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Heavy metal
Olympian REVEALS the cost of seeking GOLD
COLLABORATION WITH OUTSIDE GROUPS CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS
MARKETS SHOULD WE HEAD FOR THE HILLS OR RUSH TO THE ’CENTRE’?
PURR EFFECT A FELINE CEO SHOWS THE WORTH OF ANIMALS IN THE WORKPLACE
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COVER: Olympic shot putter Dale Stevenson is striving to become a professional sportsman, but his mission at the moment is to toss for a medal at the London Games: SEE P.14
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ISSUE 25 / JULY 2012
FRANKSTON / MORNINGTON PENINSULA / DANDENONG
BusinessTimes is published 11 times a year by BusinessTimes Pty Ltd and printed by Galaxy Print & Design, 76 Reid Parade, Hastings, Victoria 3915. Postal: PO Box 428, Hastings, Victoria 3915 Tel. 03 5979 3927 Fax. 03 5979 7944
Features
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DIVERSE INTERESTS
They are from worlds apart, but this business team blossoms.
OLYMPIC DREAMING:
Shot putter Dale makes big pitch for a medal.
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Visit us at www.lennoxprods.com.au to learn about our services or call (03) 5976 2225 2 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
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NEWS
Power in numbers easy, and there’s no obligation to take up our offers. We aim to grow a strong membership of households and businesses and use their collective purchasing power to negotiate the best deal available.” Mr Grugeon said “members” would also be offered “deals on energy-saving products and services”. “And we’ll give our members regular advice and support to help them understand how they power their home or business and what they can do to save energy and save money.” Mr Grugeon is running Energy UNITED with Phil Cohn, of Melbourne-based RAMP Energy Services. The pair plan to hold a series of meetings with chambers of commerce and community groups across the peninsula to recruit “members and community champions”. Details: www.energyunited.com.au or call 1300 10 16 30.
ROCG Blackford Davey Stevens 358 Main Street MORNINGTON VIC 3931 PH: (03) 5975-3122 FAX: (03) 5975-8983 Email: info.bds@rocg.com
Suite 4/474 Nepean Highway FRANKSTON VIC 3199 PH: (03) 9783-9659 FAX: (03) 9783-5694 Email: admin.gsp@rocg.com
ROCG expands ACCOUNTANT Ian Cockle of ROCG has bought the practice of Frankston Liberal MP Geoff Shaw. The new team of ROCG met at CB’s in Mt Eliza on 22 June to celebrate the expansion. From left : Principal of ROCG Ian Cockle, outgoing Principal of Geoff Shaw & Partners Geoff Shaw, Principal of ROCG Ian Davey and new Principal of ROCG Anthony Ryan.
After 7 months of negotiations, ROCG Blackford Davey Stevens have acquired the Geoff Shaw & Partners Accounting and Financial Planning Practices in Frankston. It is anticipated that the service received by clients of the Frankston Practice will continue to be provided as previously, as all of Geoff Shaw’s team have been retained by ROCG. The Principals of ROCG, after exhaustive due diligence, are confident the amalgamation of the Frankston Practice will compliment the services offered to both its existing and acquired Frankston client bases. In addition, ROCG with its international affiliations, is geared to offer all clients access to all facets of accounting and financial planning particularly with any “cross border” advice and assistance.
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SMALL businesses and households are being urged to join Energy UNITED so it can make a deal on reducing power costs. The company says it can negotiate saving on gas and electricity by increasing its buying power with the backing of 500 businesses and 1000 households. Under the “pilot” plan launched at Mt Eliza Energy UNITED will receive a commission for each consumer signed up to power companies offering the best deal. Energy UNITED says it will make a donation to “energy saving activities in local communities for each local resident or business that takes up a deal that it negotiates on their behalf. “We know that households and businesses across the Mornington Peninsula are worried about their energy bills and want help to cut their costs,” Energy UNITED’s James Grugeon said. “Energy UNITED is free to sign up to, it’s
July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | BusinessTimes | 3
NEWS
STATE government cuts to the education budget are threatening up to 200 local TAFE jobs, according to Frankston City council. Angered by the reduced spending, councillors have decided to lobby state and federal governments as well as relaying its concerns to education unions, neighbouring councils and regional interest groups. The councillors will be mindful of the Baillieu government’s slender parliamentary majority and the narrow margin enjoyed by embattled Frankston Liberal MP Geoff Shaw as they begin a campaign to have the funding reinstated. They emphasised that the unemployment rate in Frankston City since the last state election has jumped from 5.9 per cent to 7.58 per cent and added that withdrawal of funding from TAFE would exacerbate this problem and reduce retraining opportunities of the unemployed. Former mayor Cr Christine Richards said that the state should reverse its “unprecedented decision to cut training and salary budgets of TAFE colleges across the state”. “The region will be directly negatively
TAFE cuts draw city
APPRENTICES at work at Chisholm TAFE’s Frankston campus.
impacted for the longer term by these proposed budget cuts,” Cr Richards said. “The cuts are ill conceived in a period where there are increasing job losses in other industries, increased unemployment and an Australia-wide skills shortage”. “The proposed cuts are contradictory to the findings and recommendations of the recent state government study into higher education by Professor Kwong Lee Dow.
“Chisholm Institute of TAFE serves the population of Melbourne’s southeast, with its second largest campus in Frankston servicing about 15,000 students. “The proposed cuts mean that Chisholm will potentially lose at least $25.5m (or one third of its government funding) in 2013.” Cr Richards said the training areas most heavily targeted by the cuts were well-recognised industry strengths for the Frankston
Working for you... business to business TO BUSINESS OWNERS & MANAGERS We have been advertising in BusinessTimes since its first edition, and we are pleased to be associated with this great addition to the local business scene. On many occasions, clients and others have mentioned that they have seen our advertisement in the monthly magazine, so we are aware of how widespread is its distribution within the Mornington area and beyond. The articles are timely and accurate and bring a great deal of knowledge about successful buisnesses in the region. We find that Margaret Harrison is always extremely helpful in the placement of advertisements, and very professional in her suggestions regarding content and photography.
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Accounting team members - Jason Beare, Dereen Wallace, Amy Bignell and Irena Lioudvigova.
BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong |July 2012
criticism and Mornington Peninsula region – including hospitality, tourism and retail. She said changes to funding in the VET sector would impact on the provision of education and training for the communities of Melbourne’s south east and challenge the region’s ability to provide a ready and able workforce for industry. “The flow-on impact will be that these cuts will seriously jeopardise our ability to attract new industry and the capability of our residents to be able to live, learn and work locally – a core planning platform of the state government.” The council also has criticised cuts to the schools’ Education Maintenance Allowance for disadvantaged families of primary and secondary students, alleging it might result in children leaving school early. Cr Richards notice of motion about the anti-cuts campaign was carried unanimously.
