Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 1

Let’s Talk Business Back To Basics Business Solutions - Support for Small Business

Is This The End?

103 stores and 550 jobs are on the line

Inside this issue

Homeart Closures ….............2 Five Conversations Leaders

Must Have Dr Tim Baker …..….............3

Biz Snippets …………….......4 Biz Tips ………………….….5 Are You Stuck in the Rut?

Dennis Chiron………...........6 Almost No One Does This

Angie “Speedy” Spiterie ….7 What’s Holding You Back?

Geoff Butler ………………..8 How You Can Get Out Of

Doing All The Things You Don’t Like Doing In Your Business

Dan Buzer ……..…………..9 Google’s Changes & What

They Mean For Searches Karen Ahl ……..………….10

End of Financial Year Tax

Planning Jo-Anne Chaplin …………11

7 Mistakes Appliance

Retailers Make When Planning a Sale Amy Roche …………….....12

Ethical Investing Paul Gillmore……..............14 Better Get Into The Digital

Space Peter Nicol ………………..15

Performance Management

Denis Keating …………… 16 Where Are You Going To?

Betty Zsoldos …..………...17 Organisations’ Strategic

Compass Andrew Csaszar …..….…..18

Editor’s BizTips ……….….19 LTB Objectives …..........…..20

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 2

Homeart, so it must seem to all of us,

has been around for many, many years.

Previously known as Copperart,

Homeart was founded in Melbourne in

1979 and is one of Australia's largest

specialty retailers.

However, in January 2015, PPB

Advisory in Sydney, were appointed as

the voluntary administrators of

Homeart.

Since then, media articles regarding the

closures of individual Homeart stores

have been popping up all over Australia,

and on February 6th, Smartcompany

reported: “The administrators of

collapsed homewares retailer Homeart

are in the process of closing 13 stores,

including six in the retailer’s home state

of New South Wales, with nearly 50

staff set to lose their jobs as a result.

Daniel Austin Walley, Phillip Carter

and Mark Robinson of PPB Advisory

were appointed administrators of

Homeart after the iconic retailer was

placed into voluntary administration on

22nd January .”

At the time of the appointment, the

Homeart chain had 116 stores

nationwide, with around 600

employees, but no longer had any

franchises.

As a result, 13 stores are closing

nationwide, including six in NSW, four

in Victoria, two in South Australia and

one in Western Australia.

A total of 46 employees have been

made redundant, including 18 causal

employees, 22 who work part-time and

six who work full-time. PPB Advisory

says it is working closely with the

affected staff and their representatives

regarding entitlements, and will assist

them in identifying potential re-

employment opportunities.

However, on the 25th March,

SmartCompany’s Andrew Sadauskas

reported: “All 103 remaining Homeart

stores to close – 550 jobs lost”.

SmartCompany understands the only

Homeart stores still trading in Victoria

are the outlets at Broadmeadows and

Northland, with all other stores closing

and their staff made redundant as of

Wednesday.

Staff were told by store and state

managers that administrators PPB

Advisory had not found any buyers for

the chain and have decided to close all

its stores in Australia.

Along with a redundancy letter,

employees were given an information

sheet from the Australian Securities

and Investments Commission about

insolvency.

“We advise that your store has ceased

to trade and the company no longer

requires your services under your

contract of employment. Accordingly,

your employment is hereby terminated

as at the date of this letter,” the

redundancy letter said.

“Your payment summary will be

forwarded to you at the end of the

financial year.”

One of the chain’s Victorian

employees, who asked not to be named,

told SmartCompany yesterday was her

last day with the company.

“Just before the administration our pay

was late, which we realise now was

probably due to a lack of funds and we

were receiving emails telling us to pre-

bank as much as we could during the

day so that our pay would go through,”

the employee says.

Ironically, as far back as August 2012,

Homeart, throughout all of their stores,

have been advertising “Closing Down”

Sales, and one consumer in Goulburn

HOMEART 103 stores nationwide set to close and around 550 staff to lose their jobs.

NSW, wrote: “I just bought a

CookWell Dehydrator for $29.90

from HomeArt in their "Closing

Down Prices" sale. They're not

closing down, it's just the name of

their sale.”

A bit tricky? …. and it seems that

whilst many consumers truly believed

that Homeart was indeed “Closing

Down”, it was just a “gimmicky”

statement to attract consumers

thinking they would perhaps get a

better deal on many products. OR,

perhaps Homeart bosses saw the

‘writing on the wall’ way back in

2012.

Earlier this month, the Sunshine Coast

Daily reported: The Sunshine Coast's

last surviving store, at the

Maroochydore Homemaker Centre,

was holding a massive closing down

sale which was due to end today.

The employees said they would be

without work.

A staff member who asked to remain

anonymous said they had been

advised last week all the stores were

to close.

PPB Advisory could not be reached

for comment.

The employee said she had worked for

the company for more than 12 years.

While she was optimistic she would

be eligible for a redundancy package,

she was frustrated that under Fair

Work laws she was entitled to less

compensation than a colleague who

had only worked there for eight years.

"Under Fair Work, if you've worked

eight years you are eligible for 14

weeks' redundancy payment, but if

you've worked more than 10 years,

you are only eligible for 12 weeks,"

she said.

"There is no reward for loyalty."

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 3

Organisations

are conversations. At its heart, the life

of any organisation exists in and is

sustained through the conversations

that are taking place inside, around

and about it. But I hear people tell me

that their organisation is not ready to

have meaningful conversations. Or, to

have meaningful conversations, they

need training (Imagine telling your

parents that you are being trained to

have conversations at work; I think

they would be bemused!). Or, we

don't have time for meaningful

conversations, we are too busy. I think

we are fast losing sight of the power

or conversations and their importance.

Here is a framework I have put

together of five conversations that I

think every manager ought to have

with each of his or her team every

year. In fact I argue that the Five

Conversations Framework is a

replacement for the archaic

performance review.

Climate review conversation

A climate review is about determining

the current atmosphere in a particular

workplace. It is mainly concerned

with employees' job satisfaction,

morale and communication. Although

people's opinion about these matters

can - and often do - fluctuate over the

course of a year, it can be useful to

take a snapshot of the business

occasionally. By having a

conversation with direct reports about

the state of the current climate,

managers have a handle on the current

state of the business, and what needs

to be done to improve the

fundamentals of satisfaction, morale

and communication. Listening and

responding to this feedback is a good

place to start.

Strengths and talents conversation

Most appraisals are fixated with what

is going wrong; in other words, they

focus on weaknesses and by-pass

strengths and talents. Tom Rath in the

# 1 Wall Street Journal bestseller:

Strengths Finder 2.0 underscores the

value of a conversation on this

subject:

Society's relentless focus on people's

shortcomings has turned into a global

obsession. What's more, we have

discovered that people have several

times more potential for growth when

they invest energy in developing their

strengths instead of correcting their

deficiencies

Apart from being an edifying place to

start discussing performance after the

organisational climate, this

conversation capitalises on people's

innate talents. As the positive

psychology movement has preached

for two decades: Building upon

strengths has a higher payoff then

working on overcoming weaknesses.

Opportunities for growth

conversation

This conversation invites an

opportunity for employees to consider

how they can improve their own work

performance in key result areas. By

doing so, the potential for both to gain

a common perspective on areas for

improved performance is possible. A

dual understanding of current and

expected standards performance is an

important first step.

