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FEELING SQUEEZED DANDENONG SHOE RETAILER BOWS OUT AS COMPETITION AND RENEWAL TAKES ITS TOLL
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Business Times / ISSUE 19 / NOVEMBER 2011
FEELING SQUEEZED
FRANKSTON / MORNINGTON PENINSULA / DANDENONG
DANDENONG SHOE RETAILER BOWS OUT AS COMPETITION AND RENEWAL TAKES ITS TOLL
ALL DOWN THE LINE
COVER STORY
Out of the sky
WILL PENINSULA LINK SERVE AS A GROWTH CORRIDOR FOR THE MORNINGTON PENINSULA?
REFUEL YOUR BODY SLEEP BEFORE MIDNIGHT IS THE KEY TO YOUR BODY’S MAINTENANCE
Feeling the squeeze:
Postgraduate business degrees at Monash
Go from being COVER: a candidate to Pilot Paul the candidate Pingiaro has come back to earth (or, more accurately, the sea) for a business venture that’s close to his heart and home: hiring fishing boats on Port Phillip and Western Port bays. PAGE 12
Make your future match your ambition. By learning new skills, or strengthening the ones you already have, you’re more likely to be the candidate they can’t ignore. Monash University offers a full range of postgraduate qualifications, from MBAs to industry-specific masters degrees and doctoral qualifications.
www.buseco.monash.edu
Shoe retailer beaten by renewal and competition
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Men who stare at boats: Two businessmen develop a remotely-controlled boat alarm system
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Understanding mental illness “MENTAL illness is real. It’s not just some made-up thing. It’s not an excuse”. “People can’t see what it is. No-one can see into your mind”. These words from 22-year-old Matt and 26-year-old Riki are pleas for understanding in a new documentary made in Frankston with the support of Mind Australia, headspace Peninsula and Frankston Arts Centre’s arts access team. Mind Your Head reveals the embarrassment, loneliness, fears and frustration felt by three 20-somethings dealing with mental conditions not widely understood. Yet, one in 20 Australians experience at least one psychotic episode during their life.The documentary is being used by headspace and Mind as part of their in-schools education program, as well as for training Victoria
Police members. The genesis of the documentary was Mind Australia’s drama program where a group of young people, clients of Mind and headspace, wanted to learn new skills, connect with other young people, help reduce the stigma of mental illness and promote pathways and connections to mental health support services. They believed a film of their experiences would achieve all these aims. Their vision was to run the project themselves with some support staff. Approaches to a number of formal learning institutions about developing a workshop program hit the usual hurdles: costs were prohibitive and support was difficult to gain. That was until they met the ‘can-do’ man, Tim Dakin, Frankston Arts Centre’s Arts Access Officer,
who seems to say “yes” to everything. Yes, FAC had suitable equipment, the venue, knowledge, staff and expertise to develop and manage the workshops and produce a documentary. About 10 young people, support staff from Mind and headspace Peninsula, project manager Tim Dakin and workshop facilitators (FAC staff - Paul Congdon, Iurgi Urrutia and Michael Lane) held a series of workshops in film making, story boarding, documentary making, story telling, sound and editing between April 2010 and March 2011. The participants did the final rough edit and largely controlled the content. The outcome, Mind your Head, shines a light on mental health issues facing many of us at some point in our lives and guides young people towards available help. Dakin said the result was “way beyond our expectations”. “We would work with this group again: maybe we could tackle some live theatre or more documentaries about other issues.” Most funding came from Mind and headspace, while Frankston Arts Centre helped with some funding as well as in-kind support through project management, venue and equipment.
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“I’ve been doing this for 18 years and now I’ll have to go out and find a job. “Things started to slow down since 2000, out best year. But the big hit came when they started the roadworks in 2009. “We dropped 22 per cent.” Butts said the roadworks had reduced the number of car parks and made it difficulty to access streets around his Walker St shop. “People drive round here once or twice and then they stop coming. In a shopping strip customers need to park within one and a half bocks of your shop or they’ll keep going. “The total demise of our shop can’t be put down to just parking, but it was a nail in the coffin. “Fountaingate has got bigger and syphoned off customers from Dandenong. “Roadworks have stopped people coming here and they’ve now got new routines. VicUrban and the City of Greater Dandenong need to do something to get them back.” Butts, vice-chairman of the Dandenong
Retail Traders Association, believes the roadworks have taken too long to complete. “I’ve lasted until the changes have been completed, but people just haven’t returned to Dandenong. “I’m also living proof that businesses weren’t able to survive while the work was being done.” He is critical of a council-sponsored marketing campaign, which encouraged shoppers to use public transport, bikes or walk. “Who wants to come shopping and then carry away their purchases? “They tell us how good things are and will be, but they don’t allow cars to make turns into the side streets.” In the meantime, Butts is renting his shop from week to week while the landlord seeks a new tenant. He watches as his stock of about 4500 pairs of footwear get sold and is choosy about which lines to restock. “I expect to be out by the end of November or start of December. Anyone
moving in will want to be established by Christmas.” Butts has been on the traders association’s retailers committee for the past four years. He says there are about 600 businesses in central Dandenong and the association’s 70 financial members “are above the state’s average for retailers associations, although we’re lucky to get 10 per cent of those to each meeting”. “Other traders are feeling the pinch, too. Customers will travel further rather than come here. “I know this because some have outlets elsewhere and their customers are going to those rather than look for parking. “Dandenong used to be a hub, that’s why we came here from Cheltenham. It certainly needed freshening up, but it’s taken too long. “VicUrban envisages people catching public transport or using bikes to get here, but people prefer cars because they have to get everything home.”
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BUSY bites
Asian gateway GREATER Dandenong councillors have been given an overview of the proposed construction of an Asian inspired “gateway” at the intersection of Buckingham and Windsor Avenue, Springvale, as requested by Springvale’s Asian Business Association (SABA).
