News

The 2011 City of Sydney Business Awards has broken all records, with 640 small businesses nominated and over 67,000 votes tallied.

Jennifer Bishop blogs about new LinkedIn features, which make it akin to the Flux Capacitator.

“Forget the static CV. LinkedIn have just removed the need for the static 1.0 CV/resume and propelled you all into an interactive 3.0 web world of LinkedIn.”

Phoebe Netto looks at the advantages and disadvantages of giving discounts and freebies in business.

“Never give your core product/service away for free. Never, ever. Never! Do not offer a free version of what you sell.”

Australia’s business travel market is about to become more competitive – and deliver better value for your travel budget.

Over two-thirds of small businesses aren’t paying bills on time, with the number of organisations paying invoices more than three months late jumping to 20 percent.

Brett Morris blogs about managing change as your business grows.

“Shifting responsibility to a dedicated change agent alone doesn’t work. Yes, they can know the ins and outs of change management, but they don’t have one of the most crucial qualities for change initiatives to succeed.”

Australians are continuing their rapid adoption of social media, which is now having a considerable influence on their purchasing decisions.

Small business owners on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast are invited to attend free one-on-one information sessions, run by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), to assist them in staying on track with tax and super obligations.

Brad Callaughan looks at an area many small businesses fall down – planning.

“Lack of planning or direction can be the cause of your demise. If you aren’t looking at where you are going, how can you see opportunities or threats or be prepared to deal with uncertainties like cash flow or profit fluctuations.”

Catriona Pollard takes a look at Google+ and what features it delivers that trump Facebook.

“Google seems to have taken all the social aspects from Facebook and created a network which is more personal for the user.”

Australian businesses with a website are more successful than those without, according to the MYOB Business Monitor Online Special Report. But despite this knowledge, the majority of Australian businesses still do not have a website – with 57 percent of businesses still choosing not to promote or sell their products online.

Julian Smith blogs about new findings from MYOB that show businesses with websites have consistently higher revenues.

“If consumers are not finding you online, for them your business doesn’t exist.”

Small businesses and bricks & mortar retailers are being urged to heed new figures that show Australians will spend over $13.6 billion online this year; with experts advising they focus on engaging customers via multiple channels to build deeper relationships and grab the consumer dollar.

Australia’s largest franchise, Jims Group, has signed a partnership with LivingSocial to deliver deals on its various services to the daily dealers’ hyper-local, citywide and national audiences.

Michelle Gamble blogs about successfully introducing QR codes into your business.

“From a marketing perspective, it’s a way to add value and enhance your customer experience, and connect to your audience instantly on another level.”

Nick Gabrielidis blogs about using the new financial year to consider 2011-12 HR requirements.

“Finding and sourcing the best talent is causing a major constraint on the expansion plans of many organisations, and workforce planning has never been more important as a result.”

Lady Danielle Di-Masi blogs about how undervalued the simple “thank you” has become.

“Being polite, gracious and building rapport is never pointless; it is actually time very well spent.”

A new plugin is allowing jobseekers to easily submit their LinkedIn profile for job opportunities on an employers website, as the business networking site attempts to better its ability to connect talent with opportunity.

Australians can now swap, buy or sell unwanted or unused group deals or vouchers for free, thanks to the launch of a new online marketplace, Swapdeals.

The retail industry received the surprise news yesterday that Premier Retail will close 50 of its stores in Australia and New Zealand and cut staff numbers, as part of new CEO Mark McInnes’ efforts to return the business to profitability.