Business Connect: Dec – Jan 09

DEC/JAN 08 Vol 73 $6.50

How does Kylie Kwong thrive during tough times?

Business Connect Magazine

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Contents Editor in Chief Ron Krueger Inquiries: (02) 9350 8149 ron.krueger@nswbc.com.au Advertising Inquiries Ron Krueger (02) 9350 8149 Design Tracey Orehov 0416 179 044 Photography Various Printer Agency Graphic World (02) 8825 8900 NSW Business Chamber www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au 140 Arthur Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Locked Bag 938 North Sydney NSW 2059 13 26 96 Member Services: 13 26 96 Fax: (02) 9923 1166 memberservices@nswbc.com.au CEO/MD Kevin MacDonald.

Business Connect Magazine published bi-monthly. Subscriptions: $40 per annum (plus gst). Registered by Australia Post publication number: pp255003/03891 ISSN: 1328-259x.

The information published in Business Connect Magazine is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from NSW Business Chamber. The opinions expressed in Business Connect Magazine do not necessarily represent the opinions of NSW Business Chamber or its staff. The information published in Business Connect Magazine is intended as general information only and should not be relied on in place of specific legal or professional advice. No responsibility or liability is accepted by NSW Business Chamber or its staff for any claim which may arise from any person acting on the information published in Business Connect Magazine.

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How to thrive in tough times – CEO message

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Tips > Peter Switzer is no stranger to volatile markets

NSW businesses are the backbone of the State’s economy and they are knuckling down to the job.

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Letters

If you want your say then here’s your opportunity.

> Peter Knight outlines how sales and strategy can help during tough times

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News and views The NSW Business Chamber Annual Awards, the launch of ABTalent, and a review of Learning from Legends Business by John Eales.

How to thrive in tough times – Opinion Celebrity chef Kylie Kwong explores her inner self and reveals what makes her tick.

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> Useful tips on how to weather these turbulent times.

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Ask an Expert

How to thrive in tough

Safety is really about due diligence, effective risk management, and having good corporate governance.

times – business stories Featuring Communio Pty Ltd, and Jimmy Seervai from Better Health and Wellness.

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Products

A slowing economy can present many opportunities. It depends on how well you strategise and play the game.

Many of theses articles are available online www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au

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Thriving in turbulent times – CEO message

Knuckling down At a recent workshop – Thriving in Turbulent Times – organised by NSW Business Chamber, the presenter Peter Knight asked the audience whether business owners would be closing down their operations in the event of a recession.

> Kevin MacDonald Managing Director, NSW Business Chamber

The room was silent until an older gentlemen, a businessman of many years, piped up that he’d endured tough times in the past and that there was no way he was closing down a business he had operated for several decades.

This gentleman’s resolute attitude is typical of the resilience of many business owners in Australia who continue to battle burgeoning red tape, regulation and now the threat of a recession (equivalent to two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth).

As I said in a previous editorial, business operators need to remain vigilant and optimistic.

Operating a business is never a fair weather experience. Recession, or not, NSW businesses will experience a rocky road over the next 12 to 18 months.

What is certain is that the wheels of industry will keep churning.

Business transactions will still take place as markets change and the traditional cycle of businesses starting up, growing, maturing and sometimes decaying continues.

Let’s not forget that Australia has experienced 17 years’ of economic growth. We also haven’t suffered a recession since 1987 and many

young entrepreneurs, in particular, will not have known tough times.

While the world economy slows and financial markets remain volatile our inflation rate still remains a concern as does Australia’s growth which is forecasted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to drop from 2.5 percent in 2008 to 2.2 percent next year. The Rudd Government is forecasting a growth rate of 1.8 percent next year.

According to the IMF, this projected growth is still ahead of many other advanced economies in the world.

As for the NSW economy we are in a state of decay. Premier Rees has a hard job ahead of him trying to lift our State’s Final Demand, its Gross State Product, and our employment figures to make them more competitive with the other States and Territories.

Based on last month’s minibudget, NSW Business Chamber’s message to the NSW Government is that it needs to focus on retaining a AAA credit rating and more importantly, restoring business confidence in NSW. The good news is that Premier Rees has committed to honour the promised cuts to payroll tax. The bad news is that his government is not gaining any favours with the hikes announced to land tax, road tolls, parking levies, nonrecycled waste, CTP insurance, coal levies and other business taxes.

Businesses do not need to be hit with higher taxes to fund

shortfalls in the Budget. It cannot blame the international financial crisis on its own shortcomings.

We need to return NSW’s economy from the red into the black next year, to boost our lagging business confidence, restrain public sector wages and cut waste within government.

Reviewing cost structures is not only a government responsibility; it is also a business concern.

Those employers who weather the storm are looking closely, and often on a daily basis, at their bank balances and their management of cash flow. They will also be scrutinising their plans to adapt to the changing times.

The December/January 2009 edition of Business Connect gives readers an insight into how some business owners are monitoring, measuring and managing during these tough times.

There is also a special focus on the persistence and personality of celebrity chef Kylie Kwong, NSW Business Chamber’s key note speaker at the thinkBIG forum in September.

Those businesses that survive these tough times will come out stronger at the end. They are the backbone of the NSW economy and knuckling down and getting on with the job.

The same needs to be said of the NSW Government and the real test will be if it can deliver on its proposed efficiency savings.

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Letters

Letters to the Editor If there’s something weighing heavily on your mind related to business or there’s an issue or a suggestion you wish to make then email your letter to ron.krueger@nswbc.com.au All letters to Business Connect must carry the sender’s day phone number for verification. Letters should be a maximum 200 words.

By submitting your letter you agree, that Business Connect may edit it for legal, space or other reasonable reasons and may, after publication in the newspaper, republish it on the Internet or other media.

Dear Editor, Local manufacturing and importing businesses, if you don’t already, really need to seriously consider using Business Services that employ people with disabilities to support your businesses locally.

There are over 240 Business Services in Australia with a combined workforce of nearly 20,000 people with disabilities in all states just waiting to manufacture, assemble, test, barcode, package and repack your products.

If you are a national company, there are also services in all capital cities and regional areas that could save you a bundle on inter-state transport and bulk holding costs.

You can truly be in ‘control of your process’ and even save yourselves a trip or two to China or India to fix up minor manufacturing problems and then not have to wait patiently until you get the 3rd container that is on the wharf overseas awaiting shipping to have a simple manufacturing, assembly or packaging issue remedied.

Business Services are a great source of competitive labour in Australia. They really need to be tapped into by local industry and I believe many business owners of you do not know about it.

Greenacres Industries presently does work for a number of national companies and we would love to do work for more of them.

As CEO of Greenacres Disability Services, in these approaching tough times, I really felt compelled to write to NSW Business Chamber and bring our services to their members’ attention as we are as close as a phone call (02 4229 2666). If we can not help you, we will probably know a service that can.

Neil Preston OAM CEO, Greenacres Disability Services www.greenac.com.au

Dear Editor, I note with interest the recent survey of your Chamber members, in the NSW in Motion-Resolving Traffic Congestion Survey.

The survey highlighted the trends and concerns by business on traffic congestion. The feedback in this survey had indicated that: the majority (79.6 percent) of businesses surveyed identified an increase in time to service their customers as a result of traffic congestion, and importantly over half (57 percent) cited inefficient/unreliable public transport and lack of integration between modes of transport as a significant cause of congestion.

In Parramatta, parking, public access and traffic movements had been identified by business and Parramatta Council as a major issue.

“The Loop” route (a new free bus) circling the city was a novel solution implemented on 29 August 2008, to address these issues .

The service is intended to reduce congestion. It has also improved access for tourists, residents and commuters to the commercial retail and recreational centres, with links to other transport modes of rail, ferry and inter-region bus routes.

The service is a local solution to traffic congestion, and one that should be applauded for its improvements in traffic flows, and potential outcomes in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Loop is supported and partly funded by corporate business sponsors, and is the first bus service of its kind in NSW. Parramatta City Council hopes to see other councils in congested hotspots follow suit with local solutions.

Michelle Macgregor Owen Business Development Manager Parramatta City Council

Letters

Dear Editor, The October/November 2008 edition of Business Connect has hit the nail on the head.

