Business Resource & Lifestyle Magazine Issue #65 - May 2014

GWP M a g a z i n e s

S YD NEY

®

BUS I N E S S

SYDNEY - ISSUE 65 | MAY 2014

M A G A Z I N E

S I N C E

2 0 0 5

Corruption Scandals Jump the Political Divide Page 16

Australia – Heading into an Abyss: a Perspective from Generation Y Page 18

Preparing Your Workforce for Change Page 22

Ada Nicodemou Simple Girl – Extraordinary Person A D V E R T I S E H E R E & P R I N T Y O U R B U S I N E S S C A R D S , F LY E R S A N D B O O K L E T S F O R F R E E * Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

1

2

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

3

GWP Magazines Distribution

®

Key locations for a free pickup CHATSWOOD CBD

RYDE

Touche

Ryde Planning + Business Centre

Zenith Gourmet Foods

WARRIEWOOD BUSINESS PARK

Cafe II duo

Cafe Quattro

ST LEONARDS CBD

PARRAMATTA CBD

Blue Duck Cafe

Parramatta Council

MACQUARIE BUSINESS PARK

TAFE

Avenida Cafe

Di Pacci

Westpac Bank

Caterez Espresso

Cafepronto

Coffee House

Cafe Pinnacle

Cafe 31

Glasshouse

Rendevous Point Café

Just Catering

460 Church St Office Complex

Presse Cafe

RHODES CORPORATE PARK

DURAL BUSINESS PARK

Caterez

Get Stuffed Catering

Cafe Rhodes

LANE COVE WEST BUSINESS PARK

CASTLE HILL TRADING ZONE

wickedfoods.com

Hillz Kitchen

La Kantina

CBA Branch - Home Hub Hills

NORWEST BUSINESS PARK

CBA Branch - Castle Towers

Nexus Cafe

Westpac Bank

Servcorp

Café Gionta

Crowne Plaza Norwest

Cafe Tsakali

Lexin Kebabs

Hills Lodge

The Hills Shire Council

BROOKVALE BUSINESS PARK

Westpac Bank

Cafe 20

Telstra Business Centre

Espresso Italia

BellaWrap Cafe

FRENCHS FOREST BUSINESS PARK

IC Frith

Forest Cafe

QCafe

Equinox Café

Caterez - R esmed

AUSTLINK BUSINESS PARK

Caterez - Woolworths HQ

Cafe Locco

Brothers Cafe

WETHERILL PARK

Jazzveh Woodfired Pizza Cafe

Wetherill Park Bakehouse

Century Cafe

BLACKTOWN

Cafe Peregrine

Lander Toyota

Rave Cafe

ROSEHILL BUSINESS PARK

Kitchen Inc.

Cafe Grand

Parkview Cafe

ROUSE HILL

Bella Vista Hotel

CBA Branch - Town Centre

The Original Frango

BAULKHAM HILLS

Sushi Culture

CBA Branch - Stockland Mall

Editor and Publisher: Dmitry Greku Cover Story: Adrian Payne Contributing Writers: Charlie Lynn Angry Anderson Daniel Moisyeyev Sonja Malcolm Andrew Barker Adrian Payne

John Watters Jay Bacik

Art Director: Svetlana Greku Executive Officer: Daniel Moisyeyev Director of Public Relations: Angry Anderson Cover Design and Cover Story Layout Xabier Goñi, XDesigns Printing: Pegasus Print Group Business Resource & Lifestyle Magazine® is published by GWP Media® and GWP Magazines® ABN: 82 096 352 064 www.gwpmagazine.com.au Office Address: Unit 31, 7 Hoyle Avenue, Castle Hill, NSW 2154 International Standard Serial Number ISSN 1837-199X Advertising Enquiries p | 1300 889 132 e | info@gwpmagazine.com.au To Subscribe w | www.gwpmagazine.com.au

We Support

saveoursons.org.au

ANNANGROVE BUSINESS PARK Fresh and Simple Caterers

Copyright GWP Media® and GWP Magazines® 2011.

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.

4

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

E C I V R E S 99 CAR SHUTTLE SERVICE *

$

+ FREE

Why choose NRMA MotorServe Rouse Hill? // Good, honest car servicing at a fair price // A comprehensive 40-point safety check // 6 months or 10,000km guarantee on all work // An upfront quote for no nasty surprises // Complimentary exterior car wash // Free shuttle service to and from work

times Shuttle bus service (Monday - Friday)

rServe Rouse Hill From NRMA Moto s Park es to Norwest Busin m • 7:40am • 8.15a siness Park From Norwest Bu rve Rouse Hill rSe to to NRMA Mo m • 3:00pm • 4:00p on request

Also available up

WITHER S RD

N TIO LU SO LACE P

RE

ERC

M COM

IAL

RD

D TUARY SANC

RD IELDS

F

SCHO

RAD CON

RD

OLD

DSO

HA ANT

R

WIN

RR

YD RILE

E

RIV

SAM

D

Mention ‘Norwest’ to get this exclusive offer

OR R

DS WIN

PE PARK WAY

R LT

SU

E

L AV

ORIA MEM

D

STANHO

D

T WES NOR VARD LE BOU

O YH NN

7

D WIN

KM

NORWEST BUSINESS PARK

OLD

WE STLIN

Book you car service and save $90 today

SOR RD

1/2 Resolution Place, Rouse Hill (10 minute drive from Norwest Business Park)

Call to book:

1300 731 496

Book online:

nrmamotorserve.com.au

*Offer is valid until 30 June 2014 and is subject to availability and not available in conjunction with any other offer. Offer is limited to one Essential Service per vehicle during the promotional period. $99 service valid for standard passenger car only. 4WD and European vehicles will receive $90 off the cost of an Essential Service for those vehicles. Cost relating to additional repairs including parts, oil and other items are not included. Any additional costs will be quoted and discussed upfront. Standard NRMA MotorServe terms and conditions also apply, available at nrmamotorserve.com.au/warranty Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014 T3-3592

5

6

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 20 18 Cover Story 8

Ada Nicodemou Simple Girl –

Extraordinary Person

Regulars

Features

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

22 Preparing Your Workforce

20 Has a Local Business

Helped Your Community Group?

The Hills Shire Council

Regulars

SOCIETY & LIFE

EDITOR’S LETTER

32

Adrian Payne

8

One Hundred Percent Convenience …

Dmitry Greku

LEADERSHIP

16 Corruption Scandals Jump

the Political Divide Charlie Lynn

30

Welcome to the Real World

Angry Anderson

Features

18 Australia – Heading into

for Change

Sonja Malcolm

24 Lag Indicator – Youth Unemployment

John Watters

26 How Bartercard Can

Help Business Owners

to Grow Their Business

Andrew Barker

30 Message from the CEO,

Life Education NSW

Jay Bacik

Abyss: a Perspective from Gen Y Daniel Moisyeyev

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

7

EDITOR’S LETTER

One Hundred Percent Convenience …

Dmitry Greku, M. Sc. - Editor and Publisher - GWP Magazines®

We are taking on a new challenge and this one is special – photography.

At GWP, we like to do as much as we can inhouse. We don’t want to suggest we’re control freaks but we have decided to add another vital service under the GWP Media umbrella. By having photographic skills on hand, we will be able to service our clients more efficiently and have our marketing material look state-of-the-art and out there working to generate an even better response.

This new resource is yet another convenient service that’s available to your business. If you’re already one of our valued clients you’ll know that it’s not just about becoming more efficient and having your marketing become more effective, it helps the whole process become much more affordable. Don’t we all love that concept?

Our Greatest Harbour Why am I so excited? Because now the cycle

publication – Business Resource & Lifestyle

is complete. We can develop your brand, build

magazine.

an effective website to virtually any level of complexity, deliver outstanding designs for your

Come and talk to us about your next marketing

flyers, booklets, calendars, etc., and, supply a

campaign, an artwork idea or a website

professional photography service, so you can

development. It could lead to you and your

have professional shots of your products, of your

business becoming famous beyond your wildest

great team and even of yourself. We also print

expectations!

and hand-deliver your marketing materials to all accessible offices at all major business locations

We hope you decide to explore marketing your

in Sydney – Hills Business District, Macquarie

business with us and enjoy our first ever photo-

Business Park, Parramatta CBD, Chatswood

gallery.

