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brotherhood of the
brewery
THE REALISATION OF EVERY MAN’S DREAM
SOCIAL ANALYST LOOKS AT TRENDS BUSINESS NORMALITY IN THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE
A SHELTER FROM DEADLY FLAMES DUAL PURPOSE WATER TANK A HAVEN FOR FIREFIGHTERS
Start your engines. SAVE TIME AND FUEL - The un-tolled Peninsula Link freeway is now open. With EastLink, Peninsula Link provides quick and reliable access between the Mornington Peninsula, Frankston, Dandenong and Melbourne’s east. Do your business planning now so that your business is ready to take full advantage of the Peninsula Link growth engine.
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ISSUE 31 / FEBRUARY 2013
FRANKSTON / MORNINGTON PENINSULA / DANDENONG
Departments
TONY MURRELL KEITH PLATT MARG HARRISON DAVID HILET MELANIE LARKE SIMON BROWN Design MARLON PLATT
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COVER: The old saying is that it’s every bloke’s dream to own a brewery. Matt Bebe and a few mates stopped dreaming and did something about it. Now Mornington Peninsula Brewery is in its second year and “hopping” : P12
This issue
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engines.
is now open. a Link freeway between Peninsul access - The un-tolled quick and reliable e’s east. Melbourn AND FUEL Link provides, Dandenong and SAVE TIME take full Peninsula is ready to With EastLink,on Peninsula, Frankstonthat your business now so the Morningt engine. planning Link growth Do your business e of the Peninsula advantag
. franchising .
. insolvency & bankruptcy .
YEAR.OF THE SNAKE: intellectual property licensing
David Chalke looks at & technology transfers . business in 2013.
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BlueScope downsize makes . local government . Inghams biggest employer.
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news
n Bizzquiz Edy Wilfling has joined Wayne Gillan at Action Coach Business Coach in Carrum Downs. He was coached by Action Coach founder Brad Sugars, where he learnt how to buy, build and sell businesses and now has taken on a coaching role to help other business owners achieve their goals and dreams. Edy has a background in corporate hospitality at Jupiters Casino Gold Coast and the Hyatt organisation in Melbourne. He did account management at Recall with national clients including GE money, Rio Tinto, BHP and IOOF. Victoria Police officer, working in and around Springvale and Dandenong. In 10 years I will be ... Coaching for six months and travelling for six months.
NURSING REVAMP Southern Cross Care will redevelop its Langhorne St Dandenong nursing home, almost doubling the bed capacity from 62 to 120. Greater Dandenong Council has agreed to the demolition of the existing residential aged care facility containing a 52-bed nursing home and 10 independent living units. The new 120-bed aged care facility will cater for residents with needs in respite, transitional and dementia care, along with community care facilities for the residents. The proposed double storey facility will have two winged sections connected by a roofed corridor. There will be on-site parking for 36 cars.
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I dreamed of being … A super hero Thor the God of Thunder. My first paid job was ... Other than a paper boy my first real job was a
Our business planning entails ... 90-day goal setting, and doubling our business in 2013. Tip for success ... Read and become more knowledgeable, taking action and surround yourself with successful positive people. I am inspired by ... Arnold Schwarzenegger. Anyone starting a business should ... Get a mentor, and work on the business not in the business. I’ll know I’m successful when ... Success to me is ongoing as there is always a new challenge and greater things to achieve. My mother and father always told me ... respect yourself and others, be honest and conduct your dealings with integrity. I wish I had ... started setting goals when I was 18, and read more books. I wish I had not ... listened to negative people
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BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
‘Revitalisation’ stays on track Places Victoria says it has has scaled down its involvement with the Revitalising Central Dandenong project in line with the completion of most major infrastructure works. Two sites within the seven-hectare re-development area have been taken up – one for a new City of Greater Dandenong civic centre (under construction with a February 2014 completion date) and the other for the eight-storey Government Services Office (completed) and two others are on the market. The two sites up for sale are both in Walker Street (west of Robinson Street). “The rate of development and investment attraction is on track for what will be a 15 to 20-year urban renewal project,” Places Victoria acting CEO Simon Wilson said. “Places Victoria’s vision is for medium to high density mixed use – residential and commercial – developments on the master-planned RCD sites.” Mr Wilson said the $340 million of “private investment” attracted by the project over the past seven years included the civic centre and government offices. Places Victoria was hoping to realise a further $700 million as part of its “business case target”. The “remaining public realm infrastructure will be completed by mid-2013”. “Places Victoria currently has two sites currently out in the market place. These processes are both live and their outcomes will be known later in the year.” Doubts have been cast over the capacity of Places Victoria to complete the Dandenong project with reports
The Government Services Building is the most prominent tangible so far of Dandenong’s revitalisation program which Planning Minister Matthew Guy, left, and mayor Angela Long, right, are confident will remain on track despite jobs being cut at Places Victoria.
of an $18 million loss, staff cuts and closure of its Dandenong office. The Age reported that private developers believed it would be too costly to build at Dandenong and that the state government was not committing to any further funding. The previous Labor government allocated $290 million. The newspaper quoted Planning Minister Matthew Guy as saying Places Victoria did not need a Dandenong office because its work “is actually drawing to a conclu-
sion … It was established to advise local traders and residents as to the future of the central activities area precinct, but given all the street works are long complete, this level of advice was no longer necessary”. Greater Dandenong mayor Cr Angela Long said she was “quite happy” with Places Victoria. “We’ve got what we were promised.” She said the $63 million civic centre and library would include a civic square and large outdoor TV screens.
Millions spent on freeway to save motoring minutes The $759 million 27-kilometre Peninsula Link addition to the EastLink tollway and Mornington Peninsula Freeway is up and running. Opened 18 January by the Premier Ted Baillieu (accompanied by a posse of MPs, including Jude Perera, the sole representative of the Labor government that commissioned the project), the new road is predicted to cut 17 minutes from travelling times
between Carrum Downs and Mt Martha. In the days following the opening motorists reported a noticeable drop in traffic on Nepean Highway between Frankston and Mornington and on the Frankston section of Moorooduc Highway, particularly Moorooduc. The new way onto the peninsula may bring a new set of problems for local roads, with Mornington Peninsula Shire issuing
predictions of a bottleneck forming in Jetty Rd, Rosebud, on 26 January, Australia Day. Road authorities hope the normal dayto-day traffic volumes will be filtered off Peninsula Link before reaching Rosebud. If real estate agents’ predictions are to be believed, the road will also lead to a rise in property prices. Tourism operators are hoping it will deliver more customers, more quickly.
February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 5
BUSY BITES
SMALL ENTERPRISES ARE EXPECTING GROWTH
Parking an issue: community survey Frankston Council needs to improve parking availability and waste management, according to the latest community satisfaction survey. Ratepayers also say they are concerned about public safety (law enforcement), traffic management, maintenance and cleanliness of public areas and the need for more communication and interaction between council and the community. Council formally acknowledged the concerns and agreed to better communicate priorities and actions through its City News publication and other media. The council said that the new standardised survey showed that it had performed “very well” in 2012, with an overall performance ranking above the outer metro average and also the statewide average. Just over half of respondents (51 per cent) thought that the presentation and cleanliness of the Central Activities District was up to scratch. Frankston Waterfront, on the other hand, had a significantly higher rating of 74 per cent.
