SYDNEY - ISSUE 86 | JULY - AUGUST 2017
PHOENIX ACTIVITY – EXPOSING FRAUDULENT DIRECTORS Page 16
Use is Not Ownership: The Difference between Business Names and Trade Marks Page 18
MASTERCLASS
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
LISA MCAULEY
with CEO, Export Council of Australia BiziNet Magazine
#86 July/Aug’17
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Contents Cover Story
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Masterclass – International Trade with Lisa McAuley, CEO, Export Council of Australia A. Charles Smith
Regulars
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Is Your Business Growing and in What Direction?
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BUSINESS ADVICE
Phoenix Activity – Exposing Fraudulent Directors
How to Speak Your Brand to Every Importer around the World? Farrukh Mirza
Dmitry Greku
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SELECT OZ
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BIZINET LIFESTYLE
Upcoming Jewellery Trends Chris Underwood
Bruce Gleeson
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Use is Not Ownership: The Difference between Business Names and Trade Marks Steven Brown
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Your Business Can Excel with Excel
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The Key Steps for a Small Business Marketing Plan (Part2)
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Payment Comes First
Features
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Towards our Greater Sydney "Infrastructure Landscape of Greater Western Sydney" A. Charles Smith
John Howard
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YOUR BUSINESS CALENDAR
Kym Heffernan
Daniel Moisyeyev
Watch More @ bizinettv.com.au
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Is Your Business Growing and in What Direction? Dmitry Greku, M. Sc., Editor and Publisher - BiziNet Magazine During the last 14 months, I have been working on developing a new sphere of opportunity for the future of my business, our clients, business partners and associates’ businesses.
Group Two should target overseas firms and internationally trading Australian companies with their products and services here in Australia.
The new area is International Trade.
Group Three – The “Hidden” Opportunities There is also another “hidden” group of companies who can start trading internationally but just don’t know about this yet. Hiding those opportunities from themselves, they are considering their future in other regions within Australia or in their own city.
This was not an easy decision to make. It came with a long list of pros and, especially, cons. “Am I making the right turn?”, “What am I going to do with my Sydney clients?”, “Does my business belong to a cohort of ‘advanced’ firms doing business internationally?”… plus approximately one million other questions torturing my mind. Then I started realising that International Trade is not an exclusive domain of larger firms with billon dollar or hundreds of millions of dollar budgets. This is an opportunity for everyone.
What could be easier? As we know it, the Australian market is saturated with all possible top-quality products and services. These firms don’t realise that there is huge demand for their services or products in overseas markets today. Those markets have a massive potential, but have no offers.
“It’s not for me” was the most common comment I heard. I soon realised that there are three major groups of SMEs who should participate in the process.
It seems like a tough call to establish a business overseas, but there are many organisations that can assist an SME to expand its business internationally.
Group One – the obvious group A business providing products and /or services that can be sold in overseas markets.
International trade, or providing products and services to internationally trading firms doesn’t mean leaving your loyal local clientele behind. You can add value to your operations and provide extra benefits to your whole business network and possibly each client individually.
Group Two – local service providers Your services and/or products cannot be sold in overseas markets due to their specific “local” nature (e.g. printing services - GWP Printing will never print business cards, flyers and booklets for a company operating in France). Group One has multiple reasons – the local market has become too small and the business has extra capacity; their product may be attractive to an overseas consumer; the business’s financial capacity allows overseas investments, etc.
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If your business is ready to take the next step, ponder other markets you have never considered. This might change a lot for you. There is significant government support opportunities and private service providers available to assist your business growing in the area of International Trade. Talk to your business contacts, those who successfully trade already or simply give us a call. G e | editor@gwpmedia.com.au
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Editor and Publisher: Dmitry Greku Cover Story: A. Charles Smith Contributing Writers: Steven Brown Bruce Gleeson Chris Underwood Farrukh Mirza John Howard Daniel Moisyeyev Kym Heffernan Art Director: Svetlana Greku Cover Design: Elvira Cherry Executive Officer: Daniel Moisyeyev BiziNet Magazine is published by GWP Media® ABN: 82 096 352 064 www.bizinet.com.au Printing: Blue Star Group International Distribution Partner DHL Express Postal Address: PO Box 7519 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 Australia International Standard Serial Number: ISSN 1837-199X Advertising Enquiries: p | 1300 889 132 (Australia) p | +61 2 9099 0795 (International) e | info@gwpmedia.com.au w | www.bizinet.com.au
Copyright GWP Media® 2017. The opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect and are not to be regarded as the official opinion of the editor, publisher or their agents. All information contained within this journal is provided for general information purposes only and on the understanding that none of the content herein constitutes professional advice. The editor, publisher or their agents accept no responsibility for any claim, loss or damages arising out of or in connection with any materials contained in this journal. Readers should not rely on the publications in the journal and seek appropriate professional advice in respect of their own circumstances.
LIFE ON PLANET EARTH IS GETTING BETTER, THANKS TO GLOBAL TRADE. Big businesses and small are helping the world’s economies to flourish. New found wealth brings better health (the average person lives one third longer than 50 years ago) and education (today 90% of kids in developing regions of the world go to primary school). This is the power of global trade. Of course there’s still a long way to go, but one delivery at a time, the more we keep on trading the better it’s going to get for everyone, everywhere. Read more online.
dhl.com/globaltrade
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Introducing Our Contributors
Bruce Gleeson
Steven Brown
John Howard
Kym Heffernan
Bruce Gleeson is a Registered Liquidator and Registered Bankruptcy Trustee with approximately 20 years experience in assisting SMEs and individuals in financial crisis. He is a Director of Jones Partners Chartered Accountants. As an Insolvency Practitioner he believes it is vital that stakeholders (particularly directors and individuals) get the right advice from qualified professionals on the options available to them. Bruce is passionate to ensure that directors / individuals throughout the Greater Western Sydney area have access to quality advice and solutions.
Steven Brown founded Etienne Lawyers in 2003. They are best described as having an ‘International Reach with Small Firm Personal Service’.
John started his adult career in the role of mechanical engineer. The previous disciplines and problem solving aspects of his engineering career held him in good stead to switch careers.
Kym Heffernan has 25+ years of "hands-on" business, sales and marketing experience start, working in and working with hundreds of businesses across multiple industries. Today Kym is currently a Director and founder the Marketing Strategy Co, a Sydney-based Strategicfocused Marketing Agency that works with small to medium businesses to create more leads, clients and sales.
With qualifications from Sydney and Macquarie Universities, Steven has gone on to have over 30 years in the law. With his own practice and a passion to help others succeed, Steven is a total professional, informing and educating along the way. Steven specialises in all aspects of helping businesses to stay out of trouble and grow. He enjoys the cut and thrust of litigation and is a balanced negotiator for all alternative dispute resolution methods.
After hard study and practice he set up his first business ‘Spreadsheet Modelling Systems’, later expanding into higher end Business Intelligence with the new name ‘Smoothstream Business Intelligence’, aimed at the SME business sector. With new invigorating passion John is now challenging the status quo of business software.
Kym also has a Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Business (studying Marketing, IT, Finance and Strategy) and a Certificate in Business Broking (to qualify as a Business Broker) and is a Certified Practising Marketer (CPM) and Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certified.
