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Bizzquiz 5 Markets: Richard Campbell 4 Busy Bites 6 Health: Mike Ellis 20 www.whitecleland.com.au News: Solar energy, with flare 8 Managing: Hamish Petrie 21 IT: Still up in the clouds 12 Motoring: Ewen Kennedy 22 Finance: Avoid chaos; be assured 13 Cover: Kent Stannard, above, is raising money Level 3, 454 Hwy Frankston 17 9783 2323 Retail: A Nepean convenient report for research into the habits of great white Arts: Frankston Arts Centre 18 sharks through the Tag For Life charitable trust and clothing label, Whitetag. P. 10 Business Directory 23 Level 8, 256 Queen Street, Melbourne 9602 4022

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news

Deals, prices up at Downs A flurry of industrial land sales in Carrum Downs’ business precinct has seen turnover more than treble over the past year while values have grown by more than 10 per cent. Nichols Crowder director Michael Crowder said that over past 12 months “we’ve seen a dramatic increase in industrial land sales with turnover rising from 19,639 sq. m. in 2009 to almost 70,000 sq. m. in 2010 with a total sales values of more than $12 million. “While it’s only early 2011, prices continue to mount – from $163 a sq. m. in 2009 to $174 in 2010 to the current rate of $180 a sq. m. “The attraction of Carrum Downs is that it is still the most affordable land anywhere in the south east, including Dandenong, Braeside and Mornington. “EastLink has also slashed 42 per cent off the time to travel from Frankston to Mitcham and, as a consequence, made access to the city far more efficient. Peninsula Link will have a similar effect with time savings of up to 40 minutes in peak

hour and a trip from Mt Martha to Carrum Downs will take just 15 minutes,” he said. Crowder said the Carrum Downs industrial precinct will

9775 1535

CROW DER

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NICHOL S

Peninsula Link site, Carrum Downs.

be further buoyed after Nichols Crowder successfully negotiated Woolworths Lowe’s pre-commitment to a new 13,500 sq. m. home improvement store which will include a further 11,234 sq. m. of bulky goods retail space. Construction has started and the development is expected to be finished early in 2012. Crowder added that the rise in demand was filtering through to other sectors. In another deal brokered by Nichols Crowder, the former Australian Arrow Building in Lathams Road has been signed up to a new 10-year lease to Mono Pumps at a commencing rental of $575,000 a year net. The building area is 9796 sq. m. According to Crowder, another area to greatly benefit from Peninsula Link will be Tyabb which is centrally located on the Mornington Peninsula. Nichols Crowder will be selling a new subdivision at 1 George Avenue, Tyabb . On offer will be 16 lots from 2002 square metres to 4261 sq. m. with prices starting from $220,000 + GST. For details, call Michael Crowder, 9775 1535.

300 Frankston Dandenong Rd, Seaford

FOR SALE by Expressions of Interest Wednesday 6 April 2011 • Purchase the whole or part of this prominent development site • Total land area 6.3hectares (63,000sqm)* • Significant frontage to FrankstonDandenong Road • Zoned Industrial 1 • Close proximity to Eastlink and Mornington Peninsula Freeway • Flexible options available from 1.5ha to 6.3ha* * Approx. Michael Crowder 0408 358 926

March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 3

markets

Qube: whose lunch was that? Long before Warren Buffet snapped up large holdings in US railway companies, Chris Corrigan at Patrick Corporation was on to the idea of using inland intermodal hubs or “ports” to transform the bottlenecks of our archaic rail and road system. The experience at Patrick convinced his team (Qube now boasts 100 or so former Patrick staff) that the future of logistics lay in rapid transfer of containers from sea ports to inland depots where the contents could be broken up into smaller units away from city centres and close to ring roads and freeways. After selling Patrick’s port operations to Toll Holdings for a hefty gain, he quickly returned to the scene under the guise of KFM Logistics and began to acquire strategic land parcels and port facilities to service the big movers of goods and bulks. This took no especial brain power, but it required an immense amount of grunt to break through the hundred and one barriers, not only bureaucratic, but physical. Everyone knows rail is much cheaper than road once goods are rolling on steel, but with a rail system designed between 130-150 years ago, there are many points of paralysis such as low bridges, narrow cuttings, old signalling systems and rail lines that cross streets heavy with commuter traffic. Now that Qube has brought the international investor the Carlyle Group into the picture with a 15 per cent placement, the game rises to a new pitch. Qube has

Richard Campbell* Stock Analyst

declared its hand and is ready to take on the big incumbents in the form of Fox Transport, Toll and Toll’s former port and rail division Asciano. It will be a fascinating spectacle. Lindsay Fox is still active but no longer sitting in front of the wheel; Paul Little has retired to a new life of property development and Mark Rowsthorne, Little’s former partner at Toll had an inglorious time after Little split off the ports assets and loaded Asciano with debt. The market may not have put its big money on Corrigan yet, but it is likely that it will in time. He may play up his simple country upbringing (Bowral High School is not exactly the other side of the tracks) but he does cut through. After Harvard he rapidly took the leadership at Bankers Trust and saw no need to respect the established order of things, first with BT and investment distribution through planners rather than brokers, and then more infamously with the use black balaclavas and dogs. It was dramatic, but some of the waterside rorts were jaw-dropping.

The appearance of Carlyle speaks volumes. It has investments across dozens of industries from fast food to defence and while perhaps not on the same plane as Buffet as an investor, it is bristling with sharp international business brains. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Qube is its move into bulk exports. It leases Utah Point at Port Hedland where it tranships iron ore and in North Queensland it covers all ports from Weipa to Gladstone. The plan is to provide shipping and logistics for the second tier iron and coal miners, many of whom will greet Corrigan & Co with relief rather than have to deal with BHP, Rio or with often difficult Chinese and Indian co-investors. Corrigan may be tough, but at least he is known to stick by his deals. Revenue is approaching $600 million and EBIT margin is 17.5 per cent. There is scope for significant margin expansion as a dozen new projects come into play particularly the big “inland port” at Moorebank in Sydney’s inner south west which can handle a million containers a year, plus quarantine and customs. The take-away is that Qube is closing in on some of the critical junction points where road, rail and ports can be integrated in both export and import movements, something the others only partially address. Toll, Brambles, Asciano, Queensland Rail etc all hold large parts of the jig-saw, but they would be unwise to leave any of their lunch unattended for long – or tea for that matter. Richard Campbell is Executive Director of Peninsula Capital Management, Tel. 9642 0545. email: rcampbell@peninsulacapital.com.au

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4 | BusinessTimes Frankston Peninsula | March 2011

NEWS

Not working for mums

Childcare and careers don’t mix for women, according to a poll in early March Despite the federal government’s moves to strengthen maternity leave and benefits, Australian families remain worried about the affordability of

childcare, saying they will vote for the party who offer tax breaks, the latest poll shows. Research of 262 working women, commissioned by the online businesswomen’s network group Sphinxx, found that children and careers fail to mix. The research revealed: • 48 per cent of respondents said childcare costs had hit their career, but not their partners (71.6 per cent) • 52 per cent of respondents qualified for the rebate, but 92 per cent still rate childcare costs as important or very important political/ election issue • 86 per cent would give their vote to the party with a tax-deductible policy on childcare 48 per cent say cost of childcare has impacted upon career to date • 62 per cent say the cost of childcare has led to a reduction in their working hours • 74 per cent say it’s difficult or very difficult to find available quality child care.

Phone scams on the rise DODGY telephone calls and scam text messages continue to escalate with new figures released this month showing an almost seven-fold increase reported to the ACCC in 2010. Telstra’s officer of Internet trust and safety Darren Kane warns that the explosive growth in mobile services has meant cyber-crime is going mobile. “As smartphones become a primary way for Australians to access the internet, cyber-crime syndicates are turning their attention to mobile fraud – including scam calls and SMS. “Mobile users should be alert to attempts by scammers to defraud them of money or to trick them into disclosing personal information,” Kane said.

