ltb september 2013

Let’s Talk Business

Web: www.b2bbs.com.au Email: [email protected] Mobile: 0451 184 599 1

Australia now has a new

Government and a new Prime

Minister, and Australian small

business has a new Small Business

Minister.

After six years in government, the

same amount of small business

ministers have come and gone – but

the Coalition’s likely man for the

job wants to change that.

Bruce Billson, who has been the

opposition spokesman for small

business for several years now, won

his marginal seat of Dunkley with a

3.94% swing to a two-party

preferred vote of 54.98%

It has to be a slightly nervous,

slightly exciting aspect for small

business.

Abbott’s government has promised

a strong mandate to focus on the

needs of small business and the

small business people in Australia.

COSBOA (Council of Small

Business of Australia) has already

stated that they are looking forward

to getting rid of unnecessary red

tape, confronting the issues of

bullying by the big landlords and the

damaging domination by the Coles-

Woolworths duopoly.

What we can say with confidence is

that we are all tired of listening to

the repeated rhetoric - from all sides

of government - about the immense

Let’s Talk Business Back To Basics Business Solutions - Support for Small Business

Issue 07 September 2013

importance of small business, the role

we play in the economy and the

number of people we employ.

But, says COSBOA “The last

eighteen months has seen many

positive changes and announcements.

After Julia Gillard appointed

Brendon O'Connor as the Small

Business Minister and also made him

a Cabinet member we saw a greater

emphasis placed on small business as

people. The Treasury department

created a Small Business Tax

Division and many other

Departments started to focus on small

business.”

But, there is no doubt in my mind,

that the lack of uncertainty, the

roulette wheel for Labor leadership,

the continued bickering within the

Government (and that’s on both

sides), was, in the end, not sustainable

and had a huge impact on the loss of

confidence from every-day

Australians.

For the sake of the economy and

Australia, change was almost

inevitable.

The coalition promised a root and

branch review of competition policy

as well as changes to contract

processes to make sure there is

transparency and fairness for the

small business person.

These reviews and changes should

not be sullied by interference from

the duopoly or the likes of the

Franchise Council of Australia and

the Shopping Centre Council, two

organisations that know the negative

impact of poor competition policy and

poor contract law but fight to

maintain unfairness and the capacity

to bully without recourse for the small

business person.

Too many people have lost everything

because they were optimistic and

trusting of the giants of industry.

It will be pleasing to see the

protection afforded these unworthy

members of the business community

removed.

However, the Sydney Morning Herald

reported earlier in the month (before

the election), that: “Small business

owners say the coalition's plan for

$1.1 million fines if price cuts are not

passed on once the carbon tax is

abolished is "ridiculous".

So, it is bound to be a slightly

nervous, slightly exciting aspect for

small business.

COSBOA (Council of Small

Business of Australia) has already

stated that they are looking

forward to getting rid of

unnecessary red tape,

confronting the issues of bullying

by the big landlords and the

damaging domination by the

Coles-Woolworths duopoly.

A New Government! What it Could Mean for Small Business

http://www.b2bbs.com.au/

mailto:[email protected]



Australians Enjoy

Pretending to

Understand News

Australians are

bombarded with information, and

nobody wants to look like an idiot. A

new study suggests most of us think we

know more about what's going on in the

news than our friends do. It also

suggests that sometimes we fake it.

People Really Do Walk

Underneath!

On a recent trip to Hong

Kong, Manager

Business Services at

Master Builders, Lyn

Cameron couldn't

believe her eyes. There before her was a

type of scaffolding she'd never deemed

possible, but she said it was everywhere

throughout Hong Kong.

"I only thought this was used for small

shacks, but it's also used for huge

developments," she said, amazed. "It is

secured with black plastic strips, and

most of it sits on the bitumen or concrete

footpath and in some cases the

scaffolding is also tied onto a traffic

light, signs (see the sign to the left of the

photo) or small railing for extra support.

"These are also busy thoroughfares, and

no-one thought twice about walking

underneath them."

From The Atlanta Daily:

SINGLE BLACK

FEMALE seeks male

companionship, ethnicity

unimportant. I'm a very

good looking girl who

LOVES to play. I love long walks in the

woods, riding in your pickup truck,

hunting, camping and fishing trips, cosy

winter nights lying by the fire.

Candlelight dinners will have me

eating out of your hand. Rub me the

right way and watch me respond. I'll be

at the front door when you get home

from work, wearing only what nature

gave me. Kiss me and I'm yours. Call

(404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy.

Over 15,000 men found themselves

talking to the Atlanta Humane Society

about an 8-week old black Labrador

retriever.

Safety film - Report A company trying to

continue its five-year

perfect safety record

showed its workers a

film aimed at

encouraging the use of

safety goggles on the

job. According to the Health and Safety

Council News, the film's depiction of

gory industrial accidents was so graphic

that twenty-five workers suffered minor

injuries in their rush to leave the

screening room. Thirteen others fainted,

and one man required seven stitches

after he cut his head falling off a chair

while watching the film.

