Nifnex 16 Feb-15 Mar 2014 Edition

Small Business Newspaper www.nifnex.com.au

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Influential 100 Awards and Networking 27 Feb 2014 www.Nifnex.com.au

Red Hot Bananas 2 28 Feb 2014 www.RedHotBananas.com

Business Knowledge and Software Expo 12 Mar 2014 www.caman.com.au

Business Expo South East Metro 21 Mar 2014 www.sbcsem.com.au

SPONSORS

02

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au The last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind of nifty progressions in the right direction, all led by the needs and requirements of the awesome small business community.

All we did was to listen and make informed decisions to implement.

MESSAGE from the CEO Zeeshan Pasha - CEO, Nifnex contact via : Linkedin: http://au.linkedin.com/in/zeeshanpasha Twitter: https://twitter.com/zeeshanpasha

C O N TA C T

The Influential 100 Awards have become the talk of the town! It started from a simple marketing idea a few weeks before Christmas...We wanted to attract 100 well-connected business people to our Facebook page. Within a few days, we had well over twice the number, which was great; but the level of interest made us decide to take it further - to have fun

with creating a contest for a feature in The Nifnex Review.

But it seemed like the small business community wanted more! Well... with the help of our sponsors, well wishers, business community and my team, we now have an upcoming award ceremony at the Hyatt Regency, Perth with 300 of the Who's Who of the small business community attending! I felt we were on to something when the Lord Mayor supported this initiative and accepted my invitation to be the Guest-of-Honor. The Influential 100 Awards adds to the list of 'spur of the moment' events by Nifnex.

You will notice that we have changed the look and feel of this Feb 2014 edition to address small business challenges. An expert panel was invited to discuss each of the 6 case studies featured in this edition.

Discussions were captured on video and this gave birth to Nifnex TV. Watch and/or read the discussions and I have no doubt that every single person will have something new to learn from it.

If you have a business challenge, please do send it to us and we look forward to discussing them in future editions. Looking forward to your feedback.

Advertising Enquiries and Media Relations Email: nifnex@nifnex.com.au Tel: 1300 643 639

Address: 45 St Georges Tce, Perth WA 6000 Postal Address: PO Box 1186, Technology Park Bentley DC, WA 6983

Distribution: Monthly editions are distributed to 150 locations around Perth business suburbs. Cafes, Business Centres, Office Lobbies, business associations etc. Online: This edition is also emailed to the entire database and available on social media. Estimated Online and print Readership of over 44,000.

Disclaimer: All articles, advertising, contributions and material supplied to Nifnex are opinions of the advertiser, contributor and author of the article/material. No responsibility is taken by Nifnex. Opinions published are not necessarily those of the editor.

INDEX SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

BREAKFAST WITH MINISTER HARVEY

UPDATES FROM YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS AND CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

CASE STUDY : ARE YOU KEEPING MINUTES BUT LOSING HOURS?

THE RISK OF BAD DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES Natalie Walker

WHY MAKE YOUR WEBSITE ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES? Vivienne Conway

CASE STUDY : PROS AND CONS OF LETTING YOUR STAFF HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

page 03

page 03

THINK AND GROW RICH Book Review with JR

6 WAYS TO IMPROVE THE VISIBILITY OF YOUR BUSINESS Adrian Kougianos

page 08

page 08

page 04

page 05

page 06

page 06

page 07

CASE STUDY : CAN YOUR WEBSITE LOOK GREAT, CAPTURE LEADS AND RANK HIGH ON GOOGLE ALL AT THE SAME TIME?

FUN, BUSINESS AND MUSIC .....ALL IN FREMANTLE Elicia Petite

IFAP'S SAFER BUSINESS PACKAGE Martin Ralph

CASE STUDY : HAVE YOU CONSIDERED TENDERING OR FRANCHISING AS A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY?

page 09

page 10

page 10

page 11

COURAGE BUILDER COLUMN Alicia Menkveld

page 12

AMENDMENTS TO THE PRIVACY ACT COME INTO EFFECT IN MARCH 2014

page 12

JBA EXPANDS BOARD WITH LOCAL TALENT

page 12

CASE STUDY : SHOULD YOU TAKE ON A BUSINESS PARTNER?

page 13

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE FOR SMES Andrew Christopher

page 14

INDUSTRY UPDATE: SERVICED OFFICES

page 14

FACEBOOK – A BOON FOR MARKETING. BUT THERE IS A TRAP.

By Siobhan O'Gara

page 14

CASE STUDY : COULD TAKING YOUR SERVERS TO THE CLOUD HELP WITH STAFF WORKING FROM HOME?

page 15

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au

03

SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY Originally established in Perth in 1984 to support the establishment, growth and development of small businesses across all industries, the Corporation was first located at 10 St Georges Terrace, then moved to 553 Hay Street, before becoming the first tenant in the state-of-the-art building at 140 William Street, in 2011.

2014 is an auspicious year for the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC), representing its 30th anniversary as the primary provider of advice and guidance to small business operators throughout Western Australia.

The Corporation has had many milestones along the way, with the most recent being the establishment of the Small Business Commissioner and the introduction of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

BREAKFAST WITH MINISTER HARVEY Guest Speaker Hon. Liza Harvey MLA, Minister for Police, Tourism, Road Safety and Women's Interests, and Member for Scarborough took time away from her busy parliamentary schedule to speak with Stirling Business Association members & guests about the upcoming E c o n o m i c a n d To u r i s m Development in the Stirling area.

Minister Harvey shared her own small business experience as part of her address to a well suited up, eager audience who had just had a sumptuous breakfast. This was held at the iconic Rendezvous Grand Hotel, Scarborough,

which has just gone through a $60 million refurbishment.

The sponsors of this event were Simplicity Funerals, Rendezvous Grand Hotel and Priority Networking.

SBA is running a speed networking event on 12th March, at Wembley Hotel. More information is available on SBA's website, www.stirlingbusiness.asn.au.

service for small businesses.

This service, the first of its kind in Western Australia, has been a resounding success in providing a low cost, non-litigious, effective means of resolving disputes without the need to go to court.

In its first full year, the ADR service resolved disputes with an estimated value of more than $18 million, saving time and money for more than 400 small business owners involved in business disputes. With demand at record levels, this number is set to grow even higher in 2014.

In addition, the SBDC has been

instrumental over the years, in guiding and advising governments on small-business policies, to ensure small businesses have a voice at all levels of government.

Working directly with individual small business owners and operators, and collectively through business and industry associations, the SBDC also helps to raise public awareness of the importance of small businesses to the economy and the community.

the small business sector, most of which are free of charge.

The SBDC is planning a range of activities during the year to acknowledge this 30 year anniversary milestone.

In a nutshell: In Western Australia, there are more than 211,000 small businesses, representing 95 per cent of all businesses in the State. www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au

The SBDC has a range of services tailored specifically to

04

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au

UPDATES FROM YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS AND CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE FREMANTLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Chamber is working on a number of projects which will enhance the current services already being provided.

The DEP (Digital Enterprise Program) re-commenced on 11th Feb with a full program line-up. The program was delivered by Australian leaders in the field of social media and

SMALL BUSINESS CENTRE STIRLING How hard do you make it for people to pay your bill or invoice?

I am sure you have heard the saying that a sale is not a sale until the money is in your account. I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would disagree with this statement. However, time and

MALAGA & DISTRICTS BUSINESS ASSOCIATION The Malaga & Districts Business Association (MDBA) was established with the aim of providing its members with benefits that would enhance their business opportunities. While providing businesses with

WANNEROO BUSINESS ASSOCIATION Led by new President,Vesna S a m p s o n , t h e Wa n n e r o o Business Association commenced in 2014 with a Member's Forum Breakfast, during which the association sought input from members, key stakeholders and guests interested in the strategic

BELMONT BEC

Never has it been more important to work ON your business and not only IN it!