Common phone scams include: • Calls from people impersonating representatives from well-known government departments and private companies. • Callers advising that the person’s computer is infected with a virus and requesting credit card details to fix the problem. • Calls seeking bank details in order to process a bank fee refund or tax refund. • Calls offering to place a number on the Do Not Call Register for a fee.

n Bizzquiz

Gary Williams started his working life in local government and was manager of Mornington Shire’s building department before heading into the private sector in the mid-1990s, first managing a caravan park at Cloncurry in north west Queensland and now running Cheese Cake Shop franchises at Mornington and Seaford. His responses to Bizzquiz... I dreamed of being ...  a professional athlete, but quickly realised that you also need ability. My first paid job was ...  during my secondary school holidays installing roof insulation. In 10 years I will be ...  travelling around Australia in a caravan. Our business planning entails ...  ensuring that we meet our customers’ needs and expectations.

Tips to avoid phone scams: • If you receive a phone call out of the blue, always ask for the name of the person you are speaking to and who they represent. • Don’t share personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source. • Don’t respond to text messages or missed calls that come from numbers you don’t recognise. • Be careful of phone numbers beginning with 190. These are charged at a premium rate and can be expensive. Scam text messages are another growing trend. Scammers exploit the faceless nature of SMS, using it to hide their identity. Common SMS tricks include texts promising unexpected prizes that require you to send money in order to claim them, and, mysterious text messages that can cost you a lot of money if your reply to them.

Tip for success ...  surround yourself with personnel that can see your vision and have the passion and ability to be successful. I am inspired by … people who have a dream and go for it. Anyone starting a business should ...  know what is involved with the business and have a plan on how to achieve this. I’ll know I’m successful when ...  With my family and all my friends I already feel successful. My parents always told me ...  treat people the way that you would like to be treated. I wish I had ...  listened to people who told me to put a small percentage of my income away from day one.

March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 5

BUSY bites

Solar future

Where there’s a will... THE acting CEO of State Trustees has been urging Victorians in the New Year to act on their will – to either make one or update it. Her name: Prue Willsford.

You can’t bank percentages Business owners who put too much emphasis on gross margin percentage may be doing so at the expense of sales volumes. By waiting for higher value sales, businesses may be sacrificing many lower margin sales in the shorter term which may prove of greater value across the year. Melbourne-based Business Development Company general manager Matt Larkworthy says the most important thing to remember is that at the end of the day you bank gross margin dollars not percentages. “It’s important to remember that fixed costs are just that, fixed. There will always be business overheads and you need to match the type of business you are in to the type of product or service you offer,” Larkworthy said. A premium product offering with a high margin is likely to have less sales volume than a similar product with a slightly lower price point and lower margin. “You have to do the numbers and understand

the impact of the differing value and volume that margin decisions will have on your cash flow, not just on the profits.” “Large inventory holdings mean tying up working capital and can cause cash flow problems if you get it wrong. By ensuring stock is turning over regularly through setting the right gross margin and selling price – you can help ensure that a profitable cash flow is achieved.” According to Larkworthy this is particularly true for obsolete or slow moving stock which is often better to quit at a reduced margin than hang on to for another year as dead inventory. He adds that the way that you service your clients and your staffing levels need to reflect your product or service delivery. “When people enter a discount bulky goods store they don’t expect the same level of service that is provided at a prestige car sales yard.” “It is all about getting the mix right to maximise the gross margin dollars you put in the bank,” Larkworthy said.

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SCIENTISTS in Britain and the United States believe the future of solar power may reside with infrared radiation (IR). They are using “nanoscale light-sensitive antennas” to harvest IR, which is responsible for nearly half the energy available in the solar spectrum. IR is re-emitted from the earth’s surface after sunset, which means the antennas can capture energy night and day. A report in the December 2010 edition of New Scientist says scientific tests have shown the antennas have an efficiency of 46 per cent compared to 23 per cent with the most efficient silicon solar cells. Work being done at universities in US and the UK could lead to the building of antennas capable of creating electricity from visible and infrared radiation. Both teams believe they will have prototypes operating this year. • SEE story Page 8

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Victorians less pessimistic, but it’s a flat outlook for property MOST Victorians expect flatter property prices this year, but they are still more optimistic about rises than their interstate compatriots. While 46 per cent of Victorians believe prices will rise, the national figure is only 38 per cent, down from a very confident 79 per cent in March 2010. The latest Bankwest/Mortgage and Finance Association (MFAA) Home Finance Index also revealed that consumers are also still wary of higher interest rates and 85 per cent of respondents expect rate rises in the coming year. The index tracking also reported that households generally found their current financial situation steady compared to a year ago. This was the first time in more than three years that households have not reported a deterioration in their financial situation. “ This should provide a solid base for activity in the next 12 months” said Mr Phil Naylor, ceo of MFAA. At the same time, a large number of investors

.au hits 2 million

agree that now is a good time to buy, citing steadier house prices, higher rental incomes and rental demands as a key driver for their decision. More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of investors see it is a good time to purchase an investment property. “Despite a few cash rate rises throughout 2010, there are encouraging signs for investors in the property market. Rents have increased and vacancy rates are low. These are the type of signals

Rents are up and vacancy rates are down ... these are the types of signals investors look for in their property decisions. investors look for in their property decisions,” added Mr Naylor. The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) is the peak industry body providing service and representation to more than 12,000 Professional Credit Advisers in Australia.

Low residential vacancy rate in Melbourne The vacancy rate for Melbourne residential properties has now been below three per cent for six years, according to the REIV January vacancy rate release. REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo said that the vacancy rate in January was two per cent and that the last time the market was in balance was in January 2005, when a vacancy rate of 3.3 per cent was recorded. “While the vacancy rate remains below three per cent, renters are likely to face higher

rents due to supply shortages and higher competition,” Riamondo said. “In the past five years, according to the Victorian Government’s Office of Housing, the median rent for a three-bedroom house has increased by 43.5 per cent, compared to 21.1 per cent between 2000 and 2005. The median rent for a two-bedroom unit has increased by 54.5 per cent, compared to 25.7 per cent between 2000 and 2005,” Enzo Raimondo said.

Australia’s .au Internet domain registered its two millionth .au domain name during the first week of March. The announcement was made jointly by .au Domain Administration (auDA), the non-profit manager of the .au space, and AusRegistry, the registry operator for designated second level domains. The milestone places .au in the top 10 country codes in the world.

Parking petition THIRTY seven people associated with Mornington businesses have petitioned Mornington Peninsula Shire for 40 additional long term parking spaces behind 1st Choice Liquor Superstore. The specific area targeted by petitioners is the corner of Waterloo Place and Barkly Street, Mornington. They say the current long term parking in the vicinity is unsuitable in size and location. Council’s Traffic and Road Safety Team will review the request and take “appropriate” action, said David Easton, the council’s traffic and road safety officer.

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March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 7

news

‘No’ to marina money MORNINGTON MP David Morris has ruled out government money being used to build a marina at Mornington. A submission by marina proponent Mornington Boat Haven Ltd to an independent planning panel earlier this month floated the idea that the state could pay up to one third of the marina’s costs. The company – formed by Mornington Yacht Club – suggested “an arrangement can be reached” where government would fund the pier wavescreen and return on the existing pier, and one third of the remaining works. “This would be additional funding, on top of the more than half a million dollars already spent by the former government as part of the approvals process,” Mr Morris, a marina opponent, said. He said the few supporters of the plan argued that the only way to make Mornington a safe harbour was as part of a marina development. However, the document made it clear that the plan relied not only on transferring a public asset into private hands but on a substantial investment of public funds as well to make the project viable. “If funds of that scale are to be made available by government, it can only be to benefit all members of the community.” Mr Morris described the marina as being part of the former Labor state government’s plans “ for the commercialisation of Port Phillip Bay”.