Training group expands Victorian industry skills training organisation Foresite Training is increasing services to meet skill shortages in the transport, warehousing, civil construction and mining industries. Foresite Training is establishing a purposebuilt training facility in Laverton North which will be the largest of its kind in Australia. This facility, due to open later this year, will allow the company to expand its range of courses. A recent move to new premises in Keysborough, complete with classrooms and a fully functional warehouse and packing areas has allowed Foresite to increase the frequency of it courses. A nationally tegistered training organisation, Foresite Training is also an accredited High Risk Work Licence Assessor for Worksafe Victoria. Foresite Training provides more transport and logistics training and forklift training and licensing than any other organisation in Victoria. In addition, Foresite
Training instructs in truck driving, earthmoving, refresher training, construction induction, verification of competency Certificate II, III & IV in warehousing operations, certificate II, III & IV in driving operations, workplace traineeships, and RF scan pack training. Details: www.foresitetraining.com.au or call 1300 366 015.
ON the job: From left Trevor Hastings, Foresite Trainer, Ross Adams, Outlook Graduate and Neil Smith, Foresite Training Manager
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BUSY bites
Economy grows 1.3 per cent LATEST ABS figures show that GDP, in seasonally adjusted volume terms, grew 1.3 per cent in the March quarter 2012, after a revised increase of 0.6 per cent in the December quarter. The growth for the quarter was driven by a one per cent contribution from final consumption expenditure and a 0.9 per cent contribution from business investment. The increases were partially offset by a -0.5 per cent contribution from net exports and -0.1 per cent contribution from dwelling investment. Industries that drove growth in the March quarter were mining, professional, scientific and technical services and financial and insurance services. A Galaxy Research poll for the Institute of Public Affairs reveals the overwhelming majority of Australians believe the mining industry deserves the credit for Australia’s strong economy, not the federal government. Galaxy asked 1053 respondents across Australia from 15 to17 June 2012: “In your opinion, who do you think is more responsible for Australia’s strong economy? The Gillard government, or the mining industry?” Nearly 70 per cent said it was the mining industry while 23 per cent said the government.
The end of news on paper? Fairfax’s 19 June announcement of 1900 layoffs and significant structural change suggests that newspapers will essentially die in Australia within the decade, according to “media futurist” Ross Dawson. Dawson, chairman of Future Exploration Network, created The Newspaper Extinction Timeline in 2010, gaining media attention in 30 countries. The date he forecast for newspapers to become insignificant in Australia was 2022. “Developments over the past 18 months suggest my original forecasts were too conservative,” says Dawson. “The demise of ‘news-on-paper’ is accelerating in Australia and some other countries due to faster-than-expected shifts in reader behaviour, and lack of action from newspaper management.” Dawson says that the extinction of newspapers does not mean that the newspaper companies of today will die: they will not be delivering news on paper. “I believe we will have an even richer and more diverse news media landscape in years to come. The large news companies of today have baggage in their debt, infrastructure, and mindset. However, they are still better positioned than anyone else to dominate the news landscape of tomorrow, if they act decisively.” Dawson’s predictions include: • Massive reduction in cost of tablet computers (in some cases given away for free); • The move to digital news readers that feel and act like paper; • Rise of “crowdsourced” journalism from many participants; • Development of accurate reputation measures for news outlets and journalists; • Proliferation of new media revenue models including those based on community. Ross Dawson wrote Living Networks, which
anticipated the social media revolution well before Facebook or Twitter existed, as well as the Future of Media Reports, which have been downloaded over 500,000 times. Dawson speaks around the world about the future of business, writes a business blogs, and is frequently interviewed and quoted in leading business media such as CNN, Bloomberg TV, ABC TV, New York Times and The Guardian.
Can’t see through the gloom
AUSTRALIAN consumers didn’t seem to buy the “glass half full” comment on the Australian economy by Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens.
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He was trying to inject some optimism into a brooding, uncertain and tight-fisted community by telling us we’re travelling quite well compared to other economies. The Westpac Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment rose by just 0.3 per cent in June, a disappointing result for retailers who are being told constantly by federal government ministers that Australia is the lucky country with such a strong economic numbers. But, according to Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) CEO Margy Osmond: “Australian consumers appear fixated on rumblings in Europe rather than our closer economic and regional neighbours in Asia with robust economies. “The result from the Consumer Sentiment Index is another blow to the retail sector after soft retail figures were recorded in April. “This concern remains over Europe and with it we see low consumer confidence at home. “The only good news in consumer sentiment report is the improvement in ‘time to buy a major item’ indicators, which is a general indicator for discretionary spending across the board. How that pans out in spending terms, paired with the doom and gloom coming out of Europe, remains to be seen. “This result will mean retailers will be continuing to push for drops in the cash rate to a point where consumers feel confident they can return to spending. “Australians remain cautious about their personal finances and how the economy will go in the next year, despite acknowledging they are currently doing better in comparison to a year ago,” Osmond said.
tax for infrastructure?
AN additional property tax plus bond issues are among 13 suggestions in a national study about financing local government infrastructure. The federal government commissioned Ernst and Young work out ways of improving investment in regional development. It suggests that Tax Increment Financing would
give councils an additional way to generate revenue from existing property owners who benefited from new infrastructure. The report recommends that the Australian government should work with states and territories to investigate legislative changes required to enable councils to introduce Tax Increment Financing. Also, the report suggests that the federal government should consider a national financing authority for local government which would have a mandate to invest directly in local government programs. The authority would have the ability to bundle approved council borrowings into a limited number of bond issues, which could be underwritten by the Australian government. ALGA President Genia McCaffery said the report addresses a number of issues that local government has struggled with for many years: “We have argued for years that local and regional infrastructure funding is deficient and that there are multiple economic, social and environmental benefits that would be generated by appropriate funding in this area,” Ms McCaffery said. “Responsibility for infrastructure is currently divided among three levels of government and the approach to investment varies across jurisdictions. The Ernst and Young report recommends that the Australian government develop a portal to consolidate information and application material relating to local government grants program. “The report acknowledges that the Australian government has a role in helping the local government sector create sustainable revenue streams that would provide a direct link between those who benefit from new investments and those who pay for them. “It also recommends that councils review their infrastructure portfolios to identify and test the rationale for continued ownership, suggesting that recycling assets is an effective way to generate income that can be re-invested into new infrastructure.” To access the report, visit http://www.regional. gov.au/local/lgifr/index.aspx
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New gender equality law a step closer A new law to promote gender equality in Australian workplaces is a step closer after the passage of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012 through the House of Representatives on 19 June. Helen Conway, Director of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) said the proposed legislation promotes equal remuneration between women and men. Conway said changes also encourage organisations to allow men, as well as women, to work flexibly to meet family and caring responsibilities. “We need to lift the participation rate of women in the workforce by removing existing disincentives. Our national productivity and competitiveness depends on it. In our workplaces, it is time we stopped paying lip service to gender equality and actually did something about it,” Ms Conway said. The legislation will see EOWA renamed the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. “The amendments result from an extensive review and consultation process,” Ms Conway said. The Bill must now be passed by the Senate before becoming law.