Too many business owners have a tendency to suffer from myopia.

Tough times, as Ron Krueger stated in his Opinion piece, “sort the wheat from the chaff�.

My experience in business over the past 20 years has rocked between the hellish late eighties, the nervous nineties and now the turn of the millennium which up until now has seen business boom.

During this time I have met some extraordinary innovative thinking individuals who have taken an idea, developed a product or service, nurtured its growth and created a new market.

Not once did they lose sight of their customer, always finding out what they wanted. Not once did they limit themselves to a defined area in the market, instead they looked at opportunities in the industry.

As Mr Krueger states, they all have a passionate story to tell. They are clever, engaging, visionary

and yet pragmatic. They are determined and disciplined.

And yet I have also met many business owners who struggle.

They may be great technicians as marketing guru, Michael Gerber says, but they are hopeless managers often struggling because they are attempting to do everything themselves or they simply don’t have the skills to run a business.

Thank you for your prudent words, Mr Krueger.

Robert (Aussie Bob) Mayer Mobile Coffee Xpress, Bondi

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Thriving in turbulent times – Opinion

Consolid

different dir Kylie Kwong is a well-known personality in the food and hospitality industry, and her face graces our television screens and magazines.

She is also a respected author and the driving force behind Billy Kwong restaurant, in Sydney’s Surry Hills.

She recently spoke at the thinkBIG forum organised by NSW Business Chamber about her two great motivations in business: the richness of her Chinese heritage and her passion for wholesome, sustainable Australian produce.

The following is an edited version of her presentation.

I clearly remember feeling proud of my Chinese heritage partly because of my mother’s wonderfully flavoursome and generous Chinese cooking – it gave me great confidence in a way.

I could invite friends home knowing that they would enjoy the dinner we would share. I guess I learnt at an early age that food could bring people together.

Food became my way of making sense of my world and forging connections with others, as I suspect it was for my parents when they found themselves in suburban Sydney.

Mum instilled kitchen and social confidence into me. She taught my two brothers and me everything from market to table; she taught us how to ‘eat properly’. She subtly conveyed the message that our Chinese food and culture made so many people happy. This has stayed with me and perhaps explains why I have become such a passionate restaurateur and an advocate for nourishing, sustainable food.

(Like many business owners, Ms Kwong took a circuitous route to where she is today. After leaving the advertising world, she began work as a caterer before moving into an assistant cook’s role. Her life as a professional cook had begun.)

thermometers. I believe that, working in this way, the senses become heightened and in tune with everything that is real and beautiful about the art of cooking.

It is all about working with your intuition, your heart and soul.

I thrived in the world of food and cooking: it made my soul sing, it challenged my creativity, and it was all about people and relationships, connecting and sharing. All these things were second nature to me.

(Opening night was a nail-biting experience. But she need not have worried: right from that very first night, diners have relished the freshness and uniqueness of her approach to regional Chinese cuisine, and the restaurant has averaged 90–100 covers per night, seven days per week. After a year Granger and Kwong recognised that their life paths were heading in different directions and they parted ways, but by then she felt confident enough to take the reigns of the business herself.)

(Six years at Rockpool and Wockpool under mentor Neil Perry introduced her to not only western cuisine but what it takes to operate a restaurant from learning about wages and food costs, efficient rostering, management meetings, public relations to menu writing, daily discipline and staff management.

In 2000, together with celebrity chef Bill Granger, she opened Billy Kwong where she continued to hone her skills in a different environment, one that was smaller yet still energetic and vibrant).

I wanted the place to feel like my living room – somewhere people could meet, talk, eat and drink in a casual, comfortable, nurturing atmosphere.

I encourage my staff to cook only with their senses. We have no recipe cards, scales or

I learnt a lot about myself during this time. I learnt that I work better as a sole operator. I am extremely decisive and I welcome responsibility. I learnt that I thrive on spontaneity rather than having to run my ideas past others first for their approval. I just like ‘going with the moment’, so to speak.

I very much navigate my way through this world via my intuition and my ‘feeling’ for things.

The number of times I have made important business decisions based on my gut feeling about things by far outweighs the more measured, thoughtful decisions.

Thriving in turbulent times – Opinion

dating

rections I think it is vital as a business owner to have a good sense about people and things.

I think we can save ourselves a lot of heartache, money and stress when we make the right decisions the first time.

I try to make sure I have plenty of down-time amid my crazy working life, so I can find the space and the silence to listen to my gut instincts, to see through our often clouded, warped perception and see with clarity things as they are.

(In the first three years she worked tirelessly, doing the cooking, the floral arrangements, writing menus, training staff, creating the wine list, doing the public relations, styling the premises, and making sure the place was spotless from front door to bathroom.)

I was young and driven, this was my first business and, quite simply, I had to make it work.

For what it’s worth, my advice on relationships during the start-up phase of a business is to either not be in one, or, if you are, to try and ensure that your partner

understands the demands of the business and is supportive.

I do believe that if the relationship we are in is ‘the one’, then it will prevail, even under pressure.

Generally speaking, you only have one shot at getting your first business right, and it will require every part of your focus and energy.

Nine times out of ten, there is also a lot of hard-earned money at stake.

The early years held their fair share of tough, nail-biting times with many sleepless nights – often over finances.

To be a business owner, you need a very strong backbone and an unshakeable inner faith.

Those first few years are all about building your business’s core, slowly and steadily building and strengthening its backbone from a very true centre, your centre.

The more you can maintain balance and harmony in your life, the more successful and centred your business will become.

This understanding, patience and perseverance is what carried me through the scary times when the cash flow was barely flowing, when we did not know where we were going to find the money to pay compounding tax bills, GST bills, wages and so on.

Needless to say, a lot of begging, borrowing and ‘eating humble pie’ went on during those years.

Photography by Simon Griffiths from My China by Kylie Kwong, published by Lantern, 2007. Reproduced with the permission of Penguin Group (Australia).

Whether I am employing new staff, choosing a new food providore or contemplating various business proposals and public-relations opportunities, I go inside myself and listen to my deepest instincts and feelings – they are always, always right.

Kylie Kwong’s message to business owners may be summarised as follows:

> Don’t be obsessed with ‘reinventing the wheel’, just do it better than everyone else

> Understand your true nature very well and be comfortable with who you are before you open your own business

> Stay connected to community and in touch with what is happening on a global scale

> Learn from your mistakes and practice mindfulness in every moment

> Laugh a lot and have fun in the workplace > Take time out to be still and quiet

> Practise resilience and patience and always trust your gut feeling

> Plant a garden to remind you of the magic of Mother Nature

> Act straight from the heart and with the utmost integrity

> And finally, as the Dalai Lama says, cook and love with wild abandon!

> Be true and generous to your staff, ‘walk the walk’, motivate rather than discourage

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Thriving in turbulent times – Opinion

The business has always been based on integrity and respect – for staff, suppliers, food and wine providores, and customers. I just do not see any other way of being in this world.

To live life with integrity is, for me, to live a rich, fulfilling, sustaining existence. We were serving beautiful, fresh, vibrant Chinese food that was unique and that everyone seemed to love. The feedback we got was amazing.

We have always been very generous in spirit and in nature, and I just knew that these virtues and values which my parents instilled into me all those years ago would get us through the tough times, and they did.

Luckily, I have been blessed with wonderfully supportive landlords, who understand the teething problems of new, small business ventures, and have always been incredibly fair.

It is so important to do your ‘homework’ when looking for business premises, since landlords can make or break your business.

I firmly believe in the mantra ‘What you put out is what you get back’ and during the hard times, I would simply trust in this and repeat it to myself. Deep down, in my heart of hearts, I knew that we would be okay at the end of the day, because in those 77 square metres at Shop 3/355 Crown Street, Surry Hills, we were doing really good things and making so many people in the community happy.

(During these sometime tumultuous years Ms Kwong strove to create a ‘Billy Kwong culture’, endeavouring to master every aspect of running a restaurant, learning by trial and error and perseverance.)

Slowly, but steadily, we developed a constantly evolving framework that guides the way we work and the decisions we make every day.