Dandenong is… According to Greater Dandenong Council’s annual report, facts about the city include: • Victoria’s manufacturing heartland • Home to 9000 businesses • Revitalisation of Central Dandenong underway • 170 parks and reserves • State of the art cultural facilities, including multimillion dollar Drum Theatre • Land area of 129.5 square kilometres • Over 140,000 residents • People from 156 nations • 56 per cent residents were born overseas • 51 per cent are from nonenglish speaking backgrounds • More than 70,000 people employed locally • More than 400 local community groups and service clubs.
Home lending improves in August New home lending increased in August, but remained down on mid-2010 levels, according to the Housing Industry Association. “The overall profile for new home lending has essentially bottomed out through the middle months of 2011,” said HIA Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale. “Considering new home starts fell in 2010/11 and look set for a further decline in 2011/12, it is encouraging to observe this bottoming out in a key leading indicator of new residential construction activity.” “There is a long way to go to turn around the new home building cycle and ensure a sustained recovery
can begin making inroads into the substantial dwelling shortage Australia faces,” Dr Dale said. The number of loans for construction increased by 0.8 per cent in August, while loans for the purchase of a new dwelling were up by six per cent, yielding a 2.4 per cent rise overall in new home lending for the month. Also, the number of loans for established dwellings, net of refinancing, edged up by 0.6 per cent for the month. “New home building conditions remain weak, but interest rates are steady, skilled labour is more readily available, and the market is very competitive.”
Three-speed economy means retail opportunities New research confirms a mixed outlook for Australia’s retail sector, but good news is that almost half of consumers say they are maintaining or increasing their spending, and young consumers remain upbeat. The research, conducted by Sydney-based Research Now for management consultancy firm Growth Solutions Group, shows weak and declining spending by consumers but also indicates there are signs of hope for besieged retailers. The survey of 1007 respondents found: • More than half – 61 per cent – believe their purchasing power has decreased in the past 12 months, with just 24 per cent saying it has increased; • 35 per cent of those surveyed will be spending less this Christmas than during Christmas 2010, 36 per cent will spend about the same as last year and only 13 per cent plan to spend more; Nearly 65 per cent blame the increased cost of living for spending less. And almost half – 46 per cent – say they would open their wallets if purchasing power increased. Lower interest rates would be an incentive to start spending more, according to 21 per cent of
respondents. A third also say a better range of products and brands and better customer service would encourage them to increase spending. Growth Solutions Group managing director Graeme Chipp said the key outcome of the survey from a retail perspective was that despite a “doom and gloom” scenario, there were people willing and able to spend. “What the survey shows is that there is, in effect, a three-speed economy that is as significant as the twospeed economy. There are the young spenders, the middle Australia family handicapped by cost of living increases and very keen to see some mortgage relief and extra cash via lower interest rates, and the mixed spenders and savers at the 65-plus end of the population. What retailers need to be asking in the present conditions is how they can drill down deeper and think through how to reach that particular percentage of the population that clearly can be enticed to spend more, or at least maintain spending levels.” Chipp said the survey reinforces recent discussion and debate about the need for much sharper customer segmentation and focussing on the mindset of that customer.
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No confidence in job search Australian workers’ confidence in finding a new job has fallen to its lowest level in a year, according to Randstad’s latest labour mobility index. The index continued its steep decline in quarter three, falling a further six points to 101, after tumbling four points last quarter from its 12-month peak of 111 points. Randstad’s mobility index tracks changes in the expectation of workers to be employed elsewhere over the next six months. It is measured every quarter as part of Randstad’s Workmonitor, which provides an understanding of job market sentiments. Randstad CEO Fred van der Tang says the Australian economy has hit a series of speed bumps in recent months, and worker confidence has fallen accordingly. “When the economy shows signs of instability, we generally see reduced worker mobility. “It’s natural in times of uncertainty for workers to tread cautiously and stick with what they know,” said van der Tang. “Earlier this year when the economy was showing greater strength, we saw much higher levels of optimism among workers. We expect mobility to return to the labour market once key economic indicators reflect a more positive outlook.” Global Comparison In a global context, Australia ranks third for actual mobility, with 21.1 per cent of Australians having changed jobs in the previous six months. Only China (44.6 per cent) and India (37.6 per cent) have experienced greater movement in the labour market. In the Asia Pacific region, Australian workers are the least concerned about climbing the corporate ladder, with only 57 per cent claiming promotion is a focus. This compares to 88 per cent of respondents from India, 81 per cent from China, 71 per cent from Singapore and 63 pe cent from New Zealand. Outside of Asia Pacific, 86 per cent of respondents from Mexico and 82 per cent from Italy are focused on landing a promotion.
City passes test The Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate has found that Frankston City complied with 23 of the 27 audit topics it tested. Two audit topics were considered ‘close to compliant’ while two others were found ‘not compliant’. Non compliances involved the city’s annual report and senior officer contracts. The annual report was not considered at a meeting of council within the prescribed timeframe nor was there a public notice published advising that the annual report would be discussed at a council meeting. The senior officer contracts sampled did not contain the required performance criteria. Council described the overall result of the audit as “very good”.
Surgeon shortage Randstad’s Quarter Three Workmonitor also found, of Australian workers: • 7 per cent are very frightened of losing their job • 17 per cent have no fear of losing their job • 8 per cent are actively looking for a new job • 73 per cent are not actively looking for a new job • 69% are satisfied or very satisfied with their job • 11 per cent are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their job • 57 per cent are focused on getting a promotion • 58 per cent feel the need to do something completely different in their career.
Access to world class surgical care in Australia is threatened by a looming workforce shortage, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons has warned. Australia faces a surgical workforce crisis within the next 15 years unless a further 80 surgeons graduate alongside the 184 new surgeons currently graduating each year, according to college vice president Keith Mutimer.