CBD and more…

And yes, we can also publish your articles Sneesing Bird

and advertisements in the most effective and best-looking

8

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Business-to-Business

Sydney

Have a great day. Take care of yourselves and your clients. G e | editor@gwpmagazine.com.au

We Print Overnight* Quantity

A4

A5

DL

Business cards

S/S

D/S

S/S

D/S

S/S

D/S

S/S

D/S

250

$125

$175

$125

$140

$110

$125

$35

$40

500

$180

$235

$165

$175

$150

$165

$44

$50

1,000

$250

$350

$180

$235

$165

$198

$69

$86

2,000

$450

$480

$250

$359

$235

$275

$100

$120

5,000

$535

$580

$350

$399

$268

$336

We also print:

10,000

$859

$952

$555

$682

$481

$550

15,000

$1,143

$1,288

$785

$950

$580

$732

20,000

$1,429

$1,664

$889

$1,166

$700

$952

booklets calendars posters banners

*Small jobs accepted today – Ready Tomorrow! *Flyers are printed on 128gsm premium stock.

All prices are GST exclusive.

Artwork is not included.

Unit 31, 7 Hoyle Avenue, Castle Hill printing@gwpmedia.com.au u www.gwpprinting.com.au u

1300 889 132 Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

9

PROUDLY PRESENTED BY

Ada Nicodemou Simple Girl – Extraordinary Person

Chrys and Johnas

Michael Costa with

Ada’s wedding baby Ada

by Adrian Payne

A

da was born on the fourteenth of May 1977 at Auburn Hospital in Sydney. Her parents Nick and Jenny both have Greek Cypriot roots and after emigrating to Australia quite separately from Cyprus, they met in Sydney in the early seventies.

10

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Daughter Ada grew up in a loving but strict home and could speak Greek before she learned English. Her parents owned a mixed business and deli where Ada would go with her mother from the age of two. She remembers that before going to school, she had a thorough business grounding, being able to count back change before attending any school maths classes!

Right from the start Ada looked like she would be ‘on the stage’ ... as a small child she would seek opportunities to get into whatever limelight there was available. At Greek dances she would ‘escape’ from her mother’s side and go on stage asking the band for the microphone, which she would use to recite something she had learned at ‘Greek school’. But her first passion was to dance,

at so many of these Greek gatherings traditional dancing ‘breaks out’ with the least provocation, and Ada and her mother Jenny would be up there with the best of them. Even when friends and family visited their home Ada would often ‘put on a show’.

For some time Ada had been asking her mother to find a dancing school, and at age ten she went to the Johnny Young talent school. The TV programme Young Talent Time hosted by Johnny Young was Ada’s favourite. She would record all the shows and learn the dance routines she found there. The show was run on the ten network between 1971 and 1988.

Ada’s grandmother had a brother. His name was

GREAT AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

11

PROUDLY PRESENTED BY Michael Costa. She became as close to him as her father. Michael was a constant role-model and mentor for Ada from the day she was born, always encouraging and appreciating her successes, she loved him and looked up to him for support. As part of her dancing course at the Johnny Young talent school, she appeared on the television programme. When she came home and told her family about the experience of meeting the people on the show that she so admired, she said they were admiring and kind to her. Michael simply pointed out that that’s because they knew that one day Ada would be doing the same kind of work...

At age sixteen while still at school, she registered with a casting agency and did some work as an extra in television and film productions. Then came a real break, she was offered a part in ‘Heartbreak High’. Her mother Jenny was anxious, she had thought that Ada would go to university and gain a degree, but an opportunity was there and despite it turning up in her final school year Ada was determined not to miss it. Jenny was equally determined and relented only with the agreement that Ada would continue her studies by correspondence and sit her HSC. This she did by working all week on the TV series and studying at home on the weekends.

Heartbreak High ran from 1994 to 1999 on Network Ten and later on the ABC. The programme dealt with the students of the fictional Hartley High, a

Ada with her hero John Farnham

12

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

tough high school in a multi-racial area of Sydney.

Ada played Katerina Loannou, a student, she appeared in episode sixteen, and moved to Greece in episode twenty-eight.

Ada’s weekend studies didn’t quite deliver Jenny’s high score HSC ambitions, but it was enough to get Ada a university place. She enrolled for a

communications course, but deferred for a year.

While she still wants to go to uni, events are such in 2014 that it will be a while yet!

She did complete an events management course at TAFE and worked as an events manager for a while, but acting was still tugging at her sleeve and sure enough when she looked for them, there were opportunities out there. She had two years

GREAT AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE

on Breakers and one year on Police Rescue, Ada also featured on an American television series Beast Masters and appeared in a cameo role in the film Matrix starring Keanu Reaves.

Then came a part in Channel Seven’s ‘Home and Away’. For the past sixteen years she has been both Ada Nicodemou and Lea Patterson-Baker a single mother who has a strong work ethic and stands up for what she believes in. Home and Away was a major turning point in Ada’s career.

She was only twenty-one when she began, and she and Leah have grown up in parallel ‘lives’.

Ada remembers and treasures her years spent in both Heartbreak High and Home and Away. They are two very different shows being made using different production techniques. Heartbreak High was shot on film and around eight scenes were ‘in the can’ each day. But on Home and Away the pace is different being recorded on video and often around twenty scenes make up a day’s work. One

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

13

PROUDLY PRESENTED BY thing is certainly true of both of them for Ada and her fellow cast members – it’s always been hard but rewarding work.

When Ada moved began to work on ‘soaps’ some people in the industry thought this was a backward step for her. But Ada doesn’t see it like that, thinking herself lucky that she has been fully employed for so many years, doing what she loves to do. Most actors have long spells between jobs.

They endure long periods of time not knowing when the next pay packet will come their way.

While appreciating all that she learned about acting in her career through Heartbreak High to Home and Away, Ada thinks that one of the most important things that make a good actor, is to listen. Not only to those from whom something can be learned, but also to fellow actors in the same scene. Though the words they are using may have been written by someone else, making sense of them in context is the job of the actors, responding to each other as if their verbal interaction is spontaneous. She also thinks that the best possible performance comes working as part of a team. Knowing the lines and being early to work, are all elements that help produce a good TV series. She doesn’t have great difficulty learning lines, thinking that ‘the brain is like a muscle’ - ‘the more you use it, the better it becomes at the task’.

She has been nominated for a Gold Logie for most popular personality of the year on Australian Television, and a Logie for most popular actress.

At the awards nights, she feels rather humbled meeting so many people that she admires in show-business, somehow missing her own highly respected position in Australian TV drama. She says that despite having met him on several occasions, she still goes weak at the knees when meeting up with John Farnham.

Ada is however aware that her name can sometime inspire others and something she does out of love and kindness is to act as an ambassador for the Save Our Sons Charity (full story in the January/ February issue of BRL). Ada was Save Our Sons very first Ambassador and is responsible for supporting the rapidly growing awareness about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) among both the general public and VIP’s including fellow actors and sporting personalities.

On Mother’s Day 2005, Ada was out to lunch with family at Zippo’s Restaurant on the Marina at Kyke Bay, where she met the chef Chrys ‘Zippo’ Xipolitas. They got chatting and “there were real sparks between us,” recalls Ada. “Everyone else could see it too.” It was there and then that Chrys made a pact with Ada’s mum Jenny that he’d marry her daughter if she was still single at 30.

Chrys lived up to his word in record time; they married three months before her 30th. The only sad thought was she had planned that her lifelong friend and mentor Michael Costa would walk her down the aisle. But he had passed away only three months earlier.

Both Ada and Chrys were keen to start a family

14

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Home and Away cast

despite their busy lives. After trying for a year before receiving IVF treatment in 2011, Ada gave birth to Johnas at Sydney’s St George private hospital. This curly-headed nineteen-month old, who inherits his cheekiness and looks from his father and his strength and independence from Ada, is about to get a little brother or sister.

