Ibn magazine autumn 2015

Independent Business Network Inc.

Your business growth and support system

Autumn 2015

How do You Treat Your Lead Generation Activity?

5 Tips to Improve Your Success on LinkedIn

In

e Improv

Your S

EO by

Strangle that Credit Card

5 Tips for Beating Jet Lag

L in k e d Using

A Sense of Arrival

Organising a Funeral - Thinking Outside the Box

Your Home- Give it Your Signature

ers b em M ur o et e M

Contents

Business 5 Tips to Improve Your Success on Linked In Julie Warner

Editor’s Letter Welcome back to a new year, where already 2015 is racing along with us at the end of the first quarter as we publish our Autumn edition.

Our IBNInc members are this month sharing their expertise to help you achieve your business goals this year, with motivational articles, tips and advice.

The Hills Homeshow and Lifestyle Expo in Kellyville on March 21-22 had IBNInc members exhibiting for the sixth year, sharing their skills with local Hills residents both on the stand and whilst presenting seminars full of inspiring information in their business categories.

We look forward to further developing our off-line monthly meetings with informative seminars, workshops and presentations that help our members grow and succeed in their business. We will be working once again with The Hills Shire Council in our seventh year of operation.

As our group grows from month to month we aim to continue building our strong, trusted relationships and look forward to the business opportunities and connection that come from this supportive group.

Until next edition, happy reading.

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How do you treat your lead generation activity?

Robert Cole 5

Improve Your SE0 by Using LinkedIn Angela Mitchell

6

Finance Strangle that Credit Card

Renee Marzinger

8

Design A Sense of Arrival Sandhya Sunil

10

Your Home- Give it Your Signature LesleyDavies

12

Lifestyle Organising a Funeral - Thinking Outside the Box. Ian Arthur

9

Travel 5 Tips for Beating Jet Lag Julie Warner

President www.independentbusinessnetworkinc.com

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Business 5 Tips To Improve Your Success on LinkedIn

Are you viewing LinkedIn as a critical place to spend your time?

In order to make LinkedIn work for you, you have to put in the time to be seen, to build influence and relationships.

What kind of impression do you want to make?

Your LinkedIn profile follows you around LinkedIn. Whenever you are commenting, sharing, or contributing to group discussions, your profile picture and your headline summary are going to be right there. Same applies to updating your LinkedIn status. Are you looking professional?

2. Use all that is available * Everyone should have a banner image. There is no restrictions on using this to promote your Business Name,

* Include website links (up to three allowed), set links to three separate pages on your site.

3. Vanity URL’s

image source

Here are the key pointers taken from a recent James Cooks’ LinkedIn presentation:

1. Optimise your Head Line * Adding keywords to your headline that you want to be associated with can improve your search ability within LinkedIn and beyond, * Create a headline that displays the different titles someone is likely to search for related to what you do,

* Stop using your “Job Title” – tell people the services you offer/problems you solve.

* Set a vanity URL name that has meaning to your business, not to your name.

4. Profile Purpose * Don’t make it all about you – no-one really cares all that much,

* What do clients want to see?

What are the solutions you are going to give them? * Your summary should list all the problems you can help customers with or fix for them.

5. Join the Right Groups * Find groups where people in your target markets are hiding, * D o n ’ t g i v e a w a y y o u r knowledge to your competitors.

LinkedIn can prove an extremely valuable marketing tool, if you’re willing to get involved and be proactive. Invest the necessary time to develop a strong professional profile and to establish yourself as an expert to enjoy marketing success on LinkedIn.

Julie Warner www.facebook.com/YourBusinessHelper

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How do you treat your lead generation activity?

Referrals

(create a program to seek them)

Do you treat it in an ad hoc generating options (e.g. added Advertising way, or do you have a plan? a regular Facebook campaign; (lead generation not just ‘sales’) Do you do a bit of advertising, some networking, some referrals from current clients, some SEO, and some social media - basically a bit of this and a bit of that?

All businesses are ‘different’ in where they get leads, and what works for one won’t necessarily work for another, but, one common thread for all should be to NOT rely on just one or two, in case that one is stopped or fails (we’ve all heard how a business getting very high SEO rankings for online leads went quiet because Google changed their algorithm dropping them off the front page) – if you have multiple ways of getting leads then if one or two of them are impacted your business can continue while you fix/replace the problem ones.

