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1. Entrepreneurs reveal their cashflow commandments

Senior account director at debt collection agency eCollect Lou McLeish has been on the phone chasing up a string of overdue bills for her clients, one for as little as $368, another for $7,000 that is 90 days overdue. "There really is a big debt problem," she says. "Collecting money is everybody's least fa...

2. First impressions count in retaining SME staff... Servant-CE

First impressions count even more for new SME employees New employees decide to leave an SME in a much shorter time frame compared to those at larger organisations, with more than half deciding in the first month, according to new research by consulting firm Chandler Macleod. In fact, 8% of SME employees decide on the first day of their new job, compared to just 1% of employees from larger organ...

3. Top 10 jobs of 2010 and beyond

With IBISWorld predicting 2010 will be a boom year for Australian business, and that the next five years will see significant economic growth, opportunities for university graduates are set to grow as companies seek to invest in talented staff. The fact that December 2009 saw the number of jobless people fall by 13,300 is a sure sign tha...

4. Why your company needs core values

The very phrase “company values” is enough to make some business owners – and many employees - groan and roll their eyes. For many businesses, corporate value statements are little more than vague motherhood statements that sound nice but bear little relation to way business is done. But that’s not that case in every business. For a n...

5. State Government Grants

Free money for growth There are many juicy free money opportunities out there, but before leaping in, business owners need to understand the cost and red tape that comes with the grants process. Here we look at state government grants and examine the costs involved and the obligations you’ll face. SmartCompany’s selection of grants from the state governments Click on the name to link t...

6. Seven future trends to be aware of

Thomas Frey is a futurist. It’s his job to predict the future by identifying emerging global trends. What Frey does might sound a little like fortune telling but spotting new trends is an important way of ensuring your business is well positioned for the future. Frey spoke to SmartCompany from the United States ahead ...

7. The perfect performance review

Traditionally, performance appraisals have been regarded as critical for managing careers and keeping employees in line with business objectives. Now with the Government's unfair dismissal changes dismantling WorkChoices, the performance appraisal can also be a critical tool in protecting your business from unfair dismissal claims. For time-strapped managers and business owners, that means more work. But as Julian Lippi, director of the MBA at Swinburne's Australian Graduate School of En...

8. Hot 30 under 30

They're smart, they're young, they're tech savvy - and they're not afraid of the downturn. Meet SmartCompany's Hot 30 under 30 - a group of 30 entrepreneurs aged 30 years and under who are on their way to becoming Australia's next generation of business leaders.  

9. Economy 2009: 10 key forecasts

There are several key elements affecting the overall economy, and the stability or otherwise of each can be integral to your business’s viability for the year ahead. JAMES THOMSON surveys the likely scenarios. ...

10. Sumo Salad finds a healthy model

These are tough times for food retailers, with rising unemployment and falling consumer sentiment leading to a sharp drop in customers.  But Luke Baylis and James Miller, founders of health fast-food franchise Sumo Salad, claim the main challenges for their business haven't come from the e...

11. How I managed a crisis that hit 1,000 of my customers

The solar hot water industry has boomed over the past few years, and New South Wales-based Apricus has been taking advantage of the trend. Chief executive Chris Taylor has grown the business from turnover of $4 million during 2007-08 to $20.4 million in 2009-10, with thousands of units installed. But the company had a near-...

12. Personal services income rules can trap the unwary

The alienation of personal services income rules (PSI rules) in the tax law can limit tax deductions available to individuals and can also attribute income derived by an interposed entity (eg. a company) back to the taxpayer. Personal services income is ordinary income derived mainly for the personal...

13. Australia's top 30 female entrepreneurs 2012

First she took on Australia, then she took on the world. Mining and media magnate Gina Rinehart is already Australia’s richest person, and word is spreading that she will become the world’s wealthiest individual within years. So it’s no surprise that Rinehart tops SmartCompany’s third annual top female entrepreneur list and drags its...

14. RedBalloon rising

Naomi Simson is the founder and CEO of online gifting and experience company RedBalloon. She also happens to be one of SmartCompany's very well known bloggers. Naomi shares how RedBalloon is adjusting to the downturn, how she's saving time (and still hiring staff) being more productive, and...

15. Job Applicant Interview Tips

How to conduct a job interview Here's your chance to get to know a potential employee and to gauge whether they would "fit" into your organisation. Have a plan and have questions prepared. 1. Make a short list of applicants  There is little point interviewing everyone who applies; this will only put a strain on your time. Give applicants clear instructions when inviting them ...

16. 10 marketing tips that won’t cost the earth

Businesses all over Australia are trying to do more with less as marketing budgets are slashed in these tougher economic times. But with a nose for a bargain and a little know-how from the experts, it is possible to extract good value from a shrinking budget. Looking beyond traditional mediums like television and radio may surprise you.

