The headline on the Washington Post says it all: “Warren Buffett buys newspapers. Is he nuts?”
Author: Aunty B on
18 May 2012
Dear Aunty B,
I am doing my most hated task of the year (apart from sacking people), which is budgets, and I am not going to have the funds I want due to this sick economy that everyone says is booming – but it ain’t!
Author: Trent Leyshan on
18 May 2012
Influencing people is far less challenging when you can see things from their perspective. Empathy, of course, is a magical human feature that helps us to connect with others to feel and share their emotions. This is a true gift. Imagine living in a world without it?
Author: Naomi Simson on
18 May 2012
I have teenagers – their friends are beginning to get part-time jobs. I am fascinated to watch them learn and discover the world of work. The experience that they have with these businesses may well determine what "work" looks like for them.
Author: Michael Yardney on
18 May 2012
What most of us have been taught about risk is wrong, and it's probably holding you back from obtaining real wealth.
Author: Aunty B on
17 May 2012
Dear Aunty B,
We are two women in our 50s and have teamed up to start a small business, but we don't know what's better. Do we buy a franchise, buy a business or look for an opportunity and start our own business?
I am an experienced business executive who has worked in large businesses for most of my life. My partner has successfully worked in small businesses.
Lorna, WA
Dear Lorna,
Look, in a nutshell, I would think about it like this: someone else's business is for sale because it's a dog. Now maybe that is true, maybe it isn't. But it can be a painful lesson to find out.
Buy a franchise? Look, you guys don't seem the type. Often franchisees don't know a lot about running a business and they are buying in to that experience.
Also, a franchise works best when it is owned by one person who has a large, extended family that will work in one, then two, then three franchisees for love and not much money. Shocking generalisations, but there you are.
So, if I was you, I would start your own. Pick a niche that you know a lot about, make sure everything is in a growth trend, look at how technology can transform the proposition, do your plan and Bob’s your proverbial uncle.
Be smart,
Your Aunty B
Author: James Thomson on
17 May 2012
At times like this, every bit of intelligence an SME can get is like gold. So it always pays to keep an eye on the biggest data goldmine of all – the ASX.
Author: Chris Thomas on
17 May 2012
China’s catching up. From a closed economy based on agriculture and limited trade, to the roaring industrial force it is today, China is fast becoming a huge opportunity for savvy online marketers.
Author: Paul Wallbank on
17 May 2012
“Plastics” was the career advice to uni students in the 1967 movie The Graduate. Today the same advice to a smart young entrepreneur would be “big data”.
Author: Dave Stevens on
17 May 2012
For most of us, Microsoft Outlook and Exchange are everyday tools for communication, calendaring and more.
