Let’s Talk Business
Let’s Talk Business Back To Basics Business Solutions - Support for Small Business
Issue 08 October 2013
Meet Our Expert Authors Inside this issue
Dr. Tim Baker Winners At Work
Geoff Butler Business Optimizers
Peter Athey Specialized Management Services
ING
CL
IEN
TS
Peter Nicol Wisdom Marketing & Management Services
Janelle MacPherson
ES
Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
WH
SALES
DUC T
IVIT Y
&S
Biz Tips……………………………..3
How Do You Increase Productivity? DR TIM BAKER ………………….4
The Platinum Rule of Life GEOFF BUTLER … ... ………….5
How I Made $226,500 Profit in 18 Months DAN BUZER ………………………6
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Good Advice? PETER ATHEY ……………………7
The Three-Legged Stool PETER NICOL …………………….8
What is Fatigue? RON COURT ….………………….9
Your Credit File – you must know this! PAUL GILLMORE ….………….10
Are You Ranking Well In Google? MIRIAM BATTERSBY ….……11
Brisbane Career College (Advertisement) ……………. 12
Miriam Battersby
PRO K
FIN AN C
Mimbee Multimedia
Southern Cross Financial
TEAMWOR
Business Snippets………..……2
emPOWERful Solutions
Paul Gillmore
Ron Court OH&S Advisor
KET MAR
Dan Buzer Profit Mechanics
OR TW E N
G KIN
T
FI
P
RO
ADVERTISIN G TRA ININ G
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
ES
NTIV INCE
REFER
RALS
Mobile: 0451 184 599
Let’s Talk Business
Argentine Scientists Tap Cow Burps for Natural Gas BUENOS AIRES Argentine scientists have found a way to transform the gas created by the bovine digestive system into fuel, an innovation that could curb greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Using a system of valves and pumps, the experimental technique developed by Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) channels the digestive gases from bovine stomach cavities through a tube and into a tank. The gases - which otherwise are commonly known as burps, or "eruptos" in Spanish - are then processed to separate methane from other gases such as carbon dioxide. It's a Dog's Life: French design for pets (Reuters) - Parisian poodles are used to being pampered by their doting owners, groomed to perfection and adorned with luxury leashes and collars. Now they finally have the furniture to match. A company co-founded by a former Societe Generale banker has come up with a range of high-end interior items for the furry and the feathered retailing for as much as 4,000 euros ($5,400). Pregnant Woman Scolds 'Good Samaritan' Referee (Reuters) - Portuguese top-flight referee Duarte Gomes was left speechless when after ceding his place in a queue to a pregnant woman, she accused him of ripping off her club and threatened retaliation by her future child. Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
"While queuing at a kiosk to buy a newspaper I see a pregnant lady behind me, a very expectant one, waiting in line," Gomes wrote in a post on the social network Facebook.
LavCup is an antimicrobial shelf for toilet stalls and urinals where people can set their drinks while they get down to business. Its tagline: "Because you can't hold it."
"I tried to be a good Samaritan and do the good deed of the day: 'Please go first, I said'," he wrote.
Even better, the shelves allow for advertising. "The audience is so captive, that's what makes the medium so powerful," said Williams. (My question is: “Why would you want to?”)
