Managing

With many business owners getting ready for an end of year break, now is the time to fire-proof your insurance cover, particularly in bushfire prone areas of the country.

The upcoming festive period is one of the busiest times of the year for small to medium business operators like you. For some, it brings in a significant part of their annual revenue.

There are always things to consider regarding any business venture. What should a businessperson think about before approaching a partnership?

As the year comes to a close, it’s a great time to reflect on what you have achieved as a business this year. Importantly it’s good to think about what you wanted to achieve but didn’t manage and what you can do differently next year.

Australia’s digital economy exploded in 2012 with online shopping, social networking and a near doubling of smartphone ownership driving the boom. There are now 11.36 million Facebook users in Australia, while 49 percent of us now own a smartphone.

Customers have become more in control of how they interact with us but we are yet to make the leap of mapping our goals to that of the customer needs and concerns with the solutions our products or services provide.

There is a common misperception that small businesses can secure the cheapest business travel by booking on the internet directly with hotels, car hire companies and airlines. But as time-strapped CEOs, personal assistants or in-house travel bookers spend countless hours trawling the internet for fares, running cost comparisons then booking, buying and reconciling travel expenses, are the benefits really what they seem?

Good cost management is necessary for all companies, all year round. But where do you start?

With the new year looming and businesses everywhere grappling with change, now is a good time to consider some ideas on how you can work on your business, setting yourself up for a stronger year in 2013. It’s time to work smarter not harder.

Staff who are challenged with clear goals are logically going to be more motivated and satisfied. Learn how to set effective KPIs.

Cashflow is the lifeblood of your business, and managing it well will ensure your business’ vital signs are stable. Here are some ways that you can pump life back into your business and take care of your cashflow.

Using an ‘IT Managed Service’ has traditionally been regarded as an option available to large organisations but technology is evolving and having a company to manage your IT needs is much more common place for businesses of all sizes.

The Bring Your Own Device trend, where employees bring their own tablets or smartphones to connect to the business network, is here to stay. The reality of this is that the majority of employee-owned mobile devices also come with consumer applications already installed. As an SMB works with employees and embraces BYOD, they often unwittingly, end up embracing an avalanche of third party apps.

Strategy is a difficult thing for small business. We always believe that we have found the perfect niche in the market and that we will make the most of it. But sales don’t always come as quickly as you hope and you start to spread the service offering to get more customers through the door.

One of the biggest problems with business eWaste management is the lack of knowledge about how to navigate environmental issues without it taking up too much time or expense. The good news is that being socially responsible has actually never been easier, as a result of the introduction of some helpful programs.

“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” This insight, attributed to Charles Darwin, could easily be the most important business management mantra for the decade – here’s why.

The secret to better time management is more simple than you ever imagined – we can’t manage our time as we all have the same number of hours in a day. What we can do is manage ourselves within the time. Now, here are some ideas for how to make better use of the hours available to you.

If someone is proclaiming they are an expert in their field, more often than not, they’re telling fibs. Here’s a look at the kind of specialists you can put your trust in, and spend your dollars on.

Data sovereignty pertains to data storing, sending and processing restrictions outside national borders. Legally termed as “trans-border data flow” data sovereignty still remains to be one of the top concerns of SMBs hindering them to move their business to the cloud.

Office technology is moving faster than its decomposition rate, with electronic waste (eWaste) rising to three times the normal rate of household rubbish. So what can small business owners do to be socially responsible and ensure that their business is reducing their carbon footprint