Amazingly without further treatment Ada is pregnant again and everyone is delighted. Except possibly the writers and producers at Home and Away, who are having to re-write forward scripts to explain why Leah is pregnant!

Ada didn’t have as much family around her as she would have liked. Today she lives in the same street as her mother and Chrys’ mother is only a couple of suburbs down the road. Chrys works as a chef at the restaurant in the evenings and at home during the day, so they are able to deal with the demands of a young family. Especially with the help of a couple of nearby grandparents.

Ada was always confident ... knowing what she wanted, getting it, doing it and doing it well. But when Johnas was born, she suddenly realised

GREAT AUSTRALIAN PEOPLE there was no manual. There was no training, and she had to do it. Of all the ambitions she had, the strongest was to be a mother but Johnas wasn’t always the most cooperative baby. Now he’s full of character and personality and Ada is ready for ‘the next time around’, thinking that at least she has some experience and feels she’ll not get the surprises that came with baby Johnas. She also feels “lucky and blessed” that Chrys is such a natural ‘hands-on’ dad.

Persuaded to be introspective for a moment, Ada began by owning up to a ‘massive foot-in-mouth disease” she thinks that she often offends people, she puts it down to being straightforward and honest and not having a very good diplomatic ‘filter’. She says that when she does it on set, everyone just laughs knowing that any offence wasn’t intended or malicious. Born under the star sign Taurus, she sees herself as wilful and hot-headed and claims she can be quite confrontational, but she says she has learned to calm that down a lot in an attempt to take the edge off and be a little more diplomatic.

She hates to see an injustice and tends to leap to the defence of anyone she perceives as being mistreated. But in recent times she realised that she had been fighting other people’s battles, only to turn around and find herself alone in the situation, looking like a troublemaker. She thinks that maybe she needs to ‘play the game’ a little more, but in principle that goes against the grain too, as she doesn’t like to unwillingly ‘toe someone else’s line’.

Ada is a free spirit and realises that not everyone will like her and in turn she will be selective about the people she spends her time with.

When asked what she thinks are the qualities that help bring success, without hesitation Ada listed the following: “Love what you do, be hard working, be passionate about what you do, surround yourself with people you can learn from, be a team player and always be yourself”. G

We Support

saveoursons.org.au

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

15

LEADERSHIP

Corruption Scandals Jump the Political Divide The Hon. Charlie Lynn - Member of the Legislative Council

Recent ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) hearings have shone a laser light up the orifice of politics in NSW. Western Sydney commuters, growing old in gridlocked road systems, have up to four hours a day to digest the sleazy relationships between politicians, lobbyists, government officials and entrepreneurial developers.

NSW Labor was first to feel the heat of ICAC’s blowtorch as powerful MPs were paraded before the public in what was described as the greatest corruption scandal since the days of the infamous Rum Corps.

Around the same time crooked union officials were using working class members’ fees to live the life of Riley by procuring high-class prostitutes, employing family members on sham contracts and buying up coastal holiday houses. Their shameless exploitation of some of the lowest paid workers in our community was reminiscent of the old Irish college song – ‘the working class can kiss my arse, I’ve got the foreman’s job at last, da da de da, de da de da. . .’

ICAC performed a political colonoscopy on Labor and it wasn’t pretty. As a result their vote has turned to the proverbial and plunged to historic lows in recent elections.

Hard-headed Labor strategists were desperate to spread the blame. In the meantime Premier Barry O’Farrell and Prime Minister Tony Abbott were equally determined to firewall the integrity of the Liberal Party by banning donations from developers and excluding lobbyists from the governing body of the organisation. They enlisted the support of respected party elder, former Prime Minister John Howard, to examine ways of breaking the stranglehold of factional leaders and empowering the wider membership through the introduction of a plebiscite system.

But it was all in vain - the corruption virus jumped the political divide and has now snared leading Liberal politicians and Party officials who seemed to have succumbed to the merchants of greed.

Labor’s collective sigh of relief breezed through

16

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

their old heartland of Western Sydney and further afield. The smear of corruption had now infected both major parties and the virus of cynicism invaded the lymph nodes of voterland. They are now both tarred with the same brush.

Long term survival will now depend on their ability to restore trust with the electorate.

Labor has a hard road ahead with storm clouds gathering on a number of fronts. The stranglehold of unions has to be broken. The emergence of a progressive Green cancer in their ranks needs to be addressed. The outcomes of the Royal Commission exposing the ugly underbelly of the union movement need to be anticipated.

These challenges will occupy the minds of Labor strategists for years to come.

Liberal Party officials.

As the only Asian female Member of the NSW Parliament she would have been an invaluable asset for the State Liberal Government for March 2015 and beyond.

But something bad happened to Dai Le after a visit from a factional powerbroker. She not only withdrew her application for the Legislative Council but then signed the nomination form for the only other candidate. She then resigned from the staff of the Liberal Member of Smithfield to pursue a career in private enterprise.

Western Sydney is home to some of the brightest talent in the country with dynamic young leaders spanning the professions, commerce, the arts

The corruption virus jumped the political divide and has now snared leading Liberal politicians and Party officials who seemed to have succumbed to the merchants of greed.

They will draw some comfort from the fact that the Liberal Party is in no position to gloat.

Over recent years a ruling Liberal elite has slowly disenfranchised their membership through the introduction of ‘special powers’ for the State Executive. The reform was sold as a last resort management function to be used in the case of emergencies in the lead up to election campaigns.

In reality it has been used to set up and stack branches to protect factional allies and deny membership to anybody they can’t control. It’s a practice contrary to the preaching’s of the party of free enterprise.

The most recent victim was one of the brightest stars to join the Liberal Party in Western Sydney - a refugee from the Vietnam War, Dai Le. Dai electrified the Party at a by-election in Cabramatta which almost saw one of Labor’s safest citadels fall to the Liberals. She is intelligent, attractive, dynamic and outspoken. But she was too independently minded for local powerbrokers with links to developers, lobbyists and influential

and sport. Yet all the NSW Liberal Party could attract for a job with a secure eight year tenure and a six-figure salary with generous allowances was one applicant – an unknown factional loyalist from Picton!

John Howard’s eminent persons group need look no further than the circumstances surrounding the demise of Dai Le to justify the urgent need for a plebiscite system that allows all Liberal members a vote in who they would like to represent them in Parliament. It is the most prized privilege of membership of a political party. G

For more topics and to contact Charlie Lynn, please visit www.charlielynn.com.au/blog.

Bartercard has helped to create new opportunities and drive business growth

Bartercard will: • guarantee new customers • increase cashflow • increase market share

Scan QR code to subscribe to our blog

• move excess stock or fill seats • fill downtime • open new business networks With 55,000 cardholders Australia wide, it’s a great way to build value in your business.

1300 BARTER bartercard.com.au Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

17

FEATURE

Australia – Heading into Abyss: a Perspective from Gen Y Daniel Moisyeyev, B. IT

Gen. Y rarely gets a voice to express opinions about the important issues.

Reading through the mainstream media you would think Generation Y is a crowd of hipsters greatly concerned about gay marriage, saving the environment and the diversity of coffee. Is this the case?

No. Unforutantely, few Generation Y members have access to real media channels and are limited to voicing their opinions on social media and in internet forums where nobody listens.

This is becoming a serious problem as there is growing resentment building within the Generation Y demographic – and it must be addressed before it starts to manifest in a more extreme or radical manner (see: Europe). As a member of this generation, I would like to focus this article on the real concerns of my age-group and step away from false stereotypes.

Stereotyping Gen Y Notwithstanding the last decade of political correctness, Generation Y managed to attain the longest list of ‘labels’ in history.

Disrespectful and hurtful labels have been voiced ad infinitum - we are collectively described as apathetic immature ‘kidults’, job-hoppers and social media junkies. We are said to squander money on consumer items such as tablets, mobile phones, drinks and dinners. Generation Y have also been blamed for sponging off their parents

The Lucky Country The real situation is quite grim. If there is any truth to Generation Y stereotypes is that they are apathetic, the fact is they haven’t yet realised or come to terms with the fact that they’ve been handed the short straw. I squarely blame this indifference on a lack of political and economic schooling.