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July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | BusinessTimes | 7
NETWORKING
1. BUSINESS Networking International members met at Mt Eliza to discuss launching a BNI chapter. The group met at Canadian Bay Hotel. From left are Caroline Buffinton of graphic and web company Aurora26, Peter White, assistant director of BNI Melbourne South, and Dr Georgie Boehm, of Mt Eliza Chiropractic Clinic. 2. Also at the Mt Eliza gathering were Nigel Nash, Kimi Knight, of Pinnacle Physio, Mornington; Jen Rollings, of Mornington; and Aaron Wymark, of Aarons Garden.
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3. A BUSINESS expo at Punt Hill Apartments, Dandenong, on 31 May as organised by BNI Dandenong. Pictured are John and Leonie Flynn, of Woodfired Pizza Ovens. 4. Business expo guests, from left, are Steven Boyd, director of Boyd Ryan, business sales and consultants; Kate de Koning and Ben Keller, both of Kliger Partners Lawyers; and Jason Keller, Century 21 real estate, Frankston. 5. Jessica Lorenzi-Medoro of Audi, Brighton, and Tim Leydin, director of R. T. Edgar real estate, at the 2012 International Cool Climate Wine Festival at Mornington Racing Club on 1 June. 6. BUSINESS Networking International (BNI) founder and chairman Ivan Misner flew in from California to address 300 BNI members at Docklands Stadium on 12 June. Pictured are Ivan Misner with Brent Edwards, director of BNI Melbourne South 7. Monash University Business and Economics Peninsula Campus staged its latest Business Associates Seminar at Peninsula Country Golf Club on 12 June. Pictured are Professor Rob Brooks, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash (left) with guest speaker Craig James, chief economist with Commsec, who posed the question about the 2012 federal budget: tough or timid? 8. Frankston Business Chamber met at Pragmatic Training headquarters Frankston on 19 June for its monthly networking night. Pictured are Stewart Bell, of Bell Campbell Auditing, and David Ingram, of Chifley Doveton.
8 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
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Bank of Melbourne night for clients 9.Bank of Melbourne had a networking night for clients at the Chifley, Doveton, on 21 June. Sue Smith, executive officer, Australian Industry and Defence Network, with Patrick Franz, Bank of Melbourne business development manager.
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10. Staff of ARM Accountants, Dingley, at the Bank of Melbourne networking (from left) For all legal services a business and itsnight people need Andrew Manhire, Rena Mastorakis and Craig Smith. Est. 1954 11. Bank of Melbourne’s chief credit officer Paul Quinn with Chris Rann, of Rann Property. www.whitecleland.com.au 12. Bank of Melbourne Chief Executive Scott Tanner and Gomez,9783 the bank’s Level 3, 454 Nepean Hwy Fiona Frankston 2323 south east regional manager based at Dandenong. Level 8, 256 Queen12 Street, Melbourne 9602 4022
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July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 9
APPOINTMENTS
ASHLEE Boaler has joined the team at Optus Business Centre, Carrum Downs, in a telephone and showroom sales role. Ashlee has five years experience in the telecommunication industry and has access to a new Optus system that allows her to complete contracts over the phone with no need for paperwork. Also, she cann arrange to have equipment sent directly to businesses. Call Ashlee on 03 9770 3555 to discuss any telecommunication needs.
Andrew Holbrook is the new Dealer Principal for the Jeff Wignall Group. The Jeff Wignall group was recently purchased by Automotive Holdings Group (AHG), which is Australia’s largest Automotive Retailer. Andrew has spent more than 16 years in the automotive industry and has recently moved back from Sydney to take up this new role. He now lives on the Mornington Peninsula with his wife Olivia and their four Children, Lila, Ava, May and Harvey. Andrew is originally from Melbourne where he has spent most of his career working in the car industry.
MBA Business Solutions, of 342 Main St Mornington, has acquired the practice of Houlgate St Pern, of Frankston. MBA will welcome Bertrand de St Pern and his team to the offices on the corner of Main St and Foam St on 1 July, 2012. MBA is looking forward to meeting Bertrand’s clients. MBA Business Solutions offers full financial, taxation and management accounting services, including financial planning and investment consulting, business structures and re-structuring, Self Managed superannuation, personal risk insurance, estate planning and business succession strategies.
Another roadside distraction ONE of Frankston’s less admirable attractions will remain on public show until year’s end. The collapse of a $2.4 million being built by VicRoads to stop erosion near the foot of Olivers Hill is being blamed on a design fault rather than shaky ground. Nevertheless, VicRoads says its replacement will be “similar in nature”. The wall facing busy Nepean Highway was the highest of its type built in Victoria. The “gambion” was made from cages filled with rocks and then backfilled to the eroded cliff with packing sand. VicRoads hired an independent consultant to investigate the April collapse who “identified that the key contributing factor to the collapse related to design assumptions made about the weight of the retaining wall”. “As a result, when constructed, the wall was not able to withstand the loads being imposed on it. In light of this information, VicRoads has reviewed its design processes to address this matter,” regional
director, south east metro Peter Todd said. “A structure, similar in nature to the previous wall, is still considered the most appropriate for this site, given the close proximity of the road and private properties on top of the road embankment. Detailed design is currently underway.” Mr Todd said construction of the new retaining wall was expected to start in October and finished “before the end of 2012”.
Remains of VicRoardsI ill-fated gambian wall at the foot of Olivers Hill, Franklston.
Frankston wants SKILLS expo, too FRANKSTON City wants to emulate the jobs and skills expos that have proved so successful in Dandenong over the past two years. The federally-sponsored expos, hosted by Greater Dandenong Council, reportedly attracted 11,000 people to the latest expo, 800 of whom found employment. Council will ask Federal Minister for Human Services Kim Carr and Employment Participation Minister Kate Ellis to agree to an expo in Frankston in the next 12 months.