She thanked him and Gomes added: "You're welcome." He did not, however, expect her next reply to be: "What I really need is for him to be born, grow up and kick your backside so hard that you stop ripping off my club". Dog Ate Money and U.S. Treasury Paid Up A Montana man who pieced together the remnants of five $100 bills eaten by his one-eyed dog last year is sporting a $500 check he says he received this week from the U.S. Department of the Treasury Wayne Klinkel said his dog Sundance, a golden retriever, sniffed the wad of bills out of the car’s glove box while waiting for Klinkel and his wife to return from lunch, and the canine made the currency his lunch. "He's been notorious for eating paper products," Klinkel said about Sundance. "I knew right away what had happened." LavCup Urinal Shelf "People think the simplest ideas have already been made,” said Matt Williams, founder of LavCup, a product so simple you wonder why it hasn't been done before. Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
The Outdoor Litter Box is Coming A San Diego attorney named David Schwartz is seeing dollar signs. He has patented a cat litter box that ... I'm not kidding ... connects the house to the litter box. This way the cat does its business outside without being exposed to the elements. Schwartz came up with the idea because his three cats took over a room in his home and it really smelled. What is Apple Worth? Apple's market shares have now topped a half trillion dollars. Many analysts say the company's amazing run isn't over yet, as Apple's price to earnings ratio is still historically low. I'll admit it's hard for me to take in. Five hundred billion dollars for a company which makes gadgets and delivers media? On paper these things make sense, yet I can't quite believe it when I see it with my own eyes. In trying to get my head around this, I asked myself, what does a half trillion dollars mean? It's enough to pay every American $1,600 each. Mobile: 0451 184 599
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Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business 0451 184 599
dennis@b2bbs.com.au Skype: dennis.chiron2
BIZ TIPS
Common Do’s and Don’ts When Handling Complaints
6 Check off each client as you complete the process.
* Do what you have agreed to and act promptly; * Do obtain feedback and update your complaints policy to cater for new trends in the marketplace; * Do record complaints, both telephone and written; * Do evaluate regularly. Some areas of your business may need working on to reduce complaints (eg. service, or sales technique); * Do Not make unrealistic promises in the hope that the odd awkward customer will vanish; Do Not rely on verbal commitments - make all policy decisions in writing.
This is such a simple thing to do - and it works! Not only will you generate additional revenues, but your customers will be more satisfied, as you are solving problems for them and they are getting more of what they want from you! TRY IT!
___________________ 6 Easy Steps To Get More Business From Your Existing Clients 1 Make a list of your top 25 clients you may be able to do more business with. 2 Arrange a meeting with each of the above 25 clients to re-visit their current situation and see if there are additional ways you can assist them. 3 In the actual meeting ask probing questions to uncover additional needs or problems that you can solve. 4 Present them with a solution. 5 Ask for referrals to other people you can help. Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
___________________ Include Web Site Information Encourage the people who answer your phones to give your Web address to every caller who identifies himself or herself as an Internet user. Think of your Website as 24-hour answering service. Assure your callers that they can always phone your store or office for information, but let them know they now have a Web alternative as well, open 24 hours every day. ___________________
How would you react if... .. you got a call from your car dealer service manager a week after having your regular service, or some repairs done, just to make sure everything is okay? Or, if you got a call from your dentist the day after treatment just to check up on you.
How would you react if you got a thank you note a few days after buying a new suit from a clothing store, or you got a birthday card from your insurance agent, you got a free dinner gift certificate as a thank you from a motel that you recently stayed at, or you got a personalized luggage tag in the mail as a gift from your travel agent? Two of my local clients are involved in the Information Technology industry, and I have encouraged both of these clients to send out "Thank You" cards when they provide a service or make a sale. One client implemented this suggestion, and the other chose not to. Guess which business has increased with more sales, new referrals, and increased customer returns? Recognition and appreciation can be very powerful and very inexpensive as a marketing strategy, and people, your customers, do appreciate being recognised and appreciated, and they repay you through loyalty, support and referrals. ___________________
Feedback keeps you focused Ask your customers to rate your service on a regular basis. This can be done via a short questionnaire included with every product sold or mailed to key clients.
Or, you got a questionnaire in the mail from a restaurant you dined at asking for your comments and suggestions, and inviting you back again, with a free wine when you next dine with them.
Keep the questionnaire short so that it is not a burden for customers to complete, and make sure they know they can decline to participate. Always let customers know the purpose of the survey is to serve them better.
Some business people tell me that's looking for trouble. I disagree. I think it's looking for rapport, loyalty, satisfaction and repeat business. If follow-up turns up a lot of dissatisfaction, you need to make some changes. The dissatisfaction is there whether you discover it or not.