One of my past clients (café and catering business in a regional area) relied mostly on passing traffic, a few major business houses nearby, and word of mouth, but they weren’t growing and at risk of any big clients changing their ordering (there was a major competitor for the catering).

We analysed where they wanted to get business from (their ‘avatar’), then worked out how best to attract the attention of these – created a marketing plan, with multiple lead

bought a list of businesses in their area and conducted a multi stage ‘lumpy’ mail campaign; did advertising, but not to sell anything, just to get leads; created a referral program).

Industry Associations (what do others do!)

Special Interest Groups

(that cover likely interests of your avatar)

Branding

(consistent message across all areas)

Joint Ventures

(with someone who has your avatar already)

Buy Lists They have since grown from two outlets to three, and have bought the client list from their catering competitor when they went under (due to other troubles not my client’s actions!) and are growing strongly.

(but watch out for ineffective ones)

So what might you do to get leads?

Local Council

Here a few ideas to explore their applicability to your business (and if some initially look ‘not for me’ see if a different version of that idea might work for you) and remember, some will overlap and should be done in a way that reinforces each other to increase the result:-

Networking groups

Affiliates

(who will promote you to their list for a share of the sale)

Public Relations

(stories for the media to fill their space) (development officer)

Publicity Stunts

(think Richard Branson-like)

Sponsorship (local teams)

Blogging Guerrilla marketing

(your material close to where a competitor has theirs)

Podcasts

(be interviewed by someone with their own list) Happy lead hunting and convert them to customers. (but only those effective for you)

Robert Cole www.thesmallbusinesswizard.com

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Improve Your SE0 by Using LinkedIn Just when you thought you had a handle on using ‘key words’ and ‘key phrases’ in your website, Google changes it’s algorythms or criteria for ranking websites. I know for a lot of people this is old news but I am sure there are others out there who think it is THE most important area to address!

They do still play a part, but they are no longer near the top of Google’s list, and the density of keywords is no longer relevant.

The Good News: Keywords and phrases are very important on LinkeIn and you can improve your websites ranking by using LinkedIn to your advantage!

According to James Cooke who recently gave a presentation to our IBN networking group on how to make the most of LinkedIn, here are some of his tips on how to improve your LinkedIn profile.

If you belong to a Networking group in Sydney, I recommend you invite James to give a FREE presentation or Visit Udemy.com and have a look at his FREE course and if you like what you see you will be invited to learn more with his reasonably priced course.

* Think outside the box * Complete all information prompted by LinkedIn * DO NOT treat LinkedIn as an on-line CV * Make it about your potential customer or client, NOT about YOU * Let them know what you can do for them! * DO NOT join groups that are peers * DO join groups that are within your target market * Use keywords and phrases * See Julie Warner’s article for his top 5 tips!

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How can I improve my SEO? Here are a few tips that will help:

10. Use Google analytics and Google plus

1. Make sure that your website is Mobile friendly- here to read the announcement from Google.

2. Click here to see if your website is mobile friendly with this test from Google image source

image source

image source

3. You are allowed 3 links on LinkedIn, so provide links to a page on your website that provides the information you would like your potential customers or clients to see, maybe an on-line portfolio or your blog 4. Keep your Social Media sites professional, be helpful, and be respectful.

5. Keep you information up to date, If you have a blog, use it to the best of your ability, if you don’t like writing consider hiring someone to do it for you.

6. Make a video, link to Utube or check out Vimeo or get a professional to help you.

7. Keep images small enough not to affect a viewers download time, if they have to wait too long they will leave.

8. If you DIY, then make sure that you use indicators of the heirarchy of your information, for instance, if you use Wordpress, then best practice would be to type straight into your page and use the tools provided. (See screenshot) 9. Service industry? Get listed on sites such as Hot Frog or True Local

Click on the down arrow, this will reveal the drop down menu as shown.

By selecting ‘heading 1’ 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 or Paragraph’ you will be letting the search engines know the importance or heirachy of text in your content.

If yours is a new business avoid using keywords that a well established competitor might use, instead try using keywords that are long and that may best describe your business, for example ‘marketing tips’ use ‘marketing tips for small start up businesses’ instead.

Remember, there are millions of websites out there all competing to be on the first page, so if you don’t have the dollars to pay to advertise with Google or pay big money to a SEO professional to do it for you then do some research and find out more about the steps you can take to make a good start!

Angela Mitchell www.meamdesign.com.au

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Finance Strangle that Credit Card!