10 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
Frankston is one of six Central Activities Areas in Victoria (alongside the City of Dandenong) and has an unemployment rate above the Victorian average. Councillors were told that its local employment coordinator Ian Barker, who is based within the Economic Development and Tourism Unit, is already planning a similar type of expo for September or October. Mornington Peninsula Shire is planning a Careers and Jobs Expo in Mornington on 15 August).
How I found $80,000 in a dumpster
So first up I want you to know that it wasn’t me personally going through rubbish bins, but it was my idea. Sadly, however, as an IT Security Consultant, it wouldn’t have been the first time that I had gone dumpster-diving if I had. The phone rang at 4am and I knew that it wasn’t going to be good news. No one ever rings at 4am with good news, it is always something that has happened or gone wrong. It was a call about a server upgrade that had gone wrong and a customer needed to get their data back as quickly as possible as their employees would start coming into work at 6am. The customer’s server had a couple of issues: it was running out of space and the backup wasn’t working. The customer thought the lack of space was the biggest issue and he planned to upgrade the hard drives after hours. We had talked through it and strongly suggested that maybe the backup should be fixed first, especially given that the disk upgrade was a little tricky. Suffice to say that the disk upgrade turned out to be very tricky. It had gone pear-shaped and they had tried a couple of things to sort it out, but without any luck. I was onsite by 4:30am and started going through how we could get them back online. There were a couple of issues. They had hit a minor problem with the hard drive upgrade and tried a range of solutions to fix it, but each fix had only made things worse. By the time they called me, it was too late. Their data was gone, never to return. We shipped the drives off to a specialist recovery place, but as we thought, the information was lost forever. The next step was to restore from the last good backup. It was four days old. Tragically, that was $100,000 of turnover. All of those transactions, bookings, customer updates and planning were gone, so not only was $100,000 lost, but a lot of customer service issues were going to pop up over the next few months. After realising that four days’ worth of data was gone, I started looking at the transaction flow in the business
and how jobs were processed and given in paper format to drivers. So we got their team looking for all of the invoices. Some were in bins, some were in drivers cabs and some had been filed away. All in all, we managed to find $80,000 worth of transactions, which wasn’t too bad a result. It could have been a lot worse. The next week the customer placed an order for a backup system that met their needs of their business. These sort of things can and do happen and they happen fairly frequently. Human error is the most common cause.
What were the lessons learnt from this? 1. Check your backup daily to ensure it works. When it doesn’t work, get it fixed. 2. Conduct a trial restore to ensure you can restore when you need to. 3. Work out how long you can be down without your server and factor that into your planning. 4. Work out how many transactions you can afford to lose, eg 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, and factor that into your planning as well. 5. Ensure there is a documented procedure on how to restore. Restoring data is stressful and good documentation is critical in ensuring that the restoration is quick, complete and even possible. Don’t rely on luck to keep your companies data safe. If you have any questions, please call James and the Team at Extreme Networks on 03) 97857162. We are the only company on the Mornington Peninsula with staff accredited in Disaster Recovery practices, and our solutions keep Hospitals, Accountants, Lawyers and hundreds of other businesses running each and every day. Our software is able to automatically check your backup and take the stress out of doing backups.
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July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 11
From worlds apart this business team blossoms WORDS & PICTURES BY Keith Platt
DESCRIBING a 1975 ferry ride across the Mekong River from Laos to Thailand comes easy to Sirina D’Amico. Sitting in the brightly lit South Dandenong offices of Montdami Constructions must seem light years away from that boat ride to uncertainty.
SIRINA D’Amico and husband Angelo work out of the offices of the family civil construction business in Dandenong South, but Sirina has her own business interests, starting up several cafes and importing beer from her homeland Laos.
12 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
But Sirina D’Amico has a good memory. The ferry journey with her mother, brothers and sisters was the start of a long journey, which eventually brought her to Australia. Her husband Angelo, had years before come to Australia with his parents from Catania, in Sicily. Montdami’s headquarters sit at the end of a self-developed industrial subdivision, while its projects range from apartments at Mt Hotham to house and land packages on a Frankston golf course. Angelo and Sirina D’Amico share the same birth date, but were born 10 years and half a world apart. At about the time 14-year-old Sirina had been left with friends of her parents in Thailand, her husband-to-be was eyeing a future in civil construction. Angelo and his partner the late Peter Montanaro “saw potential” in civil construction and “took the plunge” and bought a track loader. Having machinery gave them enough confidence to tender for contracts. A 30-unit residential subdivision for Taunton Development was the first of many that has seen Montdami “never look back”, according to Angelo.
FEATURE PART of the D’Amico clan... Angelo and Sirina with sons Angelo jnr. and Sam at the South Dandenong headquarters of Montdami Constructions.
The company’s first office was in Bayswater, then Carrum Downs and now Dandenong South. While Angelo was building his company his future wife was making her way in Australia. “Dobbed in” for living without papers in Thailand Sirina had been kept in chains overnight at a police station before being herded onto an open truck and transported for five hours to a refugee camp. Her mother had left her in Thailand while her passport was being processed. She was then supposed to follow her sisters to France for schooling. The turmoil that gripped southeast Asia in the wake of the Vietnam war also saw Laos declared a people’s democratic republic in 1975 following a long civil war. Sirina’s parents saw their children’s future outside of their own country. Her father lost an eye and was in a coma for months when his vehicle hit a landmine. Five others travelling with him died in the blast. “I was really left in Thailand by accident, because the border was closed between the time we caught the ferry in the morning and when we were to go home that night,” Sirina says. “My mother made a quick decision to leave me with friends until my passport came so I, too, could go to boarding school in France.” The passport did not come and so Sirina found herself in the refugee camp. Luck came when her cousin, at school in Penang, Malaysia, won a scholarship to study in Perth and was able to take along a sibling. “We had the same surname and so he took me. I was at Mercedes College and, being under 18, could apply for citizenship.” Already able to speak French, Sirina says she picked up English in three months. Sirina and Angelo married 30 years ago. They met while he was in Perth as head of the Housing Industry Association. Two engineer sons, Angelo jr. and Sam, are directors of Montdami.
