FEBRUARY 2015 • ISSUE 2
Why Australia needs Migrants
Rebecca Ball
Narcissism and Personal Wealth
CL A FR IM De EE YO tai D U ls V D R Ins ! id e
www.smpmagazine.com.au
steps
to grow your small business Take control of your professional development
My Dream Brought me to Australia
SCAN CODE
download SMP mobile App! For offers, discounts and more...
C
CONTENTS February 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
Issue 2
44
32 Migration
Lifestyle
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE Valuable guidance on navigating the process and avoiding the pitfalls
OFFICIAL LAUNCH SMP Magazine official launch by Andrew Kaniki
by Kaushal Jhaveri
34
21
22
BENEFITING FROM DIVERSITY Why Australia needs migrants
AFRICAN FOCUS
BUYING YOUR OWN HOME
Migration
Business
by Rebecca Ball
Starting and sustaining a successful business in Zambia by Melvin Hachuma
Real Estate From finance pre-approval to winning negotiations by Robin Ram
47
43
18
16
Back Talk
Technology
Careers
Skills Training
A POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION My dream brought me to Australia
A ‘SMART’ DECISION
IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
IELTS EXAM ADVICE
by Daniel Okoduwa
by Dipen Patel
Save time and money with smart phone technology
10 invaluable tips to give you the edge
Learn how to focus on finding the answers to suit the IELTS test
by Irena Morris
by Trevor McGrath
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
3
CONTENTS February 2015
COLUMNS
IN EVERY ISSUE
7 9
Publisher’s Page Editor’s View
Issue 2
The power of a positive attitude Exciting times ahead for all of us
10
13
Career
Building your career by Doug McKay
YOUR CAREER COACHES
11
Pitch yourself professionally by Barry Horne
15
Be do have mindset by Davies Chibale
35
27
42
39
Your Financial Adviser Narcissism and personal wealth by Bulelwa Freer
Your Business Coach 7 steps to grow your small business by Richard Giannini
Your Performance Improvement Coach Take control of your professional development by Todd Hutchison
Your Diversity Consultant Stating the business case for embracing diversity by Fadzi Whande
37
24
Money
Sponsored article on credit management, investing money, insurance... by Anne street Partners
Business
Motivation
Diversity
Making money out of your property by Peter Taliangis
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
5
Publisher’s Page The power of a positive attitude
I
t’s the beginning of yet another year! I’m sure a good number of SMP Magazine readers have been engaged in that annual ritual of making resolutions. Whether it’s losing some weight, saving up for a home loan deposit, reducing credit card debt, spending quality time with loved ones, or volunteering for a charity organisation, we have affirmed that this year we will change our lives for the better. I don’t want to discourage you, but studies show that less than a quarter of people who make New Year resolutions actually succeed in turning over a new leaf. So, discard that list of empty promises. There is a way to achieve all of your objectives in 2015, which is quite simple; it’s all about attitude, the law of attraction, karma – call it what you will. Bring energy and wisdom to each and every situation in 2015 , instead of allowing your life to be consumed by doubt and insecurity; be positive! Your thoughts will manifest themselves. It seems too many of our migrant professional colleagues seem willing to put their livelihood in the hands of others, accept whatever fate is dealt them, and resign themselves to the inevitability of defeat. To me failure is simply not an option! I have chosen to surround myself with a network of positive and inspiring people. I admire those who seek out new ideas and possibilities, forging ahead without excuses. If we open our eyes and look just that little bit further, you will find there are unprecedented opportunities around us every day. We just might need to adjust our actions or attitudes to see them clearly and attract those opportunities into our lives. Over the years, I have chosen to adopt the mental attitude of being excited by opportunities that have grown from challenges. For this year, I urge SMP Magazine readers to wipe your slates clean and discard any laid-back notions
or myths that are holding you back. I have always found that a positive outlook is a liberating force, enabling us to free our minds and tap into our creative energy to handle tough situations. Or, better yet, discover new possibilities. Changing course away from these old habits will require a departure from the status quo which can be scary but I can tell you that it is worth the risk with advancing our lives as a reward. Being competitive in the job market may mean that you need to approach employment in a different or even unconventional manner. Or, middle-career professionals recognise they need to take the plunge into social media to expand their networks and options. As we grow as professionals, we should surround ourselves with a network of like-minded individuals who will support our goals instead of drain our energy. Guard against pitfalls such as procrastination, which is not only the thief of time but opportunity! Be willing to step up to the plate and embrace opportunities. Some advice I received a few years ago literally changed my life for good. My mentor advised if I changed my current philosophy and attitude towards life, everything else would fall into place and it did. So let’s make a fresh start in 2015 with an uncompromising belief that we deserve the best from life. I’m here to tell you that any and all aspirations are well within your reach. See you at the top! Tommy Adebayo
“SUCCESS IS NOT TO BE PURSUED; IT IS TO BE ATTRACTED BY THE PERSON WE BECOME.” JIM ROHN, business philosopher
P.O.BOX 5201 Canning Vale South WA 6155 Perth Australia. Tel: (08) 9398 3671. Email: info@smpmagazine.com.au, Website: www.smpmagazine.com.au
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
7
Western Australia (WA) 199 Oxford Street Leederville WA Perth Australia. Phone: +610863170217. POBox 5201 Canningvale South 6155 Australia New South Wales (NSW) Level 28, BT Tower, 1 Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Tel: +61 2 8098 7889. PO Box 2586, Jolimont Centre GPO Australia Capital Territory (ACT) Canberra ACT 2601, Tel: +612 6102 1125 Victoria (VIC) PO Box 5 | 440 Collins Street West | Melbourne VIC 8007
Editor
Leanne Casellas EDITORIAL Non-Executive Directors Peter Godwin Max De Vietri Dr Casta Tungaraza Eve Howell Astrid Wirawan Bill Repard Bill Turner Trish O’Reilly Proof Readers Leanne Casellas Rumbi Chekeche Article Contributors Barry Homes Irena Morris Patel Dipen Doug Mckay Trevor McGrath Davies Chibale Peter Taliangis Robin Ram Melvin Hachuma Rebecca Ball Richard Giannini Daniel Okodua Fadzi Whande Todd Hutchison Kaushal Jhaveri Bulelwa Freer John Coles Tinashe Rusinga Aleks Grujicic Felicia Chee Jethro Samuel Boyd Bruining Michael Michalczyk Paul Fleay Paul Colley
All articles, advertising , contributions and material supplied to smp are opinion of the advertisers, contributions and authors of the article/material. No responsibilities is taken by SMP. Opinion published are not necessarily those of the editor.
8
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Publisher
Tommy Adebayo PRODUCTION Technology Director Patel Dipen Website Designer Daniel Ngari Creative Director Tamu Mnangwa Zoran Zarković Photo Coordinator Farhad Mobarra Operations Manager Andrew Kaniki Brand Manager Melvin Hachuma App Designer Patel Dipen
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Director Business Development Manager Tawanda Kungache Sales Manager Julia Buchholz Subscription Manager Bola Adebayo Skilled Migrant Professionals Magazine (ABN 18169512618) is published quarterly by Skilled Migrant Professionals Australia, 199 Oxford Street Leederville Perth WA 6007 Australia. Phone: +61 (08) 63170217. PO Box 5201 Canning Vale South WA 6155 Australia. To subscribe to SMP Magazine or to receive our free monthly newsletter and online exclusive, log on to www.smpmagazine.com.au. CUSTOMER SERVICE: for service on subscription, including renewal, change of address or other customer service matter, call +61430209803, send an email to subs@smpmagazine.com.au. ARTICLE PROPOSALS and unsolicited articles can be emailed to tommy@smpmagazine.com.au. @2014 SMP Australia Media. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced in whole or in print in any form without prior written permission. Printed in Australia.
Editor’s View
W
Exciting times ahead for all of us
e live in exciting times. The world is shrinking, which means opportunities for skilled migrants are growing and exponentially so. It is a hackneyed term and for good reason because, in the twenty-first century, we really do live in a global village. That is particularly true of Australia whose population is one of the most culturally-diverse in the world. For some very interesting insights into how important immigration is to Australia’s economy, read Office of Multicultural Interests Executive Director, Rebecca Ball’s piece on page 34. There’s also exciting times for us here at Skilled Migrants Professionals (SMP) with this being our second edition. Our first hard copy edition was distributed nation-wide and the online version was downloaded by thousands all across the world. We are delighted and proud to offer the magazine as a useful resource for those who are finding their way as migrants in Australia or for those who are considering making the big move. SMP magazine is packed with advice to help make the transition as smooth as possible The SMP launch event held at the Celtic Club in October was a resounding success with many opinion leaders, industry spokespeople and government representatives in attendance. Relationships with these people are important; we plan to build on them to ensure SMP magazine is at the forefront of initiatives and resources than will assist you, our readers in a practical and constructive way. The feedback we have had on our first edition is unequivocally positive, which is heartening for the SMP team; we really appreciate the support we have had. Rebecca Ball said: “I commend Skilled Migrant Professionals Australia for adding to the awareness and value of WA as a place enriched by our cultural diversity and the contributions of skilled migrants. I would like to congratulate SMP magazine’s editorial and management committee, and the team of volunteers and professionals, for a successful launch. Their hard work, inspiring stories and articles have contributed to making the first edition of SMP magazine a success. This is a great achievement and I look forward to hearing more about Skilled Migrant Professionals Australia and reading future editions of SMP magazine.” Our cover story is devoted to Keystart CEO, John Coles whose assistance in supporting minority communities, and practical services his organisation offers, are valuable contributions we felt needed to be acknowledged. Read all about Keystart on page 29. Other articles in this edition look at more handy hints and tips to ease you into what can be a tumultuous time. Moving to a new country is not something that should be done lightly. Apart from the minefield of cultural differenced to get to grips with, there are many practical things to deal with like choosing the right area in which to live; buying a property versus renting; finding a job and the right job; mastering a new language; which school to send your children to; and building new
The feedback we had on our first edition was unequivocally positive - thank you!
community relationships. Many of this month’s articles offer guidance on dealing with these relevant issues which we hope are useful. Finally, please like our Facebook page – Facebook.com/smpmagazine – for all the latest news, views and resources from the SMP team! One of the great offers recently posted is the opportunity of taking advantage of 500 hours of career coaching for 500 people, all completely free of charge! News of a range of inspirational range of seminars that will allow readers to network with decision-makers in the government and private sectors will be posted soon – don’t miss out! SMP magazine’s motto of educate, inspire, improve is what we want to do more of so we’d love to hear any ideas you have about topics or resources that would help your situation. Please email us at: info@smpmagazine.com.au. Until next time, don’t forget to remember to value your contributions and be firm in your convictions. Leanne Casellas
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
9
Career Unemployment is increasing making competition for jobs becoming tougher. Here are tips from our career advice experts on what you can do to stand out from the rest. 10
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Career
BE ONE STEP AHEAD:
pitch yourself professionally ALL PROFESSIONALS NEED TO POSITIVELY INFLUENCE OTHERS’ PERCEPTIONS. This applies whether you are looking to secure new career or business opportunities, advance within an organisation, or capture clients in the market. Such situations could be:
Seeking new career or business opportunities
Advancing within businesses
• Framing a professional profile statement for your résumé • Developing your LinkedIn summary • Introducing yourself to a recruitment consultant • Networking at industry or professional events • Meeting with potential hiring managers
• Launching a project or initiative • Presenting to key decision-makers • Networking to gain professional credibility and visibility
As you can see, these business situations all demand that you can pitch yourself professionally! The following tips will help you frame effective pitches: Assume nothing! It is rare that you will be pitching yourself to someone with an intimate knowledge of your background so aim to hit the mark and eliminate technical jargon and acronyms that can reduce the impact of your message. Take a top-down approach Pitching yourself effectively can be considered both a science and an art. The science involves taking a structured, logical approach. The following top-down stimulus questions can guide development of a professional profile statement for your résumé: • Have you worked both in Australia and internationally? • In which sectors of the economy have you worked (e.g. private, public, and/or not-for-profit)? • In which industries have you worked (or consulted to)? • What types of work settings have you experienced (e.g. corporate, consultancy)? • Which field(s) are you an expert in? • Compared with others in your field(s), which areas do you specialise in, or emphasise? • With which industry and/or professional associations are you active? • Which employer/customer brands can you leverage? • Are there major project or career highlights worthy of brief mention? • What formal qualifications support your expertise and experience? • What leadership and/or personal style do you adopt to achieve your results? Some of these questions may not be relevant to you or a situation but the key is the sequence of the questions. They quickly take its recipient (e.g. recruitment consultant, hiring manager) on a logical, top down journey from the general to the very specific.
