Csbn june 2014 edition by CSBN

in the SPOTLIGHT -John Laurenson, Problem Solver. Page 28.

5 Fast Ways To Boost Your Business Using The Media. Claire Kelly, Page 10.

MONTHLY June 2014 Volume 3.

The CONNECT SMALL BUSINESS NETWORK - NETWORK . PROMOTE . EXPAND.

ARE YOU READY FOR TAX TIME? Tax time is not easy for most of us but it needs to be done. In this edition we’’ve packed a wide variety of articles to get you thinking...

Read on...

the

LOOK WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS MONTH’S

EDITION 3. Meet CSBN Editor In Chief Ben Mackie

18. How To Make Your Own Promo Video

4. I Choose To Be connected

19. Do You Find Contadictory Healh Advice Overwhelming, Frustrating and Confusing?

5. Mates Rates Or Bait Rates? 6. Establish Yourself As An Expert In Your Field 7. I Like Mondays 8. Your opportunity To SPEAK 9. Five Fast Ways to Boost Your Business Using the Media 12. CSBN & Charity 14. How To Get Over The Fear Of Selling 15. CSBN Think Tank - Event 16. EOFY Financial Tips 2014 17. Introducing Claire Kelly

20. Editorial Vs Advertorial 21. Social Media Marketing and Over-Saturation Dangers 22. Clear & Calm Healing - Alternative And Holistic Healing 24. An Australian Sovereign Wealth Find - Why Not? 26. 6 Fundamental Phases To Extraordinary Profit 28. Spotlight On John Laurenson - Problem Solver 32. Meet The CSBN Team 33. Goodbye To Sam Rosenbaum (for now)

CSBN EDI TO R I N C H I E F

BEN Mackie Working as a copywriter means that I am regularly involved in creating or editing written content, marketing and business networking. Getting these areas right are the solid, proven foundations on which to build a successful business. Considering that being Editor in Chief for CSBN Monthly meant I would continue to be involved first-hand in all of these things, it’s a challenge I eagerly accepted! In the early stages of managing your own business, it can be difficult knowing what to invest the majority of your time, energy and focus into. Sure you have a slick new website, professionally printed business cards, eye-catching signage and a couple of networking events scheduled in (aside from daily business operations) but what else will it take for your business to thrive? I know first-hand what it’s like to be in a start-up situation where not only do most people not know who you are, but they don’t even know what you do or what you could do for them. Then added to that is the fact you’re not entirely sure where to go or who to rely on for advice. All at once, not only can it feel like there is so much requiring your attention, but like you’ll have to do it all yourself if you want it done correctly. No wonder we get overwhelmed! CSBN Monthly aims to help you overcome all of these common problems, connecting you with a wide variety of like-minded businesspeople and entrepreneurs as well as enabling you to promote your business to a new (and growing) target audience. People who, just like you, are keen to learn new skills or concepts, grow their business, achieve their goals, help others and meet new people along the way. As our name suggests, CSBN Monthly is primarily focused on building a base to connect new and existing businesses with one another because in business, strength and success come in numbers. Not only will CSBN Monthly help you

establish new and valuable business connections, but we’ll also keep you informed of upcoming networking events in your area- this enables you to see what’s upcoming, reasonably close and suited to you, all in the one easy location. Serving as Editor in Chief for CSBN Monthly, I look forward to meeting you, learning about your area of expertise and that great product, service or idea you have to share with people. This is not just an opportunity I’m glad to be part of, but something that Camille, Sam and myself have been eagerly planning together as a reliable and growing platform to provide you with fantastic new business opportunities, partnerships and relationships. Being involved from the beginning in something that will ultimately benefit all of us- readers, subscribers, advertisers, guests, the team- is a role I greatly appreciate. Instead of feeling like a lone farmer planting seeds and then keeping an eye on reaping for himself, I feel as if I am in a huge field, surrounded by farmers all keen as I am to not just reap rewards for ourselves, but help others to do the same. There is still much work to be done, but also much singing along the way- and plenty of celebrating when harvest time comes, I’m sure!

Author - Ben Mackie

I CHOOSE TO BE CONNECTED. “ Tax Time is SCARY time for most business owners. ”

As tax time is fast approaching, I’ve included a few powerful articles in this edition that I hope will be of both interest and benefit to you.

“The fact is, most small business owners, people just like you and me; typically dominated by right-brain thinking.” If you are anything like me, you need to find the right person for the job. Not just any numbers cruncher, but someone who is highly motivated to do the very best job for your business. Someone who will take the time to sit with you and ask questions about your business, someone who will find out what they need to know to achieve the very best results for you!

Hi, my name is Camille and I am the founder and manager of the Connect! Small Business Network (CSBN). Have you ever heard people say that they tend to be more of a right-brain or left-brain thinker? Well I am through and through right sided; creative, intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective. That’s fine and dandy, as long as anything even loosly related to math doesn’t cross my path. Unfortunately, as a small business owner, numbers, pricing, statistics and tax are a very vital part of being successful. So face them I must. These days I do so with the help of an amazing accountant and a fearless tax slayer! While they cost money, they are worth their weight in gold. The fact is, most small business owners, people just like you and me, are dominated by right-brain thinking. Unless your business, therefore your passion, is accounting, tax or strategic planning, you are going to face challenges dealing with the financial and numbers side of your business.

There are a dozen ‘big’ name accountants and tax people out there and they are easy to locate. But will they go the extra mile to provide outstanding service to you? I strongly suggest go out and network. Meet those numbers savvy peeps face to face and get to know them. Go to almost any netwroking event and you will meet at least one very highly motivated numbers slayer who will truly be of benefit to your business. The great ones will not only crunch your numbers and fill your tax forms, they will offer you a wealth of valuable information to help you grow and expand your business. Seek and you will find them. I know every aspect of small business growth and am happy to freely share my knowledge with you. So please lean on me and ask me questions. I’d love to be of service to you. I look forward to meeting and connecting with you soon. Author - Camille Scott

M AT E S R AT E S . . .O R . . .

BAIT RATES? Motor vehicle sales have boomed over the past 12 months. Over a million vehicles have been sold and here are a few statistics from the latest Deloitte Motor industry report: • 80% of these new vehicles have been financed in some way • 80% of us had already narrowed the search online before going to a dealership. • Car dealers made 40% more income as a group on their finance and insurance. • Some car dealers are reporting 90% of profits now come from finance and insurance. Many would have seen car leasing rates as low as 0%, 0.5% or 0.9% or 1.9%. If the RB cash rate is 3% how can you get finance at 1.9%? Surely they are losing money? Let’s look a little deeper into this. Firstly, leasing and chattel mortgages are commercial products which are not covered by Consumer Credit Protection legislation (NCCP) so there is less responsibility to disclose commissions and potentially conflicted remuneration. Secondly, these deals are on the advertised model only. You MUST pay the advertised price – no negotiation or discount. Next, you will find the very same vehicle considerably cheaper by shopping around. For example you can buy a popular European sedan for around $76,000 but if you take the low interest deal you might find the lease price at $88,000 – a difference of some $12,000. Clearly the price has been inflated by this amount but you have no choice, if you want that low interest rate, you pay that price!

Subvention This difference is then paid to the finance company to make up the shortfall created by the low interest rate AND, of course, you still pay interest on the subvented amount. You may also see monthly payments as low as $299 per week and you think ‘Wow’. I could be driving an XYZ for $299pw! Look closer because it might not include mandatory dealer and government charges and there may be yet another sting in the tail. You have probably heard of ‘balloon payment’ or ‘residual’

which is the lump sum at the end of the lease term. It is often set at around 20 to 30% of the purchase price. It means that you can trade the vehicle or sell it and have no money owing. The ‘Mates Rates’ with ‘low payment’ deals often have a high residual around 45% of the INFLATED PRICE. This can lead to negative equity or simply owing more than it’s worth at the end of the term. Ask yourself, how many vehicles are still worth 45% of the inflated value after 5 years? Further, the lower the interest rate, the more restrictive the terms. If the timeframe for the special deal is short, the dealer could be under pressure to move stock to make way for new models. If so, you should see significant differences between the ‘deal’ price and the price you could achieve through negotiation; often up to 20%! Therefore, paying 20% more for the vehicle isn’t always going to be improved by obtaining a cheap rate.