BATTLING credit card debt will be a tough challenge for many Australians who blew their budgets over the Christmas and New Year period.

But implementing a simple fivestep plan of attack now will help you tackle the piles of unwanted debt and wipe out them out within months.

1. Cut-Up Those Cards This is an easy way to put an immediate stop to the temptation of spending more on your card.

2. Plan of Attack Checking your latest card statements and work out how much debt you owe.

Then list them out, prioritise them from lowest balance to highest balance.

3. Pay More Than the Minimum Amount This is the key to culling credit card debt.

By simply paying off the minimum amount it will take you years longer to kill your debt and you’ll fork out a fortune in interest charges.

The trick is to pay ALL the extra money on the lowest credit card and the minimum on the rest.

Once the first is paid off, strangle the next card.

4. Balance Transfer Deals “With a balance-transfer card you can avoid paying interest on your card for up to 18 months, this means more of your repayments will be going towards your debt rather than your interest charges,’’ But if you do switch to a balancetransfer card. Cut up the new card immediately so there’s no temptation to spend on it.

Balance-transfer deals allow customers to transfer plastic debts from one card to another and in many cases enjoy zero per cent interest rate periods to shave back the debt.

5. Only Pay Using Debit Adopt a new approach to paying for goods in 2015.

Stop using the credit card and look at alternatives such as paying by debit card. This will put the brakes on your card debt becoming bigger and also means you are only using money you already have and not money that you don’t have.

Use the free financial freedom calculator to calculate how much you will save!!!

Rene Marzinger www.mirren.com.au

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Lifestyle Organising a Funeral - Thinking Outside the Box. Once or twice in our lives we are in the position where we need to arrange/ organise a funeral, normally of our parents. This however is not limited to them and maybe a sister, brother, uncle, auntie, a mate etc. A daunting task it might be, but rewarding none the less.

Why a funeral?

Why not just take the body from the place of death and cremate it, or bury it. Why do we need such an event that can end up being very costly and very traumatic for everybody concerned?

I really think it’s about celebrating one’s life and acknowledging that he/she existed and brought a lot of happiness , friendship and kindness to everybody they touched.

There are so many ways in which a life can be celebrated. In Australia we have so many cultures and religions that all do their Funerals in very different ways. Some are major events and some a very simple low key ceremonies.

We have come a long way in the last 25 years or so where funerals used to be very sad dirges . These days we have coloured and patterned coffins, popular music and photo presentations, dove, balloon and butterfly releases, bagpipers, home and outdoor funerals. The list is endless and is only limited by your imagination and of course WHS restrictions.

People are now demanding something different for the money they are spending. Gone are the days where people just rang the funeral director and he told you

what to you. Nowadays due to the internet and social media, people have done their research before they come to you and know exactly what they want. You need to be able to provide a different approach to their requirements as “sorry we can’t do that” just doesn’t cut it.

You need to find a solution to their wishes as this is a once in a lifetime event not a dress rehearsal. It must be done perfectly first time.

Ian J. Arthur & Sons is a 100% family owned Australian Company.

We do not answer to shareholders and we are not driven by profit.

We genuinely care for all of the families that entrust us with their most precious possession. We take that trust very seriously and never lose sight of what our families are going through.

Our business is not about sales, but education about end of life choices, and how you may want to leave this life. The choices are there and we are available 24/7 to discuss them with you.......

Remember that every life is special and every dedication unique. www.facebook.com/ianjarthursons

Ian Arthur www.ianjarthurfunerals.com.au

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Design A Sense of Arrival

A house/property sets the tone by its ‘sense of arrival’ How one arrives makes a big impression on the sense of anticipation or otherwise.

In garden design I consider this to be of prime importance because it is the first articulation of a completely expressed landscape. The journey begins at the street level & ends at the front door.

The resolution of approach & arrival acts as a welcome mat paces or a few kilometres.

Many a time this area of the design is forgotten/neglected, time & efforts spent in creating a fantastic garden with various elements of entertainment, relaxation, play, work all catered for; the entrance part is just assembled with its components of gate, driveway, porch without much thought to the composition. A deliberate lead up to the front door is really quite important- many a time we go to houses/properties with an ambiguous route where it’s not clear where & how should one traverse.

This important feature of the garden design is a nexus between the public & private paces and has to perform all on its own merits.

Various site issues like slopes, level differences, services etc can be resolved at the entrance garden The components of an entrance can be broken down into: gate, drive, parking, front door and of course the planting.