If they fill out the survey and have no problems, it is a reminder of what good service you offer. If issues do arise, they can be addressed.
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
Mobile: 0451 184 599
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Dr Tim Baker
How Do You
Managing Director WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
www.winnersatwork.com.au www.about.me/tim.baker
Increase Productivity?
Telephone. +61 7 3899 8881
Editor’s Note: Tim is an international consultant, successful author, keynote speaker, master trainer, executive coach, university lecturer and skilful facilitator. In a nutshell, he has conducted over 2,430 seminars, workshops and keynote addresses to over 45,000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups. How do you best go about increase organisational performance and productivity? It is a question that we are all interested in. First, let's look at the traditional view. The long standing view is this: If we can increase the individual output of employees, we will consequently increase organisational output. For example, if I can get Fred to do 10 per cent more work in the same amount of time and we can duplicate this effort across the organisation, we'll significantly increase our productivity. This traditional view has been around since the birth of industry. This view works well when we refer to tangible things such as sales; that is, if we can get each salesperson to sell 10 percent more product we'll increase our revenues. In these situations where we have quantifiable outcomes this approach seems logical. However, this approach to productivity is difficult to apply in complex, intangible working arrangements. For example, in an organisation that has several departments and layers of management, in other words, quite Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
complex, what constitutes productivity becomes more difficult to measure. Consider the issue of speed. Speed is a critical enabler of productivity. In particular, three types of speed innovation speed, processing speed, and recovery speed - are crucial to organisational success. Innovation speed is about getting new products and services to market quickly to capture first-mover advantage. Processing speed is getting the organisation to respond without delay to the orders and queries customers have. And recovery speed is resolving mistakes quickly, particularly when they relate to the customer. Simply extracting more productivity from individual employees is not going to necessarily increase any of these types of speed. The issue here is systemic. Second, let's look at a modern perspective of productivity. For a start, in most workplaces where the work people do is interrelated with other functions and processes, we can't apply the same logic. In other words, modern organisations comprise complex relationships between a number of stakeholders within and without the organisation. The core issue in terms of productivity is how these variables interact. This is what we refer to as Systems Thinking. Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things, regarded as systems, influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish. In organisations, systems consist of people, structures, and processes that work together to make an organization healthy or unhealthy. In terms of problem solving, systems thinking considers problems and challenges such as enhanced productivity as parts of an overall system, rather than a specific part. In other words, systems thinking is not one thing but a set of habits or practices within a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system can best be understood in the context of relationships with each other and with other systems, rather than in isolation. There is value in viewing organisations from a systems thinking standpoint. And if we do so, we would also acknowledge that the traditional performance appraisal is less relevant if we have systemic problems and issues that will get in the way of productivity. Simply sitting down with employees once or twice a year and reviewing their work and rating them on that work is not likely to impact on productivity from a systems thinking perspective. I have more to say about this in my new book - The End of the Performance Review: A New Approach to Appraising Employee Performance out by the time you are reading this! Mobile: 0451 184 599
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Geoff Butler FAIM AP, MAITD MACE Principal/Business Improvement & Implementation Specialist Business Optimizers Mobile: 0414 943072 Fax: 3036 6131 Email: geoff@businessoptimizers.com.au Skype: business.optimizers1