The second step is to discuss and

agree upon some tangible ways and

means of improving the employee's

performance to match expectations.

Thirdly and finally, this conversation

is important in aligning performance

expectations will the strategic

direction of the business. Some

opportunities identified can be put

into practice straight away. And

others can be adopted with more L &

D support later.

Learning and development

conversation

Conversations about learning and

development capitalise on the

previous two conversations. What

leaning experiences can assist in build

upon strengths and lift performance in

critical areas. Learning experiences

can be technical, personal

development, or problem-based. All

three dimensions are important for an

eclectic approach to HRD.

Innovation and continuous

improvement conversation

This conversation is about practical

ways and means of improving both

the employee's own efficiency and

effectiveness and the business in

general.

What can I - and what can we - do to

improve? is the focus here. Imagine

for a moment the power of this

conversation occurring across an

organisation during a particular

month. Some of the ideas that surface

will undoubtedly be too costly or

impractical. But some would also be

worth considering.

Each of these five conversations ought

to take about 15 minutes. Some go

longer. Being thematically-based, they

are focused and therefore need not

take a considerable amount of time.

Being more relaxed and

conversational compared with the

rigid appraisal regime, this new

approach minimises the power

dynamic of the manager-employee

relationship. The manager still asked

questions to guide the conversation.

But in this framework, the manager's

role is converser and facilitator, not

appraiser and assessor. This approach

shifts the emphasis from appraising to

developing people at work.

Dr Tim Baker

Managing Director

WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd

www.winnersatwork.com.au

www.about.me/tim.baker

tim@winnersatwork.com.au

Telephone. +61 7 3899 8881

Five Conversations

Leaders Must Have

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 4

much of a has-been, but more of

definitely won't be."

"This young lady has delusions

of adequacy."

"Works well when under

constant supervision and

cornered like a rat in a trap."

"When he opens his mouth, it

seems that this is only to change

whichever foot was previously in

there."

"He sets low personal standards

and then consistently fails to

achieve them."

"This employee should go far-

and the sooner he starts, the

better."

A Smart Salesman! A neatly dressed salesman stopped a

man in the street and asked -"Sir,

would you like to buy a bottle of this

mouthwash for $200.00?"

Aghast, the man said, "are you

NUTS?, that's robbery!"

The salesman seemed hurt and then

tries again -"Sir, since you are a bit

irate, I'll sell it to you for 1/2 price at

$100.00?"

Again, the man replies bluntly - "you

must be crazy pal, now go away!"

The salesman then reaches into his

briefcase and pulls out 2 brownies

and begins munching away on one of

them.

He tells the irate guy -"Sir, please

share one of my brownies since I

have annoyed you so much".

Unwrapping the brownie, the guy

takes a bite; suddenly, the guys spits

it out and says: "HEY," he snarled,

"this brownie tastes like crap!"

"It is," replied the salesman. "Wanna

buy some mouthwash?"

HUMOUROUS

BUSINESS CARDS

& SIGNS

Things You'd Love to Say at Work!

And your crybaby, whinging

opinion would be...?

Do I look like a people person?

This isn't an office. It's Hell with

fluorescent lighting!

Sarcasm is just one more service

we offer.

If I throw a stick, will you leave?

Errors have been made. Others

will be blamed.

I'm trying to imagine you with a

personality.

Stress is when you wake up

screaming and you realize you

haven't fallen asleep yet.

Nice perfume. Must you marinate

in it?

Chaos, Panic, and Disorder ... My

work here is done.

How do I set a laser printer to

stun?

Job History A lady comes in for her interview

with the human resources department

of a large company and hands the

executive her application. As the

executive begins to scan her resume,

he notices that she has been fired

from every job she's ever held.

"I must say," says the executive,

"your work history is terrible. You've

been fired from every job."

"Yes," says the lady.

"Well," continues the executive,

"there's not much positive in that."

"Well, " says the woman as she stares

at her interviewer. "At least I'm not a

quitter!"

Employee Evaluations Quotes taken from actual employee

evaluations:

"Since my last report, this

employee has reached rock

bottom and has started to dig."

"I would not allow this employee

to breed."

"This associate is really not so

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 5

Since it's your most popular

customers who are receiving your

message, your deal is both welcomed

and likely to produce dinner

customers that evening.

Notice this scenario depends on two

pre-requisites: one, that you've

already developed an email contact

list; and two, that it contains only

qualified people who know and truly

enjoy your establishment.

The first pre-requisite is easier to

achieve, since it only involves some

effort on your part. But how about

the second? How can you build a list

of qualified customers who look

forward to hearing from you?

The answer lies in your most

obvious, yet overlooked source…

your existing customer base. In fact,

many business owners don't know

how to leverage the incredible

potential tied up in their current

customers. Building a Just-In-Time

email list is one of the best.

All you need is a sufficient incentive

for people to give you their email

address.

As people pay at the cash register,

have your staff ask "Would you like

a free gift certificate for your next

purchase?" Chances are the answer

will be “Yes!”…in which case you

ask them to fill out a card listing their

name and email address.

Now you have your list. Be sure to

follow up periodically with a nicely

designed certificate for a discount.

You'll not only generate return visits

from your best customers on a

regular basis, but also the next time

your business is in need of a Just-In-

Time sales boost, you'll have the

tools to make it happen.

Emails are Valid and

Legally Enforceable

Legal ramifications associated with

emailed correspondence are often

overlooked, but the growing instances

in which emails are relevant to legal

disputes suggest we should be paying

more attention; reports Dynamic

Business

An agreement made via email could be

valid and legally enforceable – if a

contract’s key elements are included., a

lot depends on whether or not a legal

disclaimer at the bottom of the email

provides any sort of protection.

Colin Porter of Dynamic Business

said: “We see those disclaimers all the

time nowadays on all sorts of emailed

correspondence wearing terms and

conditions like a golden shield. But

does it cover you?”

Brendan Tomlinson, Special Counsel,

Technology and Intellectual Property

at Ash Street Partners, said that

protection afforded by a legal

disclaimer usually depends on the

terms of the disclaimer and the

circumstances in which it is used.

There are 6 legal concerns often dealt

with in a disclaimer: confidentiality,

employer liability, contractual rights,

viruses, legal/regulatory compliance

and marketing.

Corporate Psychopaths

In Volume 2 Issue 20 - July 2014 Page

6, Geoff Butler wrote about Corporate

Psychopaths in the Workplace. Recent

research conducted in Australia

indicates that over a quarter of all

workplace bullying is carried out by

just one percent of the workforce - the

Corporate Psychopath.

This same research has highlighted the

tell-tale signs for an astute employer to

to stay alert for if they think that one

of their employers might be a

Corporate Psychopath.

Wikipedia defines it as follows:

Psychopathy in the workplace is a

serious issue as, although

psychopaths typically represent only

a small percentage of the staff, they

are most common at higher levels of

corporate organizations and their

actions often cause a ripple effect

throughout an organization, setting

the tone for an entire corporate

culture. Examples of detrimental

effects are increased bullying,

conflict, stress, staff turnover and

absenteeism, reduction in

productivity and social responsibility.

Ethical standards of entire

organisations can be badly damaged

if a corporate psychopath is ’let

loose’.