Sign in the Local

Watchhouse

On the noticeboard in

the dining room: “Will

the person who took a

slice of cake from the

Commissioner's Office

return it immediately. It is needed as

evidence in a poisoning case.”

Toxic Shock

Red-faced fire

fighters who

evacuated a

chemical plant in

Ludwigshafen,

Germany after discovering a toxic leak,

cancelled the alert when they discovered

the substance was red wine being

delivered to the staff restaurant.

Saving Water?

Sign in a toilet block in Bankstown

(NSW) shopping centre

Clever Advertising - Dental

Implants

Seen on the outside wall of a

bowling alley.

Who Do You

Feed?

Sign in a

small zoo just

out of

Sydney:

“Please do

not feed the animals. If you do have

food, please give it to the keeper on

duty.”



http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/pictures/picture_toilet.htm

http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/story_dentist.htm



Referrals: A Quick and Easy

Way to Market Your Business

Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business

0451 184 599 [email protected] Skype: dennis.chiron2

Customer referrals are one of the

most powerful selling and

marketing tools available. In fact,

the best source of new business is

a referral from a satisfied

customer. According to recent

research 73 percent of online

shoppers read reviews before

buying. Other studies also show

that customers also say that

referrals are of the utmost

importance in determining who

they buy from and what they buy.

If you’re like most busy small

business owners, you’re always

looking for fast and easy ways to

market your business and get new

customers.

One of the fastest and easiest is

right under your nose: Your

existing, satisfied customers can be

a great source of referrals to new

business—provided you handle the

referral process right.

“Process” is the key word here,

because getting referrals

haphazardly and contacting them

without having a specific plan in

mind can be just as bad as not

getting them at all.

Yes, it will take a little work on

the front end to set up a referral

process, but it will ultimately pay

off in a continuous pipeline of

qualified new business. Isn’t that

every business owner’s dream?

Keep in mind the importance of

word of mouth as you focus on

making the buying process

effective and enjoyable – before,

during, and even after the sale.

Make sure you understand

expectations in great detail and

follow up after the sale to ensure that

your customers are seeing the results they

should expect. If the customer is pleased

with how they have been treated and

served, and with the value they've

received, they certainly will be more

willing to attach their name to you and

your solution. They will be proud to be

seen as the source of a great idea.

1. Firstly, you have to ask your

customers for referrals. So, develop a

system where you gather referrals at a set

point in the sales process.

Typically, you’ll want to do this after the

sale is complete and you know the

customer is satisfied. For a retailer, this

might be at the point of purchase, or you

might send a follow-up email asking for

a referral.

2. Get digital. Email and social media

make it easier than ever to ask for a

referral.

You can put requests for referrals on

your social media sites, ask for referrals

as part of your email outreach, or create a

contest for the customer who refers the

most people or the referral that generates

the most business.

3. Offer a reward. Speaking of contests,

we’re all more motivated to do

something if there’s a reward involved.

When developing rewards for referrals,

take into account the value of the referral.

If you’re asking a shopper on your

ecommerce cosmetics site to share a

friend’s information as part of the

checkout process, that’s pretty low-value.

Appropriate rewards could range from a

dollar-off discount code, to a free product

or service, to a percentage off the next

invoice. (Rewards can escalate in value

depending on whether the referred client

actually makes a purchase.)

4. Keep it simple. People want to

help you out, but not if it’s a huge

hassle.

Make referrals as easy as possible

with tools like prepaid referral

postcards customers can drop in the

mail, referral forms enclosed with

your invoice so they can mail it back

with their payments, a form they can

fill out while paying the bill at your

restaurant or a simple form on your

website they can fill out with a few

keystrokes.

5. Follow up in a timely fashion.

Once you get a hot referral, follow

up before it has time to cool off.

Two weeks should be the maximum

time you wait to get in touch. Build

the time frame into your referral

system, and use tools like CRM

software to set reminders of when

referrals should be contacted.

6. Deliver on your promises. Make

sure your interactions with the

referred customer are professional

and that, if he or she buys from you,

you provide outstanding service.

Otherwise, you could end up

embarrassing the person who

provided the referral, and not only

will you fail to land the new

customer, but you might just lose

the old one.

Remember; Your best source of new

business is referrals from happy

customers or clients. You cannot

receive a better lead than one that

has been sent your way with a

strong referral.

You cannot have a more motivated

prospect arrive in your store or

restaurant than someone sent there

by a devoted fan.





Most meetings are a waste of time.

As a business owner or manager, have

you ever calculated the cost of meetings

in your organisation? Are you getting a

good return on investment for your

meetings?

Consider this: the average employee

probably spends four hours a week in

meetings of some kind. Based on a 40

hour work week, that's 10% of time

spent in meetings.

In actual fact it is 20%. While attending

these meetings, employees can't be

doing other productive work, or

someone else is doing their work for

them. So every hour in meetings is

potentially two hours lost.

Take four weeks for holidays out of the

equation, that's 48 weeks working times

eight hours in meetings per week; a total

of 384 hours in meetings every year.