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Not only should there bemore parking, it should be free, said respondents to the survey taken last July.
New research shows Australian business conditions might not be as dour as many predict, with 84 per cent of businesses saying they expect to grow or maintain their profitability levels in 2013. Mentoring organisation The Executive Connection (TEC) says small businesses were even more confident, with 96 per cent of companies with an annual turnover of under $1.5 million expecting profits to rise or remain at current levels. The Executive Connection CEO Nikki Potter says that while the results confound much of the current business analysis, they are certainly good news for the Australian economy. “SMEs are the backbone of the Australian economy, and the fact that so many are confident of increasing their sales and profitability is a great sign for us all.” Ms Potter said the survey shows resilience of businesses and reflects a growing understanding of how a business can increase and maintain profitability during a downturn.” The survey also shows that businesses expect consumers to continue opening their wallets in the coming year, with 51 per cent believing sales revenue to increase in 2013. This confidence was not reflected among larger companies however, with over one quarter (27 per cent) of businesses with an annual turnover of above $100 million saying they believed sales would decline in the coming year.
free planning apps Success in business depends largely upon a well thought out plan, a marketing strategy and a stepby-step emergency management and recovery plan. Business experts have teamed with business.gov. au to create a suite of free planning apps accessible anytime, anywhere. The apps includes: • MyBizPlan - an interactive business plan template
that guides you through the process of creating a solid, well-structured business plan, tailored to your business. • MarketMyBiz - an interactive marketing plan template that guides you through the process of creating a marketing plan to help you achieve your business goals. • MyBizShield - Steps you through the process of creating a solid, well-structured emergency management and recovery plan, tailored to your business. Download the Business Apps on an iPad and start planning. Otherwise, the business planning templates are available as a Word version.
Online trends Freelancer.com has released the Freelancer Fast 50 report for Q4 2012, tracking trends in the online jobs market. Website hosting tops the list as cloud computing takes off; Windows desktop apps increase after the release of Microsoft Windows 8; Apple AppFatigue sets in; Software and Website QA jobs soar as eCommerce sites rushed to fortify themselves for holiday season traffic; eBay jobs rise as the online marketplace reinvents itself; and social media and internet marketing jobs continue to fall out of favour in the wake of constant platform and search index changes.
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6 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
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heading overseas: watch your cash and costs
Pay on backburner
Often the underlying stress of travel can rob you of your wits as you juggle bookings, timetables, appointments, negotiations and transport. These tips, mostly just common sense, will reduce the chances of losses and rip-offs • Research your travel money options - Before you go overseas look into your credit card’s foreign currency conversion fees, charges and exchange rates as you can save yourself hundreds of dollars by doing so. • Consider a no-foreign-currency-exchange-fee credit card - There are some credit cards that don’t charge for foreign currency exchange conversion and can save you between 2% - 3.5% on foreign currency conversion charges. Visit www.creditcardfinder. com.au/foreign-currency-international-fees-forcredit-cards.html • Notify your bank - Before you head off, notify your bank of your travel plans and contact details so they won’t flag your transactions as suspicious or fraudulent when they see international purchases on your accounts. • Always have some cash on you – As a backup keep a small amount of cash with you just in case you are unable to use your credit card or withdraw money from an ATM. • Keep all receipts from purchases or payments – This will allow you to correctly verify them against your statement on your return home and will be helpful if you ever have any transaction disputes or need to do a chargeback. • Avoid exchanging cash at the airport – Airport exchanges have much higher transaction fees than your bank. • Separate where you store your credit cards, cash and passport. It’s important to take more than one
Travellers also want to avoid high global roaming charges like the $147,908 mobile phone bill incurred by a woman on a nine-week tourig holiday in Europe. Before travelling overseas, contact your telco and make sure they are fully informed about all potential costs and charges of international roaming and other international telephone services. Find out the costs of global roaming for voice and data services before using either service. Ask whether your telco has products designed specifically for roaming, such as data roaming packs: these may reduce your overall costs. As when buying any product, ask questions so that you understand what you are agreeing to and the possible costs involved. Even if you have used global roaming previously, it is still important to contact your provider because the costs can vary significantly between countries. You can ask your telco to restrict your access to global roaming (if this was previously set up). Also find out how you can turn off global roaming and data settings on your phone. To avoid international call charges for incoming calls, you can set an unconditional call diversion to voicemail before leaving Australia. This means that all incoming calls divert directly to voicemail and will remain within the Australian network. Your provider will be able to explain the remote retrieval process and costs to you. If you incur a large roaming bill, you should contact your telco and ask for more information about how it was incurred. If you believe the debt is not correct and you cannot resolve the issue with your provider, contact the Telecommunictaion Industry Ombudsman.
International phone costs
Pay increases and fun work environments are being dropped as a way of engaging staff and being replaced by training a development. The swing towards “all work and no more pay or play” is shown in the results of a survey of 192 Australian businesses, 90 per cent of which had more than 100 staff. “Employers in today’s economic environment are stripping their business back to basics when it comes to rewarding employees, with financial incentives and workplace culture both now low on the agenda,” Tonkin Corporation chairman Kenelm Tonkin said. The survey showed employers will leverage ongoing training and development to engage employees in 2013 while only 2.6 per cent will offer financial incentives. Just 2.1 per cent of employers will use practices that make the workplace fun, despite 20 per cent of them stating that workplace culture is the most significant reason why they have been unable to retain employees in the past 12 months. The top three methods being used to engage employees were training and development (22.4 per cent), rewards and recognition (13.5 per cent), and career progression (12.5 per cent).
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Travelling overseas for business or pleasure requires some planning to protect your money and any financial transactions you are considering.
card overseas as a backup in case your wallet is stolen. It is also important to have a copy of all your identification documents.
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February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | BusinessTimes | 7
NETWORKING
1. Proudly Frankston ran a business breakfast hosted by Seaford Tigers Junior Football Club at the new St Kilda rooms at Belvedere Park, Seaford. Pictured with Proudly Frankston leader Alan Wickes (right) is financial services consultant Greg Brown, former Essendon full back and current Bomber board member. 2. Community Real Estate director James Crowder (centre) with Community Real Estate sales consultant John Young (left) and Mark White, of Supersigns.
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3. Saints chief operating officer Terry Dillon was a guest speaker along with Frankston City CEO Dennis Hovenden at the Proudly FrankstonSeaford Tigers business breakfast. 4. Business breakfast guests David Extance, of Signarama, Frankston, Gary Rowley, of Ritchies, and Carolyn Johnson, of CMJ Solutions. 5. Tracey McCartney, Frankston Dolphins, Maria Marziale, of South East Water, and Wayne Barr, of Supersigns.
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6. Frankston Business Chamber executive officer Karin Hann with former AFL star Shane Wakelin, general manager of commercial operations for the Saints.
8 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
7. Proudly Frankston leader Alan Wickes with Suzette Tayler, who has won a seat on Frankston City council after a break of several years.