(Kylie Kwong’s business bible for this process was the well-known tome: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber. His philosophy is simple: when you open a small business, you need to set it up in such a way that it can be franchised many times over. In other words, you need to systematise it. He suggests taking ordinary people and transforming them into ‘your’ people. His mantra is:

‘business owners need to work ON the business, not IN it’.)

Gerber explains that so many people fail in small business because they are under an illusion.

Just because they are good at what they do does not necessarily mean they are going to be able to run a successful business.

He reminds us of the ‘business side’ of business: the accounting, the staff management, the advertising and so on.

His words make a lot of sense to me. My mother, who trained as an accountant, manages all of my financial affairs with the help of an outside accountant.

Rather than struggling to work endless shifts in the restaurant kitchen and develop the business at the same time, I get to concentrate on what I love the most: exploring all the different avenues my business opens up for me, and building on those opportunities.

(With so much competition from all the other Chinese restaurants in Sydney, Ms Kwong continually asks herself: ‘How can we make Billy Kwong better than all the rest? What is our unique point of difference? What can we do to make people choose our Chinese restaurant above another? All Chinese restaurants serve Crispy Prawn Wontons and Fried Rice – how can I make my wontons and fried rice better?’)

Restaurant critics have often dubbed my food modern Chinese, and I feel this is an appropriate description.

Thriving in turbulent times – Opinion

Even though most of the recipes are steeped in Chinese tradition, their execution is in some ways less than traditional. For a start, we do not use MSG, and we thicken or reduce sauces as a French chef would, by applying heat rather than adding cornflour.

Not only should we strive to offer great food, great service, great value and great ambience, we also need to learn to read the market place.

We try to make everything from scratch, and we never, ever use anything out of a can. Instead we use only fresh, seasonal Australian organic and biodynamic produce, free-range poultry, organic beef and pork, and sustainable seafood.

As we build up our business from scratch, we need to be prepared to put aside our own desires at times.

In the restaurant industry I think it is important to remember that one does not have to ‘re-invent the wheel’ in order to have a successful restaurant. Serving weird and wonderful dishes no one has ever experienced before does not automatically ensure success.

In my view, you just have to keep the menu simple and accessible on every level, but offer the freshest and best-quality ingredients, prepared and cooked in the most respectful and mindful manner.

I think all too often we business owners, with our zest for life, our ambitious nature, our endless ideas and visions, and our desire to show the world what ‘we can do’, allow our egos to get in the way.

How often do we see restaurants open in a blaze of glory, only to close in the space of six months or a year?

Sometimes what we want to put on our menu may not be what the customers want.

We need to learn to be silent and still in order to observe, listen, look around, use our intuition, and see which businesses are doing well and why, and what businesses are failing and why?

We need to ‘tune in’ to what the market seeks at the time.

The ultimate goal, of course, is for your customers to love what you are offering in your chosen field of business and therefore enable your passion and creativity to thrive, while also maintaining your livelihood.

(After four years ABC TV approached Ms Kwong about making a cooking series. It was a challenge, as overnight, Billy Kwong became a household name. Each night there were long queues of hungry diners waiting in anticipation.)

I had to drastically restructure my business to cope with the increasing demand.

I hired more staff for each service, and upgraded our industrial wok stalls in the kitchen. We really consolidated as a team, so we could take Billy Kwong smoothly and confidently into the next phase.

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Every business owner must know that any business is only as good as its staff.

I now pour huge amounts of time and energy into training and hopefully empowering my staff.

I know if my staff is happy, my business thrives; if my business thrives, I am happy. I have a brilliant team that manages the restaurant day-to-day.

Meanwhile, I oversee the running of the business. I direct the style of the place, I direct the menu and

“ I do all I can to inspire and motivate my staff.

I assist my managers in dealing with any particularly difficult issues and I liaise with them every morning about service the night before.”

I sign off on all major purchases.

I do all I can to inspire and motivate my staff. I assist my managers in dealing with any particularly difficult issues and I liaise with them every morning about service the night before.

(With the increasing recognition came added pressure, as Billy Kwong was helping to change the way Australians viewed Chinese cuisine.)

For many years Chinese food was not held in high esteem in Australia. People associated it with MSG-laden, gloopy, fluorescent-coloured sweetand-sour pork and chop suey.

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Thriving in turbulent times – Opinion

The Billy Kwong ph environmental footprint as whenever and wherever

Yet Chinese cuisine is an extremely sophisticated tradition with a long and proud history.

I wanted to teach people about the delicacy of steaming and the refined art of poaching, about the importance of high heat when stir-frying, and about the emphasis on balance and harmony between flavour, texture and ingredient.

I began to think long and hard about how I could achieve this, both as an individual and through my business practice.

I started to enjoy the wonderful challenges of being a business owner and the journey it was taking me on.

I was being stretched in so many new ways. For the first time I felt a deep sense of commitment to those outside my safe little world.

Everything seemed to be falling into place. I was gaining real fulfilment and personal satisfaction from what I was doing with my life.

(Kylie Kwong had found her raison d’etre as she began communicating the Billy Kwong philosophy in all of her public relations exercises and interviews.)

I think it is very important as a business owner to have a story.

People love stories and often find it easier to remember facts and figures through a story.

Be honest and personal and you will inspire others.

Honesty is so refreshing and people are very discerning.

Speak and act always from the heart and in the moment, for this is when we are at our most powerful.

It is much easier to speak and act from the heart, when we are in a profession or career or business that we love.

I would only ever encourage people to open up a business in an area they feel passionate about.

(In her fifth year of operation, when Ms Kwong hired Kin Chen as her new floor manager, she observed how graceful, calm and invigorating he was in his day-to-day work.

His holistic approach captured her attention, and when she learnt that he was a Buddhist, her life began to take another direction.)

Buddhists believe in living every moment in the present.

We also have a profound belief in the human connection with nature, and that our destiny is inextricably linked with that of the natural world.

Kin helped me to learn that we are merely ‘caretakers’ of this planet, and that it is our duty to ensure its environment is preserved for future generations.

My sense of responsibility now extended far beyond the community, into the physical and natural environment of our planet.

As my practice strengthened, I began to envisage a new dimension entering my business, the spiritual dimension.

I wanted the Buddhist philosophy I was discovering to be reflected in every part of my life. This inspired me to make the decision to change the entire Billy Kwong menu from conventional to organic produce.

(With infectious enthusiasm, Ms Kwong informed her staff of her new and meaningful direction. The rest of the world soon found out.)

Happily, the response from diners has been overwhelmingly positive.

We have never been busier.

Deep in my heart I knew we had made the right choice, but it is still gratifying to see the benefits and opportunities that have flowed from such a bold move.

Next came the flood of emails from sustainability movements all over Australia, asking for our support.

In addition to being the Ambassador of the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, I am an active participant in Sydney’s annual Organic Expo and Live Green events, and a spokesperson for the Australian Marine Conservation Society and Oxfam.

(A second television series followed, this time focusing on her upbringing as an Australian-born Chinese and tracing the story of her inspirational great-grandfather, Kwong Sue Duk, an entrepreneur who ran a general store, held four gold mining licences, became a practitioner of herbal medicine – all while acquiring four Chinese wives and 24 children! Next came another life-changing opportunity.)

Thriving in turbulent times – Opinion

hilosophy: ‘To leave as small and light an s possible, to give back to the community we can, to think globally and act locally.

World Expeditions Australia offered me a position to lead food tours through China. I could hardly believe my ears when they said, ‘We want you to construct the itinerary. You can go anywhere you want in China, and we will market the trips as specialized food tours.’

My immediate thought was to trace the steps back to Kwong Sue Duk’s home in southern China, to my family ancestral village.

Following a profoundly moving, emotional and life-changing reunion with members of my ‘clan’, I returned home to Australia with a deep sense of inner happiness that I had never felt before.

(A third television series ensued, followed by the publication of her fourth book, My China. During this time her father passed away and, to honour his memory, she promised to live her life more passionately and vibrantly than ever. Her next challenge was to help mitigate the effects of climate change.)

At Billy Kwong, we now neutralize the emissions from our business through carbon-offsetting with purchases of renewable energy credits from a wind farm in North Eastern China.