While Angelo has concentrated on the engineering side of things (although he also runs Dandy Cool Stores), Sirina branched out into hospitality, starting up several cafes (Thai based because few diners knew about Laotian cuisine) and also importing beer. She no longer distributes Beerlao, the national beer of Loas, but remains its importer through SAF Omega Imports. With such an intense business background, it comes as no surprise that Sirina and Angelo have strong views on Australia’s economic situation. Over-regulation and lack of infrastructure are common themes. Angelo produces the end of a long paper trail allowing him to exclude an elevator from a two-storey building. It was a victory, but one that took time and could cost money because of delays caused by weather. He tells of friends in manufacturing being forced to downscale or close. One from Dubai has vowed not to return after finishing his present project. “We’re retrenching 10 people ourselves,” Angelo says. He is dismissive of councils and “paper shufflers”. He’s seen “five people, instead of one, digging up a footpath” and complains about “ever-increasing tipping fees”. Banks are limiting credit for developers, another obstruction. “It’s almost like the government doesn’t want us to develop,” he says. “There’s not enough infrastructure, like sewerage, to develop greenfield sites. “That’s why they encourage high density living in the city, but that just causes traffic problems.” The D’Amicos are critical at the short-sightedness preventing our government having 20-year plans. “We’re one of the few airports not to have a rail service,” Angelo says. “We used to make shoes and clothing. “Politicians are not in touch with what’s required for the general day-to-day costs of running a family.” At least half the money being paid out to offset costs caused by the carbon tax would go to the pokies, he said. “As a nation we need to take a look at ourselves,” Sirina says. “Do we need to be so highly paid? The extra superannuation contributions coming over the next few years will have to come out of profits because companies can’t put up prices.” Sirina is also critical of “boat people” who land in Australia and make demands. “I’m sure they live better here than where they came from,” she says. “They should be grateful to the country that takes them in. Nobody asked them to come here.”
July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 13
FEATURE
TIGER is a working cat. While he has no job description or official title, everyone knows Tiger has the run of the office. Why, they even named the company after him, Tigertel, the Optus Business Centre in Carrum Downs. A well proportioned ginger cat, Tiger has his own door, a place to sleep and all meals supplied. There are toys, scratch poles and the hands of 15 staff ready with a pat. He’s a lapcat (when he chooses) and frequently finds a comfortable nestling space between someone’s back and the back of a chair. Unlike many working animals, Tiger isn’t expected to herd, lift or pull anything. He’s just there. The benefits of having animals at home and in the workplace are acknowledged by the medical profession. Pets are used for therapy in hospitals and have been known to help people overcome depression and introversion. “There is evidence to show people who own pets are healthier and are less stressed,” Lort Smith Animal Hospital general manager veterinary service Dr Russell Harrison said. “We spend half of our waking hours at work, so it makes to sense to have a pet at the work place. As with people, there comes a time when work pets need to retire. As the pet gets older it may be better to be in a quieter home environment.” 14 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
TIGER has the run of Tigertel, the company named after him in Carrum Downs. He’s “boss” of Optus Business Centre and has raised a few eyebrows wandering across the boardroom table during meetings. Tiger is pictured left with Ashlee Boaler, recently promoted to the Optus business unit from the Optus retail store. (Ashlee appears on page 10 of this issue as a new appointment.) Left: Optus Business Centre co-owner Wes Bourke and Tiger. Below: Tiger with another sales representative Kristy Herdman.
From stray to ‘CEO’: this Tiger has a telco by the tail
Tigertel is the business run by Wes Bourke and Brian McCue behind the Optus Business Centre in Carrum Downs. Bourke reckons Tiger is “the luckiest cat in the world”. In 1999 Bourke and McCue were running the Optus World store in Frankston when staff heard a strange
noise in the office. It took a few days to track down, but eventually one of them found a stray, undernourished kitten in an unused storage space under a stairwell. “Seeing he was in a bad way, the team leapt into action,” Bourke recalls. Milk and cat food were bought “to keep the little fella alive”; its bed was a
box and rags; and, finally, a trip to the vet for a check-up and advice. A heart-winner from day one, the stray was named Tiger. Staff offered to take him home, but Bourke and McCue decided he should stay at the office. “The impact this little fella had on morale was fantastic, so we decided he would become part of the team,” Bourke says. “Then our staff started bringing in items for him – scratching poles, loads of cat toys and multiple beds appeared. Before long he had so much stuff we had to give Tiger his own office.” In 2002 Bourke and McCue decided on a new business, Optus Business Direct, and named the company after the cat. Five years later Tigertel Pty Ltd opened the business centre at Carrum Downs. “Not only did we take our mascot with us, but upgraded his office and installed a cat door in the new building so he could come and go as he pleased,” Bourke says. “It’s 12 years since we found that little kitten and he’s still with us. Tiger is commonly referred to as the CEO of Tigertel.”
July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 15
NEWS
A baking tradition returns to By Keith Platt TRADITIONAL breadmaking has been brought back to Flinders. David Allan and Margaret Carey are baking bread in the oven made in the 1930s for the Draper family. It took six months to restore the oven, which is now being used to bake “traditional sourdough loaves using only organic flour, water and Victorian pink lake salt”, Ms Carey said. “True sourdough bread is naturally leavened, which means that a local wild culture of organisms is used to slowly develop and rise the doughs over an eight-hour period. “The bread develops greater flavour and nutritional benefits such as the breaking down of gluten and natural sugars, great for gluten intolerant and low GI diets.” Ms Carey and Mr Allan hold degrees
in winemaking and see a synergy between the processes of making wine and bread. “As there is a large crossover with the microbiology of the two processes, much of our wine knowledge is of great use managing the many variables of sourdough,” Ms Carey said. “We made the big decision to leave the winery [at Heathcote] and then volunteered at Redbeard Bakery under the guidance of John and Alan Reid and their great team of bakers. We learnt a lot in three months and fell in love with using a Scotch oven; there was no turning back.” The couple spent a year searching Victoria for a Scotch oven, finally finding one at Flinders. “We found many ovens, but most were in poor condition. David knew of the oven in Flinders due to memories of visiting the bakery as a child; he
also drove through Flinders daily while working at nearby Stonier Wines. “We visited the Flinders Bakery out of interest and what we found was a hidden treasure, a great oven and matching vintage dough mixer in fabulous condition.” The couple spent “many long days and nights crouched inside the oven fixing the floor and rebuilding the firebox”. Missing fire bars were replaced with new ones recast at an historic foundry in Castlemaine, which still had the original moulds. A twin-arm mixer from the 1940s is used to prepare dough being baked in the restored oven. The mixer has a slow and gentle action that replicates hand kneading. “Traditional hand-shaping and cutting techniques are used, reducing the need
Phone hackers cause big bills TELEPHONE system hackers are creating big bills for some small businesses, says the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman (TIO). PABX hacking occurs when passwords of a telephone system are breached and hackers fraudulently sell international calls through the business’s phones. The hackers profit from the activity, while small business owner’s telephone bill spirals into the tens of thousands of dollars over days or even weeks. The business often doesn’t become aware of being hacked until they receive a large bill. The cost isn’t simply on them; frequently telecommunications providers are left in the lurch, as they have to pay the wholesale costs of the international phone calls. When TIO receives such complaints, it may have to decide who is liable for what portion of the charges. On one hand, a phone system security is considered to be the consumer’s responsibility as they own the PABX equipment. On the other hand, providers have an obligation to ensure that any line of credit invoiced remains reasonable. Businesses should ensure that
PABX system passwords are changed regularly while the service provider should monitor and alert a consumer when it detects unusual activity. Co-operation between a small business consumer and their provider is important to decrease the risk of being hacked, says TIO. Generally it will not be fair for a consumer who has been the victim of PABX hacking to pay the full account. Depending on the circumstances of a complaint, some victims of hacking may be expected to cover the wholesale costs of a service provider. To reduce exposure to PABX hacking, it could be worth asking your service provider: • Can I place a hard cap on my account? • What can I do to make a PABX system is more secure? • Can I bar international calls, or can I be given a dialler code?