Just-In-Time Marketing

Many of you are probably familiar

with the manufacturing technique,

Just-In-Time or J.I.T. This technique

helps factories become increasingly

efficient by processing and delivering

parts to their assembly point at the

exact moment they're needed.

So what does this have to do with

marketing? Often, the best time to

implement marketing efforts can be at

the last minute - just in time, when

customers are highly motivated to

respond.

Say, for example, you own a

restaurant and your Sunday whiting

entrée was a less-than-huge success.

Now it's Monday and you have a lot

of whiting you need customers to eat

NOW. ……. What do you do?

If you're properly prepared with a list

of your most loyal customers' email

addresses, you send out a midday

email promoting a too-good-to-pass-

up Whiting Special that evening

ONLY.

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 6

Are You Stuck In The Rut Of Thinking Small?

Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business

0451 184 599 www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Skype: dennis.chiron2

“Business is like a person rowing a boat upstream. They have no choice; they must go ahead or they will go back.” Louis Peirson

Do you find that sometimes you are “stuck” thinking small?

Like most small business owners, we all wear many hats, and in the hustle and bustle running our business; ensuring orders get filled, customers get served, staff are performing well and morale is good, answering the phone, and bills get paid, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking small.

Many of us never reach the level of accomplishment that we have set our goals on, mainly because of thinking “small”.

Thinking big is a habit that we can develop and adopt, if only we can get the time to focus. It is a habit that allows us to stretch our imaginations and expand our personal potential.

However, thinking big will never become a reality for some of us if we continue to stay caught up in the following limiting habits that ironically force us to think small:

Procrastination holds you back and pulls you away from moving forward in your life.

Short-term thinking denies you the ability to see solutions that lie a few steps ahead

Solving insignificant problems distracts you from what’s most important and from the BIGGER picture.

Over-analyzing things wastes time and energy on small matters that are of little significance.

Sometimes it seems that the small business owner is forever running their business in reactive mode,

constantly responding to one phone call or crisis or emergency after another. ….. Is this YOU????

It’s a fact that when we’re doing the same thing, day in and day out, it’s hard to break out of routine thought and encourage our minds to think beyond the here and now.

Alec Lynch, Founder and CEO of DesignCrowd.com.au offers 5 tips that he suggests will get you out of the rut and start thinking and growing your business:

1. Think big. Whether you’re planning a new business or running an existing business: think big, think global.

2. Never stop testing. If you never stop testing new things and your website, your business will never stop improving.

3. Faster is better than slow.

4. If you have an idea, start today. It’s never been easier to start a business. All you need is a laptop and a credit card.

5. Never, never, never give up on your dream.

David Lonsdale, President, Allegiance Capital https://twitter.com/@MiddleMktMandA says: “Failing to take the time to challenge small-business attitudes is a sure-fire way to miss out on

the growth your company could easily be ready for.”

David suggests there are three major attitude shifts needed :

1. Invest in Quality Support Staff: We should make the choice to invest in quality employees. A small company generally can’t afford full-time professionals in key support positions. Midsize companies know they can’t afford not to.

2. Turn Customers Away: When you start running a company, it feels like you have to take every order a customer is willing to give you, no matter how small - and sometimes, you do. But when you start getting $10,000 orders, you should be turning away the $1,000 ones.

3. Expand the Management Team: If you want to successfully transition to being a mid-size business, it is essential that you stop to assess whether your ownership and management have the right attitude towards your company’s growth. If it’s time to take it to the next level, you’d better start making business decisions like midsize companies do.

Whilst I may not necessarily totally

agree with the above, the best advice I

can offer is that we should all be

willing to at least consider change. If

not, then growth, advancement and

expansion are impossible.

In order to open your mind and

prepare yourself to reach a new level,

you will have to accept the changes

that will happen as a result.

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 7

people 4 weeks off a year) = Ready for it?

…. You are going to feel sick…

$15 360 per annum

What could you do with $15 360!!!

Employ another person Part Time?

Go on a holiday???

Pay off your mortgage???

Now $15 360 is the basic cost… I haven’t

factored in…

The 9600 minutes in time… Which

translates to 20 days!!

The opportunities and tasks you are

not getting too when you continue to

allow your time to be cannibalized!

All the extra hours that are done after

hours and on weekends to try to get

core business done

All the indirect costs incurred to run a

business longer hours

All the direct and indirect costs

incurred when projects are not

undertaken in the time they are

expected to take

Now I hate to make the obvious obvious

BUT the above figure can only increase IF

you have more people and your average

income is higher… and you allow more

than 1 interruption per hour.

Whoa!! UGLY!

And even worse… I have only talked

about 1 common time stealing habit in this

newsletter!!!!

"BUT!", you say "these interruptions need

to be dealt with"… and my answer to you

is YES and NO.

There’s a certain law… let’s call it

TimeEqualsMoney

Angie 'Speedy' Spiteri Business Efficiency Specialist

www.timeequalsmoney.net.au

Ph: 0403 970 732

http://www.facebook.com/time.equals.money

“Speedy’s law for managing low

priority interruptions and

empowering your staff” that says if

you don’t answer all the interruptions

the instant a person wants to interrupt

you, some of these interruptions will

get resolve themselves.

There’s another law… Let’s call this

one “Speedy’s law of getting things

done faster and with more

accuracy” … And it goes like this…

when you do the same type of work

in one batch you give it your full

attention, you make better decisions

and you work faster and with more

accuracy.

So, if you are brave enough, do a

calculation for your business and ask

yourself is this price worth

continuing to pay??

Or better yet… if I was saving this

time and money… working more

efficiently, what could I do?

Try our free tool the Instant Profit

Calculator . The Instant Profit

Calculator will help you achieve all

your goals, meet your deadlines,

perform better by pinpointing exactly

what you should be doing and what

you should stop doing. This tool will

point you in the direction of more

time and money to enjoy life more.

**Angie Spiteri, works with time poor, tech

challenged entrepreneurs who need to calm

their administrative challenges and

eliminate unnecessary chaos so they can

make more money with the limited time they

have.

To connect with Angie visit

www.timeequalsmoney.net.au

Do you ever take a moment to work

out how much Low Priority

interruptions are costing you??

Often, when delivering solutions

around managing interruptions that

could wait rather than be answered

immediately, participants offer the

following comments…

I don’t mind being interrupted

I’d rather be interrupted

Interruptions are no problem to me

If I don’t answer calls or emails

straight away I’ll lose the

opportunity/clients

What they are not saying is that they

want to be free to interrupt others as

and when I like too.

I’m here to tell you allowing ALL

interruptions to interrupt you all day

long costs you in time and money. I

figure, you know this. But let me show

you how much how it is costing you…

Let’s say you work in an office of 5

people who earn on average $40 000 a

year and who work 40 hours a week.

40 hours a week = $19.23 per hour

= .32c per minute

There’s a statistic that says the

average person is interrupted 7 times

an hour and that each interruption

lasts between 2 to 5 minutes.

Let’s say these people are interrupted

once an hour and that this interruption

lasts 5 minutes.