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IT ISSUES
What’s happened to Microsoft? It seems all we hear about these days are new Apple products and updates, even Google is chiming in from time to time with this fancy Android business. The real question is where are our old pals Microsoft, and how long will it be before their next earth shattering release? For both the IT professional and general computer user, Windows 7 has been a tremendous success. Vista for us was definitely a bump in the road and while Windows XP was tremendous in its time it may be been allowed to grow a little old. We have come to love Windows 7, It’s stable, reliable and fast. The difference between two computers of the same specification running Windows 7 vs Vista is night and day. So where to next for Microsoft? In the time that has passed since the release of Windows 7 we’ve had the tablet explosion, and Microsoft’s old friend Apple has gone from strength to strength. The desktop computer that was the launching pad for all of Microsoft’s success seems on the way out, perhaps even the traditional Windows tool like the humble mouse may have been superceded by the touchscreen. The rumour mill has Windows 8 slated for release in 2012, a brand new operating system that looks like no other that Microsoft has released in the past. Completely optimised for touchscreen access and ready to run on all manner of devices from Desktop and Notebooks right through to Tablet PC’s. I sincerely hope they’re left my old friend the mouse alone! In the meantime, if you are not operating with Windows 7 make the plan to switch. You will not find a better desktop experience out there. By Matthew Gordon, Managing Director, Solution One, (03) 5987 1565
Debunking broadband: ADSL, mobile & broadband. Which is best for me? A question I find myself asking a lot is “What type of internet connection do you have?” Nine out of 10 times I’m told “Its wireless”. From there I usually spend my time trying to determine if in fact you have wireless internet or just regular ADSL with a little wireless access point connected. Now, while the two do seem reasonably different, the line between them has been somewhat blurred by the invention of wireless 3G internet (I mainly blame the larger telco’s for this – they will quite happily refer to all three technologies by the same name!). I’d like to provide an insight into the three distinctly different technologies, because the number one question I am asked always surrounds internet connections. Who is the best provider? What type of connection is the best one to have? And then there is my absolute favourite, it’s the “Wow you’re paying too much – I get all that and more for $39” person that we’ve all met at a barbecue here and there. The best place to start would be to clearly define the three major internet connection types that exist. They’re all “broadband”, and they all have the potential to be delivered wirelessly to your notebook / IPAD. The difference is just how mobile they are. The two distinct connection types are, 3G and ADSL. 3G is delivered via the mobile network and ADSL is delivered via Copper lines that run to your premises. When asked, I always recommend ADSL for any type of home or business based internet access. It’s cheaper, faster and more reliable – its only drawback is that it’s tied to your phone line and isn’t particularly portable. Enter 3G (and 4G in time to come). This type of internet is delivered via the mobile network. It’s predominantly accessing by inserting a small SUB stick into the side of the computer that has a SIM card in it (much like your mobile phone). The main bonus
here is that you’re completely unwired. Internet is accessible from anywhere (with mobile coverage), and speeds are good these days. Horses for courses right? Seems straightforward… However, where the lines begin to blur is when your service provider decides to send you a 3G enabled modem rather than connecting ADSL at your place. More and more it is becoming the default option (less work is required to set up the connection). We end up with crossover devices that gives you local wireless access at home but uses the 3G network to supply all the internet . This is where the problems begin the creep in. As a rule of thumb the most important question to ask when signing up for internet is “Is it ADSL or 3G”. You are indeed looking for ADSL (and should really push that point) if the internet access is for your home and carefully examine the contract details for the 3G connection if its something more mobile than you are after. If 3G seems the only choice for your residence, don’t be afraid to try a few different service providers, while it can feasibly be your only option, this does change from provider to provider. Many providers are simply prepared to work harder to get the work done than others and 3G is the easy way out.
Not your average IT Company Local Computer, Network & Internet Specialists Solution One - (03) 5987 1565 Email: team@solution-one.com.au – www.solution-one.com.au
8 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | November 2011
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LYN Deutrom is corporate sales executive at Eagle Ridge golf course, Rosebud. A new Zealander with 20 years’ experience in senior sales and management positions in the IT industry – both national and state roles – Lyn has had experience on both sides of the corporate entertainment equation. I dreamed of being … either a physiotherapist or an air hostess. Height limitations put an end to being an air hostess and my career took me on a much different journey to that of a physiotherapist. My first paid job was … working in a corner shop in Invercargill, NZ, during the school holidays and on weekends. Anyone starting a business should … Make sure there is a market and a need, then measure investment against the lowest rate of expected return. It’s pretty basic maths from that point. In 10 years … I would like to think I will still be a business contributor in some form. Our business planning includes … looking at what it is we have to offer, how best to meet our customer needs and give them the best experience possible. My goal is to increase the
GREATER Dandenong Council has belatedly knocked back a significant high density residential development which is now going to VCAT for decision. Developer Ausgroup has asked VCAT to consider the 74-unit four-storey proposal after council failed to rule on the Sandown Rd, Springvale, project within the 60-day statutory period. While council favoured the development itself, it objected to Ausgroup’s bid to cut the required number of parking spaces by nearly half, from 148 to 80. Five objections were received to the application, including a petition with 56 signatures. The main complaints were about the first intrusion of high density living in the area, negative impact on property prices, and expected problems associated with reduced parking and more traffic build-ups, particulary along Sandown Rd. near Sprinvale railway station. The VCAT hearing is scheduled for November 16.
reach into corporates as well as expand on our product offering. I am inspired by … achieving against the odds – it gives an immense feeling of satisfaction and self worth. I am not inspired by any individuals. I’ll know I’m successful when … our returning customer numbers increase. That’s when you know what you have provided was what they were looking for. My father and mother always told me … make sure whatever you do in life you do with enthusiasm and enjoyment or do something else. I wish I had … moved to the Mornington Peninsula a lot sooner than I did. I wish I had not … walked away from golf lessons 10 years ago. But, better late than never.