Tips 1. Shop around and negotiate for the best price BEFORE you discuss finance. Try asking for the best cash price first. 2. Ignore the advertised deal but compare payments and residuals for the final deal. Simply compare apples with apples. 3. Don’t be pressured to sign on the spot! Please research the price and then finance 4. Car dealers usually charge the maximum brokerage which makes it easy for your own broker to beat them PLUS arrange finance to best fit your circumstances.

Paul GILLMORE DFS Founder and Director of Southern Cross Financial Services 07 5429 5561 or paul@sc-fs.com.au

E STABLISH YOURSELF AS AN

EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD

“Get published and drive more leads of viable and ideal customers directly to your business.” Got something to write about? Great- you’ve come to the right place! The CSBN Monthly Magazine is packed with content aimed at being of great value to small business owners just like you. The following are guidelines only. If you go a bit over or under the word count, that’s ok! Don’t focus on sticking to the word count if it breaks the integrity of your article. As a suggestion – write as though you are talking to just one other person. It will make your article easier to write, easier to read and will hold some of your personality (always a wonderful thing!) If you focus on the fact that thousands of people might read your article you are just putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.

So get writing and let yourself shine! Business Highlights ( ¼ page adverts): • 860 characters. Includes spaces, punctuation and max. 2 paragraphs. 918 with 1 paragraph or 928 no paragraphs.

2 Page Article: • 1080 words or 6200 characters including spaces. The above guide allows space for images, a very important part of any good magazine, publication or advert.

It’s easy to check your word/character count: • We recommend you use Word to type up your submission and utilize the spell check and punctuation features. • To determine Character Count, simply click on ‘Words:’ on the bottom left bar. A pop up box will appear and inform you of page statistics. You need to pay attention to the 4th one down, ‘Characters (with spaces)’. • Please note, if you exceed the character limit for your type of submission, thats OK. We will adjust the image size to fit your copy in. But please be reasonable, we can only do so much so if you find that you need a larger advertising space, talk to us. Afetr all, we are here to help you grow and expand to where you want to be in your business!

• Image should be 248wide x 310high pixels and 300dpi. • If you don’t have access to graphic imaging software, don’t worry! Just attach your image and we will adjust it for you. If the image is too small or of a poor quality we will contact you for another or provide one for you.

½ Page Column: • 230 words or 1530 characters with spaces.

1 Page Article: • 540 words or 3100 characters including spaces.

Author - Camille Scott

M A K I NG THE MOST OF MONDAY S

I LIKE MONDAYS “If Tom Cochrane was right and life is a highway, then Monday morning is my road house.”. You read that correctly. That is not a typo. When Monday morning rolls around and people across the nation in their millions rub their pasty eyes and grumble about work, I’m waking up with the same eager sense of anticipation an artist feels when they sit down to a blank canvas, brush in hand. If I sound mad, read on... Now before you accuse me of being naive or insensitive to your distinct work situation, I will tell you that there were plenty of Sunday evenings past where I’d feel that deflating sense of inevitability, similar to that feeling you get on the trip home after a wonderful holiday. No matter what I did or where I went as the sun set, I knew there would be no sleeping in for me because on the other side of the soothing shades of Sunday night, lurked mundane, mind-numbing Monday. Usually, the closest thing to look forward to was another 5 days away- nearly a full week! Even Friday afternoon, often treated as the opening ceremony for the weekend, felt like a long, very boring way away.

have the place to myself and I dwell on anything that was great about the week just gone. Then I think about what are the biggest things I want to achieve in the week ahead. If Tom Cochrane was right and life is a highway, then Monday morning is my road house. I pull in and refuel, clean my windscreen so my vision is clear, load up on coffee, plot my journey for the next 7 days and then hit the road again. As a side note, how many of you have that Tom Cochrane song playing in your head now? How differently could Monday- the thought of it, the anticipation of it, living through it- be if you decided that instead of a return to the same old same old, it was the first day providing you with the chance to make this week even better than your last one?

Since going into business for myself, however, I’ve developed a new appreciation for the first day of the working week. I realise that if I wanted, I could stay in bed all day. I could watch TV, ride my bike or do anything else I pleased. I could make every weekend a three-day weekend. But even if I do believe there should be 4 days in the working week and 3 day weekends for the average Australian, doing this myself in the current 5 days on, 2 days off standard would leave me feeling cheated. For me, Monday is a clean slate. It’s the start to a week that could change my business, my career, even my whole life for the better. Hopefully you’ll understand where I’m coming from (especially if you received that wonderful job offer, met the love of your life or had a child on a day that wasn’t Saturday or Sunday!) For me, Monday begins with breakfast and coffee and writing up my weekly planner, as well as my daily one (I will cover this topic exclusively at a later date.) For me, Monday morning is when I

Author - Ben Mackie

Guest Speaking is a great way to not only promote your business, serives & products, but also to promote yourself as an expert in your field. their businesses. It was time to tackle this beast that I’d given my power to for way too long.

After I had finished the NEIS course, Michael from the Toowong Training Center approached me to guest speak in the NEIS classes. I was terrified! I have had a well known phobia of public speaking for as long as I can remember. I avoided it in TAFE and uni, in social groups and even among my groups of friends. I just couldn’t do it. I thought about joining Toast Masters several times but the idea of standing up to speak, of having all eyes on me (apart from those catching a quick nap) just made me want to run and hide. Impossible, I thought. I realised that the opportunity Michael was offering me was unique and would not only benefit my business, but others as well. After all, my whole business is set up to help other small business owners expand and grow

I am lucky enough to have a cousin who specialises in NLP (neural linguistic programming) who was happy to help me. I didn’t know what it was, or what was expected, but I was desperate and determined to make the most of this amazing opportunity. After just one 1 hour session I was wondering what all the fuss was about. I was set to go! Of course, thinking it and actually doing it are two entirely separate things... or are they? After a few weeks of working late into the night to perfect my presentation I was up. It was my turn to speak to a group of people who, in reality, were just like me. I turned up early, pluged in my presentation gear, took a deep breath and said “Hi. I’m Camille and my business is the CSBN. It’s about...” I focused on making eye contact with those who looked friendly and receptive and avoided looking at the few who either fell alseep or were busy giving me stink eye. It needs to be said that a couple of sharp people noticed my hands shaking, they made a point of coming up to me afterward to tell me. But they also said that I did a great job and they found value in what I had shared with them.

YOUR O P P O RT U N I T Y TO

SPEAK “I was so nervous, but the group was reallly welcoming. Once I got started I felt comfortable because I was just speaking about what I know well and do every day! It was an amazing opportunity to promote myself & my business, as well as share my knowledge with others”.

WOW! I was so blown away and I felt really proud of

myself. Not only had I delivered a presentation without wetting myself or running away, I had helped people freely by sharing my knowledge. I went on to do many more presentations to the NEIS courses at Toowong and found myself looking forward to every opportunity to do so. I learnt that I didn’t have to be perfect and when I made a mistake, it was OK. No one knew except for me so I just rolled with it. Most people are not comfortable with the concept of getting up in fornt of a group of people and speaking, and I truly understand that. BUT I know the benefit you can be to both yourself and others by doing so. The CSBN is getting all geared up again for 2014 (yes, I know it’s April already) and we will be hosting a variety of Meet-Ups and Networking events in the coming months. I urge anyone who is interested in being a guest speaker to contact me about reserving a space to share your knowledge with others, just like you. Doing so will help your business, your confidence, and will generate new leads!. And guess what. It’s FREE. You will find it more rewarding than you ever imagined and on more levels than you ever thought possible. I welcome anyone who is interested in being a guest speaker at one of the CSBN Networking events,

please contact me. And lastly but not least, I send out a HUGE heart felt thankyou to Michael for giving me the encouragement and opportunity to step absolute miles outside of my comfort zone. Greatly appreciated. t

Author - Camille Scott

Five f a s t w ay s t o b o o s t yo u r b u s i n e s s u s i n g

TH E M E D I A By Freelance Writer \ Former brand consultant & journalist Claire Kelly Media coverage can make a massive difference to the value of your brand. One positive editorial story is valued in the industry three times as much as advertorial coverage due to the fact it is a third party endorsement. After I transitioned from journalism to media and PR I would unashamedly train all of my clients to become media tarts. In fact, I would actually refuse to work with a client unless they had professional photographs. This is due to the fact it’s been proven photos improve your chances of getting published by almost 80 per cent.