Delivering solar energy with a fair bit of flare By Jim Kerin* STEPHEN Bradbury says solar energy can deliver electricity and hot water in the dark. The executive director of Frankston-based Solar Flare International Ltd is developing a domestic system where thermal batteries store heat during the day that is drawn on at night to generate power, heat water, space heating and cooling. The principle has been successfully applied to base load solar power stations in South Australia, Spain, the United States and Middle East but not on a domestic scale. The thermal battery was invented by two men from Frankston. The company’s demonstration thermal battery has a storage capacity of 50kw of thermal energy and 20kw of thermal electrical energy. It’s currently being tested in Mt Eliza. The trial thermal battery is charged to 220 degrees centigrade by two automated parabolic trough mirrors. It can be charged by any solar or waste heat source such as high tech evacuated cylinders, solar pool heaters, geothermal energy, fuel cells or waste heat generated by such industrial processes as ovens, kilns, generating plants and boilers. A 100kw unit for domestic and light industrial use will be trialled later this month. In addition to the provision of hot water it will be coupled with a 4.5kwh micro turbine powered generator developed in Narre Warren. The turbine uses a refrigerant gas as its propulsive medium. “Co-generation opportunities will soon to be available for homes and small businesses such as

Solar innovator Stephen Bradbury

panel beaters, bakers and pizza makers that will significantly offset emissions and reduce energy bills,” Mr Bradbury said. Costs of the package for non-grid feed applications are expected to be about half that of an equivalent photo voltaic (solar panel) system. The major service interval of the Solar Flare thermal battery is 15 years. Service costs for a 100kw thermal battery are about $75 a year. “The world’s reserves of hydro carbon fuels are finite and energy costs are rapidly escalating. Carbon emissions threaten our future,” Mr Bradbury said. “The future of the world is electric and the best way of generating electricity is the sun. Our thermal battery enables that energy to be available 24 hours a day. Micro power stations using the sun and recycle waste heat are the way of the future.” For further information visit solarflareinternational.com. *Visit Jim Kerin’s news and views website: maydaysenews.weebly.com/links.html

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Talk, but little action on gender bias

Carers win growth award

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0ROSEBUD-based After-Care Australasia has won Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s South East 2011 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Business Growth and Development Awardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. After-Care employs 80 staff and provides in-home support to people who require that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;little extraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to remain living in their own home. The overall â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Business Excellence Awardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; went to Braaap, a dirt bike design, import, merchandise and retail company in Frankston. Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s South East is a regional economic development alliance of 10 councils, utility companies, and state and federal government departments. Its mission is to build a collaborative and co-operative approach to economic development in Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s south-east region The 2011 awards attracted 53 nominations

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from the 10 member councils. Braaap was originally founded in Legana, Tasmania by Brad Smith who now has three stores in Hobart, Launceston and Frankston. The business name Braaap is the sound of a dirt bike that Smith has developed into his brand, capturing the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core activity of designing, importing, merchandising and retailing motocross and dirt bike products. Growth and development award winner After Care was started in 1999 by Shane and Maxine Kelly. The Kellys attribute the growth and success of their business directly to its staff. Client numbers have grown from 385 to 490 in the past two years forcing the company to find larger premises.

Advisory groups seek new members NEW community members are needed for advisory groups supporting two Peninsula Health Services. Both Western Port Community Advisory Group and the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Adolescentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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Adam Kelly (left) and Andrew Kelly from After Care Australia with Dennis Cliche, managing director of ConnectEast, sponsor of the award.

FEWER than one in three managers (30.16 per cent) are appropriately trained to manage gender bias in the workplace, according to the Australian Human Resources Institute. Based on a sample of 920 human resource (HR) practitioners and people managers surveyed in January, the result is at odds with the finding that two-thirds of CEOs (64 per cent) and senior executives (60 per cent) are either supportive or very supportive in their attitudes to gender equity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rhetoric on the issue is not translating into workplace practice (and that premise) is supported by a finding that fewer than one in five survey respondents at any level has measurable key performance indicators relating to gender equityâ&#x20AC;Ś,â&#x20AC;? said AHRI national president Peter Wilson. Other findings of the survey include: â&#x20AC;˘ Six out of 10 (62 per cent) respondents report male majorities of between 70 per cent and 100 per cent of positions at management and leadership levels in their organisations. â&#x20AC;˘ Three quarters (74 per cent) of relevant respondents report male majorities (70 per cent to 100 per cent) on their boards. â&#x20AC;˘ If voluntary gender equity results are not achieved in the next three years, nearly two in five respondents (38.62 per cent) would support legislated gender quotas. The study was released in Sydney 3 March.

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March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 9

COVER STORY

THE GREAT WHITE’S HOPE

HARKS and money markets have had a long and sometimes fruitful association. The sharks prey on the fortunes of others, often turning them into misfortunes.  But Kent Stannard is open about his wish to make money for the sharks: he has a deep interest in their wellbeing, the marine kind that is, not the money market predators.  Stannard has set up a trust to gather money for shark research, great whites in particular.  A builder by profession (“I hated it - it’s not really my passion”) and a surfer by instinct and having love of the sea, Stannard has long held a fascination for great whites.  Saddened by their depleted numbers – and fearful of them while paddling for waves – Stannard decided to help raise money for research into their life patterns after attending a National Geographic-arranged lecture by Barry Bruce, a scientist who heads up the CSIRO’s studies into the great white.  The lecture, about eight years ago, was a life-changer for Stannard who spoke with Bruce afterwards and came to realise just how little money was spent on trying to find out more about the shark credited with killing more Australians than any other (27 officially).  “We discussed the possibility of doing research in Victoria and I told him I knew fishermen, abalone divers and surfers who could probably help,” Stannard says.  “As a surfer I’d always had an interest in sharks. I believe a fear is buried within every surfer’s psyche. “Barry Bruce told me how funding for their research was restricted to gaining government grants and I decided to set up a not-for-profit organisation to raise money to help them.  “If we know more about sharks’ behaviour, how they use and

10 | BusinessTimes Frankston Peninsula | March 2011

Words/images: Keith Platt area, when they arrive and leave, it may eventually make it easier [in the mind] for us to surf. Sharks are certainly not ruthless, they are cautious and wary.”  The best way Stannard could see of helping the science was to raise money for sophisticated tracking devices that could follow signals being broadcast from electronic tags attached to the sharks.  He climbed and overcame a few bureaucratic mountains and eventually set up Tag For Life, a program run by a trust which is the government-approved vehicle now sourcing donations and funds from philanthropic organisations. Donations are tax deductable.  Following on the heels of Tag For Life came, Whitetag, a commercial clothing brand that donates one per cent of all gross sales to tag for Life. Whitetag, run from Stannard’s Blairgowrie home, has a comprehensive website about great whites and serves as a vehicle to promote Tag For Life.  “We based our business model on the American label,

Kent Stannard, left, at home in Blairgowrie, the headquarters for Tag For Life which raises money for scientific research into the habits of great white sharks. A percentage of the gross sales of the Whitetag clothing brand will also help pay for fitting sharks with tracking tags.

Photo courtesy Whitetag.