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8. Frankston Tourism held its Christmas networking meeting at McClelland Gallery, Langwarrin, on November 27. From left are Donna Waxiel, Conleth Roche, manager of RACV Cape Schanck Resort, and Lyn Johnson, deputy director of McClelland Gallery. 9. Mornington Chamber of Commerce held its Christmas break-up at The Rocks, Mornington Harbour, on 27 November. From left are committee member Judy Edwards, Melanie Sayers and Jeni Doherty, chamber market and office manager.
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10. Opening of the Sand Sculpting Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summer exhibition at Frankston foreshore on 21 December: new Frankston City CEO Dennis Hovenden with Sandstorm Events director Sharon Redmond. 11. Channel 9 presenter Laura Turner and Frankston City PR officer Emma Smith at the sand sculpture launch.
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12. Also at the sand sculpture launch were Frankston City economic development manager Sam Jackson and Dr Glen Croy.
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February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 9
NETWORKING
How to network with the elephant in the room Those benefiting from business networking know that belonging to a regularly scheduled networking group helps establish and maintain relationships that can prosper for years. However, it’s almost inevitable, especially in the ways that these groups are structured, that you wind up in business networking situations with people that you simply just can’t stand to be around. Here are three of the most common reasons and some suggestions on how to navigate gracefully and comfortably around these potentially awkward situations. 1. When a referral from one member to another has gone bad . People tend to talk about each other, not to each other. Suppose that Margaret gives Larry a referral and for some reason Larry did not deliver what he promised. What tends to happen is that Margaret then tells her friend Sam what an idiot Larry is, and how bad his service is…without ever going to Larry and talking to him to personally discover what went on and discuss how it could be fixed. At best, this behavior perpetuates the
Dr lvan Misner*
Networking specialist
If you take a few minutes right after (a problem arises) to tak about it in a non-confrontational way, you’ll avoid making an awkward situation even worse. negative feelings – at worst, it exacerbates them. In my experience, in more than 90 per cent of cases like these, it turns out that there was actually nothing wrong with the referral…it was simply a matter of miscommunication! If you take a few minutes right after it happens to talk about it in a non-confrontational way, you’ll avoid making an awkward situation even worse. 2. A personal disagreement Don’t focus on the problem: focus on the solution. Here is what I suggest to leaders of any networking groups to do when it comes time to intervene in a member dispute. Take aside the member doing the complaining and
APPOINTMENTS
Graeme Marchant is business solutions specialist at Telstra Business Centre, Mornington. Graeme started with Telecom in 1993 in sales when analogue phones the size of bricks were beginning to become an important part of business communication. Appointed store manager in 1996 he managed some of the largest Telstra retail stores in Melbourne. He has a wide range of knowledge on mobiles, data and fixed line services and enjoys the customer interaction that providing telco solutions to businesses provides.
Garrie Goodall has been appointed Learn Local coordinator for SkillsPlus Cheltenham. His role is setting up training courses relevant to the local job market. Garrie worked for 22 years at BlueScope’s hot strip mill, Hastings, until it closed in 2011. He began retraining through SkillsPlus Frankston where he did certificate courses in training and assessment and occupational health and safety. He says Skillplus gave him a”sound insight” into new career paths.
10 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
ask them: “Just how bad is this situation?” Give them a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the best and one being the worst. Most of the time, the answer is three or four. After the member answers – and if they do indeed answer three or four on the scale – ask them this: “Why is it so high?” They will look at you like you are crazy, and probably say something like, “But it is low!” Sure, it’s not a nine or a 10, but ask them: “What is good about the person you are in this disagreement with – to the point that you didn’t give them a one or a two?” And most of the time, they will come up with more than one good thing about him or her. The leaders should help the member build on that, and encourage open, honest – and direct – communication between the two members (just as in the first situation above, communication is key). This way, the members can deal with the problem, while also embracing the positive feelings that each member will almost always have in some form or another for the other, as building blocks for finding a solution to the issue. 3. Networking with former spouses, girl/ boyfriends. A break-up can lead to awkward moments when you have to face the person regularly. But I argue that the value of the network is so high, that it’s worth working through those feelings – feelings that usually fade, as most people participating in a business networking group are highly professional, evidenced by their joining such a group in the first place. So, to put it bluntly: suck it up and continue to network. Don’t lose a network of valuable referral sources you have built over a few days or weeks of discomfort at the most. And remember – the more professional you remain throughout the breakup and in the time immediately following (by not talking badly about the other person, or bringing your personal situation into the business operations of the group), the more highly you will be viewed by the other members. It’s the end game that you should be working toward, and that is growing your business. Don’t ever burn bridges with people in your group because you never know – you might end up being friends and valued referral partners. Dr Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the founder and Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organisation. Dr Misner is also the senior partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company.
Seven things to do now for your business to start 2013 with a bang!
1. Review your business plan: Everyone has got a business plan, right? The start of the year is a great time to dust it off and review it. The most important part of the plan is the goals, because thinking about those goals will highlight shortcomings in the business at present that prevent you from achieving those goals and rectifying those shortcomings becomes your short term goals. 2. Review your marketing plan: How does your marketing plan look? How did the marketing work last year? Marketing is critical to growing your business and there are a lot of channels that can help you to grow your business. Which one is right for your business? Facebook, SEO, SEM, Twitter, EDM, DM, telemarketing. Now is the time to be putting your marketing plan in place for the rest of the year.
3. Conduct an audit of your IT System: Now that you have your business plan in place, look at where you IT systems are at and how they will support the business and marketing plans over the next 12 months. 4. Digital Signage: Taking data from your CRM, finance and line of business applications and publishing it for everyone to see can make an incredible difference in employee performance. It is the quickest and simplest way of achieving alignment between your business plan and your team. 5.Test you backups: Not very exciting, but critical to the survival of your business if your server dies. Many new customers coming in do not have adequate backup solutions.
6 Personal productivity: There are never enough hours in the day to get everything finished, so everyone needs to be as productive as they can. Whether it’s email on phones, working remotely from home, or using Sharepoint to organise your documents better, there is always something you can do to increase the productivity of your team and yourself.
7. Networking: As an IT company, you would expect us to be big on networking, but this is networking with your customers, suppliers and even competitors. Whether it is an industry event, a Chamber of Commerce networking night or just a catch up for a coffee, networking is a great way to grow your business..
The Digital Dashboard at Red Balloons. Key information about the business is displayed for everyone to see. This one has the days to Christmas, sales for the day, Facebook likes and even their BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), so everyone knows how the company is tracking to the business plan.
How can Extreme Networks help? If you don’t have a business plan, email us and we can send you a template plan to get you started. If you’re looking to find more customers online, call us to see how we can help you increase traffic to your website and get more customers contacting you today for the products and services that you offer. We conduct audits every week for new and existing customers. Our methodology means they are quick and easy to complete and give you a clear indication of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in your business around your IT infrastructure. We can also help with digital signage and trial restores from your backup. If you would like to see digital signage in action, organise a visit to our office and find out how much of a difference it has made in our business.
7 Reasons to Call Extreme Networks
We take care of the computers while you take care of business!
Available: We have 14 engineers ready to help your business. Fast: We are local, based in Seaford and have a 4 hour response time. Convenient: We come to you at the time that’s right for you. Quality: The Mornington Peninsula’s only Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Experience: We have been serving local business since 1999. Affordable: Set monthly plans with all the support you need. Confidence: Talk to one of our references and find out why we are the Peninsula No 1 choice for IT support.
