Category Archives: Business Tips

Hints and Tips business can use to grow and develop.

Government, Indigenous Affairs, Indigenous Business, MyMBAjourney@MBS, Networking, Videos

20191024a- Interview with Toni Scattergood

Toni Scattergood is a horse and motorbike riding country girl come lawyer and social policy procurement advisor who is studying a part time MBA at the Melbourne Business School. Toni and Damien talk post Data Analysis mid term exam about her journey into starting an MBA. She talks about her work encouraging her to do post graduate studies and opting away from doing an Applied Finance course to do the MBA. She talks about the benefits of doing the MBA part time and being able to meet other students from diverse backgrounds. She talks about waht each person brings to doing Syndicate group work.

Toni and Damien also talk about their passion for social procurement where Toni works on projects around infrastructure policy. She has found herself transitioning from working as a lawyer to being an advisor around policy on social procurement to meet the Victorian Government Social Procurement targets. This conversation struck a conversation between them on a subject they are both passionate about and how new it is to Victoria commencing in 2019.

Toni talks about balancing life commitments as to segrating them into work, study and life. She talks about the commitment to doing gym sessions in the morning, work beyond the nine to five job and then studying for the MBA. Toni talks about the importance of not focusing just on the grade but the learning and applications of the MBA, something she has also learnt from her career. Toni talks about the importance of her networking and learning about social procurement and social enterprise, how social procurement adds to the value and benefit of not just the business, but the community as a whole. Toni talks about breaking down the perception that social procurement is a premium cost but look at the innovation that is coming from this.

Toni can be found on LinkedIn: Toni Scattergood

Business, Business Development, Business Tips, Chambers of Commerce, Communication, Community, Motivation

2013: Reflecting on the year that was and what 2014 has in store

2013-2014As 2013 draws to a close,  I have drawn on the inspiration of a friend of mine, Luke, to reflect on what has happened in the year and what 2014 has laying ahead for me.

  • My biggest success was losing 18 kilos. I feel a lot better about myself both physically; emotionally and mentally. I did this by making  lifestyle changes that I knew I would continue with, meaning no fad diets! To learn how I did this, read “How I Lost 18Kg By Eating An Elephant”.
  • I have continued with my community work, sitting on several not for profit organisation’s. Unfortunately at the end of 2012 I had to cease being a mentor to the Flagstone Junior Chamber of Commerce at Flagstone State Community College due to my work commitments this year. I remained the Treasurer of the South East Queensland Indigenous Chamber of Commerce (SEQICC) and President of the Indigenous Construction Group Australia (ICGA).  The SEQICC has under gone some major changes this year which I am proud to be a part of,  including securing office premises and taking on a full time CEO. The ICGA is undergoing its own review after some set backs, but I am positive about its role and contributions it will make to the sector.
  • I started an event management business, Murritsi Events, with 2 partners at the end of 2012. In October of this year the other partners decided to pull out of the business. I decided to continue with it. I learnt you really need to have business partners who are as committed and as hungry as you are to make the business succeed by doing the hard yards. Otherwise they will lose interest, slow down and drop off.
  • For my bookkeeping and consulting business, Foley Business Management,  I completed the units I need to obtain my BAS Agent Registration. I have also submitted a proposal to a potential client and I’m looking at office space near the city.
  • I am in the process of having a provisional patent lodged for a phone app concept I’ve had for some time now. This will allow me to start discussing the idea with developer’s and other’s who can provide valuable input and feedback on the concept.
  • I recently posted on my Facebook page how I have been so focused on my work this year, I have become a recluse to my friends. It took the wisdom and life experience of 3 mentors to tell me to enjoy myself,  as life is a journey and not a destination.
  • I have started to reconnect with old friends. More so at the end of this year as I started to reflect on how busy I have been. I caught up with an old school friend who works  not far from where I live. It was great to meet up with the guys I did a Tafe course with a few years ago and find out what they are doing. Needless to say, arvo drinks turned into dinner that then turned into more drinks.
  • I took on a comment a friend made while we were at dinner. He described me as ‘conservative’. Its true, and as a result I thought I needed to revamp my appearance. So I have new glasses, changed my hairstyle, grew facial stubble (on weekends!) and updating my wardrobe also due to the weight I have lost.
  • I have also taken on the comment from Sass of being a ‘Judgie McJudge’. That is in my personal life I am quick to make judgement of people. So I am going to make a concerted effort to be less critical of people in my personal life. This has started by getting to know Sass better!