Patagonia,” Kennard says.  “Patagonia uses organic cotton and recycled materials in its clothing lines but, unfortunately, Whitetag is too small for that. Donors who contribute to Patagonia can also choose the cause on which their money is spent.”  Whitetag’s association with Patagonia is reinforced through influential Australian surfer Wayne Lynch, a friend of Stannard and a Patagonia promotional “ambassador”.  Former surfing champion Lynch is a surfboard shaper, keen environmentalist and works with indigenous groups.  Patagonia’s website describes its ambassadors as “field testers for our gear and storytellers for our tribe”. Its products are made in factories that have “safe, healthy and humane working conditions” and are not “sweatshops”.  Stannard says Tag for Life has raised about $100,000 for white shark research through the Ian Potter Foundation and Philanthropy Australia.  Whitetag is in its early stages, but items (aimed mainly at the late 20s and over market) will be marketed by Stannard himself and through its website.  “There’s quite a bit of management involved and, hopefully, my wages will eventually come through the sale of clothing,” says Stannard, who has bankrolled the merchandise.  Money coming through Tag For Life has already been used to tag a great white caught on a barbless hook at corner inlet, near Wilsons Promontory.  Stannard says anecdotal evidence of fishermen and divers points to the area being a “nursery” for great whites, which seem to return there every 12 months.

“Their movements are definitely not random and they follow the same pathways on a seasonal basis.”  The work at Corner Inlet in late 2010 is seen as a pilot for similar studies of other individual sharks and an extension of work already underway at Port Stephens in New South Wales which showed great whites heading south in summer and autumn.  Earlier research by Barry Bruce at another apparent nursery near the Neptune Islands in South Australia has shown that it is often the same great whites being spotted at various places, illustrating that their numbers are not great.  Females do not breed until they are mature and very large and may produce 10 pups just once every three years.  Great whites can grow up to seven metres long and live to be 80, although Stannard believes few are likely to survive that long.  “They are crucified by long liners and beach meshing and often caught while chasing school fish or dolphins and seals.”  The 2.7m great white tagged at Corner Inlet was sprayed with oxygenated water as it lay in a stretcher alongside a workboat while a tag was attached to its dorsal fin. The tag emits a signal whenever the fin is above the surface.  Keyhole surgery was used to place another tag inside its stomach lining that sends a coded signal even when the fish is submerged.  The tags have a 10-year life and the signals are picked up and re-transmitted to the scientists by satellites and equipment installed on islands.  Stannard says Barry Bruce was able to show that a great white returned to the Neptune Islands two years running, almost to the day, after going as far north as Rockhampton in Queensland and through several Victorian seal colonies.  While they obviously do not habitually attack or eat humans, great whites do regularly prey on seals, dolphins, school fish and rays and are seen near whale breeding grounds.  “Most interactions [with humans] are by juveniles,” Stannard says. “I’ve never subscribed to the theory that you won’t get sharks if dolphins are nearby. They eat dolphins and, if you see a motionless seal’s tail poking out of the water it might be looking straight down to the sea floor because there’s a shark nearby.  “Great whites are curious. The odd one behaves like a cranky dog and, as with dogs, sound you out first.  “Unfortunately, a great white’s test bite is lethal.” March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 11

IT ISSUES

Why the cloud? Probably the most exciting component of the cloud is choice. Choice in itself brings about competition and that translates into a better bottom line. When we talk about business computer systems we usually find a server at its heart. The server is responsible for holding your data, acting as a post office for your email and delivering the software your business needs to operate. What if the idea of a server was becoming redundant? What if we can look to the cloud to provide all the services that your server has provided in the past? What if these services were accessible from any device (PC, Apple, iPad, SmartPhone) and anywhere in the world? So what do we need to keep in mind? Well the cloud is only possible with a connection to the internet, and if your eggs are all online then you are quite reliant on a fast and stable internet connection, if this isn’t up to scratch then any foray into the cloud will be a disaster! So many questions! Is the cloud a good fit for your plans? Are you better off sticking with a server? What about a combination of the two? Perhaps you’ve been considering some new technology and want a balanced argument? There are good reasons behind each solution / scenario and when bouncing your ideas off a team in the know is free, why not take us up on the offer? by Matthew Gordon, Managing Director, Solution One, (03) 5987 1565.

Unlimited processing, storage In last month’s article we debunked the idea of the cloud itself and discussed it’s basic purpose and benefits. In this article, we want to take the time to look at a few of its more exciting aspects. So we have learned to look at the cloud as a massive network, enabling communications through basically any device with an internet connection anywhere and at anytime. So let’s take the image and look a little closer at what we have connected to the cloud (other than computers). Imagine that the cloud also has unlimited processing and storage, this is indeed a reality. The Cloud gives you access to CPU’s and Hard Disks for rent all over the world. Imagine if next time you ran out of disk space you could simply order an additional 50GB to your computer in seconds. No screwdriver, computer technician or hassles involved! This thinking also applies to processing power: computer a bit slow? Upgrading can be as simple as sending an email and asking for it and instantly every employee’s workstation is upgraded! OK, so

that’s quite a generalisation – but this technology does exist. It’s the storage side of things that is proving to be the most practical of options available and it really comes into its own when we look at its backup potential. IT forms a critical component in most business today, and although we understand the need to backup how many of you can say that you have taken the time to monitor that and ensure its serviceable? Is your backup offsite, if the building floods or burns of what value is the backup drive sitting next to your computer? Let’s not write off the idea of needing and owning a server, while the cloud is an excellent way to renting infrastructure sometimes it’s necessary to run your services “in house”. Both scenarios have their balance of strengths and weaknesses, these should be balanced against both current and future needs.

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FINANCIAL PLANNING

Business assurance

Unexpected events like death, disability or a major health event involving a business owner can have disastrous effects on the financial stability of a business. would the bank call on the personal guarantees given by the owners? Business assurance protects business clients by ensuring the business can survive. It also demonstrates to creditors and shareholders, principles of good financial management and planning. There are a few core areas of business insurance: • Key person insurance • Loan protection • Buy/sell arrangements (Business will) • Income protection. Understanding your business structures, including share ownership and original start date will help us ascertain if your business structure could be subject to capital gains tax. We do this by using a business fact finder that will give us a clear snap shot of your current business model.

By Mark Dunsford, Director, Financial Service Partners. Fellow of AFA. At Financial Services Partners we provide qualified financial advice and assistance to many people in our area. Crafting the exact strategy for you requires understanding your current situation, and then providing a suitable outcome for you and your business. We can offer you a complimentary, no obligation consultation with one of our qualified financial advisers, to help you determine if you are on track to adequately protect your business against a personal health risk.

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And it can even create financial hardship on a personal level for the estate or surviving owners. Small to medium sized businesses depending on a select few people to produce the profits, provide the capital, or manage people to produce the profits in the business, are most at risk. For example: If a business owner dies, becomes disabled, or suffers a major health event: • Will the surviving owners be forced into business with the family of the deceased? • Will the family contribute to the management of the business and ‘pull their weight’, or will they be more of a hindrance but still drawing their full share of the profits? Or • Even worse, will the bank be concerned enough to call in a loan? • How would the business repay the loan? • If the business couldn’t repay the loan,

When the share of a business is passed to the remaining shareholders it normally triggers a capital gain, and therefore an allowance needs to be made to cover this. We will also ensure you have an adequately prepared business will (by sell agreement) as many clients neglect to cover off on this most important part of insurance planning. We see a lot of business planning that is structured under superannuation incorrectly. An important part of this planning will also include major health events cover, and many new clients we see do not have this important feature in their planning. We will also minute any key person cover which gives the tax department a heads up as to whether this is revenue, or capital purpose. This is another area that is very often misused, with dire tax consequences.

