8 Secrets of Success
Ever wondered what it takes to be successful? Richard St Johns was asked this question. As a result he has condensed 7 years of research into a presentation that explains it in less time than a TV ad break.
~ Damien Foley
8 Secrets of Success
Ever wondered what it takes to be successful? Richard St Johns was asked this question. As a result he has condensed 7 years of research into a presentation that explains it in less time than a TV ad break.
~ Damien Foley
Many big businesses began as a micro business. The owner in this small business did everything- take calls, do paperwork, find sales, and finally the work to make the product or service sold. As a small business owner you can relate to the long hours and the small pay! And if you don’t work you don’t get paid!
So how did these big business owners become big? how did they turn their small business into a big business? They no longer do everything, they employ people to do it for them. They still work hard, but not the same as they did when they started. Many big business owners became big, because they planned to become big. That is, they not only spent time working in the business, but took time away from it to work on it! this is an important part of any business growth story. You have to plan for your business to grow and start putting milestones in place to work towards.
But How?
These are just some of the ways to work on your business. In order to grow your business, you must dedicate time to achieving the outcomes you are wanting. Use experts and mentors to guide and support your business to grow. Don’t be your own enemy to success, be open to the change that will take place, don’t fear it. Plan where you want your business to be in the future, but also plan where you want to be personally so there is no mismatch in goals.
~Damien Foley
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I recently had a meeting with the Flagstone Junior Chamber of Commerce. The question was asked “what is business about?” The most obvious answer one can give is ‘Profit’. But how do you make that profit? When you look at business, you suddenly realise the success of a business comes from its relationships. Lets look at this from the starting point of profit and work back.
We make a profit by earning more income then what we spend on expenses. Income minus Expenses= Profit/(Loss)
We spend money on expenses and capital to produce the goods and services we sell. In order to purchase those goods we need to buy them from other suppliers, be it the owner or their salesperson. In order to sell our goods and services we need to sell them to other people.
The purchase of those goods and services happens as a result of your business creating a relationship with the supplier. You may have found them online or been introduced to them through another person. Likewise, you create sales by developing relationships with your customers. (refer to the article on Customer Service- “Retail V Online- Retails Secret Weapon To Win Customers“).
Internally you have people who you employ or owners in the business with you. Externally you have relationships with third parties such as government, industry regulators and organisations etc.
The business success can depend on how good the relationship is between all of these people. And like in any relationship, good communication is important. This is why Social Media is becoming such an important tool used by business to build relationships with current and prospective customers.
Business is a creation of man and as a result is built on our social interaction with one another. If your business doesn’t have a good relationship with someone or someone doesn’t have a good relationship with your business, this can affect the success of your business.
~ Damien Foley
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The Flagstone State Community College Junior Chamber of Commerce has been going for 3 years. It just held its 4th Annual General Meeting to elect its new Executive Committee of Trent Bonner, Jessica Tracey, Natalie Holmes and Nick Eagles. The new committee is prepared for their roles ahead, with Trent, Jess and Natalie being re-elected from last years Executive Committee.
Succession Planning is something Bob Wiley (Logan Country Chamber representative), Jenny Krause (Teacher, Flagstone State Community College) and I as mentors have being working towards for the last 3 years since inception. This is just one of the many milestones planned and met, allowing the Jnr Chamber to grow and mature over this time.
The Junior Chamber has run a Careers Expo at the school for the last 3 years. With planning for the Expo starting 10 months prior, this means as soon as it is over, planning for next years begins shortly after.
As a mentor and seeing the current Executive Committee achieve what they have, I can say I am truly proud of them and what they have achieved. They are definitely growing and becoming professional in their roles and responsibilities.
Article by the Jimboomba Times released on the 29/08/2012
~ Damien Foley
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I recently visited a small art gallery. I asked the owner how business has been. “I have been busy but sales are slow. We have a lot of tourists come through and I can have 300 people in a day. We have them sometimes complain that I don’t speak to them but I can only talk to so many people, telling them the exact same thing. I am also competing with cheap prints from online.” There are a number of points made in this but we will look at retails greatest secret weapon- ‘Customer Service’. Customer service is what you can use to differentiate yourself from online sellers, as well as your competitors.
You might say customer service is no secret. I will give you actual examples of how it is still not being used by big business and how your business can use it to win customers.
I have a client with a business they’re about to start. I went to research bank accounts for them. Dressed in business shirt and pants, I went to 4 banks in walking distance of each other in a multicultural suburb (this is relevant). This is the following customer service I was given when asking for information;
Bank ‘A’:
– I walked in and was met by a lady dressed in a nice blouse and dress pants.
– She pulled out the relevant brochures and asked me to contact them if I had any questions.
– She was friendly and polite. I said thank you and left.
Bank ‘B’:
– I walked in and was promptly met by a lady with a friendly smile dressed in a very professional looking, neat and tidy business outfit, with blouse and scarf.
– “How can I help you today sir?” I told her I wanted some information on their business accounts as I had a client looking to start a business. “If you have the time would you like to come in to my office sir and discuss what your client needs? My name is ‘Jane'”.