We chose a project in China because of my direct cultural links, but whether in Australia or China, the fact is that we are all part of the same planet anyway: one planet, one atmosphere.

Recently, we became the first restaurant in Sydney to take bottled water from the menu and now only offer (free) filtered Sydney tap water.

As a business owner in the 21st century, I think it is extremely important and relevant to extend our business aims, past the conventional bottom-line goal of achieving ‘X’ amount of dollars and cents, to accommodate a ‘triple bottom line philosophy’ that includes the wellbeing of people and our planet as well as profit.

(Her mantra (see breakquote) enables her to talk the talk and walk the walk.)

We all know the power of the ‘word of mouth’ reputation.

Word gets around rather quickly, so make your business one that people are inspired by, and one that people deeply respect.

Make your business true, vibrant and strong, as opposed to one that is founded on the latest fad, superficiality and ego, and driven entirely by money.

Make your business one of longevity and evolution.

We need to see the bigger picture.

We need to reach out and connect to the wider community as we are an integral part of this.

Human beings are meant to be in relationships with one another and with our environment. We do not thrive in prolonged periods of isolation and separation.

We need to always keep that bigger picture in mind and not become too self-obsessed and caught up in the melodramatic details of our own lives.

Treat others as you yourself wish to be treated. Be generous in your leadership and be generous with your staff. In return they will produce the most beautiful, wonderful work for you and your business.

The energy emanating from your business will be irresistible and far-reaching, and it is this dynamic that will attract more business and set you apart from the rest.

Make it a ‘win-win’ situation.

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NSW Business Chamber 2008 Annual Awards

NSW Business Chamber 2008 Annual Awards

Ian Penfold, Kampers, Joh

Nearly 500 NSW Business Chamber regional and metropolitan members, councillors, and staff enjoyed a spectacular night last month to celebrate the achievements of its members. Thank you to all those members who entered the awards, congratulations to the finalists, in particular, the following winners: President’s Prize: Kimberley Kampers (Northern Rivers) Excellence in Training and Education: Kimberley Kampers (Northern Rivers) Sponsor – Australian Business Lawyers

Australian Business Lawyers – Alison Stanton, Ben Motro, Beth Kitchener, Tal Williams, Sarah Haynes

David Fisher, Dimitri Ziros, Kylie O’Reilly, Valerie Hoogstad, Linda Garvin, Craig Garvin

Excellence in Business Innovation: Markitforce (Western Sydney) Sponsor – Rawson Graphics Excellence in Export: Sykes Group (Hunter) Sponsor – Austrade Excellence in OH&S: Tomago Aluminium (Hunter) Sponsor – WorkCover NSW Thank you to the gift bag sponsors: Affirmations, CNC Promotional Products, Petals Network, and Vavavoom Promotions.

Lubrizol – Thomas Carroll, Bernadette Carroll, Paul Grima, Sarah Grima, Sarni Holmes, Robert Holmes, Phil Lane

NSW Business Chamber 2008 Annual Awards

John Anderson, Founder of Contiki

Jean Kittson, MC

Ian Penfold, NSW Business Chamber President

Excellence in Innovation award sponsor Lachlan Finch Rawson Graphics, Ian Penfold, Alan Higgins Markitforce

Excellence in Occupational Health & Safety award sponsor Jon Blackwell CEO WorkCover and Scott Orpin Tomago Aluminium

Jon Blackwell CEO WorkCover, David Buckley National Manager- Export Awards, Bruce Loxton Kimberley hn Stanton Australian Business Lawyers, Lachlan Finch Director Rawson Graphics, Kevin McDonald

Markitforce – Alex Whitfield, Joy Dubois, Bill Henshaw, Alan Higgins, Byron Georgouras, Casey Kavey, Ralf Moller, Shirley McMullen, Steve Nelson

Excellence in Export award sponsor Munish Sharma Manager – Export Adviser Network NSW/AC National Operations Group, Austrade and Allan Gibson Sykes Group

Excellence in Education and Training award sponsor John Stanton, Partner Australian Business Lawyers and Bruce Loxton MD Kimberley Kampers

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Thriving in turbulent times – a business story

Reviewing Cost Tips > Cut the fat, not the muscle i.e. don’t cut all your costs, review them. > Examine your large cost items: use the 80/20 rule for focus (i.e. 80 percent produced by 20 percent so that you can be focused on where you invest time and money) > Look at your customers: ‘D’ class customers can give you 80 percent of your grief. Do you need to deal with them? > Look at your staff: improve their productivity, seek their views on reducing costs, continue to train so they are on the lookout for money saving ideas. > Make a list of all your typical costs: everything from Accountancy to your Website. You can build a better relationship with your accountant, use a local courier company, evaluate the value of your memberships, lease instead of own, get better quotes, restrict purchases etc. > Do not cut marketing – reinvigorate it. > Check your figures daily i.e. the bank balance and debt.

Thriving in turbulent times – a business story

A necessary cost?

Business coach and chartered accountant Peter Knight believes that business owners should never assume that any cost item is necessary.

Reviewing

your costs

Until a cost is shown to be producing worthwhile results, “it should be suspect and subject to scrutiny.”

The imperative in business is to make a profit. It’s important to try and reinvest in the business and to pay off debt even during tough times, particularly when interest rates decrease which has been the case recently.

by Ron Krueger

David Aro reviews his business costs, in particular costs of variance and staff, on a monthly basis.

Tasman.” Hence, the current need to review the costs of telephones.

He believes that all expenditure devoted to the business must be value for money. It’s a simple credo that all business owners need to apply.

He’s also currently reviewing the cost structure and charges for outsourcing staff, considering that wages and salaries represent 70 percent of Communio’s overall costs.

His company, Communio Pty Ltd, is a provider of improvement in health and human services.

“If I’m billing at 80 percent capacity, then this figure ensures appropriate returns are met.”

Much of the company’s work is gained through tenders and quotes, many of them government contracts, although this has slowed due to the volatile markets and change in government.

Like many business owners reviewing their costs during these turbulent times, cutting staff is a consideration. For Communio, however, their staff is their product or, what they sell.

“Often when a government changes offices they conduct reviews into expenditure and processes which in turn slows down some previously planned projects and requests for tenders or quotes,” David says.

“Reducing staff is not necessarily going to reduce the cost of overheads by the same percentage because our staff and their knowledge are our product.”

“Customer service is an important part of the value our company offers, and as such it’s crucial for me to provide services that encompass an organisation that is multi-national and trans-

What he has done is streamline some staff costs by introducing more casual and part-time hours.

He has also introduced greater flexibility in the workplace, allowing staff to work from home or outside normal business hours. It’s

achievable because many of his staff work on writing reports. To David this action translates into increased productivity and reduced costs.

He’s also ‘extracting’ more from his staff by involving them in project budgets, thereby further reducing costs. “It is important to understand the costs and then set and achieve targets.”

To date, he has not reduced staff; instead, he has ensured there’s an appropriate mix of skills for the type of work that a customer desires.

And while improving the specific skills of staff is important, it’s getting them to network during these turbulent times which is proving more beneficial to the business.

In the meantime, training is still an investment based on the simple belief that the costs of a project can be reduced by broadening the base of the services offered.

As Peter suggests; “you might even think about Gerry Harvey from Harvey Norman who had a habit of taking a cut lunch to work everyday and was obsessed with turning lights off!”

According to Peter you don’t always need to cut costs when times are tough.

“You do need to assess whether eliminating in whole, or in part, a cost will do any harm to your business.”

He suggests that you check the following when analysing a cost: > Do the costs exceed the benefits? > Can it be done more effectively – i.e using alternative procedure, equipment, or people? > Can it be done less frequently, or combined with another activity? > Do you need to add to the activity or function?

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Thriving in turbulent times – a business story

Innovation Tips > Find a new way of doing something: think outside the square on aspects of your business that improve or create new thinking, processes, products, relationships and markets. > Be clever in your marketing: look for opportunities within your industry to grow by referring to your customers, suppliers, staff and using your website, networking links (LinkedIn, Facebook) and social media (MySpace, YouTube, and Blogs). Be careful to not overstep the boundary between personal and work life! > Try something different with your staff: engage and endear them to your passion and to create a more harmonious, productive culture. > Review you systems and processes: do this in consultation with your staff to improve quality, extend your product range, reduce labour costs, and reduce materials. > Be environmental, ethical, and responsible: reduce your carbon footprint and make your business an active member of the local community.

