Business Essentials

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 t...

The bigger the project, the harder it can be to stay focused – but there are strategies to tackle procrastination. Productivity expert, Dermot Crowley, walks us through those exercises. He says learning how to reduce or eliminate distractions will help keep you focused. Dermot insists on having a plan, otherwise you might be tempted to react to whatever or whoever comes your way. Business Es...

Getting advice and direction can be hard, especially for resource-poor small businesses. Extra pairs of eyes from outside can be invaluable to the growth and success of a business. But many smaller companies worry about the costs of external direction. Business coach and leadership expert, Alan Rodway, says there is a middle road: a cluster board of diverse experts to help with your decision-makin...

How effective is the annual performance review? And is there a better way? Timely and targeted conversations are much more effective ways to help your staff perform their best, says Anneli Blundell, co-author of ‘Developing Direct Reports’. She takes us through a three-step process on how to handle continuous conversations with your team, so they can develop their skills throughout the...

If you haven’t started planning yet, now’s the time. That’s according to Kerry Boulton, Founder & CEO of The Exit Strategy Group, and author of ‘Million Dollar Pay Day – How To Get Rich And Get Out…Creating The Perfect Exit Strategy and Life After Business’. Kerry has walked the walk when it comes to selling a business – she built up and sold Fr...

Risk taking should be encouraged if you want to see your business innovate. That’s the message from Amantha Imber, CEO of Inventium and author of ‘The Innovation Formula’. In the book she highlights fourteen science-based keys to business innovation and she discusses some very practical ideas that business leaders can immediately implement. Business Essentials Daily is produced b...

Business leaders need to find better ways to influence others to navigate the world these days, but how? Gone are the days of ‘hard power’ of command and control – it just doesn’t work in business. ‘Soft power’ of engaging and consulting is better, but takes time. Author Yamini Naidu says a powerful way to influence and inspire staff and customers is through sto...

How does a busy business person slow down and take back control in a world of constant noise and interruption? Occupational therapist, Angela Lockwood, addresses those issues in her book 'Switch Off: How to find calm in a noisy world'. She has espoused everyday activities to cut out the clutter and bring focus back into our lives, including breathing exercises, outdoor play, healthy eating, laughi...

Selling your business can be difficult and stressful enough without the minefield of issues that can catch you out if you’re unaware. Directors, Andrew Henshaw and Scott McKenzie of Velocity Legal take us through some of the pitfalls during and after the sale agreement has been signed. It's surprising how often problems can occur, they say, and it's best to be prepared for them. Business Ess...

If you can identify the internal barriers holding you back, you may discover untapped potential to grow more revenue. Consultant John Cleary of Cost Management Specialists has a 9-step strategy to increase cash flow – and it doesn’t necessarily mean spending more money in one area or reducing costs in another to get there. John explains how breaking down internal silos will help reveal...

Like maintaining mental and physical health, it takes real effort to keep a business going. And, in a world of disruption, it can be even harder to keep moving and staying ahead of the game. Business Adviser Alan Hargreaves’ book ‘Management Reboot – 52 ideas to make things happen’ helps unpack the good and bad ways to handle the disruption of new players in the market. Ala...

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...

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...

Give your team the tools to do their job and watch your business shine. That’s one of the messages from Diederik Gelderman, a successful veterinarian, who now advises others – not just vets – on how to grow successful businesses via his consulting firm, Turbo Charge Your Practice. He says being nice to people is important for not only business success but in its own right. Busine...

Let’s be honest, the finance side of running a business isn’t for everyone. It takes up valuable time that could otherwise be spent doing what you do best – growing your customer base, developing product, building networks, winning contracts, all the things that create success. The solution? Outsourcing, of course! That’s what Steve Dawson of Grapple decided to do – h...

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...

Don’t be hung up on making a mistake. It can happen – learn from it and move on. Having the right attitude helps in dealing with the mistake and finding a solution, says business coach and keynote speaker, Terry Barridge. For leaders, he says, it’s important to keep a door open for the team to talk about mistakes and to foster a healthy attitude towards finding solutions. Busines...

As business owners, we often get stuck in the day-to-day activities, and neglect working on the business. Systemising business processes will allow us to break free. That's according to Joel Gerschman, Managing Dire­­ctor of The Change Coach, who’s written a book on escaping the shackles of your business to achieve wealth, freedom and fulfilment. ‘The Mindful Entrepreneur&rsquo...

What steps are needed to be a great leader and can anyone become one? Ricky Nowak, a leadership speaker and facilitator, has spent much of her career pondering those questions and has some practical solutions on the subject of leadership. She details her thoughts in her book, ‘How to make good people great leaders …and reap the reward!’. She outlines what she calls the three Rs...

Workload is the number one cause of workplace stress, beating job security, life balance and people issues, according to a survey by The American Institute of Stress. Online technology hasn't made our workload much easier. In fact, email, phone calls, text messages and impromptu meetings all add up to more work and more stress. So, what can be done? Leadership performance coach, Muffy Churches has...

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...

Doing business with other parties is challenging enough, but even more so when you're facing a counterpart with a game plan deliberately set to undermine you. All your best intentions for a win-win in negotiating a deal can often be thrown out the window by dirty tactics from the other side. Joel Gershman, Managing Director of The Change Coach, has some helpful tips on how to counter those tricks...

As a result of COVID-19, the big push these days is to go digital in our marketing and communication with customers. But are there inherent dangers in this? Are we forgetting to how to interact with our customers on a personal level? Veteran marketing expert and founder of Marketing Focus, Barry Urquhart, says digital communications is just a part of a broader mix of building relationships with cu...

Could the ATO have you in its sights? Because if you’re fortunate enough to fall into a certain category of “privately owned or wealthy entities”, the tax office is keen to find out if your tax governance is up to scratch. They’re just checking - in a friendly helpful way – but nonetheless it’s worth being alert to what’s happening. Business Essentials Dai...

Many "new" ideas already exist in some form or other — does yours bring something better to the market? Business adviser and author, Alan Hargreaves, has three rules to test a new idea for success: Is it needed? Does it work? Can it be done better? Alan insists if your idea provides more convenience for consumers, it might be a winner. Reference : ‘Management reboot: 52 ideas to make t...