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Bruce Gleeson p | 02 9894 9966 www.jonespartners.net.au
Steven Brown p | 02 8845 2400 www.etiennelawyers.com
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smoothstream.bizinet.com.au
John Howard p | 02 9871 4484 www.smoothstream.com.au
Kym Heffernan p | 1300 676 448 www.themarketingstrategy.co
BELLA VISTA BUSINESS ALLIANCE AFTER HOURS Speaker: Ben Fewtrell A popular key-note presenter, Ben has presented to thousands of business people at conferences, general meetings and expos around the globe. Presenting on Financial Mastery at the Pharmacy Expo, delivering sales training to the Navman Wireless sales team and being selected as a keynote speaker at the My Biz Expo are just some examples from Ben’s wide experience. Well received by many different types of audiences, Ben’s presentations are always fun and educational and regularly said to be the highlight of the day. Event Details: Tuesday, 25 July 2017 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm The Hills Lodge, Castle Hill To register go to: www.bizinet.com.au/events
TRANSFORMING YOUR BUSINESS FROM PAPER TO DIGITAL Speakers: Nickolas Rorris, CEO, RMS Tech Michael Hickson, Account Manager, Xero Australia Amy Siah, Chief Financial Officer, Nakd Numbers Event Details: Thursday, 10 August 2017 4.00 pm - 6.00 pm Novotel Parramatta, Linden Room, 350 Church Street, Parramatta To register go to: www.bizinet.com.au/events
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PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
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GWP MEDIA
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MASTERCLASS INTERNATIONAL TRADE
MASTERCLASS
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
LISA MCAULEY
with CEO, Export Council of Australia by A. Charles Smith There are times when opportunities are so obvious that you can’t see them. It’s a lament often heard after a business rival of modest comparative product snatches a market. You say, ‘damn, I knew about that’ but dismissed it as out of reach. Overnight, that formerly pedestrian competitor has a worldwide engagement. Traditionally, even with a pertinent business plan, few who commence trading envisage creating a customer base of staggering proportions beyond the borders of the territory in which they operate. Greater Western Sydney for example takes in a significant swathe of consumers. But with so many vying for their custom, cutting through is tough. On the other hand, really innovative business owners are never complacent. Their horizons are as wide as the world’s oceans and, so goes the old Sunday school chorus, ‘as high as the heaven’s above’. To these innovators, each consumer populating the continents and every significant Island archipelago can be regarded as a potential source for expansion of a product or a service. Experience has shown that mapping out those bountiful markets has propelled modest back-of-shed enterprises into vibrant international players.
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PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
GWP MEDIA under 300 businesses that export more than $100m of goods each year.
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This elite half-of-one-percent of exporters account for 83% of Australia’s exports. To put this in context, internationally the top 1% of exporters account for only 53% of goods exports,” she says. The ECA, a not-for-profit advisory and educative body, believes it has a role in assisting businesses to grow their product. Especially encouraging at the outset of our discussion is Lisa’s assessment that areas beyond the ‘safe’ markets such as the United States, the U.K. and New Zealand should be investigated. She mentions Mexico as one country which should be considered as worthy of study as a significant trading opportunity for our goods and services. The key to this ‘looking outside of the square’ is that businesses trading within our borders are subject to local economic strictures. A downturn on the Gold Coast, as an example, might well be counter-balanced by a boom in Vietnam. Or a lull in some other indigenous region may not necessarily be mirrored in the panoply of overseas markets. In effect, developing a broadly based international clientele can constitute a pragmatic diversification insulating the business from the chills of slack growth or something even worse. So where do you start if you think there’s a niche that you can fill? Identifying a ‘niche market’ might sound clichéd, yet it is an exceedingly relevant ideal for the business contemplating its overseas options. In considering this issue Lisa is emphatic in stressing the importance of preparation. “The essential starting point of any enterprise is having especially true for almost deciding on international development.”
Presenting on trade at the the importance of SM Es and GHOMM in Canberra
Into this conundrum steps Lisa McAuley, CEO of the Export Council of Australia, (ECA) who wishes to settle the issue for Aussie businesses who have never envisaged exporting their product or service. She is a passionate advocate for diversity in business and maintains that well-planned export diversification can become an exciting progression in a company’s evolution. Her views are not founded on some anecdotal hunch nor driven by haphazard rhetoric. Rather, to bolster an opinion that not enough locals are opting to expand their trading geographies beyond the national
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coastline, Lisa offers up the figures on Australian firms and companies competing in international trade as a percentage of total enterprises. “As of June 2016, there were more than 2.17 million actively trading businesses in Australia, an increase of 2.4 per cent from June 2015. This was primarily driven by growth in small businesses (ie, those with fewer than 20 employees). Despite this growing number, in 2014-15 fewer than 52,000 businesses were actively engaged in exporting goods and services. There are
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for the creation a plan. That is all companies expansion and
Are there exceptions to that rule? “Yes,” says Lisa, “but they are rare.” Sometimes importers/distributors sizing up a commendable enterprise will ‘head-hunt’ local products and/or services. “Those businesses, we call them the ‘accidental exporters’, are the lucky ones who fall into international trade more or less by good luck rather than design.” Nonetheless, pitfalls can abound for them too in circumstances where they might sometimes fall prey to unscrupulous international players
MASTERCLASS INTERNATIONAL TRADE or shady local operators. At an early stage of the interview, firmly convinced that Lisa is one hell of a smart young woman, we ask her something of herself. Though born in Sydney, her cultured English accent underlines a childhood spent in London for sixteen years. At eighteen, she voyaged home to take a degree in Economics and social science at Sydney University, majoring in political economy and commercial law. In relocating to England after graduation, she developed an interest in international trade, finance and investment and worked there for a time in those areas. Back in Oz in 2006, she joined the Export Council. It coincided with a period when a change of name and expanding presence was occurring “I was very fortunate to be mentored by some great people. Their experience and willingness to impart a profound knowledge of international trade have proved invaluable to me.”
It is the only membership body in Australia that is solely focused on the needs of companies involved in international business. Besides New South Wales, it has offices in Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. One of the key benefits of membership flows from the influence the ECA imparts on account of its ability to agitate policy initiatives. “A key focus of the ECA’s policy is to advocate for ways in which we can make it simpler and easier for businesses to enter international markets. This includes both domestic reform and addressing NTB barriers, where Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) refer to restrictions that result from prohibitions, conditions, or specific market requirements that make importation or exportation of products difficult and/or
Trade Policy Elec tion
costly,” Lisa adds. Current trade policy priorities are underpinned by a widespread recognition that International trade and investment is critical to securing Australia’s future economic potential. With more overseas opportunities than ever before, the challenge is to maximise the benefits that trade bequeaths. Lisa endorses the view that Australia needs more trade and investment-capable companies to engage with these opportunities. Garnering the benefits of international trade and investment is the shared responsibility of all levels of government, the businesses directly involved in import and export and the businesses that support them. Building this ‘trade ecosystem’ requires commitment and dedication from all parties.