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A generous gate sets the tone of welcome. The design of the gate with its accompaniment of a letterbox should complement the style & architecture of the house & the garden within.

The size, direction, profile and texture of the driveway is quite critical to the way one wants to experience the garden. The hard scaping of this area is linked to the language of the architecture & the garden theme. Materials like crushed gravel, pavers, brick, stone, concrete (coloured, stencilled, plain) are linked to the garden design.

The plants in the entrance garden are one of the most important elements of this space. Plants can line the driveway; they can be in garden beds; in containers; in drifts; hedged, topiaried; parterred. They can be used to create an arbour to walk through. Healthy & well chosen plants for the particular aspect is a must. A thriving & well balanced front garden is definitely more welcoming!

Fragrant plants add another dimension to the experience of arrival. Gardenias, Lavender, Roses, Boronia, Tetratheca, and Jasmine are some.

And last but not the least is lighting. The primary role of this is security. Then you have lighting to enhance the plantings & add a sense of drama.

Once you have a well designed entrance garden, it will not only give you & your visitors pleasure, it will add a lot towards the property’s worth.

Sandhya Sunil www.earthmattersconsulting.com.au

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Your Home - How to give it Your Signature

Decorating your home can be a lot of fun. Choosing the colours and adding the furniture whether it’s your existing items or brand new, to make it feel like your space.

Accessorising and adding the finishing touches such as a few scatter cushions, a colourful vase, a rug and of course a painting or two can make a room look fabulous.

A great piece of art, a beautiful sculpture or a lovely painting always adds depth and character to a room. When selecting these items look for something that picks out some of your feature colours and has complementary tones.

Sculptures can really finish a room, particularly if it is a stunning piece that becomes a focal point.

You can find original paintings that are not much more expensive than a print and these along with sculptures by a talented artist can increase in value over time. With these purchases, you will have not just some beautiful pieces to complement your room, but an investment as well!

If you want to relax in your living room, don’t choose art that’s too loud, or anything that dominates the room. The purpose of the room where you intend to display your art should influence the tone of the artwork itself.

The location of your artwork can also be a deciding factor in your choice. In a bedroom it’s appropriate for art to be calming, or even seductive, but in a dining room you can look for something bolder and more dramatic.

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Removable wall stickers/decals can have a large impact on a room with very little cost and afford you the ability of changing more frequently or work well if in rented accommodation. Designs such as a tree, or a meaningful phrase can suit a family or dining room.

Children’s rooms come alive with animals, fantasy or images of their favourite characters or interests.

Enjoy creating a home that has your signature on it, whether through small or significant additions. As they say, “a change is as good as a holiday”, get creative and be inspired by your next spate of decorating.

Lesley Davies Ellie Blue Design 13

Travel 5 Tips for Beating Jet Lag

There is no end of tips for beating jet lag to be read on the internet, found in travel books or told to you by family and friends. But do they really work?

It seems to be a very individual thing, and effects can vary from flight to flight.

Here are my top five tips to beat jet lag when you need to arrive feeling fresh and ready for a day in the office.

Tip #1:

Tip #2: Get It Right While You’re Still on the Plane The experts are always saying that you should drink lots of water, not too much alcohol and get up and move around the plane regularly.

They are definitely on the right track with this advice. Try to avoid any alcohol and this should help

image source

Tip #4:

NO

Alcohol

Are You a Night-Flyer or Not?

Don’t Lie Awake For Hours Your body clock might think that the middle of the night is actually morning and you should wake up.

You need to determine if you are good at sleeping on planes or not.

Don’t lie there for hours trying to get back to sleep, you will just feel more exhausted in the morning.

Then you have two choices: if you can sleep like a baby in your seat, then time your flight to include an “overnight” leg, which means you arrive at your destination in the morning (you will then need to stay awake all day – see Tip #3)

Perhaps get up, make a warm cup of tea or hot chocolate and then try to sleep again till morning. If you do get up, don’t make the room too light, or your body will think it was right about it being morning already.

If you never get more than a few winks of sleep on the plane then go for a “daytime” flight that lands in the late afternoon or evening.

You will be so exhausted from prolonged lack of sleep that the minute your head hits the pillow you will be asleep at the correct time in your new destination.

immensely with jet lag symptoms as you will stay more hydrated.

Tip #3: No Sleep Until Bedtime If you do nothing else, do this.