Average full-time earnings in Australia

were $69,165 per annum in 2012

(according to the Australian Bureau of

Statistics). That amounts to an hourly

rate on average of just over $33. $33

times 384 hours is $12,672 of costs

associated with meetings per employee

on average.

Let's say that you are working in a

SME of 150 employees. Based on

these figures meetings are costing your

organisation $1.9M a year.

If that expenditure was a line item in

the balance sheet as a sub-heading

under payroll, any manager worth his

or her salt would question that item on

the basis of whether the company was

getting a good return on investing in

meetings.

What's the answer?

Well there are two possible answers,

or a combination of the two.

One is to reduce the number of

mindless meetings in your department

or organisation.

Another answer is to make sure that

those who run these meetings have the

necessary skills to make the meetings

as productive as possible.

However, making meetings productive

is a misnomer. Meetings themselves

cannot be productive.

It is what happens between

meetings that counts.

Many employees send emails on

issues that should be discussed in

meetings. And many meetings are a

procession of reports that could be

communicated via email.

Anyway, the bottom line is that we

all attend too many meetings, that

the meetings often add little value

and are often poorly run.

You are probably reading this

article between meetings, or worse

still, during a meeting.

As a business owner or manager, I

suggest you have a serious look at

the meetings you have in your

organisation as means of increasing

productivity.

I have to scoot, I have a meeting to

attend ...

Dr Tim Baker

Managing Director

WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd

www.winnersatwork.com.au

www.about.me/tim.baker

Telephone. +61 7 3899 8881

Editor’s Note:

Tim 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.

MINDLESS BLOODY

MEETINGS

Photo from smh.com.au



http://www.winnersatwork.com.au

http://www.about.me/tim.baker



Times are still pretty tough out there

but now is the time to steal market

share from your competitors. After all

we survive in spite of politicians,

economists and the media, not because

of them.

Firstly, real success is sustainable and

happens in any economic climate, in

spite of external influences. Businesses

that survive and thrive the tough times

are those who adopt an attitude of

discovery rather than resistance. More

importantly, they focus on their

customers

With the global economic crisis, the

media is predictably focussing on the

negative. Negative stories sell

newspapers, but they do nothing for

people’s confidence.

Negativity creates a sense of resistance,

and while resistance to unpleasant

situations is an expected human

response, it also stymies a business

owner’s capacity to focus. The reality

is that in tough times there are just as

many opportunities as there are in good

times – maybe even more.

A lot of it has to do with mindset and

education. You must start with a

clearly defined goal in sight and

remember the cost of education is

always going to be cheaper than the

price of ignorance.

Here are some suggests to help you

focus on what is important in your

business in the current climate.

They focus on how you attract, retain

and develop your relationships with

your clients, and obviously need to be

looked at in conjunction with the othe

major areas of your business such as

retaining profitability and cash flow,

strengthening your supply chain and

looking after your people. However,

there are some very valid points

here:

Put your efforts into your existing

clients – Relationships are

everything

It sounds obvious, but losing clients

through neglect or sloppiness is

especially painful in tough times.

The cost and difficulty in replacing

them is greatly increased.

Regardless of the economy, your

client list and prospects are your

greatest asset.

Even more important is your

relationship with them and what

you’re known for.

The truth is that most businesses fail

because of an inability to keep

customers coming back, rather than

an inability to attract customers,

Grab your customer’s attention –

Be innovative

Most people in business have

unreasonable expectations about the

results they will achieve with plain

vanilla advertising and marketing.

The one thing your clients and

prospects won’t put up with is being

bored.

Your advertising must get

people’s attention

If you can’t make a compelling case

in your advertising to choose your

business over your competitors, you

have no business spending a cent on

advertising.

Here is the five step test you

should put all your marketing and

advertising through.

Does it:

Get attention;

Arouse interest and emotion;

Tell an interesting story in a

believable way;

Offer an incentive to take

action now; and

Ask for action and make it

easy to do what it is you want

them to do.

Make appropriate adjustments

to services, payment options and

products

David Ogilvy, one of the greatest

advertisers of all time said ‘All

advertising should be news. Find

ways to present what you do, the

services you provide, or the

products you sell expressed as

news.’

Find ways to use what is in the

news and on their minds about the

economy to your advantage. This

does not necessarily mean slashing

prices. It may be message related

or it may mean arranging better or

more financing options.

Better still, focus only on the

products and services you sell that

produce the bulk of your turnover,

and then do it better.

Only run offer-based advertising

– Accept change

There is little point of advertising

without an offer to respond to.

Contrary to many famous

advertising and copyrighting gurus

who maintain that the headline is

the first thing you write, I suggest

the most important thing to create

is the offer.

The reason the offer is important,

is that it breaks down the major

barriers to business – lack of trust

and scepticism. In tough times you

can’t afford to be boring.