9785 7162 www.extremenetworks.com.au
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February 2013| Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 11
cover story: MORNINGTON PENINSULA BREWERY
The ownership of Mornington Peninsula Brewery is pretty much a men’s club. Most regular beer drinkers are male and it comes as no surprise to learn that the brewery’s 20 shareholders are all males – although with the blessings and backing of their partners or wives. That last part of the description of who is involved in the brewery was emphasised by its CEO Matt Bebe. If it were written he’d probably underline this fact. However, he’s the first to admit shareholder meetings are fairly blokey. Bebe’s tale of the beginnings of the brewery are equally male centric. “Mal McLean [a dentist neighbour in Mt Eliza] and I were having a drink after the Hawks lost the 2008 grand final and decided that owning a micro brewery would be good. “The next day he went off to commiserate with the Hawks and their fans and I did a business plan. “I had never done one before, but found a form on the net and started by filling it in.” With the plan and an offer document under their arms the two approached friends and family, signing up 20 shareholders in a $1 million venture capital-raising exercise within 12 months. The figures were within the limits specified by ASIC
WORDS AND PICTURES: KEITH PLATT (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) before a company requires listing on the stock exchange. Not all shareholders have the same amount invested, but the pair was delighted by the reaction, “especially as it was in the middle of the GFC [global financial crisis], Bebe says, while sitting in his office at the front of the Watt Rd, Mornington, factory that contains the subsequent micro brewery. The possible ill-timing of their search for backers was highlighted when the banks withdrew support just two weeks away from the date they had set for the capital raising to end. “We had to go back and raise more money with the risky potential business model. “But we broke even in the first year [2010] and are now looking to expand.” The brewery has five full-time staff and 10 casuals. Bebe, who has a Batchelor of Science, is a former maths and science teacher (and pupil) at the Peninsula School, Mt Eliza, says it had been a long-held ambition to be in business for himself “by the time I was 40”. He has also been in “pharmaceutical sales” and human resources but cheerfully admits his only training in microbreweries had been a liking for their product. “I call it research and development, my wife Rachael says it’s recreation.” This background research and a “customer knows best” ethos seem to have been a good basis for success. The brewery’s motto, “be true to the beer and those who drink it”, is combined with a logo containing the Latin “aurum potabile” - which Bebe translates as meaning drinkable gold. It actually describes the fabled alchemists medicinal cure-all, which dates back to the 1400s and is now a part of some homeopathic mixtures. Beer drinkers might make similar claims for their favourite golden brew, even if it does not contain any metal.
12 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
Bof rtheob Left: Mornington Peninsula Brewery CEO Matt Bebe had the idea of owning a brewery in a conversation after watching the 2008 premiership game in which Geelong beat Hawthorn. Below: The line-up of beers available at the Mornington Peninsula Brewery deep within Mornington’s light industrial area.
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Certainly for Mornington Peninsula Brewery investors their factory could be turning into a goldmine. Besides their own outlet, which opens Thursday to Sunday, the Mornington brews (pale, witbier brown and any number of “specialities”) are sold in 150 restaurants and bottle shops. Bebe sees this off-trade as “golden nuggets”. “The on-trade [sales at the brewery itself] is the cash flow but I always knew we had potential for off-trade.” Bebe says there is good co-operation between microbrewers, “it’s like a brotherhood”. He says Mornington was identified as the “gap in the market” on the Mornington Peninsula, which already had microbreweries at Red Hill (Red Hill Brewery) and Dromana (Hickinbotham). Mornington had no shortage of pubs, but no microbrewery. Manufacturing beer also made it relatively easy gaining the permits needed to open up in a light industrial area rather than the town’s commercial hub. Besides lessons learned from existing microbrewers, Bebe also sought advice and equipment from Integrated Brewing Solutions. Since opening, Mornington Peninsula Brewery has evolved a three-tier system of beers, including stock beers through to one-off specials. The tier system was not part of the business plan but if a beer survives the taste test and proves popular with drinkers, it may be added to the second tier and produced in draft and bottles. The biggest seller is pale ale and makes up 50 per cent of production.
Above: Hops grow over the brewery logo. Above right: Chief brewer Andrew Gow at the helm of the beer-making process at Mornington Peninsula Brewery.
“Our clientele are mostly discerning beer drinkers. We are a destination and they have a reason for coming here,” Bebe says. “It is a true Australian watering hole for someone to come with a partner or friend. They can have a wine or a beer with pizza. We have cider and Mornington Peninsula wines from Crittendens, Dromana Estate, Balnarring Vineyard and Box Stallion.” Most customers are 25-55 year old males, although live music on Sundays attracts “all ages and families”. Chief brewer Andrew Gow is the only shareholder besides Bebe involved in the day-to-day running of the business. The remaining 18 shareholders can attend business meetings and some are on two committees, sales and marketing and finance. The art skills of shareholder Rod Attenborough, a creative director, were harnessed to design the brewery’s logo. Token hops are grown around the metal Mornington Peninsula Brewery logo pinned to the wall of the beer garden, a reminder of beer’s natural origins to shareholders and fellow beer drinkers. “We’re based around the education of the beer, the same as wineries are with wine,” Bebe says.
Februaryr 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 13
frankston ARTS centre
2013 Theatre Season • Food
Friday 22 March @ 8pm. Captioned performance. On a stretch of Australian highway, two sisters run a takeaway joint – their days heavy with Chiko Rolls and memories.
• Boxman
Thurs. 18 April @ 1pm & 8pm. Captioned performance. A powerful, critically acclaimed new Australian play, Boxman is a one-man show written by Daniel Keene and directed by Matt Scholten with the extraordinary African actor Terry Yeboah performing.
• Jack Charles V The Crown
Ilbijerri Theatre Company Wed. 1 May @ 1pm & 8pm. Captioned performance Uncle Jack Charles veteran actor, musician, Koori elder, activist and, until recently, heroin addict and cat-burglar. This is a show about his life – told by him.
• Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow
Sunday 5 May @ 8pm A whole festival of comedy in one big show. Stuffing one of the world’s largest comedy festivals into the one show is no easy feat, but the Melbourne International Comedy Festival has done just that.
• Noel and Gertie
Thurs. 20 June @ 1pm & 8pm. Captioned performance. Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence formed a legendary on and off stage partnership.
• Art
Thursday 4 July @ 8pm. Captioned performance. Friends. You love them but sometimes you just can’t understand them. Especially when they do something completely unexpected... something that makes you wonder how they ever became your friends.
• Happy As Larry
Wednesday 7 August @ 8pm ...a new dance work which investigates the elusive nature of human happiness. Created by award winning choreographer Shaun Parker.
• The Comedy Of Errors
by William Shakespeare Saturday 17 August @ 8pm. Captioned performance. A Bell Shakespeare and State Theatre Company of South Australia co-production. • Kinship Bangarra Dance Theatre Wednesday 4 September Rekindling the Indigenous culture of Australia, internationally acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre has created an original and breathtaking theatrical experience •
Cosi Fan Tutte
Saturday 14 September @ 7.30pm Melbourne Opera performs Mozart’s great comedy which has been updated to the Peninsula in the swinging 1960s.
• Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Saturday 26 October @ 8pm. Pre-show talk 7pm
• When Dad Married Fury
By David Williamson Wed. 13 November @ 8pm. Captioned performance. Watch out, because here comes the bride... Brothers Ian and Ben are on their way to Sydney to visit their recently widowed father. Three big surprises are in store when they arrive at his 75th birthday celebrations. Bookings: Tel: 03 9784 1060. www.artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au
Festival doco helps boost funds for Mexico mission AN AUSSIE COUPLE WHO HAVE DEDICATED THEIR LIVES TO A MISSION IN COASTAL MEXICO ARE TEACHING THE CHILDREN THE JOYS OF SURFING. A DOCUMENTARY ‘SOMEWHERE NEAR TAPACHULA’ SCREENED AT FRANKSTON’S 2013 VENTANA FESTIVAL WILL HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR THE MISSION. In November 2000, Alan and Pam Skuse left their home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to volunteer for a year at an orphanage in Tapachula, a coastal city in Mexico. They had no idea that the organisation they signed on with would close after six months, leaving them with a choice: return to Australia or take on the overwhelming challenge of caring for the abandoned children. Pam and Alan lacked resources and critical support, but they dreamed of creating a true refuge, a unique surf community where children who had suffered unimaginable trauma found peace in a caring home and the freedom of surfing. The Skuses decided to sell their house and dedicate their lives to helping the children of Mission Mexico. Said Pam: “To stay in Tapachula and continue this work was very difficult for us. We had only planned on doing 12 months’ volunteer work, so to think about an indefinite period of time was daunting. “We had no support and would have to rely on our own savings to continue. Our grasp of Spanish was minimal and we also had no local support.” Twelve years later, they care for 54 children and more than 200 children have passed through their care. “Surfing has become a huge part of the life of Mission Mexico,” says Pam. “It is giving these kids a challenge, a challenge to better themselves. They are learning qualities like patience and perseverance. Each week they improve and little by little they are feeling satisfied with their efforts. It also provides a place of escape from the pasts that haunt them.”
14 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
Alan and Pam Skuse.
Peninsula Surf, a pioneer of surf-related retailing in Frankston, will support the screening of ‘Somewhere near Tapachula’ and the subsequent auction to help Mission Mexico. Founder Ted Bainbridge, who opened the first of the company’s six stores in Nepean Highway in 1974, will be the auctioneer. Peninsula Surf and Global Surf Industries will donate a surfboard for the auction. A wet suit will go under the hammer, too. Global is already a significant supporter of the mission. Bainbridge has appealed to the surfing community to get behind the event. “Pam and Alan Skuse are inspiring examples of how like-minded people can make a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable children. Surfers young and not-soyoung will rally to a cause like this,” Bainbridge said. Prue Latchford’s Point Leo-based East Coast Surf School has donated surfing lessons for the auction..
The award-winning documentry Somewhere near Tapachula will be screened as part of Ventana Film Festival on Saturday 2 March at 9pm at Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre. It was made by Australians Stefan Hunt and Jonno Durrant who also filmed and produced Surfing 50 States. They decided to make Somewhere near Tapachula when visiting the mission in 2010. One of them will attend the screening. Each year as part of the Ventana Fiesta organisers nominate a special cause to support: this year they have chosen Mission Mexico. To support the mission organisers will auction donated surf-related goods following the screening. Organisers are seeking surf items for the auction with all proceeds going directly to the mission. Phone Gill on 0409 860 407. Information on volunteering at the mission will be available at the screening.
SOCIAL ANALYSIS
Business normality in Year of the Snake Without question 2013, the Chinese Year of the Snake, is going to be challenging for small and medium enterprises. Consumers infused with a strong dose of Calvinistic frugality are scrutinising the expenditure of every cent. Business confidence is beginning to look more like an oxymoron as each day passes. The combination of uncertainty about the global economy and domestic politics means that public sentiment is unlikely to lift until after the federal election, if then. Holding your breath hoping for things to go back to ‘normal’ is not a viable strategy. However, there are opportunities aplenty for businesses that are adapted to the ‘new normal’, by reinterpreting the basics and applying some new techniques. The best new customers are the old ones. The costs of attracting a new customer to any business are typically an order of magnitude greater than that of retaining and rewarding an existing one. Paradoxically, many SMEs obsess about chasing new customers with whom they have little connection, while neglecting past customers with whom they have a connection and about whom they know a fair bit. Whether it is as simple as a coffee club card or as complex as a sophisticated, cloud-based, customer relationship management (CRM) program, every business will benefit from an optimised focus on past and current customers. Not only are they good repeat business prospects in their own right, but they fuel word-ofmouth reputation which is a powerful generator of new customers. Think about suitable versions of the traditional ‘member gets member’ incentives. SoLoMo: This neologism stands for Social, Local and Mobile. In other words, harnessing the new media to unleash the most powerful of marketing tools; proximity, familiarity and accessible personalisation. Being sufficiently close to the customer, both geographically and emotionally, and respecting their individuality whenever they want. The careful employment of social media
David Chalke* Social Analyst
The new media have raised the bar for customer service and attentiveness. The difference between a live customer and an unknown lost lead is just one tap of a smartphone touch screen away. and mobility can meet a customer’s need for instant access to information and service anywhere, any time. Do I have enough reward points for a ...? Are you open on Sunday at 7pm? How much will it cost to have it delivered? Is that the right one for my car? What’s it worth on eBay? and a million other questions which need answering now. With most people able to access the net from a mobile phone an important tip is to not just scale down your web presence for mobile phones, it tends not to work very well. Rather, develop your site for the phone first then scale it up for larger screen devices (and don’t forget Android-based devices outsell Apple – a lead which is growing). The new media have raised the bar for customer service and attentiveness. The difference between a live customer and an unknown lost lead is just one tap of a smartphone touch screen away. It goes without saying that in times of
difficult business conditions it is imperative to maintain effective control of costs. However, this goal poses a real threat to the long term survivability of a business if carried out without sufficient strategic thought. The temptation is to cut what is quickest and easiest and not what is strategically least valuable to the business. So, for example, advertising and promotion can be cut at a moment’s notice, but it may well be the lifeblood of the business. Similarly, for a service-dependent business retrenching the knowledgeable staff who deliver the service would be self-defeating. The best approach is to take some time to look at the strategic imperatives of the business and use these as a guide to eliminate the ‘nice to haves’ and preserve the ‘need to haves’. If the business doesn’t have a clear strategy, then now would be a very good time to develop one. In changing times new opportunities can emerge with surprising rapidity. To take advantage of these and to avoid missing the boat makes the most of one of small businesses natural competitive advantages: agility. Effective operators will exploit the rapid feedback and high speed intelligence gathering that the SoLoMo revolution makes possible and use them to adapt to changes in the marketplace. Agility will make possible rapid trial of new innovations and the rapid exploitation of any successful strategies. Equally, it will ensure the rapid demise of any unsuccessful ones. One of the features of markets in transition, which can trap the unwary, is the sheer velocity at which change can occur. Apparently stable businesses can run onto the rocks with little notice. In reality, in most instances the problem was not the absence of warning signs, but the business’s inability to recognise those signs and take notice of them, and the lack of agility to act on them. In summary, 2013 will be a challenging year for small and medium enterprises, but with a little strategic thought and commercial athleticism it could be a very successful one. *Social Analyst David Chalke is principal of The Strategy Planning Group Pty Ltd. He can be contacted at david.chalke@tspg.com.au
February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 15
A shelter from the deadly fl
Ross Connell is not kidding when he says he looked to the sky for inspiration. “I was wondering about what was the best insulation for fire safety shelters when I thought about the American space program,” he said. “The material they used on the [space shuttle] nose cones was hazardous to handle, but I found something made here in Australia that was equally efficient.” Mr Connell is not ready to disclose the type of insulation because of a patent application, but says his fireproof water tank is “the only one proven in the world with men in it”. The water tank, (the first of several Ross Escape Modules), was designed to be fitted on fire trucks, serving the dual purpose of storing water and providing a refuge for firefighters surrounded by flames. Mr Connell, of Tyabb, embarked on a project to build a fire shelter in the wake of the February 1983 Ash Wednesday fires that claimed 75 lives, including 11 firefighters who died in or near their trucks at Upper Beaconsfield.