.32c per minute x 5 minutes x 8

(because we generally paid for an 8

hour day) = $12.80

x 5 people = $64.00

x 5 days a week = $320 a week

x 48 weeks a year (because most

companies in Australia give their

Almost no one does this…

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 8

‘It’s not what’s in front of you that’s stopping you. It’s what inside of you

that’s holding you back’ - Mork from Ork I just happened to walk into the lounge

room the other day and heard this pearl

of wisdom in a repeat episode of the

inimitable ‘Mork & Mindy’ as Mork

was delivering his weekly report to

Orson. It struck me how profound the

statement was, and how if we all

learned from it what a difference it

would make to our lives, both business

and personal.

You see it’s a researched fact that the

biggest cost to business has nothing to

do with the economy, our team or any

external factor. It all comes down to

three little letters: ‘F.T.I’ or ‘Failure to

implement’.

We all spend a great deal of time and

money planning how we want our

businesses and lives to be, but then end

up just sliding back to do pretty much

what we have always done. It’s not

that we don’t want to make the

changes, but when things start getting

difficult we just tend to slide back to

our comfort zone.

One of my favourite management

gurus, who actually left school at 14

and became a pastry cook is Tom

O’Toole, the infamous Beechworth

Baker. I really like Tom because he is

not an academic but a person with more

common sense than most, and one of

my favourite quotes of his is ‘You will

never find what you’re looking for in

your comfort zone.’ If you haven’t

seen Tom (sometimes called John

Cleese on Speed) do yourself a favour

and Google him or get hold of one of

his books.

When it comes to business, my

experience is that the management of

change, and the art of communication

are actually the major factors that

affect the long term success of any

venture.

In essence, having developed a strong

set of future objectives and strategies

to support them, communicating the

change and building belief (including

your own) is the first step successful

change management. Then there are

three critical stages to implementing

change. Of course each of these can

be broken down into a number of

smaller steps, but essentially they are:

The first is to unfreeze the present.

This involves consciously and

conscientiously letting go of the

existing situation and readying the

business for change. This is a very

tense time for all if not well managed,

and there will be a need strong

leadership and support of all involved

to ensure they have the necessary

human, physical and financial

resources to make the change;

The second is to make the change.

Now having built the rapport and

confidence it is time to make the

planned change using detailed

planned and measureable objectives,

along with delegations and

accountabilities for all involved; then

Lastly, and most importantly, it’s

time to refreeze at the new reality.

My experience is this is where most

businesses fail in the process no

matter whether if it’s a major change

management process or something

relatively minor.

You see if you don’t spend sufficient

time refreezing at the new situation

the first time things start to get tough

or unexpected issues arise, the easy

option is to slide back to where you

started from and all the effort and

evolution will be wasted. You’ll just

end up doing what you have always

done.

This is a very simplified description

of change management and in the

end it will all depend on your internal

self- belief. Change is hard, and

doing nothing is nearly always an

easy, if somewhat uninspiring option.

But remember fair weather never

made a great sailor, and we need to

constantly challenge ourselves and

our team to overcome our self-

limiting beliefs.

No successful person ever had it

easy, but they had a gut full of

determination and an unfailing belief

in their ability to achieve, and were

able to convince the right people

to join them on the journey.

Geoff Butler FAIM AP, MAITD MACE

Principal/Business Improvement &

Implementation Specialist

Business Optimizers

Mobile: 0414 943072

Fax: 3036 6131

Email: geoff@businessoptimizers.com.au

Skype: business.optimizers1

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 9

At last! Here’s how you can get out of doing all the things

you don’t like doing in your business!

I don’t know about you, but there are

some things I just don’t like doing. In

fact, there are some things I am down

-right ‘dangerous’ at doing.

For example … You do not want me

fixing the brakes on your car, or

wiping everything on your computer

and re-setting it for you or putting

together a website. These are not my

areas of expertise!

However, I have businesses with

vehicles that need mechanical

equipment serviced, computers that

need regular updating and a

considerable online presence.

A possible solution for you …

Business Partners!

Now before you start rolling your

eyes and looking for something else

to read because of the horror stories

you may have heard or even

experienced, here me out!

I too have had some negative

experiences with business partners.

However, I also have some amazing

experiences. It’s just taking some

common sense steps. believe when

Now befe

1. Only partner with someone

who has experience ‘owning a

business’

I have sold the best franchise

outlet in the country, out of 40+

outlets, to the manager who was

experienced at running the very

business she bought from me.

She went partners with her older

sister and they promptly sent the

business broke. A great race

horse can be killed by a bad

jockey!

2. Only partner with someone

who really knows your

industry.

Both of my current business

partners, in separate businesses,

have vast experience in the

industries we are involved in. One

of my business partners has a

database of 3,000+ loyal Clients

that he has been building and

nurturing for over 14 years.

That’s a good track record that

shows he has experience in the

industry. If not for him I would

have fallen into many pit-falls that

I have since avoided, thanks to his

experience.

3. Split down the middle

Keep it simple. Share the risk and

rewards evenly. Remember to

split ‘all’ risks, including

financial, time with family, doing

the jobs you don’t like doing and

more.

4. Look at the support structure

behind your potential business

partner

Meet their personal partners,

family members, pets, etc.

Experience how they live.

Are they clean tidy and organised?

When times get tough (and they

usually do) what do their current

surroundings tell you about the

resources they have to support

them?

5. Personal Cash Flow

management

Is your potential business partner

able to weather any challenging

financial dips? Having access to

financial funding so they can

uphold any end of the bargain

you require them to is important

to consider.

6. Legals and insurances

Get professional advice! Meet

with legal people with your

partner and individually.

Get things documented. Plan for

the worst, hope for the best! Have

a worst case scenario strategy to

fall back on and review it as your

venture grows. Have a regular

communication session and

discuss ‘everything’ that comes

to mind.

Summary

Having business partners can be one

of the most harrowing or rewarding

experiences of your business life.

However, it can take a little practice

and maybe even a little luck.

Business is personal! Take your time

and truly get to know the person

you’re considering to get into

business with. Make it fun and keep it

professional.

Ultimately … be prepared! Get help.

Go to www.profitmechanics.com.au

or call Dan Buzer 0n 0414 567 188

for your complimentary Profit

Mechanics Diagnostic Phone

Meeting.

Remember … Business is More Fun,

When There’s Profit!

Dan Buzer

Profit Mechanics

0414 567 188

www.profitmechanics.net/ dan@profitmechanics.net

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 10

THIS IS NOT A DRILL PEOPLE

– this a legitimate update.

It is important to maintain your

Google ranking so please be aware

FROM GOOGLE’S MOUTH:

“Starting April 21, we will be

expanding our use of mobile-

friendliness as a ranking signal.

This change will affect mobile

searches in all languages

worldwide and will have a

significant impact in our search

results. Consequently, users will

find it easier to get relevant, high

quality search results that are

optimized for their devices.”

Google is always changing!

It is their job to evolve to ensure the

integrity of their search results so

that they remain the No. 1 search

engine.

It is simply up to us, as businesses

owners, to keep up.

If your website is older than 3 years,

it is very likely it will not be

compliant. It is important that you

get this checked.

As Google has actually changed

“what they look for” in a mobile

site, many older sites are most likely

NOT be compliant and therefore,

may be penalised in Google

searches.

Previous techniques and software used

by many web designers and developers

would have been more than enough to

keep Google happy, however, these

recent changes has forced most web

companies, including mine, to

introduce new procedures and to learn

new technology.

How do you check if your site is

okay?

You can simply ask your website

provider OR you can check it yourself

by going to:

www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

mobile-friendly

Type in your website address to see

what Google comes back with.