Finding new markets, developing new innovative products and having clarity about your Unique Selling Point (USP)…this fast-changing business world needs new strategic planning to seek out new opportunities for you and your business.

included training on topics such as web design,Pinterest ,Google analytics and Crazy Egg. A new segment, which looks at Human Resources and how to manage governance and policies online, was also introduced.

The Fremantle Chamber is also looking at hosting a trade mission to Indonesia.

In May this year, look out for the expression of interest collateral on our newsletter - we already have a number of interested

time again, I hear of and see examples of businesses who make the most important part of the transaction so unbelievably difficult.

If you want customers to flock to your product or service offering, may I suggest a simple review of how you collect your cash?

- Making sure your staff focus on the customer and not the list of tasks that need to be done back

networking opportunities is one of the primary focuses of the MDBA, we also strive to assist businesses by developing and improving the working environment of Malaga and surrounding areas.

The MDBA is currently doing so in a number of ways. We're working on helping to get

direction of the WBA and ongoing strategic development of the Wanneroo region business community. Based on the enthusiastic input collected on that day, Wanneroo Business Association members can expect creative changes to take place.

Opportunities for quality networking was consistently put forward throughout the member's forum, so in the

Belmont BEC, through the My Business Incubator ONLINE Training & Mentoring Project provides free initial support to any small business in Western Australia to focus on issues for their business development and growth.

Register at www.belmontbec.com/mybiform Belmont BEC has over 40 niche business topics delivered ONLINE that assist a time-poor small business owner to gain new skills and information in the shortest possible time.

The recently launched MY

businesses wishing to attend and will keep the cost down as much as possible… certainly under $4500 to attend. This will include meetings with targeted businesses as well as meetings with the Consul General here in Perth, prior to the mission.

The Chamber is also putting together a task force for Fremantle to look at some of the bigger issues such as low-cost housing for key workers and transportation for the future, as

of shop - If you are in the food service business, can you streamline your current process (eg. for the same person who takes the order, to process the bill) to enable higher turnover and less queuing?

- Are your staff suitably trained in the systems that you use?

There is nothing worse than that fumbling and lack of knowledge

information on the National Broadband Network and how it's being developed out to businesses. We're also working with others in the Malaga area on getting the Reid Highway and Malaga Drive intersection upgraded as soon as possible to allow easier access to the Malaga area from outside districts and assist in making the road safer

interim,WBA brings in Master Networker, Entrepreneur and Author John (JR) Ross, to facilitate an interactive networking session at Wednesday, 19th February's Business Breakfast at Leap Frogs Cafe, Drovers place, Wanneroo.

With the exponential growth in the City of Wanneroo region, the WBA is set to build relationships

Business Incubator Virtual Services was developed to assist home-based businesses to expand and grow their business capabilities through Hot Desk Spaces, Office Hire by the hour/day and Training Room/ Showroom Space for product launches or clearance sales.

Opportunities for Friends of Belmont BEC include free monthly networking events, opportunities to join global trade missions to source new products & services, VIP invites to events & free webinar offers. Join us for an

Fremantle grows.

If you would be interested in sitting on this committee, please contact me directly.

Other events include: Adam Gilchrist speaking on inspiration - May 2014

Rottnest Island Lunch, plus many more events! Check out our brand new website and see what's going on here at the Chamber. We are here to help your business grow and prosper.

- Tim Milsom, CEO

Chambers Golf day March 21st 2014 Indonesian Festival at Bather's Beach, Fremantle - Feb 15th

when trying to pay and go on with your day.

- If you have an online component to your business, consider reviewing the checkout and payment process. Begin by asking friends and relatives to give you honest feedback on how it all flows. Time and time again, I have witnessed systems where the customer has simply cancelled an order because it was all too hard. You, the business

for all drivers. The MDBA also works with the Malaga Crime Management Forum on improving the safety of Malaga in general, through security measures and extra streetlights, as well as enhancing the overall look of the area.

owner then go and invest more money into marketing your product or service and wonder what's happening.

This list is only the beginning and I am sure you have all experienced the dark side of trying to pay a bill. How about reviewing how you collect your cash from customers to see if improvements can be made?

- Evan MacRae, CEO

or for further information on becoming either a member or a sponsor, please contact us on (08) 9248 2526 or at mdba@malagab2b.com.au.

To find out about what the MDBA can do for your business

with key stakeholders and land developers, ensuring small businesses in the north west corridor have WBA events and services available to them.

The 2014 calendar of events include the Kingsway City Mall's Trade Expo (April 4th and 5th), monthly breakfast series and member-hosted sundowners, with other

International Women's Day Celebration Lunch on March 8th, 12-2pm. www.belmontbec.com/IWD2014 P : 08 94793777 E : info@belmontbec.com W : www.belmontbec.com Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. (BEC) 7 Fairbrother Street, Belmont Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. celebrating 20yrs providing small business advisory, training and mentoring to small businesses across Western Australia and nationally through

functions in planning stage.

Visitors are welcome to WBA events. Registration details and other information can be found at www.wanneroobusiness.com P: 08 9206 3888 E:info@wanneroobusiness.com

a range of innovative projects and programs. Over 22,000 small businesses have received support from Belmont BEC, which is recognised across Australia & internationally as an innovative SME support centre and leader in ONLINE training & mentoring. My Business Incubator Training & Mentoring project is partly supported by the Australian Government.

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

05

www.nifnexreview.com.au

CASE STUDY: ARE YOU KEEPING MINUTES BUT LOSING HOURS? Topic: How to make your meetings more productive I run a boutique travel agency, and our weekly meetings tend to focus on internal staff issues, systems, processes and marketing. Any tips on making our meetings more productive?

CLICK TO WATCH THIS CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

SOLUTIONS BY THE PANEL OF EXPERTS Expertise: Holacracy

Expertise: Time Management

Meetings are seen at best as a necessary evil, and at worst, as a total waste of time. This can be true for many meetings and the main reason is because they have a lack of purpose and no structure. In some instances the rules and expected behaviour required from the attendees isn't clear.

You need to have a clear focus for each meeting which is conveyed to all the attendees well in advance. The meetings should be broken up into succinct focus topics covering specific areas of the business. Ideally, you could have two main meetings: 1) a weekly tactical meeting focused on synchronizing the team on WHAT work gets done, and 2) a monthly governance meeting focused on HOW the work gets done. These meetings should be well defined with rules on how they are conducted, specific outcomes and a process for capturing and tracking them. Finally, all the staff need training on how the meetings operate and the expectations of their involvement should be made clear at the outset.

Telus Partners is a Holacracy practice with the main purpose of defining and training around these meeting structures.

Expertise: Marketing For a detailed and customized solution to run your marketing meetings more effectively, contact Alicia Menkveld from Radical Consulting on 0425 177 897 alicia@designerlifetech.com

For a detailed and customized time management solution, contact Chee Wong from Expert Messaging at 0423 267 517

For a detailed and customized holacracy solution for your business, contact Stephan Jenner from Telus Partners at 08 9471 6500 www.teluspartners.com.au Stephan Jenner

http://goo.gl/zSNWXS

chee.wong@expertmessaging.com.au

Chee Wong

From my experience, planning contributes most significantly to the productivity of a meeting. As the meeting organizer, it's important to think through the goals of the meeting before going into it.

Once the attendees and objectives of the meeting are established, ensure it goes into everyone's calendar.

My preferred calendar tool is Microsoft Outlook but it's important to acknowledge that some people still use paper-based diaries, so one should cater to these preferences.

A great tool for “capturing” the meeting is Evernote.

The free version should provide all the functionality you need to capture your meeting. This may include photos (eg. shots of the whiteboard taken from your smartphone) and audio (eg. a voice recording of the entire meeting). Of course, you can write notes the old-fashioned way too (i.e. using the keyboard).