17. 2011's Hot 30 Under 30

Meet SmartCompany's Hot 30 Under 30 class of 2011 – a group of entrepreneurs aged up to 30 years, drawn from 30 of Australia's fastest-growing SMEs. While many of the entrepreneurs here have leveraged technology to grow their businesses, this group of business owners prove that IT isn't the only avenue to q...

18. 10 ways to make your business appear bigger than it actually

Every small business owner knows how hard it is to score your first few clients. Just being a small business is enough for some prospective partners to automatically dismiss you, and getting your foot in the door isn't an easy task. But even though your company might be classified as a small busine...

19. Recruiter rides the outsourcing wave

Andrew Banks heads the winning HR firm Talent2, and has built a highly successful and lucrative career from making canny calls on recruitment trends. He tells AMANDA GOME about his strategies and predictions. By Amanda Gome  

20. How will your sector perform in 2009?

The threat of recession hangs heavy over the business landscape, but not every company is bracing for bad news. In a sector-by-sector breakdown, SmartCompany reveals the industries of likely refuge in the maelstrom ahead. By Patrick Stafford and James Thomson

21. Bright Lights, Geek City

At 21, David Hancock founded his computer repair business, Geeks2U from his bedroom, at the time employing just one technician. Three years on, the company has 140 subcontractors across every capital city and has just recently serviced its 30,000th customer. Hancock says revenue is growing at around 94%, year-on-year. Hancock has never known anything but growth, but he ha...

22. Restaurant chain Hooters in liquidation, sale close

The Australian arm of US restaurant chain Hooters - famous for hiring buxom waitresses - has been placed in liquidation, although the sale of two of its remaining restaurants is imminent. The latest incarnation of the Hooters chain in Australia was set up in 2005, with restaurants in the Sydney suburbs of Parramatta and Cronulla and in the glitzy Gold Coast suburb of Mermaid Beach. The Cronulla site was closed before the company was placed in administration in March, but t...

23. Clever ways to future-proof your business

As the old adage goes, you don't know what you don't know. But for small businesses, not knowing what the future might hold can cost them dearly. While small businesses are often great at what they do, they're not so great at planning for the future, the executive director of small business customer unit at Telstra, Charles...

24. SmartCompany Awards 2009 Sponsor

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25. 10 ways Australian businesses are using the iPad

The iPad has completely changed the personal computing world. But alongside the hundreds of thousands of apps offered in Apple's flagship market, Australian SMEs are now designing their own ways of integrating the iPad into the workplace. Property valuation tools, ordering and inventory fac...

26. 10 ways to boost morale and productivity

It's hard to have happy, productive staff in a climate when the bad news just keeps on rolling. The good news is, there are cheap and easy ways to increase productivity (and smiles) in the workplace. Lesson 1: Get out and walk t...

27. Booming in the bust

We all know how ugly it's getting out there. Corporate collapses, widespread job cuts, entrepreneurs going bankrupt – the bad news shows no signs of ending.   Well, it's time to get a bit more op...

28. Sales jobs: On the road to nowhere (unless we detour)

The internet has changed selling forever. So why are your sales staff still selling in the same old way? International sales guru Tom Snyder warns AMANDA GOME that hundreds of thousands of salespeople will lose their jobs in the next five years unless the By Amanda Gome  

29. The secrets of great customer service

Very little consumes and perplexes organisations more than the question of customer service. This is the organisational issue, brand issue and people issue that no company can afford to ignore. In today's environment of sliver thin margins of differentiation, customer service has quite possibly never been more important – so why do ...

30. Major marketing blunders

As some of the country's best known brands prove over and over again, marketing mistakes can happen to anyone. Whether it's an ill-devised campaign, poor execution or an email that's slipped out accidentally, letting the world see your company's slip-up can cost a brand dearly. We look at some of the more high profile marketing gaffs ...

31. 10 email marketing secrets

Email marketing continues to grow in popularity as companies turn to one of the cheapest and most measurable forms of self-promotion on the planet. It's not surprising. An email marketing campaign can cost as little as .1c to .3c per email, compared to between $1 and $1.50 for direct marketing delivered via snail mail. But the great ...

32. Retail Leasing Tips

Tips on getting the best possible retail lease Do your homework: Spend serious time and money researching the location for your business. It needs to be near the people who will be your customers, have the necessary level of traffic and not be choc-a-bloc with competitors. “Retailers often want to lease a place because they live round the corner – but just because it’s con...

33. The buzz on the beauty industry

IBISWorld estimates the hairdressing and beauty salon industry revenue will contract at an average annual rate of 0.03% over the five years to 2009-10. Despite the fact that beauty therapy is increasingly being perceived as a necessity, the industry is sensitive to changes in household disposable income. As such, from the middle of the period assessed...

34. 10 big strategic mistakes – and how to fix them

The key to business success is to look carefully at your mistakes – and stop repeating them. But extraordinarily, some companies never seem to learn. They pay too much for acquisitions or pursue strategies that have been overtaken by the market. Many business owners have no exit strategy. Some start out in a niche and the...