Who pays for it?

Unfortunately, you do. This is no

different from your POS system

software being updated, a new piece of

machinery coming out or the latest

upgrade on your bookkeeping

software.

If your existing web developer

wants to charge you a lot of money,

make sure they justify why and

check what other work they have

done before.

If you are still not confident, shop

around!

What now?

If your website is 4 years or older

site it is most likely created in

HTML (just check for the .html at

the end of your website address

when you visit a page within your

website.

If this is the case...it is very likely

that you will need to upgrade your

website.

For many of our long-term clients,

we are offering a discounted rate to

rebuild their websites using the

newer software and technology.

By doing this, there are a bunch of

other fantastic benefits that

businesses will be able to enjoy.

If you have a content management

system (CMS) like Wordpress or

Joomla then the update/s required

may not be as extreme and

hopefully quite affordable.

For further information, please feel

free to email Karen ~ The Webgirl.

Karen Ahl

Bac. Bus (Mark, Man), TAE40110, Cert IV IT

Caboolture, Queensland

Ph 0415 142 178

www.web-sta.com.au

Google’s changes and what they mean for Searches

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 11

Jo-Anne Chaplin

Tax & Superannuation Professionals Pty Ltd

PH 07 3410 8116 / Mobile 0457 960 566

Email : taxandsuperprofessionals@gmail.com

Web: www.taxandsuperprofessionals.com.au

I am a qualified Accountant and I have celebrated my 20th anniversary as a

Registered Tax Agent this year. During my time in Public Practice I have

assisted clients to achieve business growth and prosperity. My earlier career

included positions in banking, manufacturing, construction and retail. My

particular interest is in promoting a culture of using local industries and

business in order to build a strong community.

This is the perfect time of year to

begin thinking about tax planning for

the 2015 financial year. If left too

late in the year, there may not be

enough time to put strategies into

place before June 30.

Where do I start?

Once the BAS for March is done,

you will have a set of trading figures

for the financial year to date. Review

what income your business has

coming up in the next few months.

You can glean these figures from

contracts in progress, or last year’s

trading figures. Now estimate the

costs against that income, i.e. wages,

materials, rent etc.

What’s next?

Make an appointment with your

Accountant to discuss where the

business is now, and make some

projections or estimates for the

balance of the year. From here

appropriate tax planning can

proceed, having regard to your cash

flow position, what expenditure

needs your business has in the next

few months, what business and

personal goals you haven and what

new tax rules are currently in place.

What is ‘tax planning?

Tax planning is applying strategies

which can legally reduce the amount

of tax you pay. It is a process that

examines what profits your business

you have all the required

substantiation for your work

related expenses

Make purchases for work related

expenses prior to June 30

If you are an investor in the stock

market, and have made significant

capital gains this year, review your

portfolio for underperforming stocks

that can be sold at a loss. The capital

loss will reduce any capital gains

made in the income year, and

therefore reduce your liability to

capital gains tax.

If you invest in rental property

market, review your properties and

make any purchases for repairs and

maintenance prior to June 30. Take

care that the expenditure is for

repairs, and not improvements to the

property. Depreciation claims can be

maximised by arranging for a

building valuation report.

Finally

When looking at strategies for

saving tax, it’s really important to

remember not to spend just to

receive a tax deduction. You will

need to consider whether the

expenditure will benefit your

investment or business from a

wealth creation view, as well

provide you with a tax effective

return.

is expected to make, and what expenses

are available to reduce the taxable profit.

If you are a Small Business Entity, items

such as the prepayment of regular

expenses such as rent or advertising will

be deductible. Other items that you

should consider are:

paying staff superannuation prior to

June 30

purchase required materials,

stationery or replacements that you

will need in the few months

following the end of June

invest in new equipment

prepay lease arrangements

write off any stock which is

unsaleable, and write down the

value of stock which is not in top

condition

contribution to personal

superannuation up to the

contribution cap limit

I’m not in business – does tax

planning apply to me?

Yes, tax planning applies to everyone. If

you are an investor or an employee, you

could review your investment income

for the current year, to see where savings

can be made. Items to consider are:

Extend maturing term deposits to

mature after 30 June

If eligible, contribute to

superannuation

If you are an employee, make sure

End of Financial Year

Tax Planning

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 12

7 Mistakes Appliance Retailers Make When Planning a Sale

Amy Roche, Director

Retail Rockstars

m: 0410 815 852

e: amy@retailrockstars.com.au

w: www.retailrockstars.com.au

Amy is a self-confessed appliance nerd, customer experience advocate and author of the book, "Retail Rockstar, the 5 game changing steps to becoming a highly profitable, memorable & locally famous retailer" to be released June 2015. She has over 18 years experience in the appliance and retail industry and a real passion for technology, marketing and experiential retailing.

1. Reinforcing the “I’m only as

good as my price” ideal through

advertising: While this is the

'norm', think of a better idea,

come up with an in-store

experience or theme that gives

them a reason to come back to

your store.

Constantly baiting customers with

price-only offers reinforces their

ideals that all you want is a sale.

Be a friend, be an advisor, be an

educator, be an entertainer and

wrap some great deals and

products around that idea.

Tell them a story, give genuine

helpful advice on how to make the

best party food and they will learn

that you are more than just a price

machine. Your profit will slowly

increase and you’ll have more

money to create better

experiences.

2. Not making a BIG deal about

your Showroom: Contrary to

what our digital marketing experts

say, people don’t have deep and

meaningful “experiences” online.

Sure, they have an overall

positive, negative or neutral

feeling about how their shopping,

recommendations and checkout

went, but they are on a computer

or phone and it’s transactional

based.

However, humans have a deeper

and more emotional connection

with and more emotional connection

with other humans; we were just

made that way. Online-only

competitors are banking on the idea

that your in-store experience isn’t

remarkable.

If we continue fulfilling their wager,

there is no reason stopping more

customers from migrating to price-

only, online transactions. Your

online-only competitors don’t have

the amazing opportunity you do!

They don’t have the luxury or the

opportunity to create experiences

from human to human.

They can’t settle a customer’s

nerves about a large purchase with a

roof over their heads, a conversation

or the heavy feel of a better quality

product.

Having the financial capacity to

have a showroom is a game changer,

so don’t think about your wonderful

showroom as a huge expense – think

of it as an opportunity to connect, to

educate and create value in your

customers’ lives.

3. Reacting to a competitor’s crazy

pricing by planning a Sales Event:

Let’s face it, the amount of people

who saw your competitor’s advert

last weekend in the paper is

probably a lot smaller than you

think. As retailers, we trawl the

papers noting all the prices so we

can be prepared when a customer

says, “I saw that at ‘Cheap

Appliances R Us’ for $100 less!”

While our Rainman-like

recollection of pricing and models

within a 50k radius is rather

impressive, it’s not a normal

pastime for consumers who are

looking to buy their next fridge.

Studies show people start online

first, but please don’t throw the

baby out with the bath water.

Maintaining a sustainable profit is

important – develop a sale on your

terms, to suit your customers, your

market and your profit margin.

4. Falling in love with Suppliers &

Products and not your

customer: Your number one love

affair should be with your ‘ideal

customer’. While there are

amazing appliances out there that

have wonderful features, always

ask yourself, how does this change

my customer’s life?