Developing Markets • Developing tender documents • Networking to meet prospective clients • Presenting your credentials, as part of a wider client presentation/proposal
by Barry J Horne Executive leadership coach, career management consultant, trainer, and speaker
Craft cleverly The art of pitching yourself professionally involves profiling yourself in an energetic and relatively unique way. By doing so, you are seeking to be distinctive and memorable. Extending the résumé example to the left, the primary purpose of a profile statement is to secure an interview. To do so, it must: • Positively and quickly differentiate you from other candidates • Align with the goals of the hiring organisation • Introduce ways in which your résumé will provide evidence of your capacity to contribute or add value A résumé profile statement needs to be crafted with these outcomes in mind. It should incorporate keywords relevant to the advertised opportunity and use impactful words. Be succinct Space and/or time are often limited, so it is essential that your professional pitch quickly focuses the listener/reader on how you, your area, or business can help them. Similarly, when introducing yourself at a business networking event you need to hit the mark quickly. You should tailor your professional pitches according to space/time constraints and be appropriately succinct. Polish and refine Framing high quality professional pitches is challenging. For example, when creating a résumé profile statement, initial efforts tend to be mechanical. Intelligent, strategic decisions may then need to be made to tailor the profile statement so that it is relevant to its audience. So, be prepared to edit, proofread, and polish until you have created rich and compelling profiles.
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
11
Career
Build your career proactively Education and training gives you the competitive edge
A
lthough Australia’s October 2014 unemployment rate of 6.2% is below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) average of 7.2%, youth unemployment around the globe, and in Australia, remains stubbornly higher than the general population – standing at around 13% although it has been as high as 20%*. While no single factor can be pointed to as the cause of this, younger people, and those with less experience, are clearly being affected by broader economic difficulties, which is leading to a reduction in hiring ‘green’ talent. Younger people are far more susceptible to the troughs of supply and demand in the labour market in sectors such as retail and hospitality, which traditionally employ younger people. Factors contributing to these hurdles include lack of experience or understanding of the interview process and ignorance of what makes a Curriculum Vitae (CV) impressive. The concept of a ‘job for life’ that someone else will manage for you is now firmly relegated to the past. While coaching and advice from external parties can provide invaluable guidance, a shift in the power of employers, rapid changes in technology, increased flexibility of the modern workforce and the general societal demands of modern life mean that individuals are firmly responsible for their own careers. Ten years ago, the process of job hunting was very different to how it is today. The job market was candidate-rare and centred on the ‘war for talent’. Internet job boards overflowed with roles posted by companies portraying themselves as ‘employers of choice’ to entice picky candidates. Recruitment agencies used a range of tools to attract candidates designed to convince people to interview for positions, even if the match was not close in terms of experience or qualifications. It was an era of close-enoughis-good-enough, where more than two years with an employer was considered long-term. In the modern job and recruitment market, as it exists since the global financial crisis, there is a much weightier emphasis on globalisation, which has resulted in many job seekers finding themselves cast adrift in unfamiliar territory. In recent years the situation has reverted to a candidate-rich market with employers battling against substantial financial pressure to do more with
by Doug McKay WA State Manager, Navitas Careers & Internships
Your professional future is important, so consider the advantages of extra training and study to augment your skillset
Tips to promote yourself in a competitive environment • Learn how to write specialised covering letters • Tailor your CV specifically to the desired position • Enhance your business communication skills • Improve your ability to recognise the value in the skills and experience that you have http://www.navitas-internships.com/
less (including people). There can be a disconnect between migration policies and industry demand, and this means new migrants often need to work extra hard AND differently to be visible for the jobs that they desire. It is not unusual for people to apply for jobs without hearing back at all. Recruiters are overwhelmed with CVs sitting unopened in their email folder along with 150 (or more) hopeful applicants making them time poor and spoilt for choice. This situation can be even more difficult for recent skilled migrants or international students who lack local personal and professional networks, and are competing with ‘local’ talent and those with exposure to the local job market. While the average percentage of accounting, ICT and engineering migrants to Australia employed in any occupation is 89%, those working in their nominated occupation of accounting, ICT and engineering are only 32.9% (Accounting), 55.6% (ICT) and 40.5% (Engineering). ** For some professions, where qualified candidates are rare and in high demand, traditional job hunting can still work. As a modern job seeker, you must change your game plan and take a more proactive approach, particularly if you are at the beginning of your professional career. Statistically, up to 80% of jobs are not publicly advertised. These invisible jobs are commonly referred to as ‘the hidden job market’. The question is: How do we unearth this market, put ourselves on the radar, and tap into this market to boost our chances of employment? The modern job seeker needs to conduct a more detailed investigation to find out where these jobs are and how to reach them. Added to this, they need a focused plan, targeted networking, a significant amount of time dedicated to research, and (perhaps most importantly) some courage and tenacity.
* Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014 ** Source: Continuous Survey of Australia’s Migrants (CSAM), Department of Immigration and Border Protection, October-December 2013
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
13
Career
So many circumstances... Are you waiting?
Don’t wait for tomorrow:
BE, DO, HAVE NOW! What is a Be-Do-Have mindset?
to get married and then be happy? Are you waiting for the children to finish school and leave home so you can be happy? Are you waiting to get a pay raise? Or, waiting to start a business?
In life, many people are waiting for their circumstances to change to make them happy. Waiting to finish university and then get a job. Or, waiting to finish university and then focus on Waiting is a state of the mind! creating something. You probably have heard of Zora Bell’s story: In If you are waiting for circumstances to change to 2012, when Zora was still in primary school, she be happy, then I can tell you with 100% certainty became the youngest person ever to develop a that you will be waiting for a very long time. This mobile game app. kind of mindset operates from the premise that: OK, you are probably thinking: “Big deal! Who “Unless I HAVE this external circumstance first then cares?” I will not be happy.” But hold on for a second, Zora was only 7 years Depending on an external circumstance to old! In December 2012 it became official that change to make you happy is a sure recipe for someone who hadn’t yet reached high school age stress and unhappiness. This premise reflects a cerby Davies Chibale had already made a greater contribution to the tain disposition in your subconscious mind. It reDirector, Engineered For world than most adults do. The mobile game app flects that your belief is to have something, then do Success HR Pty Ltd that Zora did all the programming for using the something, then be, which in short, is: have-do-be Bootstrap language was unveiled at the University mindset. of Pennsylvania Bootstrap Expo. Have a car first, then celebrate, then be happy. At the age of 14 in 2004, Ashley Qualls created an online business Have a job first, then celebrate and be happy. Have a wife first, then be Whatever Life as a hobby. In 2012 she had an estimated net worth of happy and so on and so on. The have-do-be mentality does not breed US$8 million with her site ranking 349 out of 20 million web pages lasting happiness or love, joy, peace. (ahead of Oprah, American Idol and CBS websites). Most people are conditioned, or programmed by their upbringing to Zora and Ashley did not wait until they were adults to realise their think this way and it doesn’t work! There is a better way: the be-do-have dreams. Neither did they wait to finish university, get a job and then live mindset. To have something materialise in your life or to attract sometheir dreams. Nor did they wait to finish university and then focus on thing in your life, we must work with the natural laws of nature to align creating something. ourselves to flow with the universal laws. We need to shift our minds Are you waiting to find a Mr or Miss Right who will make you happy? from the state of wanting, the have-do-be state, to the state of having, Are you waiting to go on a holiday and then be happy? Are you waiting which is be-do-have state of the mind at subconscious level.
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
15
Career
Preparing for success in your IELTS exam
P
reparing for the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam is a daunting prospect for most people, even for native English speakers let alone for those whom English is a second language. There are many reasons why people have trouble achieving the required scores, the main one being not knowing how to focus on finding the answers and structuring their writing to suit the IELTS test.
by Trevor McGrath Owner and senior tutor at McGrath English Language Training Centre In this article we give you some useful tips on what to be on the lookout for. When you record your answers for both the reading and listening exams be aware that misuse of capital letters and incorrectly spelt words will result in a wrong answer. It is not just a matter of finding the right answer, it is important you record that answer using correct English grammar. IELTS writing, both academic and general, requires a preferred structure and format to score well, so it is not just a matter of answering the question or topic, you have to consider the four marking areas of: task response, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource and grammatical range and accuracy. The speaking test is usually unnerving for second language candidates as many rarely speak to family and friends in English. The best advice is to immerse yourself in the language. Find a speaking partner and practice daily with them, don’t stress about what you’re saying at first, just communicate and enjoy the language. You will both eventually start to correct each other and most importantly, improve your language skills. If you don’t have a practice partner try these websites verbling. com and sharedtalk.org.
Here’s some more tips to help you focus your preparation. Look for someone who is a native English speaker and make sure you talk to them and check out their website before making a commitment.
Speaking Tips • Make the time to practice speaking English – with friends, at work and on the phone • Record yourself so that you can hear your own voice and become more confident • Speak clearly and at a natural pace. If you speak too quickly, you may make mistakes or pronounce words incorrectly • It is better to use simple, commonly used vocabulary and to use it correctly than it is to use advanced vocabulary that you are unsure about. Listening Tips • When listening to the audios, use the 30 second breaks to find keywords • Determine which speaker will be giving the answer, for example: Is it the sales person? Or the customer? • After completing a section, it is better to look ahead and read the questions for the next section don’t worry about the last section until the end. Reading Tips • To improve your performance in the reading test you need to practice reading English texts so choose books or magazines you will enjoy reading. • When you are copying words from a reading passage for your answer, remember that your spelling must be correct • Scan the reading passages and circle or underline keywords, you will not have time to read every word in every passage Writing Tips • There are no right or wrong answers. You are being tested on the way you write not your opinions • Make sure you paraphrase the topic as the examiner will not count words taken from the question • Do not memorise a model answer, the examiner will determine from your writing style that it is not your work
You must believe in yourself, be confident in your preparation and stay positive. Your focus needs to be on achieving your goals, not what happens if you don’t achieve your required score.
The most important tip
16
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Career
10toSTEPS a career in
project management
So you want a change? You want to work in project management but you are not sure how to progress this ambition? What next? What should you do?
P
roject management attracts different people for many different reasons. A lot of misconceptions exist about what it takes to land a job in this field. The decision to work in project management can be motivated by a number of different factors. You could be bored with what you currently do, or you want to push yourself to do something that is goal-oriented. Maybe you have seen what successful projects have achieved and would like to be part of a team that achieves a high-profile outcome. Or, maybe you feel that this is the next stage of your career. Whatever the reason, you need to be clear on WHY you want to move to this area, because there will be times you will question this decision!
1
Do some research
Making a plan to move into a new career area is the same no matter whichever area it is. The first thing that someone interested in project management will need to do is to undertake some research like: What types of projects are you interested in? Realistically, which type of projects could you work in (considering your qualifications and existing experience)? The result of this research should determine if you should proceed further
18
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
by Irena Morris Project manager/director with over 20 years’ experience in industry and consulting. Irena set up and manages a successful Registered Training Organisation (RTO); is a performance coach (Human Synergistics); and a registered recruiter. She migrated from Kenya 25 years ago.
TIP #1
Research available jobs on SEEK and other job boards. These give you an understanding of the available work in the marketplace and the types of roles that are being recruited for.
with your ambitions. It should tell you if you fit the profile (in terms of experience), which industries are advertising (this shows they are expanding), salary levels, and other such information. It is always a good idea to narrow down the industry area you are targeting and this should be based on your experience.
Career You should expect to keep researching as you progress in your job-seeking journey. Time spent doing research is time well spent, so don’t scrimp on this!