The Platinum Rule of Life When we’re kids we’re told that the Golden Rule is to treat people as we’d wish to be treated. Wouldn’t it be better if we focussed on treating people the way they’d wish to be treated? This is true in all aspects of our lives; in dealing with family and friends, but most importantly with our business relationships. To do this you really have to understand how to identify the personality type of the person you’re talking to, and then package your message in a way in that they’ll best receive it. There’s four personality profiles, and we are all predominately one with a bit of one of the others. None of them is better than the others, but they are different and we really need to recognise this. Firstly there’s the Director, which has nothing to do with their age or position in a business. They’re very much a big picture person who looks for control and are natural leaders. They tend to be guarded, champions of time management and very focussed. They’re great project leaders and entrepreneurs who make things happen, but will bore quickly if they’ve to go on with mundane tasks of maintenance. If you’re dealing with a Director you need to have all your facts and be able to articulate quickly the results and benefits of your proposal. Be efficient, Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
precise and results focussed. The most important thing in dealing with a Director is to focus on the results rather than relationships. Next we have the Socialiser. You’ll recognise them because they’re extremely gregarious, outgoing and love interacting with people. They’re creative ideas people who are fast-paced and spontaneous. They prefer guestimates to precise data and like to go with the flow rather than structure time. They’re great in sales or frontline tasks, particularly with a creative focus. If you are dealing with a Socialiser give them what they want – recognition, status and excitement. They want to be entertained so don’t talk too early about performance specifications or data. Remember with a Socialiser, always be interested in them. Now we have the Thinker. These are the detail people who won’t make a decision until they have all the facts. While the Director is a big picture person who is easily bored, the Thinker is the monitoring and managing specialist. They tend to be extremely cautious and they’ll ask many questions and specifics. They’re great in management roles as they love to track performance and trends. You’ll recognise them
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
as their office wall will be covered with graphs and charts, all relating to the business. Remember in dealing with a Thinker that monitoring and measuring is really important. Lastly we have the Relater. They love people, and build warm and meaningful relationships with others. They’re excellent listeners but tend to be slow at taking action and making decisions. Additionally, they’re willing to share their thoughts and feelings but don’t like to structure time. They make excellent team members and are loyal and compliant. However they’ll want to get to know you before they’ll decide to do business with you. Their focus will be on how your proposal will affect them and the group’s morale. In dealing with a Relater the most important thing is the relationship so always be nonthreatening and sincere. Understanding what the different personality types are, and remembering that we’re predominately one with a bit of another, we need to practice profiling until it becomes second nature. When we’re able to quickly identify the type of person we’re dealing with, and package our message so it’s palatable to them, our communication skills in all areas of our lives will improve. Ultimately, communication is one of the most important factors in our business and personal lives, so any action we can take to improve in this vital area can only have a beneficial effect on our success. Mobile: 0451 184 599
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Dan Buzer Profit Mechanics 0414 567 188 www.profitmechanics.net/
“How I Made $226,500 Profit in 18 Months” Here’s how in 18 months I sold a coffee shop for $316,500 that cost me $90,000 to set up from scratch … with NO advertising, to the FIRST prospective buyer and with FULL payment paid up front (no vendor finance, etc).
exactly what outcomes I was getting over time. 3. I had an exit strategy. I was very clear that the purpose for having and building the business was to sell it.
The last secret I would like to share with you, is the math of the sale. There a lots of businesses on the market for sale … but not many sell (let alone at top dollar). Let me explain briefly why the business looked so appealing to the buyer.
When I first told my family that I was thinking of buying a coffee shop, I could feel the ‘here we go’ thoughts whirling around in their heads. They had the usual concerns; so many go broke, what makes you think you’ll do any different; how will you spend time with your wife and kids; what do you know about coffee shops, etc. All fair and valid questions.
So now you might be thinking …”Okay, but how exactly did you make the business so much more appealing than all the others on the market, of which many were much cheaper? How did you get these results so many people struggle to even run one”?
The goal outcome for the buyer was to make a higher income than she was in her current job. Now, Mary didn’t have a spare $316,500 lying around (not many people do these days), but she did have access to the money via equity in her home.
Thankfully, my experience ended up being quite different to what they expected! Yes, I worked hard at the start to get it off and running. There were the usual challenges of suppliers, staff, landlords, customers, equipment and more.