No matter what time you arrive at your destination, don’t go to bed until it’s night time there. You might want to sleep desperately, but be disciplined, stay awake so that your body can start adjusting to the new time zone as soon as possible.

image source

If you absolutely must take a nap, make it a quick power nap no longer than an hour. image source

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Aromatherapy to the rescue: Lavender and geranium (in oils and body creams) help some people sleep. If, on the other hand you need something to keep you energised try rosemary and eucalyptus oils. Shops specializing in aromatherapy products also offer a variety of blends.

image source pinterest

image source

There are also dozens of natural or herbal remedies, over the counter medications or magic drinks that advertise they can help – if you find one that works for you then go for it, but there’s definitely no cure-all.

Tip #5:

Stay active, stay positive, get back into your time zone and normal routine as quickly as you can and don’t dwell on your jet lag - it may just disappear that bit faster!

Think Positive …

Jet lag seems to be more apparent if you travel from east to west. Many people have said that jet lag is more noticeable on your return rather than on your departure. So, does that mean that a portion of jet lag is purely psychological

Happy Travels Julie Warner image source

www.juliewarnertravelplans.com

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Independent Business Network Inc Business Directory ACCOUNTING

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Sydney Taxation Services P 9873 4139 M 0411 695 151 E janice@sydneytaxationservices.com.au

The Property Club P 9626 2655 M 0418 447 815 E robyn@atkinskr.net.au

www.sydneytaxationservices.com.au

ARTIST/HOME DECOR

Ellie Blue Designs P 9651 4409 M 0409 962 921 E lesleysd@bigpond.net.au BUSINESS

Julie Warner Your Business Helper P: 02 8850 4908 M: 0414 210 979

www.facebook.com/YourBusinessHelper

Robert Cole The Small Business Wizard M 0419 011 638

www.thesmallbusinesswizard.com

COMMUNITY SERVICES

My Local Guide M 0401 718 374 E claire@mylocalguide.net.au www.mylocalguide.net.au

CONVEYANCER

Tracey Warden M 0414 640 205 E tracey.warden@hotmail.com EDUCATION

Dyslexia Matters 24 Lightwood Way, Beaumont Hills. NSW 2155 P 8064 7248 www.dyslexia-matters.com.au

www.memberlink.tic.com.au

Mirren Property & Finance Rene Marzinger T: (02) 8814 5997 F: (02) 8814 6003 M: 0402 361 396 www.mirren.com.au

GRAPHIC/WEB DESIGN

Meam Design P 9636 1254 M 0414 604 979

HOME REPAIR & IMPROVEMENT COMMERCIAL DESIGN

Cassie and Cassie Building Design P 9651-5198 M 0423-344-283 E Kalene@cassieandcassie.com www.cassieandcassie.com

Inspired Spaces P 9894 7548 M 0401 068 670 E robyn@inspiredspaces.com.au www.inspiredspaces.com.au

Earth Matters Sandhya Sumil M 0439 332 998

www.earthmattersconsulting.com.au

www.meamdesign.com.au

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

HEALTH

Funeral Directors Ian J. Arthur and Sons P 1800 45 44 22 M 0403 157 451 www.ianjarthurfunerals.com.au

Heal with Hypnotherapy Divine touch Massage Therapy M 0410 584 591 E vickibon@bigpond.net.au www.healwithhypnotherapy.com.au

www.divinetouchmassagetherapy.com.au

Pamela Hoy Clinical Hypnotherapy and Counselling P 9634 6262 M 0409 772 015 E pamhoy@bigpond.com

www.hypnotherapyandcounselling.com

PERSONAL TRAINER

Rob Smith P 8626 2316 M 0401 277 546

E info@intergratedactive.com

RECRUITMENT

Rosanna Haynes Massage P 9889 7699 M 0425 217 049

Debra Manson Recruitment P 8883 2163 M 0433 227 601 E debra@debramanson.com.au

LIFESTYLE

TRAVEL SERVICES

Margaret King - Enjo P 9862 9966 M 0418 166 016 E margaretking3@optusnet.com.au

Julie Warner Travel Plans P 8850 4908 M 0414 210 979 E julie@juliewarnertravelplans.com

www.rosannahaynes.com.au

www.facebook.com/MargaretKingEnjOpreneur

The Clutter Bug Ph: 0421 030 428

E: leesa@theclutterbug.com.au www.theclutterbug.com.au

www.debramanson.com.au

www.juliewarnertravelplans.com