- ability to view problems from a strategic perspective - ability to plan Characteristics - excellent communication skills – written and verbal - ability to negotiate on behalf of the project of a good - good business acumen project - ability to work in a political environment (many manager organisations have politics in play!) - ability to lead and guide a team - ability to work with multicultural stakeholders - understanding of the technical details of the project
WA’s largest projects, taken from Project Connect (www. projectconnect.com.au) 1 July 2014. Note that some of WA’s very large projects – e.g. Fiona Stanley, Perth Foreshore Redevelopment, Waterbank, Northbridge Rail Link are missing from this list. Gorgon Project: Project Manager is Chevron JV Midland Health Campus: Project Manager is Brookfield Multiplex Collie Urea Project: Project Manager is Perdaman Chemicals Browse LNG: Project Manager is Woodside – this project is ON HOLD Greater Western Flank (GWF) Phase 1 Project - Project Manager is Woodside Hess Equus Development – Project Manager is Hess Exploration Roy Hill Iron Ore – Project Manager is Parsons Brinckerhoff Shell Prelude FLNG Project – Project Manager is Shell Wheatstone LNG Project – Project Manager is Chevron JV
2 3 4
Think about joining a professional body
Your research will be made much simpler and more targeted if you join the relevant professional body covering your area of expertise. For project management, there are two main bodies relevant to us in Australia: Project Management Institute and Australian Institute of Project Management. Have a look at their websites and choose one to join. Membership allows you to browse articles and conduct any additional research. In addition, when you apply for jobs, you can tell prospective employers that you are a member of the peak professional bodies – this will be a plus in your favour.
Determine which role(s) you are targeting
Being goal-focused is important for anyone seeking a new role, but doubly so for someone seeking a project management role. From your initial research, the information you have collected will have helped you identify roles you would feel confident performing. This is where professional bodies’ memberships will assist as there is information on their websites about roles and responsibilities, as well as other resources for career-switching job seekers.
TIP #2
If you are unsure about what role to aim for, ask a recruiter, coach or HR professional. Just make sure the person you ask advice from understands how projects work.
ecide which organisation(s) you would D like to work for
Why do you need to do this? Surely you see a job and then apply for it? Sadly, no; this is not the best way of finding a job you REALLY want. To find a job you really want, you will need to chase it down. To do that, you need to decide which organisations you would like to work for. Do your research and write a list of at least 10 companies.
TIP
5 #3
Many times it is not easy to find out information about organisations. Think laterally – use your professional network (LinkedIn, not Facebook!) to ask the question.
Sort out your professional profile quickly!
Check your social media channels and make sure you do not have questionable images or commentary (yes, this CAN be seen by prospective employers!). Inappropriate Facebook posts have created problems for many aspiring candidates so take the time to clean up what is in the public domain. Next is your LinkedIn profile. This is REALLY important for several reasons. Firstly, many prospective employers will check that your LinkedIn profile mir-
©Paradigma Solutions, 2014 rors your CV. Next is checking who is in your network. In fact, there is a trend where prospective employers will ask you to send them an invitation so they can see who is in your network. So, keep your networking alive, and make sure you use your LinkedIn to add in the people you work with as well as your clients. Finally, be aware that some organisations are now only using LinkedIn for applications and to vet prospective employees. You CAN use the new feature on LinkedIn to find you jobs. This will cost you about $35 per month but is worth the money as it places your profile in front of those looking for prospective employees.
TIP
6 #4
If you do not have a LinkedIn profile, create one NOW!!! This is the latest trend in recruiting. Many jobs and employers are on here and will vet candidates using this application.
Re-write your CV
Print off your CV and go over it with a fine-toothed comb. For each of your jobs, write down the projects you worked on – you don’t have to have worked on the projects from beginning to end, just had some involvement. For each of those projects, jot down what your role was. Now re-write your CV, focusing on these projects. Make sure that you have a section at the top where you talk about ‘My career objective’ or something similar. This should be where you tell your prospective employer about why you want to work for them and what value you will add. Also discuss your overall career goals, which should tie in with the role you are targeting. Finally, be ready to write different versions of your CV depending on which role you are applying for. Not acknowledging the project work you have done is where most people fail. This inability to identify where you worked on #5 projects is quickly seen by recruiters/prospective employers and leads to applicants being rejected due to lack of experience, even though they may have had the requisite experience.
TIP
Make sure your career objective makes sense in the context of the role. If you are looking at working for a building company as a Proj#6 ect Manager, then you should talk about how you will help control costs, manage customer expectations and other relevant skills.
TIP
7
Take aim, and fire!
This next step is about being VERY targeted about where you send your CV. Search for opportunities before they become public knowledge. Normally, this means avoiding recruiters, and advertised jobs. Why should you do this? To avoid a logjam of CVs in (inefficient) recruitment processes, overworked (junior and often unqualified) staff, and operational staff with no appetite to buy into the process are good reasons. How? This is not difficult! It means calling to find out who is in charge of the area where you are interested in working and speaking to them on the phone. He/she will tell you if they are recruiting. If you cannot speak to them on the phone, find out who they are and then send them your CV directly,
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
19
Career with a suitable application letter. The next steps are more general, and you should consider these at any time during the process:
8
Get Some Accredited Training
Never underestimate the value of good quality training. It will open your eyes to the possibilities in the profession; give you some valuable certification; as well as inform you about the jargon that is used. If you do not know the terms being used and don’t use them in your application letter and CV, it can be difficult for you to even get to interview. The advice is to go for accredited training, not just a seminar. It will cost more, but it will be worth your while as you will have a certificate to add to your tool-kit.
TIP #7
9
Check that training suppliers are accredited by PMI and/or AIPM – check these organisations’ websites if you are unsure!
Network, network, network!!
Without a doubt, networking is very important in helping to find a role that you want. The professional organisations we talked about before will allow you to network via their monthly meetings and seminars. In addition, using LinkedIn allows you to virtually link-up with like-minded people, and see the discussions that are going on. Active management of your contacts can be important in finding your next job. So work that network!
Never underestimate the power of meeting people over a cup of coffee. Meet people in the industry and ask for advice. Remember to ask for advice, not a job! You will find if there is a job, then it will come to you. Be careful how you present yourself – if you are too pushy, people will avoid you and you will NOT be recommending you to others as a prospective employee.
TIP #8
10
Find a mentor
A mentor can help you to find your feet in this industry. A mentor is someone who can help you in your journey to a new career. Too many people don’t look for mentors when this can really help - you can have more than one mentor.
Who can be a good mentor?
Not everyone is a good mentor. Look for the following characteristics. Remember this is not a paid service, so the spirit of mentorship needs to be understood by both of you! A good mentor is someone who: -is a leader in the industry - inspires you and who you admire - who will take time to meet with you, say once a month - who has good communication skills and will respond to you when you have a question (email or phone) - will give you advice freely, and will be happy to refer you to others in his or her network for further assistance ©Paradigma Solutions, 2014
Tips on starting and sustaining a successful business in Africa, the Zambian experience: Part 1
O
n a recent business trip to Zambia here are some of the questions that my Australian colleague asked me on the way: So you have lived away from Africa for a long time - do you still speak fluent African? I am so excited about my first trip to Africa. I have never seen elephants and lions outside a zoo – will I be safe there? Are you sure we will come back alive? I have brought a wrist watch and a bottle of wine for the CEO; do you think this will be sufficient? In central Africa lies the landlocked country of Zambia. This former British colony is surrounded by eight neighbours including Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania. With a population of around 14 million, Zambia is home to one of the seven natural wonders of the world and the country’s main tourist attraction - Victoria Falls. Zambia is a democratic country which respects the rule of law, having successfully and peacefully transitioned through three political parties and five Republican Presidents since its independence from Britain in 1964. Often people ask how Zambia has managed to change governments without any bloodshed. I think the answer is embedded in Zambia’s motto: One Zambia, One Nation. Being one of the world’s largest producers of copper, Zambia’s economy is heavily dependent on copper mining. Its output was only recently eclipsed by its neighbour, The Democratic Republic of Congo as Africa’s largest copper producer. Copper production forms the biggest chunk of Zambia’s GDP followed by agriculture. The introduction of free trade a couple of decades ago has seen a
Tips of doing business in Africa • Listen more and talk less • Phone calls and emails do not work • Free drinks can be dangerous, buy your own • Play to their game but remain professional • “No” does not always mean “no”, and vice versa • A broken piece of wood can be an opportunity
by Melvin Hachuma Accountant, business administrator and investment advisor on international business.
Business
Doing business in Africa
number of foreign investors not only engaged in mining but also in other sectors such as agriculture, information technology, manufacturing, transport and service industry. With business saturated in the West and Asia, foreign investors are now looking for expansion outside their countries with Africa the emerging market for investment. Australia alone has more than ten mining companies operating in Zambia including First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold Corporation. Africa is among the richest continents in the world in terms of labour and natural resources. However, a great tragedy is that nearly one sixth of the people in Africa live a dollar-a-day existence, teetering on the precipice of death due to starvation. How can a continent be so out of step with the march of progress when other continents are making significant progress in all areas of life? How can this challenge be ameliorated? Where is the problem? Is it with the locals or the foreign investors? Why have African business opportunities been neglected? Most foreign investors think that Africa is one country and hence generalise their assessment of opportunities. The media has had a part to play in misconceptions as well. Africa is not a country but a continent of 54 countries. The biggest challenge that most investors have is that they think they know it all, they know Africa well because the media has told them so, they know best how to do business in Africa because they are successful in Australia, England, USA and China they think they can use the same model in Africa. The one-size-fits-all approach does not work. To do business outside your home, one has to take into consideration several variations including cultural differences that exist between countries. Look out for my next article where I will be using my Zambian experience to expand on these tips as well as answering the questions above.
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
21
Business
NEGOTIATING THE BEST Real Estate Transaction W hen looking to buy a home you should start with securing a finance pre-approval from your bank, which is a letter showing you qualify for a certain amount of money. It is important for vendors to know that an offer has been made with secure finance in place. The last thing a vendor/seller wants is to sell their property only to find that the purchaser’s bank has declined their loan application a few weeks down the track. Thinking they have secured a sale, they take their property off the market, and out of reach from other potential buyers. To secure a finance pre-approval, most buyers go to a mortgage broker who will identify which banks are offering the best terms and which loan will save you the most amount of money in both the long and short term. The brokers are paid by the successful bank so taking advantage of this free service is well worth the time. Armed with a pre-approval in hand, you can then shop around knowing exactly how much money you have to spend. Most head to the major property websites: domain.com.au, realestate.com.au, reiwa.com.au. Identify the suburbs you would like to live in which are in your price range and start your search. If a property is listed without a price, it is best to contact the agent direct to get an idea of the rough price the owner has in mind. Shortlist your properties and then attend some home opens to you see firsthand what a property offers. Things to look out for are to make sure your new home does not require any major repairs so keep an eye out for anything that needs attention.
Standard conditions
It is common for agents to write up offers from buyers including the following standard conditions: • Subject to a finance approval within 21 or 28 days • Subject to a timber pest clearance certificate • Subject to all gas, electrical and plumbing to be in good working order • Subject to a report from a builder showing the main building is free from any structural problems.
by Robin Ram Manager, Mallison Real Estate
When you find a suitable home, the most common questions I hear from buyers are: - How long has the property been on the market? - Have you had much interest? - Why is the owner selling? - How much will the owner take? A real estate agent will respond to these questions and give you an idea of the seller’s motivation for selling. The agent is acting on behalf of the seller so our job is to secure the most favourable terms and conditions for them. You are welcome to make an offer at any price but try to be realistic as you don’t want to alienate the seller. You could make them unhappy if you make an offer that is clearly way below market value. If there is lots of interest and you really want the property, consider making an offer at the higher end of your budget. If you do your research, search online and view homes, you will quickly get an idea of what is a fair price to pay. It is worthwhile noting that if you are borrowing more than 80% of the purchase price of the property, a bank will generally do a valuation on the property to make sure you have not paying over the odds. You can now negotiate back and forth with the owner through the agent until you reach a price and terms you are both happy with this. At this point in time the property is designated as being ‘under
22
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
offer’ while you wait for your finance to be approved. Once finance is approved, the property is regarded as ‘sold’. When searching for a good buy, properties that have been on the market for longer are more likely to accept a lower offer than a property that has just come onto the market. If you are only interested in getting a good price and not the perfect home, make sure you track down the properties that have been for sale for over 60 days. These offer the best opportunities for securing a sale at a lower price. When looking at long term growth, make sure you buy a home positioned close to schools, shops, public transport and within easy access to major roads. To keep the process as stress free as possible, it is important to realise that there are no perfect homes. Every house has small maintenance items and little quirks that you get used to over time. If you demand perfection from a home that has been lived in before, you will end up upset with the owner, agent and yourself. Minor items are not costly to repair but if you want them handled by the owner, you need to put it in writing in the contract when you buy.