So what does 2014 have in store

  • I hope to start taking on clients for Foley Business Management early in the year, building on my existing relationships and identifying new ones, namely in the Not For Profit sector. A goal of my business life is to leave the legacy of “creating a better world for our children’s children”.
  • Murritsi Events will be second, with Foley Business Management taking priority. But it will find its place I am sure with the right approach early in the year.
  • The Phone App will begin to come together as I start to put together a rough business plan after talking with the right people. There are no definite times for this as IT start ups are a new area to my skill sets. So I will be looking for the right people to make it happen!
  • I will be looking to move closer to Brisbane in the first half of the year. An office in near the city will be the incentive I need to move in there to save myself the 1 hour travel to work each morning at peak hour. With the office I will also try to separate my work/personal life better. A home office means you’re at work when you should be at home and at home when you should be at work!
  • I’ll continue with my health and fitness, by looking to return to study/train in martial arts.
  • I’ll continue with my community work by providing my services on a voluntary basis for organisations I feel are worthy to the community. This for now includes the SEQICC and ICGA. I will limit myself to being involved with no more than two organisations in a voluntary position, as I have done in 2013.
  • To enjoy myself more and be more social, planning my weekends as much I do for my work days. I will look to join some social groups to get out and mingle with people outside of my professional network, be it cooking classes, photography etc.
  • TAKE A HOLIDAY that isn’t a stop over on a business trip or a few hours between meetings!!!!
Business, Business Development, Human Resources, Motivation

Having The Right Mindset For Success And Business

(2013.07.22) Having The Right Mindset For Success And BusinessToday I had two things happen to me that gave me two different feelings.

The first was attending a meeting as the President of the Indigenous Construction Group Australia (ICGA) to discuss some future opportunities. The meeting went well and I came out of it feeling very positive.

The second event was after attending the meeting I returned to my car to find it had been towed. Someone had removed the bollards to prevent people parking there to undertake some construction. Though I found it strange the manager had parked his car in the same area before I arrived. But I had parked where I wasn’t meant to even though I didn’t know and there was nothing to tell me otherwise. Naturally I wasn’t very happy at having to pay $350 to have my car taken out of the impound when I wasn’t at any fault!

So on the bus ride to the impound I thought about these two events. I thought about how I should be feeling. My feelings were mixed. On one hand I had a great meeting which had me feeling good. But on the other hand I had my car towed because someone had not properly secured the area to prevent me parking there or put up signs telling me not to park there, which cost me $350.

So I thought back to last night. Last night I attended a meeting with some friends of mine. We all share a common interest of investment and wealth creation. We started meeting about 5 years ago but we slowly became less involved as the global financial crisis took a greater hold and was beginning to bite into our pockets. As our first meeting, we agreed for the next two weeks we would not start looking at investment strategies. Instead we would first get our mindset right by listening to audio books on the subject.

I personally listen to people like Anthony Robbins “Awakening The Giant Within” and other business books that include creating a positive mindset. When I first listened to Robbins I thought it was just a ‘touchy feely’ approach to setting goals. I was raised that goals are achieved by hard work, not thinking about your emotions. But the more I replayed and listened to the audio book the more I took on what he was getting at.

One of the story’s Robbins tells is of Honda, the maker of Honda cars and motorcycles. Honda had a number of setbacks but he persevered until he achieved his goal. He could have given up due to any one these major setbacks. But he didn’t, he continued forward focusing on his goal. As a result he created the Honda motorcycle and car manufacturing companies we know today. Honda overcame these negative events to become a household name.

So today I had a positive and negative influence on how I would feel about the day. You know, having my car towed cost me $350. but it’s just money and I can make it back if I set my mind to it. So I am not going to let that affect how I feel. But the meeting for ICGA today will have a positive affect for not just myself, but also other people. And for that reason I can feel good about my day today!

~ Damien Foley

Accounting and Finance, Business Tips

ATO’s E-Tax Issue Printing or Saving Tax Returns.

Its that time of year again for preparing tax returns. Many of us will be using the ATO’s E-Tax software to lodge our 2013 tax return online, as a fast and effective way to prepare, lodge and receive our tax refund into our bank account (usually around 10 working days). But there is a problem with printing or saving a copy of your  tax return with some computers and printers ie Windows and Hewlett Packard. Here is a quick step through on how to get around this problem.

1. In E Tax on the left hand side select the “Printing” screen.

2. Change your printer to “Microsoft XPS Document Writer”. Then press the “Preview or print” button.

3. This will process to preview your tax return. In the menu bar the Selected Printer will be Microsoft XPS Document Writer. Press the “Print” button beside this.

