If you can read this text, your browser is not interpreting this page as the designers intended. This may be because you are using an obsolete, non-standards compliant browser or you have Cascading Style Sheets disabled. Read more about Web Standards at Reactive.

text size: A- A+

Top Story

Start up Guide Smart Co Awards Smart co blogs
Govt assist Govt assist Links Our Partners New Products

Email Alert

Sign up to receive an email each weekday alerting you to the latest news, tips, blogs, trends and big issues

More information
RSS feeds Podcasts
View > How to survive insolvency – and prosper
Thursday, 7 August 2008 More businesses are drifting closer to being labelled insolvent, but are nowhere near complete failures – yet. MIKE PRESTON reveals the warning signs and maps a way out of the mire.
View > Investing in a bear market
Tuesday, 5 August 2008 The sharemarket is firmly in negative territory, but don’t panic. TIM TREADGOLD explains the rules of bear market survival and reveals the sectors that will bounce back fastest.
View > How the iPhone will revolutionise the mobile sector
Thursday, 31 July 2008 The iPhone will help triple the size of Australia's mobile content sector in the next five years. JAMES THOMSON finds the growth hotspots and explains how business must adapt.
View > Olympics: And the winner is… Australian business
Tuesday, 29 July 2008 The world’s top athletes will vie for gold in Beijing, but keen Australian businesses have already won from the Olympics. By AMITA TANDUKAR
View > Free money for growth – part two
Thursday, 24 July 2008 Funding your growth may seem daunting these days, but one perhaps overlooked source is the government sector. MIKE PRESTON and JAMES THOMSON uncover, state-by-state, all your ‘free-money’ opportunities
View > Free money for growth – part one
Tuesday, 22 July 2008 The credit crunch has certainly put a kink in the funding feeder channels for many businesses. But one source of growth capital could yet come to the rescue – government assistance. JAMES THOMSON and MIKE PRESTON point your business towards more than 90 ‘free-money’ opportunities
View > Top 10 search-and-sale tools and how to get on top of them
Thursday, 17 July 2008 The web is constantly changing. CHRIS THOMAS runs through the top 10 new search tools to help you get found and sell more
View > Online reputation: 6 steps to manage a crisis
Tuesday, 15 July 2008 No business can eliminate negative buzz, especially on the web, but you can manage and minimise the impact. By JASON WEST and AMANDA GOME
View > 10 tips to break the cash-flow drought
Thursday, 10 July 2008 When economic hard-times hit, one measure more than any other separates the business survivors from those that fall by the way – cash-flow. MIKE PRESTON lists 10 tips to boost your cash-flow
View > 7 secret problems with “off-the-shelf’ web solutions
Tuesday, 8 July 2008 Web designers often reach for ready-made products to solve business problems rather than building customised solutions. But in doing so they may be servicing their own needs more than yours. By CRAIG REARDON
View > Downturn: Exporters rug-up for the global chill
Thursday, 3 July 2008 Tough overseas markets and a robust currency are not helping Australian exporters. To cope – and survive – successful export firms are changing. Here’s how. By AMITA TANDUKAR
View > Top 10 secrets of successful digital entrepreneurs
Tuesday, 1 July 2008 The champions of the digital technology stakes have common aces up their sleeves. BRAD HOWARTH reveals their top 10 tips for success
View > Time to rethink your travel budget
Thursday, 26 June 2008 Fare hikes, higher taxes, the oil crisis, flight cancellations and industrial action are creating havoc for business travellers. We ask Australian business travel experts how your business can handle the turbulence. BY EMILY ROSS
View > Make it free, and make money
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 In an increasingly tough economic climate, so many companies are using technology and ideas to create free products and services that it is changing business models and the economy. It even has its own name: Freeconomics. EMILY ROSS explains
View > Labor’s plans for small business
Thursday, 19 June 2008 Federal Small Business Minister Craig Emerson has faced a baptism of fire in his first half year, with business confidence in sharp decline and small business support for Labor at low levels. He explains to SmartCompany his small business vision