“Remember if you have agreed to an exclusive story that also means keeping your word. Don’t blow your exclusive by leaking it through Twitter or any other social me dia network. As soon as it is online, it’s old news.” The media industry has also been under significant pressure for many years, with more recent cuts to jobs again set to increase the challenge for journalists to deliver with less resources.

What this means for business owners is that if you have a great story with high quality resolution images, perhaps even great video or audio, your chances of getting press coverage will increase. Provided you know what they need, and how to deliver the goods. Why? Because news outlets are already operating with insufficient staff. Time is of the essence to a journalist. Most are behind their desks all day, on the phone, or writing like a maniac in an effort to get the material together for the deadline. As a journalist, if an amazing story lands in your hands, with accurate information and the material to back it up, it makes your life a lot easier. You would not believe how much crap a journalist gets sent every single day. Even though I only freelance now, I still receive thousands of terrible press releases from PR companies daily. Out of this number maybe one or two agencies have actually ever taken the time to call me personally and made the effort to connect properly. Chances are if I like someone, I may consider their story. If I don’t know them at all and all they have done is bombard me with information that is of no relevance to me, it is simply the delete button.

Cut through I have seen first hand how effective media positioning can really build the value of a company. With most businesses the end goal is to increase the value of

11 their business so much so that they can sell it at a good profit. So if you want to exit your business ASAP, investing some energy or money in achieving media coverage is a great way to build your brand in a very short period of time. If you don’t have the dollars to pay an agency or PR person you might have to do it yourself (or get one of your minions to). So here are my top five ways of getting media coverage fast. wAnd please, make sure you have professional media photos and product shots you can use before you go to the media contact.

1) Offer an exclusive. In an ideal world, no journalist wants to run the same story as anyone else. They want the scoop. They want the Tiger Woods scandal exclusive or the news Mike Tyson is retiring before anyone else. Call up the media outlet with the best reach or the one that will hit your main target market. (ie. Fox Sports). Ask to speak to the producer/ Chief of staff and ask them if they want the exclusive opportunity to break what could be the biggest story of all time. Don’t actually tell them the whole story - just an outline of what it is about. Agree on a deadline for the story to run and negotiate dollars if that is an option. If they don’t do as agreed when you have kept your part of the deal tell them you are going to straight to their competitors to release it yourself and see if that gets them moving. Otherwise thank them for their time and repeat the process with your next big target. Remember if you have agreed to an exclusive story that also means keeping your word. Don’t blow your exclusive by leaking it through Twitter or any other social media network. As soon as it is online, it’s old news.

2) Involve the community (ie. the local sports team) Doing your own PR is all about positioning yourself in the best light possible. So if you are sponsoring a local sports team, make sure you involve them in your media efforts. Call them up to say you are making a donation and invite a local news photographer. You will be surprised by how many times they will love to feature you and your business helping the community. 3) Keep an eye out for anything weird or wonderful to run a PR stunt. ie.cute animals Yes this is an oldie but a goodie. Animals are crazy and unpredictable. They are often really cute or just do wacky stuff that everyone finds amusing. Now if you have seen Hangover II you will know what I mean! The highlight of that whole movie was the cute little monkey. Play on people’s emotions. There is a reason that most sports mascots are animals. Everyone loves them! And they also make really funny photo or TV opportunities.

4) Money.Money.Money. Journalists LOVE big figures. Don’t know why, they just do. So if you are investing a large amount of money in something or someone, don’t be afraid to tell your local media outlet. Anything to do with large sums of money changing hands is nearly always newsworthy.

5) Hustle. I would have to say about 95% of PR companies only email through stories/ news releases. How many of these would I read? Probably close to about 2% - if they have a good subject header. Otherwise it’s deleted without me ever reading it. A great title is essential. Emailing releases is fine if you don’t really care so much about getting a result. But as a business owner having to do your own PR you really need to get on the phone. It’s a dying art. Make the most of it. It is a lot harder to ignore a phone call especially if the person on the other end is likeable and charming and actually has a really good story. If you outsource to a PR agency ask them about their process. You want to make sure they do follow up calls at the very least.

Author - Claire Kelly

CSBN for

CHARITY

It’s a well known fact that the CSBN is all about supporting small and start up business... But did you know we also support amazing people doing awesome things for charity? Well now you do. Many firefighters are more than willing to take on personal challenges to raise funds to help support children who have suffered serious burns. One in particular has caught the attention of the CSBN and we are simply blown away by his dedication to going above and beyond to achieving all that he can to help this cause. Meet Andrew. You might know him as Mr. November in the 2014 QLD Fire Fighters Calendar, and he is yet to reveal which month he will be representing in 2015. Congratulations! Many of us are aware that the money raised from the sale of these calendars goes toward helping support the Children’s Health Foundation Burns Unit - a truly worthy cause. But most of us are not aware that it is up to each individual firefighter to sell these calendars. on their own time, and with their own resources. This requires a huge commitment and the CSBN feels truly honored to be able to help Andrew achieve his success in this endeavor. CSBN is proud to be able to support Andrew with this charitable cause and is committed to providing a number of professional photo shoots and building a quality website to help him take his work to the next level. The website is currently under development and we will direct you to it in our next edition. In the mean time, if you would like to offer your support, buy a calendar, or just find out more about Andrew, and support him on his journey you can find him on Facebook at

FB/AndrewFirefighterQld

Andrew posts regularly so head over and ‘Like’ his page. He will let you know where and when he will be appearing so you can meet up with him in person and get your personally signed Firefighters calendar for 2015. You can even stand in and have your photo taken with him! He is one of those rare people, so down to earth, friendly and easily approachable, and grateful for all the support he receives.

13 This great shot, taken just after dawn on the Gold Coast, is just one of many and was only achievable through a team of hard working people, each dedicating their time and resources to help make something wonderful amazing. Andrew has already used this image to increase his profile on both social and printed media, all in the name of raising awareness for the cause he chooses to support; to help children in burn units. Andrew, the CSBN applauds you, standing ovation!!

Photograpy - Camille Scott

“For me, it’s about getting out and meeting with people face to face. I get to know them and they get to experience firsthand what we (firefighters) do to help raise money for these kids. In fact, some of the people I meet suffered serious burns themselves as children and their gratitude d respect for what we do is so rewarding. Hearing how what I do helps, directly from them makes me feel good. Just a ‘thanks’ or a hug goes such a long way, their energy is just beautiful.” Andrew - QLD Firefighter.

CSBN

Got something you’d like us to take a look at? We’d love to hear about it. The CSBN is always open to helping people help others and making a difference in their community. We have a wealth of services we are more than happy to donate to the right people championing the right cause. To find out more, contact Camille on 0414 19 33 55 or email admin@csbn.com.au.

h ow to get over the fear of

SELLING Let’s face it- for many, selling and asking for the sale brings up feelings of dread, doubt and in some cases, sheer anxiety and fear. What can you do about it? Read on… For many people, asking them to sell something or get up and present to a group of people and asking them to register or buy something, can bring up our most primal fears of danger and rejection. In psychological terms, it can be as threatening as dying. No wonder so many people dread anything to do with selling! When you speak to the majority of people about what they think of doing sales, you find many variations of answers: they don’t like it, it makes them feel uncomfortable or they have this perception of sales people as being painful and pushy. However, with a change of mindset and skills to support a positive association towards enrolling people into your products and services, selling creates a wonderful life changing opportunity for anyone to master the art of sales and transforms it from being a dirty four letter word, to possibly the most exciting and life changing skill you and your team can ever develop. So please read on because as it’s my intention to share some concepts and strategies for you and your teams to more effectively sell within your business or corporation. Why should you be so excited about the art of sales? • You have a greater ability to generate money which raises cashflow and profits. • When you are in charge of your own ability to make more money, it creates a very high sense of certainty, satisfaction and happiness, which is really the underlying reason we do everything in life, which is to gain happiness. • Being able to talk and discuss and ask clients to buy your products and services lifts confidence and allows for you to make a difference to their lives. • You and your team develop a greater sense of self esteem and focus. • You are more results driven which creates greater momentum in your business, the team gets excited and get to experience greater results and outcomes. • You communicate to your colleagues, family and friends in a more clear professional, mature and intentional manner. Oh it’s the market, no one is spending! Have you ever said this statement or heard someone say it? I’m sure you have. After you read the list of sales success principles you will quickly ascertain what makes a successful and profitable business with high sales and guess what? It has nothing to do with the market not spending! So what are the processes, qualities and disciplines you look for and develop in yourself and your team members to build a sales- focused