Evernote also has a useful transcription feature that will allow you to dictate to your smartphone or tablet and it will transcribe to text, but this is only available on Android devices currently. You can also clip web pages you've referred to during the meeting for inclusion in your notes.

Evernote stores everything in the cloud and syncs with all your devices (ala Dropbox). It allows you to easily search and share your meeting notes with the other attendees.

Alicia Menkveld Make your meetings more productive by : Keeping marketing meetings separate from general staff meetings for optimum productivity.

Distinguishing between strategic and operational marketing meetings. Decide who should attend for best results.

Establishing a clear outcome for each meeting and outline action steps for specific staff with deadlines. Be clear about WHO you market to, WHAT you want to say and WHAT you want customers to do. (Call-to-Action) Adding a few select frontline staff to campaign meetings.

This will prove to be invaluable to the success of the overall campaign from a customer's perspective in terms of the language customers use, FAQs and what customers' biggest challenges are.

Organizing workflow and minimizing repetitive tasks via the use of systems and processes, to achieve effective marketing.

A project management tool I use for my clients is Basecamp, which works really well for allocating tasks, keeping everyone accountable and seeing progress on tasks in real time.

Automating most of your marketing tasks like capturing leads, sending out email newsletters, managing training events and selling online,…which is easy. The most comprehensive, all-in-one cloud-based solution without a hefty price tag I found, is Infusionsoft. I recommend you speak to Perth's only Certified Infusionsoft Consultant before committing to any specific system. www.designerlifetechnologies.com Following up…which is a breeze if your meetings had a clear outcome with action steps allocated to specific staff. Weekly progress reports or 10 min power meetings work really well to follow-up, see where everyone is at, determine challenges and brainstorm solutions together.

Send us your business challenges & we will get them addressed by an exper t panel. nifnex@nifnex.com.au

DATE

Friday 28 Feb 2014

TIME

Full day, 8:30am –4:45pm Morning tea and lunch supplied

VENUE

Four Points Hotel by Sheraton 707 Wellington St, CBD (opposite Perth Arena)

PROGRAM NETWORKING DRINKS

4:45pm in the hotel’s bar

www.RedHotBananas.com

06 Any debt collection activities (even if performed by your own small business) must comply with the ASIC/ACCC Debt Collection Guidelines. There have been several cases by ASIC and the ACCC on enforcing the debt collection guidelines against business and 'dodgy' debt collection agencies. So what raised the ire of both the ACCC and the Federal Court?

Making threats Threatening your customer base is never a good idea, even if they're slow payers. Using abusive language, harassing debtors and making threats of physical violence are against the law.

Misrepresentation of the debt collection process If your company is handling debt collection internally, you must make this apparent to your debtors. It is unlawful to infer that an independent collector is

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au handling your debts when, in fact, you're performing the collection yourself. It's also against the law to pretend you're a lawyer or send documents that 'appear' like court documents when they are not. It might sound like a stupid thing to do – but large businesses have been successfully prosecuted for doing this.

False representations of debt collection rights You cannot institute credit policies against a debtor that fall outside of the law. Creating excessive fees and retrieving assets not attached to the debt or without a court order is not only illegal, it's viewed as unconscionable.

It goes without saying that outstanding debtors in your business can be stressful and affect your ability to manage your business. Using misleading

tactics and making false claims in an effort to recover your debt can create serious problems including serious fines.

Regardless of whether a business is acting out of ignorance or consciously misleading the consumer, the ACCC is taking a close look at these practices.

One good way to ensure you're not violating the Australian Consumer Law is to use an independent and licensed debt collection agency.

Natalie Walker

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

THE RISK OF BAD DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES Debt Collection with Natalie Walker

Blitz Credit Management is an innovative and technologydriven debt collection agency. Formed in 2010, the company has grown rapidly to become one of Australia's leading debt collection agencies. Blitz Credit Management provides commercial and consumer debt collection and credit management services to businesses across Australia. For more information, visit www.blitzcredit.com.au or call Natalie Walker, Managing Director, on (08) 6140 2584.

WHY MAKE YOUR WEBSITE ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES? Website accessibility benefits all users and your business.

Accessibility is not just about people with disabilities.

Accessible websites benefit older users, people using mobile devices, and people in rural areas with lower bandwidth. It also improves Search Engine Optimisation.

Website accessibility is required by law in Australia and December 2013 was the deadline.

Optimising access is the intelligent choice.

- “But our website is fine…”

Is it? Try using your website without accessibility aids. Put your mouse away. If you wear glasses, remove them. Surf your website using only your

keyboard for 5 minutes. Can you open menus, reach all links, complete the sign-up form and run the video? Can you read the fine print in the footer?

If you had problems, so will users who depend on alternative input devices and aids.

“Why does it matter?”

There are business benefits to making your website accessible: - 1 in 5 Australians has a disability; - Most people with disabilities have internet access at home; - Access to the internet by people with disabilities is rising; - It's required by law; - You can lose business to accessible competitors;

- You reduce your risk of litigation; and - You increase your market share.

Becoming an 'inclusive' organisation improves user experience and encourages return business.

“Who says we need to fix our website?”

In Australia, website accessibility is mandated by the Australian Human Rights Commission who administer the Disability Discrimination Act (1992). Websites must comply w i t h t h e We b C o n t e n t Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 to Level AA by December 31, 2013.

These requirements include public websites, intranets,

extranet sand web-based applications.

“How can we ensure our website is accessible?”

1. Become informed about issues and compliance requirements.

2. Conduct a technical audit of your website to determine accessibility levels.

3. Close gaps dealing with Level A of WCAG 2.0.

4. Work towards the AA level compliance.

L a s t l y, p u r s u e w e b s i t e accreditation - demonstrate you are an 'inclusive' organisation.

Vivienne Conway Director, Web Key IT

Website accessibility? It makes good business sense.

Our services include: - Technical WCAG 2.0/ISO 40500 compliance assessment - Auditing and accreditation - Training - Consultancy and advice Contact us for an obligation free quote today

Unlocking the Web

Telephone: 0415 383 783 Email: Vivienne Conway, Director at v.conway@webkeyit.com

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

07

www.nifnexreview.com.au

CASE STUDY:PROS AND CONS OF LETTING YOUR STAFF HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA Topic: How to get the most out of your staff on social media We are a Business Advisory firm and are looking at encouraging our staff to become more interactive with social media (Twitter in particular), because we are considering getting a group account. How would we ensure our staff use it in an appropriate and effective way?

CLICK TO WATCH THIS CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

SOLUTIONS BY THE PANEL OF EXPERTS Expertise: Organizational Leadership

Expertise: Social Media Solutions

For a detailed and customized leadership solution for your team, contact Shannon Bush from Creative Possibility at 0403 270 196 www.creativepossibility.com.au

With any new initiative arises a need for stakeholder engagement. Staff need to understand the greater vision and be consulted in regards to defining and executing the vision.

Douglas Lim

From a quality perspective, a clear policy and relevant procedures are required that take into consideration relevant legislation.

While every effort can be made to ensure the social media platform of choice is used safely and in line with organizational policies, issues may arise with the way it is used. It's important that staff understand the how and why behind the initiative and are supported to use the tool in a way that aligns with the broader organizational vision.

For any legal business advice, contact Dominique Engelter from William & Hughes Lawyers at 08 9481 2040 www.whlaw.com.au Dominique Engelte

Getting your staff onto social media is a great lowcost method of marketing your brand. However, there are a couple of things that must be done or given due consideration before this happens. They are: 1.Business owners need to educate staff on their brand, including their company vision and values.

That way, every staff member will preach the same

When a company wants to introduce any initiative, the leadership team will improve the response from staff - increasing their willingness to embrace the initiative enthusiastically, by leading by example.