Thriving in turbulent times – a business story

What a

sweetener

by Ron Krueger

Sweet tooths would have suffered if Jimmy Seervai had continued with his commerce degree instead of pursuing his true love – science.

to a commercial product that the Manildra group now manufactures on behalf of Better Health & Wellness Solutions P/L (BHW).”

After completing his science degree he began work with a flavour manufacturer devoting nights and weekends to developing proteins that taste sweet and replace sugar.

Jimmy Seervai’s remarkable innovation is based on a simple understanding: a demand and a customer. His challenge was not just to remove sugar from food systems but to convince the existing supply chain to jump on board given that it’s a market which is inundated by sugar substitutes.

His painstaking research and product testing allowed him to eventually leave his sales job to develop a commercial product for the food and beverage industry.

“I began showing some of my contacts my research involving proteins for replacing sugar as a form of energy and removing the need to add or use artificial sweeteners.”

His next step was his boldest.

He made direct contact with the CEOs of two major multinational food companies to see if they were interested in using the product or buying his technology.

And he did this before he had even registered his company or his product!

“It all seems like a blur now but after seven years of development we have taken the natural sweetener SweeTose from a lab experiment

“It’s the hardest obstacle for any start up. I could have simply sat with the technology and claimed it to be transformational but until I actually packaged it up in a form that my customer could use and pay for it was simply just a good, or even great idea.”

Having Manildra manufacture and market the product has been a boon. “Now I just discuss the technology and the product and don’t feel the need to justify our ability to supply,” he says.

According to Jimmy innovating is also about marketing. “The product is promoted as a natural sweetener and all of BHW’s surveys show that customers are looking for ‘better for you’ products, however,

there are still strict criteria when dealing with suppliers, credibility, functionality - and price.

“Unless all of these criteria for introducing a new product, idea, or service are met then it’s best off not even showing up for business because all you have is a good idea.”

Planning for change, Jimmy believes, is even more critical for a start-up.

“If I was asked the question: ‘where do I see myself in five years time,’ I would have said that I would successfully sold my I.P and had my own food and wine matching show on the Lifestyle food channel.”

Instead, he is more likely to continue with the existing foundations and relationship established with BHW as a solutions provider in the area of ingredients for the food industry.

This will enable them to diversify the current product range including, Jimmy says, his current work on proteins to reduce salt in pasta and breads by 50 percent.

“Watch this space,” he says.

Think laterally Over the years business coach and chartered accountant Peter Knight has been impressed by the simplicity of many innovations.

One day he was observing two coffee shop owners in the city going about their daily operations.

Both businesses were experiencing their usual flood of early morning customers.

What Peter noticed was that, while both business owners employed the same number of people, one operation was working more efficiently.

“One of the business owners did a simple thing; he engraved all the coffee cup lids with descriptions of what types of coffee the customers wanted.”

Simple, fast and very effective.

“It pays to think about what you can rebundle or repackage to make an existing product more appealing to your customers.

“This barista also had a good grasp of what his regular customers wanted and was able to prepare their coffee on approach.”

As for releasing new products or services, Peter issues a caveat: “Don’t take a new product or service to market in the next 12 to 18 months during these turbulent times.”

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Thriving in turbulent times – Tips

Where to now?

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That’s the old cliché, but the question that has always worried Peter Switzer is - what do we do when we get going?

This second-part –how to recession-proof your business – examines the less obvious innovative strategies that could actually help your business grow through these slower economic times.

In part one of the October/ November 2008 edition of Business Connect, I focused on collecting from your debtors more professionally, paying your debts more wisely, putting your costs under a microscope and having a hard look at some of your marketing attitudes.

Seek advice Let me restate that if you feel your finances are a risk to your business, pay for some accounting advice to fix the problem.

Objective eyes are crucial in all aspects of business and you need to have a strong financial foundation for your business.

One way you can do this is to test the flexibility of your staff.

See who is prepared to take on extra tasks to save on costs. If this is necessary, don’t be afraid to put on your best Churchillian leadership hat and talk your team through any new realities that require change and their flexibility.

Thriving in turbulent times – Tips

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What are your marketing do’s These are essential in the current economic environment. >> Do you have a unique selling proposition (USP) to go with your business name. For example, we all know that the burgers are better at Hungry Jacks because the USP on their television ads tell us so.

>> Have a look at your website and see if you answer this key question and do you prominently show testimonials from happy customers.

Customer service expert, Martin Grunstein says testimonials work for lots of customers.

>> Make sure you are working your existing customer database to the max. That old rule applies that we get 80 percent of our business from 20 percent of our customers.

>> Evaluate whether your marketing answers the most important question as soon as it meets a potential customer’s eyes. That question is: “Why should I buy from you?”

>> Ask if your advertising makes you a Purple Cow? Seth Godin in his book Purple Cow says we have to be like a purple cow in a field of black and white cows. Our advertising has to make us stand out?

>> Get in touch with your customers and survey them to see what keeps them awake at nights or what they like and dislike about your service. Show them you want to help them in tough times. Marketing expert John Lees likes to establish a board of customers to get great feedback

…and ideas from your staff

And conduct a marketing audit

so that you can sustain the will to win

Some business leaders I know have actually laid their cards on the table as revenue decreased in a downturn, and asked staff for ideas to boost revenue, cut costs or to do business better. They would start with the positive opening line of: “I don’t want to lose any of you and so I want to tap into your collective grey matter.”

Once you’ve got your staff engaged with the new approach to harder times, it would be sensible to be objective about all of your lead generation strategies.

Ask yourself this question: “Do I want to win?” If you say yes, then remember these words: “Work out what you want. Work out what its price is. Pay the price!” In a downturn or recession, you have to get everything right and generating leads or marketing your business is crucial.

to think laterally This is a lateral thinking option based on asking staff to also think laterally.

Those who have dared to tread this path have often found better ways to do business that also worked well in good times.

I would do a complete marketing audit and aim to be assured that you are 24/7 committed to promoting your business.

Generally, you might not want to be a full-time thinker about your business, but this is the time to be different. The people who have created and grown great businesses are fully focused.

They remind me of the quote from Chris Evert, the tennis great who once said: “Deep down I wanted to win so badly I could actually will it to happen. I think most of my career was based on desire.”

And market your socks off in tough times!

The smart guys of business repeatedly tell us: “Get into where you are strong and make your weaknesses irrelevant.” In being objective, if you know you can’t push yourself to the next level, then the best money you will ever spend might be on an expert who can take you to the next level.

and to see stuff you can’t see. He would take five or six customers to a great restaurant and splurge a bit to collect some ‘gems’ on how to improve their business relationships. >> Get your hands on every publication that promises inexpensive marketing strategies.

Sponsor T-shirts for a favourite local sports team, for Christmas carols or other local events. Do giveaways outside shopping centres and try letter drops with really great offers.

Peter Switzer is a founding director of Switzer Business Coaching, a coaching business which has proven, guaranteed systems for helping business owners achieve the life they truly want for themselves through their business www.switzer.com.au

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Thriving in turbulent times – Tips

Sales   and strategy During these current economic times business owners need to work harder for their sales and be more strategic with their spending. Peter Knight* outlines his tips for tough times.

*Peter Knight is a business coach and chartered accountant. You can contact him on 0412 756 374.

Have a Plan Business owners must plan for financial and non financial activity.

Financial Activity Prepare three mini plans on drafting and calculating your turnover on your best (five percent increase), worst (10 percent decrease) and most likely case scenario (20 percent decrease) in the year ahead.

Work through your P&L statement observing what affect the reduction on sales has on your other expenses and more particularly, on net profit.

This process prompts a number of critical questions for business owners: >> What actions are necessary to ride out this storm? >> What can be done to increase sales? >> What costs need to be cut?

Use this information to prepare the Cash Flow forecast. You need to know when the cash will come

in and when it will go out. You also need to consider what the likely impact of these tougher economic times are on cash collections. Will collections be slower? Will you need to provide for more bad debts?