Here are some of the differences:
At times I wondered if maybe they were right. Here is how I go VERY different results … I had a secret weapon … I had what most people going into the coffee shop business did not have. In fact, there were 3 things … 1. A successful working model. I met some successful coffee shop operators and learned what they do and how they do it. 2. A plan: I put together a plan and had some tools to set goals, monitor performance and see Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
The cashflow was easy to see. A spreadsheet was kept that showed all the important numbers of the business over easy to see time frames, such as daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and year to date. The business was run by Systems and the Systems were run by the people. People liked working there because everyone knew what their roles were and could see their performance. I was rarely at the shop. I would usually only work one shift a week. The manager and other employees rarely saw me. Generally I worked on Mondays to do the banking, pick up the paperwork and reset the business for the week.
She accessed the money via home loan equity. After the extra borrowings on her house was paid back each week (about $600/week) she still had enough left over to pay herself more than what she was earning before she bought the business. So, instead of buying the business for $316,500 … the deal was positioned as being $600/week to have the opportunity to make more money than she was as an employee AND she got to live her dream of being her own boss. Everybody wins!
Dan Buzer Profit Mechanics Business Mentor
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
Mobile: 0451 184 599
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Peter Athey Specialized Management Services 0405 318 449 www.specializedmanagement.com.au peter@specializedmanagement.com.au
Is There Such a Thing as “Too Much Good Advice?” Is there such a thing as “ Too much good advice” ? I am part of a panel run by the Queensland Government to help mentor new and emerging small to medium sized businesses. It is known as M4G, (Mentoring for Growth) and is run by The Department of Tourism, Major Events, Small Business (DTESB) The M4G program can help your business grow, or deal with rapid growth. The program features a panel of 8-10 business experts who challenge current practices and suggest strategies for participating businesses to take advantage of opportunities. It's free for Queensland businesses to be involved in M4G because the program is fully subsidised, but in my personal experience not all businesses will be suited to the program. I have been consulting for small businesses for over 15 years now and have coached quite a few businesses through to multi-million dollar successes. I have never pushed a particular system, philosophy or business practice onto a business that did not have the willingness or capacity to benefit from this and I have had the luxury of being able to leave a client alone when they seem to be going in different directions and my advices are therefore less valuable to them. So, I did a little research. I did some examination into past clients that although not unhappy with my work, Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
did not seem to achieve the massive results that I have been able to gain for my shining star clients. To my surprise, I found a common theme. I had always assumed that it was just me, or that it was an issue of my interaction with senior staff & management. This is what I found in almost every case:
The past client was still in business but languishing at around the same level as they were when we parted. The past clients all said they were extremely happy with my work, even though, my gauge for successes is a massive improvement. I often link my income directly to the successes so moderate improvements are not very profitable for me. The past clients were all quite intelligent and resourceful business people, quite capable of running their own businesses but seemed to not be able to make it a run-away success on their own. In a chance conversation, one past client commented that he had so much good advice to help him and that the courses of action that I lead him through were just as good if not better than others that were available to him. I immediately went back to the other past clients and asked them if they too had plenty of good advice from people they were able to trust and they all agreed overwhelmingly. Then I asked Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
them how much of those advices did they actually take up. The answers varied but I was quite embarrassed by the consistencies. The problem seemed to be that the client seemed to have had too much good advice and quite a bit of it was conflicting or at least in a different direction. Every past client I spoke to had the same issue. What I think was now happening is that these clients, all intelligent people, did not commit fully to any one direction or strategy. In retrospect I can say that this is generally one of the reasons I don’t pursue and ongoing relationship with a client. May I pose this question to you? How do you as an intelligent and successful business person, choose which advices to take up and act upon? What are the main criteria that you use to decide and what is the main reason that you “don’t” decide? I am very interested in your answers and if you send me an email describing your experiences I would like to summarise my findings, remove identifying parts and report back to you on all of the respondent’s experiences. Please email me at : peter@specializedmanagement.c om.au
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Peter Nicol Wisdom Marketing & Management Services 0417627097 www.wisdommarketing.com.au manager@wisdommarketing.com.au
The Three Legged Stool I had just asked the question “why do you think we are not getting the results that we need”. The air was still for a moment and then his shoulders heaved and he began to sob.
worker was at his wits end. His array of commitments had finally caught up with him and he was going nowhere with any of them.
