Business Essentials

New rules have come into effect that may change the way some small businesses undertake recruitment. It’s now illegal to advertise jobs that pay below the minimum wage — or award — for every job. It will particularly have an impact on any business that employs workers on piece rates. While the Chair of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Matthew Addison, says it is a good thing,...

If you ask questions and listen to the answers, you will learn what your customers want. Selling becomes easier and you don’t have to talk so much, says sales expert Colin Pearce. Colin has been training salespeople for many years and has a bag full of tips on how to sell more, easier and faster. Talking too much is a bane for many salespeople, and it's their "overselling" which often puts people...

Every business that’s looking to grow understands the importance of formulating a plan.  But, how should they create one? Entrepreneur Roy Osing has developed a strategic game plan that asks you to answer some simple questions. How big do you want to be? Who do you want to serve? And, how can you compete and win? Unless traditional business plans, Roy’s formula is simple, focused, action-oriented...

Australia looks unlikely to fall into a recession, though we will experience lower growth. That’s the prognosis of our regular economics commentator, Melbourne University Professor Neville Norman. Professor Norman says the Reserve Bank will continue to lift interest rates into 2023 due to what he calls a “robotic” reaction to the sort of inflation the bank may not actually be in control of. And, w...

Do you feel as if you have too much on your to-do list, both at work and at home? There are not enough hours in the day, and you’re constantly thinking about the next thing. Mindfulness is becoming a well-known ability to navigating all that chaos. Customer service expert, Jaquie Scammell achieves mindfulness through meditation, which helps her with calmness, clarity and happiness. She explains ho...

Australian law has changed when it comes to secrecy provisions in employment contracts, and it’s something all business owners and managers need to come to terms with. It’s now illegal to include any secrecy provision in new employment contracts. The chair of the small business peak industry body, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), says it’s unlikely the new law will d...

How would you like to be on the front page of the paper without having to pay for it? It starts with having something to say. Nicole Ashby's heart was racing and her palms were sweaty when she first spoke on radio about the impact of a fly-in fly-out workstyle on the families left behind. That was the first of many hundreds of media interviews she performed as Founder and Director of FIFO Families...

This year’s Australia Day holiday fell on a Thursday. Some employees around the country saw that as an opportunity to take a sickie, and have an extra-long weekend. But, other’s were genuinely ill. As a boss, how do you know if someone’s being legitimate? Karen Gately, CEO of Corporate Dojo, says it’s important to have open and honest conversations, in person. Employers should have policies in pla...

Failure isn't something we should avoid at all costs – on the contrary, failure is a powerful force on the journey to success. Entrepreneur and key-note speaker, Gabe Zichermann, says if you don't feel the fear of failure, then you're not pushing yourself hard enough. In other words, fear often indicates you're on the right track. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.c...

The huge amount of Optus and Medibank customers data that was hacked by cybercriminals made headlines across the country. But, they’re just two out of the thousands of breaches that occurred in 2022. How does your business stand up to data risk? Lawyer Tracey Mylecharane says business owners need to establish they’ve taken reasonable steps to protect their customers’ data. She says the Optus fiasc...

Breaches of cyber security cost Australian small businesses $29b last year, and with about 60% of firms at risk, the industry’s peak body is moving to do something about the problem. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia chair, Matthew Eddison, says the new cyberwardens program will help stop the criminals. Business owners will be able to nominate themselves or a member of their st...

Apple worked hard to keep things simple - we see it every day in its products and its success. From the man who named the iMac and who was integral to Apple’s ‘Think Different’ marketing campaign, Creative Director Ken Segall spent 12 years working with Steve Jobs and experienced first-hand his obsession with keeping things simple. Ken wrote about it all in his book ‘Insanely Simple: The Obsession...