– She showed me into a private office with a tidy desk and brochures lining the wall. She had me explain the business, asking what its needs were, while taking bullet point notes. She then took from the wall several brochures, marking the different facilities as she explained how each would suit my clients needs. She placed these in a clean glossy folder to hold them together.
– She then contacted another department by phone who could discuss another facility she was not trained in. On speaker phone, the call took 15 minutes to be answered. During this time the manager made small talk and brought me a glass of water. It finally answered. The manager mentioned to the operator how long we waited.
– I spoke to the customer service person who asked questions and took my email contact to send me the information.
– Returning to the business manager she asked if she could have my details to follow up later how I was going. Leaving with brochures and email to be sent, the manager showed me out with a courteous smile.
– I arrived home to the email as promised. I was called a week later by the business manager asking if I required any additional information or had any questions.
Bank ‘C’:
– I walked in and a ticket dispensing machine was my first contact. I took a ticket, sat and watched television until my number displayed 8 minutes later.
– The desk area was separated from the public seating area only by a thin shoulder high petition.
– I spoke with the customer service manager who asked me several questions. She took down the details in a form. Giving me several brochures slipped into an everyday envelope, I would be contacted by their business manager, who was out, to discuss my details further.
– I received a call the next day. He asked me several questions with his only finishing reply “well you have the brochures. If you have any questions call me.”
Bank ‘D’:
– I walked upto a lady in an open space customer service area. I was after information for a client who was about to start a business. Her reply was “We can only give you information if you have an ABN. I have some booklets but they are old and we are waiting on the new ones with the up to date information to arrive.”
– Deciding against giving me the booklet, she asked me to wait while she brought over the business manager. The business manager came over wearing an ill fitting knitted button up cardigan that looked faded and stretched. She spoke with her arms folded, pulling the cardigan across herself.
– She also told me she couldn’t give any assistance unless we had an ABN. But she did offer the booklet. The booklet was thick, in grey and white with the words “Terms and Conditions” the most visible words, marking the pages with the possible accounts to be used.
– Still standing in the open area she then asked some more questions on other facilities. She could only give me print offs from their website. I waited as she went looking for each page online to print and give me.
– In leaving, she said she could help more once we had an ABN. Then they could customise a package.
Result
The customer service at each of these banks was very different. I left the 4 banks with first impressions. Each an impression of their customer service my clients would receive as a customer of that bank. I hadn’t even read the brochures for their fees and rates yet and I was already leaning towards a particular bank based on the service I just received.
Which bank do you think I was leaning towards- Bank A, B, C or D?
If you made a choice, remember you were making a choice based on the above service I received. You haven’t seen the fees and rates either. Customer service is incredibly important, leaving an impression greater than price alone.
What Your Business Can Do
Retail has the secret weapon of customer service. Something a website cannot offer. The lady from the art gallery meets 300 people a day. A website owner never meets the potential owner of their product, the client only has the information to read. The website owner never has the opportunity to ask questions to provide personal service. The retailer does.
So ensure customer service is a priority to you and your staff. It might not be that customer that returns for business, but a friend of that customer who has heard about your service!
~ Damien Foley
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We only realise how important it is when we need to use it.
We use computers in business to hold important information as emails, documents and files etc. But if your computer crashed, what would happen to your business? I read recently of a home business that had their laptop stolen. The laptop wasn’t the most valuable thing stolen, the information it had on it was far more valuable. Because all of the business information was on the laptop they effectively had no business.The best advice for this to be prevented is to have backups that are:
– backed up regularly- the more frequent the back up the less information is lost.
– multiple backups- more than one back up copy.
– both onsite (same location as computer) and offsite (different location to computer).
– tested regularly.
Here are some ways to minimise the risk of your business being hurt by the loss of your computer with backups:
1. Make Hard/Paper Copies-Pro: less likely to be stolen or become corrupted by a virus etc. Con: Cost of paper, environmental impact, Cost of storage, cost of administration, still susceptible to fire and water if on site, hard to maintain and move.
2. External Hard-drive– Pro: relatively cheap, can be done automatically, easy to retrieve information, can be based off site. Con: Also susceptible to viruses, if located on same premises as computer still susceptible to theft, fire and water, limited storage space.
3. Backup Tapes/Disks/USB– Pro: Easy to use, compact and easily removable from site, somewhat cheap, can have multiple back up copies Con: Susceptible to virus, can be easily damaged, limited storage space, can be subject to theft, fire and water.
4. Website/Third Party Storage Provider– Pro: can be easy to set up to backup automatically and regularly, offsite location to computer, usually higher storage space, can be easy to retrieve, may have multiple ‘mirrored’ site storage Con: Cost can be minimal depending upon host provider, would need an expert to set up correctly, would need assurance as third party provider there is security with both access and cyber attacks, business confidentiality and information privacy might not allow it without high cost, storage space subject to hosting package.