culture within your company? 1. Everyone must believe in the product and services being sold, the first sale always begins with us. 2. As directors and managers it is your role to set the pace for the team, if things are not working, it will always come down to what you are not doing and how you are acting. Never blame, never complain, always work so serve, support and fix. 3. Everyday must be set up for success, by running a team meeting (even if for 5 minutes) to set the day up for intentional sales success. This may sound hard, but is a must, as this is about being successful and profitable, so make the time. 4. As leader, a vision must be created and shared and everyone must live it constantly to know what you all stand for. 5. A code of conduct must be developed and adhered to, the rules for how you work and serve, sell and respect each other and the clients is a must! 6. Training, training and more training is what successful people in sales do because it has you and the team keeping sharp, skilled and on your game. Embrace training, invest in it and do it regularly, and it will provide you with more money than you can imagine for your efforts. 7. As a smart leader, reward your team in every possible way to keep enthusiasm high. This can be as simple as a thank you and well done when good work has happened and anything is sold, to rewards and prizes when targets have been met. 8. Look for team members who are healthy and have an enthusiasm and a confident aliveness about them. They have an attitude which is positive and their perspective is based on seeing the positives and possibilities in all situations. 9. You have developed a culture which is highly organised and you have a simple but effective plan for the activities and targets the practice must achieve. 10. You communicate with the team in a positive and results- focused manner where you support each other to win at the game of business and serving the clients in the best possible manner. 11. Everyone is extremely professional, immaculately dressed and organized. 12. Everyone is focused on and committed to wanting to provide value to your clients and build relationships for the long term. 13. Very good records and notes are kept on all clients. 14. Everyone knows the clients, remembers their names and greets them by name. 15. Everyone works as a team to support and assist each other to make appointments and following up so everyone can maximise their time and leverage themselves for maximum results. Be a team! 16. Everyone cares about you, loves your clients and is seriously concerned about their best interests. 17. Everyone is focused on the activities which support the success of the business by making the calls, having the appointments, doing the sales consultations etc. 18. When consultations are conducted following the right pathway, everyone asks for the business i.e., ok so shall we do this? Which package stands out as your ideal choice? 19. You and the team members support each other to maintain strong willpower to keep going, to work hard and let success keep happening over time. Now while all this sounds very positive and helpful, there still needs to be the matter of dealing with these emotions and feelings of doubt, fear and dread when selling and asking for the business.

15 My answer to this is that in many cases it never entirely goes away, because we are humans and it’s our fundamental way of operating to have the emotion of fear to protect us from perceived threat. Even when there is no real danger of death occurring, asking a client if they would like, for example, to buy this package over that one; this to our nervous system can be the same as standing in front of an unchained tiger. And I know firsthand, it would definitely seem like the case at times. However I am the barer of good news. There are a number of powerful strategies to reduce and even eliminate this sense of fear and dread. For time sake if you are interested, here are a number of simple tools and strategies to assist with the management of these emotions to be in charge of your emotions, to be more successful in business development, confidence and sales and asking for the sale and money, day in and day out. 1. Be Aware of Your Mindset and Manage it By this I mean, just be aware of what your mind is telling you by thoughts of ‘You can’t do this, what if they say no, what if they don’t like me’, etc. Be aware these are just thoughts your brain (I call the monkey mind) gives you in the attempt to protect you from perceived danger that doesn’t really exist. By you being aware of these fear thoughts, which can bring on the fear of anxiety and even have you sweating with your heart beating in your chest, over time you get to be more masterful of your mindset and emotions and even while you feel these feelings. You will be able to get on with the job at hand, which is to discuss your client’s needs and ask them which products or service they wish to buy. 2. Pre-frame and Reframe your Thoughts and Feelings Reframing your feelings is done my changing the meaning you give to the feeling of fear and the charge you get through your body. You know these feelings when you’re going to make a call to someone you don’t know, or going in to ask a client if they want to buy this product at this price. You reframe the feelings of fear into excitement and adventure. I personally do this myself whenever I am making a call to a client and which is going to have me ask them to do my presentation and buy into my training services. I am now very masterful at the reframe and keep reframing myself before and when doing the call or presentation. I tell myself over and over, ‘How exciting this is going to be, what a wonderful adventure, let’s see what happens and how I can best serve this person and have them register with me, so I get to do this!’ 3. Have a Sales Consultation Process I was taught a powerful message from a mentor, Emily Diamond, in the words of Emily she said, ‘When you feel fear, it means to prepare!’ Taking a client through a powerful and results focused sales consultation process to end with them buying from you and spending 100’s and 1000’s of dollars, will be one of the most important disciplines and your team can ever take the time to embrace and master. One that cannot and should not ever just be winged! When you have a highly effective sales consultation process that takes your client from meeting your clinician to having them buy a package, for examples’ sake, will be so very much worth the effort! When you have a well prepared consultation and sales process you take your clients through, it firstly will reduce feelings of fear from a 10 down to a 2 or 3 in many cases. Secondly, it will have you make more money in your practice than you ever could have thought possible. 4. Take Consistent Action Just like a top performing athlete shows up for training every day and week, while it’s hard and challenging at times, it’s what leads to them winning: the action they keep taking on a consistent basis. This is key, just like anything we want to be masterful of in life, selling with skill, focus, passion and success, is about consistently and embracing it by doing it. Taking consistent action and following the right process in consulting, conduct

and asking for the sale, is most important. Using these strategies and constantly discussing them, training on them and refining them will be the most valuable action you and your team can make to be great at sales and love the feeling of winning and for the results everyone gets to achieve. 5. Take Care of YOU! To be sharp in mind and results is about taking care of yourself and making sure your team are taking care of themselves. If we are to be the best in sales and influence, we need to be on the top of our game. To make sure we get good amounts of rest, eat good quality food, take consistent breaks and exercise consistently. This has you and your team performing at everyone’s peak. And yes, I know, business is busy and stressful, life is busy and stressful. So I would like to leave you with is this message. I call it the magic of 30. When you can improve the management of stress just by 30%, your conversion rates by 30% or lift sales by 30% and team satisfaction and results by 30%, this has a compound effect on performance and sales results will go into the 100’s of percentage range. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel of your business and life, just little steps bit by bit over time, even just with a 30% improvement in all areas, will be powerful to you, your team and the businesses’ overall success. As you can appreciate, this is just a taste for how to improve sales results and performance in your practice. I have extensive information and training on how to have your team selling, consulting and presenting with passion and power. If you are motivated and want to really improve your team and business performance, sales and profits, I also have a very specialised consultation sales process I have refined and developed that will have your team selling with masterful and highly successful results and it would be a pleasure to discuss training with you. However I may be able to assist you, it would be a pleasure to discuss your business needs in detail and have you continue to create the business and life you love. Trevor Russell is a business strategist, mentor, sales and team trainer and professional speaker. He is highly motivated and brings out the best in business owners and teams. He has worked with over 200 businesses across many industries, including the beauty industry. He is highly experienced in peak human performance, sales, business management, marketing and finance. He specialises in business mastermind group facilitation and sales training and motivation. His intention is to have you create the business and life you love.

To use Trevor’s services, contact: info@trevorrussell.com.au or www.trevorrussell.com.au

Author - Trevor Russell Business Strategist, Mentor, Sales and Team Trainer, Professional Speaker

EOFY Financial Tips 2014 As we head towards the EOFY, we can think about how to improve our financial position and prepare for our tax returns.

1. Documentation – we can assist our accountants and save money by preparing documentation. If you have a book keeper, they will do this but it revolves around receipts, bank statements, log books and proof of expenditure i.e. to receive a tax deduction “generally” you must prove that the money was actually spent on a tax deductible item 2. Pre pay interest – if you have an investment loan or business loan, you can pay some or all of next year’s interest before 30 June this year. Your accountant can include this in this year’s expenditure and can effectively reduce your tax liability for this year 3. Contribute to your Superannuation – if you are under 60 you can contribute up to $25,000 to your super and receive a tax deduction. If you are over 60 you can contribute up to $35000. You must be CAREFUL NOT to over-contribute as there are heavy penalties. By doing this you can keep most of the money yourself, albeit in super AND possibly move to a lower tax bracket 4. After tax contributions to your super – you can contribute up to $150,000 to your super this financial year. If you sell an investment property, a business or receive an inheritance you can utilise the ‘Bring Forward’ provisions and contribute up to 3 years of contributions or $450000. BUT you cannot contribute more than a $450000 in after tax contributions in the 3 year period. 5. Capital Gains Tax – you can reduce your CGT liabilities by a) “realising” a capital loss to offset against any capital gain; b) Offset capital gains against capital losses carried forward from previous years; c) make pre tax contributions to super to offset a capital gain; d) you can sell your business and roll the proceeds into super providing you with a CGT exemption of up to $1.255m for the 2012-13 year. This is a great way of getting much or all of the proceeds of the sale of your business into the tax preferred environment of superannuation. It is important to work with your accountant or financial advisor when seeking offsets.