As a professional business mentor you train yourself for these very private moments. You do not go out to find fault, you do not go out to cause moments like I was experiencing.
Thankfully he was not embarrassed about his emotions spilling out and I was glad that he could do this in front of me as it showed the trust he had in my relationship with him.
Yet, they happen as your questions shine a light on the issues that many business owners want to avoid. Sometimes, we have to be the person who can be allowed right into the inner soul of the person they are helping. It is a privilege. I let this very sad few minutes pass and gradually he composed himself. He kept saying “I feel like have let everyone down”. I gently asked why he felt this way. His problem was simple enough, the feeling of time poverty and, an ocean of commitments that seem to engulf the young men and women of today. Commitments to young children, houses, parent’s expectations (often not the case but interest misinterpreted as pressure), money commitments and a litany of business pressures that abound in today’s complex society. This young, talented self-employed man was right in the zone. A wonderful father, husband, son, and Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
A glass of water and a few deep breaths he was back to normal.
For some weeks I could see the “fifty mile stare” and I could sense that on my regular calls that I had been making, that something had to give. I guess age and experience allow you to see deep into the principles of cause and effect. I went over his day and weekly schedule and in his attempts to keep everyone happy he was spiralling downhill and getting nothing done. I explained that life is like a three legged stool. Each leg has to be balanced with a commercial, physical, and a spiritual life. The latter can be misinterpreted as religion. You might wish to call that leg values if you wish but it is a mighty important part of the balancing act in life. It turned out that he needed to reevaluate his planning of each day. There was no time in it for any exercise and he agreed that he would commence a daily routine of
walking. I rang him the next day at his office to see how he had fared. I was over the moon to hear that he and his young family went with him on the walk. It is now a regular daily activity. The walks are longer each day. The kids are fitter; his wife is also in on the walk and is enjoying quality time with her husband, he is happier and on track to make budgets. He is on the way back. So why do I use the chance to write about things like this when I could be promoting my business and my skills? Put simply I care too much about the things that matter. There are no dress rehearsals in life. Do not have a tombstone that reads, “I wish I spent more time at the office”. Make a promise to yourself that you will spend a few minutes of each day on you, and, those who mean so much to you. Get your three legged stool in order. I have experienced the chilly winds of failure and yes there have been days where I could “burn the stool”. But, picking up the threads and starting again whilst tough can be very important, as we never know what is around the corner.
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
Mobile: 0451 184 599
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Ron Court, AMC Dip (Funerals) MQJA JP
OH&S Advisor 0419 679 619 roncourt@aapt.net.au
What Is Fatigue? Fatigue is mental or physical exhaustion that stops a person from being able to function normally. However, fatigue is more than just feeling tired or drowsy - it is normal to become tired through physical or mental effort. Causes of fatigue There are many factors contributing to fatigue, including:
affect the quality and quantity of sleep affect task performance may also contribute to a sense of personal dislocation and imbalance. Accidents are more likely to occur at night, particularly during the period when the circadian cycle is at its lowest point (midnight to dawn) when a person would normally be sleeping.
sleep loss long periods awake (greater than 17 hours) inadequate amount of sleep (less than 7 to 8 hours) or poor quality sleep sustained mental or physical effort disruption to circadian rhythms (internal biological clock) inadequate rest breaks (varies with the task) health and emotional issues time of day when work is performed (e.g. shift workers).
Fatigue and sleep Sleep is the only effective long-term counter-measure to fatigue. Maintaining sufficient levels of sleep will prevent fatigue.
Circadian rhythms Circadian rhythms, or the internal body clock, are the body's natural rhythms that are repeated approximately every 24 hours. Due to circadian rhythms, the human body is more awake during the day.
For example, if a person who requires eight hours of sleep only has six hours of sleep, then this person is deprived of two hours of sleep.