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Men who stare at boats Words & pictures by Keith Platt
FEW things can be as satisfying as standing at the helm, piloting your pride and joy out onto the water for a day. However, your pride can promote prejudice in others, drawing attention and attracting thieves and vandals. It can also cause a few headaches when the wind is blowing and you know your boat is on an exposed mooring. Then again, you might be at work dreaming about being at the helm and just want to have a peek at the real world outside. Matthew Gordon knows all of those feelings and along with boat builder Byron Miller has invented a multi-purpose electronic surveillance device that can feed real time information and pictures back to a phone or computer. They call it The Smartboat System. Since buying a boat Gordon has felt the worries that come with leaving it unattended in the water. “When it’s blowing 40 knots you wonder if it’s on the beach or rocks,” he said. But now, he can access a website which allows him to monitor an on-board camera or a variety of sensors which take regular readings of the amount of water in the bilge and can tell if the pump that keeps the levels down is working. A GPS can track the boat’s movements if it breaks free from its mooring. Small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, Gordon says the electronic box is weatherproof and can be installed anywhere on board. “Even if someone breaks in through the hatch, finds the security device and cuts all the leads, their picture will have already been taken and put on the net.” Sensors could also set off an alarm, but Gordon sees little value in this, as passersby are unlikely to swim out to investigate. But the sensors can turn on the bilge pump and switch on lights. The camera can take stills every 15 minutes and no information is stored in the device itself, all data is relayed immediately to a remote computer or smart phone anywhere there is reception. A security firm will be alerted to any break-in. On the Mornington Peninsula Gordon and Miller have teamed up with Telsec, a Sorrento security company, although this can be
arranged with other companies anywhere in Australia. Buying and restoring his own 1961 vintage wooden-hulled boat set Gordon thinking about security, and dreaming about conditions aboard while he worked at his Dromana-based Solution One computer network business. Speaking with Miller, who was refitting the boat at his Rosebud shipyard Peninsula Wooden Boats, Gordon realised other boat owners would be just as concerned as he was about their boats. “Wooden boats do leak, it’s par for the course,” Miller says. “We are really recognising the need to monitor the general health and wellbeing of a boat. “The SMS service [automatically generated by the The Smartboat System] can tell people when particular thresholds have been reached, especially onboard water levels. “I’ve known three boats to partially sink because stuffed floats in the bilge. Seagull feathers are bad for pumps.” A boat moored at Blairgowrie had collected “a bellyful of water” and needed a new fit out, leading to a $45,000 insurance claim and the loss of its use for an entire summer. The cost of the The Smartboat System is $1000 with ongoing charges of $2 a day. Each unit is fitted with a SIM card and gets its own mobile number and has six sensors, although this number can be increased. “We can set as many alarms as you like,” Gordon says. “If the boat moves more than 10 metres or the battery gets below a certain level, the information will be relayed back. “This will work anywhere there is mobile phone coverage.” It has taken Gordon and Miller eight months to get their device to a marketing level. At the moment it stores information monitored over three months but this could be doubled if they use the Cloud. A provisional patent has been issued on the intellectual property. Three boats are now being monitored, one each at Yaringa near Somerville, Sorrento, Blairgowrie and Queenscliff. For details about The Smartboat System, call 1300 289 044.
RIGHT and ABOVE LEFT: Matthew Gordon and Byron Miller can remotely monitor what’s happening aboard a boat, either from a smart phone or computer. ABOVE RIGHT: the Smartboat System that can provide security afloat.
10 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | November 2011
STAYING AFLOAT
Novemberr 2011 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 11
COVER ST0RY Paul Pingiaro at the helm of one of his hire boats.
Down to earth pilot is all at sea Words & pictures by Keith Platt
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ALTHOUGH he didn’t realise it at the time, when Paul Pingiaro’s future wife jumped from a plane he was piloting over the Bellarine Peninsula his career was on course to come back to earth.
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Ruth had come along to the skydiving school at Torquay where Pingiaro was the number one pilot. She was to do a tandem jump and Pingiaro later congratulated himself for “doing an up sell – I sold her a jumps course”. Without knowing it immediately, he was sold on her and within a few months they started going out together, eventually married and now have a two-year-old son, Lincoln. Before meeting Ruth and after 11 years in the cockpit the glamorous side of being a pilot had already started to wear off. The flyer had been working toward a change for a few years with the same enthusiasm and optimism as he had worked after school and weekends to gain his pilot’s licence. Life as a pilot had taken him to many different places, introduced him to many different people and lifestyles; it was glamorous. But after he and Ruth settled down the travelling got in the way of a stable home life. “I knew every coffee shop in Victoria. It was good life experience and a fantastic education, but I got out at the right time,” Pingiaro says.
“The reward for a $100,000 education was a first year salary of $22,000 and unless I wanted to live in the Emirates…” Pingiaro’s life in aviation had seen him work with defence forces, police and politicians as well as well-heeled anglers who would pay him for his aviation and fishing skills to go on fishing tours. His TrackAir company won the Nescafe Big Break award in 2004 for its ‘ultimate five star adventure’ packages. “Flying and running an aviation company was the best business education you could ever get. I learnt to liaise with different clientele – it’s one of my strong points.” Gradually, the downside of flying got the upper hand and, after looking once too often at the ready-packed bag waiting in the corner, decided being away from home was too high a price to pay. Pingiaro – an accomplished fishing writer, but one who realised there was no real money in freelance writing – quit flying and took a job with an outdoors retail store. “I was probably the most expert person on the floor, but I was learning all the time about equipment, different rigs and suppliers.” Another job at a boat sales company enable him to learn about marine electronics.
