Expert
With less than three months to financial year end, here’s some big questions to help you prepare before and after 1 July. If you are wondering, like me, where this calendar year has gone, it may be little surprise to you that we are less than three months away from the end of the financial […]
There is no doubt the big banks remain major players in the SME lending market however, there has been a steady rise in the number of non-bank lenders offering fast and flexible lending options in this space. They are able to move much faster than the traditional banker with their unique ‘fintech’ approach, giving small […]
“Repeat business is both an honour that confirms you’re doing something right, and a reminder to push yourself to keep serving the people who love what you’re doing,” says entrepreneur Kyla Kirkpatrick. Here, she shares her secrets to earning repeat business. It has been 10 years since I started The Champagne Dame and I am […]
Customer obsession and innovation are “very much on a continuum”, Russ Grandinetti – Amazon’s Senior Vice President, International Consumer – told the audience at Amazon Innovation Day in Sydney, last week. Grandinetti, who was amongst Amazon’s first 2000 hires and sits inside its top 40 employees in terms of tenure, spoke of the need for […]
I met with the head of innovation at a large manufacturing company last week. She had requested a meeting to get some help with her company’s innovation program. I began by asking the innovation head about her company’s current approach. She excitedly told me about how her team had recently put in place an online […]
A CEO landed himself in some hot water, this week, due to his participation our latest “Let’s Talk…” feature. When asked by Dynamic Business to name a bad habit startup founders need to break, he sent the following response by email… “I’m currently on holidays and upon arriving at my hotel, I asked my wife, […]
Opening up a new franchise isn’t a decision that many take lightly, but just because someone has bought into a business, it doesn’t mean they have the knowledge needed to succeed. As franchisors, our success lies largely in the hands of franchisees, so it’s important to consider how we can help our new leaders reach […]
Marketing strategies must evolve to appeal to the new ‘buy less, live more’ generation of customers, says Vamp’s Aaron Brooks. The way we discover and shop is constantly evolving. Bombarded with ads, overloaded with information and inundated with options, there has been a shift, particularly in younger generations, to experience more and consume less. The […]
For this week’s “Let’s Talk…” feature, we asked nearly a dozen thought leaders, including startup founders, to discuss how they celebrate success in their businesses. ‘School-style’ awards, wine and cheese afternoons, a whole-of-company trip to Bali, recognition on social media, hot air ballooning and the sounding of a gong were amongst the celebratory traditions named. […]
I think it was my Grandma who taught me that first impressions count and that to be able to influence people (for good) was amongst the biggest achievements in life. There started for me, a lifelong relationship with sales – without knowing of course that she was teaching me principles in selling. Sales or as it […]
When startup founders first get up and running, they must, of out necessity, be lean and nimble – and that keeps them sharp. As resources become less scarce, it will become more and more challenging for founders and their teams to embody these qualities. In turn, this may lead them to lose sight of what […]
I largely abandoned paper notebooks a long time ago, despite being someone that has an unhealthy love of stationary shops. I travel a lot, so anything that adds weight to my bad needs to justify its space. Given I take all my notes on Evernote, I felt that bringing a notebook with me was redundant. […]
While small business owners often dream about one day scaling up their operations, many struggle to let go of their early stage business responsibilities so they can allocate the time to delivering high value tasks and growing the business. [Editor’s note: This is the sixth in a 12-part series, by accountant and serial entrepreneur Tanya Titman, […]
Let’s play a game of word association. When I say ‘company culture’… what do you think of? Happy, entrepreneurial employees with meaningful work? Shared values and beliefs? A competitive advantage in terms of recruitment and retention? Table tennis or foosball? Transparent leadership? Perhaps the saying “all talk, no walk” comes to mind… [Related: Why business […]
Some years ago, I was advising two of the most impressive entrepreneurs in the country. They had built an amazing national brand and were going from strength to strength in terms of geographic coverage, revenue and customer numbers. But, they were having challenges managing the business now that it was so large. They explained: “We’re […]
Inadequate cash flow has been cited as the cause of two in five business failures in Australia *, lending credence to the age-old saying that ‘cash is king’ (an especially unmerciful one at that). For this week’s “Let’s Talk…” feature, we asked more than a dozen thought leaders to identify the common mistakes startup founders and other […]
To unlock massive growth, business leaders must be comfortable with the idea of not only going global but also – when it makes sense for the company – moving beyond their initial idea and vacating the driver’s seat, according to Dr Jana Matthews, an international expert on entrepreneurial leadership and business growth. [Related: Why small businesses need […]
Press for Progress, the theme of International Women’s Day (8 March) this year, is a call for us all to not be complacent when it comes to taking action to promote gender equality and working towards a more equitable future. [Related: “You can’t be what you can’t see”: addressing gender imbalance in the startup ecosystem] With only […]
Marriage and fatherhood fuelled the desire of Intact Group MD, Scot Pittaway, to ensure his building maintenance services company isn’t the last frontier for women. [Related: Entrepreneur Kate Middleton on rescuing a company in free fall, shaking up the status quo] Pittaway recently took home the Leader in Gender Diversity in Industry Award at the Facility […]
Startup founders in search of the ‘right investor’ mustn’t let themselves be blinded by the cash placed on the table, lest they make a deal with the devil… OKAY, perhaps that’s a little melodramatic, but the underlying point is valid – money alone is no guarantee of a long, fruitful founder/investor relationship. This week, […]