How can I leverage the genius of

this product and create a real story

about how it helps my ideal

customer?

*Continued on following page

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 13

We all know from the mass

consumer surveys that price

normally falls into the top 3, but

almost never appears as the

number one reason for

purchases. Service, caring, and

being helpful always trumps

price on the list.

Make your sale day about your

ideal customer. Are they food

enthusiasts? Technology

adopters? Think of some of your

best ideal customers and make

your sale day all about them,

then wrap your best products

around this idea.

5. Merchandising and a ‘Chance

to Win’ does not constitute a

Sales Event: Don’t get me

wrong, I LOVE a good

promotion & theme!

However, from a customer’s

perspective (and this is where we

should spend our time) the

thousands of dollars spent on

elaborate prizes &

merchandising has nothing to do

with their need for a new ‘XP11

dominator oven’.

In fact, most of the customers

you want can’t be bothered with

filling out forms or registering

online. WHAT do they want?

They’ve hopped into their car

and drove to your wonderful

store specifically to see the new

XP11 dominator oven, and they

are wondering if the magical

sales day purposes. There is tons

of global data supporting a

migration of consumers from

nationalised big retail brands to

more localised buying.

Countries like the UK and USA are

already combatting this by putting

stores within a store, popup shops

and other strategies because people

are increasingly moving away from

BIG and moving towards

personalised, bespoke and smaller

runs.

In appliance retailing we don’t

have the option of having our

product localised, however we do

have the opportunity to personalise

our stores, our staff and our offers.

In America in 2011, Macy’s

started, ‘My Macy’s’ which offers

10-15% unique stock for its own

local area along with other local

area marketing initiatives.

Starting out as an experiment in

only several stores, they quickly

realised that ‘My Macy’s’ stores

outperformed their older

counterparts in some instances by a

whopping 48%. To survive, big

retailers are adapting to look

smaller and be more personalised.

Having localised events and

experiences unique to your store

during a national sales event, is just

one of the many ways to achieve

this.

Happy Retailing!

**Rockstar Acadamy: Are you a food

blogger, tech consultant or in the cooking

industry? Do you have an amazing SHOW

to share with the world, Rockstar

Academy can have you up and performing

in just 7 weeks

Please click HERE for details

machine they’ve read about online

and saw at their friend’s house is the

right oven for them.

They HEAR you are having a sale,

so they are hoping to get some

money off, but they have really

come to see or buy their new oven…

hopeful that it will cook meals by

itself and clean the dishes too.

You are already discounting your

products for ‘the SALE’, so further

outlay for giveaway products or

vacations to giveaway is just a

waste. Who, besides the loser who

fills out every chance to WIN

something, is going to shop at one

store over another for the CHANCE

to win something?

6. Sale, What Sale? Advertisement,

What Advertisement?: This one is

pretty well known, but surprisingly

still happens all the time. If you are

going to get involved in any type of

advertising whether it be online or

through traditional advertising,

please for the love of everything that

is good and decent, tell your staff.

Or, at the very least advise them to

say something like, “Yes, I did hear

about that, but can I just get some

more details and be right back?”

7. No one buys from a nationalised

store, they buy from their

favourite local store. This is

something near and dear, with a

whole chapter dedicated to it in my

book titled, “Retail Rockstar”, and

I’ll have a go at simplifying here for

*Continued from previous page

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 14

Ethical or Socially Responsible

Investing (SRI) has experienced

demand driven growth by investors

who refuse to allow their funds to be

invested in businesses with practices

they do not wish to support.

Typically they are industries and

companies such as gambling,

alcohol, tobacco, munitions,

exploitation of labour including child

labour, environmentally

irresponsible activities, religious

beliefs, corporate behaviour and any

principle about which an investor

may feel strongly.

It’s not always about where investors

choose not to invest, they often

simply prefer to direct their funds

into areas such as renewable energy,

medical research or simply

sustainable living.

These approaches are commonly

referred to as Negative, Positive and/

or Restrictive screening for

investments.

The term ‘Impact Investing’ is used

for investing directly into markets,

individual companies or

communities (often through direct

financing of projects, seed capital

etc) to deliver impetus to the desired

outcome. Investors and fund

managers often utilise a combination

of these methods.

Many people have not heard of SRI

but it is a real growth area of

investing experiencing some 51%

growth in funds under management

(FUM) in 2013 calendar year.

Clearly, this type of investing is

becoming a force to be reckoned

with.

** Reference: Global Sustainable Investment

Review 2014 - http://www.ussif.org/Files/

Publications/GSIA_Review.pdf

And yes, it is different from

donations which are essentially

funding for Non Government

Organisations (NGO’s) to provide

assistance in areas of need, SRI is

an enterprise designed to assist

with raising of capital for specific

investments which compete and

exist sustainably. But do they

under-perform comparable assets

for the investor?

Shareholder Advocacy

-is an interesting development

where investors communicate their

ideas, wishes and concerns to the

boards of directors thereby

exercising their right as part

owners of the assets to the

utilisation of capital – potentially

by utilising pressure such as direct

communication, educating the

public and other shareholders,

filing resolutions for voting at

AGM’s.

However SRI advocates generally

allow the directors and managers

sufficient freedom to deliver a

Paul GILLMORE DFS

Founder and Director

Southern Cross Financial Services

07 5429 5561

0402 685 032

paul@sc-fs.com.au

positive result – after all, they ARE

investors.

ESG Criteria

-are simply Environmental, Social(ly

responsible) and (corporate)

Governance minimum standards that

investors can use to benchmark.

Is it Difficult ?

-to invest with SRI principles ? It

takes a little more research but no, it is

not difficult to invest ethically. You

may also seek out an advisor whose

principles and beliefs align with

yours.

Do SRI Investments make money?

Yes, indeed they do. However SRI

funds seem to underperform funds

without the same limiting criteria but

not in all cases:

This can create a dilemma if you are

saving for your retirement, for

example, because the compound or

cumulative effect of investing for a

lower outcome or return can mean

less money to retire upon.

Solution

You may choose to invest part of your

portfolio in SRI thereby achieving the

best of both worlds. Naturally you

would seek advice for your individual

situation but you may be in a position

to invest ethically.

Ethical Investing

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 15

Peter Nicol Wisdom Marketing & Management Services

0417627097 www.wisdommarketing.com.au

manager@wisdommarketing.com.au

Better Get Into The Digital Space

About two weeks ago I was asked to

do a talk on marketing and sales to a

group of business owners in a

relatively small regional centre in

South East Queensland.

It was a favour I owed the community

for their support of another program I

am involved with.

It was promoted as a Marketing

Workshop with a bias toward digital

platforms.

At my age (70) I consider myself

competent to deliver a course like this

but, I know there are far greater minds

than mine who can talk about this

“space”.

I have a young friend of many years

who has grown a phenomenal business

doing programming, building websites

and doing digital marketing across a

number of Social Media.

He has a thriving business and employs

about 6 people. We have worked on a

number of projects over the years.

I took him with me.

The format of the evening a four-hour

workshop (attended by 32 business

owners) was in two parts.

1. I started with how to write

persuasive copy and, how to turn

features into benefits. Not many

people know the difference and,

indeed this reflects in the poorly

written copy you see on most

websites.