Business
Turning property renovation
BUSINES M
any people decide that they want to make money by renovating a property. As with any popular topic, there are countless tips and tricks related to this continually growing and evolving income stream. These tips are designed to give you a snapshot of the fundamentals related to renovating for profit and to help you make the best choices when embarking on the property renovation journey.
Tip 1 - Education: Educating yourself about renovation is becoming easier and easier; there are books, DVDs, seminars, CDs, and websites that offer ready-made information. Even TV shows like Better Homes and Gardens give you helpful pointers. Talking to other people that have done this sort of thing before is recommended. Perhaps you can even find someone to mentor you through the process. Tip 2 - Build your team: Every renovator needs a team of people to help them through the process. People with these skills should make up the foundation of your team: a lawyer, an accountant, a building inspector, a real estate agent and the relevant tradespeople. With your lawyer and accountant, it is important to set up your tax/company structures before you begin. There is a lot to be said for maximising your potential profits and these two contributors can significantly impact those profits. It is important that you thoroughly interview the members of your team and make it clear that they are a part of a team – whether you do one project per year or five. It is also worthwhile to incentivise them with additional compensation for ontime or exceptional service. Imagine how much better the service might be from a real estate agent if you offered them a 5% commission for making a sale in less than two months, but only 2.5% if it took them over two months. Essentially, the theory is that it is better to reward the people in your team than pay much higher bank interest rates for bridging funds for projects that overrun. Tip 3 - Have a tight budget: Determine exactly what you can afford and allow yourself 10% of your total costs for contingencies This will cover you in the case of price rises, having to change suppliers and other unforeseen factors that may lead to an increase in costs. When determining your budget, you should also consider 24
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
what you can do yourself or what materials you can buy and supply directly to the tradespeople. It is recommended that you don’t do anything yourself that you are not skilled or practised in. For example, a bad paint job might save you money in the short term, but it could also ruin the appearance of the house. Most people imagine that they can design a good, simple garden presentation, but in fact, a reticulation or landscaping expert may be required to actually get this right.
by Peter Taliangis Licensed real estate agent, “Professionals Ultimate”
Tip 4 - Research: There are a number of excellent tools available to look for information about property. Websites such as REIWA.com.au and RPdata.com.au can help you find invaluable information about house prices. These sites will also give you a good indication of growth patterns in particular suburbs and streets. Most importantly, you will be able to get all of the necessary information to help determine the potential sale price of your property after renovation. Your real estate agent can also assist with this information.
Tip 5 - Determine what you are worth: In any equation that involves your time, which is a very important type of capital, it is worth determining how much you should or would like to be earning per month from the project. Are you earning $5,000 per month? $10,000? More? You should consider this figure in all of your budget calculations. Tip 6 - Finding your property to purchase: Select your area. Concentrate on finding properties to which you can add perceived value. A property that is run down will obviously create more work, but will potentially deliver a greater return. At the same time, be aware of hidden problems - it is very important to have a building inspection conducted. Tip 7 - Find your buying price: Determine the price that you are hoping to sell for. Outline all the costs of the renovation as accurately as possible. Add 10% to the total to cover your costs of selling/stamp duty etc. Also, add another 10% of the total for cost overruns. Deduct the profit that you hope to make from the project. Whatever is leftover represents what you can afford to
Business
into a
SS
pay for the property you are looking to buy.
Tip 8 - What sort of renovation should you do?: It is important to understand the requirements of the market in the area you choose: Are the majority of buyers looking for 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes? Or, are 2 and 3 bedroom homes more popular? Identify your target buyers. This will help you decide the type of renovation you will do, as well as the styles and colours you choose– will it be bland, neutral, or bright? Modern or traditional? You should do the cosmetic renovations first – the most obvious renovations are usually the most important and the ones that will result in the best return on your investment. Look through the house and decide what you are going to do on a room-by-room basis. Things like painting, fixing kitchen cupboards and redoing high traffic or work areas are very noticeable improvements that can improve your return. It’s also a good idea to look for items that people expect to find in modern houses like dishwashers, dual flush toilets, a spa, reticulated gardens, new kitchens and laundry appliances. Tip 9 - Making the offer: Talk to the agent who is selling the property; ask them as many questions as you need to in order to get an idea of what the sellers might accept. Never go above your “walk-away price” – there’s no point in paying more than you can afford. If you are in the property renovation game to make a profit, then this should be your focus. Be sure to get pre-approval from your financial institution, as this is good for the real estate agent to know when taking offers back to the sellers. Tip 10 - Getting the renovation done: You should get three quotes for every project, every single time! Organise and schedule in the tradespeople before the settlement (remember, time is money). Set firm dates for the start and finish of the project when booking jobs and offer incentives for early completion. Meet with the tradespeople before they start and be available and approachable throughout the process. Reconfirm with all your tradespeople two days before they are due to begin working. Pay your tradespeople fairly and pay them on time. If they’re a part of your team, you don’t want to create ill feelings. Thank your tradespeople for the work they do for you, and try your best not to change your mind during the job – this will
cost you additional money and irritate them. Listen to their advice. They are professionals and will probably know more about what they are doing than you.
Tip 11 - Getting a Good Real Estate Agent: Be prepared to pay more than market rates for the best, most effective and most helpful real estate agent. Their value is not exclusively related to their ability to negotiate the best deals and create the best marketing plan to sell your house (although these are very important). The real sign that you’re dealing with a professional is when they start calling you regarding properties they have seen that match what you’re looking for. If they understand your desire to renovate for profit, they will actively search for properties that fit your requirements. Obviously, if they can sell you the house that you make money from, then you are more likely to let them sell the house when you are ready to put your property on the market and cash in on your investment. Tip 12 - Renovating isn’t just about buying and selling: Renovating can also be a buy, renovate, and hold process, which may open you to neutrally gearing the property. Make sure you don’t get emotionally involved in the buying and selling process of your homes. Remember that you are doing this to make a profit; the best results are achieved by people who stick to their budgets. February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
25
Business
Y
steps to grow your business
ou are either growing or dying – there is no standing still. It might be nice if we could grow a business to a certain level and then sit there, but that’s not how things work. Besides, staying in your comfort zone is, in the end, quite boring. “Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.” Bruce Lee, Martial arts instructor, actor, film director. by Richard Giannini, Business So let’s look at 7 steps that are critical in growing any business: Growth Advisor at Infinity Growth
Step 1: Know who you want as your customers and then know what THEY want… You’ve likely heard this many times before, but I’m talking about something much deeper here. This is a big secret that few ever really manage to discover. You need to find your ‘screaming audience’ you know, like a rock star does. Those customers that would jump over a table to get what you have. In order to do that you need to be very clear on whom you are wanting as customers and what they truly desire – from THEIR perspective. For example, you might be a hairdresser and are targeting single mums and believe they want a cut and colour. In reality they may want a hairstyle that takes them less than seven minutes to prepare each morning that will have their friends saying: “Wow, your hair always looks awesome!” This example shows two perspectives; one is yours and that will almost always revolve around what you do or how you do it – that is the language of the business owner. Unfortunately, it’s a different language to your ideal prospect’s. Your ideal prospect’s language revolves around ‘how I want to feel’. So the key here is to think like your prospect and communicate using their language in your marketing and advertising. Use the words they use in their head and stop thinking like an owner. If you do that, you’ll connect with them and you might just tap into your ‘screaming audience’.
come back than to go out and get a new one. Whatever the actual numbers are is not important. The fact remains that it’s much easier to get someone that has experienced and spent money with you to come back and buy again. A new customer has a fear of not knowing how good you’ll be so will not be so ready to part with their money with an unknown. Existing clients don’t have these fears. No matter how much you think you focus on this do it more. For example (we’ll stick with the hairdresser example) you might say: “But I already have my clients coming back every six weeks for a haircut.” I’d challenge you with - how can you get them to come every five, or even every four weeks? One way is to book their next appointment before they leave the salon for four weeks’ time. This simple step has proven to work for countless hair salons I’ve worked with. Not all of them will do it but enough do that it makes a significant impact. Remember – changing the frequency from
Step 2: Focus on getting past customers to come back …. In marketing we have a saying: It’s six times easier to get a past customer to
26
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
six weeks to four weeks means a 39% increase in sales!
Step 3: Know your numbers There are certain numbers you should always know in your business. It’s like the dashboard of a car. You can’t drive a car without knowing (at least) how much fuel you have left and how fast you are driving. The same is true with business. You need to know your driving numbers all the time. They’ll be different for every business, but the most common ones are: • Sales made this month • Bank account balance today • Number of leads generated from marketing and advertising • Number of sales made from these new leads (conversion rate) • Your average profit margin When you know your numbers, you will find that just by watching them every day, they will increase simply because you are focusing on them.
For example, if you measure how many leads you are getting from each advertising source, you’ll start to see which ads work best and which are the worst. Simply cutting the worst performers and putting that money into the best can have a dramatic increase in the leads produced. Yet you’d never know to do that if you didn’t track the numbers daily. Get your most important numbers and make them the dashboard of your business – then watch them often as you drive your business forward.
Step 4: Improve sales conversion This is the one area in which most businesses can experience the greatest amount of growth. The reasons include: • It’s usually a no-cost improvement in the business. It simply requires you to change the way you do things. • The average conversion rate is much lower than most business owners think. • Increasing from 25% to 35% is not that difficult and that would result in a 40% increase in sales! Break down each step your prospect goes through in order to buy from you, from seeing your advertisement through to payment. Examine the conversion of each step and find the weakest link (where you are losing most of the leads) and focus on improving that. Then always keep repeating this process of finding the weakest link in your sales process. Remember, the higher a ticket your item is, the more steps you will have in the sales process. A pizza shop is going to have one major step – handling the phone call. But selling a boat will have a number of steps to take a prospect from being curious to being serious.
Step 5: Know your costs For a period of one month, pay for every single item in your business yourself. Actually see each invoice and pay each one yourself. You’ll immediately start asking questions like: What is this? Do we need this? Or, why are we buying this? It’s an effective way to quickly contain costs. People can get into a habit and you can end up with expenses you don’t need that keep getting paid month after month. You can’t costcut your way to success, but you can go broke
with unnecessary expenses.
Step 6: Create a uniqueness When we think about uniqueness as business owners we usually think about how our product or service is physically or technically different. That’s rather unimportant. What is important, actually critical, is that you have uniqueness from the perspective of your prospective clients. From your initial marketing a prospect must perceive uniqueness in your business that is specifically desirable to them. That might be a physical or technical difference or it might be just a perception. Regardless, the key question is - do your prospects look at your marketing and say “now THAT is what I need!”? If not, it must be your mission to create that.
Step 7: Find new ways to leverage Usually, the first challenge a new business faces is how to get new clients/customers. The next challenge is then managing the operations of the business efficiently. Once you have a good system for these two areas and you are getting consistent results, it’s now time to leverage and really grow. Many business owners think of franchising, opening more locations, raising capital and a host of other strategies to leverage. Often an easier place to start is Joint Venture partnerships. Working with other businesses which have the same target market as you, but are not in competition with you, can be extremely profitable. Finding ways to work together with non-competing businesses lowers the risk of expansion and can test how your current business model handles a big increase in client base. Ask yourself: What else do my customers buy when they are buying from me? For example, if you sell paint and your customers are buying paint to paint their house, what else are they likely to buy? Maybe new furniture – could you do something with a furniture store? Maybe other renovations – could you do something with a construction company specialising in home renovations? Think outside the box and work together. It can be surprising how much synergy can happen when two complementary businesses join forces. From there you can consider the more complex and expensive expansion models.