March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 13

network news

By Tony Murrell HERE’S an admission: I don’t do Facebook. Neither am I a twitterer or twit (or is it a tweeter?). Not only does the language elude me, I remain bewildered by the rate at which the “F” book phenomenon is spreading its digital tendrils. If the technology wasn’t around when svelte Emma Peel banged up the baddies in The Avengers, then chances are I haven’t tumbled to it. Imagine Facebook as a virus (it isn’t, is it?) – all those computers linked to the world wide web would be in a bit of bother. I, for one, would be smug about having kept the landline connection. Until someone pointed out that the phone system probably relies on computers, too. Soon after reading Lev Grossman’s account of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Time Magazine’s 2010 Person of The Year, the latest statistics about Australians’ online habits were published. Where do these people find the time to do all this stuff, most of which has moved effortlessly from the desk, to the laptop, to the smart phone? However, ignore social networking at your own peril: not only is Facebook said to have “wired’ together one in 12 people on the planet, the digital labyrinth (mainly Facebook and Twitter) is credited with helping to mobilise mass uprisings in Egypt and now throughout the Middle East. US Ph.D scholar Ken Thurber, author of Big Wave Surfing: Extreme Technology Development, Management, Marketing and Investing, sees the impact of Google, Facebook and Twitter on Middle East politics as a normal evolution. “Technological change has crashed upon the world political scene. Like any wipeout it isn’t always pretty, but it’s the inevitable result of forces that have been forming for years.” There have been such changes before, argues Thurber, who cited 1968 as a particularly tumultuous year in America with riots, assassinations, and the Tet offensive in Vietnam. It caused iconic CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite to break with and publicly criticise President Lyndon Johnson and his handling of the war. “The difference now is that technology has made knowledge and events almost instantaneously accessible to a much wider audience. News travels across the world without censorship.” Thurber adds that in Egypt, ‘a big-wave

This year (2010) Facebook … added its 550 millionth member. One out of every dozen people on the planet has a Facebook account. They speak 75 languages and collectively lavish more than 700 billion minutes on Facebook every month. Last month (November) the site accounted for one out of every four American page views. It’s membership is growing at the rate of about 700,000 people a day. What just happened? In less than seven years (Mark) Zuckerberg wired together a twelfth of humanity into a single network, thereby creating a social entity almost twice as large as the U.S. If Facebook were a country it would be the third largest, behind only China and India. – Lev Grossman, on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, in his article 2010 Person of the Year, Time Magazine, 27 December, 2010, – 3 January, 2011.

Network tech surfer’ like Wael Ghonim, a Google executive who helped plan the protests, is now seen as one of the leaders in the pro-democracy movement sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa. Thurber says that the Internet, with its social networks, has just started to tap the power of people for both good and evil. The tempo of social change will only increase, he says. Social networking is becoming the norm in business where, at the very least, companies can engage with customers through a host of networks. (You just have to convince those people who have bought something from you to now be your friend.) The Australian Taxation Office invites us to follow it on Twitter. You have to wonder about that, although, if they can collect a few followers, it should be dead easy for everyone else. Melbourne couple and authors Leigh Wilson and Eva Torner think Facebook can help their book sales. They say social networking provides opportunities through accumulated friends – the “friends of friends” network. How much time Facebookers spend networking at work may worry employers, although some expert opnion says social networking staff members could actually help

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their companies. And it’s hard to imagine that it would be as non-productive as the constant ‘smokoes’. At least the ‘so-netters’ are still at their desks. Social networking accounts for one of every five minutes spent online in Australia, according to comScore, which measures the digital world. comScore has released The State of the Internet in Australia, looking at latest trends in digital consumer behavior. Among the report’s key findings was that social networking now accounts for the largest amount of total time spent online (22 per cent), 5.3 per cent up from the previous year. The report also found: • In December, 2010, Microsoft sites led as the most-visited internet property in Australia, followed by Google sites and Facebook.com. • But when looking at the top sites by total minutes spent, Facebook.com assumed top spot followed by Microsoft and Google sites. • More Australians visited retail sites compared to last year, outpacing increases in the global average. Amazon and Apple led as the most visited retail destinations. • Group-buying sites continued to gain traction over the past year. Cudo, an MSN

revolution property, currently leads the space with 418,000 unique visitors in December, 2010. • Three out of four online users in Australia watched online video in December with an average viewer watching more than seven hours of video during the month. Businesses that ban their employees using Facebook and Twitter at work may be fighting a losing battle, which, according to some experts, is a fight not worth having in the first place. With the rising use of social networking on mobile phones, instead of logging on at their work computers, employees are simply taking a break and escaping the building to check their accounts. University of Melbourne researcher Dr Brent Coker told the Herald Sun there was no point banning social networking use at work. It allowed workers to take a break and, in fact, increased productivity. Dr Coker has argued that workers visiting social networking and news websites on the job are about nine per cent more productive than those who don’t – provided the break time doesn’t exceed 20 per cent of the workday. After researching the phenomenon back in 2009, Dr Coker concluded: “Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration

for a days work, and as a result, increased productivity.” An American workplace expert, John Budd, says the debate will follow similar debates in the past about personal use of work telephone and email accounts, where employers will learn to trust employees to do the right thing. “Do you want to create a climate of trust and empowerment … or do you want to create a climate of distrust, monitoring and control?” Budd asked.

Online employer advocate site showed most support employees checking their Facebook page during work hours. A Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry report late last year pointed out how some software developers have produced applications to lock individuals out of social networking websites after a prescribed time if they spend too long browsing on Facebook. The VECCI reported contnued: “Whatever your company’s social networking policy (if you have one at all), simply remember that

Mark Zuckerberg started a Web service from his

dorm at Harvard. It was called Thefacebook. com and was hailed as “an online directory that connects people through social networks at college”. The Harvard days and after are subjects of the movie ‘The Social Network’ written by West Wing’s Aaron Sorkin.

your workers are likely to get around it in some method. Finding the right balance is key – give your employees something and they’re likely to give you something in return. “How businesses approach the issue of social networking in the workplace often varies from company to company. Some go as far as blocking the sites so workers cannot gain access at any stage on their work computers, others allow browsing while on official breaks, and others have a more liberal policy, allowing browsing as long as work gets done, too.” An onlineVECCI poll on whether social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter should be banned in the workplace showed support (or acceptance) of the online activities. More than 80 per cent offered qualified support for employees checking their Facebook page at work. Sixty per cent said ‘yes’ provided work was completed, while just over 22 per cent said it was OK on a break or at lunchtime. • The comScore report stated that nearly 12 million Australians conducted an online search query in December, with an average searcher performing 115 queries. Google sites accounted for 80 per cent of searches in December.

March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 15

NETWORKING

Frankston Business Chamber networking Rainer Feldgren’s Good Guys Discount Warehouse at Frankston-Cranbourne Rd hosted the February Frankston Business

Chamber networking night 15 February: 1. Britt Jago, of Westpac, Frankston; Kylie McMahon, Lionel Gainsford, of Business-

Times; Sally Carvosso, of Puddle Beach; Neil Kraus, of Telephone Technologies; and Peter Cracknell. of Clean with Envy. 2. Antony Hardenberg, of NAB ; artist Janice Mills; Tony Fly, of NAB; and Stephen Walker, of Nemostar Computers.

Monash Peninsula Business Breakfast

Monash Business Breakfast 1 March at Peninsula Golf Club. 1. David Osborne, of Shepard, Webster & O’Neill, accountants; Holly Reid, CEO of Menzies Inc.; and guest speaker Rob Gell. 2. Alex Anderson and Michael Anderson, of Woorinyan; and Howard Date, of Non Executive Management Pty Ltd.

Mornington Cup Day Mornington Racing Club’s premier event and leading peninsula social outing, the Mornington Cup was held17 February: 1. Fraser Bayne, CEO Mornington Racing Club, and Deb McKenzie, whose husband was a judge for Fashions on the Field. 2. Marg Harrison, of BusinessTimes; Peter and Cate Cracknell. Peter owns Clean with Envy and Cates owns the WOW Factory, which offered free make-ups all through Cup Day.

Mt Eliza business networkers 1

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Mt Eliza Business Networking Group monthly meeting on 23 February at the Canadian Bay Hotel. 1. Len May, of Quad Security; and Rahman Yner, of Creative Artroom. 2. Guest speaker Wendy Berry with Edy Wilfling, of Pragmatic Training; and Jenny Wagg.