One of the first matters is that Generation Y was sold a lie early in the piece, during secondary

18

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

education. There was a universal push at the time to attain a university degree at all costs which created an expectation among many that they would get a high-paying job after finishing their degree. Often it turned out to be a job that doesn’t actually exist in today’s economic climate. Yet, who wouldn’t expect to reap a reward for all that time and money invested?

Today, a marketing or media graduate can at most, expect a commission-only sales job after all those sleepless nights studying and completing assignments. This is straight from the horses mouth, an employer within the industry! The same disease affects many other professions. There is an over-supply of graduates and there are no jobs out there.

Do statistics back up this? Roy Morgan produced a shocking figure of 28.0% unemployment for the period of February, 2014 among 18-24 year olds [A] . The same statistics show that unemployment stands at 12.4% for 25-34 year olds. Is it any wonder that Generation Y is staying at home for just a little bit longer?

Back in the arguably better times of 2006, the Housing Industry Association delivered a shocking statistic that 50.2% of 17-to-32 year olds are still living at home [B]. Is Generation Y just lazy and sponging off their parents as is often portrayed?

No. The reality is that Australia has closed off opportunities for younger people and the country is simply no longer affordable for the average person building a life from scratch. It’s not the lucky country and I was happy to see that expression finally go from circulation after the election last year. Every time a politician used that ‘lucky country’ line, it made me cringe.

Earning Potential How much could we expect to earn if were to find a job? I’ll quote yet another statistic; this one from the Australian Beaureau of Statistics: ’August 2012, the median weekly earnings in a main job for all employees was $950’ [C].

Can anyone actually afford a life on that salary?

Here’s a shocker to go with it: Sydney’s median dwelling-price now sits at $660,000 [D]. You can guess where I am going with this; for Generation Y the Australian dream of owning their own home is

just that, a dream. This problem affects Generation X as well, so we are starting to hear some additional noise on this issue every now and then.

Do Generation Y people squander the money they earn? Statistics, say they don’t. Those who are part of Generation Y are technically the nations best savers! 29% of Gen Y saves a regular amount per month, compared with 25% for Gen X and 19% for Baby Boomers [E].

Generation Y are still living at home with their parents… because that’s all they can afford in today’s economic climate.

Australian Residential Real Estate Ponzi Every single nation has some kind of a system in place designed to take advantage of the general population.

The USA and the UK have both been stuck in financial repression since the GFC. A Zero InterestRate Policy is a desperate attempt designed by the central banks to salvage western economies that are running on little more than the fumes in an empty tank. This policy only serves to punish the prudent, by eroding what little savings they have, to reward the profligate.

Ukraine has been in the news lately and for that country, gas is key economic element. This lucrative import/export business is controlled by a few oligarchs, while the masses receive few of the benefits they rightly deserve.

This brings me to Australia. It wouldn’t take long for even the most unsophisticated individuals to figure out that something is seriously wrong with Australian residential real estate. Newcomers to the country are often horrified when they see what we pay for the privilege of having a roof over our heads.

Australia is one of the few countries in the world, where the people have been so effectively conditioned by vested interests, that what is essentially a place to live, a house, has been transformed into a tradable commodity. This is no exaggeration because many people in Australia don’t buy houses to live in, they buy them as speculation … for profit. One wonders if there is any

FEATURE

Wagon of Fools by Hendrik Gerritsz Pot, 1637. Painted during the peak of the Tulip mania, the first and one of the best examples of a speculative bubble.

What can we do?

any such thing as a ’home‘ in Australia any more – there is a ’house‘ and the term for a buyer is now ’a property investor‘. At this point in time, residential property in Australia is no different from trading shares, bonds or precious metals.

Do you find this hard to believe? Australian FirstHome Buyers (FHB’s) now represent just 12.3% of the population. (November, 2013) [F]. Investors accounted for near 40% of mortgages in March 2014. I would be willing to wager those 12.3% FHB’s received a generous leg-up to get into the market.

Australians have just that one dream – own property.

Very few dream of running a successful, innovative and profitable business that exports its products overseas and underpins our economy by creating jobs. The definition of success in Australia has been transformed into scraping together a deposit and putting your signature on a 95% loan for a shoddy off-the-plan apartment unit.

Housing is not a very productive asset. You can’t export property (although Australia is making some new developments here with our Chinese partners).

This matter is also starting to get a mention in mainstream media. There has to be an incomestream to pay back the principle plus interest and if you don’t have a job because your employer gave up, packed up and left, you may find it a little difficult to keep the repayments going. Apparently, one out of three Australians is living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque, most with no savings for a rainy day [G]. You will find that these people tend to be apathetic and the attitude to the job- loss scenario is that it always happens to somebody else – ‘it will never happen to me’.

This is just scratching the surface of the Australian residential housing ponzi scheme. You could write

a whole book on this subject , there are so many more issues such as low interest rates, negative gearing, supply constrictions, and stamp duty fees.

The Australian residential property market at this point, has nothing to do with a free market - if you were to pull off the sticky-tape holding it all together, who knows what would unravel. If Australians were to loose all their paper-wealth tomorrow, our politicians would be facing a revolt with a ferocity never seen before in this country.

Our household debt is bursting at the seams. It’s at a record-breaking 177% of annual disposable income and counting.

Australia is rapidly going down the wrong path and we need a radical change in both policy and mentality. We don’t need a ‘consumption-based economy’ or a ’housing price recovery‘. We need to learn how to innovate, produce and sell, not consult. And if Generation Y continues to become further embittered, they will eventually seek refuge in promises from the far left and the far right. And we all know where that will eventually lead, there are already plenty of nations that are further down the slippery slope we’re now on, and all we have to do is look at them to see where it’s leading.

If you have any comments, please write to daniel@gwpmedia.com.au.

References [A]-www.roymorgan.com/findings/5464-australianunemployment-february-2014-201403040532 [B]-www.couriermail.com.au/news/poor-gen-ys-stayhome/story-e6freon6-1111117007705 [C]-www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6310.0

Don’t bother asking the politicians about any of this. They are forbidden to discuss this topic in public. And Generation Y? They are observing this train wreck from the sidelines and I don’t see how anyone can blame them.

[D]-au.pfinance.yahoo.com/compare/home-loans/ article/-/18988872/the-average-australian-mortgagehas-shrunk/ (ABS) [E]-www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/wealthmanagement/34434-gen-y-are-the-nation-s-bestsavers-rabodirect-survey.html

Business Environment

[ F ] – w w w. a p i m a g a z i n e . c o m . a u / a p i - o n l i n e / news/2014/04/investors-account-for-almost-40-ofmarch-mortgages (AFG)

The number of businesses in Australia fell a whole 2.9% in the 12 months ending June 2013 [H].

[G]-www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/ one-third-of-australian-households-have-no-savings/ story-e6frea83-1226579475726 (BT Australian Financial Health Index, Ernst & Young)

Investment in business is neither fashionable nor profitable. It’s a high-risk exercise with a significant chance of failure and Australians, being risk-averse, choose the safer haven of property investment. The statistic above clearly demonstrate that the decline in business conditions is leading to the winding up of many well-established companies. This coupled with below-par investment in new ventures can lead only to one outcome, and that’s less jobs for average Aussie battlers.

[H]-www.itbdigital.com/opinion/2014/04/01/number-ofnew-australian-businesses-falls/

This process seems to have accelerated during the recent year with mass-exodus decisions being made in the manufacturing sector.

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

19

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Has a Local Business Helped Your Community Group?

Are you a parent of school aged children, a sports coach, or member of a community organisation? Has a local business helped your group?

The Sydney Hills Business Awards for Community Contribution is a new way to say ‘thank you’.

Awards panel, and entries will be sorted into a number of categories that will include opportunities for different sized businesses.

An independent judging panel will assess nominations using a framework that evaluates the entry on the community impact it has made.

Winners will be announced at a Civic Reception held at Council in August 2014.