Avoid blame – You are the

answer

Geoff Butler FAIM AP, MAITD MACE

Principal/Business Improvement & Implementation Specialist

Business Optimizers

Mobile: 0414 943072

Fax: 3036 6131

Email: [email protected]

Skype: business.optimizers1

The Recession Survival Kit






This is a tongue-in cheek-rant. It’s

been written with people in business

in mind, however it could apply to

many areas in life, such as sports,

personal development and more. I

hope you enjoy it and would

appreciate any feedback or

comments .

If you have had the pain of having a

Business Partner, Coach or Mentor

involved in your business affairs, I’m

sure you will relate to this rant!

“7 Reasons Why NOT to Have a

Business Partner, Coach or Mentor”

1. You’re constantly wondering

about things like “Is my activity

being productive” or “What actual

results am I aiming to get, currently

getting and did I finish up with?” It

can be really annoying constantly

thinking about whether or not you're

wasting time!

2. They’re always, constantly, never-

endingly asking for a score of some

sort! Like a Profit & Loss, or a Cash-

flow Forecast, or the number of

inquiries that converted into sales.

JEESH! Although these things don’t

take long to tally up (once they’re set

-up), it still forces you to look at

“The BIG Picture” (in whiny

groaning voice).

3. It makes it really hard to distract

these people with

personal emotional

stuff. It was much

easier to divert

attention from the

real issue (especially

my spouse) when I

could use emotional

excuses like “I know

I should have, but Johnny was on

school holidays”. It’s annoying

not being able to cloud the real

issue with personal life stuff!

4. Then there’s the cost! If you

don’t do what you said you’ll do,

you still have to pay for their

time! It makes much more sense

to just not have that accountability

at all and the added bonus is

there’s one less bill to pay. It’s

pretty simple really. Just like

working more hours in the

business to reduce the wages bill.

Duh!

5. They never seem to let the

small stuff go! Like insurance,

intellectual property protection,

putting money aside to pay an

upcoming tax bill, etc, etc, etc.

It’s like they have this list that

they never forget and keep

bringing your attention to until

you do it! Seriously, it can bug the

heck out of you!

6. When you have a bad day, the

WORST of the bunch seem to have

this 'Jedi Mind Trick'. They just let

you get it all out and then when

you're finished they ask for a

positive way to solve the problem!

Now, that might seem to make sense,

BUT the problems give you

something to stress about and this in

turn makes you feel like you’re

doing something. So it may seem

like they’re being helpful but it

makes it really, really hard to have a

pity-party!

7. They can give you different

options and ideas from their way of

life, personal experiences and

network of connections. This makes

you think outside your box which

sucks because it feels so good to be

the smartest person in your business.

Do you seriously have to ‘open your

mind’ (in over-exaggerated whiny

voice).

Rant over.

Dan Buzer

Profit Mechanics

Dan Buzer

Profit Mechanics

0414 567 188

www.profitmechanics.net/

“7 Reasons Why NOT to Have a

Business Partner, Coach or Mentor”





We should value complaints and use

information from them to help us

improve our services. If something goes wrong or you are

dissatisfied with the service or product

that you purchase, you have every right

to complain about it.

What is a complaint? A complaint is regarded as any

expression of dissatisfaction about an

action or lack of action, or about the

standard of service provided to you that

you are believe is not as it should be or

of a lower standard that it should be.

What can I complain about? You can complain about many things

such as:

failure to provide a service

the standard of service you might

receive

dissatisfaction with a service you

receive

treatment by or attitude of a

member of staff

Your complaint may involve more than

one of service.

Factors affecting complaints

In considering why people complain,

there are a number of factors to take

into account.

It is easy to complain. Organisations

are more accessible nowadays making

it easier for their customers to

complain, whether it is in person at a

guest relations desk, via the Internet, or

by telephone.

On the subject of telephones research

overwhelmingly indicates that the area

that generates the most customer

dissatisfaction is the frustration of

dealing with call centres, and the

automated menus. When, in 2011

Service Science asked 200 randomly

selected people what is the one area of

customer service that frustrates them

the most, the most common answer

(38%) was about the difficulty of

getting to speak with a human being

on the phone.

The media tell us we should complain.

The increasing number of consumer

watchdog programmes on television

have educated the public in the art of

complaining and sticking up for their

rights.

The ease of global travel. People’s

expectations increase as they get

exposed to more and more instances of

good practice in customer care. This

has lead to a cultural change, and the

demise of the timid Briton who,

although unimpressed by his meal

replies “Lovely, thank you” when

asked by a waiter if he/she is enjoying

it.

Whether you're a large company or

small business, you’re likely to have to

deal with a customer or client

complaint at some point. It’s not

always a reflection on your business

approach; if you’re juggling several

clients at once, the odds are that there

will be at least one person who isn’t

completely satisfied at any one time.

While it's easy to play the blame game

when things go wrong, if you want to

keep the client the best thing is to

remain professional and tackle

problems quickly and methodically.

Solving a problem effectively can also

be a great opportunity for your

business to create happy clients and

perhaps even generate new

referrals.

Once you receive a complaint,

don’t leave it. Reply to the letter,

email, phone call, blog post or

tweet as soon as possible, no

matter how outrageous you might

think it is.