Summary These 7 steps to building your existing business are fundamental strategies that often do not get the required attention and hold many businesses back from good, steady growth. Brainstorm what you can do in each of them and make a determined effort to focus on these fundamentals. I wish you the best of success! If you want some help, grab the free cheat-sheet at FastBusinessBreakthrough.com.
Migration Realising the great AUSTRALIAN DREAM for all An interview with Keystart Company low-deposit housing lender Keystart, Chief Executive Officer, John Coles February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
29
Migration
J
ohn was involved in the early establishment of Keystart as Executive Director on the Board but for the past six years, he’s been at the helm as CEO. John is keen to point out that Keystart is a platform for all people regardless of their cultural background or gender. A few generations back John’s family immigrated to Australia from Ireland. He is clearly proud of his heritage and their work ethic. He defines Keystart’s core values and strategies as those that reflect a commitment to diversity in its community. The company originated for those people that were finding it difficult to access bank finance. “Our services assist migrants who have no banking history, are sole parents, or women who were in a situation where they were finding it difficult to access bank finance, and also people with disabilities,” he explained. “In order to relate to the different segments in the community we recruited a workforce with people of a variety of backgrounds. “It is important we understand our clients. Our staff were keen to work at Keystart because they want to make a difference across the broad spectrum of our community. “Keystart products are very diverse and also include helping Western Australia’s indigenous population.” In terms of gender, at least 50 per cent of the organisation’s client-base is female and with couples, the women, more often than not, initiate the first contact for a home loan. “At Keystart we are also actively re-
cruiting a workforce that can to relate to first home buyers who are generally under the age of 35. The majority service delivery staff are in that age bracket. “We offer a shared equity program so people on lower incomes just starting out in their careers can apply for and service a loan. As their earnings increase they can buy additional equity.” The Department of Housing has had a very successful shared equity program in which Keystart has provided the loan component. The program called ‘Opening Doors’ has assisted migrants. In recent years, the organisation has seen an increasing number of Africans coming through the scheme. Because of this John became interested in forging relationships with associations that represented migrant groups to understand their diverse and specific needs. He became aware of the issues facing these groups and embarked on a plan to offer them work experience opportunities to build their local referee prospects, some have gone onto full employment. The initiative also provided the organisation with explicit knowledge in understanding the cultural implications of its migrant clients to make them feel welcome. Keystart was established in 1989 to provide low-deposit home loans to West Australians unable to meet the deposit requirements from main-
Our services assist migrants who have no banking history, are sole parents, or women who were in a situation where they were finding it difficult to access bank finance, and also people with disabilities stream lenders. Keystart reached a milestone in 2014, during its 25th anniversary – it has helped more than 85,000 West Australians, those who never thought they would be able to own their own home. Keystart is a State Government initiative to assist Western Australians into affordable housing. These loan products help eligible people to buy their own homes through low deposit loans and shared equity schemes.
Find eligibility requirements and available products at www.keystart.com.au
30
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Migration
My Australian migration To migrate to another country is a huge decision. I hope my family’s story will offer some valuable guidance on navigating the process and avoiding the pitfalls.
by Kaushal Jhaveri Registered migration agent
M
y wife and I grew up in Mumbai, India. After we got married, I worked in the family business managing a retail outlet; a job that didn’t give me job satisfaction. I decided I wanted to study for a Master’s degree and get some international experience before making a decision on my next career move. A cousin got his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Wollongong. The tales he told of his good Australian study experience inspired me to do similar. After more than five years working in the family business, I decided it was time for me to venture overseas and Australia was my destination of choice. I chose Perth because it is the closest Australian capital city to India and Curtin University to do an MBA because of its reputation in this field. I had also heard about the excellent weather Western Australia’s capital boasted and in 1997, the cost of living in Perth and the unemployment rate was lower compared to other Australian capital cities. On completion of my MBA, after spending two wonderful years living as students and working part-time, we returned to Mumbai. I successfully applied to work for the Western Australian Trade Office in Mumbai as the Manager of Education Services. After 18 months back home in India, we found we missed Perth a lot so decided to apply for skilled migration. It took a year and half for our application to be processed so with the dawning of a new millennium we returned to live and work permanently in Perth, Western Australia.
32
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
A consideration that weighed heavily on our minds was how to care for the dependent parents and siblings we were going to leave behind. The best advice I can give to any prospective migrant is to be absolutely certain you want to migrate to Australia. You need a really good reason as this will drive you when facing the number of challenges you will invariably encounter on this journey. If you are not fully committed to migrating, you will find it very difficult to settle in your new home country. One of my relatives who came to Australia to study with a goal to migrate after completing their studies knew in the back of their mind they had the option to return home and to their business and that is what finally happened. Instead of migrating they ended up with a really expensive three-month, rather tiring holiday in Australia. From our experience my wife and I learnt that all prospective applicants have to meet the skills or employer sponsored criteria to comply with Australian migration legislation. And it is very important to en-
Migration My two boys are settled in their school life and enjoy playing soccer and cricket. They love watching Australian Rules Football and support the Fremantle Dockers
story sure you have the requisite English language skills for reading, writing and speaking the country’s official language. You need a score of at least five in all the four modules of reading, writing, listening and speaking in the International English Language Testing System (ielts.org) to qualify for a temporary employer-sponsored, skilled work visa. A score of at least six in all four modules will give you zero points, a score of at least seven will give you 10 points and a score of at least eight will give you the highest 20 points for English towards skilled migration. For those interested in skilled migration to Australia, I suggest you go through Fact Sheet 24 – Overview of Skilled Migration to Australia which can be found on the immi.gov.au website. You will need internationally-recognised skills that will meet the Australian skills assessment to be eligible for skills migration to Australia. For details of eligible occupations and the skills assessment bodies please see the government’s immigration website: immi.gov.au. You could consider studying in world-class vocational and tertiary education institutions in Australia. According to studyinaustralia.gov. au, Australia has the third highest number of international students studying in its universities and vocational education institutions in the world. I would suggest students considering further studies options in Australia should base it on progressing their career pathway and not occupations on the skilled occupations lists. This is because the Department of Immigration and Border Protection add and remove occupations from the skilled occupation lists based on the skill shortages in the Australian economy.
The Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency flags occupations which may be removed from the skilled occupation list. This is based on monitoring of the labour market, education and migration data and evidence from stakeholders to predict future oversupply issues, migration outcomes and areas of specific need. Visit awpa.gov. au for the list of flagged occupations. Like any new venture, it will be difficult to start with but give it a good 6 to 12 months and you will start to enjoy the excellent quality of life that Australia has to offer. My two boys, aged nine and fifteen, are settled in their school life and enjoy playing soccer in winter and cricket in summer. They love watching Australian Rules Football (afl. com.au) and support the Fremantle Dockers. My wife works part-time work and supports me in my business while looking after our boys’ education and sport commitments. We spend a lot of our weekends meeting friends for a picnic and enjoy the wonderful parks in Perth. Please visit bgpa.wa.gov.au/kings-park to see the fantastic Kings Park online. I wish you the best of luck as you embark on your exciting new journey to migrate to Australia!
Some practical tips to better prepare for your migration journey to Australia: 1) Contact a registered migration agent to assess your eligibility. Try mara.gov.au to search for a registered migration agent. 2) I suggest visiting independent website migrationagentreviews.com for reviews of registered migration agents. 3) Research popular job vacancy websites like seek.com.au and careerone.com.au so you are aware of employment opportunities in your industry and the city you want to migrate to. 4) Choose your migration destination based on either, demand for your skills, business opportunities or the personal support you have in place there. Securing your visa is only the first step in your migration journey. The real battle begins when you make the move to your new country. 5) Aim for sufficient finances to look after yourself and your
family for the first 12 to 24 months. This will allow you to look for employment that best meets your skills and not just grab the first available job because you need to earn some money. NB. The Australian government expects all migrants, other than humanitarian visa holders, to financially look after themselves and their family for the first two years of migrating to Australia. 6) Be aware of customs regulations so you know what you can and cannot bring into Australia before you pack your bags. You can find these details at this website: customs.gov.au. 7) Have a look at this site for lots of useful information that will help you settle in your new life in Australia: dss.gov.au. Remember, the more time you spend researching your new home country will save you time and money and help you quickly settle into your new home – Australia!
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
33
Migration
Australia needs migrants
I
mmigration has been integral to the development of Australia’s population, economy and society. Australia, with a population of 23.1 million in 2013, is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. Among this diverse population are the 128,973 skilled migrants granted permanent visas in 2012-2013 which accounted for 67 per cent of all permanent visas under the Migrant Program. The top five migrant source countries under the Migration Program remained the same, and once again India took the lead followed by the People’s Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Philippines and South Africa. Western Australia (WA) has benefited from this diversity and has the largest proportion of overseas-born people in Australia—more than half a million people, or 27 per cent of the population were born overseas. The WA Government recognises and promotes cultural diversity as one of our greatest assets, an asset that throughout history has added to the social and cultural richness, and economic prosperity of this state. Research shows that people from culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse backgrounds - and with a range of skills - foster creativity and innovation. They also enhance and increase high technology, business formation, job generation, economic growth and achievement. In 2012, an analysis of the migration (including humanitarian) program by the then Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) indicated that over the first 10 years of settlement, migrants provide a net fiscal benefit of over $10 billion. For WA, the net fiscal contribution for their first year of settlement is $355 million. WA’s top 50 rich list released in November 2014 indicated that around 20 per cent on the rich list were of diverse ethnic backgrounds including Polish, Sicilian, Czechoslovakian, Greek, Italian and Malaysian migrant heritage. Combined, their net personal value is approximately $3.4 billion. The contribution of migrants, both temporary and permanent, to WA extends beyond direct economic terms. Migrants have enriched the cosmopolitan vibrancy of the state through, for example, its residents’ choices of food, as well as artistic, recreational and cultural pursuits. WA’s reputation as a hospitable state with a strong economy and its increasing cultural diversity will attract further migration. This reputation will be critical in maintaining the state’s future workforces. The state’s diversity will help to consolidate our links with our neighbours, and with the rest of the world, as global trade and the migration of workers con-
34
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
by Rebecca Ball Executive Director, Office of Multicultural Interests
tinue to shape the environment in which Australian, and Western Australian companies operate. China is WA’s strongest trading partner and our biggest export market, taking approximately 47 per cent of the state’s total merchandise exports valued at $54.4 billion in 2012–2013. These exports accounted for 69.5 per cent of Australia’s total merchandise exports to China. The landmark conclusion of negotiations for the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) on 17 November 2014 marks the commencement of significant new benefits for Australians into the future. Japan is WA’s second-largest trading partner followed by South Korea and India. More than 160 Western Australian companies are involved in Africa, reflecting an increasing interest in the region. In 2011, more than 130 Western Australian mining companies were active in 415 projects across 42 African countries. This represented more than 70 per cent of all Australian Stock Exchange listed companies involved in Africa’s resources sector. Our state is seen nationally and internationally as a place of opportunity for all people, one that is harmonious and respects differing points of views and cultural differences. We are privileged to live in what I regard as the best place in the world. WA could not have achieved what we have today without the contribution of migrants. The Office of Multicultural Interests (OMI) continues to work with relevant public and private sector agencies, not-for-profit organisations, and community groups and leaders, to progress employment of job seekers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds; and promote the achievements of WA’s CaLD skilled workforce. There remains a resource of passionate, skilled migrant professionals, business people and leaders whose participation in the progression of our state is yet to be maximised. OMI looks forward to promoting significant initiatives such as SMP Magazine, the Africa Down Under Conference, and the Australia China Youth Business Association, among others. We greatly encourage increased participation of migrants, young and old, in Australian civic life including membership on public boards and committees, and welcomes the nomination of notable migrant leaders for Australian national and state awards and honours such as the Australian of the Year Awards.