35. How I created a special business unit dedicated to culture t

Bruce Poon Tip started Canadian travel group Gap Adventures with some credit cards when he was 22 years old in 1990. Today the company, which offers backpacking tours in over 100 countries, has revenue of well over $150 million.   But Poon Tip says the key to the company’s success has been creating a unique employee culture. Employees are given signific...

36. Philip Weinman

Philip Weinman could be Australia’s ultimate serial entrepreneur. After starting and selling seven fast-growing businesses including CTS Travel (sold for $30 million), Hisoft (sold for more than $10 million) and Vitamin Me, he has now formed the Deasil Group, which has investments in 14 separate businesses.  

37. Costco Australia reveals opening date of Melbourne store, id

Warehouse retailing chain Costco Australia has announced its first store will open on 17 August in Melbourne, with the company also identifying a Sydney site for expansion during the next year. Costco Australia managing director Patrick Noone has also said consumers looking for memberships with the discount warehousing retailer can do so in person from today at the chain's Docklands location. The company has identified a property site in Sydney on Parramatta Road, and hope...

38. Facebook email brings new legal problems for employers when

Tech pundits may have welcomed Facebook's new messaging service as a step forward for online communication, but one legal expert warns the service could potentially put employees and businesses in trouble if resumes are sent out with the new addresses. The warning also comes as an online tech blog has warned its users to be aware of potential scams, through which people may pose as Facebook staff and convince unsuspecting users to hand over sensitive information. As part of Faceb...

39. 50 Tips to Boost Your Profit

How to improve your bottom line Raise your prices. You’ll be surprised how few complaints you’ll get about a 5% price increase. Sack a customer. Think about abandoning demanding customers who eat up too much time for too little reward. Drop a product from your range. Most companies carry...

40. The web's monetising challenge

Monique Talbot started her own business Tempest Media in 1999, just as the internet boom took off. She sold it at the market peak, and people comment on her fantastic timing.  But instead of being a woman of leisure, she is throwing her energy at another venture, ...

41. Are you ready for the new IR laws?

Get ready for some big changes in the workplace on July 1. If Howard's Work Choices sent the pendulum swinging in one direction, Rudd's Fair Work Act is swinging it back. Some employment lawyers are warning that these new laws will put employees and employers back on a war footing and reintroduce rules reminiscent of the 1980s.

42. Finding the right management structure

Few people think about structure; compared to strategy it just doesn’t get the attention. It’s not really a talking point, but you can’t have strategy without structure. Having the right layers of management, reporting mechanisms and the ability to have different departments of the company working t...

43. How divorce can destroy your business

Divorce is a very expensive business. Ask John Cleese. The 70-year-old actor is facing a hefty divorce settlement after 17 years of marriage (no kids) to Alyce Faye Eichelberger. Cleese must pay his ex $US19.7 million, around $US13 million in cash and assets, as well as $US987,000 per year for the next seven years. His recent world comedy tour was called "How to Finance Your Divorce" for obvious reasons. In the show he describes his wife as the love child of Bernie Madof...

44. Furniture sells online

Dean Ramler is not only proving that people do buy furniture online but is building a successful business around it. By PATRICK STAFFORDBy Patrick StaffordDesigner furnit...

45. Outlook 2009: What smart companies must do now

In a special end-of-year discussion, SmartCompany editor James Thomson and publisher Amanda Gome take a look at the trends and opportunities that we will emerge in 2009, which promises to be a difficult but exciting year.

46. There’s a new player in the world of corporate communicati

As more and more people in an organisation start using social media, they unwittingly start to take on the role of "unofficial spokesperson". They have the opportunity to talk with customers in a completely different way. The conversation is not intermediated - it is unbelievably direct. It is human. It is authentic. It is transparent. For many people - particularly those trained in the arts of marketing and PR - this is quite concerning. According to some people, you can't allow ...

47. Intrepid Travel’s big adventure

It was tough times that spurred Darrell Wade to change the strategy of Intrepid Travel. The result? $120 million growth in a decade. He tells AMANDA GOME how he did it, plus reveals bold new plans.By Amanda Gome

48. 15 ways for women to rise to the top

Female participation on the entrepreneurial playing field has not just stagnated, it has gone backwards. We dissect what is holding women back, but more importantly outline important and pro-active steps that every woman in business can take to make positive change.

49. Slice of the action

Tom Potter founded the Eagle Boys Pizza franchise chain in 1987, and grew it to 200 stores with an annual turnover of more than $100 million. He talks to JACQUI WALKER. Tom Potter founded t...

50. Susan Williams

Susan Williams is the founder of The Finishing Touch, a business that specialises in helping people with one of the most stressful times in their life – moving. The company, which was estimated with revenue of $3 million, has used a deliberate strategy of employing mature aged workers to expand and now has a network of 250 employees around Australia. Williams, ...