Dual-purpose tank a haven for firefighters With insulated water tanks on fire trucks, Mr Connell says firefighters trapped by flames can quickly release the water, climb inside the tank, which is fitted with two-way radios, an air supply and lights. In 1987 the REM was tested in a furnace heated by direct flame to 1100 degrees Celsius. Instruments inside the module showed the interior temperature rose to 33 degrees after 10 minutes. The radios remained working. In December, 1991, four volunteers climbed inside another REM that was enveloped by fire for more than 20 minutes. They were in constant radio
16 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
contact with observers and emerged unscathed. The heat of the fire was estimated at 10 times that of a “heavily fuelled” bushfire. “It was beyond doubt a success,” Mr Connell told television reporters at the time. “It shows what Australians who band together as a team can achieve.” However, a CFA spokesman ruled out installing Mr Connell’s escape module on its fire trucks. He said no money would be put toward funding further tests. In June 2000, CSIRO bushfire expert Ian Knight assessed the two tests of the Ross Escape Module and concluded that its “durability under extreme thermal
flames
For 30 years Ross Connell has been trying to convince Australian authorities that his fire escape module will offer sanctuary for people caught in all-too-common conflagrations.
loads and its low conductivity have been demonstrated. My calculations indicate that the REM would be an effective refuge in any bushfire”. Mr Connell says sharp-tongued lawyers buried details of the tank’s efficiency during the 1993 coroner’s inquiry into the Ash Wednesday bushfires. Misinformation went unchallenged and he walked away from the inquiry disappointed and disillusioned. Now, nearly 20 years later and following the deaths of firefighters during the Victoria’s Black Friday fires and in Western Australia, Mr Connell is again hoping authorities will see merit in his invention, the Ross Escape Module (REM). This time, he is also looking toward the domestic and rural markets where decisions to invest in fire safety shelters are made by private individuals not bureaucrats. The insulated water tanks – complete with quick release valves for the water, air
supply and radio communications – are still available, but so too is a shelter that can fit into backyards and a smaller fire fighting trailer for farmers. The trailer, with its 800 litre insulated water tank and two hoses powered by a petrol motor, can be used to fight fires or water the garden. The water tank can quickly be transformed into a two-person safety capsule if a fire proves too fast to outrun. Although costs may change with production levels, Mr Connell says fire tankers costing up to $300,000 can be fitted with the dual-purpose escape modules for $10,000. The REMs developed for backyards and sitting on a concrete base are about $15,000 while the airlifted models would be $10,000-$12,000. Mr Connell has refined his fire truck escape module even further but is still waiting for the call from the Victorian government and fire authorities. “They’re pig-headed, but should at least come and have a look,” the inventor said. He has five patents pending, including one for the insulated water tanks, one for a smaller version for farmers, a home shelter, and designs for a house “that won’t burn down”.
His home shelter is also the basis for a portable REM that can be airlifted into fire zones, providing safety for firefighters near the fire front, such as the “smoke jumpers” who in the United States are parachuted into rough terrain. Mr Connell’s home shelter units have two entrances, interior lighting, fans, small observation windows and storage room for food and water. Although it is now 30 years since the tragic bushfires that prompted Mr Connell’s bid to improve safety for firefighters – and more than 20 since he “found the answer” – he is not about to give up. Negotiations have started with a new team to provide factory space to build his range of REMs and other leads are being followed to take his technology overseas. He believes the CFA is wrong in putting its faith in fitting trucks with fire protection blankets, heat shields and sprays to create a “fog of water”. “That is no protection from heat that can melt glass. I’ve got a system that can save lives.” Footage of the tests of the Connell REM can be seen on YouTube. To contact Ross Connell call 5977 3071 or 0409 532 793.
February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 17
MARKETS
Targeting China’s next phase of growth As 2013 began the ASX had an outbreak of both rational and irrational exuberance. The US was recovering, interest rates were falling, the iron ore price ran up, China was growing, European debt concerns were fading and the US budgetary crisis was almost, but not quite, resolved. The Dow recovered to a five-year high and even Rio’s $14 billion write down and the CEO’s sacking were seen as positive. Rio shares rallied strongly. When cheap imports of Chinese cement and steel forced Boral to sack still more staff its price rallied 11 per cent. Sorting out of which part of this optimism was based on fundamental economics or fundamental delusion is the big task for 2013. There is certainly no doubt that US corporate profits are improving, but as this lift is based on a zero interest policy and unprecedented monetary stimulus in the face of subdued retail spending, ongoing national drought and a deeply divided Washington, caution is required. As the Dow reached five-year highs in mid January consumer confidence fell to one-year lows. China’s GDP growth of 7.9 per cent was a positive number and exports rose 14 per cent, but few China specialists took neither number at face value. China has spent billions since early 2009 stimulating the economy as falling orders and overproduction led to a loss of 20 million jobs and multiple factory closures. Stimulus has slowed, but is still massive by our standards at an announced – but not fully funded – $150 billion. These funds will go on more loss-making underground railways,
Richard Campbell* Stock Analyst
struggling shipyards and over-producing cement producers – some 3800 of them. It will absorb losses of steel and aluminium companies, build 36 million new apartments for the poor with low returns. It will also close weaker companies in almost every industry from textiles to wind turbines, heavy machinery, solar panels and many more. The solar industry encapsulates what Premier Wen meant when he said in 2010 that the Chinese economy was “unbalanced, uncoordinated and ultimately unsustainable”. By late 2012 the solar industry was producing double world demand. Of the 900 solar panel companies operating in 2011, 300 had collapsed a year later. To soak up this spare capacity, installation subsidies were announced a month ago. An accurate figure for steel over-capacity is hard to find, but most sources agree that China has a surplus of 100-150 m/t capacity beyond output of 680 m/t. This alone is more than the next 10 steel producing nations combined. As of mid January an EU panel was recommending punitive tariffs against Chinese rolled steel saying it is sold
far below cost. The EU is itself running at two thirds of capacity. Australian iron ore producers remain confident that many of China’s loss-making iron ore mines will stay closed, but seem to ignore the fact while most Chinese steel mills are bleeding, China is also funding 66 new domestic iron ore projects whose total capacity of 490 m/t – is slightly more than Australia’s entire ore output in 2011. China’s ferrous deposits are generally low grade and only break even at an ore price of $80-90 tons, but given a choice between steel losses on high grade ore imports and losses on domestic ore production which provides jobs, local sourcing may win the day. In either case part of this steel will be absorbed by more fast rail projects, highways, bridges, power stations, airports and water infrastructure, but these projects are to replace lost demand as office and apartment construction slows. Cities like Chonqqing and Chengdu have surplus office space of 15- 40 per cent. In Guangzhou vacancies are 20 per cent. Cranes stand still. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says there are 66 million empty apartments across China. At the policy level the imbalances as well understood. As Premier Wen and others said, China needs to scale back its dependence on asset investment, lift consumption of consumer goods, raise health standards and rapidly lift food, air and water quality. In mid January Beijing’s air quality was literally off the scale. Australian companies able to meet the needs of this next phase of China’s reform and growth are all too rare, but there are enough to make 2013 interesting. *Richard Campbell is Executive Director of Peninsula Capital Management, Tel. 9642 0545. rcampbell@peninsulacapital.com.au
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18 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013 2139
HEALTH