Why a new Award?

The Sydney Hills Business Awards for Community Contribution is a newly-established awards process that is different from other business awards. As the name suggests, the awards recognise the significant contribution made by local companies to help build the social fabric of our community.

Nominate today!

Get your entry in early! Nominate a business that has made a contribution to the community, and take the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ for their support.

For more information, visit www.thehills.nsw.gov. au and follow the ‘Sydney Hills Business Awards for Community Contribution’ link from the home page. G

The Sydney Hills has a reputation for being ‘generous’ at both an individual and corporate level, and many local businesses and organisations frequently donate time and funds to promote positive change within the community.

The Hills Shire Council currently recognises the achievements of young people and residents through the Sydney Hills Youth Awards and the Citizen of the Year Awards - and celebrating the contribution of businesses that positively impact the community extends this tradition.

Who can nominate?

Schools, community groups, sports groups, mums and dads and other residents of the Sydney Hills can nominate a business that has supported them in a positive way.

It could be that your child’s school has benefitted from the support of a local business in the form of a donation of goods - like books for the library, or laptops for the IT lab. Or it may have been a contribution of skills - like a building company remodelling a corner of the playground to build a wheelchair accessible play area. Or perhaps a business has given time and expertise by providing a mentoring program for senior students.

Sports teams may have benefitted from business sponsorship through the donation of uniforms, equipment kits for the squad, or support for up and coming athletes to attend regional events.

Community organisations that provide support and information may choose to nominate a business that helped them get established or provides ongoing fundraising and awareness assistance.

The possibilities are endless.

20

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Businesses – Are You Enviro Smart?

Are you interested in finding out how simple, inexpensive solutions may be able to reduce your business energy and water use?

Participation will be open to include any business or organisation located in The Hills LGA that demonstrates a significant contribution to the community over and above their normal business operations.

How can I nominate a local business?

You can nominate a business that has helped your community organisation by one of the following methods: • Visit The Hills Shire Council’s website www.thehills.nsw.govau and fill out the online form – a link can be found on the home page.

• Pick up a print form from Council’s Customer Service Counter at 3 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills. Simply fill out the form and hand it back to the customer service team.

• Contact Economic Development Officer, Stephen Garrard, on 9843 0324 for more information and assistance.

Residents will be asked to submit an entry, explaining in around 200 words, what the nominated business has done for the community and why they think this is worthy of an award.

How will entries be judged?

All nominations received will be reviewed by an

Would you like to discover how Council can assist you with free advice and giveaways up to $1000?

Local businesses are invited to a ‘Smart Enviro’ information session on 1 May from 9.30am to 11am at The Hills Shire Council, 3 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills. Phone 9843 0555 to register, or email council-enviro@thehills.nsw.gov.au Get smart!

Check out the full range of ‘Get Smart’ business workshops on offer this year, many of the free, at www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/businessworkshops. html.

The Hills Shire Council p | 9843 0555 e | enquiries@sydneyhills.com.au w | www.sydneyhills.com.au

sy d n ey h i l l s b u s i n ess AwA r ds 20 1 4

For

co m m u n i t y co n t r ib ut i o n

Sydney hillS buSineSS awardS for community contribution Do you know a local business that has made a significant contribution to the community?

Do they deserve recognition? Nominate today via the online form on Council’s website. www.thehills.nsw.gov.au | 9843 0555 Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

21

FEATURE

Preparing Your Workforce for Change Sonja Malcolm - Senior Training Consultant, Enterprise Improvement Services

More often than not, change is the catalyst for training. New technology, restructures, downsizing, or new products usually trigger the call to train. Often though, training doesn’t deliver all that is required.

in formal problem solving in their existing environment, however change often increases the demand for these skills. Change provides the opportunity to expand levels of ownership and improve accountability through employees getting involved in problem solving.

training plan accordingly. The training plan allows the individual and supervisor to see very clearly the skills and knowledge recognised and the areas needed for development. Training plans are useful tools to set learning goals, generate discussion and manage training outcomes.

Sucking Eggs No-one likes to be taught what they already know - just ask any teenager! Doing a skills audit of current staff has two benefits. Firstly, if you are not teaching people what they already know, you will have less training to provide. Secondly, participants are more motivated or at least more receptive when their training is relevant. When you acknowledge what someone already does, and hopefully does well, you often alleviate the fear that in the new environment they will know nothing and not add value. It’s these two issues that can cause the most angst in a change environment.

Top down support In planning for successful training, never underestimate the importance of the training being seen as important and valued by management.

If training is seen as an inconvenience, then the program is doomed to fail. If Management acknowledges the training investment, sees it as valuable, and fosters a learning culture, then half the battle is won. Some of the most successful programs which have achieved incredible outcomes are because the management team talked about, asked about and invested the time to come and watch it. The impact of one of the management team tapping a participant on the shoulder and asking how the training’s going, taking five minutes to ask a couple of questions, and sitting in on a session now and then, gives the training the level of importance it needs to succeed.

Many times when I am asked to go out to organisations, I am told that in the past the training didn’t work for them. Why has this happened? I find that when this is the case, usually some of the preliminary leg work for the training hasn’t been done.

The best training results occur when the training is targeted and takes into account: • The importance of recognising existing skills and knowledge • Skills that the participants already possess which can be transferred to other tasks • The attitude and aptitude of participants • The language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) of the participants • What is required in terms of skills, knowledge, attitude, aptitude and language, literacy and numeracy after the change occurs • The importance of employees’ skills being valued.

Mapping the roles Taking the time to conduct a job analysis before training occurs is well worth the effort.

Comparing current roles to the new environment and identifying critical skill and knowledge gaps is the first step and it is important to also recognise the language, literacy and numeracy component to what is needed. For example, compare what is required from employees in the forms that they currently encounter to what will be required in the new system. Is there a new layout, new information, different terminology? Or will all of this new information now be entered via touch screen tablets? Understanding the impact of these small changes and new technology can be key to determining what support employees will need to perform their new tasks.

Rarely is the attitude and aptitude required for the new environment assessed, yet it is these traits which have the biggest impact on successful training and change management. Employees may not have been required to participate

22

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

During the skills audit, setting up ways of assessing the language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) levels of staff in a non-confronting way is critical. I’ve met some of the most skilled and adaptable operators in my time who are amazing at passing on skills to others and achieving every target set them within their existing environment.

But once the technology or paperwork changes, these people are unable to adapt with it because they are limited by their LLN skills.

As you conduct your skills audit, you should also be looking for skills that could be transferrable.

These are skills and knowledge that with minimal training can be utilised in the new environment.

For example, an operator may not use technology at work but uses it outside of work at home or for a hobby.

The skills audit provides the information necessary to identify ‘gap training’ - training designed to fill in the existing skill gaps - and prepare an individual

Western Sydney Institute provides customised training to businesses to help them to meet their goals. G

TAFE NSW - Western Sydney Institute (WSI) p | 02 9208 6258 e | sonja.malcolm@tafensw.edu.au w | wsi.tafensw.edu.au

Uniqueness: because one size just doesn’t ďŹ t all!

We can shape our training programs to suit the needs of your business.

We understand that your business needs a tailored approach to workplace training and broader business solutions.

We can evaluate the unique needs of your business and customise the right blend of training and solutions for you.

Scan the QR code to see how WSI has partnered with O-I Glass to customise a training program for their workforce.

For more information (02) 9208 9421 trainingsolutions.wsi@tafensw.edu.au www.workforcedevelopment.edu.au

(Download your free QR code reader from the app store) ... or manually type youtu.be/Zv9Npghk5tI into your internet browser

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

23

FEATURE

Lag Indicator – Youth Unemployment John Watters, Executive Officer – AusSIP

More recently I have been asked to publicly comment and provide feedback about Australia’s worrying youth unemployment rate. With Australia’s current youth unemployment figure hovering around 13%, twice the national unemployment rate, a call to action is required. When these figures are contextualised within local communities and regions, the need to act is even greater.