November 2011 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 13
COVER STORY
With what seems almost perfect timing after about a year in retail, Pingiaro bought Mornington Boat Hire. “The only difference to running an aviation company, from a business point of view, is that boats don’t fall out of the sky,” he says, while admiring the uninterrupted view of the harbour from his beachside boatshed. “The job is nearly exactly the same: dealing with people, rostering staff, maintaining craft and watching the weather. “I’ve always worked weekends since leaving high school, but now I get to go home at the end of the day and can go out with Ruth and Lincoln.” Pingiaro sees every job as an opportunity. Youngsters working at McDonalds “should take notes on how business is done”. Since buying Mornington Boat Hire Pingiaro has expanded to Yaringa boat harbour, near Somerville in Western Port bay. With a staff of 10 part timers he runs 30 boats on the two bays, offering anglers two very different fishing experiences. The weather affects both bays differently, which means he can safely rent out boats in Western Port when Mornington harbour is being blasted by waves whipped up by the northerlies that in the past have wrecked many yachts. Pingiaro is standing to the side while an argument rages over Mornington Yacht Club’s plans for a marina, but he would like to see a “dog leg” attached to the end of the existing pier to provide some protection. “I’m in favour of a few more facilities, but I don’t know if a
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14 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | November 2011
Hire boat business owner Paul Pingiaro, left, reckons he has the best office in the world: Mornington harbour. He also runs boats out of Yaringa on Western Port, which again offers sea views, albeit with a different, more natural aspect.
marina is the answer. The one being proposed is too big. “When I came here I saw an opportunity for my experience in fishing and outdoors activities,” says Pingiaro, whose nickname Tracker comes from his days as a child in Alice Springs. “I’m really only touching the potential that is here.” He has added value to his business with his own line of tackle. He decided to demystify the sport by naming hooks by the fish they were suited to catch rather than in sizes, such as garfish hooks and schnapper hooks. “I want to make things more inclusive and less exclusive.” An application showing the best fishing marks can be downloaded to smart phones being carried by anglers who hire his boats and he gives fishing tips and driving lessons before sending them out from shore. He prompts his young staff to see their jobs as part of a business education. “Even when it’s quite I read equipment manuals. Everything is useful.” Pingiaro did two elective business courses while at university for his Degree in Air Transport. “I wasn’t the best student at school, but I was dedicated to success. I focused more on the end goal rather than what was in front of me at the time. You should take as much out of everything as you can.”
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November 2011 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 15
PENINSULA LINK
A peninsula urban growth corridor? The Peninsula Link is a 27 kilometre four-lane connection between the Frankston Freeway – East Link Interchange at Carrum Downs and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Mount Martha. Its completion is expected in early 2013 resulting in reduced travel times between Carrum Downs and Mount Martha to around 17 minutes, a saving of up to 40 minutes. The new link includes eight interchanges at Dandenong-Frankston, Skye, Cranbourne, Golf Links, Frankston-Flinders, Bungower, and Mornington-Tyabb Roads, and Mornington Peninsula Freeway and Moorooduc Highway. The delivery of the link is by a public private partnership (PPP). The Project Company (the Southern Way Consortium comprising Abigroup, Bilfinger Berger and RBS) design, build, finance and operate the road for an agreed period of time and the State Government makes payments to the project company based on road availability and performance. The main aim of Peninsula Link is to provide a continuous and balanced road network into the future with the capacity to meet the likely road travel demands generated by the State Government’s planning strategy for the FrankstonMornington Peninsula corridor. The planning strategy referred to, however, was the previous government’s Melbourne 2030 which has been abandoned by the new government amid criticism of Labor’s
by Megan Schutz* Planning lawyer
one-size-fits-all planning policies. The objectives of Melbourne 2030 included facilitating development of Frankston as a Transit City and improving access to Mornington Peninsula for business and tourism. Unlike Labor, the new Liberal Coalition seems focused on giving councils a greater say in local planning and refusing to intervene without council’s agreement. The key elements of the new government’s planning policies are in “The Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition Plan for Planning”. The government’s key election promises include: • Establishing localised planning statements for a number of key areas around Victoria including the Mornington Peninsula; • Inviting councils to identify logical inclusions of land within the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) for much needed development ready housing projects; • UGB expansion to occur through a defined system supported by population and housing projections; • The new Metropolitan Planning strategy will give certainty to all stakeholders through
clearly identified areas for development and urban change and clearly identified areas of urban preservation; • All councils with Central, Principal or Major Activity Areas (including Mornington (MAA) and Frankston (CAA)) to have their boundaries fully defined within three years to provide certainty on exactly where large-scale urban change will occur, and to ensure these centres are equipped to absorb population growth; • An audit of the current uses allowed in the Green Wedge with the object of using the Green Wedge for education, health and wellness while preserving the character of Green Wedge land; • Develop a population strategy for Victoria to optimise existing infrastructure for population growth. Reading between the lines, it is uncertain that the new government will see Peninsula Link as an urban growth corridor. As things stand, the government is currently deferring to councils to volunteer logical inclusions in their Urban Growth Boundaries rather than centrally determining the issue. There is no doubt that Frankston City Council supports significant economic and population growth. Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, however, is vehemently defending the 70 per cent of land within its area that lies outside the Urban Growth Boundary. It believes that accommodating residential growth is not the primary role of the Mornington Peninsula, and that there are adequate opportunities to accommodate housing demand up to 2030 and beyond assuming that growth will in part result from the conversion of holiday homes to permanent occupancy. Hence, while it may be logical in terms of efficient use of infrastructure to assume further urban growth on the peninsula
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16 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | November 2011
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resulting from Peninsula Link, this logic is rejected by the shire council. The council is instead seeking to become recognised as a peri-urban council rather than a council of Metropolitan Melbourne. It continues to have under-the-counter planning policies (policies not within the planning scheme) which seek to place more onerous restrictions on development within its Green Wedges than set out in the planning scheme, and to prohibit further subdivision of residential lots in Mount Eliza’s residential areas. These planning policies prioritise preservation of a rural lifestyle for peninsula dwellers and returning Green Wedge land to farming, but it is questionable that they support the actual demographics of the peninsula including an ageing population, and the efficient use of services and infrastructure including the new link road. It will be interesting to see whether the new government’s planning strategy reinforces the shire’s push against urban expansion, or whether its population strategy aimed at optimising existing infrastructure renders further urban expansion on the peninsula appropriate. Clearly, the direction planning policy takes on this issue will have a significant effect on existing land values: the greater the development rights, the more valuable the land. Megan Schutz is director of Schutz Consulting, providing planning and legal advice on development projects. Call +61418888894; or email megan@schutzconsulting.com.au Megan is qualified in both urban planning and law and has 14 years experience working in both the private and public sector. Megan was previously Principal Planning Lawyer in the State Government’s Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD).