Training should be provided regularly so staff are aware how to use the social media platforms as social media and the way to use it effectively changes frequently.

Expertise: Legal

For a detailed and customized social media strategy for your business, contact Douglas Lim from Alyka at 08 9200 4429 douglas.lim@alyka.com.au

Shannon Bush

Social media is an essential tool for engaging an organization's current, future and potential clients – or so social media advocates would have us believe.

I'm no expert but I have to agree with the hype, as I believe it has great potential if used in the right way.

http://goo.gl/kAhW05

message.

2.A proper governance policy is set up so that staff members are aware of what they can and can't say online. The problem with social media is that once something is online, it can be hard to remove.

3.Directors or business owners need to be on LinkedIn as I'm finding more and more clients are viewing potential partners and suppliers' profiles via LinkedIn. 4.Finally, make sure you set up administrator profiles for all social media accounts so that if a staff member leaves, they don't take your contact list built up on social media with them.

Social media is an exciting new tool for business but comes with its commercial and legal risks.

Firstly, client contact lists can be a valuable part of your business' intellectual property. This may include the clients your employees have connected with on LinkedIn after meeting them through your business. Do you want to lose that information if the employee leaves…or for the employee to use that information in their next employment? Ensure you have protection built into your employment contracts to retain this intellectual property.

Secondly, there is reputational risk to your business if the social media platform contains negative public sentiment, or inappropriate employee material is posted/tweeted (harassment, vilification).

An employee posting to social media with your imprimatur may engage in defamatory or misleading & deceptive conduct that leads to claims against you.

Ensure you have administrative control over any social media accounts linked to your business and apply the necessary resources to constantly monitor these accounts.

There need to be privacy controls built in to your social media policy. Who within your organization can access client details, and what controls are in place to ensure that your client's personal information is not divulged to others?

Finally, it is important to have a social media policy in place to control use of that medium by your employees.

In particular, what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable use and how will unacceptable use be dealt with?

Send us your business challenges & we will get them addressed by an exper t panel. nifnex@nifnex.com.au

At last! A business seminar program that recognises your time is valuable.

Delivered by industry leaders and featuring 20 real-world topics, you can attend just one or a number of the seminars on offer throughout the day.

And, you don’t need to pay big bucks to re-energise your business every session is free!

WEDNESDAY MARCH 12 2014 The Botanical Rooms, Crown Casino, Burswood FREE ENTRY anytime between 7.300am and 5.00 pm

Proudly Presented by

www.caman.com.au

08 One of my most favored possessions is a 1957 copy of Think and Grow Rich that I found tucked away in a bookshop many years ago.

Whilst the vintage of the book is important to me, it's the story it tells that I am most interested in.

Written by Napoleon Hill and originally published in 1937, this book is one you need to download or if you're like me and love the feel of a real book in your hand, buy.

This read has sold more than 70 million copies world-wide and talks about wealth coming from increasing your power to think and developing your ability to access the universe's intelligence. Hill provides a concrete plan for success that depends entirely on you, and based on his extensive research

of hundreds of America's most successful men including Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Hill doesn't discriminate - it's just there weren't many female tycoons in the 1930's, so it's said.

Those that have read Think and Grow Rich will attest to the central idea that richness is not just about money but also includes quality friendships, family harmony, good work relationships, and spiritual peace. This is why the book continues to be read through economics of bust and boom because the source of wealth creation never ceases to flow and is outside of time.

book that can change your life, and will if you dive into the ideas and concepts it contains. By being actively involved in your own life, taking responsibility for your life (as this lies firmly in your hands as an individual) and creating your present and future experiences based on Hill's “thirteen steps to riches”, you'll definitely grow rich. I have.

Website: www.clockworkprint.com.au

Book Review with JR

Also on my bookshelf; The Magic of Thinking Big David J Schwartz The Science of Getting Rich Wallace D Wattles

The title Think and Grow Rich is effectively the motto not of Hill's era, but of our own. This is a

Business proprietors regularly ask me how they can make their business stand out, how to get more attention and how to make their shopfronts look their best.

To that end, I've curated a short list of the 6 ways anyone can improve the visibility of their business. Here goes!

Adrian Kougianos has been Clockwork's Marketing Manager since 2009.

Together with Clockwork's reliable print production team, Adrian has regularly produced unique, novel and most importantly, effective direct mail & large format campaigns and a huge array of marketing collateral that has helped Clockwork grow its business. You can rely on Adrian to provide answers to your print, scan, copy or design questions and to provide a unique perspective on how digital print technology can help you squeeze more out of your next marketing project.

THINK AND GROW RICH

Cheers and happy reading JR

6 WAYS TO IMPROVE THE VISIBILITY OF YOUR BUSINESS

Adrian Kougianos

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au

1. Go Large Sure, it's an intuitive response but it's all too common to see businesses with tiny little decals on their doors, quietly whispering their presence to passers-by. Unless the goal is to avoid the spotlight, you should occupy as much space as possible using as much signage as your budget can afford! You can check out what ideas are possible by taking a photo of your storefront and sending it to your graphic designer.

2. P r e s e n t y o u r I m a g e s It's very common to see window displays stuck on with BluTack or being held up with wrinkled sticky tape. Unfortunately, this happens more out of necessity

than anything else. If you're showcasing good quality images in your boardroom, reception area or on your storefront window, make sure your images really sing by mounting, laminating & framingthem.

to any shape. Notepads and postcards also make great giveaways that keep your brand around for longer.

5. Properly Position your Displays Banners are a great way to display a message but people can easily overlook them if they're not in the right location. All displays should always be set back slightly from the viewer, which provides them the maximum possible viewing angle. The best position for a pull up is at least 3 metres away from a location where people congregate. Avoid positioning banners in thoroughfares or small rooms.

3. Get Noticed from a Distance Get seen from a distance and encourage visits to your premises with outdoor signage.

Fabric banners & outdoor vinyl banners, correctly placed, get the attention of pedestrians and vehicle traffic. Design them with an interesting but simple message. Don't scrimp with outdoor signage as a faded outdoor flag or banner really makes them less effective.

4. Make Memorable Moments Everyone loves a free take-home item so if you're looking to raise your profile,consider customising some freebies for your visitors. Create something interesting that stays with your target audience for as long as possible. Custom vinyl stickers are popular and can be trimmed

Advertise With

6. Target Pedestrians & Traffic Pedestrians are very attentive to signage that's in their direct field of vision. If you have access to a steady stream of foot traffic, you should consider using A-Frames.

Quick messages with high quality graphics are the go as you only have a few seconds to get your message across.

Remember, the same people pass by these signs daily so you get a regular opportunity to reinforce your message.

If you need any ideas, advice or would like to chat about your options for increasing your business's visibility, give Adrian a call on 08 9321 0877.

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

09

www.nifnexreview.com.au

CASE STUDY: CAN YOUR WEBSITE LOOK GREAT, CAPTURE LEADS AND RANK HIGH ON GOOGLE ALL AT THE SAME TIME? Topic: Just because a website looks great, does it mean its effective?

I have just launched my business consultancy website and come to a conclusion that making it look great, incorporating right lead-capturing features and ensuring it gets found easily, whilst keeping it mobile format friendly is almost impossible. Branding is more important to me than being found on Google. What are your thoughts?

CLICK TO WATCH THIS CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

SOLUTIONS BY THE PANEL OF EXPERTS Expertise: Creative / Branding

Expertise: Digital Media

For a detailed and customized creative and branding solution for your business, contact Diann Bates from Creative Fruition at 08 9355 0600 www.creativefruition.com.au Diann Bates

Competitors are only a click away and research shows you've got 7 seconds to grab a customer's attention! Your objective is for them to see you as their only solution!

What is your unique selling point that will drive sales?

What makes you stand out from your competitors?

What do you do better or differently?