Campaign Deba te in Sydney, 2016 with the ECA Te am
By 2011, she began heading up the Council and decided on a number of strategic decisions. She has now passed a decade in the foreign trading sector and her commitment to the ECA remains indefatigable. “There are many organisations that can support Australian exporters, the ECA is just one that is part of the ecosystem in Australia to help SME’s.” Lisa recommends companies take advantage of the range of support services available such as Austrade, Efic, DFAT and local Chambers of Commerce.
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PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
GWP MEDIA
Roundtable disc ussion with the Ho Assistant Minist er for Trade, Inve n. Keith Pitt MP, stment and Tour ism by the ip, hosted , Canada h rs e d a e de in L ational Tra n Women cussion o , Minister of Intern is D le b ta pagne Round Business ois-Philippe Cham ç n ra F . Hon
Each year, the ECA releases annual Trade Policy Recommendations for the Australian Government. They are developed in consultation with members, industry, and the ECA’s network of trade policy experts. This year, as an example of formulating trade promotion and direction, the ECA has developed Trade Policy Recommendations designed to: • Improve government support for Australian businesses by developing a national strategy for trade • Invest in programs to communicate the importance of trade and investment to Australian jobs and long-term economic prosperity • Adequately fund the Export Development Market Grant • Develop a cohesive national brand that benefits a wide range of sectors • Push trade liberalisation, including by reducing non-tariff impediments to trade, negotiating new trade agreements and simplifying rules of origin • Invest in initiatives that support the development of Australian services exports • Deliver a single window for trade that supports digital trade • Improve access to finance for Australian companies conducting international business, and • Continue to support investment into the Aid for Trade initiative Five years ago, the ECA, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), and the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation recognised that Australian businesses, industry and government would benefit from in-depth longitudinal
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research into the behaviours and patterns of Australian exporters. Consequently, it launched Australia’s International Business Survey (AIBS). Entering its fourth year, AIBS has become the largest survey of its kind into the international behaviour of Australian companies. The ECA believes that recognising success is critical to building an export culture in Australia and this is why the ECA is involved in the delivery of Export Awards programs in NSW, QLD and WA as well as our annual Australian Export Heroes Awards Program. The Awards measure businesses against their peers based on the strength of their international growth, marketing and financial strategies. They operate as a two-tier process. First, exporters achieve distinction through their local State and Territory export award program. They then progress as national finalists and are benchmarked against their peers across the country, with winners receiving national recognition for their international success. The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and CPA Australia partner to present the national export awards program. It is now one of the longest running business awards programs in Australia. In fostering this outreach and by no means irrelevant to its unique position of policy influence and development is the ECA’s longevity. It spans over sixty years as an international trading facilitator. Apart from its many studies and reports, the ECA has a range of resources available for companies
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to access, including the Australian Export Handbook. “We have published the Australian Exporting Handbook which is considered the ‘export bible’,” says Lisa. Now in its 21st edition and standing at 660 pages, the work is the ‘A to Z of how-totrade’. It is essentially a reference book covering every conceivable trading issue simple or complex. In the labyrinthine workings of international trade, the common question Lisa encounters is where to start looking. There is a natural attraction for a market that has similar mercantile laws, a stable political landscape and a common language. Many people starting out are assisted by having relatives living in their posited ‘ideal’ place for operations. Of course, unless a product or service is unique, competition is likely to be tougher. All these considerations are relevant in forming decisions but there’s much more to analyse. So what should sanguine players bear in mind when contemplating an international trading venture? First of all they should recognise that there are many opportunities in the technological and service field. Being a business registered in Australia carries immediate reputational respectability. Strategic planning is the fundamental starting point. “The following checklist will help you to decide whether you should consider expanding internationally.
MASTERCLASS INTERNATIONAL TRADE
ills Smith Stacey-M cy expert) li (Trade Po cAuley M a is and L pean tour on a Euro on key e to engag y issues lic o p e d a tr g SMEs n ti c impa
With a great A story, SalDo ustralian export succ ess ce Fine Foo ds Cristina Tal acko in Sing founder apore 2016 • Management commitment and resources Expanding or investing overseas takes a lot of work and time spent within the market itself. Do you have the right senior team in place to drive and support everything that is needed to make it work? • Financial resources Setting up export operations in a new market and dealing with overseas buyers will take a toll on finances. Have you considered how you will finance your business growth? • Market entry Knowing demand exists is only the first step. Have you assessed your market entry options and requirements to set up operations in a new country? • Export experience The ability to draw on the export learnings of others is invaluable. Do you have staff or a network of contacts with export experience you can tap into for insights? • Market demand A solid customer base in a new market is critical. Are you confident demand is strong?” Lisa sums up by again emphasising that the ECA is Australia’s only organisation focused entirely on the needs of Australia’s international businesses. “Our team can work with you to support the international success of your business. We have been supporting companies to grow internationally for over 60 years. This means we know: - The capabilities and skills your business needs for international success - How to help solve your international business problems - What you need from government and how to get it - Where you can find specialist advice.” While all these issues can raise thoughts that
Downtime activity includes climbing
overseas markets seem simply too daunting a prospect to tackle, Lisa encourages businesses and firms to remain undeterred for the rewards can be great. “Investing up front and being armed with all the tools, like knowing the market, its people, its culture—doing the homework in other words, will ensure that you will be ready and competitive.” She cites the use that can be made of foreign nationals residing in this country temporarily. “Potential exporters often overlook the resources and intelligence that students from many countries studying here can provide. They speak the language, can inform of the culture and provide unique insight into the intended target.”
She urges the would-be international players to be prepared to put in the time. “The ECA will help any business member on that journey. But ultimately, it is for the entity itself to make the choice as to what market in whatever country it wishes to venture upon.” Lisa says that the only way to really understand and gauge the subject market is by doing the practical on-the-ground research. “As I keep saying, that will consume much time but in the end it will prevent you from making an unwise decision. There is no substitute for getting on a plane, immersing yourself into the target country and trading environment. You will be amazed at how it can pay off.” G
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BUSINESS ADVICE
Bruce Gleeson, FCA, FCPA, RITP Principal, Jones Partners Insolvency & Business Recovery
Phoenix Activity – Exposing Fraudulent Directors
Whilst it is difficult to accurately determine the true cost of “phoenix activity” primarily due to a lack of relevant data, it has been estimated to cost the Australian economy in the vicinity of up to $3.2 billion per annum. (1) What is phoenix activity? It essentially involves one company taking over the business of another company that is liquidated where the controllers of both companies are the same people or their associates. It is important to profile and understand phoenix activity to really understand how it needs to be deterred. In my opinion it is the illegal or “harmful phoenix activity” which has the most profound impact on the economy. Indeed in the recent case of Plutus Payroll which appears to have involved harmful phoenix activity, it is estimated that the loss to Government Departments (mainly the ATO) could be as high as $165 million. Harmful phoenix activity left unchecked is not only anti-competitive, but also undermines Australia’s revenue base. What is required to deter harmful phoenix activity? Whilst the list below is not exhaustive, it seeks to cover certain keys areas: 1. There needs to be an enhanced information system to detect and measure phoenix activity. To this end, there needs to be an overhaul of the current collection/reporting system by Registered Liquidators to ASIC. Better data capture will enable improved statistics/measurement of the true extent of the issue and also enable certain dustries/individuals to be focussed on. 2. There also needs to be more effective sharing of information between State and Federal Regulators, as well as enhancing nformation sharing with allies such as credit reporting agencies and trade bodies. 3. Establish via ASIC a free online search acility that has a register of disqualified directors and associated companies. 4. Perhaps most importantly, the process to incorporate a company and become a director needs to be tightened.