Finance Narcissism and personal wealth
by Bulelwa Freer Absolute Advantage Financial Solutions
O
ne of the most common complaints of the 21st century is that we have collectively turned into a narcissistic society and that this self-obsession is getting out of hand. Obviously, the chosen scapegoats are often the millennials, Gen X, and Gen Y…the usual suspects. I find it quite irritating that they should bear the brunt of blame for an entire period of social evolution that has been driven by huge leaps in technological development and carefully manipulated by the marketing and advertising community. These younger generations only know the society they were born into and grew up in. They have different role models than their parents and grandparents had with greater access to celebrity ‘heroes’ as role models, thanks to media and technology. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in favour of the narcissism epidemic or Malignant Self Love as Sam Vaknin calls it, in his book of the same name. It is disturbing and extremely unnerving to grasp the fact that human beings have become so terribly self-involved. The malignancy aspect seems to manifest itself when people go beyond the navel gazing and begin to act on what their intro-
“Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” Nelson Mandela
spection has brought to the surface. Take the body image issue, for instance. Everywhere you look, there are messages about our size, suggesting that we are too fat, too skinny, or too flabby, perhaps our skin is too dry, too oily, or too blotchy. Advertisements tell us that our hair is too straight, too curly, too dry. The list goes on and on. This relatively recent obsession with body image has spawned or bolstered countless industries, such as plastic surgery, weight loss industries, exercise gyms, the cosmetics industry, etc. Whatever society pays attention to will inevitably expand if there is profit to be made. The culminating point of this fixation on perfection is when people are simply too overwhelmed to properly start or don’t know
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
35
Finance how to ‘fix’ it, so they skip the difficult parts and choose someone with their ideal body and appearance. They get sliced and diced to resemble Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt, or anyone else who happens to possess their desired look. Some truly horrific outcomes of these pursuits of perfection are well documented in the media. Google ‘Catwoman’ if you want an extreme example. In these instances, narcissism is clearly malignant and they provide undeniable evidence that we have become dangerously self-obsessed as a society. However, there is one area where I believe that this sort of narcissism (even taken to extremes) could be hugely beneficial to us as individuals and to society at large. The area where nearly everyone seems to be wearing blinders is their personal wealth, which is my passion. Very few people are comfortable having an up-close-and-personal relationship with their money. One of the major manifestations of this relationship reluctance is getting rid of acquired money as quickly as possible. In most countries, approximately 80% of the population practise this strategy religiously. In fact, they have fine-tuned it to the extent that they spend their money before they even get it. The second strategy used by many people is to pass the buck, meaning that they turn over the decision-making role to someone else, often their spouse. Unless your spouse is a financial specialist, then you should be personally involved with your finances to a certain degree. The most effective and successful segment of the population works with trusted experts in their effort to achieve a set of predefined goals. The idea behind this strategy is not handing over your finances to someone else and hoping for the best; the best outcomes are achieved by those who begin with a specific end in sight. You need to be involved and you need to inform the experts as to what your vision is and what you want your future to look like so they do not fit you in the wrong box or suggest a cookie-cutter solution. This is where I prescribe Financial Narcissism, because we all need it. If you don’t believe me, then take this diagnostic test. The most honest way of doing this is the narcissistic way. Narcissists love and believe in their over-inflated egos to such a degree that they wouldn’t dream of cheating. Therefore, the first thing you should do is complete this before questionnaire on the fly, answering the questions right off the top of your head. This is what you
36
personally know and believe. Checking for confirmation comes later. Do you know where your money is and how much is there? For example: 1. Your wallet or purse. How much is in it, to the last cent? 2. Do you keep an ordinary coin disposal container, like a piggy bank, around the house? Take it to the bank and you just might be surprised how much is in it. It is a great attitude for prosperity to regularly empty coins from your wallet. In fact, I know people who do this every day. If you keep it in a clear glass jar, you can literally watch your unspent money grow. The message you are sending to the universe (and yourself) is that you have enough and don’t need to scramble for coins. 3. Savings accounts, term deposits, and all other cash accounts. How much is in there and at what interest rate? 4. Shares and investment accounts. How much are they worth and what is their current performance? 5. Collectibles, coins, stamps, art, etc. What is the current value of your collection? 6. Properties. What is the current value? What is the rental yield on investment properties? What interest rate are you paying? 7. Credit cards. What are the limits, current balances, monthly repayments, and interest rates that you are paying? 8. Personal loans and car loans. What are your current balances and what is the interest rate? 9. Mortgages. What are your current balances, what is the interest rate, and what are your repayments? 10. Recurring costs. Insurance rates, mobile phones, school fees, and so on. How much do you pay every month/year? Now, you can go to your documents and check the actual state of affairs. This is your after financial picture. There will obviously be some discrepancies, which is proof that you are not a financial narcissist quite yet. When you are, your before and after financial images will be almost identical. That’s the goal that we work towards with our clients. We also encourage strategy cloning and following the techniques and belief systems of other successful figures. Imagine if we decided to be just like Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, or one of the other financial giants of our time. We could change the world - they certainly have. We would slice and dice our credit cards instead of our noses, faces, and bellies. We would bulk up our investment funds and shares instead of our biceps and abs.
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Finance SMP’s financial expert partners share their best tips on credit and debt management, insurance, money management, real estate and retirement savings. Even though the economy is currently experiencing some challenges, don’t put off your personal choice of becoming financially independent. Start now so you can reach your goals sooner.
Credit management
Aleks Grujicic, Associate Financial Adviser, Anne Street Partners
Debt management
Felicia Chee, Senior Finance Manager, Anne Street Partners
Insurance
Jethro Samuel, Risk Adviser, Anne Street Partners
Whether it’s a holiday, renovations, gifts, or something you just have to have, there are many options to provide you with the credit to make your purchase. A personal loan is more suitable for larger purchases and will usually offer a lower interest rate than credit cards. Like a mortgage, you can choose a fixed interest rate so you know exactly how much you have to pay each month, or a variable rate whereby you can make additional repayments. An application fee is also usually charged. Credit cards are more suitable for smaller purchases and have the advantage of a spending limit which you are free to spend
up to whenever you choose. There is a vast array of credit card options available with many different features (interest-free period, reward program, etc.), interest rates and annual fees. Ideally you would only have one card to avoid excessive debt. As much as credit is convenient and effective, there will be times where you will have better buying power with cash. It could be worth the wait to reap the savings. Also consider how much additional money you will outlay through purchasing on credit. Researching the best credit facility to suit your spending habits and repayment capability is essential.
We know that debt can be stressful, but it doesn’t need to be. A debt consolidation plan can help you regain control of your finances and become debt free sooner. Developing and sticking to a realistic budget is key to being debt free. If you can motivate yourself to get excited about saving, either into some sort of account or into your mortgage, you will find it easier to say no to unnecessary spending. Do you have multiple credit cards? If you can’t afford to pay off your credit card debt each month, consider limiting yourself to one credit card with a very low interest fee and
low maximum level of credit. Additionally, if you have debts spread across multiple providers, including a mortgage, enquire about refinancing with a better rate to consolidate your debts into one easy manageable repayment. Some debt can be ‘good debt’ too. Having an investment earning you income is great, but it may result in paying tax on that income. Borrowing to invest not only allows you to get a larger investment but the costs of that debt may be tax-deductible, meaning that the debt cost directly offsets the tax you pay.
There are three essential ingredients to your financial plan: 1. Wealth accumulation 2. Wealth distribution 3. Wealth protection Your insurance policies are the wedge to ensure all other facets of your financial plan are protected and don’t slip backwards. It’s worth noting that when you take out life insurance through your superannuation fund, the premiums are tax deductible. However, if you salary-sacrifice the premiums, even though you don’t get a personal tax deduction, you may get the benefit of reduced income tax because money going into your superannuation is taxed less than money
going into your savings account. Premiums for Total & Permanent Disability (TPD) and Income Protection insurance within superannuation may be fully or partially deductible, depending on certain conditions. Salary-sacrificing to cover those premiums can have the same effect as for life insurance e.g. reducing your total tax payments. Ensuring you have the most suitable risk management solution, tailored to your stage of life, can help to protect and secure the future of your loved ones. It also makes sense to structure your estate planning to ensure any insurance policies are received by the people you choose, in the right way, at the right time.
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
37
Finance Investing
Boyd Bruining, Financial Adviser, Anne Street Partners
Property investment
Tinashe Rusinga, Property Investment Specialist, Anne Street Partners
Retirement savings
Michael Michalczyk, Financial Adviser, Anne Street Partners
Successful investing has very little to do with good luck, so how do you know what’s best for your circumstances? Having a holistic approach to your investment strategy provides a tailored and diverse structure capable of delivering the best results for your long-term financial goals. Firstly, it’s crucial to determine what the most suitable investment mix is to suit your risk tolerance and long-term financial goals. These may include managed funds, shares and direct property investments. Having a diversified investment strategy provides you with more flexibility and protection, also you don’t have all of your nest egg is in one basket. Seeking
advice on how best to structure and combine these is a must. All that you have worked for, and all that you hope your future will be, is too important to take a ‘piece-meal’ approach. Taking a disciplined long-term approach to an investment strategy is highly recommended. It is important to remember the cyclical nature of all investment markets in connection with your investment timeframe. Additionally, there are many other facets to consider including taxation, fees and income distribution preferences. Getting these factors right will ensure the investment fits your requirements and is appropriate for your circumstances.
Property is a popular option as part of a balanced investment strategy. However, when investing in property it’s important to be clear on your objectives. Do you want to achieve short-term high rental returns or long-term capital growth? Investing in property has many benefits, including the potential to generate rental income and yield, capital growth, potential tax advantages associated with negative gearing, and it’s a tangible asset which you can use as leverage. Although the past 10 years may have been a good time to have invested in the equity market, the property market still delivered better results and steadier returns.* Additionally,
the risk to be noted with shares is that some types of shares investment loans have ‘margin calls’ (further cash or securities required to cover possible losses). Property may also provide an investor with more security and control, and may provide added value through renovation or redevelopment. You may even be able to use your superannuation in some circumstances. Interest rates are currently very low and competitive, so research the best loan that suits your requirements. You may prefer the certainty of a fixed rate loan, or flexibility of a variable rate loan with an offset account.
Ascertaining the amount of income you require to fund a comfortable retirement is the first important step. Without specific, measurable retirement goals you will have nothing to work towards, and no way of knowing if you are on track or not. Designing your retirement plan with an appropriate investment mix gives you the best odds for retirement success. These could include property, managed funds or equities and fixed interest investments. It’s important to consider that you may require part of your superannuation funds prior to retiring. How would you support yourself if you were only 55 and could no longer
work? So although having a healthy superannuation fund or SMSF is important, it shouldn’t be your only form of savings. However, ensuring you have the right superannuation fund to suit your requirements is definitely crucial. With long retirement periods ahead and investment markets as treacherous as ever, the key challenge for investors facing retirement is to earn enough to live comfortably, without taking risks that could prematurely wipe out your ‘nest egg’. The challenge is to balance the risk of your money lasting as long as you do with the risk associated with investment market movements so you can maximise your returns.
* Source: ASX & Russell Investments
Contact an Anne Street Partners specialist today to develop a tailored strategy that could assist you in reaching your financial goals sooner. We’re here to help! Phone: 135 444 or Email: info@annestreetpartners.com.au www.annestreetpartners.com.au The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation, need or circumstances. Before acting on any information you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, individual circumstances, financial situation and needs. Anne Street Partners incorporating: Anne Street Partners Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 25 107 671 563 AFSL 258 853 & Australian Credit Licence 258853) Anne Street Partners Home Loans Pty Ltd (ABN 11 135 905 681 Australian Credit Licence 391660) Anne Street Partners Realty Pty Ltd (ABN 86 135 905 618) Anne Street Partners Legal Pty Ltd (ABN 67 135 905 538) Anne Street Partners Tax Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 44 162 176 543) Anne Street Partners Super Solutions Pty Ltd (ABN 25 136 878 629).