Youth unemployment is a complicated issue and rarely does one single factor ever completely account for this worrying trend. Whilst the Federal Government has indicated that they will be focusing on growing the economy to increase opportunities, this alone will be insufficient.

Youth unemployment is a lag indicator of systemic and interdependent missed opportunities. By the time young people become a statistic on unemployment the opportunity has been missed and the costs increase and solidify.

The lead indicators of youth unemployment often revolve around the usual suspects such as low literacy and numeracy rates, poor school attendance, misbehavior and suspension rates.

Other areas or factors that should be considered in the equation include parental attendance and engagement school-based events, homework completion, tardiness, student attendance at career events, mentoring participants, community consultation, business feedback, career advice participation, individualised career plans, parttime employment rates, work experience, work placement and Year 1 Post-School destination survey: first quarter and third quarter.

The stereotypical appearance of an unemployed youth is recognisable to most people. However, the statistics clearly indicate that the vast majority of unemployed youth are not hanging around in shopping centres or in parks; they simply wouldn’t fit! A growing number of unemployed youth are from families that have not known intergenerational unemployment. In fact, research indicates that the majority of young people are actively seeking employment but are finding the job market difficult to access and align their experiences and expectations. Furthermore, non-completion rates

24

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

for higher education and training are also worrying.

Approximately one-third of all university students fail to complete their first year and about 40-50 per cent of all apprentices do not complete their trade qualifications.

Students explore their careers early in their teens.

It is not the sole responsibility of schools to assist young people on this journey though. In more recent years schools have been pulled in a multitude of directions accounting to many masters. However, schools are more and more being relied upon to build academic results that will hopefully translate into transition outcomes. For many, the correlation is present; for a growing number, the correlation is waning even for the most capable students who are yet to find their calling.

No amount of Gonski funds or employment growth will necessarily improve transitional outcomes for young people. In the past decade the nation’s prosperity has not transferred to stronger transition pathways for young people; in fact, they may have slightly decreased. With a fixation on importing readily available labour through programs such as 457 visas, we have helped increase our youth unemployment rate via de-skilling our young and limiting entry points to learn foundation skills. This phenomena has not been isolated to large projects and industries such as mining and manufacturing, but in white collar areas including accounting and IT as offshoring grows.

While government rhetoric at every level focuses on immediate costs of funding programs, it is a false saving as future long-term and on-going costs outstrip any immediate savings. Programs such as Partnership Brokers and Youth Connections combines economies of scale and scope to bring about the best results for young people, businesses and the broader economy. Isolated examples at a local school level can be aggregated and addressed through a broader strategy and perspective. For example, it has been identified that the Sign and Graphic industry has a skills shortage. In each school, singular and small group interest makes it ineffective and impractical for an industry body to work with individual schools; the scope is simply absent. However, through a collective and collaborative approach across numerous schools that normally don’t interact with one another, a larger group of interested students can be sourced and engaged. The result? Industry engagement increases, students opportunities

expand, potential employees for businesses grows and efficiencies improve. These results are better for every stakeholder.

Funding cuts to programs that assist in making transitional outcomes easier and more holistic are short-sighted. Schools primarily focus on academic achievements. Businesses are wanting to employ skilled and work-ready young people. Tax payers and general citizens need society to function.

Without organisations such as AusSIP, BREED and Penrith SIP, the next time many young people are serviced in relation to career pathways, is in youth unemployment lines. By that time, it’s becoming almost too late and excessively expensive and significantly more challenging. G

AusSIP working in Alliance with BREED and Penrith SIP can assist in finding opportunities for businesses to positively engage with young people and help build a more productive workforce.

For more information on Partnership Brokers, please contact your local office listed below.

Members

Blacktown www.breed.org..au p | 9853 3200

Parramatta www.aussip.com.au p | 9633 7100

Aus SIP

explore.inspire.engage

Penrith www.schoolsindustry.com.au p | 4725 0310

$ 5 0 0 H A P P Y D E A L S

See what you can get for only $500. Select your item now!!

Qty 1000

Ergo Pens

Code: HDCAT-P16 8 Bright Colours Great Value Excellent Quality Ergo Grip

Qty 700

Fatty, Curvy, Skinny

3 B E S T S E L L E R S

Pens

Qty 500

Bling Pens

Code: HDCAT-P176

Qty 500 Smart Phone Pens

Code: HDCAT-P53

Qty 400

Metal Pens

Code: HDCAT-P14 9 Executive Colours Elegant Shape & Feel

4 Executive Colours Contour Shape

Great Value

With Rubber Grip

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Stylus Tip

Code: HDCAT-LL062s Egg Shape HDCAT-LL077s Rectangular Shape Standard Label Print or Pad Print

Qty 250

Drink Bottles

800ml Soft Squeeze Code HDCAT-IM800

Qty 250

Trade Show Bag with 50mm Gusset

Qty 500

Acrylic Keyrings

Code: HDCAT-KT1 & KT4

Qty 51

750ml Aluminium

Qty 51

T-Shirts

Premium Cotton

Your Logo Here

Code: HDCAT-LL511s

Qty 75

Drink Bottles

CODE: HDCAT-TS01a

CODE: HDCAT-B05

Qty 500

30cm Rulers

Qty 2000

30cm Balloons

Your Logo Here

Travel Mugs Code:HDCAT-M05

Large range of cup & mug deals!

Your Logo Here

Qty 125

Screen Printed

Qty 25

CODE: HDCAT-PS31 Screen Printed

Qty 144 Coffee Mugs

White Colonial or A’flare Shape Mug

1 colour print 1 side 2 sides or full wrap print

YOUR LOGO HERE

Your Logo Here

Sports Polo Shirts Your Logo Here

90mm x 50mm Business Card Size Full Digital Print

Stubby Holders

Code: HDCAT-002

Qty 2000 Fridge Magnets Code: HDCAT-M400c

Your Logo Here

Digital Print on Both Sides

Code HDCAT-M27

Qty 500 Fresh Breath Mints

Qty 25

Safety Polo Shirts CODE: HDCAT-SW01CD

CoolDry

Qty 100 Baseball Caps

CODE: HDCAT-4199

EMBROIDERED up to 5000 stitches

Your Logo Here

Screen Printed

Spend $1000 or more and RECEIVE A DISCOUNT and 100 FREE Printed Curvy Pens with your order

O F F E R E N D S 3 0 t h J u n e 2 0 1 4

Prices include at least a 1 colour print in 1 position. Prices are not including GST & Delivery

www.RaveOn.com.au

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

25

FEATURE

How Bartercard Can Help Business Owners to Grow Their Business Andrew Barker - General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Bartercard Australia

Bartercard is quite extraordinary in their approach to business. It helps fund, implement and nurture significant expansion to its members businesses.

We caught up with Andrew Barker, General Manager of Sales and Marketing recently to find out what makes him tick, and to find out exactly how Bartercard can help business owners to grow their business.

Q. How long have you been with Bartercard?

A. I’ve been with Bartercard for twenty years. I starting as a Hospitality Account Manager and since then I’ve worked in all facets of the business including five years heading up the International Trading Department of Bartercard International.

26

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

My current role is General Manager of Sales and Marketing for Bartercard Australia.

Q. What does your current role entail?

A. There are 3 key aspects to my current role, (1) to guide the franchise group nationally, (2) to introduce corporate accounts to the Bartercard network and (3) to manage the tier 1 national and international sponsorship accounts that Bartercard is involved with.

Q. What keeps you going after twenty years?

A. I’m more passionate about Bartercard and the industry today that I was twenty years ago! It’s the only unique business tool that does amazing things for small to medium size businesses.

Every day we’re working with business owners to implement solutions to some simple and more complex problems. There’s never a dull moment.

The team, who work for Bartercard, like me, have worked for the company for a long time. I think there is something special about an employer to have the number of long standing staff that we do.

Q. From a Bartercard member’s perspective, what’s the key to the Bartercard business model/ tool?

A. Bartercard is the counter balance of the current economic issues in business. We fill idle time, move idle or excess stock and develop brand new customer bases through a closed user group without reducing profit or margins.

Q. You must have seen and heard some great success stories over your time, so why does Bartercard work for some businesses and not others?