DISCLAIMER – the information here is general and should not be taken as financial advice. Please refer to your account or financial planner directly for individual personal advice.

6. Bring forward or Defer payments – just as we can bring forward annual interest costs we can bring forward other costs into this financial year. Additionally we can bring forward or defer income. We can simply ask our debtors to pay this financial year OR ask them to pay next financial year. Consider your income, expenses, tax liability and consult your accountant before applying this strategy 7. One Month to go – we have about 1 month to get these strategies in place. They must be in place PRIOR to June 30 meaning that monies must have been disbursed or contributed and have been cleared into their destination accounts. If not, they simply do not make it into this financial year. 8. Superannuation Clearing House for Small Business –the ATO has taken over the responsibility of distributing super to all super funds. This saves an enormous amount of work for small businesses by simply remitting super to the tax office with a schedule of contributions rather than completing individual forms, drawing separate cheques and acquiescing to the administrative retentiveness of, particularly, industry super funds – a great benefit to small businesses. 9. New Millennium – super contributions and rollovers have finally made it into the new millennium by being electronic as opposed to a physical cheque with associated postage and manual reconciliation. Author - Paul Gillmore DFS

Paul Gillmore DFS Founder and Director Southern Cross Financial Services 07 5429 5561 0402 685 032 paul@sc-fs.com.au

INTRODU C I N G

C LAIR E KELLY Fr e e l a n c e W r i t e r \ Fo r m e r b ra n d consultant & journalist Want to connect more? Twitter: @Clairelkelly, IG: @lovedoctorglobal FB: lovedoctorglobal LinkedIn: ClaireKelly/Aus Leaders in love website coming soon! :) Stay updated on all things love and relationships... Claire Kelly is a former Brand & PR consultant who left a corporate career to follow her dream of playing professional sport. Now a BodyMind therapist, yoga teacher, freelance writer and blogger, Claire is passionate about helping people to stay healthy and assist small business owners to achieve more balance.

Claire Kelly

Writer | Yoga teacher | Pyschosomatic Therapist | Love Doctor | Meditation Facilitator M: 0415483757

Tune into “The Leaders in Love” radio show every Wednesday on Rabbit Radio 10-11. Listen in via Shoutcast on Android, Iphone app Do you know what your facial features REALLY say about you? Want to find out? Visit www.seeselfie.com ...

Don’t p ost any more ‘selfies’ until you know what you are revealing!! :)

THE CSB N S M A L L B U S I N E S S G U I D E TO YO U T U BE PART 3. In the last 2 editions of the CSBN Monthly, I introduced the idea of how easy it can be to make your own video out of images and guided you through some vital steps to get you going. Hopefully you now have a file to keep working on. If you havn’t started yet, that’s ok - there is no better time to start than now! And remember, you don’t need any expensive equipment or software. Chances are you already have a phone that takes high resolution images, or better yet a digital camera. And the software is most likely already installed on your computer. So ideally, you have taken some photos, optimised them, saved them to a folder and gone on to part 2 and have created

a video file in which your images play one after the other, in sequence. It’s now time to take things one step further and have your video looking professional with transitions to make the change from one omage to the next look nice, clean and professional. Or perhaps you prefer “You don’t need any expensive equipment or software. Chances are you already have a phone that takes high resolution images, or better yet a digital camera. And the software is most likely already installed on your computer.”

something more arty and creative you can easily achieve either effect. I have encouraged you to use Movie Maker due to it’s ease of use but if you have chosen to go with another program, that’s fine. Most of these programs are very similar in layout and the features they offer. To start, let’s effect time. You can select the time each image displays for by clicking on ‘edit’ in the top menu bar, you will then see ‘duration’. Set this for the desired time. I suggest you just set 2-3 images and review to see how that time is working for you. Once you are satisfied, go ahead and

DO YOU KNOW

YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN PROMO VIDEO? set the time for the remaining images. It is bebst to set them all for the same duration. Next, in the top menu bar, click on ‘home’ then click on ‘title’. You will see a black segment appear at the start of your movie and on the left hand side you will be able to type in a title. You can edit this at any time. You will also notice that ‘effects’ is now available in the top menu bar. Hover your mousse over these to see their effects there are quite a few to choose from. Again, you can change these at any time. When you press play, you will see the title with the effect you have applied, but you will notice that the transition to the first image is sharp. If you don’t like this, you can apply a transition. You will find the transitions now appear in the middle of the top menu bar. Go ahead and play around with these, I find the ‘fade’ provides a smooth transition but feel free to go with something more edgy. You will know what works best for your business. Go ahead and apply transitions for each image. While tempting to add a different one for each image, it is more professional to keep to just 2 or 3.

If you click on ‘caption’ in the top menu bar you can include text overlayed on your images also. Just select the image you want to apply the text to first. If you click on ‘credits’ you will notice, very similar to ‘title’ that a black segment appears at the end of your movie clip. Same as before, go ahead and enter details. I find it best to include your business name, phone and website, or email address if you dont yet have a website. Be sure to set the time duration on this for at least 15 seconds, 25 is better. You want viewers to have time to easily take down your details. To save and export your movie clip, click on ‘save movie’ located on the right hand side of the tool bar. You may need to play around with the settings to get a nice clear image that doesn’t overwhelm with file size. It is always a balance between the two. Save it to where your images are stored on your computer for ease of organisation. Now go ahead and upload your movie clip to your facebook account and enjoy the comments. Be sure to measure the success and edit your movie until it brings you the results you are after - more clients and cash to your business! Upload to YouTube as well, its easy to open your own account. And most important, remember to play around with it and have fun! Author - Camille Scott

D O YO U F I N D Cont ra d i c t o r y H e a l t h A d v ice overwhelming, fr u s t ra t i n g a n d c o n f u s i n g ? Jessie from Get A Fresh Start is here to help. Jessie is a passionate health activist who wants to share her personal story with you, and all of the things she has learnt about life along the way. In this inspirational talk Jessie will break down the complexities of nutrition and health in a real, raw and honest way. Her voice offes a no bullshit straight up view on the health and wellness industry, and her casual use of the occasional curse words is a refreshing reprieve from the norm; reminding you that you are speaking to a real person with a real story to tell. Having eaten everything from pure junk food and takeaway meals every day in the pursuit of short-term happiness, to

going on several extreme and restrictive health diets hoping to find wellness and clarity; Jessie has done it all. She found that at both ends of the spectrum her body never received the proper nutrients it needed to function, and now she wants to talk to you about living a healthier, more balanced life without sucking all the fun out of food.

Delicious, nutritious afternoon tea included!

Get more details here. Book tickets here.

Author - Jessie Reimers

Editorial Vs Advertorial “ Learn the Difference ” By Freelance Writer / Former Brand & PR consultant Claire Kelly Without paid advertisements there would be no magazines, newspapers, television programs or radio shows. Advertising and sales keep journalists in jobs. They are the livelihood of all commercial media programs, outlets and publications. When you approach a media outlet with a story, you need to consider if you, your business or product might actually be better suited to paid advertising. The difference with paid versus unpaid promotion is quite different. With a paid advertisement, you can have a very specific call to action. Drive people to your website. Tell them to buy. Offer a great deal and a way to contact you. With a media article or story, there is NEVER any obligation by the journalist or outlet to include any direct contact details for you. A lot of businesses do not get this concept, and can get quite aggressive when things don’t go their way. A journalist is not your friend. Well, they can be, but you must remember at all times their job is tell stories. If you have a phone interview, the words used or published may be different to what you actually said. If you were filmed for a TV story, understand it may be cut and presented in a certain way that may or may not be favourable to you and your business. A great approach to getting good publicity is to actually buy a small advert in the magazine/ outlet first - and then perhaps push for an editorial alongside it. An advertorial - a paid advert - can be a great way to make your business look like it is a featured story when in actual fact it is completely constructed by the business. You control the message and the images, not the outlet. Some advertorials are terribly boring and look like advertising, whereas other ones‘trick’ the reader into the story before they even realise it’s not‘real’. This is where a good copywriter or PR person comes in. If you can’t write, simply outsource to someone who can. Great copy can make all the difference! Author - Claire Kelly

Social media marketing and...