MATTERS OF CONVENIENCE

Convenience store sales go up in smoke AUSTRALIA’S convenience store operators have lost tobacco sales and relied more on petrol and coffee sales in a tough year. The Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) annual state-ofthe-industry report indicates that its member stores were hit hard by natural disasters, higher utilities bills, new taxes and mortgage stress in 2010. “Thrift is the new black and the convenience sector faces stiff competition from major grocery chains,” according to AACS executive director Sheryle Moon. “The ... drop in tobacco sales in convenience stores has corresponded with a marked increase in tobacco sales at large grocery chains and through illicit channels,” Moon said. The report found that customer visits to convenience stores were down more than 10 per cent and the average spend on petrol was down by 13 per cent compared to 2009. Moon said that a more telling statistic of

the increasingly competitive environment for share of the consumer wallet was that petrol-only sales increased 44 per cent from a year ago and more than half (55 per cent) of sales at convenience stores are solely for petrol. Sheryle Moon said: “Beverages, in particular hot drinks, have replaced tobacco as the number one contributor to store gross profit. This demonstrates the growing acceptance of coffee offers in a convenience stores. “The big supermarkets are continuing to encroach on the ‘convenience’ of convenience stores utilising their enormous buying power and supply chain to lure customers to the supermarket.” While tobacco sales have fallen in convenience stores by 10 per cent, national grocery statistics compiled by global research group Synovate Aztec show tobacco sales have instead increased by 8.6 per cent in major grocery chains and now comprise 29.7

per cent of their total share of growth, as at October last year. The convenience sector continues to be concerned that there are smokers accessing the illicit market for tobacco products. “The gap between the supermarket chains and small business sector effectively widens on the back of admirably intentioned yet ill considered policy,” Ms Moon said. “The report highlighted that as further legislation paints an uncertain future for convenience store operators and the sector, a more integrated and far-sighted approach is required from government, suppliers and retailers alike,” she said. “After all, the convenience store sector, as a big part of the small business sector, is a major contributor of government revenues, from taxes paid on purchases to income and company taxes for the many people employed in the sector.” The AACS is the campaigning voice of more than 4379 convenience stores.

Friends, research help with the serious business of holidays

community services Woorinyan Employment Services • Commercial Grounds Maintenance • Labour Hire • Recycling Phone: 03 9784 3900 Email: info@woorinyan.com.au Woorinyan is a not-for-profit charitable organisation providing employment opportunities for people with a disability.

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OPPORTU

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I AT

Today’s travellers engage in an extensive research process, which often takes place over several months and includes numerous and varied information sources. While travellers consult several sources, when asked to select their most trusted sources, they responded: • Recommendations from friends (92 per cent) • Online searches (70 per cent) • Online reviews from other travelers (53 per cent) • Travel books (50 per cent) The survey also revealed that travellers are proactively looking for value and are willing to research

IF travelers are similar the world over then a March survey by a US company selling multi-attraction passes in big cities tells us that while we rely heavily on recommendations from friends, we are also researching our holidays more and more extensively. Smart Destinations’ consumer survey explored the depth and breadth of research processes as well as purchase preferences and habits. The survey, which includes responses from more than 500 US travellers, shows that people take their holidays seriously, seeking advice, conducting online research and actively looking for deals.

to accomplish that. Additionally, travellers’ definition of value is expanding. This value-mindset now goes beyond hotels and airfare and includes attractions, as well as savings in time and added convenience. • 75 per cent of respondents actively try to get discounted admission in advance if there is a specific activity they want to do on their trip. • 95 per cent of respondents would buy admission in advance if they could “skip the line” at popular attractions. • 46 per cent of respondents would pay more than the retail price to eliminate waiting in line.

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March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 17

frankston arts centre

Tuesdays with Morrie

Arts open for the business of life

Unspeakable

THE trap when looking at any arts centre would be to allow the buildings themselves to shape an impression of what must be happening inside.

2011 theatre season Inspirational comedy 1 & 2 April

Comedy gets silent treatment 4 April

Melbourne Comedy Roadshow A feast of in-your-face laughs 1 May

Rainbow’s End Aussie drama 10 & 11 May

Capture the Flag Gripping, intelligent drama 7 June, 1 pm & 8pm

Julius Caesar Bell Shakespeare 26 July

Krakouer! More than a footy tale 9 & 10 August

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Classic Baroque, Marvellous Mozart 22 September

Often I Find that I am Naked Outrageous comedy 29-30 September

Victorian Opera The best of everything 21 October

David Hobson & Teddy Tahu Rhodes Our favourite tenor and bass baritone 18 November BOOKINGS 03 9784 1060

www.artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au

The architecture of such places may somehow reflect their use, but really that’s a tall order because the essence of such a cultural facility is that over time it is all things to all people. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than at Frankston Arts Centre. The narrowest perception is of a standout building occupying prime real estate where you see stage performances and maybe attend a function now and then. But ask a cross section of the Frankston community – from kids, parents, teachers amateur actors, theatergoers and businesses – about what the arts centre means to them and what emerges is a dynamic mix of activities, not exclusively about the arts. On any day in the arts centre, including adjoining Cube 37, there could be morning, afternoon or evening performances, art exhibitions, workshops for children and adults, corporate functions, trade exhibitions, high school formals, a birthday party … almost like if you can imagine it, you’ll find it there. And those running the centre are not so insular that they expect us to swarm their portals for an enriching cultural experience. Over several years the arts centre management has been reaching out into the community with specialist programs like Sing Your Own Opera, City of Riddles and Hip Cat Circus. Setting staff abuzz with anticipation lately has been the centre’s first travelling production, Go Away Mr Worrythoughts!, a primary school incursion adapted from the book written by a Langwarrin mother to help younger children to deal with negative thoughts. Many such projects require sponsorship and could help a business looking to penetrate a variety of markets. It’s no surprise that the arts centre rates very

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highly in annual community surveys: top three among the most valued services in the city and the theatre season put together by the centre’s management has the highest community satisfaction rating of all cultural activities. What’s behind this extraordinary goodwill is a range of facilities, services, entertainment choices and activities designed to reach every citizen. Take workshops as an example.

What’s behind this extraordinary goodwill is a range of facilities, services, entertainment choices and activities designed to reach every citizen. Children of various ages can train with the Hip Cat Circus, Tiny Tumblers and the Aerial Masterclass – all coordination training regimes with a theatrical thrust. For slightly older tastes there is the popular Writers’ Block group while younger groups also are attracted to puppet making and Indian Classical Dance classes. Not exactly Bollywood, but movement and colour nevertheless. FAC hosts major performances, including regular shows by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Victorian Opera and is a tour venue for Melbourne Comedy Festival. The seats in the main foyer offer a comfortable and quiet refuge during the day, but on performance nights it’s often standing room only as friends meet before the show for dinner or a drink. Becoming popular is pre-show dining managed by boutique catering company Black Tie, with seasonal menu changes along with regular chef’s specials.

Become an FAC member and enjoy star treatment

Businesses wanting to entertain staff or clients can arrange a dinner or pre-show get together with finger food and local wines in an intimate setting. A call to the centre will see any function swiftly arranged. Centre manager Robin Batt continuously pushes the value of FAC to businesses in the region. “We attract people from all age groups, backgrounds and different interests. “Every month we communicate to more than 6000 people who have requested we “talk” to them. We are seen as a nuetral organisation that offers plenty to many,” she said. In simple numbers, the centre is impressive: more than 300,000 people come to the centre each year and the box office turnover exceeds $2 million. The centre houses an 800-seat theatre, boasting the second largest proscenium arch stage in Victoria, a 60-line fly tower and state of the art technical and staging equipment. The function centre seats up to 500 for corporate and community expos, seminars, gala dinner dances and awards ceremonies. The function area has two rooms (which can be opened up to form one large room) with expansive views across Port Phillip Bay.