View > 20 tax tips from the experts
Tuesday, 17 June 2008 The 2008-09 tax season is almost upon us and entrepreneurs can expect to get some extra scrutiny this year. MIKE PRESTON and JAMES THOMSON ask a panel of tax experts for their best tips and the best action you can take now to minimise your tax bill
View > How to retain staff – without breaking the bank
Thursday, 12 June 2008 It’s getting harder to afford financial incentives and bonus payments for staff, but this is not the time to lose your high performers. As LEON GETTLER explains, there are ways to motivate and retain staff without spending a fortune.
View > Bullet-proof planning: How to get your business ready for the next financial year
Thursday, 5 June 2008 Putting together a business plan is an annual ritual many business owners dread, but this year economic uncertainty means the task could be tougher than it has been in a decade. By MIKE PRESTON
View > Solving Australia’s innovation crisis
Tuesday, 3 June 2008 SmartCompany's roundtable brought together 17 entrepreneurs and experts to to identify the next 10 multi-billion dollar industries – and create an action plan for developing an entrepreneurial Australia.
View > The $18 billion timebomb – how to deal with employee fraud
Thursday, 29 May 2008 Employee fraud costs Australian businesses $18 billion a year and no business can afford to ignore the risks. EMILY ROSS asks the experts how businesses can safeguard against white-collar crime.
View > 10 ways to foster innovation in your company
Tuesday, 27 May 2008 The economy might be slowing, but now is not the time to stop innovating and let your competitors gain the upper hand. KOSMAS SMYRNIOS and AMANDA GOME explain how you can foster a culture of innovation in your business.
View > 10 tips to get people management right in a downturn
Thursday, 22 May 2008 As the economy slows, getting staffing right will make or break your business. MIKE PRESTON explains how to lower staff costs, get rid of the underperformers and protect your stars.
View > 30 hot entrepreneurs aged 30 and under
Tuesday, 20 May 2008 They are young, smart and come from industries as diverse as IT, fashion and agriculture. BRAD HOWARTH profiles 30 hot young entrepreneurs aged 30 years and under.
View > Budget overview: What it means to your business
Tuesday, 13 May 2008 There is nothing for business in Swan’s safe budget. The cuts, including the abolition of the Commercial Ready program, are savage. Why is there nothing for small business? JAMES THOMSON
View > Wagging the long tail
Tuesday, 13 May 2008 Think your website is too small or niche to generate advertising revenue? Think again. Here are 10 tips to monetise your online platform. By DENISE SHRIVELL
View > The power of Google
Thursday, 8 May 2008 Whatever you do, don’t mess with the $200 billion giant. As LUCINDA SCHMIDT reports, using dirty SEO tricks to try to improve your ranking on Google always ends in disaster.
View > Entrepreneurs on the outer
Tuesday, 6 May 2008 As the economy slows, boards and investors are shunning entrepreneurs with aggressive growth plans in favour of managers with more conservative strategies. JAMES THOMSON explains how entrepreneurs need to adjust.
View > Strategy in a downturn – 10 lessons from the last recession
Thursday, 1 May 2008 The economy is slowing, but don’t panic – you can still grow in a downturn. JAMES THOMSON reveals 10 tips from companies who sailed through the last recession.
View > Video – the hot new way to get noticed on the web
Tuesday, 29 April 2008 Videos are cheap, easy to make and a brilliant web marketing tool. BRAD HOWARTH explains how you can cash in on the popularity of sites such as YouTube and use video to promote your business.
View > Surviving the new business investment drought
Thursday, 24 April 2008 Raising capital to grow has become a bigger ask. MIKE PRESTON runs through the options that are left, plus gives five tips for your business to adapt and survive the funding famine.
View > 10 Aussie digital entrepreneurs with stars and stripes in their eyes
Tuesday, 22 April 2008 Some of our best home-grown digital entrepreneurs are global players. BRAD HOWARTH runs through 10 stand-outs.
View > 10 biggest SEO mistakes
Thursday, 17 April 2008 Google AdWords is losing its power as ads get more expensive. Search engine optimisation, which aims to get better natural search rankings, can be a more reliable strategy. But watch out because there are traps. By CHRIS THOMAS
View >