Opinion
For business owners, the line between personal and business life is inevitably blurred. Managing a business is a demanding juggling act, sidelining valued relationships, resulting in frustration and a lack of control over any aspect of our lives. I’ve lived by the following five key principles to create balance in business, freeing time for family […]
Going green is more than a fad – it’s an important way of life. The planet is undergoing extreme climate change, at a rate that isn’t unprecedented in temperature, but unprecedented in speed – the last time CO2 was being dumped into the atmosphere at this rate, it was due to the eruptions of several […]
An action plan could save thousands of small businesses from going bust but as many as eighty percent don’t take the time to make one despite its proven success. I’m not talking about a five-year plan with detailed budget forecasts, but an annual action plan that is reviewed regularly and updated quarterly. I’ve seen first […]
Like most things that are trendy, everyone has something to say about social media marketing. Promoting your business on social media used to be something that only tech savvy Gen Y’ers did, but these days it seems to be mandatory no matter what your age or type of business. Because social media is fairly straightforward […]
2015 was undoubtedly the year of startups and entrepreneurs. It was the year that took the likes of Uber, Atlassian and Canva to new heights and put the brakes on Dropbox, Snapchat and Twitter. Collaborations between brands and people grew, but so did our need for niche products and individuality. We also saw digital become […]
Many people dream of starting their own business, whether it’s a restaurant, a clothing store or selling homewares online. But no matter what kind of business you’re thinking of starting, there’s one question everyone in the planning stages needs to ask themselves – what will set our business apart from our competitors? Finding your business […]
As a business owner, you are in charge with making sure that your company’s productivity is at its maximum capacity. You don’t want to catch yourself waiting for things to happen – as an entrepreneur, it is your duty to have things well rounded-up and functioning. There are many ways to make sure things are […]
Great customer service is crucial to any big company, as it both captures new business, as well as fosters existing relationships. However, often when larger companies increase their scale they are unable to maintain customer satisfaction as it is hard to streamline effective customer service and grow a business without the right tools. The key […]
Jaid Hulsbosch reveals 5 steps in an internal employee engagement program that will support a launch of a repositioned or new brand strategy Articulating a company’s DNA to engage with consumers in relevant and meaningful ways is a large-scale effort and production. However this is only half the job, often overlooked in the process is […]
As a small business owner, more often than not you may find yourself starting the day with a clear idea of what needs to be done, but by the afternoon, you realise that you have not completed the first item on the list yet. This may be because of distracting emails or unscheduled meetings and […]
When you’re running a business, no matter how hard you try, you’re not going to be able to please everyone. Unfortunately these days, disgruntled customers are not only likely to tell their friends and colleagues about your business, there’s a good chance they will go online and tell the rest of the world while they’re […]
‘Mobility’ has been finding its way into companies both large and small since the 90’s, but the proliferation of smartphones and tablets has accelerated the adaptation of mobility features and services and has become a necessity for a business that wishes to remain competitive and productive. The definition of business mobility is constantly evolving as […]
It is not that big of a secret that, in today’s unforgiving business climate, companies are forced to constantly improve upon the things driving them forward in order to stay ahead of the competition. But what exactly are those thongs? According to TNS survey 32% of participants from high-performing companies said that that they have […]
There is an old African proverb that goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.” In the world of startups, going together often means going both faster and further. According to Startup Genome, a project that analysed a dataset of 100,000 startups over a few […]
Have you started noticing strange, odd behaviours from an employee? This may be occurring over time and can include the employee being too aggressive, too intimidating or just plain bizarre. If you’re the owner of an SME, you have the right to terminate an employee; however, you may be quite reluctant to dismiss the employee […]
There are two kinds of startups – those who succeed and others who constantly try. In Britain, at least half the companies fail to last more than five years and in the US, three out of four startups are going bust without managing to turn a profit. The team and leader define the success of […]
Email marketers invest significant effort into making their campaigns as effective as possible, yet one critical factor often lets them down: inbox placement. A campaign email might have a tempting subject line, persuasive body copy and a compelling call to action but, if it doesn’t end up in a target’s in-box, it all goes to […]
While there are certain things that reality television shows have in common – the vast majority of them seem to keep us glued to our seats while, at the same time, make us cringe at some of the things people do or say – not all reality TV shows are created equal. Some are little […]
One of the requirements for businesses to secure a bank loan is to have a formal business plan in place. According to the State Government of Victoria’s Business Victoria website, “When applying for a business loan, it’s essential to prepare a detailed business plan and fully inform the lender about your proposed venture. This information […]
According to a report published in Harvard Business Review, out of 20,000 hires during a three year research period, 46 percent had failed in the first 18 months and only 19 percent achieved success. The primary reason given for failure was “poor interpersonal skills” which 82 percent of managers admitted to having overlooked in the […]