Over-Saturation Da ngers By Freelance Writer / Former Brand & PR consultant Claire Kelly

A while ago, when I was still paying pro-sport, I visited China for a few weeks. It was a pretty intense experience. One of the things that impacted me the most at the time was the incessant amount of insane marketing that was everywhere I looked. The supermarkets in particular were particularly fascinating - aisles upon aisles of products and signage, consumers bombarded with marketing messages. Anywhere you looked, you would see a different message - there was no ‘white space’ anywhere. I actually felt so overwhelmed by the marketing, anytime I ventured into a commercial area I felt a real urgency to get out of there ASAP. Lately, this is how I have also felt in a number of social media networks. The overload of advertising messages and spam is encouraging me to disengage more often. I almost deleted my Facebook account the other day - however to do so would be a very silly decision when I use it to connect so much with my clients. Rather than having to deal with spam or have a terrible newsfeed, I am culling a large number of followers or disconnecting from people, especially those who have ‘signed me up’ to marketing material without my consent. In David Meerman Scott’s book ‘The New Rules of PR & Marketing’ he talks about traditional marketing methods versus the internet or social media marketing methods. Traditional marketing interrupts a consumer to get the message through, whereas social media marketing or internet marketing primarily relies on the consumer connecting first with that product so then they can be marketed to. The more modern types of marketing include podcasts and blog content, which is sought out by the reader/ customer.

“If you continuously oversaturate your market, you risk cheapening the perceived value of your product.”

Personal pages or business profiles filled with constant advertising messages risk alienation of their target market, especially if it’s not balanced with more socially orientated content.

Clear & Calm Healing

The repetition of sales type copy, one-sided messages or social media users added to pages or newsletters they didn’t consent to is spamming, and abuse of a social media network.

A LT E R N AT I V E A N D H O L I S T I C H E A LT H

If you continuously over-saturate your market, you risk cheapening the perceived value of your product. Or increase the possibility people will get so sick of hearing about your product that they will go out of their way to NOT purchase it.

Have you ever wondered how you can rid yourself of nagging emotional and physical dependencies like smoking? Do you have Anxieties? Problems Achieving your Goals?

It is important to remember social media networks are channels most people initially connected to because they wanted to share information about themselves or reach friends easier, not necessarily because they agreed to be advertised to. The exception to this rule are sites promoted purely as shopping sites such as eBay, Scoopon etc.

Building a brand effectively involves repeating your message regularly, in the best advertising or channels that will reach your target market to ensure the message gets through to the consumers. On social media networks it is vital for any company or business to genuinely engage with followers, otherwise you haven’t grasped the concept of ‘social media’. As a general rule, adverts on social media will also need to be more of a conversational style due to the nature of the beast.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) may be the answer for you. My name is Sarah , I am the Proprietor of Clear and Calm Healing and an experienced EFT Practitioner, Reiki Master and Healer. I have been operating for approximately 3 years as a healer and have helped many people with a variety of health issues. I also do Psychic readings, Crystal Therapies Bio- Etheric Balancing, and Guided Meditations ,. I enjoy helping people and look forward to helping you.

FB/clearandcalmhealing Ph 0419 771 641

Building genuine sales leads or social media is often dependent on establishing genuine relationships with people so when you do want to sell to them, they already trust you - and are therefore more likely to be open to your sales copy! Author - Claire Kelly

Sarah Babke

An Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund. WHY NOT? Last week I wrote an opinion on the mining tax in Australia. Essentially I was suggesting that instead of taxing highly profitable companies more, perhaps mining companies (and other highly profitable companies) might contribute to a beneficial fund which I am calling:-

enough until they receive a return on an investment and as a consequence cannot justify such investments.

“The Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund”.

Profit is not a dirty word!

I was suggesting that we look for the good in people and businesses by asking for contributions. But how might this work? An amount comparable or partially comparable to the extra tax collected by the mining tax could be contributed to the Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund (ASWF . . . don’t you just love acronyms? . . or call it the Australian National Wealth Fund if you prefer) and this amount could be treated beneficially by the tax office. It would only be an amount above the existing tax rates ensuring the tax base remains sound. Anybody and any company could contribute to the fund. This means that multi-national companies, Australian individuals / groups and non Australian individuals and groups could also contribute. Contributors could not buy ANY benefit by contributing to the fund, political, legislative or otherwise. The fund must be free from any vested interest.

The charter of the ASWF could allow such investments. The ASWF could retain a ‘percentage of the profits agreement’ which would allow more funds to stream back into the ASWF for investment into new projects. This stream of money would be in addition to the normal amount invested annually by highly profitable companies and if we think about this for a moment we can easily see that in just a few short years the fund could be a substantial driver for the Australian economy. We can easily see how the fund would become self sustaining and perpetual – continually ploughing the profits back into the fund and then back into quality projects that benefit Australians.

The charter of the fund might be as simple as:-

As we all know, research and development is very time consuming and costly and as mentioned above can be the very reason why Australian ideas do not get off the ground here but the fund could take a longer view of 5, 10 20, 50 or even 100 year timeframe. The payoffs could be huge but great patience may be required. Now let me ask you, will the year 2050 come to pass? Of course it will, it’s a certainty ! So why can’t we invest for a 40 year timeframe. Many of us will still be around in 40 years time and our children certainly will be.

‘The fund invests for the benefit of Australia and Australians. ‘ The fund could be run by a board of eminent Australians such as an intellectual, a futurist, a business person, an elder statesperson, a judge or member of the judiciary, an economist and representatives from the different geographical areas of our massive continent. Board members could be appointed and serve a finite term. It must also be apolitical and totally separate from all governments. The fund could invest in or lend towards anything which is moral, legal and ethical and will benefit Australia and Australians. This would mean that longer term projects and projects that major financiers often avoid could be funded and developed here in Australia. The point I am making here is there has been a steady drain from Australia, of ideas and inventions that could not get a go here but were invested in by international companies and have been hugely successful. Australians are an inventive lot but there have been so many of these ideas and inventions created here over the decades that have left our shores along with the profitability and the ‘multiplier effect’ that industry delivers to the Australian economy. There are a couple of reasons why good Aussie ideas do not get off the ground here. 1. Investment funds, capital or just plain money – notably the acute lack thereof. 2. Scale is another reason. The size of the Australian economy being only 1½% of the world economy means that we just can’t sell enough here to make some ideas viable. 3. Another reason is timeframe. Many commercial interests cannot wait for long

Research and Development

Interestingly, there are other areas where Australia excels such as medical research. Pharmaceutical research is also expensive and time consuming but what about solar energy research? I have always thought it illogical that Australia with our vast space and abundant sunshine is not a world leader in solar power development and application. We could be, if we take a long term view. Notably, many of our trading partners in Asia take a long term view and if the ASWF took such a view, it could be a welcome balance for the short term view that our political system encourages courtesy of the 3 year election cycle. What to Invest in? Please take a moment to ponder and I’m sure that ideas will come flooding into your mind. The only criteria are that investments be moral, legal ethical and benefit Australia. We can invest in medical, electronics, robotics, energy, education, conservation, recycling, infrastructure . . the list goes on. But we could also lend to Australian governments so that the interest on borrowings returns to the Wealth Fund, that is, the interest stays here . We could lend to everyday Australians for home loans and even assist with low cost housing for those amongst us who are not so fortunate.

There will come a time when the ASWF can and should invest outside Australia for the benefit of Australians. Please know that China has been doing this for years. In fact, I think that many US citizens would be petrified to know just how much they are in debt to the Chinese Sovereign Wealth Fund ! The Chinese are currently looking at assisting some European countries with their debt problems meaning that they will also be indebted to China. When you owe money, who is in control? That’s right, the creditors are in control (which is why Australians are madly paying down their home loans right now – they are‘de-leveraging’ and this is the subject of my next article). So we should look for opportunities offshore whilst maintaining the charter of the fund in my opinion. Such a simple thing could very well change our future for the better FOREVER and if we talk about not squandering the benefits of the current mining boom, it is one thing to give a minor tax cut and sure up the budget bottom line for political expedience but let me see if I can put it into a ‘nutshell’ to demonstrate the potential impact of an Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund . . . The Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund could be the vehicle with which we secure our economic future by noble philanthropic contributions matched by noble investments for our future. These investments would pay returns which would be re-invested into other projects. Quality investment projects often have a multiplier effect on the society and economy of 3 to 5 times. In time, these investments would accumulate and accelerate wealth and prosperity for Australia and Australians.