Try and be open-minded and

understanding about the situation.

Write down anything you feel is

important and ask questions.

Regardless of your opinion,

offering some form of apology

can help. While in some cases it

may not be legally advisable to

apologise, you can still say ‘I’m

sorry you feel that way’, ‘I’m

sorry that wasn’t our intention’,

or ‘I am sorry for your

inconvenience’. This shows your

sympathy and may help to calm

the situation.

Be composed: In high stress

situations it’s easy to become

irritable, but if you allow this to

happen you might say something

you regret which could have

repercussions for the business. If

find yourself becoming irritated,

suggest that you’ll call the client

back and try to take some time

out for yourself to calm down.

Think of your business: Whilst

you are dealing with a complaint,

show genuine concern. This

could help turn the situation into

a positive outcome, helping with

future business dealings and

ultimately aiding your reputation

as a company.

How Do You Handle Customer Complaints?

Peter Athey

Specialized Management Services

0405 318 449

www.specializedmanagement.com.au

[email protected]






Over the last three years I have

mentored about 195 small business

owners in my role as a Small

Business Mentor for the Qld State

Government.

If there be a common denominator,

owners of small enterprises need

someone to talk to over their issues

and, then be provided with advice

that is practical, can be clearly

measured, and most importantly be

affordable.

Finance never comes easy to most

small business owners (including

me).

Yet, the most important thing that

any business can do is to have a

close working relationship with their

accountant.

My observations from the mentoring

work I have done and, my career as a

consultant shows you HAVE to

understand how your business is

performing by a number of fiscal

KPI’s.

Owners have to realise that business

is about making a profit. It is not

about “feeling free” or being your

“your own person”. That quickly

passes as the realities of being self-

employed are gone usually within

days of the business coming into

being!

Nonetheless, it can still be fun and,

loving what you do plays a big role

in being self-employed.

Putting in place dashboards that

allow you to measure the business

is vital.

Your accountant will no doubt give

you the key ones that the banks like

to see and, help you better

understand how you are travelling.

My belief is that gross profit

retention is the cornerstone of a

good business.

Many people I have mentored have

misunderstood Gross Profit (GP)

versus mark-up. Calculate GP by

various profit centres. Once you

understand what products are

returning good GP then you can

start to drive your business. With

costs rising almost daily (especially

electricity) the erosion of your GP

can be done by stealth. This is why

GP has to be monitored.

Recognising the tight markets we

all have to contend with I have

begun to try and analyse how some

of these issues can be mitigated.

It is an over simplification but I

have been taking my clients

through the basics of selling and; it

is working. The last decade or so

has been one of the most bountiful

we have known in Australia.

I think we are in a tough time and it

will get tougher before it gets

better. Most businesses have

experienced organic sales; that is

customers have been reasonably

plentiful. Not many business

owners drive their sales. A website,

social media, and other digital tools

are simply that, they are tools.

It is persuasive selling messages that

talk of benefits that are needed in

face to face calls and copy on

websites and, social media.

Little effort is spent on developing

selling techniques. Knowing the

difference between features and

benefits is a core culture that has to

be developed.

The suites of marketing tools at our

disposal (Websites, Facebook,

Twitter, Emails etc.) have no doubt

helped many businesses grow as

money was around and these low

cost tools have helped commerce

like no other time in history.

However, the current market needs

more persuading, the market is

bombarded with choice. The market

is cynical. Therefore, the old adage

of “you must inform in order to

persuade” has never been more

relevant. You have to work harder to

get your share.

Ask yourself these questions.

Do I monitor my GP by product

groups monthly?

Do I speak about my products in

terms of benefits?

Do I write my website content in

terms of benefits?

Do I really sell or just represent?

Hope this helps.

YOU HAVE TO INFORM IN ORDER TO PERSUADE

Peter Nicol

Wisdom Marketing & Management Services

0417627097

www.wisdommarketing.com.au

[email protected]



http://www.wisdommarketing.com.au



Everyone has their own values and

beliefs, which is why we don’t always

see things the same way as others.

When you have a mental health issue

this can be exacerbated as sometimes

the person can over-feel their

emotions.

The first part of the article is directed

to employers and their Managerial /

Supervisor staff.

Do you have anyone working for you

with a mental illness?

Are you aware about the different

types of mental illnesses?

Do you think that you should care if

your staff member has a mental

illness?

A most important fact to remember is

that there are discrimination laws out

there to protect people with mental

illnesses.

Let’s look at depression since I can

talk about this from personal

experience. I have major depression

but I run a business and I am studying

full time in my second Bachelors

degree.

Just because a person has depression

or a mental illness doesn’t mean that

they can’t be an effective employee.

Many people with depression get

turned away from jobs. I personally

believe it is because the illness is

misunderstood.

In the early stages of my diagnosis I

was seeing a psychiatrist and even

though my employers had a meeting

with him and me about my illness, they

bullied me in the workplace. My

psychiatrist had to write them a letter

but the bullying did not stop. Then I

was made redundant from the

Queensland Government. My previous

employers had made my depression

worse. It took some time to get where I

am now emotionally.