How can you improve collections?

Non Financial Activity What activities should the business be focusing on? What should the emphasis be? These activities need to match the change in economic circumstances.

Know the Numbers Sales: it is vital to understand and monitor the key drivers of the business that lead to a sale Gross Profit: track whether you have to drop your prices or whether you are paying too much for your goods against previous years. In tough times, many businesses drop prices just to make sales which can have a detrimental effect on your trading position.

Bank balance: check it every morning and devise a six week

Thriving in turbulent times – Tips

Those businesses who can see their way through these tough times will come out the other side in better shape than they did when they went into it.

cash flow forecast so that your top of issues and potential disasters.

Revenue per FTE (Full Time Equivalent): a powerful tool, for example a client has a turnover of $2.2 million. He has 22 staff, or 22 FTE. This means the business produces $100,000 per FTE. In the current year, sales are on track for $1.8 million, yet his staff is still 22 FTE. Unless sales increase, the wages expense is likely to be higher than it should be which might mean cutting staff.

Accounts Receivable: most businesses try to stretch their payment terms and this is where relationships can help you out.

Tax liabilities: don’t mess with the ATO as they have strong powers to collect debts. They can also be understanding during tough times so make arrangements.

Review your Costs Go through each line item on your P&L statement to cut costs which are not mission critical. If the business doesn’t depend on it, cut it.

Maximise your Return on Investment Some expenses are committed i.e. rent, car repayments. Ask: ‘how can I get more out of my spend, how can I make my assets and people more productive?’ Seek more value out of your memberships e.g. attend more networking functions.

Invigorate your Marketing Develop your “Recession Busting Offer”! What can you do, how can you package your products or services, so they hit a mark with your customers? What attractive offers can you provide? Brainstorm ideas with your team to see what your existing customers buy and what you can on-sell them.

Talk to your Customers If it’s feasible, visit them to consolidate the relationship, otherwise a competitor will.

Weekly customer visits should become a priority and a regularly monitored non financial indicator.

I recommend a minimum of four meetings a day.

Make sure you have a plan – a client analysis - for each meeting. And try and upsell them without being demanding.

Talk to your Suppliers Do a better deal – again visit, plan (take purchasing records to show them how good a customer you are) and meet. Remind them that it is easier to keep a customer than get a new one, and highlight the importance of loyalty among the client base. Show them you’re a good payer and what purchases you have made. Seek better purchasing terms, discounts, and extended terms of payment.

Talk to your Team Let your staff know what’s happening with your business and what your plans are.

Organise a planning session and seek their input as well as an increase in commitment. Let them know you are looking to maintain existing staff levels, and will do all in your power to enable the business to survive.

Commitment to you during these times should also be rewarded.

Network like Crazy Referrals and word of mouth are amongst the most effective forms of marketing there is. Networking means getting out there and talking to as many of the right people as you can. Work to a networking plan, knowing who you should be talking to, and what you should be talking about. Its not about swapping business cards, but about building relationships. Take charge, take the lead, and get out there and network. Remember when you meet someone, don’t try to sell to them!!

Become the Enforcer Your job, as the business owner, is to harness the power of your team and implement the plans you have made. Get focused, make the plan, put it into action and keep track of it making sure that you are ruthless with yourself. A coach can be a good idea. Those businesses who can see their way through these tough times will come out the other side in better shape than they did when they went into it. Make sure you are amongst those who make it.

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Thriving in turbulent times – Tips

Don’t just survive

thrive!

Here are some useful tips from experts and business owners on how to weather the turbulent times and grow stronger through the experience.

Think outside the square

Chasing your debt

Sydney-based customer expert and business adviser Martin Grunstein says that in tough times, small business owners need to look at how they do business and not think that price and job cuts have to be the response to slower economic times.

Millar McCowan, managing director of Architectural Sign Industries, believes business owners need to be aware on a day-to-day basis what money is going in and coming out (of their business).

“Not only is this bad for profitability, it is bad for your future profitability.

You see all of the people who have screwed you on price refer their friends and colleagues, who expect, and get, the same cheap prices.”

He says business owners should evaluate their marketing efforts, the pulling power of their website, the use of testimonials, the motivation of staff and the calibre of the business’s customer service.

He cited the case of a hairdresser in a small country town that once had a virtual monopoly on haircuts in the town charging $25 a pop.

Then a new rival set up with a big sign in the window advertising “$6 haircuts”.

Instead of caving into the new business threat and the lower price, Martin says the incumbent came up with a competitive sign in his window: “We fix $6 haircuts.” (www.news.com.au).

“Employ a part timer to chase bad debt and don’t be afraid to use threatening letters or even debt collectors.

“These days you can’t afford to let money blow out to 60 or 90 days as it is getting harder to come by. There is no use being the nice guy who is last to get paid and misses out altogether.”

Controlled growth is critical to cash flow, he says.

“Badly handled, regardless of how big your sales are or will be, means the business will fail. This is all part of the business plan review by setting small targets over a period of time. Unless you have access to major funds, including working capital, by taking small steps it may take a little longer to get there, but you have a better chance of survival.

“Taking a giant leap you really don’t know where you are going to land.“ He also advises business owners to have a good relationship

with the bank and a good relationship manager.

“They may be able to offer a short term solution that you may not have thought of.”

McGowan monitors his bank accounts every day “This gives you a good overview of where you are at. It also makes it easier to find any anomalies looking at a smallish daily report than large weekly/ monthly (transaction lists).” He also runs monthly line item P&L’s.

Capture, measure, manage A good business system allows businesses to actively manage projects and have the ability to capture, manage and measure all factors that affect the profitability of that business, says David Blaymires, managing director of Instinct Systems.

“Every business generates value i.e. the chargeable value of the work that has been performed. If you don’t capture all the activity of your business, then you will never know the full value that you have generated on any job.

“Your time needs to be captured every day, measured against your targets, and then managed where the results don’t match your plan.

Thriving in turbulent times – Tips

It will become instantly evident the real value you are generating, who your good clients are, and which clients need stronger management.”

Get your cash flow timing right Whenever Dick Hertford, general manager of Park Beachside Real Estate sets up a new account for a good or service he pushes for the best payment terms, such as credit account for 30 days.

“Suppliers who give credit are preferred over those who don’t. Any large expenses, such as insurance, we organise as monthly payments rather than annual payments.

“We have a cash flow projection and while it can’t be precise, as it’s predicting the future after all, it does give us the right focus.

“Get into the habit of regularly reviewing cash flow management, which is a fancy way of saying work out when, (and how), to make payments..”

Focus on your core business When times are tough, says John Glover, managing director of Pendragon, business owners have a tendency to focus on the line of business that brings money in.

“Even though it may not necessarily be the most established service or the product or service that founded the business in the first place.”

He suggests that managing the business’ growth is a strategic operation on its own.

“Cost control, innovation and plans are evaluated to ensure that growth occurs at a reasonable pace that is sustainable and proportionate to the business size.

“It’s very important not to adopt a premium pricing strategy if innovation is not kept up to speed, or adopting a cheaper pricing strategy that may cause problems with volume.

“It’s imperative to also focus on the product or service that is generating (the cash flow), and once this has generated good return, you can then look at your other products or services and concentrate on improving them.”

It’s important, John says, to accept change and follow market trends, which may initially affect cash flow, but can ensure good returns if systems are constantly reviewed and analysed as a way to positively grow the business.

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Perseverance can pay off Many sales people, especially those new to sales, often take it personally when a prospect says no.

Many fail to persist and often fail to favourably position themselves to “leave the door open” for future contact, thus limiting their sales opportunities even further.

“ These days you can’t afford to let money blow out to 60 or 90 days as it is getting harder to come by. There is no use being the nice guy who is last to get paid and misses out altogether.”

There can be a fine line drawn between persistence and harassment, however in order to have a steady stream of sales coming in the door we (www. smartcompany.com.au) need to ensure that we have a regular mix of prospecting activities happening on a daily basis.

Sometimes we will strike viable and interested prospects and other times we come across viable but not interested prospects.

Don’t burn those viable and not interested prospects as they may become viable and interested in the future. But you will never know if you don’t go back.