INTERNET COST complaints
TWO significant trends in mobile phone complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman are overcommit-
16 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
ment resulting from inadequate spend controls and excess internet usage charges. New complaints about overcommitment increased to 4282 in the January-March 2012 quarter, compared to 2181 in the same quarter in 2011. In the same periods, new complaints about disputed internet charges increased from 981 to 2823 (180 per cent). “The incidence of these complaints will reduce if consumers are only contracted for services they can afford, and where spend management tools such as notifications and usage meters are accurate and reliable,” Ombudsman Simon Cohen said.
Flinders to power excess machinery,” Ms Carey said. “Any energy used on site is replaced to the grid via renewable hydro-electricity, helping to achieve a sustainable community.” Flinders Sourdough, 50 Cook St, Flinders, opens 9am-4pm Friday to Sunday, and sells its bread at several markets, including Mornington Craft Market, Boneo, Mt Eliza, Tootgarook and Red Hill farmers markets. Reprinted courtesy Mornington Peninsula News group, www.mpnews.com.au
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David Allan and Margaret Carey (right) are winemakers who have turned their talented hands to making sourdough bread in a Scotch oven in Flinders. The pair scoured Victoria to find the right oven. Picture by Yanni.
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S S SJuly 2012 | Frankston /S Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 17
S
DALE Stevenson has shoulders that look like they’re built for carrying weights. And that is part of what they do. But what they do best is provide the base against which his arm can work to launch a steel ball weighing 7.26 kilograms. Stevenson’s shoulders are also carrying the weight of Australia’s expectations in the shot put event at next month’s London Olympics. The shot put is being held on the first day of the athletics, 3 August. It is the first of 47 events in the athletics that involves 2000 athletes. Between now and then Stevenson, 23, will have trained in Germany and competed in Madrid, Spain, Sotteville, France, and Poland before setting up camp in London. “I’ll use these comps to tune-up for the games,” Stevenson said two days before leaving his Vermont home. He will be at London’s Olympic village on 29 July, four days before he faces his biggest test yet. “Last year’s world champion from Germany will be a favourite, but the Americans and a Canadian have been in great form and will be gunning for him,” he says. Stevenson’s personal best throw is 20.62 metres and he sees anything over 21m as being “in the mix for medals”. The former state champion and Delhi Commonwealth Games bronze medalist threw his Olympic-qualifier in May while competing in South Carolina, in the United States. “My aim is to make the top 12, which will require a throw of 20.2 plus in the qualifying rounds. It’s important to note that the Olympics are not necessarily the best conditions to throw PBs, it all comes down to handling pressure and head-tohead competition.” Raised in Moorooduc on the Mornington Peninsula and educated at Peninsula School, Mt Eliza, Stevenson has relatively recently added yoga and meditation to his seven-day training regimes. His weekly program includes four throwing sessions, three weight sessions at the gym, three plyometric (power training) circuits and two sessions with a movement coach. This includes yoga, massage, postures, and breathing awareness. “Unlike some other sports, there is a definite limit to the amount of training
Sporting tyro launches heavy metal for medal AUSTRALIAN Olympic shot putter Dale Stevenson and partner Lauren Cleasby-Jones in the days before the peninsula-born athlete leaves for the London games. RIGHT: Stevenson cradles the 7.26kg steel ball which he hopes to toss to victory.
we can do; the intensity required during weights and throwing sessions does not lend itself to any longer durations of work. I started practicing yoga and meditation after elbow surgery in 2011,” Stevenson says. “I found the rehab process to be frustrating and needed an outlet that would allow me to strengthen the elbow again. I learned more about my body through the challenges presented in that space than I had in all my other sporting pursuits combined. I have built some of these philosophies and approaches into my program permanently and am better for it. “Meditation has also provided a great natural avenue for me to rest and rejuvenate, ensuring that I can give 100 per cent energy to my sessions.” Stevenson estimates the yearly cost of being an Olympian at $40,000$50,000. Although sponsors are not lining up outside his door, he gets footwear and apparel from Saucony, and has a manager “to help source some [more sponsors] during this period of very high-exposure”. “We aren’t a professional code like football, yet we train full time and need to
18 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
self-fund the majority of our expenses. “Fortunately, I am now competing at a level where - with the assistance of the Victorian Institute of Sport - most of my medical, travel and training expenses are covered. Athletes at the very top of their event - such as Sally Pearson and Steve Hooker - can do very well from the sport through sponsors and endorsements, but they will admit that their developmental years were extremely challenging financially. “Steve didn’t become a professional athlete until 2007; he won the Olympics the following year. One of the saving graces for our sport is that we have scope to represent sponsors well, unlike team sports who are often more bound by their league and club obligations.” The Bluearth Foundation, a Melbournebased charity that works with schools, employs Stevenson. “I think that they have gained something from having me as an employee, but I hope they realise how grateful I am to have been given the flexibility to not only earn an income, but to do something I truly enjoy. Many athletes end up either
cover story: olympic dreaming
not working and struggling to pay their way through athletics, or working a job they don’t enjoy to make ends meet.” To cope with the demands of a grueling training schedule and constant search for funds, Stevenson advises budding sportspeople to make sure they “love the game”. “The underlying foundations of our energy are based in love, truth and beauty; not money, ego or notoriety. It’s too easy to fall out of love with the sport if you don’t have authentic passion. Also, trust your own wisdom; there is a temptation of the grass being greener, but you need to be able to channel 100 per cent of your energy into training and this can’t be done if you’re constantly questioning your path.” While it may not be in the mainstream of sports Stevenson does not dismiss the prospect of being a professional shot putter. “There are 30-50 professionals in the world. I am ranked inside the top 20 but don’t live in Europe or America, so it’s harder to get the financial support to train professionally. I believe that if I stay focused on enjoying the process the results will keep improving and an opportunity will arise to make a living from throwing.” London has been long-term goal and his future will possibly depend on the result. “My partner Lauren [Cleasby-Jones] has been extremely supportive of my career to now and we have both sacrificed a lot in the aim making this Olympic final. Afterwards, I will sit down with her and a few other stakeholders and reassess the situation going forward.” Lauren and Dale’s parents, Ian and Jenny, will be in London for the Games.