The reason I am talking about this, is

because on Friday 13th September is

the annual R U OK day. Take the

initiative to ask your employees are

they OK. I can imagine that none of

you would like to make someone’s

mental illness worse.

There is also a great organisation called

Beyond Blue http://

www.beyondblue.org.au/. They have

some great information on their website

to download.

The most important thing to remember

is to communicate openly and honestly

with your staff (whether they have a

mental illness or not). Encourage them

to explain how their mental illness

might (if at all) affect them at work.

Depression can be described as being

crippling but if you have the support of

your employer then it can be less

crippling.

Some tips: Avoid words such as

“you’re useless” if you are not happy

with their work. These words should

never be said to anyone.

Try something like this:

“Janelle, I have noticed that you didn’t

do any ‘up selling’ with that last

Janelle Macpherson BBusInfMgt, DipMgt, Certified NLP

Practitioner , Cert MHSS, Accred Life Coach.

Business Owner/Life Coach/Consultant

emPOWERful Solutions

Sub Company – Express Life Coaching Brisbane North

ABN 76 594 335 474 Blue Card: 1161688/1

0409728579

[email protected]

“Janelle, I have noticed that you

didn’t do any ‘up selling’ with that

last customer, why was that?”

“Janelle I noticed that you put the

product on the shelf but in the wrong

place, are you aware that you did

this?

These two examples are being

factual but non threatening. If a

person feels like they are being

attacked then they will get defensive.

Imagine you said this—” Janelle you

are useless, you put the product up in

the wrong place” or “Janelle how

many times have I told you to up

sell”?

There would be a big difference in

how the employee will respond and

at least with the first examples you

were being professional and

maintaining both your and your

employee’s dignity.

Now to the employees who may be

reading this article.

If your mental illness is being

affected by your work then you owe

it to yourself and your employer to

tell them. Organise a time to discuss

your issues with them. Have some

information booklets handy so that

you can give them more information.

Most importantly keep taking any

prescribed medication!

People with mental illness can be

functioning members of society. As

like most employees, you treat them

with dignity and respect and you will

get great productivity out of them .

Anyone who has done a Leadership

course will tell you:

“People leave managers, not

companies.”

©Janelle Macpherson 2013.

Mental Health Issues and the Workforce





In all businesses we must have

something called team work weather

we know it or not, the fact remains

team work is very important to

achieving targets.

Do we really know how to build a team

or even know the difference between

having a group of people or a team

working with us?

The difference between a team and

group

What is a team, and what makes it

different to a group? A group of people

become a team when the members:

have a common purpose

have specific performance goals

cooperate to achieve the common

purpose

are accountable to each other.

In the 1950’s, better education for

workers, greater access to information,

competition, customer expectation and

a greater understanding of human

motivation led to the decentralisation

of management and the growth of

teams.

All team members need to believe that

the team has a worthwhile purpose,

and team members need to know what

is expected of them.

The purpose of the team is the reason

why the team is together in the first

place. Goals describe what the team

want to achieve.

Often a goal may be broken down into

objectives that are shorter-term

achievements and serve as clear

measuring posts as the team progresses

towards the ultimate goal.

Effective teams require

goals that are clear, significant and

embraced by all members.

A popular way to remember what

should be in your goals and objectives

is to use the SMARTT method:

Specific and concise (the goal is

not long-winded, that is, people

can understand it)

Measurable (there's a way of

knowing whether or not we've

achieved the goal)

Achievable (the goal is do-able,

that is, it's possible with the

resources we have available)

Related to results (to the overall

department and organisational

goals, that is, the goal is part of a

bigger picture)

Time-framed (we know when the

final date for the goal is)

Trackable (we can easily monitor

how we're going — daily, weekly

or monthly)

Some groups have common goals but

do not necessarily work together to

achieve them. They might have

common interests and ideas, but not

necessarily objectives.

For example, many management

teams are seldom groups because they

work independently to achieve their

objectives. At some workplaces where

teamwork is not a focus, people will

interact with one another during

meetings, but will have apparently

different goals.

Group or team?

It is normal for people with common

interests to form groups. Such groups

might form due to necessity — a goal

or objective that requires the

contribution and support of a number

of people – or because it is socially

enjoyable to get together with like-

minded people.

In other words, groups act to assist

people in fulfilling their needs.

Early in human history groups of

people cooperated in order to fulfil

basic needs.

It was apparent that a group was more

efficient at food gathering, providing

water, security and shelter than

individuals on their own; hence the

eventual evolution of towns, cities,

states and nations.

Within these large groups today are

smaller groups to which people

gravitate for various reasons.

The need for belonging, developing

relationships and for social

interactions that support self-esteem

and, to a certain extent the desire to

reach full potential can be catered to

by belonging a group or to different

groups.

Groups might be culturally-based,

have a religious foundation, be related

to sporting or political interests, work

or hobbies, friendships or family

interactions.

Many groups develop around special

skills, roles, responsibilities or beliefs.