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NSW Business Chamber 2008 Annual Awards

NSW Business Chamber 2008 Annual Awards

NSW Business Chamber 2008 Annual Awards

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News and views

Trying out new talent?

Finding the right person to match the job is a challenge for many business operators. It’s even more of an issue for business owners who are time poor and struggling to either retain or attract employees.

According to a 2008 Workplace Barometer survey conducted by HR consulting, outsourcing and recruitment company, Chandler Macleod, the lack of recruitment and retention practices are costing some businesses dearly.

The survey of NSW and Victoria businesses shows that half of these companies have no recruitment practices.

The survey also shows that: >> recruitment is too often seen as a ‘distress purchase’ — there is a lack of coherent strategy linked to high turnover and increased costs >> the average cost of hire is over $15,000, and >> the outlook is mixed for recruitment intentions: 51 percent of organisations expect to increase recruitment, but almost 25 percent expect to reduce their hiring rate.

To assist businesses with their recruitment, NSW Business Chamber has, through its apprenticeships centre Australian Business Limited Apprenticeships Centre (ABLAC), launched a new service – ABTalent (www.abtalent.com.au).

The new service helps employers to find apprentices, trainees, permanent and temporary staff. It also allows prospective candidates to match their skills with jobs via another website - www.skillsroad.com.au.

The recruitment business is the brainchild of ABLAC which has over 10 years’ experience in assisting over 80,000 trainees and apprentices and over 20,000 employers each year.

Manager of ABTalent and Skillsroad, Adrian Button says that the new business is working with ABLAC to help employers fill vacancies and place quality candidates.

“ABTalent uses its specialist skills and knowledge in the apprenticeships and traineeships space to tap into labour pools and find solutions for employers,” he said.

“There’s a war for talent in the industry currently and ABLAC’s experience and its extensive reach into metropolitan and regional communities through jobs fairs, career expos etc. puts our new business in a very favourable position.”

A gap in the marketplace coupled with a need for employers to source workers spawned the establishment of the recruitment agency.

“Many businesses felt that recruitment companies were too expensive and clearly not affordable for small to medium businesses,” Adrian said. “Their need to fill a vacancy is even greater given the importance of a single role in a small organization.

“While our ABLAC field consultants were signing up and assisting with the administration of apprenticeships and trainees, employers often asked them: ‘where can we source the right person to do the job?’

“In response to our clients’ requests we developed a model - one which is based on a call for action – encouraging employers to register jobs and prospective employees to register their interest.”

and traineeships. A candidate places his or her details online.

It’s more than a job board though.

The team at ABTalent then match them to prospective employers.

“It also delivers some very useful job hunting tips which are very handy given the nature of competition in the workforce.”

The service also offers various valueadds to the recruitment process including assessments, personality profiling, medicals, police checks, and contracts of employment.

Supporting these simple but sophisticated facilities is a resource of information on HR, news, tips and up to date analyses to help a business owner manage their talent.

While the service is currently Sydney-based, Adrian expects a slightly modified version to go out to regional NSW by the beginning of the new year.

Capturing Generation Y candidates is serviced by the website www. skillsroad.com.au. Since its launch in November over 500 candidates have registered their details.

He’s also urging employers who know of anyone leaving school this year, or who have left school in recent years, and who are looking for an apprenticeship or Traineeship (or information on careers), to go to the new sites.

“It’s a site devoted to young people who want to identify a career path, learn new skills, and earn money at the same time,” said Adrian.

“It’s a simple matter of searching and registering for apprenticeships

For more information go to www.abtalent.com.au and www.skillsroad.com.au

News and views

Learning from Legends a book review Former rugby union captain of the Australian wallabies, John Eales has produced his second book entitled Learning from Legends Business.

Eales explores some of the best brains in Australian business to find out what makes them tick and more importantly successful.

Each of the 34 business leaders he talks to are entrepreneurs and visionaries. They tell their stories as passionately as they lead their lives.

They are disciplined and determined and pragmatic in their approach to facing the endless challenges that business owners experience.

There’s a mix of entertaining and insightful business stories from a range of different personalities

and industries including bigger than life characters who share their inspiration and wisdom.

Each story is a glimpse into their lives, their travails, their accomplishments and their often simple, straightforward philosophies.

It’s a particularly pertinent book to read as business owners in Australia (and the western world) come to grips with financial instability and a volatile market.

The pressure is mounting and testing the mettle of many business owners.

As Eales says in his introduction: ‘we learn a lot under pressure.

Sometimes they are new lessons and sometimes they are reminders. Few things are permanent, particularly success or failure, but pressure

Two lucky NSW Business Chamber members, John Biston IGA Barraba and Michael Kirk IGA Guyra (pictured together with Kate Wood-Foye) won tickets to the NRL Grand Final in September 2008 including return flights to Sydney and two night’s accommodation as part of NSW Business Chamber’s Member-Get-Member campaign (sponsored by Qantaslink, Rydges Port Macquarie and Telstra). Mid North Coast regional manager, Kellon Beard (pictured holding the bucket) said that the campaign was about strengthening the voice of the Regional Business in delivering results from government that will deliver more jobs and a stronger community in Regional NSW.”

is permanent. The pressure to perform or, at times, conform.”

Eales’s advice when reading this book is to look for a piece of yourself in anyone of the muses as you discover your own business journey.

There are simple lessons to be learned and often we need to go back to fundamentals.

One such lesson is that some of the greatest and most important lessons have come from failures.

You can also tell when you read the stories that John Eales is an attentive listener. Each story is cleverly crafted outlining vignettes of wisdom and pages that encapsulate in brief sentences the lessons learned

as each of these individuals pursues their business journey.

Learning from Legends: Business comes in a large, hard copy format perfect as a gift, for the reception area or boardroom and retails for $54.95. The book is available from all good book stores from November 2008 or you can order direct via www.lflmedia.com. au or by calling 1300 656 059.

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Ask an Expert

Safety Ask an Expert welcomes questions relating to marketing, exporting, employment law, workplace relations (awards, leave provisions, and superannuation), workers’ compensation, the skills shortage, and occupational health and safety. Please send your question to ron. krueger@nswbc.com.au.

is due diligence Can I be prosecuted as an employer for risks to the OH&S of my employees, even where one of my staff introduces unsafe work practices contrary to existing safe work practices and without the knowledge and approval of management?

This question was posed recently in light of an unauthorised work procedure escaping the attention of management and eventually leading to the death of two workers in a decision made in Inspector Barber v Viscount Rotational Mouldings.

The unauthorised procedure had been introduced by a supervisor, employed into the business, who

had used it in his previous work.

It was handed down from the supervisor to other employees.

While the company had processes in place, none were written down and on the day of the fatal accident none of the procedures were used.

The case in question emphasised that employers can still be responsible for the unsafe work practices of their employees, even where the employer did not create, authorise or endorse those practices.

Employers need to develop robust corporate governance regimes to manage this risk.

It should be obvious that employers ought to have effective

systems in place to prevent such incidents occurring in the first place. The abovementioned case is illustrative of the risk of ‘resting on your laurels’.

Having determined safe work procedures, an employer cannot simply assume that they are being followed. It appears that, on many occasions, they are not being followed at all.

Due diligence, including ongoing risk management, is required for an employer and its directors and managers to meet their OH&S obligations and minimise their exposure to significant fines, imprisonment or both.

Ask an Expert

A thorough risk assessment is a must Employers must consider in advance the potential hazards arising out of the duties they will require their employees to perform.

Effective OH&S risk management is good corporate governance What risk management processes should be followed?

These include: >> a failure to identify the hazard of an unsafe work practice being introduced contrary to existing safe work procedures >> a failure to properly induct, train and supervise the production supervisor >> a failure to review work practices and procedures and risk management control measures on an ongoing basis, and >> a failure to have a properly trained manager responsible for co-ordinating OHS risk management.

These remedial steps form a useful basis for other employers to act, through effective risk management, to prevent incidents occurring in their own workplaces, as a result of the adoption of unauthorised work practices.

Particular regard should be had to any informal practices employees may have adopted. Processes to identify hazards include: job safety analyses, workplace inspections, injury and incident investigations, exposure assessments, and process safety and system safety reviews.