A germ of an idea It’s no revelation to say that bacterial resistance to antibiotics is looming as another of the significant health crises of this generation. Ever since ol’ Alex Fleming cottoned on to the potential of mould and came up with penicillin, the playing field in the ages-old war between micro-organisms (bacteria) and macro-organisms (us) has been tilted well in our favour. Antibiotics are powerful, effective, convenient – just made for modern times. They have saved and prolonged lives. But the world is changing, and fast. We shouldn’t be shocked either, as the science of evolution says it’s inevitable that the bugs will adapt to the newly hostile environment, evolve and flourish again. It’s happening in our hospitals. The “superbug” that withstands all antibiotics is now the scourge of medicine. Thus science is engaged in a desperate race against time and nature, seeking to develop still more powerful agents with which to attack the enemy. It’s an arms race. When you’re losing the battle, escalate! Develop more potent weapons! Hit the suckers harder! It’s the only option. Perhaps science can do so; it hasn’t failed us yet. You’ve gotta have faith. Almost all of us have benefited from the power of antibiotics at some time or another, but the problem with using them to combat infection is that the victory is always pyrrhic – and temporary. With each prescription of antibiotics, there’s a price to be paid. When we kill the bacteria that assail us, we also weaken ourselves. We reduce our body’s own stock of beneficial bacteria in the gut, but more importantly we undermine our own
.
Michael Ellis*
Chinese Herbalist
immune responses to the invasion. We know, for example, that antibiotic use Stock Analyst in infancy increases the risk of developing asthma; that the epidemic of allergic diseases may be partly due to our obsession with hygiene, use of disinfectants and preventing our children from playing in the “dirt” – whereby we wipe their environments so clean that their immune systems fail to fully develop. Recent studies implicate antibiotics in many degenerative diseases – the ones that plague developed nations – including even breast cancer (references available). When you have a powerful friend around to protect you, there’s no need to learn how to protect yourself. But what happens the day when that friend is no longer there? The thing is, with typical human stupidity and lack of foresight, we are squandering the lifesaving power of antibiotics on two or three generations. We have enjoyed their benefit; our children and grandchildren may not. We have handed them out willy-nilly at any and every hint of infection – even preventively – thus continually exposing bacteria to antibiotics. The problem has been as much with the patients as the doctors, starting with worried parents expecting antibiotics to treat harmless, selflimiting infections. With each prescription of antibiotics, the
day comes closer when the superbugs will prevail. Once that day arrives, what remedies will we have? What will we know of the older ways of guarding health, or preventing or defeating infection? Outside of professional Chinese medicine, and perhaps some folk medical traditions, the answer to that question is likely to be: absolutely nothing. Oh sure, science will figure something out. They’ll come up with new antibiotics. We’re smart – we will win out in the end. Yes we are clever, and maybe we can still avoid defeat in this war, but not without a major shift in thinking. For starters, we must re-examine the notion that human health requires attacking and eliminating the micro-organisms that can do us harm. (After all, since when has killing things been the long-term answer to anything?) “Germs” are not the problem. The solution is not in more powerful antibiotics, or disinfectants, or cleaning your teeth with Listerine, or cleaner food (don’t even start me on “safe food handling”). Even Lou Pasteur, the 19th Century microbiologist known as the father of germ theory, was on to this. He said of disease: it’s not the germ, it’s the milieu. He was so right. It is the milieu. It’s about understanding how the body maintains its integrity, how it defends against and expels unwanted pathogens. It’s about understanding and promoting these mechanisms (an area in which Chinese medicine excels). Until science turns its focus in this direction – away from the war and towards the truce – Western medicine is heading for trying times. * Michael Ellis is a registered Chinese herbalist in Mt Eliza. Visit www.mtelizaherbal.com
Ask us how we can take your message to business… plus the whole community. Reach outside the realm of business, by adding community, home-delivered Mornington Peninsula News Group publications to your advertising strategy. Choosing BusinessTimes plus one or all five MPNG publications allows you to effectively narrow or widen your target market. Call Marg on 0414773153. February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 19
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WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Business help over cuppa: bonus for busy mums Business mums and mums wanting to start their own business will have an opportunity to meet monthly with events hosted by Motivating Mum about to start on the Mornington Peninsula. In response to continuing credit hardship and difficult conditions, Alli Price, of Motivating Mum, has devised the Business Mums Club, aimed at getting women in business together to help each along. The clubs are run along the East Coast of Australia and now with the help of Motivating Mum associate Liza Simpson, founder of new local business The Naked Cupcake Bar, women in business on the Mornington Peninsula will have an opportunity to join the club. “I developed the Business Mums Club – a forum where mums meet and work together on solving each other’s challenges and business concerns – because it can be quite lonely and isolating juggling running a business from home with bringing up the kids,” said Alli Price. “In addition to providing mums with an opportunity to get out of the house for some intelligent conversation, mothers will be able to turn to experts in business that don’t cost the earth – each other. Rather than spending hard earned money on expensive finance, business and marketing consultants, the mums brainstorm together to solve their business question, challenges or concerns.” Price gives some reasons why entrepreneurial women would join the Business Mums Club: • You want to start a business but don’t know how. • You need advice on legal, accounting, marketing and advertising. • You’d like feedback on a product, idea or website. • You’re not sure how to grow your business. • You’d like to clarify your market. • You’d like to run a little focus session. • You’d like advice on other directions you could take your business or markets you could target. • You want to set up a product launch or event but don’t know how. • You want to meet other women in business and make friends. Bookings are now open for the first monthly meeting which will be held on 6 March. Please note that membership is limited to exclusivity within a field or trade. Register by email to liza.mornington@motivatingmum.com 20 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
CONTRIBUTIONS
GET SOME RESOLVE: ADVISER
them to use their initiative actually increases employee satisfaction at work, and benefits customers, staff, and the business overall.” 8. Ask for help – “Seeking the help of a business coach or mentor can both help you identify and achieve your goals, and build your accountability. Hiring professionals to help you in the areas of your business that you struggle with will also be beneficial.” 9. Cut your losses – “Test and measure the effectiveness of certain management policies, marketing strategies, and working styles. If something you’ve always done isn’t working, drop it.” 10. Make time for yourself – In line with the recent debate surrounding the work/life balance, the key to achieving this resolution is to make it measurable and specific – aim to spend 10 nights a month with your family, or five hours a week on a hobby. ” Wayne Lock provides tailored advice and support for Frankston and Mornington Peninsula business owners. Contact SWAT/10X Port Phillip on 03 9787 1818 or email celeste.gullone@10x.com.au
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Peninsula-based business adviser Wayne Lock says the usual optimism associated with New Year is not so evident at the start of 2013. Last year was tumultuous for business owners and many remain pessimistic, with just over 54 per cent not expecting revenue to increase, Lock says. The focus of the New Year should be on working smarter, not harder, and offers his Top 10 resolutions: 1. Leverage your time – “Business owners need to prioritise their time to work on their business, rather than in it, to focus on achieving their big-picture goals.” 2. Look after your lifetime customers – “Your most loyal customers are your most profitable – they spend more each time and they purchase more regularly. Do whatever you can to create and maintain these long-term relationships.” 3. Make marketing a priority – “Spending money to market to customers is the best way to boost your revenue, and the only way to let them know that you exist.