38
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Diversity February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
39
Diversity CEOs speak out on diversity
Making workplace diversity work
Commitment to diversity reaps rewards
by Paul Fleay CEO Inclusion WA
D
iversity in the workplace is an enriching attribute which can add much value to teams. Greater client satisfaction, successful decision making, stronger bottom line, and improved organisational outcomes are just some of the organisational benefits that a diverse workplace can bring (Harvard Business Review, June 5, 2014). However, with an increase in diversity, can also come many, often unspoken, challenges. Differences in communication styles, values, social practices and so on can create social disconnection within the workplace which leads to exclusion (real or perceived), feelings of bias and the organisation simply not getting the best from the ‘talent in the room’. So, diversity doesn’t work unless you make it work. Research shows that organisations who go one step further than diversity and also focus on inclusion gain further benefits such as reduced turnover, increased innovation, and team engagement (HBR, 2014). We operate in times of great diversity. There are four different generations in the current workforce, with people identifying with being of different cultural background, sexuality, religion, being a person with disability, and mental illness (Dr Linda Duxbury, Carleton University). However, what research is showing, and what we at Inclusion WA understand well, is that while we should celebrate our differences, as human beings, it is the similarities, the (sometimes very small) things we have in common which bring us together and help build truly strong teams. The challenge for organisations in the 21st century is fostering an inclusive environment and developing social capital within their workplace.
40
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
by Paul Colley CEO of Total Marine Technology
I
am proud of how far we’ve come as a company since our founding in 1999. The company’s pioneers are bold entrepreneurs who believe that the breadth of our differences should not only define us, but also strengthen us. We have grown from a company of 15 staff members operating out of a small shed to a staff of 350 staff, with Remotely Operated Vehicles spanning over 25 units. Our broad range of products and services enables us to be there for our customers how, when, and where they need us. When people with different backgrounds come together to face challenges and solve problems, a business can be more creative, innovative, and ultimately, more successful. Great decisions come from great debates, and great debates are shaped by participants who bring a variety of perspectives that can be backed up with logic and reason. Having the level of diversity that is necessary for a high-quality debate is clearly a business imperative. Tapping into the power of diversity is essential to TMT’s overall success as a business. Selecting, developing, engaging, and retaining a diverse talent pool enables us to achieve our strategic goals. When people are at the very heart of what you do, you quickly come to value and seek out their diverse ideas and experiences. Our commitment to diversity also means helping young people reach their full potential through education. We offer apprenticeships, trainingships, and internships to high school and university graduates. This gives young and upcoming professionals the opportunity to come to TMT and see firsthand how a medium size corporation operates. TMT is proud to support programs that promote diversity because we recognise the difference that they make in the communities that we serve. It is imperative that the TMT workforce reflects the face of Australia, which is largely referred to as a migrant country. To understand and serve our geographical and ethnically diverse marketplaces in which we operate, our employees must be a diverse and dynamic group. We understand that different perspectives bring tremendous value to TMT and that diversity in our teams helps create the most innovative solutions and attract and retain the best talent.
Motivation
TAKING CONTROL
of your professional development
T
he Project Management Institute (PMI) found that high performing organisations did three specific things: they made sure project investments were aligned to the strategy of the organisation, they had standardised processes for the team members to follow, and they had a focus on talent management. Your own focus on delivering results towards your organisation’s strategy, following their procedures and processes, and taking responsibility for your own professional development can all contribute to becoming an important asset. The best way to stay employed is to keep improving yourself, contributing to supporting others, and always striving to add value. Don’t expect to be paid more before you add value, become the person who does more than what would be expected. Be the person who goes that extra mile and becomes known for their results. Be consistent and be reliable. All these traits are what good leaders notice. Some people work in an organisation for ten years, and have ten years of new experiences, whereas others switch off early in their role and may have only had one year of experience and then repeated it another nine years over. These are the people that are not engaged, not interested in learning and are not contributing to the level they could that would make them more valuable to the organisation. The interesting perspective here is that when you are contributing you feel more valued and you actually enjoy your job more. When you are enjoying yourself, you have a positive effect on those
perience to become a master or expert at something. This means a person who is keenly taking control of their own development is continuously focused on their skills and competency. Today, there is a wealth of information about professions and how to do specific tasks, even video resources like You Tube that can become educational programs for your own development. There are plenty of books, DVD and CD products that help, and in addition to formal educational institutes, many universities and colleges are now offering free access to training courses through initiatives such as the Massive Open Online Courses, known as MOOCs. Starting with a new organisation you normally go through an induction process, however this is often your first opportunity to ask quality questions, delve deeper and get more insights from these sessions that will help you understand the environment better. By joining a professional association you will be networking with other professionals from different organisations, and these relationships often lead to finding team members, or even a new job. Find a mentor or coach to guide you. Mentors are generally people who have already succeeded and have done what you are aspiring to do. They can provide information based on their own practical experiences, whereas a coach may not have been an expert, but knowing a process that will help you progress faster. During performance reviews, take the opportunity to really listen to your supervisor and work at the areas that they suggest you could improve on. Turn it from a review into a learning experience, and create an action Jack Welch, plan for change. We tend to find the high the former Chairman of General Electric. performers in an organisation exceed organisational metrics, as they set their own metrics higher. around you, and when that happens, the whole culture can be inIt is also recommended that in the work environment you find fluenced. Not only is your own performance important, it is how people you know that are successful or are experts and start learnyou work with the team, and how you positively contribute to the ing from them. Ask them quality questions and you will find that team’s outcomes. Teams are a collection of synergised individuals people like being an advisor and sharing their knowledge. It can who are performing separately as well as together. actually be a very fast way to build rapport and friendships. It is While businesses are getting more conscious about the need to not only a great way to learn, it is a method to demonstrate your train and develop their staff, participating in life-long learning is enthusiasm and willingness to learn to those higher in the hierarchy. everyone’s responsibility. The world is changing, accelerating and so People that succeed faster are those that spend the time refining is technology and the way we work. We have to be learning just to their knowledge and skills, continuing their studies, and proactively keep up. You may have needed a specific qualification, permit or taking opportunities to tap into others’ knowledge and expertise. license to get a job, the learning does not end there. Don’t be left behind, take control as you have a personal vested Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Outliers, noted that it tendinterest in being the best you can be. After all, it brings results ed to take 10,000 hours of education, training, practice and exand rewards.
“The whole game of business revolves around one thing. You build the best team, you win.”
42
by Todd Hutchison The ‘Corporate Mechanic’
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
A staggering
94% of small businesses are using smart phones and other devices
to conduct their business. Switching to smart phones are saving businesses billions every year.
According to a survey done by AT&T and the Small Business &
Entrepreneurship Council, over the past year, small businesses have saved
$67.5
billion by using mobile apps, tablets, smart phones and other devices to conduct their everyday business. Smart phones alone saved business owners $32.3 billion last year. The survey also showed that smart phones save business owners a lot of time. Business owners saved 1.24 billion hours last year by conducting their business via smart phones.
Tablets are also huge
754.2 hours and $19.6 billion for business owners. Mobile apps saved business owners 599.5 million hours and around $15.6 billion last year. SBE Council Pres-
time and money savers, saving
ident and CEO Karen Kerrigan said: “Clearly, we are at a point where entrepreneurs now look first to communications technologies and innovations for solutions to improve productivity, cut costs and better manage and engage with customers.
Technology
a SMART decision
“That
is time and money that can go back into driving sales and innovating the marketplace.”
More than half of the small businesses surveyed said that they use mobile apps,
91% of them saying that it saves them time. The same businesses estimated that they are saving at least $500 a month (up to $6,000 a year) by using mobile with
apps.
The use of mobile apps by small businesses has increased over the past
65%, with 92% of those using smart phones to access their mobile apps. 77% of small businesses are using three or four apps. A small percentage used over 20 apps for their business, with the most commonly used apps couple of years by
relating to GPS, navigating, and mapping.
According to the survey, while many
five days a week, many small business owners and their employees access their smart phones and devices to conduct business seven days a week. businesses are open
Almost half of those surveyed said that they use their smart phones to work every day of the week, despite their company’s hours.
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
43
Lifestyle
SMP magazine launch Tommy Adebayo & Bola Adebayo
Thank you SMP team for this initiative, it is of very high quallity and addressing very relevant themes Dr Peter Mbago Wakholi
Davies Chibale & Trish O’Reilly
44
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
Farhad Mobarra & Peter Godwin
Lifestyle Bill Turner
Rebecca Ball & Bill Repard & Eve Howell
The magazine is very impressive and also very comprehensive in the range of information that it provides for prospective migrants Glen Dival (Manager, CCI migration services)
Tammy Caldwell & Constance Dewan & Susan Aseneka
Carol-Ann Lynch & Mark Stevens & Kaushal Jhaveri
Andrew Kaniki & Zeeshan Pasha & Gishan Liyanage
Samantha Bonner & Doug McKay
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
45
Want to start OWN MOBILE COUPON BUSINESS?