Be it online or offline, every time you connect with your audience you need to deliver your brand message clearly, confirm your credibility, connect emotionally, motivate the buyer and encourage long term customer loyalty.

SEO and offline marketing can drive traffic to your website, but if a visitor arrives and your brand offers the same messaging and look as your competitors, there's every chance they will continue to look elsewhere or buy on price.

The more customers see your brand, the more they will remember it... make sure their memory of you is better than that of your competitors!

Saving money by using templates, stock photography, boring headings like “Welcome to our website”, lack lustre content and not thinking through your customers' requirements, won't make you stand out from the crowd or create trust. Nor will it encourage visitors to fall in love with your brand and take action or refer you to others!

Define your brand or be defined!

http://goo.gl/lpnxEo Expertise: CRM / CEO For a detailed and customized solution from a CRM/SEO perspective, contact Dale Carter from GTP iCommerce at 1300 856 533 www.gtphub.com

For a detailed and customized digital media solution, contact Rajab Karume from NeedlenHay at 0434586087 RajabK@NeedlenHay.com Rajab Karume

At NeedlenHay, we believe strongly, that technology (stand-alone) is not the silver bullet. So much so that our motto and tagline is 'It's not about technology… it's more about the consumer'.

Having cleared the throat, with our position above, let's look at the case study.

Objective and Priority The most imperative step would be for the business owner to clearly define his/her business objectives and their priorities; because one of the major stumbling blocks in online commerce is ”wanting everything to happen at the exact same time and not defining what (the) everything is”.

Looking great – is it the aesthetics or overall consistent branding that one is after? How great? Industry great, winning awards great, commercially successful great?

Capture leads – definition of leads. What constitutes a lead? Any lead? Traffic leads? Is an inquiry a lead?

Geographically limited leads?

Ranking high on Google – Exclusively Google? How high is high? How low is low?

Crystal Gazing Success. After clearly defining the objective and their priorities, one then needs to picture success. Clearly articulate what success is and how it looks like. Is it ten leads a day? Is it first page on Google forever? Is it clients' feedback on the 'friendliness' of the website?

Summary To summarize, the answer is 'Yes', but with the caveat as described in this article. A digital 'finger print' should buttress the business case (commercial realities) and not vice versa.

Dale Carter

Great SEO is about getting the coding foundation right. HTML 5 is now the standard and we've found building a website with best practice HTML 5 boosts rankings. Choose a content management system (CMS) that has this as standard architecture. Simply rebuilding a website in this framework can be less expensive and more impactful on rankings than traditional link building. It also costs no more to build on the newer platform than it does on an out-ofdate platform.

There is now a greater range of responsive website platforms, meaning that the website can be coded to change its layout as the width of the screen is reduced down to mobile phone size. Additional work and therefore budget is generally required to accommodate all devices. But this can be cheaper in the long run.

An alternative for an inexpensive mobile friendly version of your site is to use a mobile site generator like Duda Mobile. On lead generation, we've found that a website's lead capture mechanisms work best when they are available on all pages instead of being limited to a single enquiry page. Knowing what you want technically as well as aesthetically can save you in the long run.

Send us your business challenges & we will get them addressed by an exper t panel. nifnex@nifnex.com.au

To register, call 08 93986333 or visit www.sbcsem.com.au

10

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au

FUN, BUSINESS AND MUSIC .....ALL IN FREMANTLE Business should be fun! And which industry is more fun than the music industry?

Hi! I'm Elicia … in the privileged position of getting to play with local music radio and on the other end of the spectrum, teaching kids the love of music at the WA Academy of Arts & Music; hopefully for life!

Fremantle is a brilliant base to launch from and there are exciting rumblings across our Port City, which provides great support for our live music industry. Fabulous emerging artists are popping up all over (many of these can be heard live on Pirate 88 FM), and with additions such as Freo Song of the Year (which had its inaugural launch last year) and other great local festivals, these artists are becoming more accessible.

Tim Milsom, CEO of Fremantle Chamber of Commerce was recently

overheard to say “The Fremantle Chamber and the City of Fremantle have identified that music and the arts are an intrinsic part of what makes Fremantle, Fremantle. If you are thinking about setting up business, any business, with a $Billion worth of investment currently on the table, Fremantle is the place to be.”

This is YES time, with local key organizations ready to say 'Yes' to brilliant new ideas rather than the stout bureaucratic 'No' of the past few decades. The results are outstanding already.

If I can leave you with anything to ponder today, it would be this. Have FUN in your business. EVERYDAY. Yes, there are stresses and problems, but a wise person once told me: “It's all about perspective”. Be positive, have fun, keep your direction in mind and watch your results flourish. Oh,

and remember to be grateful…yes, just like your mother told you!

Step out of the office; steal a cheeky visit to the beach or the pub, even a coffee out and return to the office with a renewed sense of fun and positivity. Life is GOOD. Tune into more of Fremantle's awesome music here: www.pirate88.com/listenlive

Elicia Petite GM Pirate 88 FM & WA Academy of Arts & Music info@pirate88.com & info@waam.net.au

IFAP'S SAFER BUSINESS PACKAGE In 2013, the West Australian economy witnessed a gradual deceleration in activity and throughout the year, a large number of safety practitioners left the vocation as companies focused upon preservation of their bottom line.

But where does this leave businesses in relation to their workplace health and safety obligations or visions of an injury-free workforce? IFAP is concerned that the risks associated with many business activities are not being

appropriately addressed because small to medium enterprises simply cannot afford to employ safety specialists on a full-time basis.

And so IFAP has developed what we believe is the ideal solution to this dilemma – the Safer Business Package.

The Safer Business Package combines the expertise of IFAP's safety champions, with the leading edge “Myosh” webbased software system to be able to evaluate, analyze, report and improve any business's approach

to workplace safety management. The Safer Business Package is scalable to suit the needs of any business: from an entry level of commitment of eight days per year or much greater, depending on their specific needs such as meeting contractual obligations, project deadlines, managing specific hazards, investigating accidents or staff training.

The IFAP Safer Business Package can assist organizations to meet their legal obligations whilst pursuing best practice in

workplace health and safety management.

The IFAP Safer Business Package - we are there when you need us.

Martin Ralph is the Managing Director of IFAP (Industrial Foundation for Accident Prevention), an independent, not-for-profit, member-based organization governed by a Board of Directors. The organization has been at the leading edge of workplace health and safety since 1962. After joining IFAP in 1993, Martin rose through the ranks to become Managing Director in 2001.

Martin Ralph

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

11

www.nifnexreview.com.au

CASE STUDY: HAVE YOU CONSIDERED TENDERING OR FRANCHISING AS A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY? Topic: Tenders – Financial Markets – Business Excellence I run a family business and we focus on cleaning commercial properties with a few staff. We have regular contracts and we feel we are either ready to start investing in shares to diversify or set up franchises. I have noticed a tender opportunity with the government and I am wondering if this is typically for larger, well established businesses that have systems in place etc. From your perspective, is tendering & franchising an expensive exercise? What about insurances for staff?

CLICK TO WATCH THIS CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

SOLUTIONS BY THE PANEL OF EXPERTS Expertise: Tenders for SME

Expertise: Financial Planning / Insurance

Expertise: Business Excellence

For a detailed and customized financial planning solution, contact Conrad Francis from Inspired Money at : 08 9301 2631 www.inspiredmoney.com.au License No: 234665

To engage Andrew Christopher to take a closer look at your business and assist you, contact Andrew from RFBE Consulting at 0419197558 achris@rfbe.com.au

If you are interested in submitting tenders and need help, contact Sue Findlay at 0417920149 Suzanne.findlay@bidbuddy.net.au Sue Findlay

SMEs wishing to grow their business by tendering for work have just as much chance of winning the business as a larger company, provided they think and behave like a larger company.