No point in putting up a lot of

money for a website if you do not

know how to write copy. Pictures

are not noted when it comes to

Search Engine Optimisation

(SEO). People have to write in

such a way that the relevant words

are embodied in their copy.

It takes time and many people

think that employment of a web

builder is the end of the story.

How wrong.

It is you the customer that has to

write the words. So my bit was

sobering and I have since had

positive feedback.

2. Next my young friend took the

floor and went about doing his

thing. It was well presented and

gave useful and powerful ideas as

to how to use the Internet and

Social Media platforms profitably.

You could see the interest levels

rising.

What came next was a complete

surprise to me.

It was the high calibre of questions

asked by a large number of people.

They all had web and social media in

their business.

The dollars that some were making

was outstanding. Now please realise

these folk were self-taught in the main.

The Town where they had their

businesses was by no means large.

Probable population of under 10K. Yet

one was using E-Bay and had a

Postage bill each month of over 4K to

all parts of the world.

That is a lot of product and for

everyday items that I would have

thought were a thing you

purchased in your own town.

Her copy and technology skills

were honed over several years and

now she was reaping great

success.

She and my young friend met the

next day and he was able to help

her with a few ideas that will

translate into business for them

both.

What can we learn from this?

I learned that it can and is being

done no matter the size of the

business. Give it the time and learn

the skills and give your business a

boost.

This age of digital commerce is

here to stay. Get with it or get run

over.

Have a great safe Easter.

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 16

Denis Keating

Everest Resources

Brisbane, QLD

HR and WHS Protection for Your Business

Mobile: 0419 029 606

Fax: 07 3112 4072

Email: denis@everestresources.com.au

Web: www.everestresources.com.au

Skype: denis.keating1

Performance management is the fourth

part of the National Standard HRF

101:201 Human Resources

Framework, and is arguably the most

talked about, and frequently

controversial, component.

Having established our policy and

procedure systems and ensured our

compliance with HR, IR and WHS

legislative requirements, we are now

ready to build on the strengths of our

people, by examining their

performance.

Dr Tim Baker is our ”in-house”

specialist in this area and his article

last month, “The Five Conversations

Framework in a Nutshell”, is

particularly relevant. His five

conversations, if used well, should

provide a base for forward-looking and

positive performance improvement,

rather than the traditional backward-

looking and (very often) negative

performance review.

Typically, too many conversations in the

workplace between managers and

subordinates are around negative events

– what has gone wrong, what has been

done incorrectly or not as well than it

could have been done. Catch your people

doing something good, and give them

PRAISE! This should be the prime focus

of good people management.

When things do go off-track

However, there will be times when

things go wrong. This is where decisive

management action may be needed, and

when it’s a relatively serious issue, you

as manager need to be careful with how

you approach the issue, and the records

you keep.

This is where my “Three levels of

conversations” become important.

1. For minor matters, which

nonetheless need to be mentioned, a

low level “Day-to-day

conversation” is appropriate.

Discipline breaches such as minor

concerns over lateness, absenteeism,

productivity, quality, etc. can be

dealt with using an informal

conversation, usually able to be held

at or near the employee’s physical

work-station (e.g. on the factory

floor, in the shop, or at the desk). If

handled well, this will often be the

end of the matter.

2. For the next level of less-than-

acceptable behaviour, use the

“Checkpoint Conversation”,

whereby you take the employee

aside (typically into your office)

and address the matter at an

appropriate level. Keep a record of

the conversation, and advise the

employee that you are doing so.

Again in many cases, this should be

the end of the matter, though you

might also agree that there is a

necessary review process in order to

monitor progress towards the

desired behaviour.

3. When there is a serious breach of

workplace behavioural

expectations, you need to have a so-

called “Difficult Conversation”

with the employee in concerned,

always in a suitable venue where

confidentiality can be guaranteed.

As a manager, it is your right and

responsibility to do this. Seek

professional advice beforehand if

necessary. Stick to the facts, give

the employee an opportunity to state

his/her case, and take your time to

reach a decision. Formal

disciplinary action may result.

Remember to document everything!

If you have in place robust policies,

procedures and processes, and have

clearly explained these to your

employees, then none of the above

conversations should be a surprise to

them. They will know what behaviours

are expected and how you will handle

matters when there is a need to do so.

Performance Management

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 17

Betty Zsoldos CRISES COACH

Trainer, Master Coach, NLP Master

email: bettyzsoldos@gmail.com

web: www.diymindsurgery.com

Having arrived at the end of the era of

“over”-s (that is, overproduction,

overconsumption, overpopulation,

overgrowth – just to name a few) it is

inevitable that we have got to the

limits of growth.

Being at the brink of collapse makes us

experience vast crisis in every major

field from micro to macro level. And

even if we know that crisis indicates

that the old way of operation cannot be

maintained any longer, yet we smartly

apply a quite diverse tool-set of the

defence mechanism to numb ourselves

not to feel the collective guilt and

despair.

“What's wrong? Just keep smiling and

be positive.” - one might advise, but it

won't help any more. Why?

To better understand the context we must

clearly hear the cultural myth, the

continuous mantra of our scientific-

industrial world, which is about the story

of self, the separated being in a cold and

indifferent universe where it is

imperative to fight to survive.

In this myth everything that is not “me”

is detached and disconnected that

threatens my own being. Thus, I must

strive to take control of everything: from

dubious human relationships to the

arbitrary and whimsical forces of nature.

It is enough to take a glance at the

business to see the dog-eat-dog world,

the rat-race, the so-called “non-

cooperative” game of only one winner,

the continuous and endless fight to rule

the market.

The players' position in the pyramid, the

hierarchy of leadership shows how the

power is taken by those who have

succeeded to get to the top.

Meeting someone new, asking: “Hello,

what's your name and what's your job?”

suggests that we want to nose out

quickly and implicitly the person's place

in the pyramid.

What's wrong with that?

The answer is irrelevant and that really

makes no difference any longer. We are

from the same atoms, and we are in the

same crumbling world.

During the coaching processes of

working with clients from all walks of

life I find it fascinating that they display

remarkably identical symptoms.

They experience their pain, anxiety and

fears as well as uplift, as if these were

solely their own individual issues;

however, we equally share them all!

Even the forms of their expressions are

akin, too: they feel their doubts,

questions, complaints, etc. so personal

as if it belonged only to them. But:

“What is most personal the most

universal.?”

What makes us different lies in

somewhere else. Words give people

away. Listening to clients I can hear,

someone has a “job” or a “profession”

or a “mission”.

That is, some are busy to do something,

anything to get money to survive.

Others try to do their duty at a high

standard. And few are the ones who

answer the calling! That's what makes a

difference!

It all boils down to these questions: Are

you a helpless victim of the turbulences

of present times or are you the

Responsible Creator at the dawn of the

New Era?

Where are you in this Transition? Do

you make your way to the highest level

of the Maslow pyramid to be a

transcendent man?

How do you contribute now when the

whole Earth is in labour, when

something coherent and consistent is

emerging giving way to our deeper

longings?

And most importantly: WHO ARE

YOU? Can you take off your mask and

come off-stage?

Can you change the game? Can you

take your part in the rebirth of the

Revolutionary Transition of the

evolutionary process?

WHERE ARE YOU

GOING TO? “If you aren't making a difference in other people's lives,

you shouldn't be in business.”