The evolution of society is mirrored

by the formation of groups of

remarkable distribution, size and

diversity, each intended in some way

to help fulfil human needs.

These needs are usually depicted in an

order of prioritisation with the basic

needs of food, shelter and water first,

followed by the need for safety and

security, and then belonging, self-

esteem and finally, self-actualisation

(reaching full potential).

Ron Court,

AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP

OH&S Advisor

0419679619 [email protected]

Promote Team Effectiveness






A new way for Australia is about to

unfold with a new federal government

but what does it mean for you? Will

things improve for businesses and

families?

Red Tape

One thing we small to medium business

enterprises (SME’s) know about is

regulation and compliance. From being

unpaid tax collectors for GST revenue

to administering the distribution of

superannuation guarantee contributions

for each employee, compliance with

Federal, State and Local governments

often on the same issue (eg the

environment), to the over-regulation of

industries such as the food and finance

industries, our economy wilts under the

weight of over and mindless regulation.

Each regulation may not seem

unreasonable and politicians usually

frame changes this way. It is the

cumulative effect of regulations. It

reduces the time that can be spent on

business and time people can spend

with their families.

It raises costs of providing goods and

services which simply raises the cost of

living, reduces productivity and

prosperity.

Stability

Families and businesses need stability

to plan for and invest in the future.

When ‘knee jerk’ reactions from

governments are carelessly

implemented, there are ramifications in

the real world. My colleagues in the

motor vehicle leasing industry tell me

that there has been a dramatic reduction

in the purchase of lease vehicles

particularly from relatively low paid

community workers who stand to lose a

substantial part of their salary package.

We were told that only greedy BMW

driving business owners would pay but

clearly that’s not right.

Hopefully this amongst many other

damaging regulations will be repealed

which will also save many

manufacturing jobs

Roll of the Reserve Bank (RB)

My view is that RB governor Glen

Stevens has been out of synchronisation

with the real world since the start of

2008 when he raised interest rates three

times in a row at the beginning of the

biggest economic downturn since the

Great Depression, then was forced to

reduce only to increase rates in 2010

only to be forced to reduce them again

in 2011/12. This created a lost

opportunity to support the economy

(particularly manufacturing) facing

significant headwinds. The result is

many Australian manufacturing jobs

have been exported. In defence of the

RB they had little help from the federal

government who expected the RB to

shoulder the responsibility. That said,

Paul GILLMORE DFS

Founder and Director

Southern Cross Financial Services

07 5429 5561

0402 685 032

[email protected]

for the RB to increase interest rates

in the 2007 election AND reduce

rates in the 2012 election is a

blatant political move from an

organisation who should be

apolitical is nothing short of

reprehensible.

My view of interest rates is that we

remain in a low rate environment

because of rising unemployment

and sluggish economic activity

with perhaps another rate cut to

come later this year or early next

year.

Confidence

Hog tying SME’s with mindless

regulations, telling us that the

economy is ‘honky dory’ when we

know it’s not, failing to support

Australian industry, allowing

manufacturing jobs to be exported,

rising unemployment and the

closure of over 700,000 businesses

since 2008, ill-conceived, knee jerk

policy changes for nefarious

reasons are all reasons that

investors and business people have

lacked confidence. In fact, it broke

many people’s hearts.

A change of government creates

the opportunity for all this to

change. We, the small businesses

of Australia, are the engine room

and the drivers of employment and

economic prosperity and it will be

up to us to get things going again.

My message to the incoming

government is to make it easier for

us to do what we do best, to grow

Australia’s prosperity, to care for

our families and to be careful of the

environment in which we all live.

New Government – what does it mean?





What is the cloud?

Have you ever heard about "the cloud"

and wondered what it meant? Although

relatively new, it's not too hard to

understand. In fact, you've probably

used the cloud many times without

knowing it.

The cloud is where you can put all your

data, all your files and even your

software so you can access it all from

any computer or device, anywhere,

anytime.

With cloud computing you can write,

edit and share documents online. You’re

not limited to using the office computer

- you can use any computer, or even any

mobile device, anywhere, anytime.

When you watch videos on the web,

they’re actually stored in the cloud, so

people all over the world can access the

same video, at any time, from any

device.

Using cloud based software means you

can invite any number of people to login

and access the same data, from any

device, anywhere in the world.

All the emails you have been sent via

webmail are stored in the cloud. This

means you can access your emails, even

when you’re away from your desktop

computer.

When you’re using the cloud, you have

direct access to your financial data

online. You can pay immediately and it

can be effective in real-time.

Cloud Computing

What is it and how can small business utilise it?

Like the Eagle we see the Big Picture

MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)

Online Business Website Consultants

Miriam Battersby,

dip Multimedia, International Webmaster Certifica-

tionWoorim , Bribie island

ph 3410 1071

[email protected]

http://www.online-biz.com.au

CLOUD COMPUTING IS HERE TO STAY SO WE

HAD BETTER GET TO KNOW AND LIKE IT!

Isn’t cloud computing just the internet?