Buyers contracting services companies are looking to select low-risk suppliers, so they are looking for evidence of quality systems, financial stability, and a solid track record of high quality service delivery.

Typical evaluation criteria are demonstrated experience, capability, and capacity. To win, a company must prove they have sustainable systems to ensure their continued capability and capacity.

It is one thing to win a large contract. It is quite another thing to deliver the services well and cope with the increased workload at the same time.

Without solid systems in place that are designed to scale with the workload, most companies will quickly reach a point where they struggle to cope.

In order to be “tender ready”, SMEs are advised to first invest in their processes and procedures, and build a catalogue of happy customers. Once you have a library of testimonials and a quality system in place, you are ready to begin bidding for larger contracts.

http://goo.gl/UldFNk

Conrad Francis

Andrew Christopher

The case study poses an interesting dilemma and one that impacts most of us whether we are in business or not, whether we are considering franchising or not and that is, “Why are we investing in this manner?” and “What outcome are we hoping to achieve?”.

Once we have some sense around these two key questions, only then can we truthfully explore the multitude of opportunities that exist for not only the family in this case study but in general.

Through the financial planning process, we would examine the “Key People's” propensity to take risk and address the Risk v Return profiling of the client and the opportunity. We would then ensure that the foundations are laid by way of a comprehensive review of their General and, more importantly, Personal Insurance portfolio.

From this point, we can comfortably examine the opportunities; in this instance, should the client look at investing into shares or franchise their business.

At this point, let's understand that the two need not be mutually exclusive. However, a clear concise picture needs to be built of what the objectives are, around both.

The last part would involve actively reviewing whichever strategy has been chosen as a path forward, to ensure it remains a viable proposition in delivering the results to satisfy the clients short, medium and long term goals.

This case study has a theme and critical dilemma, which is typical to many small businesses. The theme is “having established a stable base load of business, relying mainly on family, they would like to take the next steps to grow the business and profits sustainably”- resulting in a watershed point for the business, as:the expansion of the business beyond family and the smart pursuit of a growth strategy requires sound overall business strategy, and efficient approaches in addressing leadership, customers & stakeholders, people, assets and processes, financial and broader success factors including safety & environment.

Tenders for government or the majority of private sector contracts are competitive and require demonstration through mandatory and merit tender criteria, of track record and capability across all the above dimensions.

The fundamental of Franchises is that there are efficient standard systems and processes across all these dimensions and well-trained staff at Franchisor as well as Franchisee level.

Addressing these imperatives requires laying the appropriate foundation of a sound holistic management system that can be scaled up progressively to support sustainable growth and profits. Failure to do this manifests in the No. 1 cause for small businesses not realizing their potential - Their owners and managers are occupied addressing issues “In the Business” and are not focusing “On the Business”.

Better practices and generally larger businesses understand this imperative and aided by their capacity to engage appropriate expertise, apply the “Business Excellence” framework or system which is the leading international holistic management framework, to manage “On the Business” as well as support a structured and systematic approach to the pursuit and application of relevant better practices “In the Business”.

The critical dilemma, to date, for SME's, has been affordable access to this knowledge as well as expert advice and support.

Today, aided by technology advancements, innovation and initiative by organizations such as NIFNEX and the MDBA, this gate is opened to SMEs.

Send us your business challenges & we will get them addressed by an exper t panel. nifnex@nifnex.com.au

To Advertise, contact us at nifnex@nifnex.com.au or call 1300 643 639

COURAGE BUILDER COLUMN

12

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au Courage is essential to your business survival because important workplace concepts like leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship are all directly connected to courage.

Our times call for bold, confident, courageous leaders.

As history has shown, those with the guts to step forward, take some risks and lead change during uncertain times will be the winners as the economy rebounds.

Alicia Menkveld is an international, inspirational speaker and courage-builder who helps people and companies to be more courageous. She's an entrepreneur for the last 16 years and coauthored a book called “In the Spirit of Abundance: Inspiring Stories from Entrepreneurs Around the World” together with world class leaders such as Jack Canfield and Brian Tracy.

Alicia Menkveld The Courage Builder

Keynotes and Training: Contact Alicia on M: 0425 177 897 W: www.ISayYesMoreOften.com

AMENDMENTS TO THE PRIVACY ACT COME INTO EFFECT IN MARCH 2014

We are very privileged to have attached a number of newer faces to the association and are delighted to welcome the following new board members.”

When each person is showing up to work each day with just a little more courage, the entire company will be transformed.

I challenge you this month to rethink your role in the company.

When was the last time you truly made a courageous move?

Start questioning the status quo.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Businesses need to get ready for the Privacy Act changes by updating credit applications, privacy policies, procedures and manuals. You should also conduct a privacy audit in your organisation to make sure it complies with the new APP guidelines. For more information on how the changes can impact you, contact Natalie Walker from Blitz Credit Management on (08) 6140 2281.

“Business associations are a very important part of the business community and we encourage businesses to join the JBA. The value of the JBA is indisputable.

With greater experience and enthusiasm of the board and staff, we are looking forward to a successful and prosperous 2014.

D R A A

B

John Willett – Vice President Russell Poliwka – Vice President James Filing – Treasurer Brian Corr – Secretary Martin Smith Ray Foster

In March 2014, the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012 goes into effect, changing the way debt collection is handled throughout Australia. If you're performing your own debt collection or providing credit, you need to understand these changes and how to prepare your business. Four key changes include privacy policies, unsolicited information, security and overseas disclosure.

Courage is needed when you want your employees to embrace change more enthusiastically or when you want your managers to give more direct feedback.

O

These new board members will give us a greater depth of experience. They will also be well supported by other board members who have added great value to the future of the JBA.

Innovation involves creating ground-breaking ideas and that often involves defying deeplyheld traditions or conventions.

Innovation takes courage.

Entrepreneurship requires taking risks to capitalise on opportunities combined with knocking on doors in the face of

Having said this, I find it surprising that almost no attention is paid to building people's courage at work. That's too bad, because it is courage that is most needed when you want your staff to step up and demonstrate initiative.

JBA EXPANDS BOARD WITH LOCAL TALENT

B

“We are delighted with the increased involvement of the small business community leaders' desire to be involved with the JBA. The Joondalup Business Association is one of the longest-serving and biggest associations in WA. We have been a leader in helping and supporting small businesses in the greater northern corridor of Perth for over 20 years.With the growth of the north corridor, the JBA has been keen to involve community leaders from various sectors to serve the business community on the board of the JBA. We have been active in seeking expertise within our business community and are very fortunate to have a full complement of 11 board members.” said David Curry, President of the Joondalup Business Association.

· Debbie Lanario – The Good Guys · Paula Anderson – Scknergy · Patrick Vuaillat – Sweet Artist Academy (Former owner, Sugar and Spice) · Derek Joy – Owner, Bank of Queensland

J

The Joondalup Business Association has expanded its board for the year 2013/14.

But it's not easy. Demonstrating leadership courage, like having an uncomfortable conversation, speaking up when you are in the minority, asking 'why or why not' or making a decision to move ahead on a new project, can be scary.

rejection. Entrepreneurship requires courage.

LEFT TO RIGHT Back row – Paula Anderson, Martin Smith, Patrick Vuaillat, Brian Corr, Debbie Lanario, Derek Joy, James Filing Front row – John Willett, David Curry (President), Russell Poliwka Insert – Ray Foster, Clive Haddow(CEO).

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

13

www.nifnexreview.com.au

CASE STUDY: SHOULD YOU TAKE ON A BUSINESS PARTNER? Topic: Considerations when taking on a new business partner I'm looking at expanding my small home office business, as my only staff member wants to invest into the business. I am confused if I should say yes … but can't operate from my home then, and will need external space. If we get a serviced office, do we need to sign long term contracts and need to be trading for a while? I feel we may need to register a new company if my staff becomes a partner. What are the pros and cons from your perspective?