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• Presently it is easier to become a director of a company than it is to open a bank account. This has to change. • Also, the registration of an Australian company only requires the name, address, and date of birth of each proposed officer. ASIC forms do not presently require or ask for prior corporate history of proposed directors and no supporting evidence is required about their identity.
Insolvency Practitioner he believes it is vital that stakeholders (particularly directors and individuals) get the right advice from qualified professionals on the options available to them at the earliest possible opportunity. His focus is on showing directors and individuals that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Bruce is particularly passionate to ensure that directors/individuals throughout the Greater Western Sydney area have access to quality advice and solutions.
Recent indications from Federal Government are that it may not be too long before a Director Identification Number (“DIN”) is introduced. This should be introduced without delay and require all directors to undergo a 100 point ID check to get a DIN. It should also be an online application. Whilst the DIN is not the complete panacea to counter “harmful phoenix activity”, it is a long overdue step in the right direction when done with points 1-3 above. Importantly such changes will not mean that directors of a company should fear seeking professional advice as early as possible when they are in financial difficulty. Rather, the above is really focusing on the serious financial impact that “harmful phoenix activity” has on an economy. G (1) based on a 2012 PWC report.
Jones Partners Insolvency & Business Recovery has several Registered Bankruptcy Trustees and we can explain the current state of play in this area and other aspects of personal insolvency so that individuals in financial difficulty are better informed when considering their options. Bruce Gleeson is a Registered Liquidator and Registered Bankruptcy Trustee with over 20 years experience in assisting SMEs and individuals in financial crisis. As an
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Jones Partners Insolvency & Business Recovery p | 02 9894 9966 e | bgleeson@jonespartners.net.au b | www.brucegleeson.com.au www.jonespartners.net.au
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BUSINESS ADVICE
Steven Brown, B.Ec, LL.B, (Sydney), M. App. Fin (Macquarie), FAICD, Accredited Business Law Specialist, AIMM, FPIAA and Chairman of Etienne Lawyers
Use is Not Ownership: The Difference between Business Names and Trade Marks What is a Business Name Business Names have been around for years. There is a big difference between a business name and a trade mark. Many business people don't know the difference. Business Names are not property: section 17 Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Cth). The purpose of registering a business name is to: identify the legal entity that carries on business under a name that is not their legal name. Sharon Smith is a plumber. She carries on business under the Business Name: All Night & Day Plumbing. All Night & Day Plumbing is not her legal name. Registration allows people to identify who they can sue by consulting the register. Having a registered business name gives you no right of action against others. The purpose of company name registration is to award a unique name to a corporation. Registration of use of trade description that is not your legal names is compulsory. What is a Trade Mark A trade mark can arise from use, or by registration.
a sound, a shape or a smell. This is more expansive than just something visual. The main rule for registration is that the trade mark is distinctive. A trade mark is a badge of recognition. When a person sees Coke, Pepsi or Lift they immediately know what is being offered to them. Section 20 of the Trade Marks Act, 1995 (Cth) (TMA) gives the registered owner of a trade mark the exclusive rights to use that mark. Section 21(1) of the TMA provides that a registered trade mark is personal property. As registered trade marks are property, all the rights of ownership attach to them. A valuable benefit of registration is that a registered trade mark is deemed to have a reputation associated with its owner. Proof of reputation is not required in infringement cases; unlike for a common law trade mark. This means, you have a stronger and less expensive case in taking infringement proceedings.
The establishment of a trade description as a trade mark by use is an expensive process. The process requires a Court case. The essential rule being to prove the user has a reputation associated with the trade mark. The Court case usually arises when a competitor is attempting to pass off their mark. A mark that is deceptively like yours. This confuses customers about whose goods or services is being provided; yours or your competitor's. Resulting in you losing business.
Registration of a trade mark is not compulsory.
A common law trade mark can only be in a visual form.
It is possible that the way you use a business or company name may in certain circumstances constitute a common law trade mark. But having regard to the ease of creating a trade mark by registration taking this risk does not
Through registration, a trade mark can be: a name, a trade description, that is visual,
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The difference between Business Names and Trade Marks You own personal property but you cannot own something that is not property. By law a business name is not property, It cannot ever become property. Not being property, no goodwill or legal rights to one sell a business name will arise.
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make business sense. You do not want to be in the same position as a one given as a example by IP Australia (see https://www.ipaustralia.gov. au/about-us/public-consultations/archive-ipreviews/ip-reviews/review-of-the-relationshipbetween-tm-names/issues-paper). "A Brisbane woman was about to start up a new business. On learning that it could cost in excess of $1,000 to obtain registration of a trade mark, her accountant advised her that a cheaper option was to register a business name with the relevant state authority. She was advised that by adopting this approach she could achieve 'protection'Â for her trading name for less than $100. She took the advice and commenced use of her registered business name without conducting a search of the trade mark register. Several months later she received a letter threatening her with legal action for infringing a trade mark made up of the same words. Clearly, the other business had prior rights to the name. She then had to make the difficult decision whether to resist the claims or to adopt a new trading name. She decided to adopt a new name even though the cost of doing so was considerable." The purpose of registration of business names is to maintain a register. The register identifies those who operate a business under a name other than their own. People wrongly believe that a business or company name: 1. confers a proprietary right in that name (like the protection of a registered trade mark); and 2. registration offers immunity from infringement of another person's registered trade mark. This misconception results in many people either: 1. not searching; or 2. undertaking insufficient searches;
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a g a R a n e l E of the trade mark register to identify potential conflicting trade marks before registering their business or company name. The fail to search or undertaking insufficient searches can have drastic implications. The main implication, is that they start business, unaware that their registered business or company name, is infringing someone else's registered trade mark. If the name infringes a registered trade mark, they may have to stop using their name. This can cause loss of reputation associated with the name. The business will have considerable expense: 1. to re-brand; 2. in paying their legal costs to sought out the mess; and 3. possibility paying compensation to the registered trade mark owner and their legal costs. G
To avoid costly mistakes contact Etienne Lawyers.