Chamber golf at Sandhurst
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FRANKSTON Business Chamber enjoyed a golf day at Sandhurst Club on Friday 14 October. 1. Socialising after the game are standing (from left) George Bacon, of Crown Business Solutions, Geoff Cumming, emergency services officer, Frankston City, and seated (from left) Julie Kent, of Gary Kent Plumbing, Skye Price, investment attraction facilitator, Frankston City, and city councillor, Colin Hampton. 2. From left: Ian Davey, ROGC Accounting, Robyn Anderson, HR consultant, and Daryl Currie, managing director of Commercial One, commercial property financiers. 3. WINNERS: the golfing greats of the day were members of Optus Business Direct’s team of (from left) Carl Gwynne, Eco Garage Doors; David Wells, Australasian Shingle Importers; Wes Bourke, Optus Business Centre, Carrum Downs; and Kristian Leilnors, Effective Freight Management.
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November 2011 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 17
Keep your new clients
Nicky claims mayoral business award
NEARLY 80 per cent of customers will leave because they think you don’t care. You worked really hard to get your new client. What next to keep them coming back to your business and spending more? Laurel, from Bloomtools Mornington Peninsula Web Design, has some quick, cheap and effective suggestions: 1. Add your customer to your database marketing account. When added, they could receive a series of automated welcome messages containing valuable information content that will strengthen your relationship. Include a survey to give you some constructive feedback on their experience with you. 2. Take advantage of the post purchase high. People are most responsive to marketing campaigns in the first few days after buying, so take this moment to send them a special offer via email or SMS.. 3. Send them relationship building messages like an annual holiday message or birthday greeting if you have their birth date. This will keep you top-of-mind when they next need your product or service. Trial these techniques for free at www.bloomtools. com/mp-trial or call Laurel 5976 8530.
‘Nicky’s Art’ has taken out the Frankston City Mayoral Encouragement Award at the inaugural Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Business Awards at Mornington Race Club on 20 October. ‘Nicky’s Art’ was created by mother-of-four Nicky Johnston, of Langwarrin, who wrote and illustrated a series of books designed to help children deal with anxiety. Her first book, ‘Go Away, Mr Worrythoughts’, has been made into a theatrical production by Frankston Arts Centre and is currently touring primary schools in Victoria. The Sports Injury Clinic was named the best overall business in the awards. Based in Frankston, TSIC’s wide range of treatment options at one location caught the judges’ attention. Award winners Health & Wellbeing: The Sports Injury Clinic; Retail: Austplant Nursery; Hospitality: Stillwater at Crittenden; Service: Express Virtual Meetings; Manufacturing: Made in The Shade; Tourism: The Enchanted Maze; Community partnership: Fitted for Work; Young Entrepreneur: Lachlan Coates, Burst Graphics; Environmental Sustainability: Polperro Dolphin Swims; Mayors’ Awards: Frankston: Nicky Johnston, ‘Nicky’s Art’ (Frankston); Learn 2 Jog (Mornington Peninsula)
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Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Business Awards night is a joint initiative of Frankston City Council and Mornington Peninsula Shire Council and will be held annually.
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1. ABC presenter and guest speaker Beverley O’Connor with MBA Business Solutions accountant Jason Beare at the Frankston City Council and Mornington Peninsula Shire 2011 business awards at Mornington Racecourse on 20 October. 2. BusinessTimes September, 2010, cover girls Pippa Hanson (left) and Michelle Blake, of The Sports Injury Clinic, Frankston, were the overall winners.
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Property investment structures
AUSSIE Homes opened in Mornington on 28 September and founder John Symond, AM, was on hand to support the news owners Paul Basso (left) and Peter Hasell (left).
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NOT short of a joke between these two: Optus Business Direct guru and peninsula cricket legend Brian “Cuey” McCue and AFL star Jason Akermanis, who was guest speaker at the Menzies AFL grand final lunch in Frankston on 29 September.