Cube 37 is the art centre’s “creative arts space”, and is housed in a purpose-built building adjacent to the centre. Cube 37 features a large, adaptable studio performance space, with flexible seating for up to 200 people, and also houses a wet studio, meeting rooms, a new media suite and two exhibition galleries. Cube 37 hosts a blossoming New Media program, with digital art displayed throughout the year in the Glass Studio - a large glassfronted exhibition space with street frontage. Cube 37 also provides much of the centre’s community access with its workshops, exhibitions and youth arts projects running throughout the year. The April calendar of events demonstrates the pulling power and popularity of FAC. The month opens with theatre season performances of Tuesdays with Morrie 1 and 2 April and Unspeakable on 4 April. Other shows are Hi-5, Martine Pavey, Ben 10 – Time Machine and David Campbell’s Broadway and Beyond. Regular workshops include Hip Cat Circus, Tiny Tumblers, Writers’ Block, Aerial Masterclass, Puppet Creations and the Indian Classical Dance. Wide-ranging activities aimed at Frankston’s children is an investment by the arts centre in a solid future.

Individual Membership cost $30; Joint Membership $60 Individual members may purchase one discounted ticket and joint members are eligible to purchase two discounted tickets to performances where membership prices are available.

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Many ... projects require sponsorship and could help a business looking to penetrate a variety of markets.

FOR the first time in its 16-year history, FAC is offering memberships carrying benefits like ticket discounts and early advice about events. Members pay less for all FAC presented performances and nominated non-FAC presented performances. Businesses with memberships could treat staff to top theatre entertainment at reduced prices. Membership benefits include • Preferential booking period, best seat options and fast track processing • Pre-sale opportunities to all FAC and nominated non-FAC presented performances • Exclusive invitations to openings, events and pre-show artist talks • Deferred payment to theatre season productions • A personalised membership card with online access to membership pricing and purchase • Members-only communications, news, competitions and cast sheets when available • Periodic special offers from our associates including retail, hospitality and accommodation • First opportunity to view FAC’s 2012 program before general release.

March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 19

HEALTH

Tea: the next big thing? While working in a Frankston office 20 or more years ago, I remember a coffee shop in our building continually changing hands. My colleagues and I would drop in one or two afternoons a week for a cup of instant and a slice of banana cake. We would empathise with the latest owner, surveying their largely empty and unproductive premises while wondering privately what could possess anyone to want to open a café. That was then! Clearly now, Australians have made up for lost time in embracing the so-called coffee culture that has been entrenched in other societies, especially European, for generations. That same struggling café is a gold mine these days. A little research reveals that Finns are actually the world coffee champions. They drink more coffee per head – a staggering 11.2kg a year – than anyone. Must be the cold! When last surveyed by the Bureau of Statistics in 2006, Australians were drinking 2.4kg each, but that was trending upwards. Twenty years ago, for most Aussies the word “coffee” conjured up thoughts of milky, instant International Roast, served in a disposable cup. Now most of us are connoisseurs. We are coffee snobs. We like “real” coffee, and we sniff at the instant varieties. It did take Australians a while to catch up on the rest of the world, but we got there. Now for a big prediction … exactly the same thing is about to happen with tea. And I don’t mean boring old milky Englishstyle black tea with one sugar – the tea equivalent of instant coffee. I mean REAL

Michael Ellis*

Chinese Herbalist

tea. I mean the exquisite, delicate, subtle teas that are so much a part of the cultures of Asian countries. And I don’t mean the herb teas, or green or jasmine tea bags you can sometimes find in the supermarket, either. They are also a tea equivalent of “instant coffee”. (Oops, just revealed that I’m also a tea snob!) I’m talking about the superior grade teas that come from China, Taiwan and other parts of South-East Asia and that form the basis of the tea cultures in those countries. If I owned a café, this is the direction I would be looking. I think that tea – quality tea – is going to be the Next Big Thing. Now that the world is shrinking to the size of an internet portal, the East is giving up all its secrets to the insatiable West, and tea is just one. It’s hard to over-state the importance of tea in Chinese culture. At various points in history, China’s national drink has even been designated as a currency and used as cash. Emperors gave it as a precious gift. Teas are grown, harvested, graded and prepared with the same sort of care employed by our winemakers. The very finest teas are contemplated the

same way we might think about a perfect wine – a Grange, say. They might even cost as much. And as with wine, the tastes subtly change from season to season and between crops, making the enjoyment of tea an evervarying pleasure. The elevation of tea drinking to an art form is generally traced back to the 8th Century, with the publication of Lu Yu’s The Classic Art of Tea. A Buddhist priest, Lu Yu had strict instructions on the proper procedure for cultivating, brewing and serving tea. For example, only water from a slow-moving stream was acceptable. (Perhaps today’s equivalent would be water from a filter!) The ideal setting for enjoying the finished product was in a pavilion next to a water lily pond, preferably in the company of a desirable partner! Did I mention Lu Yu was also a poet? His work also contained practical tips for manufacturing tea, many of which are still in use today. Of course, apart from the cultural aspects of tea drinking, the other attraction for Westerners is that tea has health benefits. (As opposed to coffee!) Already there is an abundance of research into green tea and its effect on digestion, the cardiovascular system, and even prostate health. Its effectiveness as a digestive tonic explains why Chinese restaurants are so keen to serve jasmine tea with your banquet – it helps you eat more! This is a topic for another time, but I’m willing to predict it’s going to become a common conversation in cafes everywhere. * Michael Ellis is a registered Chinese herbalist in Mt Eliza: www.mtelizaherbal.com.

How to brew an exquisite pot of tea

If you’ve bought a high-quality tea, check to see whether it comes with specific instructions, as these will vary between varieties. With some, for example the heavy pu er, the first brew is made for only a few seconds then discarded, not drunk. For most though, especially the popular oolong teas, here is the basic procedure. 1. First obtain some high-quality tea. Place enough leaves to cover the bottom of the teapot. 2. Bring water to boil. Most tea can be “burnt”

by boiling water. Green and oolong teas are OK with boiling water, but better if the water is off the boil – say, 90 degrees rather than 100. 3. Pour hot water into the teapot and wait for one minute. Part of the art of tea making is getting just the right brewing time. For some teas the ideal time will be only 30 seconds. The longer the tea brews, the more bitter it will become. To keep it sweet and flavoursome, do not over-brew. 4. Pour the tea directly into the cups, emptying the pot, or from the teapot into a serving pot. Do not leave the water on the leaves! This is important to prevent the bitterness that develops if the leaves steep too long. 5. Appreciate the colour and fragrance

20 | BusinessTimes Frankston Peninsula | March 2011

of the tea, and notice the sweet taste at the back of the throat after each sip. 6. When finished with the first brew, pour more hot water over the leaves in the teapot and wait for 60 to 90 seconds. Pour into the serving pot and enjoy as before. This will probably be the best brew, as the leaves have fully opened by this time. Again, do not leave the leaves to steep too long. 7. The third and any subsequent brewing should be left for up to two or three minutes before pouring off, to extract the final taste and fragrance from the tea leaves. A good quality tea should yield at least three and perhaps up to five brews per pot.