Imagine being able to free up valuable time from responding to customers and staff. Well now you can, by using a new and powerful language generation tool, called ChatGPT. The implications for business are endless, and we’re only just now learning how much of an impact it will have in our lives. Our favourite futurist, Steve Sammartino, explains ChatGPT’s ability to understand and respond to natur...

It appears artificial intelligence will soon render the annual staff performance review extinct. One company is harnessing its powers to generate real-time, objective feedback for employees to empower them at work by boosting their confidence and exposing their blind spots. In this episode, CEO and Co-Founder of software development company OnLoop, Projjal Ghatak, describes their new product, enab...

What’s worse than having people talk about you behind your back? In a business sense, it can be worse if nobody’s talking about you at all. So, if you want your brand spoken about, it’s best that you control what people say. You can do that by telling your own stories. These days more and more businesses are discovering the powerful benefits of brand storytelling. Gabrielle Dolan is a business sto...

Great leadership is important in business to inspire others, to make decisions, and to get things done. So what makes a great leader? Productivity expert and business advisor, Les Watson, outlines the values great leaders have, and how discipline ensures that the team is on track, and focused on the important drivers of the business. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcarte...

The shift to a hybrid working model has left many business owners and managers in a state of high anxiety. How can they be sure that staff are actually being productive?  CEO and Co-founder of OnLoop, Projjal Ghatak, says teams that work from both the office and home can actually be more powerful and more productive. He says the secret to ensuring both strong productivity from workers and peace of...

How does your brand stand out from your competitors? Do you use tired, cliched images on your website, or are you a bit more creative? Brand creator and consultant, Bec Hughes, says to succeed in brand design, you need to provide memorable experiences for your potential customers. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333 See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Change can be a daunting prospect — something many fear and dread. But that doesn’t have to be the case, according to change expert Esther De La Cruz. She says that change can, instead, be an entirely positive experience, depending on the mindset you approach it with. By focusing on the benefits, purpose and rewards, change can become not only easier, but possibly even enjoyable. Reference: www.es...

Being a coach and umpire at the highest level of elite AFL sport has taught Jeff “the Giesch” Gieschen a thing or two about leadership and the nurturing of star performers. Now he’s transferring those lessons to the business world. Leadership’s tough, he’ll tell us, but fairness, empathy and team spirit are paramount if you want to move from good to great. Business Essentials Daily is produced by:...

It’s far easier today to start a business than ever before, which has resulted in more competition in almost every space imaginable. Forget about benchmarking, ‘best of breed’ analyses, and price wars with your competitors, according to entrepreneur Roy Osing. Instead, you need to establish a clear, relevant and unique claim that distinguishes you from everyone else. Roy explains how that’s achiev...

Change expert and coach Esther De La Cruz says businesses are still in a post-COVID flux at the moment, with many managers worried that they’ve not yet found their new groove. The worry isn’t necessary she says, and to help, offers three main areas businesses should focus on for 2023: 1. How to maintain or build corporate culture while working remotely; 2. Adopting a modest approach to goals and s...

In 2006, Gabby and Hezi Leibovich launched Catch of the Day, a website selling just one deal a day. By 2010, it was Australia’s number one shopping site, and in 2019 they sold the business to Wesfarmers for a whopping $230 million. How did they do it? Well, it’s detailed in the brothers’ book: ‘Catch of the Decade: how to launch, build and sell a digital business’. Business Essentials Daily is pro...

In the not-too-distant past, kids wanted to be firefighters, doctors or a police officers. Today, many want to be influencers. And why not, when they can earn thousands, even millions of dollars from businesses paying them to promote their products or services. The content has to be engaging of course and is often produced as videos across social media platforms. Perhaps this is a strategy that ma...

Promising your employees bonuses or promotions, but never following through is known as “breadcrumbing”. The term originates from modern dating, where someone is being led-on with small morsels of interest, like phone calls and texts, but nothing eventuates. Karen Gately of Corporate Dojo says breadcrumbing in the workplace is dishonest, disrespectful and unfair. A more effective way to motivate s...