(Richard Branson)

Being a breadwinner and a mother of 4,

I have worked as an English teacher, a

global educator, a personal

development trainer and a coach for 20

years.

Taking a closer look on the nature of

barriers delaying goals, working out a

better and faster way to get to the

destination excited me most. This

professional history of mine, my

husband?s early death, the challenges of

my four daughters’ upbringing and my

original curiosity drove me into

passionate studies of various

communicational and personal

developmental methods. The range is

wide on the following

fields: psychology, NLP (Neuro

Linguistic Programming), System-

thinking, Moving- and Dancing

Therapy, Conflict Resolution,

Mediation, Human Rights,

Sustainability, Development Education,

Coaching and Mentoring.

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 18

Andrew Csaszar

AUROPE Enterprises

0402942402

www.aurope.com.au

andrew@aurope.com.au

Development of an organization’s

strategy requires great effort. It always

comes first before we go into the

details. Once the main principle has

been taken shape in a mission or vision

statement, you are tasked to work out

the fundamental structure. This big

picture, usually referred as strategy,

will then hold together the cogs in your

vehicle.

The other day I read about

organizations strategic alignment in

Norman Chorn’s great book. Wow, I

was amazed how everything just fell

into place with the model described in

his book.

Efficiency is key to sustain long term

competitiveness on tough markets, and

to achieve it requires masterful design.

Just like a reliable compass shows

direction out the sea, making sure the

three major areas are strategically

aligned with the operating

environment of the organization will

greatly increase your chances for

success.

Strategy, organizational culture and

leadership, the three primary fields

have to be harmonised in a common

logic. Sounds very basic, right?

Although, it’s not always easy to

achieve. Culture, for example – “the

way things are done here” – is not an

easy thing to regulate with policies.

The question: “How to best serve my

client?” has to be neatly planted in

every head.

To achieve coordination throughout

your organization, four archetypes

have been introduced. They describe

four typical customer behaviours.

These four stereotypes and needs are:

Pragmatism (be responsive),

Administration (be consistent),

Divergence (be surprising) and

Integration (be understanding). This is

called the PADI model. Every

subsequent strategic level has to match

with the same archetype, most proper for

the given clientele.

So when it comes to e.g. a pizza

delivery, you are expected to be quick

(it’s a P type). Even quality is submitted

to this expectation.

You cannot ponce around to accurately

divide your pizza into equal slices or

nicely chop up the ham and olives and

decorate it like you would in a fine-

dining restaurant.

Everything has to be ticking like a Swiss

watch and the pizza delivered while it is

still hot. Why? Because your market

audience here is most probably the

always busy and impecunious uni

students.

The archetype typical to the business

has to impregnate each strategic level.

That’s what strategic alignment basically

means. The same characteristics have to

appear each level: either in strategic

documents like the business model, in

organizational culture like your Code of

Conduct or in leadership like policies

and procedures.

Although I’m only listing documents

here as examples, you have to make

sure that your whole organization is

humming the same rhythm from top to

bottom.

What helps you to achieve this? Strategy is usually in the hands of the

CEO, and the bigger the organization,

the greater effort is required to

implement full alignment. More

precisely, to get everyone sincerely

accept these principles. And so the fifth,

personal level, comes into picture.

It is all taking place in the subconscious.

Employees’ intrinsic drive must meet

with organizational goals. Just then

they can be satisfied, work

enthusiastically and be loyal. This is the

invisible field that links all the others

and provides a solid frame. Individuals

have to identify themselves with the

mission, agree on the strategy, share the

culture, and honour leaders acting on

the same foundations. This is the

“Alpha-and-Omega” of organizational

alignment.

As business coach I proceed with the

personal level: encourage clients to

exploit compelling inner forces and

align them with corporate goals on each

strategic level. I work on forming strong

relationship with the organization as

well as building bridges to clients’

needs.

Organizations’ Strategic Compass

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 19

Grants available for your business

- Online search tool

Grant Finder helps you locate the

grants and assistance programs most

relevant to your business for free!

Grants and other funding

programs are available for

businesses from the Australian,

state and territory governments,

and in some cases from local

councils.

You can search through a wide

variety of grants in many

categories, including developing

your business, innovation and

education.

Click here for more information and

to launch the search platform.

Are You In The “Dreaded Rut”

Many small business owners are

realistically concerned about

expenses which seldom go down.

On the contrary, there are always

price rises and they are always much

too often, and you need to

constantly make efforts to keep your

business profitable. It shouldn't be

that way, though.

There are numerous ways to

increase your revenue. Whether it be

increasing a current revenue stream

or creating a whole new one. There

are always many possibilities.

However, the problem is, that we get

into the rut of doing the same things

day in and day out, focusing mostly

on our primary source of revenue.

That’s not so bad, but it tends to

limit us for looking around for new

opportunities.

There are always underperforming

products and services or

underutilised resources that you can

against by her employer for having

morning sickness.

VCAT senior member Ian Proctor

ruled the employer, Telco Business

Solutionsfailed to make "reasonable

adjustments" to accommodate the

pregnant worker’s severe morning

sickness, which he ruled was in fact

a “disability”.

Stephanie Bevilacqua, who had

been diagnosed with a severe form

of morning sickness, alleged

managers at Telco Business

Solutions had made comments

relating to her pregnancy, sick

leave, lifting boxes, sitting and toilet

breaks that amounted to

discrimination.

Bevilacqua told the court she

suffered migraines, back pain, ankle

pain and foot pain as a result of her

condition.

The VCAT ruled “If someone is

adversely affected by being

pregnant, businesses are required to

make such adjustments to

accommodate those changes.”

The Report that’s designed to

make your life cheaper and easier.

The Competition Policy was handed

down yesterday. The first report of

its kind in over 20 years, it outlined

areas in competition that could be

improved so consumers can get a

better deal and better service. Chief

among these are recommendations

to tackle the taxi industry,

pharmacies, retail trading hours,

intellectual property, energy and

zoning.

In other words, life is about to get

sweeter. (We will see)

use to generate new and different

revenue streams.

So pay attention to details, ask

questions to yourself, be proactive,

and the opportunities will come your

way.

Tax Cuts for Small Business

- Here at Last

It’s been a long time coming and it

looks like the small business tax cut

might actually have an impact.

Small Business Minister Bruce

Billson says the promised 1.5% tax

cut for SMEs will apply to all small

businesses, not just those that are

incorporated.

Eloise Keating SmartCompany

Deputy Editor reports that as part of

the small business package that will

form part of this year’s budget, small

businesses that are incorporated and

sole traders, as well as businesses that

operate within a trust structure, will

receive tax relief.

The mechanisms by which this will be

achieved is still being finalised, but

both company turnover and taxable

income are being considered. Billson

says the final policy will depend on

the definition of small business

adopted by the government.

Billson says there is "no silver bullet"

to encouraging small business, but the

policy puts the government on the

right track.

Morning Sickness is a

Workplace Disabiltiy

A female worker in Victoria has won

a civil lawsuit against her employer

after the Victorian Civil and

Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)

found she was being discriminated

Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business

0451 184 599 www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au Skype: dennis.chiron2

Let’s Talk Business

Volume 3 Issue 29 - April 2015 Page 20

“Let’s Talk Business” Small Business Publication

PO Box 569 Bribie Island QLD 4507 M: 0451 184 599 dennis@marketingmeansbusiness.net.au

www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

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