Re-Cycling Wealth By having the returns/profits invested back into the fund and then re-invested into the community creates its own multiplier effect. This is in addition to the multiplier effect that each project has on the economy and community. It’s the perfect recycling in my view and when the returns come in from the longer term investments, in addition to interest on loans, plus returns from shorter term projects AND regular annual contributions from highly profitable companies and other contributors, the results could be phenomenal for Australia and Australians. This is why I believe that we, the people, should have our own Australian Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Paul GILLMORE DFS Southern Cross Financial Services 07 5429 5561 paul@sc-fs.com.au www.sc-fs.com.au

Author - Paul Gilmore DFS

6 FUNDAMENTAL PHASES TO

EXTRAORDINAR Y

PROFIT

By John Laurenson - Goals Projects Systems

Who does this apply to?

Typically my clients are business owners who have the challenge of increasing their profits and they are time poor. I help you to double your profits, or more, and relieve your time dependencies to free you up to do the things you dream of. The challenges that you as a business owner face are working long hours and not making as much money are you could, and that is causing you to miss out on spending more quality time with your loved ones and not having decent holidays. You could increase the list. The advantages you will achieve by completing the program and implementing the 6 fundamental phases to extraordinary profit are: more time for yourself to do the things you dream of, have the skills to employ great people to run your business without you being there, increased profits, confidence and happiness because you took control of your future.

What do I need to do?

Every business is different, just like people, but the fundamentals of each business are the same. We create products and services in exchange for money at a profit, to satisfy peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wants and needs in a marketplace. The business levers we employ throughout this process are the same for all businesses but are unique and customised for each and every business. For someone who needs the whole program their goals and benefits are achieved by completing all six phases. Each phase has its own processes that need to be implemented and relied upon in the subsequent phases. Your business wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work effectively if any phases are left out, and the same challenges will keep occurring like Ground Hog Day and you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be free. Some businesses may have already completed some of the phases and processes, and do not need to re-do all the work that would be required to make an extraordinary business, you will just fill in the missing gaps.

These six phases include:

1. Establishing viability of your business by building fundamental business processes 2. Generating extra profits through the combination of better marketing and innovation 3. Creating systems for the scale you want to make it run consistently without you being there 4. Designing and implementing the best staff recruitment and management

plan 5. Tuning everything so it all clicks together and generates better results 6. Complete a thorough due diligence on the business to finish it off and multiply its capital value.

1. Viability

Establishing the viability of your business involves you in building fundamental business processes that knock out the low points or gaps by consistently measuring and adjusting your activities in a profit focussed way, while providing your product and service at high satisfaction levels. This is important because we need to establish your ability to make a consistent profit, before proceeding to the next phases, otherwise your problems will be compounded.

2. Profit

When your viability is established you can focus on generating better profit by working the fundamental business and marketing levers to suit your market. This is achieved by increased revenues flowing down from better margins, repeat business and more effective access to a bigger market.

3. System

When your business profitability is established, you can move towards creating systems that replicate your ability to make a profit without you

Complimentary Website Health Check value $150 and FREE 6 Point Website Health Checklist to get more clients and cash instantly by making your website work for you!

being there. This is where you leverage your business actions. Each of your business activities are analysed and documented in way that can be reproduced by someone else at the same or better standard of quality for your market. The creation of your business systems is done in a way so they can be securely accessed and improved by your staff at a later phase.

4. Staff

Are you just making enough money to get by from one week to the next or even worse losing money every week? Are you struggling to keep afloat in tough times, working harder and harder just to stay where you are?

If you don’t do something now, you will continue to get the same results, until sooner or later you don’t get by and are faced with going broke. Slow death in business is a frustrating and all too common occurrence, simply because you don’t know what it takes to create a website that works for you. Just having a website is not enough. You need one that works for your business!

When you have established your working business systems you can quickly progress to effectively recruiting the right people to run your business functions. The skills and processes to do this require you to be selective towards the right style of motivated people who can be relied upon to operate in your business at a standard that is even better than you were doing. Your leadership skills need to be developed so you can back away from the day-to-day tasks and manage from a distance. This will require a transformation in you as a business owner.

5. Tune

When you have employed the right people to work in your business you can naturally flow towards tuning everything, so it all clicks together and generates far better results. This is called synergy and you are able to realise a capacity of flow far greater than what can be worked out on paper. This is also achieved by instilling a culture of never ending improvement in your business.

6. Capitalise

The final phase to complete your business is implemented when tuning has been completed by conducting a due diligence process to prepare it for sale, so you can capitalise at the highest value on your business, if you choose to. There are set of requirements needed to be put in place that will make your business more desirable to be acquired at a higher value, if implemented. These processes also help your business to be more stable, overall, in the market place and can help your business to sustain market leadership credentials. When you have completed the six fundamental phases to achieve extraordinary profit, by satisfying the needs and wants of people in the market place, you are free to do the things you dream of doing while your business continues to generate income for you and you are not even there. If you would like to know more about how you can free yourself to do the things you dream of, please call me on 0403 828 188. Author - John Laurenson

We can show you how to make your website work to expand your client base and bring money into your business, instantly. If you are a small or start up business we want to help you grow and succeed and we’d like to offer you a complimentary Website Health Check to the value of $150 and a FREE 6 Point Website Health Checklist to get more clients and cash instantly by making your website work for you. We can help you find easy and manageable ways to improve your website so it works for your business by increasing viable and targeted leads, which when converted will result in an increase in cash flow to your business. To claim your complimentary Website Health Check to the value of $150 and your FREE 6 Point Website Health Checklist , call Camille now on 0414 193 355 or email admin@csbn.com.au. This offer is for a limited time only, call now. I personally guarantee our service, if you are not satisfied I will refund your money. Camille Scott B Psych, Founder, CSBN

28 Interview by Ben Mackie - Photography by Camille Scott

SPOTLIGHT on

John Laurenson

P RO B L EM SOLVER

29 What were you doing before you started this business? I was doing a bit of project development I had built from the ground up over 4 years, and sold them. What inspired you to get started? How did you get the idea for it? I enjoy problem solving and helping people, and I love business. I like seeing people succeed, we’ve reached the stage where anybody can have what they want, we aren’t dependent on an educated elite for whatever’s going to happen. I like to see people add value, give service and achieve what they want in the process. How long have you been at it? I’ve been a business consultant for over 20 years and prior to that I was an I.T consultant for 20 years, but as for being a business coach, I’ve only been doing that for the last 5 years. There’s a difference between consulting and coaching. Consulting is getting into someone’s business and performing a function for them, compared to coaching a business owner to be able to make a successful enterprise out of what they’re doing. Tell me about your business. What’s unique about it? John Dwyer called me “The project whisperer” and I’m able to take people’s goals and ideas and put them into projects that really work. I was taught project management 40 years ago and I couldn’t believe it when they did, it just synched with me. I converted a friend of mines’ travel goals into a 5 year project, a plan which changed her life. I’d been using these skills in the I.T environment and the first time in 1984, I did it for someone’s life goals- I had a colour chart and everything! When I saw what the effect was on her it was unbelievable. The most recent one was with Michael Ballard, for him to become an electrician. He thought he was not going to make it and I created a project plan for him. He sought me out and showed me the actual card that he got to become an electrician, he said “This was not going to happen!” I said “This was seemingly not going to happen.” As soon as you chuck the thing down and put it to the universe, it happens. What is your most successful form of marketing? Client referral. What do you attribute your success to? It’s a combination of things, it’s having an open mind and a willingness to learn. I can never put myself in a position where

I think I know what’s going on. I learn probably more from my clients than I teach them. Any single piece of information that I give is already known. It’s the way they’re put together and organized in a system that creates the magic. I also have a cognitive style that allows people to be who they are and realise things for themselves, and we both grow in the process. Do you have any staff? Partnerships? What do you look for? Compatibility is a big word, the thing that inspires and motivates me the most are the people who are trying to ad value, improve the quality of life and make the world a better place. Those are the three criteria. People that want to have a quality service that ads value and makes the world a better place- I’ll go to the end of the Earth with these people. Is your business product or service based? Tell me about them. Service based. I’ve created some products, books and videos, to create some visibility in an area to establish credibility and expertise, as marketing tools. If you buy one of my 40 page books for $27, they’ve got 40 years of experience in them. I’ve completely taken out any fluff! It’s 100% ‘If you do this, you will get the result’. So for CEO’s wanting to know “How do I make goals, how do I do project management, how do I create systems, how do I solve problems?” these books are the best for that. I’m in the process of creating video to go with the books as part of a package. If there was no limit to the amount of money you could invest in your business, what would you change? I’d get Camille to build me a website! I’d have Facebook and LinkedIn by now, I would finish my business system, system. I’d put it in a manual, then train people to do it, and I would hit the market hard. Networking. Do you do it? How? A little bit, I make myself available to speak. I don’t really network, I connect through referrals and that’s the main way. I need to up the ante- and that’s why I’m getting a website!