CLICK TO WATCH THIS CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

SOLUTIONS BY THE PANEL OF EXPERTS Expertise: Serviced Offices

When considering the move from a home office to commercial premises, cost should only be a part of the decision and not the deciding factor.

The questions I would ask myself when assessing the efficacy of a move are: “Will moving to a corporate environment add any value to my business? Will my productivity increase?”

“Will there be significant benefit in being around and networking with like-minded professionals?” “Will I make more money?”

The simple fact is that nobody is good at everything and the smart business owner recognises that they need to invest their time and energy in the activities that add the most value - and delegate the rest of the tasks required to keep a business running, either to someone within their business or to an external supplier.

That could mean partnering with someone with a skillset which complements yours, finding employees who will pick up the jobs that don't earn you money or outsourcing all noncore activities, leaving you with more time to do what you do best –focussing on your commercial objectives.

Running an office is not generally a core activity for a business owner and choosing to partner with a serviced office operator like Liberty will remove all of the associated distractions.

You effectively get an instant support team, an impressive 'fit for purpose' office environment and flexible terms that allow you to remain nimble as your business evolves. Further, because you only pay for the space you are using, you achieve 100 percent efficiency.

So the question I would ask myself is: “Can I afford to keep working from home?”

Expertise: Unleashing Entrepreneur Mindset

Expertise: Accounting / Business Structures / Bookkeeping For a detailed and customized accounting solution, contact Sonja Pilkington from Asset Financial Accounting at 1300 880 961

For a detailed and customized solution regarding serviced offices, contact Jamie Vine from Liberty Executive Offices at 08 6141 3100 jcv@libertyoffices.com.au Jamie Vine

http://goo.gl/bbXbPQ

For a detailed and customized solution from an entrepreneurial perspective, contact Daniel Jovevski from Switch My Loan at 1300 307155 daniel@switchmyloan.com.au

sonja@assetfinancialaccounting.com.au

Sonja Pilkington

Changing business structures can be costly but the benefits can outweigh the initial costs. When setting up a new business structure, the business owner has to remember to update the business name registration and ensure it is used by the correct entity.

Changing to a new structure also means that the ABN will change, and will also have tax and GST implications – your financial adviser should be able to assist you with this.

Consider the pros and cons of each business type before deciding which business type is best suited to you and your circumstances : Sole traders cannot share ownership with anyone else; Partnerships are limited to twenty people and each of the partners are jointly and severally liable for the debts even if they are unaware of the debt being incurred by another partner. A partnership agreement determines the profit split and in the absence of such an agreement, it will be on an equal basis; Companies are more costly to set up, profits are distributed as dividends to the shareholders; directors earn a directors fee and PAYG is withheld on these fees/ salaries, directors have asset protection; Trusts are also costly to set up and more difficult to get out of; income is distributed to beneficiaries and the beneficiaries pay tax in their own right.

Have a discussion with your financial and legal advisers before changing your business structure to avoid headaches in the future, and also to make it easier when you want to include the next investor in your business.

Daniel Jovevski

One of the biggest decisions you'll make as an entrepreneur is to take on an equity participant and co-founder. There is no right or wrong answer, but the most fundamental question to ask is whether there'll be increased value creation by doing as a duo, or riding solo.

Benefits of status quo: You're the decision maker, you might not get it right all the time, but you run the business your way. You don't have to worry about the time you spend in your business, always comparing with how much effort is put in by someone else.

Benefits of a partnership: The partner brings a new skill set to the business that you didn't have that ultimately benefits the business more than doing it alone.

To see if it's worth it, you should both write a list of your strengths/weaknesses and see how many complimentary skills and gaps there are. If you both bring unique skills that don't overlap, then the case for taking on a co-founder is strengthened. Consider risks/benefits such as personality clashes, cash injection, decision making, and differing perspectives.

Send us your business challenges & we will get them addressed by an exper t panel. nifnex@nifnex.com.au

Is Your Business Safe?

SPEAKERS

A Lawyer, OHS expert and Compliance Specialist come together to speak about BUSINESS COMPLIANCE….

Expect lots of laughter!

Lita Squibb, Managing Director Midas Bookkeeping Services Nick Oud, Industrial Relations Lawyer Standpoint Legal Marie Barker, OHS Expert Peter Schupp, The Laughter Guy–Kaizen Wellbeing, Lifting Energy

When: Thurs 6th March, 5:30 – 8:00 pm (Registration: 5:00 pm) Where: Perth Event Centre, 386 Wanneroo Road Westminster Ph:1300 367 332 E:admin@midasbookkeeping.com.au W: http://tinyurl.com/pljala2

14

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

Read online www.nifnexreview.com.au

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE FOR SMES The fact that small business owners and managers are invariably occupied dealing with “In the Business” matters and not “On the Business” is widely accepted as the No. 1 impediment to their growth.

Better practices and generally larger businesses understand this imperative and aided by their capacity to engage appropriate expertise, apply the “Business Excellence” framework or system which is the leading international holistic management framework – to manage “On the Business” as well as support a structured and systematic approach to the pursuit and application of relevant better practices “In the Business”.

The critical dilemma, to date, for SMEs, has been affordable

access to this knowledge as well as expert advice and support.

Today, aided by technology advancements, innovation and initiative by organizations such as NIFNEX and the MDBA, this gate is opened to SMEs.

In the first series of these userfriendly and practical articles, Andrew Christopher of RFBE (Results Focused Business Excellence) Consulting explains:-

What is “Business Excellence” Numerous definitions of Business Excellence exist and often, the term is used interchangeably or confused with other terms such as Business Improvement, Process Improvement and Business Transformation. It is therefore useful to “clear the clutter” in

Andrew Christopher

Andrew Christopher is the founder of RFBE (Results Focused Business Excellence) Consulting and a 'Business Excellence' expert with over 30 years of leadership and consulting experience in facilitating business and operational excellence. Andrew uses his finance, governance, commercial and operations background to integrate strategy, business performance management, process management and business improvement to address and improve an organization's delivery of performance objectives. He is passionate about assisting businesses committed to Business Excellence.

Contact Andrew on M: 0419 197 558 or E: achris@rfbe.com.au

order to understand and benefit from Business Excellence Business Excellence can be described as an action, a framework or system and a state of business:- Action - the application of a systematic and structured approach to managing a business holistically and implementing appropriate better practices in all aspects of the business - Framework or System acknowledged external frames of reference that guide businesses in 85 plus developed and developing nations.

- A state of high performanceassessed by expert external assessors through measurement against an acknowledged external or full tailored framework and comparison with

contemporary better business practices.

These national frameworks are broadly similar and maintain alignment through collaboration in the Global Excellence Management (GEM) Council.

Australia's model is the Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF).

Many industries and large organizations adopt the best features of these frameworks to tailor their own Business Excellence frameworks that are more relevant to their needs.

To many, Business Excellence means one of the multitudes of “Business Excellence Awards” that Councils, Industries and Business Associations present each year, based on widely varying and often less rigorous assessment criteria. Whilst these serve a purpose, the true value of Business Excellence is in:-

- the disciplined application of the framework or the system to improve business performance - testing organizational progress through assessment against a full f r a m e w o r k b y business excellence expert assessors - taking on board the expert assessors' feedback on organizational strengths and opportunities, prioritizing and integrating improvement initiatives into normal business strategy.

In the next edition of Nifnex Review, I will explain why organizations implement a Business Excellence Approach or System and how this will benefit SMEs seeking to grow.

FACEBOOK – A BOON FOR MARKETING. BUT THERE IS A TRAP.

INDUSTRY UPDATE: SERVICED OFFICES

By Siobhan O'Gara

The last 18 months have been a testing time in the servicedoffice sector in Perth. BHP Billiton's move into their new office resulted in a flood of sublet opportunities in Perth's CBD. This came at a time when the big miners were focused on cost saving.