Etienne Lawyers p | 02 8845 2400 e | sbrown@etiennlaw.com www.etiennelawyers.com
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PROUDLY PRESENTED BY FEATURE
GWP MEDIA
by A. Charles Smith
Towards our Greater Sydney "Infrastructure Landscape of Greater Western Sydney" Business people from Greater Western Sydney gathered together on 21 June to hear about the tremendous growth foreshadowed over the next forty years. Hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) GWS, the panel discussion that followed was a timely exposition to all that GWS must be ready to meet the demand for services. Government at all levels are gearing up to provide the infrastructure consequent upon people seeking housing and services that follow such expansions. Those attending heard of tremendous business and job opportunities coming to GWS. The panel members who spoke and answered questions from the audience were Lucy Turnbull AO, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, Mark Moseley, Chief Operating Officer, Global Infrastructure Hub and John Vassallo is CEO of Celestino. The gathering heard that a million people are expected to move into Western Sydney in the next 20 years. Such growth to be sustained requires support through greater infrastructure, amenities, employment opportunities and liveability. Australian and NSW governments are funding a 10 year, $3.6 billion road investment program, Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, a new Western Sydney Rail network, and a proposed freight hub network in Chullora. The question on everyone’s mind was, how do we plan for smart growth, ensuring Greater Sydney is sustainable and successful? The G.S.C. is leading metropolitan planning to make Greater Sydney more productive, sustainable and liveable. It is driving the Three Cities initiative, involving the established Eastern City, the developing Central City and the emerging Western City in and around the new airport. Celestino is an Australian-owned property development company, forging Sydney Science Park in Luddenham. The Park is a $5bn project that will create an internationally recognised epicentre for research and development in the heart of Western Sydney. It showcases innovative, technologically advanced and sustainable designs and
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(l-r) James Sherrard, Partner – Capital Projects, PwC ; Lucy Turnbull AO, Chief Commissioner, Greater Sydney Commission; Mark Moseley, COO, Global Infrastructure Hub and John Vassallo, CEO, Celestino
Dr Duff Watkins, Governor, AmCham
features. Lucy Turnbull spoke of the requirement for public and private sector connectivity in fostering community infrastructure. “Hospitals and schools will be needed. Where there is employment growth, it follows that there must be housing growth and public infrastructure facilities,” she said. In contemplating the three cities model, Mark Moseley stressed the importance of easy movement between locations. “No one going to work wants to be stuck in traffic for hours,” he said. It was agreed by all panellists that better roads, extended rail and light rail facilities must compliment the initiative.
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Valerie Fowler, US Consul General
The gathering heard that Sydney is growing at 1.4% per year, a rate four times faster than the OECD and significantly faster than the growth being experienced in the USA and Canada. In planning and developing Sydney Science Park at Luddenham John Vassallo, says his company undertook over six years of international research on similar projects as far apart as Silicon Valley and Israel. That extensive preparation and analysis based on the experiences overseas suggested that the ecosystem grounding the concept required no magic formula. “It will evolve over time. There must necessarily be a high level of education and collaboration between Universities and business,” he says.
Among other things in the serious planning phase, the Park near Penrith in the west will host the country’s inaugural Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based school. It is scheduled to receive its first students in 2021. In conjunction with the CSIRO, it will also become Australia’s only ‘urban living laboratory’.
especially amongst younger people wanting to avoid car travel to work. In similar vein with the ageing population, the natural tendency for senior citizens is to look for other forms of transport.
in the last five years sprung from businesses that had been going for less than the same period. Popular ‘start-up’ businesses were, he said, “centred on food technology, health, medical devices and sustainable energy.”
Savings within the infrastructure and utility cohort was another topical area. John Vassallo spoke of the latent capacity being
With an ageing population, Mark Moseley stressed that infrastructure had to be user-friendly for the older members of the
population. “There has to be a holistic approach to the way we design infrastructure to take ageing trends and changes in the needs of younger members of the community into account,” he said. Zoning was another issue discussed with John Vassallo supporting the concept of blended zonings. One of the important lessons taken in by Celestino’s research is the precept guiding the project, namely, that there is no intention to simply build and walk away. “We see the Science Park as an hundred year project,” adds John. In similar vein, Lucy Turnbull observed that as far as population growth was concerned, the horizon is by no means narrow. “The Commission is looking at a time-frame of forty years in its determination to take into account expected population trends. By 2056, we expect the population of Sydney to be of the order of eight million,” she says. In a lively and informative Q&A session, panellists noted the move away from cars,
wasted as far as the size of waste-water pipes were concerned and using power during the day when it was at its cheapest. “Sewerage can be treated at an off peak time and water pumped through the system at a higher pressure thus cutting down costs in respect to piping.” Lucy Turnbull touched upon the unlocking of existing capacities when it comes to use of school and council facilities that might otherwise be idle.
“We know that Macquarie Park, for example, is under massive developmental pressure for greater residential. But the balance must be struck. There won’t be floor space room for jobs if residences crowd it out.” The meeting ended with attendees better informed on the forthcoming plans for the three cities concept and all lauding AmCham for its work in keeping businesses up-to-date on these developments. G
Photography: Elena Raga
“We need to utilise what is there much better and eliminate the petty turf wars that sometimes plague those people wanting to use parks and school halls.” John Vassallo noted that 60% of jobs created
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SELECT OZ
Farrukh Mirza, Azrim Pty Ltd
How to Speak Your Brand to Every Importer around the World? Like most people, I love to travel and when I do, I always keep my eyes open for opportunities to buy or sell, not just my clothing products and services, but even beyond. Having spent my formative years living in three countries, I have come to respect and understand the power of globalisation. One of the quickest ways to reduce the risks associated with trading overseas is to connect with your available networks of family members, old friends or work associates, and tap into their trusted networks for help and assistance. The other more recent way is to go seeking your fortunes on Google Search and Alibaba in the hope you find someone genuine who can truly provide you the goods or services you seek, without ripping you off. On the other hand, if you're a seller, you're spending thousands every month on social media marketing, and other such communications. Although these channels do work, rarely do they generate a sustainable ROI as the maintenance cost of running campaigns on them through changing algorithms and search ranking requirements can run into thousands a year. For every ten that succeed, there's another ninety that have lost entire marketing budgets trying to go one up on their competition. I can say from personal experience, I have lost out many times to competitors with inferior products and services but bigger bulkier budgets and noisier marketing. These three factors are probably the most limiting factors when it comes to export: 1. Language - English might be the preferred language but there is more to lose when you just stick to this as your only language to communicate. To do business in India, China, UAE or Iran, it is best to utilize the power of Hindi, Mandarin, Arabic or Farsi to communicate the true value of your product, service, and brand. 2. Establishing Credibility & Trust - We can all agree that nothing beats having your feet on the ground in every market you deal in,
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but it can be time-consuming and expensive if you choose the wrong partner to work with, or not know the legal and local ways of doing business. In these situations, wouldn't it be nice to have someone you can totally trust to help you win business without costing you your profit? 3. Red tape and logistics - If you ask any exporter what is the biggest headache facing them when they do business, their answer will be the red tape and logistical nightmare that faces them when they do trade, especially with a country where the goods don't land directly or come via another country. What if there was a business that could hold your hand through everything with the guarantees in place to minimize your risk with quality, payment, and paperwork. Imagine being a meat and livestock grower in Australia, or a winemaker in New Zealand, or a spice trader in India, or a software engineer in Russia, or a silk carpet manufacturer in Iran - what if you could speak to one business and they would open markets for you, guide you through the challenges of media and marketing, and help you sell more through established trusted networks.
