Small Business
Improvements in workplace and personal technology are enabling SMEs to operate with a more mobile workforce. According to IDC, in 2015, more than one third (37%) of the world’s workforce were considered “mobile” or of no fixed location. By 2020, IDC predicts a staggering 73% of the same workforce will be mobile. Most people today […]
Maintaining staff engagement and being aware of cultural sensitivities are crucial to success when an Australian SME opts for offshoring. People are the difference between success and failure in any business, never more so than if you are planning to use offshoring strategies. In today’s borderless marketplace, small businesses have an opportunity to sell their products […]
It’s a tough time for retail sales, with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showing this key driver of economic growth is stalling. Traditional sales tactics are becoming less effective due to the wealth of information freely available to people today and, thus, the rise of the savvy consumer. Trends globally echo this sentiment, with 57% of retailers agreeing buyers are less […]
Let’s not be cliché and use the line, “clothes make the man.” Choosing what to wear in a presentation wasn’t always this hard. Previously, a suit and tie were enough – coat optional. But with so many styles and preferences nowadays, striking the perfect balance to please an audience is proving to be more and more […]
Jackie McArthur from logistics service provider Martin Brower was named the ‘NSW Business Woman of the Year’ at the 2016 Telstra NSW Business Women’s Awards, held in Sydney last night. McArthur is the Managing Director ANZ for Martin Brower, where she supervises the end-to-end logistics and supply chain for more than 1,100 McDonald’s restaurants. She […]
GetCapital, a local fintech lender to SMEs, has entered into a strategic partnership that enables it to service the New Zealand market. Jamie Osborn, GetCapital’s founder and CEO, said the expansion into New Zealand was the ‘next logical step’ for the company given its success in Australia. “With the large number of SMEs in […]
Proposed tax rate changes, which would affect approximately 100,000 small businesses, will deliver the best “bang for buck” for the economy, accounting software provider MYOB and the Council of Small Business Australia said in a joint statement. The statement was in response to Labor’s opposition to the Federal Government’s proposal to increase the eligibility threshold for paying the lower […]
If your business relies on shipping goods into or out of the country, the recent upheaval in the container shipping market would have taken its toll. Trying to forecast company profits and losses while shipping costs are so uncertain can make it difficult for any business owner to keep a tight rein on expenditure. Behind […]
When I say ‘stop selling like a dinosaur’, I’m referring to the old school approach of promoting your business – think letter box drops, lead boxes, door knocking. This scattergun approach tends to take up at lot of time and result in a low conversion. These days there are many more effective ways for you […]
There’s a big promise associated with any team: that by bringing together a group of talented people, so much more is possible. Better ideas, stronger performance, greater endurance, more fun. (Perhaps you’ve heard the cute line that the word TEAM stands for “together everyone achieves more”?) But teams also face a challenge: each of its talented, […]
Businesses will fall behind in the innovation stakes unless they buck the status quo and strive for greater gender equality, attendees at a recent forum were warned. Last month, the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce hosted a media briefing at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel. The event saw Lynn Kraus, Managing Partner, Sydney & Oceania Markets, EY moderate a panel discussion on diversity. The […]
Since the turn of the millennium, the face of manufacturing has changed. In the buildup to the Financial Crisis in 2008 and for a period afterward, technology played an important role in many businesses’ decision to outsource jobs overseas. Now, technology is helping to reshape manufacturing once again, both today and in the future. Many […]
You know about driverless cars. The technology is well into advanced testing stages, and most technology gurus predict that they will be a feature of life, if not in the next ten years, then certainly before the end of the century. But what about crewless ships? We don’t hear much about them, but designers are […]
Succeeding in business today doesn’t just require good talent – it requires great talent. It also requires great products, a smart strategy and an internal desire to innovate and thus stay ahead of the competition. But let’s focus our attention back on talent. After all, it’s one of the most important components of business today and all around us we […]
The head of a multi-million dollar national solar panel business took top honours at the 2016 Telstra South Australian Business Women’s Awards on Friday night. Jenny Paradiso, the co-founder and managing director of Suntrix, was named South Australian Business Woman of the Year. She also took home the South Australian Business Women’s Entrepreneur Award. In […]
There are more than two million small businesses in Australia. With so much competition, it can be hard to stand out – especially when it comes to reaching new customers. In fact in Facebook’s recent Future of Business Survey – Australia[1], nearly three quarters (73%) of small businesses rated attracting customers as one their top […]
The Federal Government has encouraged businesses to submit feedback on findings from Research and development (R&D) Tax Incentive Review report, released this week Undertaken by Chair of Innovation Australia Bill Ferris, Australia’s Chief Scientist Alan Finkel and Secretary to the Treasury John Fraser, the review had the purpose of identifying opportunities to “improve the effectiveness […]
As Alec Baldwin famously said in the film Glengarry Glen Ross: ‘Always Be Closing’. And there’s no shortage of people looking to become closers. Amazon has 439,752 book results when you search the word “sales”. From titles like “The Psychology of Selling” to “Secrets of a Master Closer”, all offering advice on how, when, and […]
New contactless payment technology, which launches in Australia today, enables small businesses to quickly and securely accept tap-and-go cards, mobile wallets such as Apply Pay and Android Pay, and chip cards. Developed by global payments technology company Square, the contactless + chip card reader is available online at square.com.au for $59, with free shipping nationally. […]
Exports are of huge importance to the Australian economy, making up 19.8% of our GDP in 2015, according to the World Bank. But success with export markets is not limited solely to the agriculture and resources sectors and nor is it limited only to large businesses. There are significant opportunities for SMBs to succeed in […]