30 Tell me about a time when you wanted to just pack it all in. What happened? Not necessarily, I’ve entertained the idea, I didn’t feel like doing it but I entertained the idea and wondered what it’d be like. I had property investments like rental income and it looked like I could just survive on that- and then my daughter came along! Imagine you could go back in time with a pearl of wisdom to give yourself when you were just starting. What would it be? Set that goal and stay on it. I would definitely say that. An audacious goal that challenges the status quo, and stay on it. I’m a tree-hugger, so I would say plant a forest. Any other ambitions? Passions? What do you do every chance you get?

Is your business product or service based? Tell me about them. Service based. I’ve created some products, books and videos, to create some visibility in an area to establish credibility and expertise, as marketing tools. If you buy one of my 40 page books for $27, they’ve got 40 years of experience in them. I’ve completely taken out any fluff! It’s 100% ‘If you do this, you will get the result’. So for CEO’s wanting to know “How do I make goals, how do I do project management, how do I create systems, how do I solve problems?” these books are the best for that. I’m in the process of creating video to go with the books as part of a package. If there was no limit to the amount of money you could invest in your business, what would you change? I’d get Camille to build me a website! I’d have Facebook and LinkedIn by now, I would finish my business system, system. I’d put it in a manual, then train people to do it, and I would hit the market hard. Networking. Do you do it? How? A little bit, I make myself available to speak. I don’t really network, I connect through referrals and that’s the main way. I need to up the ante- and that’s why I’m getting a website!

I’m always interested in increasing capital value and human value, while saving the environment and trying to retain and build more habitat. I’m totally freaked out by what they’re going to do with the trees in Tasmania, these areas they say aren’t completely virgin forest so they’re saying they’re going to chip them when 17% of them aren’t virgin forest- they’re regrowth areas so they’re saying “The whole area isn’t virgin forest so we’re going to chip the lot.” It freaks me out because people don’t understand what an important role trees have in all of life.

31 What concerns do you have for the future? What risks are you facing? Risk- I’ll be turning 59 this year, I don’t know how long I’m going to be around! I wish I knew what I know now when I was 18. I think that risk mitigation is best achieved by setting audacious goals and having the courage to design plans to achieve them. I’ve seen so many changes in the world, the web did not exist when I started in computers in 1974, e-mail, mobile phones didn’t exist- all those sorts of things. I’ve seen lots of wars, the one I experienced the most was the GFC. We’re going to get more changes so it’s always useful to keep an eye on futuristic things- bionic body parts and things like this are the up and coming thing. The way people communicate and do business- holographic communication and that kind of technology is going to come on and there’s people experimenting with energy, people experimenting with transport, like fly-to-London-in-4-hours kind of stuff and space travel. But they’re all businesses- you still need to identify what you’re offering to someone else. You need to know who’s your target market and know what your message is that you’re going to send to those people. You need to know where they are and connect with them. In the past 3000 years I don’t think those things have changed so the people who make money are the ones who get in front of the trend and let the people come to them.

Procrastination. How do you do it best? I’m a sucker for movies- that’s the spiel I use. I’m a sucker for plays and movies. I’ve got a box that records the movies and I’ll watch them. It depends how I’m feeling. I like the French relationship movies when I’m talking about relationships, but my favorite action/ spy movie would be The Bourne Identity series, I can watch those over again. I watched Transformers with my daughter, that was amazing. It was just action, action, action- there was so much going on all the time. What’s next? I want my business system to be finished, another thing I keep doing is finding more stuff! And when I fit it in, I’d like to do a bit more investing and also teach wealth creation. Anything else you want to add? Stop destroying habitat. Steve Irwin, he was my hero and I cried when he died. He was phenomenal.

John Laurenson is currently a business coach to CSBN and in just a few short weeks has already taken us to the next level. We can’t recommend John highly enough. If you are serious about your business, John is an absolute essential! Call him today on 0403 828 188 and find out how he can help you.

C A M I L L E S C OT T CSBN owner & manager Camille Scott, owner & manager, came upon the idea for the Connect! Small Business Network through her contact with the amazing NEIS small business course, it’s staff and mentors. By seeking new avenues through which to market my website services, and to outsource required work, I quickly realised that I had no clear and easy access to fellow NEIS participants.

“I truely hope the CSBN will benefit small and start up business owners across Australia to grow and reach the level the dream of”

meet the

“I truly hope the CSBN will benefit NEIS participants, both past and present as well as other business owners across Australia by providing a networking platform, from which we can all connect and benefit from our unique business experiences, services and products. Because I believe in the NEIS Small Business course, its standards, people and mentors, NEIS participants are the people I most want to do business with. I look forward to connecting with you soon.”

CSBN team

B E N M AC K I E CSBN editor in chi e f Ben Mackie, CSBN Editor in Chief, also manages his own business (Scribe Copywriting). Through frequent involvement in business networking, Ben understands first hand how important it is for business (large or small) not just to make stronger connections with their target market and their existing client base, but also with other businesses. “Starting out in business is like planting seeds with the intention of growing a big tree. You can plant the seeds in healthy soil in a spot where they are exposed to enough sunlight to grow. But it’s not an instant process, the seeds and the soil need constant maintenance, attention and care to grow. Patience is also necessary. CSBN is where we connect people from all different fields- those sowing their seeds to those who have experience tending to their seeds and want to share their knowledge of what it takes to grow your business into a mighty tree.”

“CSBN is where we connect people from all different fields - those sowing their seeds to those who have experience tending to their seeds and want to share their knowledge of what it takes to grow a business into a mighty tree.”

We say

G o o d bye to S a m R o s e n b a u m It is with a heavy heart that the team at CSBN say goodbye to Sam Rosenbaum. He has been an absolute powerhouse in both personality, skill, energy, insight and that invaluable ability to consistently think outside the box. In short, Sam has contributed to the CSBN being where it is today, enjoying the rank, success and achievements it now owns. Thanks Sam, we wish you all the best in your new endeavors. I have said many times that going it alone is not going to get you very far. I know this from my own experience over the years and it was only when I opened my doors to like minded, passionate and highly motivated people that the CSBN began to truly grow. It’s easy in business to make just enough money to get by from week to week. But hey, we may as well go and pack shelves at Coles if that is all we dream of. For those of us running our own business, we quickly learn the power of aligning ourselves with others or face the speedy failure of our business. Or even worse, we tread water, with bricks tied to our feet for as long as we can, until inevitably, we go under. It is a slow and painful business death suffered by many every day.

“It’s easy in business to make just enough money to get by from week to week. But hey, we may as well go and pack shelves at Coles if that is all we dream of.” This is vital. There is nothing more important in business than surrounding yourself with the right people. The right people are those who share your ambition and can align themselves by bringing their unique skills and attributes to the table to achieve a common goal. When this happens incredible achievements can be accomplished. I strongly encourage you to do all you can to attract and magnetize the right people into your business. You will be amazed

at what they will contribute. Keep putting yourself out there; networking is the best way to meet like minded people who may be able to offer the very thing your business is needing. I’ve posted many ads and never struck gold, but meeting people face to face has almost often brought me incredible results. If you need someone else on board to help your business grow, get out there and find them. Shake their hand, ask those questions and get to know them. It’s easier than you think and will be the most profitable way to expand your business.

Author - Camille Scott

BUSINESS SUCCESS

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