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July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 19
HEALTH
Write out 50 times: homework is bad OK parents, hands up if you think having your children do homework will help them succeed with their grades and do better in life! Hands on head if you pay school fees, expect your kid to come home with a pile of stuff to study, and insist they do it. Dunce’s corner for the lot of you. (Kids, if you are reading this, tear out this page now and leave it somewhere your parents will find it.) One of the few sources of conflict in our household during my daughters’ school years was the homework issue. My wife was big on it; I wasn’t. I told the kids: “Do enough so you don’t get into trouble, and not one minute more. “Then go outside for a while.” At the end of Year 10 I was forced to soften my stand. In the last two years of VCE, I was more like: “OK, if you must…” To be truthful, it was partly because I think the VCE is a form of institutionalised child abuse. I get that the education authorities have made the assessment process as fair as possible, and that most kids ultimately get a score they deserve. And that today’s VCE is vastly better than the one-exam HSC system of my school days. But for the most part it’s a competitive, demoralising, overwhelmingly exhausting experience. And that’s just for the parents. My point here is about the lessons our children take out of their schooling. The No.1 lesson, in my view, ought to be that life is about balance. That you need to work hard, of course, but you must balance that work with rest and enjoyment. If your work is mostly “in your head” – as it is in Year 12 – you need physical activity to balance that. What message are we giving teenagers if we insist that they sit and concentrate in classrooms all day filling their heads with information then send them home with a pile more screens to read and assignments to write?
Michael Ellis*
Chinese Herbalist
The No.1 lesson, in my view, ought to be that life is about balance. That you need to work hard, of course, but you must balance that work with rest and enjoyment. Kids do not need to come home from school and do more schoolwork. Where is the balance in that? We complain that they no longer run around outside, invent games in the back yard, ride to their friends’ house, kick a ball… instead they sit inside getting soft. In Chinese medicine thinking, the energy required for concentrating and studying is the exact same energy as required for producing strong muscles, and for digestion of food. We see a direct link between the vitality of the digestion, the strength and fitness of the circulatory system and muscles, and a person’s ability to concentrate and learn.
20 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
A hell of a lot of Australian kids have a) digestive and metabolic issues, b) weight problems, c) reluctance to exercise, and d) learning difficulties – and variations on these themes. They are four sides of the same coin, or would be if coins were made that way. Why these have become such problems in modern Australia requires a complex explanation (I’ve been banging on for a while about the role of sugar) but it does involve this work-play-exercise dynamic, particularly in the school years. One thing I like about private schools is that most of them make participation in sport compulsory. Even though unpopular with some kids, it does force some balance into what otherwise might be an entirely academic school week. Of course, the schools then undo that positive by loading up students with homework – even in primary school years – supposedly because it gets them in good habits for their later years. Bulldust! If anything it creates bad habits. And private school parents, feeling that they are paying good money for their child’s education and future success, both expect the school to set homework and insist that the kid does it. Even in the holidays. And because the parents expect homework, the school sets it. But kids, that doesn’t mean it’s good for you! Every study ever undertaken in this field has demonstrated that physical health and fitness contribute to academic aptitude. They prove that having adequate exercise, among other outlets, increases your ability to concentrate and to absorb ideas. Healthy body, healthy mind – the connection is indisputable. So my advice to students is this: do not spend your last years at school chained to a desk studying. Do not give up your sport, or your place in the school production, or anything else in your life you do for fun and enjoyment. Strive for balance. Unless you can find that balance, write out 50 times: homework is bad for me! •Michael Ellis is a registered Chinese herbalist in Mt Eliza: www.mtelizaherbal.com
MARKETS
Knowhow may crack the red centre The business chat shows suggest we should all sell and run for the hills. That’s good: when capitulation is crying in the streets it’s time to pay attention especially, when there are more than a few bright spots emerging. One is the shale oil story in northern Australia mentioned last month. Readers may recall that Buru Energy is attempting to tap deep sediments of the Canning Basin to extract gas, wet gas and conventional oil. There was a risk that the latest step-out well would be disappointing, but instead gas pressures were so high the rig pulled out before reaching target depth. This increases the prospects of subsequent test wells and confirms that tight and semi-tight formations cover hundreds of square kilometres. It is very early days but If the ratio of wet gas to dry gas is high across the Basin (gas is sold on its energy content, not on mere volume) Buru could become a $3-4 billion hydrocarbon business without the risks and costs of off-shore energy exploration. We should know in a year’s time whether there is enough extractable gas to build a pipeline to link to the Dampier pipeline to send the gas to Perth, but early indications suggest that that is more likely than not. In Australia’s red centre Central Petroleum (CTP) might do something similar. In the worst markets for 80 years it is up 120 per cent in two months. This is just the start if the exploration story follows the Buru script. CTP’s exploration rights cover 270,000 km2 across an area that has been sporadically explored by the majors over the last 60 years. As with Buru, the change builds on great changes in geological understanding, but also on plain know-how. Imagine strange fish swimming in algae rich seas south of Ayers Rock and you get the first point, but distances, drilling technologies and know-how dictate the rest of the story. In fact, most in the industry thought CTP was almost batty to have a crack at this territory given the costs of deep drilling and a history of big oil groups finding small volumes of light oil and some gas but not much of either. The
Richard Campbell*
Stock Analyst analyst
While this may be no time for investors to be punting on high risk oil and gas, a wider point is worth making. Risk is relative and it keeps changing as technology changes. consensus was that centre was geologically too old, the sedimentary basins too deep and the distances too great for anyone to make a go of it. The mood is now quite different following oil flow at Surprise-1 at 1600 metre depths. Caution is required as there is still a live risk that future discoveries are good enough to encourage management, but not good enough to create good cash-flow. But the interesting point is that it took just one experienced new hire to turn sentiment around. Dalton Hallgren had worked on most of the US shale plays and recognised the similarities within a week of arriving. He suggested a horizontal
attack rather than plain vertical drilling. It worked. Analysts are now talking of how cheap CTP is per hectare and of prospects of 16 billion barrels of oil energy equivalent. While this may be no time for investors to be punting on high risk oil and gas, a wider point is worth making. Risk is relative and it keeps changing as technology changes. Think of it in reverse. In 2006 when the Fairfax group was trading at $5.30 as opposed to 55-60c now, it asked the experienced news editor Eric Beecher to report on the future of its 150-year-old mastheads. His report gave options but it was not what board members wanted to hear. An angered former CEO of one of our largest companies demanded that the report be pulped. It was sheer heresy to suggest that on-line ads would soon overtake five centuries of print. It is a story of our times. Like it or not, the destructive and often toxic new world is bursting through. Even in China factories are moving inland to cope with rising costs. But there are opportunities a plenty in health care, food supply, energy savings and the like. China’s pollution is costing it 3-4 per cent of GDP a year. We now see solar energy as cheap as coal if storage can be combined. As always the future belongs to the adaptable. Let’s not pulp its pages as they arrive. *Richard Campbell is Executive Director of Peninsula Capital Management, Tel. 9642 0545
