggestions for articles and letters
to the Editor from our readers.
Please address correspondence to:
The Editor, LTB
PO Box 569
Bribie Island, Qld 4507
Phone: 0451 184 599
dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
You are welcome to re-produce
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please quote the source as “Let’s
Talk Business”. While every effort
has been made to ensure that all
information contained herein is
accurate, no responsibility will be
accepted by the publisher.
Likewise, the publisher accepts no
responsibility for illustrations or
photographs supplied by
organisations or individuals and/or
typographical errors.
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the publisher.
You are also encouraged to
contact the individual authors
direct, if you are seeking specific
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Letters to the Editor
are most welcome
Please send your letters to
dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
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One of the primary objectives of “Let’s Talk Business” (LTB) is to provide a
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