Comprehensive instruction and training must be ongoing Job-specific training must be provided for specific jobs and hazards. Employers must be able to show that the recipients of their training understood what was taught to them.

Where employees have a first language other than English or have literacy issues, then these must be dealt with by ensuring that the policies and procedures for health and safety are communicated in a manner the employees can comprehend.

Employers need to be able to show that their employees applied the policies and procedures successfully in their work, whatever their language needs.

Regular and ongoing communication with employees with regard to their knowledge and application of safe work procedures

is required. Any changes to tools, equipment, materials, processes and / or procedures should be communicated to employees prior to their introduction.

Supervision and checking must occur to make sure the system of work is safe and appropriate for the work being carried out.

Keep proper records These records need to respond to all actual and potential hazards and incidents in the workplace.

Records should be kept of the OH&S qualifications and training of appropriate persons such as the general manager(s), human resources manager(s) and safety officer(s).

Employers must train appropriately qualified staff members to oversee the work systems There is a danger of a collective abrogation of responsibility where no individual staff member is required to oversee particular systems of work.

However, an employer must do more than train employees regarding safe work practices, communicate with them, ensure records are kept and designate and train individuals responsible for overseeing systems of work.

It must monitor and audit work practices systematically to ensure that they remain safe. This requires a review of the employer’s entire health and safety system.

It pays to have systematic audit processes in place to make employers aware of the real way in which the employees were doing the work.

Trained employees such as human resources or OH&S managers can be used to conduct internal audits. However, external auditors may also be used.

External auditors are useful for providing an outside view, and they may not bring the same assumptions with them when conducting the audit. An external auditor may be more likely to uncover unsafe work practices than a member of a company’s senior management team, who may wrongly assume the company’s supervisors are training staff in appropriate and safe procedures.

Once unauthorised work procedures are identified, remedial steps should be taken immediately to stop the unauthorised practices.

All employees should be encouraged to report problems as they arise. All incidents should be reviewed. That is, ‘near misses’ should be reviewed in the same way as accidents and occurrences.

The above steps provide a useful starting point for employers to consider what measures must be taken within their own workplaces.

John Stanton, Partner, and Richard Taylor, Special Counsel, Australian Business Lawyers, Sydney. 13 26 96.

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Products

We tend to be sticklers when it comes to family safety in the home; we should think and act the same way in the workplace, whether employee or employer.

As the sharp decline in economic growth hits most of the developed world and government bailouts attempt to ease tension, the smart and the entrepreneurial are sitting quietly, about to make their next move.

The slowing economy can actually present many opportunities if you know how to spot them, but winning in this climate depends on how well you strategise and play the game.

As the economy slows, first reactions are commonly based on fear and emotion, driving changes in the key areas of:

Play to win >> Consumer behaviour: the world doesn’t stop nor does consumer spending. However, decreasing consumer confidence means they will be more cautious, gearing towards lower value items and cheaper alternatives or delaying high ticket purchases. >> Business behaviour: initial responses are to preserve or downsize rather than grow.

Reductions in budgets and activity are commonplace. As a result, business development, innovation and marketing are minimised and many businesses will try to source cheaper inputs.

Next, businesses are likely to want to get rid of excess or slow moving stock via heavy discounting and “just-in-time” processes will become more pertinent. >> Market forces: – As property prices, currencies, commodities and stocks, begin to tumble, just trying to keep abreast of what’s going on will perpetuate further caution and confusion.

It’s important to pre-empt the actions of your stakeholders including supply chain members, investors and competitors.

Is your business fit? – Solutions Products

The silver lining As competitors scale back their activities, it’s a good time to consolidate marketing success. A warning though – business owners need to act with logic (not emotion).

This requires a clear strategy and the nous to pounce quickly on opportunities as they arise.

This sentiment is echoed in a recent UK study by the Small Enterprise Research team at the Open University. Small business owners responded to questions about the slowing economy and most believed that “increase(ing) marketing spend” was a sound investment to drum up business to get through tougher times.

Furthermore, when times get tough, people get creative.

Another silver lining is the possibility of new innovations resulting from a necessity to be smarter. Take for instance the dotcom crash of the late 1990’s and early 2000. One of the many lessons learned from this disaster was how to reduce the cost of acquiring new customers which has translated itself into today’s Web 2.0 technologies.

Playing to win >> Re-align your offering and business strategy with the changes in consumer behaviour and needs. An easy example would be with fuel efficient cars – if the pitch was environmental friendliness, it now switches to savings on fuel costs.

After neglecting marketing for two and half years to concentrate on the operational side of the business, Louise Riles from Neil Riles Constructions decided it was time to employ the services of Australia Business Marketing Services.

The company, a recipient of the NSW Master Builder of the Year (MBA Excellence in Housing Awards 2007), employs 20 workers operating on specialist architect designed and supervised residential projects in the Lower Hunter, South Coast and Southern Highlands and select Sydney suburbs.

>> Seize market share particularly as competitors consolidate activities which may mean that some customers are stranded and there’s potential to market to them. >> Be reliable and stable during these uncertain times.

For example, with the impact of the economic downturn in the US in early 2000 and the 9/11 attacks, the food industry suffered a harsh blow. According to Tera Johnson from Chrysalis, those companies with weaker brands could not sustain profits while the stronger players were able to increase their pricing. >> Maximise your return on investment as you spend your budget. There’s likely to be a greater shift towards online marketing initiatives. Online marketing offers many benefits over traditional including

“Small business such as ourselves find it difficult to source professional marketing services that are affordable as it’s usually larger marketing consultancies that promote their often costly services,” she said.

“We were attracted to Australian Business Marketing Services because of its association with the NSW Business Chamber and we were especially impressed with the team’s professionalism and reliability.

“In the past few months we’ve been able to finesse our

greater reach, only paying for targets you do reach (i.e. pay per click advertising) and easily tracking results through tools such as Google Analytics. >> Protect our customer base: Keep your cash cow customers especially during tough times when its hard getting new sales. Keep your high value customers loyal by applying the 80/20 rule i.e. you should start by isolating which 20 percent of your customers bring in 80 percent of your income. Then look at how you may get repeat business from the 20 percent. >> Aim for the low hanging fruit i.e. adopt the strategy of more sales at lower per unit value. >> Don’t start discounting immediately especially when aiming for the quick and easy sale. This frantic act only serves to create price wars, diminish

marketing strategy and while we are not looking for immediate results our goals are largely medium to long term.”

As for the current financial crisis, Louise believes that businesses need to continue to promote themselves instead of curtailing their marketing spend.

“While the current crisis has not really affected us, it has taken its toll on some of the architects we deal with (which will mean less work in the future). Now’s the time to continue the momentum of marketing.”

your brand (which you’ve probably spent many years and dollars to develop) and will set a false market expectation. A better approach would be to source and offer a cheaper alternative.

This also enables you to capture market share at multiple points (i.e. high, middle and low prices).

The old school reactions of downsizing activities in a slowing economy may not always be the best move.

With our current knowledge and technology, experts recommend increasing your marketing with new strategies to fit the climate.

Remember, marketing is an investment for future business and sales growth– you only get if you put in.

To contact Australian Business Limited Marketing Services call 13 26 96.

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Access the many benefits of membership

Invigorating Business

Invigorating your business through: > Connections – connect with others who share your passion, through networking opportunities and promotion in our online Member Directory > Insights – receive regular insights and updates on current issues impacting your business through this magazine, our monthly email newsletter and seminars held across NSW > Support – your dedicated Account Manager will provide you with ongoing support and our Navigation Centre will help direct you to solutions for your business related enquiries > Peace of mind – by making one call to the Workplace Advice Line, you can be assured of sound workplace relations advice on issues such as Awards, leave provisions and superannuation > Real savings – save money on everything from petrol to payroll solutions as well as discounted pricing on people management solutions, international trade offerings and legal services

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> A ‘voice’ to Government – be heard all at levels of Government through our lobbying to all levels of Government on issues that matter to our members collectively.

Find out more about how NSW Business Chamber can invigorate your business, call 13 26 96 or visit www.nswbusinesschamber.com. au/memberbenefits

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