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By 2018, we aim to establish our network offices in the USA, India, China and New Zealand, followed by Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, France, Russia and Iran, and so on. We are currently looking to speak to importers, exporters, global traders and business associations who would be interested in partner with us within Australia or around the globe. Also, we are interested in speaking to angel or seed investors, entrepreneurs and business owners who would like to know more and get involved in this opportunity as our Regional Trade Partners, with ROI above current market rates. G
Please feel free to call me directly on +61424424829 or email me directly on hello@ azrim.com.au. Azrim Pty Ltd p | 0424 424 829 by appointment only www.azrim.com.au
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PROUDLY PRESENTED BY
GWP MEDIA
Upcoming Jewellery Trends Getting your look right is in the detail. If you’re looking for that something extra special, glowing, peachy tones in precious jewels that set off any skin tone are all the rage this season. For trendy, staple pieces for the season, brands such as Thomas Sabo deliver jewellery accessories to complement both business and casual looks and send the message that speaks of polish, thoughtfulness and sophistication.
Pink gemstones Everyone is talking about Morganite, the beautiful soft-pink stone that looks so stunning set in rose gold and surrounded by a splash of diamonds. A few things to know if you are thinking of purchasing a Morganite piece of your very own: It is a variety of the mineral Beryl, with a hardness on the Mohs hardness scale of 7.5 to 8 which means that it is approximately eight times softer than diamond. 1The hardness of a gemstone, and where it sits on this scale is a good thing to consider when purchasing jewellery, and particularly so when choosing a ring (which is exposed to
a substantial amount of daily wear and tear). For this reason, a more delicate stone like Morganite can become dull with frequent use and is best suited to earrings, pendants and dress rings that are worn occasionally.
with a qualified jeweller, diamond grader, gemmologist or valuer can take you through the possibilities and fascinating world of gem colour.
If you love the colour of Morganite but would prefer something you can wear every day, such as a fresh and modern engagement ring, take a look at pink sapphire or pink diamonds. Pink sapphires range in colour from demure light peach to hot bubble gum pink. They have become more widely available since new deposits were found in Madagasgar in the late 1990s and are quite affordable.
Long chains and sizable pendants continue to be impactful on the jewellery fashion scene. An early preview of the August 2017 release by leading jewellery designer Thomas Sabo presents the meaningful family tree in a new elegant style to complement both business-ready and dressy looks. Chokers and exaggerated, dangling earrings are also making a comeback.
Pink diamonds are spectacular, but so is the price. A pink diamond is approximately 20 times more valuable than its white diamond equivalent. The most valuable gem the world has ever seen is a pink diamond – the Graff pink – is a whopping 24.78 carat Fancy Intense Pink classified diamond which sold at auction in 2010 for over USD $46 million. If you are considering investing in a spectacular forever piece, sitting down
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A Sneak Preview of Spring Fashion
Thomas Sabo are also in a class of their own when it comes to style, quality and innovative design for men. In business, formal is fading for men as the world changes to a more relaxed view of work attire. In our warm Australian climate, constricting ties are often left in the closet. A jacket with an open shirt is perfectly acceptable, particularly with smart-fitting, quality fabrics that are carefully pressed. A crisp white shirt with black slacks and black jacket create a timeless air of sophistication
The Mohs scale is named after German mineralogist Frederick Mohs. This scale is logarithmic, and does not have a linear progression from one point to another. For example, on the scale, diamond is 10 and the next hardest gemstone, at 9, is corundum (which includes rubies and sapphires). But diamonds are four times harder than corundum and eight times harder than Morganite.
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BiziNet LIFESTYLE
and style. Colours can work well and be a little more casual than classic black or silver. Comfortable clothing with style and finesse can be perfectly suited to many corporate environments such as a black t-shirt under a jacket, black jeans and the latest designs in a black shoe. An interesting development with this watch collection includes styles with a crown on the opposite side – on the left. It sits under the cuff for a cleaner look on the wrist. It is no longer just women who switch up their daytime look to a night time look. Men are starting to select an understated watch, complementing it with a trendy beaded bracelet for the office. For one of the most on-trend combinations right now, match your watch with a black obsidian bead or plaited leather bracelet. For those who are daring, the evening brings an added feature necklet and layered beaded bracelets for an edgy look. A little experimentation will help you find
your comfort level with changing trends and keep your look up to date no matter your age, budget or preferences. Consulting with a qualified jeweller can help you to elevate your personal style to a level that is fresh and current, yet still lasting and uniquely you. G
Make your appointment with Chris Underwood – Master Jeweller, Registered Valuer, Designer, Antique and Estate Specialist – to discuss your precious jewellery. Designers Master Jewellers Valuations Custom Crafted Jewellery Consignment Estate, Antique and Pre-Owned Specialists Underwood Jewellers 28 Phillip Street Parramatta Tel: (02) 9689-1022
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BUSINESS ADVICE
John Howard, Founder, Smoothstream Business Intelligence
Your Business Can Excel with Excel Excel was released in 1985 and has grown to become arguably the most important computer program in workplaces around the world. Whether you are budgeting, organising client sales lists, or need to plan an office social gathering, Excel is a powerful tool that has become entrenched in business processes worldwide. Sure, there are many, highly efficient, specialised business software programs available. Their weakness being just that, they are specialised, suitable, mainly for only one task. Little, if any such software, delivers to business all or exactly what a business needs to measure the business performance in a client centric way. In the late 1990s it was revealed, by survey, that businesses use on average eleven different software tools. It is more than likely that the number has increased since then. Purchase and maintenance costs aside, extracting and transferring data between tools, more often by manual extraction, is unnecessarily time consuming, error prone and expensive. Excel is an incredibly versatile tool, equipped with powerful programming ability to communicate with many other software tools, automatically re-manipulate the extracted data and parse the results to strategy enabling reports and visuals. Most users know that Excel can add, subtract, multiply and divide, but it can do much more. With highly advanced inbuilt functions and formulas which, when coupled with the also inbuilt programming language, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), any analysis is possible. Your probably already have Excel installed on your systems. Why not make it pay? Be it for: Finance and Accounting If you walk through the finance or accounting department at any major corporate office, you will see computer screens filled with Excel spreadsheets outlining financial results, budgets, forecasts, and plans used to make big business decisions.
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This is the area of business with the biggest reliance and benefit from Excel spreadsheets. Advanced formulas in Excel can turn manual processes that took weeks to complete in the 1980s into something that takes only a few minutes today. Marketing and Product Management While marketing and product professionals look to their finance teams to do the heavy lifting for financial analysis, using spreadsheets to list customer and sales targets can help you manage your sales force and plan future marketing plans based on past results. Using a pivot table, users can quickly and easily summarise customer and sales data by category with a quick drag-and-drop. All parts of business can benefit from strong Excel knowledge, and marketing functions are not exempt. Human Resources Planning While database systems like Oracle can be used to manage payroll and employee information, exporting that data into Excel allows users to discover trends, summarize expenses and hours by pay period, month or year, and better understand how your workforce is spread out by function or pay level. HR professionals can use Excel to take a giant spreadsheet full of employee data and understand exactly where the costs are coming from and how to best plan and control them for the future. You Can Do Anything with an Excel Program. Using Excel for business has almost no limits for applications. Here are some examples: • When planning a team outing to a baseball game, you can use Excel to track the RSVP list and costs. • Excel creates revenue growth models for new products based on new customer forecasts.