MANY investors tend to take a simplified approach when determining ownership of property investment assets. This quite often leads to the investors signing on the title of a new property in their own name for mere convenience. Once you sign on the dotted line though, you are quite often stuck with this ownership selection because the cost of altering documents can be prohibitive. This means significant emphasis should be placed on planning ownership of title before any contracts are signed. At worst, an “and/or nominee” clause should be utilised when signing the contract initially to buy yourself limited time to think about who the nominated owner of the property will be. MBA Business Solutions makes sure that clients are advised on the correct structure for their property investment. To illustrate, Jill runs the family’s successful business through a family discretionary trust and is able to distribute profits to others within the family. Jill is looking to purchase a property investment and therefore is considering whether the title should go in her own name, into a trustee’s name, or to Harold, Jill’s non-working
partner. Signing Jill on the title is likely to expose the property to potential litigants in the future as Jill is the director of the trustee company which is running the business. In addition, the choice of Jill as the sole person on the property title may potentially cost the family a lot in unnecessary future tax. Using a second trust (or Harold) to hold title to the property can help to reduce these risks and provide flexibility. Where a number of properties are involved or your individual circumstances include numerous variables, so the complexity of the structuring decision increases and strategic advice becomes even more important. A growing portfolio of investment properties will require ongoing advice on land tax, asset protection, income tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax. In addition, using superannuation in property investing is increasing as investors further enhance their wealth and asset protection position when required by their circumstances. Make sure you plan appropriately for your circumstances and get the right advice each time. Don’t miss your ‘Sliding Doors’ moment. Correct decisions today can create your ideal tomorrow. – Jason Beare, CPA MBA Business Solutions
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Refuel your body I’ve never done the survey but wouldn’t mind betting one would find that the number one complaint of people seeking the advice of health practitioners is fatigue. A typical exchange goes: “How is your energy?” “Terrible.” “Is there a particular time of the day when it’s worst?” “I feel tired most of the time.” In Chinese medicine we think of fatigue as being multi-faceted. Sometimes, such as often in chronic fatigue syndrome, the body’s energy may be bound up in fighting unresolved, stubborn viral pathogens. Other times the source of our day-to-day energy – the digestion – is too compromised and overwhelmed to efficiently extract the nutrition from the food we eat. In Chinese medicine we may even find that
Michael Ellis*
Chinese Herbalist
energy is not so much lacking as “stuck” (yes, that is a not-altogether technical diagnosis, but one that resonates with people when it is). And of course, like other health modalities we have many and various remedies for restoring energy, whether the deficiency is in the digestive system or elsewhere. Some of them have found their way into products conveniently available right there at your petrol station, while you refuel your car, in the form of fizzy drinks spiked with stimulants.
I’ve written before on this page about substances like caffeine and guarana and the short-term withdrawal from your energy savings bank that they represent, at potential cost of long-term investment. But really, whether people use good supplements (like the right herbs) or bad (like excessive caffeine – or sugar – or both) they are rarely the answer. That’s because our biggest problem energy wise is that here in the West we live upside down. That is, our lives are way out of sync with the natural cycle. To explain I need to offer a quick physics lesson, Taoist style, on yin and yang. In Chinese cosmology, yin is substance, matter, stillness and darkness. Yang is energy, heat, activity and light. So there is a daily cycle of yin and yang – night and day – in which the yang of the day rises, peaks, then recedes again, yielding to the stillness of the dark night as yang reaches its lowest ebb. Simple. That cycle is depicted in the famous Taoist symbol – the taiji – showing
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HEALTH
yin and yang transforming constantly, one into the other. The Taoists also thought of yin and yang as applying to the human system. The body itself and its fluids and substances are yin, while all activity and function is yang. So when we’re active, we’re using yang, which we then recharge during the yin hours. We understand that life is not all yang. We cannot be all “go”, otherwise we’d burn out. We need that balance of yin with yang activity. That’s why we sleep. At night. When it’s dark. Sleeping in the yin hours recharges the body and maintains the balance of yin and yang within. The worst thing we can do
for our energy is to burn it during those yin hours. The trick is that in the late afternoon, as the yang of the day recedes, so should we. We should not arrive home from work and head for the gym, then to the indoor cricket competition, then out for a threecourse dinner, with wine, then coffee … then a raging dance party, hot spa, drunken sex (apparently some people do that, so I’m told) … you get the picture. All these things stimulate and burn our yang and, at the same time, deny our body the crucial hours before midnight for cell repair and restoration. That is what I mean by living “upside down” and out of sync. If I am describing your lifestyle, and you
are tired all the time, there’s only one real cure. Move as many of those yang activities as you can to the yang part of the day where they belong and wind down in the early evening instead of winding up. Get to sleep at 9pm and give your body the hours before midnight for routine maintenance, and the hours afterwards to replenish the deeper reservoirs of yin and yang. Yes, 9pm. Try it for a week if you don’t believe me. It is the way to get in touch with the daily cycle of yin and yang. And to effectively restore your energy in a sustainable, life-changing way. * Michael Ellis is a registered Chinese herbalist in Mt Eliza: www.mtelizaherbal.com.
MARKETS
Still some value in retail It has been more than a crummy year for retail. The morale killers were legion: floods, famine, Fukushima, on-going bloodshed in the Middle East, fractious domestic politics, job insecurity, rising costs and of course the rumbling thunder of the European debt crisis. It didn’t help that internet penetration increased and a rising $A made off-shore shopping compelling, especially when a few key strokes reveals that good US brands are often far cheaper than local equivalents, even before GST. Add in rents out of kilter with sales and a trend to new style “op shops” that carry clean, recycled clothing and you have sharp margin compression. Myer, Harvey Norman and other chains were walloped some time ago, but it was only recently that the wheels fell off DJs as well. Since 2003 when the irrepressible Mark McInnes took control shareholders enjoyed a compound return over 20 per cent to 2010 with debt reduced to a relaxed 11per cent as the team deftly managed the levers of precise buying, stock-turn and promotion. McInnes could do no wrong until his roving eye caused a quick departure. By June the new MD could see trouble ahead and gave guidance that first half of 2012 would be down 15-20 per cent. The share price tanked. It was a different story for more niche focussed chains like Kathmandu and Oroton. Kathmandu’s 110 stores in Australia and NZ lifted annual sales 15 per cent on a same-store basis and net profit lifted by
Richard Campbell* Stock Analyst
15 per cent or 25 per cent with new stores included. Margins were around 25 per cent pre-tax and interest. Gearing stayed modest at around 30 per cent. More stores are planned as an affluent class of what might be called “mid-executive” customers spend on rugged outdoor kit and join the branding through membership of its claimed 500,000 strong “Summit Club”. Its social marketing is smart. Its “Urban Adventure Max series” may be just a reprise of orienteering and, before that, harrier running, but it is brand relevant and sounds like fun. KMD is up 30 per cent since December lows. Oroton may be poles apart from Kathmandu in terms of lifestyle, but its business model is remarkably similar. Like the UK’s Burberry group, Oroton combines its own brands with others and sells licensed Ralph Lauren clothing through a parallel chain of branded stores. This reduces the brand management and provides accessories for Ralph Lauren clothes and vice versa. Goods have high design quality and finish
so command high margins. This explains Oroton’s outstanding return on capital despite a low stock-turn. The net suits these goods perfectly as accessories are small by definition and easy to illustrate. They also don’t need fitting for wayward busts and hips. New Asian stores are planned despite what may seem a saturation of Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari etc in the up market shopping malls of Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Newish MD Sally McDonald is keen to roll out more stores to capture this strong appetite for classy European brands. Like Kathmandu Oroton Group sees itself as far more than a simple rag trader. The core of the business is design as that provides the high price tags and cachet that command respect at the cocktail party, polo meet or yacht club – or at least the aspiration to that world. Profits rose 6 per cent in a weak retailing climate assisted by the Asian stores and the internet channel. Where this leaves Myer and DJs is problematic. They are both now developing their net channel but with multiple brands to merchant, they lack focus. They also have to change styles frequently to create the buzz that brings in the consumer and that requires a big logistical effort that designer goods need less frequently. All up, investors might do well to consider narrower niche strategies that capture margin and, in Oroton’s case, successive special dividends that tell the real story of shareholder return. Richard Campbell is Executive Director of Peninsula Capital Management. Tel. 9642 0545.