You use the internet to connect your device to the cloud, but the internet is

just the connection – the cloud is where your data lives.

Isn’t it possible to lose your data in the cloud?

Your data is actually much safer in the cloud than on your computer. Your

computer can be stolen or corrupted quite easily, but cloud companies spend

millions on systems and experts to protect your data.

See the difference the cloud can make in how you work, communicate, sell and buy, bank,

file, and store.






Do you need a

responsive design make over?

Want to add a Mobile App to your

Website?

FREE Website

Analysis and Review

We’ll help point you in the

right direction

No obligation

Traditional Banking

Your financial data is only available at

the bank.

Internet Banking

Your financial data is available any-

time, anywhere, on any device.

Traditional Mail

Your correspondence is only available

at the post office.

Web Mail

Your email is available anytime, any-

where on any device.

Traditional Shopping

Your business is only open at limited

times and places.

Online Shopping

Your customers can shop anytime,

anywhere on any device.

What else is moving to the cloud?

Software (eg. MYOB, Microsoft,

Adobe), music, movies, education,

books, photos, accounting, payroll,

taxes, healthcare...

Uses in Small Business

BACKUP SOLUTIONS

gives you peace of mind that your

data is safe, secure and restorable.

When working in the cloud always

have a plan ‘B’. Outages do occur. If

your working life relies on cloud-

based systems and services, it's proba-

bly shrewd to have an alternative in

place such as as having a local file

store synched to your cloud storage,

and another method for accessing

your email.

Finally, be aware of what computers

you're logged into. Browsers will often

ask to save your login information

and keep a login session alive as long

as the browser is open. If you log in to

Facebook or your e-mail account on a

friend's laptop and then leave, you'll

likely still be logged in to those sites.

If they're trustworthy, that may not be

a problem. But what if you're using a

public computer? Stay logged in to

one of those and anyone could gain

access to your account. Unless you're

using your own computer, remember

to log out and never save your pass-

word and user information.

Security Concerns?

The beauty of cloud

computing lies in the easy

access you have to your

data using any Internet-

connected device.

But without proper

security precautions, you

could be leaving yourself

open to trouble.

Reusing passwords -- or using weak

passwords -- makes you an easy

target for identity theft.

Remembering multiple passwords

can be a pain, but there are Web

services that can help.

Use different passwords for different

sites. Make absolutely sure you don't

repeat a password across sites that

have your credit card information.

Your e-mail password is the most

important. Keep it secure and don't

use it for any other sites.

Use difficult to remember passwords.

The best passwords combine letters,

numbers and symbols into an

unusual configuration. Once you

have a good password, don't’ spread it

around.

Back up your data. A power surge,

faulty hard drive platter, robbery or

other unexpected system failure

could happen when you least expect

it, and if your data isn't backed up

you'll beat yourself up over it for

weeks.

Protect your computer from virus,

spyware and malware. Internet

hazards like viruses are, mostly easy

to avoid. Shady Web sites usually

look shady; e-mail attachments

from spam addresses are never worth

opening. Antivirus software is always

a smart precaution, but smart

browsing is an even greater ally.

What does this have to do with

protecting your data in the cloud?

Make sure the site is trustworthy.



http://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/debt-management/credit-card.htm

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/computer-pictures.htm



Brisbane Career College Pty Ltd, 180 Logan Road, Woolloongabba

Web: www.brisbanecollege.edu.au Email: [email protected]

National Code: 32303 ACN: 143 846 093 ABN: 96 143 846 093

Our services are primarily for small business owners and their staff who wish to complete training whilst still on the

job. So our service involves coming to your place of work, and providing training and assessment in conjunction with

daily work practices, which allows us to keep our rates highly competitive.

What is Recognised Prior Learning (RPL)

Having formal qualifications increases your knowledge and skill potential. But why waste time studying what you

already know? Brisbane Career College recognises the skills and experience you have gained through work and life

experience - reducing or even eliminating your study time.

We can help you and your staff gain a qualification, taking into account the value of your skills acquired outside of

formal learning, through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process.

Our programs combine work with a structured training program, developing an employee's skills and knowledge as

well as providing them with a Nationally Recognised Qualification. Our qualifications may entitle the employer to

State and/or Commonwealth government incentives and rebates to help offset or pay for the cost of training.

Brisbane Career College also provides a number of short courses in business and management, designed to equip you

with subject specific skills that you may need at different times in your career and to assist with your professional

development.

These business courses are short, ranging from a half day to full week training programs and are available in Brisbane

and Sydney, both as part of our general training delivery, and through customised in-house corporate deliveries.

Approved Qualifications

CODE TITLE

BSB40207 - Certificate IV in Business

BSB40807 - Certificate IV in Frontline Management

BSB50207 - Diploma of Business

BSB50407 - Diploma of Business Administration

BSB51107 - Diploma of Management

BSB60207 - Advanced Diploma of Business

BSB60407 - Advanced Diploma of Management

Specialist Training for Small Business Owners and Their Staff



http://training.gov.au/Training/Details/BSB40207







ltb september 2013

Documents

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