4. A “Save Print Output As” window will display. Select where you want to save the document to. I suggest saving it to where your Tax records are on your computer for easy access.

5. Still in this window give your Tax  Return a file name you can easily identify as your name and the year, such as “FOLEY Damien 2013 ITR”.

6. Still in this window, the “Save as type” should be “OpenXPS Document (*.oxps)”. Press Save.

7. You will now need to download a XPS to PDF  converter. You can Google for different converters but I downloaded a free version of NovaPDF from http://www.novapdf.com/download.html. Once downloaded close the XPS to PDF Converter.

8. Go to where you just saved your Tax Return as the XPS file. Open the file and select the print icon or similar (this is in the top right side). A Print window will open. Choose the PDF Creator you just downloaded and press print.

9. A window will open allowing you to save the file as a PDF. Choose where you want to save the file to. Again, I suggest you save it to where you have saved your other tax return information with an identifiable name. Once the save destination is selected press OK.

10. The file now saved as a PDF will open. From the menu select File/print. Select the printer you are wanting to print a hard copy from.

You have successfully saved your tax return as a PDF and you are able to print it from your printer.

Accounting and Finance, Business, Business Tips, Chambers of Commerce, Communication, Human Resources

Public Holidays- Did You Know Labour Day for Qld Is Now In October, Not In May?

Business owners, especially the self employed,  have a lot to deal with as a business. So knowing when public holidays are coming up is generally not at the top of the priority list. But it does affect a lot of businesses, in the way of staff availability, completion of projects and jobs, planning meetings and timing of bank payments. Not knowing when a public holiday is on can be costly to business, not to mention embarrassing if you publicise the wrong date!

Here are the links for Public Holidays in each state. If you need the Queensland Public Holidays, the Justice Departments website has a great feature to the right which you can click to Subscribe to their calendar to add to yours to be kept constantly up to date with Queensland’s Public Holidays. South Australia also has the ability to be kept up to date via emails, but also subscribes you to other email notifications.

Australian States Public Holidays

Queensland Public Holidays

NSW Public Holidays

Victoria Public Holidays

ACT Public Holidays

Tasmania Public Holidays

South Australia Public Holidays

Northern Territory Public Holidays

Western Australia Public Holidays

Business Tips, Communication, Marketing, Sales

Making a $10,000 Sale From a 10c Business Card

Damien Foley Business CardHave you ever waited for that important phone call from a potential client you met at an event? They were excited by your product and it was just what they wanted. You gave them your business card. They didn’t have a business card to give you but would call. You left excited for the coming sale and waited days for the phone to ring- but it never came. Why?

Did your business card kill the deal? Your business card is a critical business marketing tool that can generate thousands of dollars in sales for you and your business. We underestimate how powerful it is as our first point of marketing. Many businesses don’t put much thought into them, resulting in poor first impressions and lost sales. So when planning your business card here are a few things you should consider,

1. Keep It Simple- Ensure the person reading your business card can get all the required information they need at a glance. Don’t complicate it for them. Considering layout, colours, word font, and pictures is essential in your decision making.

2. Business Name- Make sure your business name is easily identifiable and clear to read.

3. Your Name and Position- A business card is a personal business tool. Make sure your name and position is clear to find and read.

4. Logo- Size and placement of your logo is important.

5. Contact Details- These include your phone numbers both land line and mobile, fax number, street address, postal address, email and website. It can also include LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. TIP: Double check it’s correct before printing.

6. Back of Card- You can use this for other information. For example, your business products, iconic pictures of your business or you, appointment details, other peoples contact details, other business locations, areas serviced, associated businesses, etc.

7. Look at other peoples business cards. Identify what you like and what you don’t like. What information is important to you? Is there enough information or too much? Glossy or matt finish? one side or two sided? Embossed pictures or printing? Is glossy, two sided or embossed needed for cost?

Not having the right business card can cost you sales and ruin your business brand. Not having an effective business card can lose you vital connections with those all important new client leads you create.

Damien Foley has extensive experience in networking and has seen many business cards in his time. Do you need assistance with designing your business card or wanting to revamp your current tired and ineffective business card? Contact Damien for a consultation to advise you on how to get the most from one of your most valuable marketing tools! Call Damien on (07) 3802 0222 or his mobile 0437 028 006 or email damien.foley@foleygroup.com.au.

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