November 2011 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 21
MANAGEMENT
‘Rework’ – it’s the bane of business AS a customer, you know how you feel when your regular supplier lets you down by giving you poor service or by failing to deliver the right quantity and quality product at the right time. When the shoe is on the other foot and you are the supplier, then these situations usually mean that your system has broken down and that your supervisory team has to initiate some form of corrective action to try to recover the situation. For the sake of this article, let’s call this remedial action “rework”. Rework can erode an organisation’s supervisory team and shift its focus from developing the business, as well as creating issues for members of the sales team, when they try to pacify upset and disappointed customers that have been let down. Collectively, rework is very detrimental to any business as it can particularly damage both your reputation and your bottom line. Nearly every business has some level of ongoing rework. Most product-based businesses have some form of rework when they don’t satisfy the customer with their first effort. It may be that you can’t supply the complete order in one lot, or the quality of the product does not meet the customers’ needs. In service businesses, rework can occur when the customer is not happy with the service and some form of corrective work or follow up is required by the supervisory team. Often, this occurs so frequently that the leadership team accepts rework as a normal part of business. This is a very dangerous interpretation of rework as it can hide many problems that should be made to stand out. A close examination of each and every cause for rework can provide improvement opportunities that can really lift business performance. The first step to understand the size of your rework problem is to set up a monitoring system that will capture the data, including what happened and the reasons why. Building a system to record each individual rework event will establish baseline data that will enable you to assess future progress as your team works to eliminate rework. This data is also valuable as you can use it to start to understand just
Hamish Petrie*
Business Consultant
Often, it is tempting to blame your people for producing errors or mistakes, but when the system of work has flaws, then you cannot blame the people who work in your system.
how much money is being consumed by the rework process. It is often surprising to realise the total cost of a supply system’s failures, but this can provide the strong motivation to attack the causes of rework. When your normal supply process fails, the first priority for the supervisory team is to restore the normal flow of product or service so that the customer’s immediate needs are met. This may be achieved quickly, although it may take some extra time and cost. The more difficult step is to find the root cause of your supply system failure that led to the rework. This root cause analysis is where real knowledge can be gained to make sure that this type of system failure cannot recur. Root cause analysis takes a lot of skill to get behind the obvious causes and to delve as deeply as necessary to find out how to stop recurrences. It is easy to ask “Why did this happen?”, but this sort of investigation will often take five “whys” to really get to the fundamental problem. Sometimes, your people may be intolerant of this sort of inquisition, so it is important that they are trained in the sort of investigative techniques that you use, so that they can understand and cooperate to find the root causes. Supply processes often have good days and bad days. Sometimes the causes for a bad day are clear and obvious, but the instability in the system is a major problem. Stability
22 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | November 2011
in a supply system is critical if you want to improve it, so many improvement opportunities will be identified by determining the causes of instability and linking this directly to your rework data. There is usually a strong correlation between your bad days and the volume of rework. Your people usually know the individual causes that drive the bad days and level of rework, so they will usually respond well when you show them a measurement system and investigative methods to learn from the mistakes that are recurring in your system. Often, it is tempting to blame your people for producing errors or mistakes, but when the system of work has flaws, then you cannot blame the people who work in your system. Correcting your systems by finding and eliminating the root causes of rework will result in a much smoother workflow where good days become normal. Sometimes the root causes of rework extend beyond your boundaries to your suppliers and customers. Each of these situations needs to be handled carefully so that they understand just how critical they are to support your efforts to eliminate rework. Defining, measuring, investigating and eliminating rework should be major components of any business leader’s strategy, as success here will also eliminate customer dissatisfaction thereby strengthening the connections to your customers. Action Planning Questions: 1. Have you defined rework for your business and set up a system to collect data on every failure to meet all of your customers needs? 2. Have you identified appropriate techniques for root cause analysis in your business and trained your people to understand and use them? 3. When was the last time that you personally were involved in an investigation to find the root cause of rework? 4. Have you determined the financial consequences of rework and connected this to your customer satisfaction data? © Hamish Petrie 2011
*Hamish Petrie had a 37-year corporate career including 29 years with Alcoa Inc. His last position was as VP–People and Communication for the global Alcoa corporation based in New York, NY. He can be contacted at hamish@nitroworld.net or on 0404 345 103.
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