5. Cloud Applications– Pro: you have little if any software and information held on your computer as held by third party provider, little if any disruption to work if result of theft, fire or flood as just log on from another computer, generally a high level of security with trusted providers, usually have ‘mirrored’ back up in various locations. Con: Cost but minimal and usually paid monthly, plans are typically paid for by the amount of storage space used, need the internet to access so not best for no or slow internet access.
So if you don’t already have a backup policy for your business information technology, it might pay for itself in the future. We never know when we can be the victim of theft, fire or flood. Will you now be looking into what back ups your business has or should have?
~ Damien Foley
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With tighter times there is more pressure on workers to get an Australian Business Number (ABN) to become contractors to get work. ‘Sham Contracting’ is where a worker who is really an employee is working under an ABN as a contractor. The worker may ask to do this for the better pay or the employer may ask for it to reduce the costs and liabilities of employment. As a contractor, you are not able to receive the benefits of an employee such as unfair dismissal as it goes to the contract agreement terms to resolve. But should you be a contractor? And what are the implications for both the worker and the employer if you do but you’re technically not?
What The ATO Says
The ATO has guidance on whether you’re an employee or a contractor. Below are some of those guidances, or click here to go to the ATO website.
1. Control Over Work: An employee is directed by their employer in how the work is to be carried out. A contractor is, per the terms of their contract, able to carry out the work as they see fit.
2. Ability to Subcontract/Delegate: An employee cannot contract in someone else to carry out the work. A contractor has the ability to subcontract the work to someone else or get an employee to do the work.
3. Basis of Payment: An employee is paid on time; or price per unit/item; commission. A contractor is paid to deliver an outcome per the agreement.
4. Equipment, Tools and Other Assets: An employees equipment, tools and other assets are supplied by the employer. The employee may provide most of their own tools but they are paid an allowance or reimbursed the cost of the equipment to do so. A contractor supplies almost all of their own tools to carry out the work. They are not reimbursed or receive an allowance for this cost.
5. Commercial Risk: Commercial risk is liability over the legal reponsibility of the work and repair or cost of any rectifications. An employee takes on little if any of the commercial risk, this is taken on by the employer. A contractor takes on all of the risk subject to the agreement.
6. Independence: An employee is not independent of the business. They work for the business and under the direction of the employer. A contractor is independent of the business with their own business. They can accept and refuse work, negotiate terms of the contract and are only obligated to carry out work that delivers the outcome of the contract agreement.
Consequences Of A Contractor Who Is Actually An Employee
If you are using someone and treating them as a contractor and they are actually an employee, you may
Future Changes
The Australian Federal Government has discussed possible additional conditions or tests to be met to determine if a workers is an employee or a contractor. Part of this is the introduction in 2012 of the ‘Taxable Payments Annual Report’ reporting requirements for businesses in the building and construction industry to report on contractor payments to assist the ATO to identify sham contracting.
How Does This Affect You?
The above information should not be relied upon. If you are concerned about whether you are a contractor or an employee, or if you are being asked to get an ABN to work, or you are wanting to put someone on and don’t know if they can be contracted with an ABN, then speak to your accountant; tax agent; and or legal advisor for advice.
~ Damien Foley
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New forms of social media are constantly arriving in various shapes and forms. The dominating social media sites currently are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and Foursquare (Google+ perhaps?). But there are new kids on the block that are taking words away and replacing them with pictures as a means to communicate.
Instagram, with its recent sale to Facebook for around $1b, is one big player in this space. The Instagram App allows you to take pictures from your mobile phone and quickly transfer them to the internet, using different “filters’ to alter the picture. You can view what friends are posting on Instagram and have the option to share on other social media sites as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Flickr. You can give the picture a caption and ‘geotag’ to let people know where you took the picture.
Pinterest is a site that allows you to ‘Pin’ pictures from other websites into albums and folders to share with others. So this is a great way for people with similar interests to share pictures. Pinterest does encourage ‘Pinners’ to declare the website where the picture was pinned from.
How Business Can Use Instagram and Pinterest.
So my question with this is whether Instagram was going to allow photo’s to be shared directly to Pinterest?
“You shouldn’t need to be too worried if that doesn’t happen as you can pin images that are on websites (including individual posts). So your intention then would be to use an interesting image with a quality post. Then pin the image (linked to the source URL). If your image is re-pinned you should see a spike in traffic.” says Leesa Watego of Iscariot Media.
So if I have interesting photo’s that people will ‘pin’ and ‘re-pin’ linked to my website, I will see a spike in traffic to my website from the picture , especially if it is related to the website content. If my website content is of high quality and of interest to those leads generated from the Pinterest picture, then I should see an increase in traffic to my website. Which leads us back to the point, that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ at a glance. Pictures are a way to attract people to our website. So Instagram and Pinterest have a valuable place in many businesses as a social media communication and marketing tool. Especially for those businesses where it is very difficult to say in words what you do, how you do it and how great a product you have. So if you are considering if Pinterest and Instagram is for you as a social media tool, my advice is to get in and try it.
~ Damien Foley