At the same time, a new serviced-office operator decided to enter the Perth market and another decided to expand. They added more than 500 workstations (about a 50 percent increase) to a market that was already oversupplied and demand was falling. And so the price war began.

We've seen myriad short term “special offers”, aimed at seducing clients into these new facilities. They'll soon return to their charging regimes and the honeymoon will be over for serviced-office occupiers that have been attracted.

At Liberty, we've stuck to our guns and continued to offer exceptional service at a

competitive rate – with our goal being long term client retention.

This philosophy has paid off.

We're fast approaching 85% occupancy, with the highest client retention we've had.

I'm witnessing a level of business confidence that's been absent for 18 months. There is appetite to pursue business growth and we're finding more businesses want the benefit of a flexible office solution to help them remain nimble as the next cycle unfolds.

Call Liberty now for an obligation-free discussion on how to capitalise on your strengths – and ours.

Call: 1300 235 879 OR +61 (0) 86141 3100 (if you're calling from outside Australia) Or find us on the web at: www.libertyoffices.com.au

F a c e b o o k , Tw i t t e r a n d YouTube give all businesses a new, direct way to interact with customers, to attract new customers, and to promote their products and services.

However, businesses using social media channels have a responsibility to ensure content in these channels is accurate, irrespective of who put it there.

Consumer protection laws prohibit businesses from making false, misleading or deceptive claims about their products or services and these laws also apply to social media. Just like any claim a business makes as part of its marketing and promotional activities - including print, radio, television and websites – the claims made on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogger, Pinterest or YouTube must not be false, misleading or deceptive.

A business can be held responsible for any public comments made by customers, fans, followers or bloggers on its social media pages which are false or are likely to mislead or deceive consumers.

This was confirmed by the Federal Court in 2011 during the ACCC's court action against an allergy treatment company. Clients of the company posted testimonials on the company's Facebook “wall” and the court concluded that the company became the publisher and accepted responsibility for the posts and testimonials on its social media pages when it knew about them and decided not to remove them. The company and director were fined $7,500 each.

Guidance for Business Don't make statements on your Facebook or other social media pages that you wouldn't make in any other type of advertising. If you're unsure about what you can or cannot say, seek legal advice.

Monitor your social media pages and remove any posts that may be false, misleading or deceptive as soon as you become aware of them. This is what the ACCC would expect you to do with any other type of advertisement.

You can respond to comments or testimonials but it is possible that your response

may not be sufficient to override the false impression made by the original comments. It may be safer to simply remove the comments.

Establish clear 'house rules' that apply to the actions of your fans, friends and followers when using your social media pages. These rules should be featured prominently on your social media pages. You should then block users who breach your rules.

It is important to keep in mind that social media operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and many consumers use social media outside normal business hours and on weekends.

The ACCC can require businesses to substantiate any claims on their social media pages and their websites, and can take court action where it identifies a breach of the law (or issue an infringement notice in certain circumstances).

For further guidance when using social media please see: Using social media to promote your business on www.accc.gov.au

16 FEB – 15 MAR 2014

15

www.nifnexreview.com.au

CASE STUDY: COULD TAKING YOUR SERVERS TO THE CLOUD HELP WITH STAFF WORKING FROM HOME? Topic: How to make the most of cloud services and remote staff I own a small accounting business with five staff, and one remote staff member based at home. Now that Microsoft has ended their support for servers, I am wondering if cloud is the way to go ie. office 365 and a cloud-based CRM. As a business owner who wants to grow my practice, I am torn between staff working from home and the whole team working at the office, cloud based servers, staff motivation, ensuring they do their work, reporting etc. Could I have your input please?

CLICK TO WATCH THIS CASE STUDY DISCUSSION

SOLUTIONS BY THE PANEL OF EXPERTS Expertise: Writing and Using Social Media to Network

Lesley Dewar

For a detailed and customized solution from an expert in writing and using social media for networking, contact Lesley Dewar from Stories My Nana Tells at 0417 915 502 www.storiesmynanatells.com

My first concerns were about having open and easy communication with the staff, in-house and outsourced, and maintaining a good team culture.

Making team meetings friendly (no witch-hunts) is essential when not everyone works in the same o f f i c e . Te c h n o l o g y i s g r e a t f o r o p e n communications, as well as allowing for private one-on-one interactions for specific issues.

Use the telephone. Mobile phones are ideal, because a short message after a chat means you can get clarity on any concerns.

Create a secret group on Facebook or LinkedIn, where staff members have a forum for open but still private discussion.

Use a Dropbox to share documents. They can be ready for download, or put up for amendment or editing, as required. Once done, remove documents from the Dropbox.

For excellent security, use a zip file to transfer large documents attached to emails. Have several coded email addresses that don't disclose the name of the sender or recipient.

Expertise: Online CRM Solutions

http://goo.gl/iGpRKi Expertise: Award Winning Business Mentor For a detailed and customized solution to help you grow your business, contact Rueben Taylor from Business Wealth Educators at

For a detailed and customized CRM solutions for your business, contact Anton Menkveld at 0420 975 033 anton@designerlifetechnologies.com Anton Menkveld

Having remote employees holds great advantages for both employer and employee. Employers will need less office infrastructure and will have access to a much larger potential pool of workers. Employers could even tap into overseas workers working at much lower rates.

08 9468 0200 www.BusinessWealthEducators.com.au Rueben Taylor

The opportunities offered by technology, outsourcing and leveraging through a virtual team are a game changer for small businesses today. Here are a few things to consider if you are thinking of going down this path.

Think Longer Term:

Employees on the other hand will not have to commute to an office and will be able to work at hours that suit them. To be able to offer remote working, an employer will need to be able to effectively integrate remote workers into the processes of a business. This means that a way needs to be found to communicate with remote employees, what is expected of them, and also to track their output.

Good, cloud-based software such as Infusionsoft allows employers to schedule and track employee tasks and will greatly improve the effectiveness of remote employees.

Infusionsoft further allows employees to record all client interactions, which is then visible to all other employees and managers and ensure continuity in customer relationships regardless of who is absent or have left.

Other systems such as shared drives (Google Drive or Dropbox) for file sharing, shared diaries (Google Calendar) and team collaboration tools (Basecamp) make it possible for remote employees to be very effective.

Skype, Go-To-Meeting and Google+ Hangouts as well as Facebook Face-to-Face offer plenty of options for one-on-one and group interaction as well.

Systemising the business to allow employees to work remotely has an additional benefit to the business owner; it means that the owner can now step away and still effectively manage the business remotely, which provides great levels of freedom.

With good systems for handovers between teams, any business can function efficiently with staff inhouse or outsourced.

To find out more about online systems that could facilitate remote working, please visit www.designerlifetechnologies.com

Don't just go virtual because you think it is cool or the latest thing to do. Think what your business will look like in 5 years' time. Will your team be bigger or smaller? Will your customers still come to you or buy online? What are the trends in your industry? Too often, businesses I meet are thinking about the now rather than the future and could end up going down the wrong path.

Accountability is the Key: Don't think just because they are working from home that they will naturally be super productive. Remember, some people will work better than others as they have more natural self-discipline. Some people are going to want frequent people contact that they may not get in a virtual environment. The best teams in the world meet daily to review results and discuss progress. Bring this sort of accountability into your team and watch your business shine.

Technology Will Give You Speed: This can be a bad or a good thing. If your processes are inefficient, unorganized or non-existent, then technology will just magnify this. We have google to thank for people wanting answers now so look at how you can use technology to deliver your business faster eg. instant quotes and payments on-site. Look at where you can automate for greater speed and success.

For more business tips and strategies, visit www.ruebentaylor.com.au

Send us your business challenges & we will get them addressed by an exper t panel. nifnex@nifnex.com.au