The human body experiences a reduction in activity in the midnight to dawn period. This is a fundamental human characteristic and can not be changed. Work schedules that require people to be awake and active at night, or to work for extended periods of time, disrupt circadian rhythms. These disruptions: Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
The amount of sleep required by a person varies, with seven to eight hours of daily sleep considered the average for an adult. People who continually get less sleep than that necessary for them will accumulate a sleep debt.
If this occurs over four consecutive nights, the person will have accumulated an eight hour sleep debt. Sleep debt leads to increased levels of fatigue. Causes of sleep loss A number of factors in the workplace and in a persons private life can cause sleep loss. Examples from the workplace include:
extended working hours irregular and unpredictable
working hours time of day when work is performed and sleep obtained shift work having more than one job stress.
Sleep loss may also be caused by health conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea which is a condition which occurs while sleeping, where the muscles of the throat relax and block the airway above the voice box. This causes breathing to stop until the brain registers a lack of breathing and sends a small wake-up call, which briefly wakes the sleeper before they drift immediately back to sleep (usually the sleeper is not aware of having woken up). This process can repeat itself many times through the night, causing a person to feel fatigued during the day. Many workers rely on caffeinated drinks, such as coffee to assist them to manage fatigue. However these will contribute to sleep loss if used within six hours before sleep. This effect may be increased if combined with medications containing ingredients such as pseudoephedrine hydrochloride. You can get information about your OH&S obligations and other valuable OH&S resources both in hard copy and online from their websites. http:// www.deir.qld.gov.au Always seek independent legal advice on what is applicable to your situation.
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
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Paul GILLMORE DFS Founder and Director Southern Cross Financial Services 07 5429 5561 0402 685 032 paul@sc-fs.com.au
Your Credit File – you must know this ! Recent changes to the way creditors make entries on your credit file could impact on you significantly and it‘s critical that you know and take action to protect your credit history. Repayments to Credit Providers – including payments due for mortgages, credit cards and other licenced credit must be made on time. If you are more than 5 days in arrears, a late payment notation will be recorded against your name. This has been happening in Australia since December 2012 and will show on your credit report as of March 2014.
paid the unexpectedly high bill, thought the matter was settled, only to find they were defaulted anyway, others have just refused to pay the bill until they got some resolution. Either way, they have been faced with at least 5 years of bad credit unless they have been able to make a ‘successful’ complaint. Identity Theft Identify theft is the scourge of our modern highly connected society because more people are succumbing to its results. Younger people are easy to defraud because they post much personal information on social media.
Late payments will be erased after two years. If you are more than 60 days in arrears on any account – including licenced credit, mobile phones and utilities, you will have a default recorded against your name.
Fraudsters ‘warehouse’ this information for use when they attain legal age for credit contracts. More and more people are needing help with repairing their credit file due to having their identity misrepresented in some way.
Defaults will be erased after five years. People endeavour to pay their bills on time and generally do however circumstances can occasionally result in falling foul of these new very tight rules.
However, often the first time we are aware of identity theft is when we apply for credit and are flatly refused due to defaults on our credit file that are not ours.
Bill Shock Botched phone plans, international costs and lack of usage monitoring have left many Australians ‘shell shocked’ over their mobile. internet, power and water bills, with bills so large many can’t pay on time, may dispute or refuse to pay, leading to an increased rate of defaults. Sometimes consumers have reluctantly Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
The distasteful irony here, is that although it seemed so easy for the fraudster to use your good name in the first place, you are now faced with proving the identity theft with copious amounts of documentary evidence, explanations and it is YOU who is viewed as ‘dodgy’ until you can prove otherwise. Businesses Most businesses can’t expand, they can’t buy vehicles, or even take out Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
mobile phone plans once there are black marks on the company credit file. This can be devastating if businesses acquire a new contract and need to expand capacity to accommodate it. Unemployment Unemployment is one of those unforeseen circumstances which can make it literally impossible to cover all your costs and still feed your family. Did you know 93% know they have a credit record, but don’t know you can access it 81% are not concerned about their credit history 80% have never checked their credit history There are 16,500,000 credit files in Australia 30% of these could have ERRORS or MISTAKES You are entitled to access your personal credit history …...It’s FREE once a year I believe that everyone should keep track of their credit history annually because it’s free and will keep you up to date with information being collected and held on YOU If not, you will only find out about a problem when you want to buy that new car, mobile phone or your next home. Mobile: 0451 184 599
Let’s Talk Business Miriam Battersby, dip Multimedia, International Webmaster CertificationWoorim
ph 3410 1071 admin@on-line-biz.com http://www.online-biz.com.au
Is your Business Listed in Google Places?