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• When planning an editorial calendar for a website, you can list out dates and topics in a spreadsheet. • When creating a budget for a small product, you can list expense categories in a spreadsheet, update it monthly and create a chart to show how close the product is to budget across each category. • You can calculate customer discounts based on monthly purchase volume by product. • Users can summarise customer revenue and costs by product to find areas where stronger customer relationships can be developed. This is a very short list to give you an idea of the diverse uses for Excel. The Bottom Line Excel is not going anywhere and businesses will continue to use Excel as a primary tool for diverse functions and applications ranging from IT projects to company picnics and building relatively inexpensive proofs of concept. Even if in-house advanced Excel working knowledge is lacking, outsourcing by contract can equally add value to the business. G Feel free to contact Smoothstream for a free 15 to 30 minute discovery session Smoothstream Business Intelligence p | 02 9871 4484 e | john@smoothstream.com.au www.smoothstream.com.au
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BUSINESS ADVICE
Kym Heffernan , Director The Marketing Strategy Co
The Key Steps for a Small Business Marketing Plan (Part2) Part 2 of our Marketing Planning Key Steps Guide continues with the major considerations for the Digital Strategy and Social Media Strategy components of your effective Marketing Plan. The Guide outlines the key steps to create an effective Marketing Plan so you can get more leads, clients and sales for your Business. 6. Digital Marketing What you need to do is make sure you are thinking about Digital Marketing (any content online): Website It's important to get your strategy right by asking these questions below: • Does the website reflect your brand strategy? • Where does the website fit into your sales process? • How easy is it for your visitors to navigate? • Do you just talk about your business or do you talk about what the prospect needs? • Is it optimised for mobile? • Do you have a blog? • What content will you add on a regular basis? • How are you going to gather info from visitors to your site (so you can open up a dialogue later on)? • What automation do you have to make sure all enquiries are handled promptly? • What marketing and sales tools will you need to integrate with the website? • How will you get people to the website? • What keywords will you be targeting and what SEO will you be doing? • What email marketing you will be doing? • What online marketing you will be doing? SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) • SEO is not just about being seen on the first page of Google - but being on page one for the right keywords and for the right audience. It starts with the keywords i.e. what people are searching for when they are trying to find solutions to their problems. • SEO typically is broken down into “on- page” factors and “off-page” factors that are both important in getting your website found when prospects and customers are looking for you • On page SEO is all about optimising parts of your website that affect search engine rankings. Look at things like Title tags, Headings, URL structure, Alt text for images, fast-loading pages or page load speed,
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page content and internal linking • Off page SEO focuses on increasing the authority of your domain through the act of getting links from other websites. The biggest off-page SEO factor is the number and quality of backlinks to your website. Some ways you can build links to your site is through: • Creating awesome content that people want to link to because it is valuable • Creating an effective Google for business listing • Listing on general directories like Yellow Pages, True Local and Yelp and specific industry directories Houzz, Trip Advisor etc. • Social media shares of your content that generate links • Outreach emails to influencers in your field • Guest blogging on sites related to yours. Email • People have been repetitively saying for the last decade email is dead. Email is still very much alive and well as it is still the most effective way to reach out to people and get them to come back to your website and your content. • Effective Email is about creating compelling subject lines to get email opened then compelling content to get engagement and “clicks” back to your website Online Advertising You may also want to look at online advertising. Online advertising can consist of things like Google Adwords, Facebook advertising and Remarketing. Don’t know what Remarketing is? If you have been on Facebook or Google and you see ads appear for the same product or service you have just looked at – this is remarketing. It’s a very cost-effective way of increasing website visitors. 7. Social Media Strategy Social Media is an essential part of marketing
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but you need to think about what platforms you want to be on. The most common question people ask is what platforms work best? The answer is, whichever platform your customers are on now and will engage with your business on. So it's not which platform works best rather 'Where are your customers?' A Facebook presence is essential for all businesses today but don't think you need to be on every other social media channel. For example if your customers are not on Instagram don’t be on Instagram. However if your customers are on LinkedIn, you should also be on LinkedIn. So for each of the main Social Channels except Facebook (LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, SnapChat, Messenger) you need to think about whether your clients are using these channels, what engagement you are going to have with them, what content you are going to share and how often you are going to share that content. You should also consider advertising on Social Media. For example, you need to regularly post on Facebook but only 4% to 6% will see the post, so unless you are supplementing these posts with advertising you will not get the full benefits of Facebook. G Want to increase your Leads, Clients and Sales? The Marketing Strategy Co develops effective Marketing Plans and supports businesses with ongoing fixed-price Marketing. Just contact us for an obligationfree discussion on our + Leads + Clients + Sales approach. The Marketing Strategy Co p | 1300 676 448 e | kymh@tmsc.com.au www.themarketingstrategy.co
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BUSINESS ADVICE
Daniel Moisyeyev, B.IT, Web Developer and Software Engineer GWP Media
Payment Comes First Long payment periods are a serious problem for small business. The 30, 60 and even 120-day payment terms are often imposed by larger companies upon smaller suppliers and cause quite a bit of issue with cash flow. There is an effective way to fight this, especially if your company collects small payments. This is done by changing your company policy in regards to payment collection and implementing an online booking or purchasing system that requires instant online payment via VISA/ Mastercard. There simply isn't any reason to provide extended payment terms for small orders with today's availability of credit. B2C vs B2B Payment Expectations Why are there there 30, 60 or 120-day payment terms in the first place? In the world of B2C transactions, consumers immediately make payments for goods and services. Businesses do not (generally) give consumers credit – that is the job of financial institutions and credit providers (some larger service providers may be an exception). If a consumer can not pay for the product today with cash, it is their responsibility to source credit. B2B transactions, however, have traditionally operated on different terms – especially when it came to large transactions. Suppliers often provide credit in the form of extended payment terms on invoices. These terms can be very reasonable (7 days) to onerous (120 days). Having said that, many customers fail to make a payment on time and colossal resources end up being spent on chasing up unpaid invoices. While there is still a genuine reason for long payment terms when it comes to large B2B transactions, why are there long payment terms
for small orders? The “our accounts person comes in once a month” excuse is a bit of a joke with today's access to credit and digital payment capabilities; a bank account with a VISA/Mastercard number isn't hard to obtain. A change is needed. As technology allows us to pay easier and more conveniently, there isn't any reason why the principle of collecting payments for goods and services in advance can't be carried over to the B2B world. Key Reasons to Collect Payments In Advance Some important reasons today to collect payments in advance: 1. Digital Progress Developments in the digital space now allow any business to afford to implement a convenient online payment solution. 2. Insurance against Business Insolvency The tough economic conditions have sent many businesses that appeared successful and worthy of supplier credit to the wall. An unsecured creditor with a small invoice will have little chance to recover the funds owed. 3. Debt Collection Recovery for debts owed on small invoices are notoriously hard to enforce. Legal costs and time will render the whole recovery exercise pointless. 4. Cash Flow It's much easier to keep up payments to your own suppliers when your customers have already paid in advance. You can avoid being stuck in a loop - chasing your customer for
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payment, after your suppliers in turn chase you for payment for materials that were used to service the same customer that is failing to pay! 5. Insurance against Price Movements Long payment terms can expose your business to price movements by your suppliers and currency. By the time your business receives payment, the overall business operating conditions may change! How to Collect Payments? The best method is the same bulletproof approach as what is applied to the B2C world. The solution is to implement an online ordering/ service booking facility that will demand for payment once an order is placed by the customer. A well designed ordering system will completely automate the process – thus saving on labour costs and making your business process more streamlined and professional. The general method to collect online payments is via a VISA/Mastercard payment. The transaction is processed by an external payment gateway (or collected and processed immediately via a gateway provided by your financial institution).