A. I’ve always maintained that Bartercard suits every business as a business tool, just not every business person. I’ve got thousands of examples across every industry of where Bartercard’s been successful and yet at the same time, I’ve got examples of businesses within industries that haven’t been as successful. The key fundamental difference is the time, effort and ingenuity that the business owner puts into using Bartercard.

Bartercard is like any other business tool, it’s how business owners utilise it which deems whether or not there is a positive effect on their business.

Q. What’s one creative deal you’ve been involved in?

A. There’s lots and they’ve all been diverse in nature, which is basically what Bartercard is.

Recently I was involved with a client that needed additional immediate cash flow to alleviate a tax situation. Here the member purchased a yacht through Bartercard and at the same time we brokered a cash buyer. The end result was a $120,000 purchase on Bartercard resulting in a $145,000 sale in cash. Bear in the mind the beauty of this transaction. This member bought with his core product with a margin of 50% therefore, buying with $120,000 trade dollars only cost him $60,000 cash. Therefore a $145,000 cash sale netted him $85,000 cash which effectively covered the outstanding tax bill.

Q. You mentioned this example; can you please explain the difference between direct barter and Bartercard?

A. We know with direct barter there’s an inherent challenge between two people, where one may not necessarily want to use the product or service of the other. As Bartercard has a registered currency of trade dollars, this gives Bartercard members the flexibility and freedom to accumulate trade dollars from numerous parties into their account.

They’re then able to use those dollars within any other business within the network for business and lifestyle expenses.

Q. So, what you are saying is that Bartercard gives you that flexibility where I accumulate trade dollars into my account from say, a plumber, but I can then spend those dollars in a restaurant?

A. That’s exactly what it means. So, we have 20,000 new potential customers for you throughout Australia and 20,000 different businesses for you to spend your trade dollars with. The transaction happens the same as a normal credit or debit card transaction, is it simply recorded in trade dollars, rather than cash.

Q. What would your advice be to a business owner looking at Bartercard as business solution?

A. My advice is simple. To gain a true understanding of how Bartercard can benefit your business is to give it a go. Bartercard can be a controlled business tool therefore; how you manage it will gage the success of what you get out of it. Whilst many people have heard many things the true reflection of any outcome is through your personal experience.

Q. So what does the future hold?

A. Currently, Bartercard covers all areas of Australia and 6 other countries globally. These include offices in London, Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, USA and Cyprus. Whilst we continue to invest in training our sales and account management team across the country to offer better personal service it is important for us to continue to lead the way in technology advances to achieve our core philosophy of making it easier for our members to trade. These technology advances include tools like our award winning mobile application, meaning Bartercard is now a mobile business tool, along with our specialised online tools, allowing member interaction 24/7. In addition to this, we’re focusing on our international division where we’re continuing to expand beyond our current 7 countries to achieve true global domination.

Q. So Andrew, we’re going to be hearing from you regularly, what’s coming up next month?

A. Over the coming months you’re going to hear from some key members from different industries and investment opportunities who will showcase the true nature and power of Bartercard. G

Bartercard Australia p | 1300 BARTER (1300 227 837) e | andrew.barker@au.bartercard.com w | www.bartercard.com.au

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

27

SAVE OUR SONS Friday, 30th May – Le Montage Sydney A star studded line up awaits you for a glamorous night out in Sydney. With everything the finest casinos have to offer with the Save Our Sons magic completing the final touches.

July School Holidays (date & venue to be confirmed) – Family Fun Day A fun day out for mums, dads and kiddies alike.

September 2014 – Laugh for a Cure Comedy Night (date & venue to be confirmed)

You will be left in stitches before the night is through. Some of Australia’s best comedic talent take to the stage for a night of laughter and awareness.

Tuesday, 4th November 2014 – Melbourne Cup Luncheon The Ivy Bar Sydney Put on your best attire... Save Our Sons is going to the races in one of Sydney’s most popular hot spots.

Saturday, 6th December 2014 – A Night Before Christmas Gala Dinner Luna Park Sydney A night you do not want to miss! Hosted by Alan Jones and a line up of Australia’s A Listers. The Save Our Sons Gala Dinner is a night you will never forget.

It’s at these events you can expect to rub shoulders with celebrity ambassadors such as Ada Nicodemou, Lynne McGranger, Triple M’s Grill Team, Jonesy and Amanda, Jeff Fenech, Angry Anderson, Sam Burgess, Billy “The Kid” Dib just to name a few. With other high profile names (such as Alan Jones & Ray Hadley) also giving their support you’re bound to have a great night whilst supporting a worthwhile cause.

Be warned though; with all the glitz and glamour also come high emotions. You will see first hand what Save Our Sons is trying to accomplish, and how devastating DMD truly is. But with your help we can make a difference.

For more event information and/or to register your interest, please contact: • Bass – 0400 004 312 (email: bass@saveoursons.org.au) • Rita – 0405 466 866 (email: rita@saveoursons.org.au) Monetary donations are also welcome and can be deposited via the Save Our Sons website: www.saveoursons.org.au.

There you can also read up on DMD, the Save our Sons team, Ambassadors, Sponsors and other fundraising opportunities such as 5s for Lives.

See you at the Event!

Official Sponsors of 2014

D OOLEY & A SSOCIATES S O L I C I T O R S

28

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Hills Business Expo

Parramatta Business Expo

21st May 2014 | Castle Hill RSL

11th June 2014 | Parramatta RSL

REGISTER NOW! businessexpos.com.au Our new high-energy format includes: 12:30pm to 2:00pm

Inspire opportunity: Keynote Speaker Fiona Lewis of Super Savvy Business.

2:00pm to 6:00pm

Connect locally: Network at the Expo with over 60 businesses.

2:00pm to 6:00pm

Energise business growth: Attend one of the workshops or exhibitor demonstrations that are scheduled at regular intervals during the event.

6:00pm to 7:00pm

Follow up and unwind: Build on your new contacts and re-connect at the cocktail networking event.

Proudly supported by: Intouch marketing CMYK 1/27/99/0 RGB 254/190/19

intouch marketing

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

29

FEATURE

Message from the CEO, Life Education NSW Jay Bacik, Life Education NSW

The question most often asked of Life Education is “Does your programme work?” “While you help children to make wise choices about food, exercise, cigarette, alcohol, drugs, is there evidence that it works

Regarding Alcohol, new research from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre shows that between the years 2001 and 2010 Aussie teenagers are choosing not to drink.

It’s a good question with some bad news, good news answers, According to the 2010 UN report on OECD countries illicit drug use Australia is the third highest.

Says Dr Michael Livingston, Study Author, “These kids are drinking less and they are not taking drugs... There’s also a sense that the current generation is very focused on health and wellbeing and this is one step they’re taking to try and stay fitter and healthier.“

But according to the Australia Government 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (which is taken about every three years) there is some good news. In legal drugs, tobacco smoking is down to 15.1% compared to 16.6% in 2007.

Alcohol consumption is down but levels of dangerous drinking is up.

30

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

The number abstaining rose form 33% to more than 50% and in the same group we have seen a reduction in drug us.

We tell our (“your”) children in our Life Education Mobile Learning Centres, most people don’t take illegal drugs and its true.

Illicit Drug use (in last 12 months) rose from 13.4% in 2007 to 14.7% in 2010 (this was below peak of 16.7% in 1995)

Interestingly Australian substance usage over the last 12 months according to 2010 NDS Household Survey are: Alcohol

81%

Tobacco

18% (down from 60% in the ‘60’s)

Cocaine

2%

Speed/Ice

2%

Ecstasy

3%

Heroin

0.2%

Cannabis

10% (up from 9% in 2007)

So most of our kids heed the advice from parents, school, Health Department and dare I say Life Education and Healthy Harold and make choices to Keep them safe and healthy.