Creative, cost-effective ways of marketing are becoming increasingly accessible – take the time to research them. 4. Take advantage of social media –“Using social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs can be a virtually free way of positioning yourself as the expert, creating meaningful networks and collecting valuable feedback.” 5. Manage your cashflow – “About 92 per cent of business owners frequently stress about cashflow, but this doesn’t have to be the case. There are countless methods of ensuring that you are never short on cash.” 6. Spend time on your self-education – “The business environment is evolving so rapidly that it’s hard to be an expert in every area of business. Reading, attending seminars and workshops, and following the market will sharpen your skills and keep your business moving.” 7. Empower your team – “Business owners are responsible for creating a company culture where employees are encouraged to go above and beyond their duties to create a fantastic customer experience. Allowing
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February 2013 | Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong BusinessTimes | 21
MANAGING
Stimulating creativity Every small business owner or manager has to wear many different hats in order to make sure that their business is a long-term success. Their “management hat” is the most used hat as they strive to create a stable business with predictable good outcomes. This is achieved usually by determining the best possible combination of inputs, processes and outputs and then reproducing this every time they supply a customer. Think of McDonalds which prides itself on producing identical hamburgers over 50 million times a day. It clearly doesn’t want individuals in its kitchens being creative and producing a different product. So, the biggest casualty from wearing the “management hat” is creativity. When you need dramatic improvements in your business, the “leaders hat” is the one that can produce results by releasing and stimulating creativity in all of your people. In this role, you need to drive major change and improvement by empowering your people to dream up new ways to operate your business. A common starting point is for the “leaders hat” to identify a very few key business parameters and to then set new target values that represents a huge change, e.g. a 50 per cent reduction in working capital in the next year. These new targets should create an initial reaction of “What! That’s impossible”. This will force people to try to find a totally new way to manage this parameter by stimulating novel and sometimes-unworkable ideas. Within every group of people, there will be a few who are more receptive to change and creativity. It is important to identify them and get them involved early in this process. These are the people who can develop a seemingly crazy idea and work through it to evaluate how it could possibly be made to work. Once you unleash this process, you should try to collect all of the ideas that people contribute. While some of these ideas are developed in group discussions, it is important to recognise which person was the source of the original creative idea. When you come to the next stage of evaluating all of the ideas, it is valuable to involve this originator in the evaluation process. Often, there are many complexities in implementing their idea and they will be more committed than other people
Hamish Petrie*
Business Consultant
When you need dramatic improvements in your business, the “leaders hat” is the one that can produce results by releasing and stimulating creativity in all of your people. In this role, you need to drive major change and improvement by empowering your people to dream up new ways to operate your business. to overcome the obstacles for their idea to work. If the idea really will not work, then they will understand the barriers much better than if they were excluded from this evaluation process. Throughout this process, you must continue to wear your “leader’s hat” and support the creative process by stopping the natural organisational resistance to change, before each idea has been fully developed. This will include resisting all forms of push back e.g. “we have tried that, it didn’t work”. You may also have to demonstrate a greater willingness to tolerate failure than you normally do, so that your more creative people are protected even when something does not work the first time. This visible support by the business owner is vitally important, otherwise current business issues will soon submerge the creative process again. Once all of the ideas have been evaluated, then the selection of the solution needs to done carefully. The chosen solution then needs to be evaluated throughout every aspect of the business and the appropriate control actions developed so that the implementation can be as smooth as possible. If possible, it may be valuable to conduct a trial in any risk areas or to try to model the whole process to identify key risks. There are usually many great ideas that could help the business at some time, but
22 | BusinessTimes Frankston / Mornington Peninsula / Dandenong | February 2013
are just not part of this initial solution. It is effective to keep them on a Good Ideas List which can be revisited in the future to see if the right time has come to implement any of them. After completion of this creative process, it is important to decide how to reward the individuals involved in the process. There are many forms of reward that could be used and it is critical to select ones that will prepare the people to participate more positively in future creative processes. A small caution – unleashing creativity at work can sometimes have a downside if individuals take it the wrong way and use their creativity for personal gain. Unfortunately, there are too many examples where an individual has used their creativity to line their own pockets or to do some damage to their organisation. The “ leaders hat” produces change, dramatic change by being unreasonable. It can stimulate a disorderly process where you support a sense of play and fun in the organisation as you seek as many creative, crazy and maybe silly ideas without constraints or criticism. It can identify new ways of thinking about your business that can revolutionise your business performance. However, it does need to be a well designed process with clear personal support from the business owner or manager for every step in the process. Action Planning Questions: 1. Can you identify one of two business parameters that would fundamentally improve your performance if a dramatic change could be achieved? 2. Can you identify your more creative people to involve in this process of developing and evaluating creative ideas? 3.Are you prepared to support this process by personally protecting the creative ideas until they are fully developed? 4. Do you keep a Good Ideas List for possible future implementation? 5. Have you designed a complete process to guide you through the steps to produce dramatic change in one key business parameter? *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
Traders oppose A-frame ban Traders are opposing Greater Dandenong Council’s decision to ban A-frames and the display of goods on footpaths in the central business district. The two-year trial ban began on 31 January. It covers central Dandenong bounded by Robinson, Walker, Lonsdale, Foster, Clow, Stewart, King and Cleeland streets. Sixty traders signed the petition objecting to the decision to stop displays on footpaths. The petition was presented to council in late December. The council will continue processing
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advertising signs and goods displays in other areas of the city. At least three months before the end of the trial ban the council will report publicly on the impacts of the prohibition. • A petition signed by 182 residents objects to the removal of customer parking in the Dandenong precinct and requests council to change the five-minute parking in Walker St, beside the Drum Theatre, to 15 or 30-minute parking. • A petition signed by 229 residents from Noble Park and Springvale objects to the land between the Springvale Town Hall and View Rd, Springvale being sold. The three petitions have been sent to council business units for consideration.
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