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BUSINESS ADVICE
Alternate payment methods can be provided (e.g. EFT), however it will take the automation factor out and the customer may still need to be chased to finalise the order. VISA/Mastercard Fees and Chargebacks There are two main issues that will affect your business if you rely on a large proportion of your customers paying by VISA/Mastercard: 1. Fees While an EFT payment on an invoice is free of fees, a VISA/Mastercard payment incurs a surcharge, as well as other transaction costs imposed by your payment gateway. There isn't a simple solution – the costs of your products and services may need to be adjusted to account for the increased cost. However, the time saved chasing customers for outstanding invoices usually makes up for the increase in transaction costs. 2. Chargebacks Chargebacks are a more serious issue that needs a careful approach and due diligence. With VISA/Mastercard payments, there is always a risk that the client will trigger a chargeback for whatever reason (e.g. in error
or fraud). This effectively involves a reversal of the transaction in question and will generally result in funds being taken out of your account. Dealing with chargebacks can be difficult as the buyer has a bit more weight in the process than the merchant – chargebacks are difficult to dispute, even with complete documentation that supports the merchant. It is very important to fully document the customer information and purchase order, delivery of goods if applicable – e.g. dispatching goods by courier that requires a signature on receipt, and any other interaction with the client when dealing with VISA/Mastercard payments. It's crucial to implement a payment policy that minimises risk – always do your due diligence before accepting a large payments by a credit card. Keep credit card payments limited to small amounts when dealing with new and untrusted clients. Chargebacks may be tricky to resolve, but they are still easier to deal with than serving a Statement of Claim to a client in default. G If you are interested in implementing an online payment solution for your business, please get in touch with us. GWP Media can assist with
1300 889 132
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development of custom transaction systems, collection of payments via PayPal and other payment gateways, and cryptography to ensure the protection of your clients credit card details. We have excellent first hand experience with implementation of our own business systems – see the website for our printing clients www.gwpprinting.com.au.
GWP Media p | 1300 889 132 e | daniel@gwpmedia.com.au www.gwpmedia.com.au
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Norwest Business Park $480 + GST per run ($450 + GST per additional flyer) GWP MEDIAÂŽ info@gwpmagazine.com.au www.flyerdeliveryguys.com.au
Macquarie Business Park + Lane Cove West $480 + GST per run
($450 + GST per additional flyer) Please contact Daniel
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BiziNetwork AUTOMOTIVE Lander Toyota 02 8884 4888 112 Sunnyholt Road Blacktown NSW landertoyota.com.au
GRANTS Pattens Group 02 9476 1555 PO Box 838 Hornsby NSW 1630 pattens.com
JEWELLERS Underwood Jewellers 02 9689 1022 28 Phillip Street Parramatta NSW 2150 www.uj.com.au
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Bright Accounting and Taxation 02 8858 3242 33/9 Hoyle Ave Castle Hill NSW 2154 brighttax.com.au
GWP Media 1300 889 132 Logo design, business cards, flyers, booklets, web design, advertising gwpmedia.com.au
Coleman Greig Lawyers 02 9895 9200 Level 11, 100 George Street, Cnr Smith Street Parramatta NSW 2150 colemangreig.com.au
BUSINESS SUPPORT The Hills Shire Council 02 9843 0324 Administration Centre, 3 Columbia Court Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 thehills.nsw.gov.au
HR iPlace Recruitment 02 8865 9200 PO Box 7915 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 iplacerecruitment.com.au IMPORT / EXPORT Avalu Pty Ltd 0438 160 887 Bringing Australia the best in wines and perfumes avaluglobal.com INDUSTRIAL SERVICES Beralon Pty Ltd 02 9624 8011 Unit 1, 4 Bearing Rd Seven Hills, NSW 2147 beralon.com INSOLVENCY
CHARITY HeartKids 0423 938 354 heartkids.org.au Norwest Sunrise Rotary 0418 298 274 PO Box 7039 Baulkham Hills NSW Thorndale Foundation 02 9912 7800 thorndale.com.au CHILDCARE Cubbyhouse Childcare Australia 0412 615 728 3 Columbia Court Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 cubbycc.com.au CONSULTING Bedrock Consulting Group 1300 858 051 34/6 Meridian Place Bella Vista NSW 2153 cruzandco.com.au FASHION Azrim Pty Ltd 0424 424 829 Fashion & Luxury Goods Sales and Marketing azrim.com.au
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Jones Partners Insolvency & Business Recovery 02 9894 9966 Suite 301, Level 3, 4 Columbia Ct, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 jonespartners.net.au INSURANCE Action Insurance Brokers 02 8935 1500 301/20 Lexington Dr, Bella Vista NSW 2153 actioninsurance.com.au IP Krouzer IP 02 9680 8622 L2, Suite 11, 29-31 Lexington Dr Bella Vista NSW 2153 krouzer.com.au IT Pro IT Pty Limited 1300 727 553 12-18 Fairfield Street, Fairfield East NSW 2165 proit.com.au Smoothstream Business Intelligence 02 9871 4484 smoothstream.com.au
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Etienne Lawyers 02 8845 2400 Level 57 MLC Centre, 19-29 Martin Place Sydney NSW etiennelawyers.com MARKETING The Marketing Strategy Co 1300 676 448 Level 13, 50 Carrington Street Sydney NSW 2000 themarketingstrategy.co MIGRATION Worldwide Migration Partners 02 9415 2359 213/83 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove NSW 2066 worldwidemigrationpartners.au PRINTING GWP Media 1300 889 132 Next Day Print Order Online and Get Industry Prices gwpprinting.com.au REAL ESTATE Coutts - Castlecorp 02 8883 4000 F126/24-32 Lexington Dr, Bella Vista, NSW 2153 coutts.com.au LJ Hooker Commercial North West 02 8814 1588 Suite 1:08, 29-31 Lexington Drive Bella Vista, NSW 2153 ljhc.com.au STRATA Cleaver Strata Consulting 0408 485 773 PO Box 962 Baulkham Hills NSW 1755 cleaverstrataconsulting.com.au
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LAND A BETTER DEAL AT LANDER TOYOTA The Lander Toyota better buying experience starts from the moment you enter our stunning showroom. Our professional consultants will discuss your needs and present all the options available to you from the exceptional Toyota range.
3 Flexible finance options. Expert business managers on site
3 Service centre equipped with the latest Toyota technology
3 Large stocks of cars, SUVs, 4WDs and commercial vehicles
3 Fully trained service technicians 3 Accessory and parts department There’s a lot more on offer at Lander Toyota.
3 Over 100 quality checked used vehicles
WESTERN SYDNEY’S NO.1 DEALER Lander Toyota
112 Sunnyholt Road, Blacktown T 02 8884 4888 landertoyota.com.au Highland Autos Pty Ltd trading as Lander Toyota. MD20304
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Toyota Finance Australia Limited ABN 48 002 435 181, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 392536.
YPA2276