July 2012 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 21
management
Value of collaboration Running a small business can be a lonely affair, as you can feel isolated in your own set of challenges and problems. If you are lucky, you may have one or two people within your business as partners who can share your issues and act as a sounding board for your ideas. There are, however, many ways that you can gain help from people outside your business through effective collaboration with outside groups. There are many different dimensions to collaboration and it is often overlooked as an area of broad opportunity to stimulate great business ideas where you can find ideas and tools that will help you improve and grow your business. This improvement process through the support of others can be characterised as “find a few friends and light a few fires”. The first place to seek a few friends is within your group of existing business partners. This would include suppliers, financial institutions or backers, and even customers. It is well worth taking some time out of your day-to-day operations to sit down with them and ask them to reflect on your business relationships. The benefit of working with this group is that they will have a perspective on your business because of their regular transactional interface. A great collaboration opportunity is with business associations within your type of business. There are literally hundreds of business associations across Australia, which have a focussed group of members that seek to represent that specific business niche. This representation is usually focussed on government policy but often extends to collective representation to the general public as well. You have probably seen examples of this with the recent campaign by the mining industry to humanise their business through television advertising. While some of these groups ask for membership fees and other support, the benefit that you gain from the membership is access to many peers in a similar business that are usually struggling with the same business dynamics as yours. There are also a wide range of geographically defined associations that focus on a specific area of the country. While these groups are usually from diverse businesses,
Hamish Petrie*
Business Consultant
their major benefit is that can focus on addressing the forces at work within a specific area, which will usually contain a large proportion of your customers. The geographical focus of these associations can range from a wide region like southeast Melbourne down to a specific suburb or even to a specific shopping precinct. If your business does not have a geographical focus, then, in recent times, Internet-based associations have formed to represent Internet and home-based businesses. Again, these generally provide assistance with tools and techniques to assist you in your business. Another effective dimension for collaboration is to participate in the business award processes that are available in your area. Most local councils sponsor award programs but award processes also operate at a state and federal level, like the Telstra Australian Business Awards. While some of these awards provide a financial prize, the major benefit comes from assessing your business against a set of ideas that have been developed by Australia’s most successful businesses. This is an effective way to identify other businesses that can be a source of ideas and stimulation for you. Even if your current business does not qualify as an award winner, participation in the process will provide a great set of tools to review your business and to highlight gaps that exist in your current processes. It is also valuable to visit the winners, and seek out ideas that you can apply in your business. Learning from their successes and failures is a great way to accelerate your business improvement. Remember – “a wise man learns from the mistakes of others, a fool from his own”. Franchised businesses have a natural advantage in collaboration as they come
22 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | July 2012
with a set of business tools to help set up the business and a collective marketing process. The growth of franchising is testimony to demonstrate that sharing of best practices, and collaboration between like businesses will produce better results for all of the participants. Even though most of your support comes from your franchiser, there are still franchise associations that represent the collective group of all franchisers and franchisees like the Franchise Council of Australia. All of these opportunities for collaboration will take some time and some money, in terms of membership fees, but the most important thing to remember is that you will only get out of them what you put into them. It is your personal time and effort that will make the difference to your business, so if you participate in one or more of these organisations, then put in your personal time and intellect and ensure that you are receptive to the ideas and stimulation that they provide. Listen to the issues, read the notes and seek out others who are doing a better job in a facet of business so that you can learn from them. You need all the help that you can get today to run a small business and I am confident that effective participation in these types of collaborative processes will help you to stimulate, innovate and improve your business.
Action Planning Questions: 1. Have you taken time out in the past year to review your business with any of your existing business partners? 2. Have you identified specific business associations that can represent your interests and act as a source of learning and selected one or two to join? 3. Have you researched business awards available in your area and identified specific ones that will help your business improve? 4. Are you effectively participating in business associations and giving and receiving ideas that will stimulate your business processes? *Hamish Petrie had a 37-year corporate career including 25 with Alcoa Inc. His latest position was VP People and Communications for the Global Alcoa Corporation based in New York. he can be contacted at hamish@ nitroworld.net or on 0404345103. © Hamish Petrie 2012
refinancing
Treating loans the right way Now that the new property market is starting to dry up in Melbourne we are starting to see mortgage brokers target consumers to refinance home loans and save money. The main reason consumers refinance their home loans are to swap lenders and access a cheaper deal. But what will you really save out of refinancing? It is common for an average loan holder to be able to save $1000 dollars a year. A recent advertisement from one of Australia’s largest brokers stated they could save customers $5000 in five years – sounds good doesn’t it? It is a well-positioned ad, I’ll give it that much but when you boil it down it means you are saving $19.23 a week. Will you really notice $19.23 savings a week? Most people wouldn’t; so the question you should be asking is “will I benefit out of refinancing?” When people want to reduce debt and improve their finances, the biggest challenge for me is getting people to look at their finances in the right perspective. Here is an observation I often use with my clients. An average mortgage of $300,000 paid over a standard 30 years can cost up
Refinancing can be beneficial but you will benefit mostly by understanding that this is only a small part of a much bigger picture and that changing loans will not fix everything. $800,000 by the time it’s repaid, depending on rate fluctuations. By comparison an average single wage of $65,000 over that period is $1,950,000. What is the most important figure, $800,000 or $1.95 million? When you are focusing on the $1.95 million what you are actually starting to do is manage your finances as a whole with the realisation that your debt is only a part of your finances. If you manage your finances as a whole, the debt will automatically be addressed. Concentrating on your mortgage and stressing yourself is not going to reduce the mortgage, you cannot control the mortgage. Concentrating on your income and how you manage it is something that you can control. By doing this you can control how much you
pay toward your loan and save more money than you ever will by refinancing. Refinancing can be beneficial but you will benefit mostly by understanding that this is only a small part of a much bigger picture and that changing loans will not fix everything. By William Bell, credit advisor Victorian Finance Group.
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