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MIMBEE MULTIMEDIA (est 2002)
Online Business Website Consultants
Are you Ranking well in Google? A little known method that will help.
One of the biggest things a small business needs is visibility to prospects. If you’re going to create leads and generate new sales, you need to be in front of prospects. In the online world, a tool many local businesses should look at is Google Places. It is a simple thing that you can do that will help your Google ranking and it doesn’t cost a cent. Search in Google using your business name. Does it show up on the right hand side of the page with a map showing your location? If not then you are missing out on a lot of traffic to your site. Setting up Google Places is easy—you can do it yourself. Google Places has recently changed its name to Google + for Business and has become a very useful online marketing tool. There one simple thing you can do during the submission process to help your Google Places listing rank higher than your competitors. Make sure your listing is as complete as possible. Try to fill out every option, or field available, including reviews not just your business name, address, contact info, and description. With an option to add 10 photos to the account, it’s a good idea to add some visual representation of your business. Think about adding things like photos of staff, your building, your product(s), highlighted customers or even create coupon images and add them to your listing. Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
The more information you provide, the likelier it is that Google will find your local listing more trustworthy and authoritative; hence, Google may rank your business higher in the search results. Each completed field contributes to your overall score. You Tube is the second most popular search engine. Adding videos to your Google places profile really adds to your score. It is so easy to create a You Tube channel and upload videos showing your products (demos) services and testimonials, you really should be doing it. Just by adding a few photos, videos and telling people when you’re Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
open for business you can effective boost the performance of your Google Places profile.
Do you need help with your Internet marketing strategy? FREE Website Analysis and Review
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07 3410 1071 Ph 3410 1071 web: online-biz.com.au
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Let’s Talk Business
Specialist Training for Small Business Owners and Their Staff Our services are primarily for small business owners and their staff who wish to complete training whilst still on the job. So our service involves coming to your place of work, and providing training and assessment in conjunction with daily work practices, which allows us to keep our rates highly competitive. What is Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) Having formal qualifications increases your knowledge and skill potential. But why waste time studying what you already know? Brisbane Career College recognises the skills and experience you have gained through work and life experience - reducing or even eliminating your study time. We can help you and your staff gain a qualification, taking into account the value of your skills acquired outside of formal learning, through the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process. Our programs combine work with a structured training program, developing an employee's skills and knowledge as well as providing them with a Nationally Recognised Qualification. Our qualifications may entitle the employer to State and/or Commonwealth government incentives and rebates to help offset or pay for the cost of training. Brisbane Career College also provides a number of short courses in business and management, designed to equip you with subject specific skills that you may need at different times in your career and to assist with your professional development. These business courses are short, ranging from a half day to full week training programs and are available in Brisbane and Sydney, both as part of our general training delivery, and through customised in-house corporate deliveries. Approved Qualifications CODE
TITLE
BSB40207 - Certificate IV in Business BSB40807 - Certificate IV in Frontline Management BSB50207 - Diploma of Business BSB50407 - Diploma of Business Administration BSB51107 - Diploma of Management BSB60207 - Advanced Diploma of Business BSB60407 - Advanced Diploma of Management
Brisbane Career College Pty Ltd, 180 Logan Road, Woolloongabba Web: www.brisbanecollege.edu.au Email: ceo@brisbanecollege.edu.au National Code: 32303 ACN: 143 846 093 ABN: 96 143 846 093 Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
Email: dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au
Mobile: 0451 184 599