MANAGING www.businesstimes.net.au

Towards growth: ready, set, go... Get READY. Two articles ago, we reviewed the importance of analysis of your existing business as a foundation for growth, on the basis that this is a critical precursor to growth. Get SET. In the latest article, we reviewed the dreaming and planning phase which led to the development of your plan for growth. The focus was on examining all of your growth alternatives, engaging with your customers and suppliers and developing a comprehensive growth plan. GO. Now the race is on and you are ready to implement your growth plan. During this phase, communication is really important to ensure that your whole supply chain understands their role in supporting your implementation. Failure by any supply chain component can result in a complete interruption to your plan, thereby straining both your commitments to others in the supply chain, and, in particular, straining your cash resources. Your leadership is critical here to ensure that the proper risk analyses have been done ahead of time. The key risks should be identified for each component in your supply chain so that these can be monitored carefully to ensure that any potential issues are corrected as early as possible. Your customer’s reaction to your new offering is absolutely critical during this phase as they will be your ultimate judge. While engaging with your customers is always important, it can be life threatening at this time. Often, minor tweaking of your new offering will be necessary as customers may discover something about your product that you had not realised. Every one of your people who interface with customers should be sensitised to the importance of feedback so that you can collect and collate every customer reaction. This way, you will become assured that customers will start to pull on your new product/service as early as possible thereby allowing you to reduce your efforts to push the new product/service to them. This is a risky time for your business with lots of opportunities for both small successes and failures. When failures occur, your handling of your people who created

Hamish Petrie*

Business Consultant

the failure is a test that the whole organisation will watch. At one stage of my career, despite great intentions, I made a significant error on a project which cost my company a lot of money. I thought that this was job threatening, but my boss handled it by stating that he had just invested that money in my development, but that he did not want to have to do it again. I have been reflecting on this attitude to learning throughout my career. While it may have been an expensive lesson, it was also very valuable. Successes are also a great opportunity to learn. Throughout a growth phase, you should consider how to maximise the learning by designing a review process with your key people. Sometimes, this can be as simple as asking “what did we learn today?” at the end of each working day. Keeping a

Throughout a growth phase, you should consider how to maximise the learning by designing a review process with your key people. visible scoreboard of successes and failures with follow-up actions can help to keep your team focussed at this time. In small businesses, too much success can also be an issue. If your plan works too well, supporting new customer demand can be very difficult for you and your key people. It can also mean that you have to plough more of your early profits back into the business to build inventories, or to hire and train more people. Both of these risks can take some considerable time to resolve, during which you are more vulnerable to disappointing your customers, and to your competitors

seizing the opportunity to copy your new offering and steal some of your growth. To grow your business effectively, the most important factor is your people, but growing people can be slow, expensive and frustrating if not done correctly. Early in the process, you will need to identify the few really key people who are ready to step up and take on new responsibilities. You can help them develop individually by one-on-one coaching, but their collective learning can be enhanced by setting up a process where they can discuss and share their issues openly. You can design this in many ways, but a small team process has been shown to assist in both their personal development as well as steering your overall business growth. Your personal wellbeing and health is particularly critical during this sort of phase, but it is often the most difficult thing to manage as you are so very short of time. But, you are not the only one with this issue as most of your key people will also be time-short during a growth phase. Put this on your lead team’s agenda, discuss it openly and make sure that you act as a role model. This way, you also licence your key people to take some personal time to look after their well-being. Ready, set, go and grab the rewards from a well thought out process to a stronger, more profitable future. You are also much more likely to put a smile on your life partner’s face when you answer that question about your five years expectations. Action planning questions: 1. Are all of your people who touch the customers aware of their role in the plan and sensitised to capture any customer feedback? 2. Have you conducted a risk analysis of your growth plan and identified the significant risk points and counter measures? 3. Have you designed a process to ensure that your organisation learns from both failures and successes? 4. Have you identified your key people and prepared them for this growth phase? 5. Do you have a process to ensure the health and well being of your key people and yourself through this intense growth phase? *Hamish Petrie had a 37-year corporate career including 29 years with Alcoa Inc. His last position was as VP–People and Communication for the global Alcoa corporation based in New York, NY. He can be contacted at hamish@ nitroworld.net or on 0404 345 103.

March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 21

NEWS WHEELS

Sleek lines of the Volkswagen CC four-door coupe are a delight to the eye.

Two years ago I travelled extensively in the UK on a business/holiday trip in a VW Golf station wagon with a five-speed manual gearbox. I’m just back from a similar trip, but this time decided to go in a bit of style by opting for a classy coupe, a Volkswagen Passat CC. Not only did the Passat four-door coupe provide more luxury and space, but also used even less diesel than the thrifty VW Golf. This illustrates the remarkable rate of engineering improvement in vehicles in these times when low emissions and fuel usage are top priority with many buyers. While I will be the first to admit that driving two cars two year apart is not exactly a precise exercise in measurement, both were driven in similar conditions

Passat passes all tests Ewen Kennedy Motoring Journalist

over the same route. The Passat averaged 5.5 litres per hundred kilometres compared with the Golf’s 5.6 litres. Not a huge difference, but I had expected the

bigger, heavier Passat to have used about ten per cent more fuel than a Golf, yet it used a smidgen less. In British terms both Volkswagens covered about 50 miles per gallon. That was travelling on motorways at speeds of around 125 to 135 km/h for a fair bit of the trip, so the engines were running at

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22 | BusinessTimes Frankston Peninsula | March 2011

1527

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TESTING: VW Passat cc

the speeds for which they were designed. This VW Passat CC was no economy special, rather it was the GT turbo-diesel with 125 kW of power and 350 Nm of torque, the latter being at its peak from 1750 to 2500 revs, so the big CC had plenty of midterm grunt that suited it nicely while cruising. The low roof means you have to stoop more than when you’re getting into a regular sedan. Leg space is very good for a coupe but if you’re much taller than average you may find headroom limited. But don’t forget this is a coupe, not a sedan. The use of just two rear seats, with no attempt to provide a centre seat, makes sense. It not only gives this Passat the

classier feel you expect in a grand tourer, but also makes space for a handy centre console, complete with drink holders. A big fold-up centre armrest completes the feeling of luxury in the back. I would recommend the regular Passat sedan (or station wagon) over the Passat CC if you want to use it as a full-on family machine. VW Passat CC has a dashboard arrangement that works neatly, though the designers backed off a bit on the style and didn’t take the bold direction they used on the exterior. The quality of the interior finish is immaculate, both in the choice of materials and the painstaking manner in which they have been assembled.

The CC’s boot is long and reasonably tall, although the sporting shape of the tail means you will not be able to carry bulky items as they may not fit through the opening. A small ski hatch permits you to carry long skinny items. On the road the Passat CC is beautifully quiet and smooth. Noise and vibration levels are nicely subdued and this sporting Volkswagen has the feel of a luxury car when it’s cruising. Passat CC 125 TDI 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-door coupe: $54,990; (DSG) Passat CC V6 FSI 3.6-litre petrol four-door coupe: $64,990 (DSG) (Prices do not include dealer or government charges).

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March 2011 | Frankston Peninsula BusinessTimes | 23

Our most popular model, now more attractive than ever. For a limited time, finance a prestigious Audi A4 from $189* a week. Introducing the Audi A4 Finance Oﬀer, where between 1 March and 30 April 2011, you can secure a new or demonstrator A4 for a very attractive:

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Audi Mornington 117 Mornington - Tyabb Road, Mornington | Ph. 03 5975 5455 | www.audimornington.com.au *Based on drive away price of $60,732.50 for the Audi A4 1.8T FSI multitronic, to approved Business Applicants of Audi Finance** on a Hire Purchase over 48 months with no deposit and a balloon of $33,126.82. Total amount payable $72,429.69, interest rate 5.99% per annum. + Applicable to all new and demonstrator A4s. Offer applies to new and demonstrator A4 vehicles ordered and delivered between March 1st and April 30th 2011 or while stocks last, whichever comes first. Standard fees and charges apply. Not available to fleet, government or rental buyers. Full conditions are available on application. **Audi Finance is a trading name of Volkswagen Financial Services Australia Pty Ltd. Overseas models shown. LMCT 10395.