With your help and our diligence let’s keep it that way. G

250

$125

$175

$125

$140

$110

$125

$35

$40

500

$180

$235

$165

$175

$150

$165

$44

$50

1000

$250

$350

$180

$235

$165

$198

$69

$86

2000

$450

$600

$250

$399

$235

$275

$100

$120

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

31

SOCIETY & LIFE

Welcome to the Real World Angry Anderson, AM

It may not be the world we would create if we were in control. It certainly isn’t the world I would create if I was in control but it is the world we live in so it is the real world.

in a more competitive workplace will benefit and prosper.

different way and in doing so, then we can begin to see the world in a different way.

With the emergence of formerly Third World Countries into the world market place these changes are inevitable. Along with that comes their ability to offer cheaper labour.

My recent observations have lead me to believe that many of us, probably the majority, are living in denial, which of course, leads to frustration, disillusionment, discontent and ultimately anger.

Workers that will gladly work harder for less money because these people who have done without for so long, realise that a job is a job, a chance to better themselves, to feed their families, to provide their children with an education. Why wouldn’t they leap at the opportunity?

It has become obvious to me that there are some things that maybe we need to let go of; that some ideas we might have had, up until now, maybe have no place in the emerging New World; a world that has already changed and is waiting for the rest of us to wake up and catch up. We may be witnessing changes that will undoubtedly be painful but then again all change has pain attached. I believe that we are now seeing that things of the past that need to be left behind and the future, although not one we would have designed, needs to be acknowledged and accommodated.

Mail I have received in response to recent rantings of mine have taken me to task on many levels and I have relished the criticism because it proves that some of you are ‘listening’ and debate has been ignited... Voila! Or more accurately... Yippee!!

Anyway I’m referring to my view of the changing face of our workplace. I offered the view that both sides of politics knew of the changes that were to come. Changes that were inevitable and yet did little, if anything, to prepare us for those changes and the shockwave that would follow.

I was particularly critical of the Left, why wouldn’t I be? My view being a conservative is that they set themselves up as the only defender of the rights and welfare of the working class, so it was at them that I aimed my criticism. For knowing that these changes were coming; for knowing that these changes were inevitable and yet doing little to warn or prepare ‘their’ workforce for the blow that was to come.

The point we all must appreciate here is that the changes to the workplace were brought about by changes happening world wide which no one here could influence. Coupled with workplace conditions locally it made it non profitable for many big companies to continue working here in Australia.

Multinational companies are driven by profit.

Dividends to their shareholders drive them. They make no bones about this. There are no surprises here. We all know the score. They also provide jobs for the workers and where a workable agreement can be reached there is joy for all.

Where no such agreement can be reached then they will look elsewhere for their workforce as is their prerogative and the result is that where the worker in one workplace will suffer, workers

32

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

Now we can whinge and wail as much as we like but that won’t change a thing. What is done is done and there is no going back but we should learn from the mistakes of our past.

The other component that attracted some vitriol was that I held the union movement to account over their contribution to the state. There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we, that is Australia, have priced ourselves out of the game.

We made it too difficult for ourselves to continue to compete with overseas competition for the very jobs we now have lost. If that be true then who or what is to blame? Make up your own mind just as I have made up mine.

Would it not have been better to see the changes coming and then sit down with the companies and try to thrash out some kind of deal where new workplace agreements could be made?

Agreements that not only protected our workers rights but thoughtfully acknowledged the rapidly changing dynamics of industry. After all, wouldn’t it be better to meet those companies half way and still retain employment? A job held insures income, a job lost provides no income, it’s not rocket science.

The world we live in changes so rapidly that we could be forgiven for not being able to keep up but we are left with the task of trying to make sense of it all while trying to see just where and how we still fit into the new picture.

We all embrace change when it suits us but we have difficulty in accepting the by-products of that same change when it doesn’t suit us. Some would say, “Well that’s just human nature” or is it that we have come to expect too much for too little?

Technology has made life easier, more fun, more entertaining with a thousand different benefits at our fingertips but with all those benefits comes the price we have to pay. There is no such thing as a free lunch. With this same technology comes fascination with automation and the wonderment of computerisation and the whole world suddenly looks and feels different because, brothers and sisters, it is different. Our world will never be the same again.

What is gone, what we knew is past, in some cases what we took as true is no longer so.

I will revisit this again next time we will pick-up here because there is much more for me to say on this subject, much more to this thread or train of thought.

Until then, go with your God. Your friend, Angry.

G

w | www.angryanderson.com In recent weeks we have seen our Treasurer grappling with the problems of presenting his first budget and who would want that job? It has brought to mind that the time has come to start looking at our world, that is Australia, in a

Your flyers personally delivered to every Office Reception Desk in Norwest Business Park and Macquarie Business Park + Lane Cove West

Norwest Business Park $480 + GST per run ($450 + GST per additional flyer) GWP MEDIA速 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

1300 889 132

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

33

CLASSIFIEDS AUTOMOTIVE Lander Toyota

FLYERS

DeFreitas Computers

02 8884 4888

112 Sunnyholt Road Blacktown NSW www.landertoyota.com.au

HR The HR Department

EDUCATION 131 870

INFLATABLES

EQUIPMENT FINANCE Mike Hughes & Partners Northwest 02 8824 9666

FINANCIAL SERVICES Skeggs Goldstien

35/6 Meridian Place Bella Vista NSW 2153 www.sgapl.com.au

34

02 8850 7124

Suite 515, 2-8 Brookhollow Ave Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 www.theHRdepartment.com.au

1300 753 447

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

02 9680 9823

Unit 31, 7 Hoyle Ave Castle Hill NSW 2154 www.gwpprinting.com.au

ScanMe Realty

02 9653 9200

Residential Property Specialists info@scanmerealty.com.au www.scanmerealty.com.au

Hills Commercial Real Estate

Suite G.08,25 Solent Circuit Baulkham Hills, NSW 2153 www.hillscommercial.com.au 02 9680 9200

WEB DESIGN

PRINTING GWP Media

02 8884 2486

Catering for Your Corporate and Private Events in Sydney www.caterez.com.au

108/1 Burbank Place Baulkham Hills NSW 2153 www.mhpnw.com.au

24/7 Hoyle Ave Castle Hill NSW 2154 www.stilz.com.au

www.flyerdeliveryguys.com.au

Caterez

2-10 O’Connell St Kingswood NSW 2747 www.tafensw.edu.au

Stilz Fotografika

1300 889 132

CATERING

TAFE WSI

PHOTOGRAPHY

02 9843 0555

129 Showground Road Castle Hill NSW 2154 www.thehills.nsw.gov.au

02 9560 2955

IT Support, Networking, Web Design, VoIP Phone Systems & much more www.dfc.net.au

BUSINESS SUPPORT The Hills Shire Council

REAL ESTATE

IT

GWP Media 1300 889 132

1300 889 132

Web Development, Content Management System Integration, Google Optimisation www.gwpmedia.com.au

PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS Rave On Promotional Products 1800 433 888

Over 5000 items online www.raveon.com.au

SERVICED OFFICES BREED Business Centre 02 9853 3200 PO Box 147 Quakers Hill NSW 2763 www. breed.org.au

List Your Business in Classifieds for $33.00

1300 889 132 info@gwpmagazine.com.au www.gwpmagazine.com.au

Commercial/Industrial/ Retail & Bulky Goods Asset Management Investment Land Sales Project Marketing

Ph 9680 9200 www.hillscommercial.com.au info@hillscommercial.com.au

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

35

LAND A BETTER DEAL AT LANDER TOYOTA The Lander Toyota better buying experience starts from the moment you enter our stunning new 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 Large stocks of cars, SUVs, 4WDs and commercial vehicles 3 Over 100 quality checked used vehicles 3 Service centre equipped with the latest Toyota technology 3 Fully trained service technicians 3 Accessory and parts department

There’s a lot more on offer at Lander Toyota.

86

WESTERN SYDNEY’S NO.1 DEALER landertoyota.com.au

02 8884 4888 36

Business Resource & Lifestyle | Issue 65 | May 2014

RD

ST

BESSE

MER ST

HOLT

112 Sunnyholt Road Blacktown

STEEL

Winner of the Toyota Australia Presidents Award for excellence 2011

SUNNY

Lander Toyota

MD20304 YPA3666