According to the March Australian Retailers Index released today, almost one quarter of small to medium retailers have downsized their staff numbers in the last three months. However, 65 percent have kept up staffing levels and 11 percent have hired more staff in the same period. Although lower consumer confidence is hurting the retail sector, […]
A business’ website will almost always include a link to an ‘About Us’ page, but many offer a half-hearted attempt at profiling the business, or simply repeat information found elsewhere on the website. To capitalise on your web presence, an ‘About Us’ page should, as a minimum, give a brief history of the company and […]
Businesses forget that it isn’t sales that pay the bills, but payment for that stock or service. While chasing debts seems to be the norm for SMEs, there’s a better way to deal with slow payers. Develop a credit policy and explain it to your customers or clients prior to closing the sale. The policy […]
At the top of the employment tree, it’s easy to forget how difficult it is for the staff under you to give you feedback on your performance. Many employees may be afraid to say something positive in case they are seen as brown-nosing by their peers, while others fear that saying something negative could turn […]
A simple way to maintain a professional image is to make sure all your written material is spelt correctly, is grammatically accurate and displays the right punctuation. Stray apostrophes, random quotation marks and obvious misspellings distract from your message and give a bad impression of your abilities, even if you don’t specialise in communication. Don’t […]
If you travel often, provide a plan for your staff so they can run the business smoothly while you are away from your office. If you nominate someone to be in charge, make it clear how much power they have to make decisions and in which areas. Let any key people outside your business know […]
Start-up businesses-whether aiming to service the neighbourhood or export to the world-should not underestimate the power of the local media in generating publicity. Suburban newspapers, local radio stations and even community TV stations love a success story in their backyard, so if you can find a local angle to tout your new business, invite the […]
Both start-ups and growing businesses in the process of restructuring need to know that different types of businesses have different legal and tax rights and obligations. Make sure you do your homework as to which laws apply to yours. The most common types of businesses in Australia are: Sole trader: wholly liable, pays tax as […]
The International Monetary Fund has released its bi-annual World Economic Outlook report with the dire summary that the world will undergo a deep recession that will affect every country. The report also predicted that “the current recession is likely to be unusually long and severe and the recovery sluggish”. Analysis included: Recessions brought on by […]
You can save more than the cost of paper if you evolve your office into the electronic one everyone imagined for the 21st century. Although difficult to go completely paperless, there are plenty of good reasons to reduce paper use. Direct savings include buying less reams of paper and needing less physical storage space, but […]
