Business Essentials

A little doubt can be a good thing, but too much can stop growth and cripple your business. Coach and keynote speaker, Terry Barridge says confidence comes from doing things you’re familiar with, but if you’re taken out of your comfort zone, do you lose all confidence? In a changing business environment, future leaders need to move out of their comfort zone more often and learn to hand...

Differentiation is fundamental in an increasingly commoditised marketplace, insists consumer behaviour analyst Barry Urquhart. COVID has led consumers to be more socially isolated, which has resulted in more scrutiny of the choices available. You need positive cashflow to reinvest in marketing your product’s point-of-difference in order to succeed long-term. Business Essentials Daily is prod...

An increasing number of business owners are realising that a good workplace culture is important for business health and success. Problem is, they’re not sure what they can do to improve their company culture. To help is culture change specialist, Colin Ellis, who shares a whole range of ideas from his latest book, ‘Culture Hacks’. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundC...

After two years of a pandemic roller-coaster, with interest rates set to rise, and an election to rock things further, now’s time to focus on your business’s finances. Leading Australian financial advisor, Helen Baker, gives her top five financial mistakes businesses should avoid. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333 See omnystudio.co...

Start on time, finish on time and have an agenda. Sounds simple, but how often do we find ourselves in meetings that don't follow these three principles? Les Watson, author of ‘Get Back An Hour In Every Day’, discusses how to free up your time at work by following some wise management strategies, along with some innovative ideas to relieve time pressures. Business Essentials Daily is p...

Fleur Heazlewood reckons that our race for more is reducing ourselves to less. Our health and wellbeing is the ‘less’, while the ‘more’ is the endless cycle of being busy. The answer, she says, is to prioritise our own wellbeing; if we do that, everything else will fall into place. Fleur shares some practical tips from her book, ‘Resilience Recipes: Making space for w...

After 30 years of experience, one of Australia’s best real estate agents knows exactly how to navigate the "fee reduction?" question. If you can explain why your service is better than your competitors, you shouldn’t have to compromise on price. James Tostevin’s passion for his job and disciplined work ethic helps explain why he is so good at what he does, which translates into p...

A self-entitled employee is someone who thinks they should be paid more, who always wants promotions, the best opportunities, bonuses and take holidays only when it suits them. Often, a self-entitled employee is not particularly good at what they do, they do less work than their peers and add less value. So, how do you handle them? Workplace expert Michelle Gibbings says you need to address their...

Focus less on the attributes of your products and services, and more on the way they make your customers feel. So says Michael Solomon, author of Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having and Being. He explains, with examples, how it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of your customers to gain a thorough understanding of what they really want from you. He also sheds light on how traditional c...

In an effort to steer public policy toward supporting small businesses, a peak organisation has drafted a 10-pillar Small Business Charter for lawmakers to follow. The CEO of the Small Business Association of Australia, Anne Nalder, says the charter has been distributed to politicians and public servants from local, state and federal governments. It is a list of guidelines for decision makers acro...

Preparation is so important to telephone sales – have a script, write down key objections, but most importantly "master your mindset". That's the advice from Ashleigh Hoult, founder and director of The PromoDonna. These days a lot of businesses are reluctant to do cold-calling as a business strategy and have lost the art of speaking on the phone. That paves the way for others who understand...

How we communicate matters very much to business success. It has the potential to influence awareness, understanding, trust, respect and engagement inside the workplace and ultimately staff’s willingness to collaborate. That’s according to Karen Gately, CEO of Corporate Dojo, who outlines her four key priorities to effective communication. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: Soun...

Show humility, be open and transparent, and be comfortable within your own skin. Those are some of the qualities of good leadership. Tony Gattari, Founder and Managing Director of Achievers Group, says charisma isn't necessarily the way to achieve great leadership – instead it's making yourself vulnerable and open with your team, and having brutally honest and fearless conversations to build...

A new free trade deal with India has opened up a massive market for Australian small businesses, according to the CEO of the Small Business Association of Australia, Anne Nalder. And she says it’s not too difficult to start selling to India’s massive, and growing, middle class, which is hungry for Australian goods and services. Anne Nalder describes the steps that need to be taken. Bus...

A little doubt can be a good thing, but too much can stop growth and cripple your business. Coach and keynote speaker, Terry Barridge says confidence comes from doing things you’re familiar with, but if you’re taken out of your comfort zone, do you lose all confidence? In a changing business environment, future leaders need to move out of their comfort zone more often and learn to hand...

Access to credit is a significant impediment for the two-thirds of new Australian businesses that are run by women. That’s according to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, who says more than 40 percent of women in business say their lack of access to capital is a big barrier to growth. Mr Billson says the system is “wired for blokes,” not...

There are four key questions that a business owner needs to ask themselves about why their customers choose their business. That's according to Dan Williams, who is the Asia Pacific Coach for EOS Worldwide, a global network of business coaches.   In this episode, Dan Williams explains how studying your customers can lead to insights and increased profitability. Business Essentials Daily is pr...

The common thread for business survivors of the pandemic is their relative digital engagement, according to Bruce Billson, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. Mr Billson says digitally engaged SMEs are more nimble and robust. He says businesses that have become digitised are 50 percent more likely to be growing, and that it is imperative for hesitant owners to move into...

Don’t give up - do it regularly and consistently and you'll reap the benefits. Just like an exercise regimen, prospecting for clients can be daunting - particularly the cold-calling side. But prospecting is more than just cold-calling, and if done properly it can be bring real benefits to your business. Ingrid Maynard knows - she’s had more than 25 years' experience in sales and she ad...

The good old days in agency land saw long lock in contracts, mark ups on media buying and the money flowed. At a time when there are more ad, digital and PR agencies than ever, James Smith, CEO of digital agency Smith Brothers Media, explains why there’s a shift in monetization strategy across the industry. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8...

Many businesses are being held back because their owners either can't, or won't, identify what they are bad at. That's according to Dan Williams, Asia Pacific business coach for EOS Worldwide, a global network of business coaches. Dan says it is crucial for business owners to identify what they "suck" at. He says that by slowing down and taking stock of everything you do, it's possible to identify...

Payroll is a task which must be done to ensure employees are paid the right award and are paid on time. Is it better to perform this important function in-house, or does it make more sense to outsource it? Donavin van Rooyen, a partner at Mazars, discusses some of the key reasons business decide to outsource their payroll function, as well as other accounting tasks that could be done by a third pa...

We’re living in a quick and changing world; and the rate of uncertainty has made it difficult to plan for the long-term. But plan we must, says an optimistic Nigel Collin. You must find the right balance of planning for the future with the flexibility of shifting course when storms approach. Nigel, who’s weathered many business squalls over the years, offers some guidance for others in...

Business Coach Dan Williams says he can chalk up most business failures to weak processes. An Asia Pacific business coach for coaching firm EOS Worldwide, he says successful firms need to have strong processes at their core, otherwise their possible growth and ability to scale will be hobbled. And he says strong processes will lead to fewer people leaving the company. Business Essentials Daily is...

Google has become almost synonymous with the internet. For many people, it’s the first place they go to find out about a business’s product or service, especially Google reviews. But, what can you do if you receive a bad Google review? Marketing consultant Jessie Weatherley goes through the steps, depending on whether it’s a legitimate or fake review. Business Essentials Daily is...