YOUR
Coupons are a multimillion
$
business
SIGNUP TO USE OUR PLATFORM TO develop coupons and offer a service for Every Local Business And Mom-And-Pop Shop Around You
USE OUR PLATFORM TO:
c reate and publish coupons on your clients business facebook!! d istribute coupons through most digital channels P rovide validation and redemtion mechanism Provide COMPLETE ANALYTICS
eded No programming experience ne
Efficient cost structure Use the ULTIMATE suite of quality and professional rich media coupon products
sign up
2
Australia
qr coupon
FOR THE MOST VERSATILE COUPON PLATFORM IN THE INDUSTRY
www.qr2coupon.com.au | email: info@qr2coupon.com.au | M: +61 0404456723 | Facebook: facebook/qr2coupon- Australia
Q&A
Lifestyle
Daniel Okoduwa
The journey of a migrant entrepreneur who is making a positive contribution to the Australian community
My dream brought me to Australia
D
aniel’s dream started at the age of nine, by the age of 13 he was working as a cartoonist in his native country of Nigeria. In 1999, Daniel’s dream brought him to Sydney, Australia where he is now making news headlines after his successful career in film production, music promotion and art. SMP: I believe you are a very talented and successful entrepreneur, so what sort of business do you run? Daniel: I am in the entertainment business. I own a company called Scrim Entertainment. We are into film production, music, promotions, distribution and event management. SMP: Tell us about your background. How and when did this idea come up? Daniel: I started singing at an early age and eventually ended up in a boy band at the age of 13. At the same time I was working part-time as a cartoonist for a popular Nigerian daily called The Nigerian Observer. I was also a guest cartoonist for a popular television show called The World of Cartoons. By the age of 15 I was already popular within the local community because of the love I have for the arts. SMP: So did you take up any course or training in art? Daniel: Not at all. In fact I was in a science class at school; however, my love for art was so strong that deep inside of me I knew I was born to interpret my life in art. SMP: Why did you to come to Australia? Daniel: My dream brought me to Australia. Even though I was relatively successful in Nigeria, I knew I had room for improvement so decided to challenge myself by coming here. When I arrived in Australia in 1999, the black entertainment scene was almost non-existent. That really got me frustrated. I thought about leaving Australia to go to Canada but a friend of mine advised that I should be patient and maybe help develop the local industry. To me that was almost an impossible task especially when the African population in Australia was, at that time, very small. It could take months before I saw a fellow African on the streets. However, deep inside me I held onto the conviction that nothing is impossible so decided to
stay. In 2002 I registered Scrim Entertainment. The first thing I did was to start promoting African movies in Australia. It was difficult at first, trying to introduce something different to a foreign country. At the same time I had other jobs working as part time model, as a film extra at Fox Studios and doing some landscaping jobs which were critical in financing my own business. SMP: Can you tell us a bit about your role at Fox Studios and did you learn anything regarding your career especially in the film industry? Daniel: Absolutely! I remember one day my agent called offering me a job on the set of the Matrix (2&3). This was a film I watched on the plane on my way to Australia and now I was being asked to do some work as an extra on the sequels. The professionalism, creativity and hard work on set got me inspired and fired me up so much that later in the year I made my first film, Death is a Diamond. The story centred on conflict surrounding diamonds that were being secretly smuggled into Australia from Africa and how different gangs in Australia were all trying to get their hands on those ‘bloody stones’. The film got a lot of support from the local community at first but sales quickly dropped and support waned mainly due to the large amount of violence in the film. For instance, at that time most of my African customers were newly-arrived refugees fleeing from war-torn areas. Not long after, Hollywood produced the movie Blood Diamonds with Leonardo Di Caprio and the cinema halls were packed! This was a painful lesson to learn as an upcoming film producer. In 2003, I produced another movie, Love, lost and Temptation. The film was really popular screening across the country to a predominantly white Australian audience who got a glimpse into the lives of African-Australians for the very first time. I remember being invited to speak at the Australian Institute for Photography about African films. The support was so encouraging that I knew another film was a possibility. SMP: Wow, you obviously have made a positive impact to the Australian community. Are you able to share some of those highlights? Daniel: Over the years I have tried to build an African-Australian entertainment industry. I started with almost nothing, without any support from the government or big corporate companies and I feel comfortable with what I have done so far. A good example is my most recent film Gossip Nation. This film was the first African film to premiere at Hoyts Cinemas across the nation. Gossip Nation was so popular that the Leader of the Opposition Hon. John Robertson spoke about it in the New South Wales Parliament. It won best film at the 2012 SPAA Awards, which was held at the
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
47
Lifestyle National Gallery of Victoria. I was named the best upcoming film producer in Australia and New Zealand. This resulted in unprecedented support and recognition across Australia. I remember fighting back tears as my name was called out. As I looked around the audience, I realised that I was one of the few people of African origin in the building. I was humbled to note that I was sharing the stage with famous movies and show producers such as The Sapphires, Kerry Parker’s War, and The X-Factor. SMP: Surely it must have been intimidating to speak to such an audience. What exactly did you say in your acceptance speech? Daniel: I said: “This award belongs to the African community in Australia. I hope it inspires the young ones, especially the upcoming ones. I want them to believe that it is possible to be who and what you want to be regardless of who you are and where you are…just take a look at my past movies, my journey, the hard work, the criticisms and discouragements and the pain that I went through to get where I am today.” SMP: So what was your prize for winning the SPAA Award? Daniel: I got a sponsorship to the American Film market in Santa Monica, California. In Hollywood, I presented my little film to some distributors and never really thought anything was going to come of it but when I returned to Australia, I started getting emails from distributors in Los Angeles who thought my film was good. After two weeks, I was asked to return to
Daniel Okoduwa & Michelle Rowland MP
Ramsey Noah
48
Vivica Fox
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
USA to sign a distribution deal. Throughout this journey I have carried my community with me. I have seen what this has done to the confidence of the kids and broader community. I get letters, emails and calls from people who have been inspired by my ‘journey’. My response is that “we are in this together”. SMP: Where can we buy Gossip Nation? Daniel: In Australia, Gossip Nation is distributed by Titan View films. For the very first time an African-made film can be purchased in major stores such as JB-Hifi and also rented on Bigpond, Netflix and from Blockbuster. SMP: I believe you organised a big event recently, can you tell us about that? Daniel: In 2006 we established the Afro Australia Music & Movie Awards (AAMMA). Its aims are to encourage and celebrate African Australians in the entertainment industry while recognising members of the wider Australian community who are encouraging and supporting Africans Living in Australia and their art. We bring in mentors, both local and from overseas, to inspire and challenge our upcoming actors. Only a few weeks ago, we had the fourth AAMMA Awards here in Sydney where we invited guests from around the world. Hollywood icon Vivica Fox and famous Nigerian Actor Ramsey Noah were there. Our hosts were Anna Kansiime, Africa’s leading comedian and also Pascal Atuma. In addition, we had special guests including The NSW Leader of the Opposition Hon. John Robertson, Federal MP for Parramatta Hon. Julie Owens, African Community Leaders, radio and television presenters and many more. SMP: What are some of the challenges you are facing? Daniel: My biggest challenge is finance. We have done what we have done from our own pockets as a labour of love. Over the years our pockets have been hit hard partly because we still don’t fully understand how the system works, as relatively, we are a young community. Recently some small businesses have seen our efforts and they have tried showing support in some ways, however, this is not sufficient enough considering our huge operational costs. As a young start-up venture we are still not able to take advantage of economies of scale. Until such a time that we are able to secure corporate sponsorship we will have a challenge in exporting our products and services overseas. SMP: Are there any other awards that you have won? Daniel: Yes, 2012 seems to have been a great and memorable year for me. In addition to the SPAA Award and Champions Award from Celebrate Africa, I also won the APA 2012 Entrepreneur Award, which is an annual award presented by the African Professionals of Australia. SMP: Daniel, as we conclude, can you please tell us what your vision is: Daniel: My vision is to see the seeds we planted years ago grow into giant trees that will bear even more fruit which will eventually multiply into many more thousands of trees to fill Australia and the world with more beauty . I want to look back years from now and say it was all worth it. My hope is to see the faces we have inspired become successful and useful to the world.
Mobile Made Easy Mobile Apps and Responsive Websites App delivery Digital Advertising Extremely Affordable Powerful CMS: Manage your app’s content easily Ù Customize everything Ù Ù Ù Ù Ù
Product Range Mobile App development: Restaurants, Salons, Spas, Clubs… Loyalty Apps: Redeem Proximity Marketing: Blue tooth & WiFi Marketing Interactive Smart Posters Advertising Glass NFC Interactive Kiosks
www.digi-ads.biz
www.redeemlocal.biz
e-mail: sales@digi-ads.biz
SERVIC Service list
Professional Year Programs at Swinburne in Perth are specifically designed to enhance the employability of international students wishing to work in Australia. Each course integrates business communication and business culture training with career development skills to help students achieve their goal of transitioning from student to professional. Ranked equal tenth among Australian universities and third within Victoria, Swinburne is accredited to deliver Professional Year Programs in Accounting, Computer Science and Engineering. Recognised for the quality of its educational experience by The Good Universities Guide 2014 and awarded a 5-star rating for graduate satisfaction, all Swinburne’s Professional Year Participants can be assured of the same benefits. Professional Year Programs are now being delivered in Perth, located at the IIBT campus in Victoria Park. For more information please contact Samantha Bonner, Manager of Professional & Career Programs on (08) 6180 2100, sbonner@swin.edu.au or visit our website: swinburne. edu.au/pyp
McGrath English Language Training Centre provides a professional and friendly tutoring service in the areas of IELTS, TOEFL, OET and ESL. All our tutors are native English speakers and have many years of experience tutoring students from all different cultures and countries. Our students have a choice of one-on-one tutoring, group sessions or a variety of courses to suit their requirements. If you live in the Perth region classes can be at our fully-equipped training centre in Canning Vale or at your home. If you live outside Perth or in another country, our service also offers IELTS online through our alternative web site www.mcgrathieltsonline.com you can also link through our main web site www.mcgratheltc.com.au. For more information please contact Trevor McGrath on 0406969106 or Linda McGrath on 0477 362 585. Our training centre is located at Unit 4/12-14 Panama Street Canning Vale WA 6155.
Infinity Growth provides business mentoring through online courses and one-on-one coaching to help you get more clients and expand your business. Our flagship program is the Ultimate Uniqueness System. It’s designed to set your business apart from your competitors and is particularly effective for ‘staple’ businesses where it can be difficult to come up with a real uniqueness. This system has been successfully applied to hundreds of businesses and franchise concepts around the world. After more than 15 years in creating business systems and franchising we’ve learnt the pitfalls and secrets to expanding into multiple locations. Our cornerstone program for business expansion is the Business Leverage System. If you’re thinking of (or already are) expanding into multiple locations - let us help you. You could be doing it quicker and with less money than you think. Take the first step and discover how we can help with some free tools and information available here: www.infinity-growth.com/members/join/
Situated on the leafy streets of West Perth, The Park Business Centre offers premium serviced offices located on quiet, easy-to-access Ventnor Avenue. The Park Business Centre is just 100 metres from the banks, retail strip and professional services of Hay Street well known for its cafes, restaurants, patisseries and beautiful parklands, including the internationally acclaimed King’s Park with the Perth city centre just minutes away. The Park Business Centre offers a highly desirable business address, premium facilities and an outstanding location that places everything at your fingertips, creating a very memorable first impression, giving your business the ‘all important’ competitive edge. The virtual office is a perfect, cost effective solution for new, remote or home businesses providing all of the support services and client facilities essential for running a successful business at a fraction of the cost. A virtual office gives you access to The Park’s professional meeting rooms and function facilities, a hot desk with complimentary wi-fi and our professional support services team who can take care of the small but important details, leaving you free to focus on running your business. For further information please contact Penelope Willems, Manager on 08 9429 8888 Email: enquiries@thepark.com.au Visit: www.thepark.com.au
50
www.smpmagazine.com.au | February 2015
CE LIST Service list
Interested in Australian Immigration? Speak to an experienced Registered Migration Agent of Indian origin about your eligibility or employer sponsored, skilled or business migration to Australia. We specialise in assisting local businesses recruit or retain their overseas skilled professionals on temporary or permanent visas. Horizon Australasia Pty Ltd is an Australian based Immigration Consultancy that specialises in Australian Immigration, Education and Recruitment. Horizon Australasia offers the following services: • Recruitment of skilled professionals for Australian businesses • Promoting Australian education to recruit international students to study in Education and Training International and Curtin University, Western Australia • Promoting Australian education for off shore delivery of courses • Professional assistance with temporary and permanent visas to live, work and study in Australia Please send your migration enquiries to: info@horizonaustralasia.com.au or PO Box 4553, Myaree WA 6960 www.horizonaustralasia.com.au
Get that BIG BOOST to start off 2015 with a completely energised mindset. Make 2015 your year and fulfill all your resolutions! So, call now to find out more about personal coaching sessions for you. Testimonial: “Thank you so much... for my personal breakthrough session. I feel awesome! I now know I can go out and tackle anything... my confidence has skyrocketed and I believe that I have the abilities to handle anything...I have managed to make great progress towards achieving the things on my goals list already! Thank you, with all my heart.” Sharon, Busselton. Prefer a workshop? ROAR! is a transformational workshop designed to unleash your infinite inner power! If you are looking for answers, want to know the secret to lasting happiness, need a mindset shift or simply a nudge in the right direction, this course is for you. March 28th & 29th T: 0401 027 671 | 0417 949 575 | E: info@thetalloak.com | www.thetalloak.com Our coaches and trainers and qualified in various areas from Neuro Linguistic programming (NLP), behavioural consultancy, clinical hypnotherapy, health coaching and more.
Anne Street Partners are your local experts for Australian financial planning and advice. We understand that the thought of seeing a financial adviser can appear daunting, but take a moment to relax because we have a team of professionals who are here to help you make sense of it all. For over 15 years we’ve been working with Australians from every walk of life with the aim of assisting them to become financially secure and ultimately retire with peace of mind. We take our heritage from our parent company Mayfair Ltd, based in London, UK. As a privately-owned and operated organisation we are not owned or controlled by any Australian banks or any other financial institutions. Ultimately this allows us to create financial strategies for you and what’s best for your circumstances. We understand that everyone has a unique financial position. It’s our role to simplify complex and often complicated concepts to give you the confidence to make decisions that enable you to move forward both financially, and also importantly, in life. We empower individuals by developing a strategic approach to reach their financial goals and protect the asset base they’ve built over their lifetime. If you would like to be financially secure and retire with peace of mind, contact an Anne Street Partners adviser today on 135 444, or visit www.annestreetpartners.com.au.
Shelvee Special Events (SSE) is an events planning business specialising in birthday parties, social and corporate events. We specialise in decorations and event management making celebrations memorable. SSE aims to assist our clients by relieving the stress of planning and set-up of an event. We coordinate the event on the actual day allowing the host to sit back, relax and mingle with the guests. SSE works with the client to come up with a plan that suits their needs and ensure the smooth running of the event. We have various events equipment for hire such as kids and adults party ware. We offer a free one hour consultation to discuss, clarify needs and offer guidance. We also have a list of trusted vendors that we work with to provide quality services. To find out more about SSE contact our team on: Mobile: 0487 976 892 Email: info@shelveespecialevents.com.au Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/ShelVee-Special-Events/247399468794371
February 2015 | www.smpmagazine.com.au
51