It’s outrageous – my employee asked me to do some of his work!

auntyb@startupsmart.com.au — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:04:03 +0100

Dear Aunty B,

I’m absolutely flabbergasted as one of my employees has asked me to help him do his work!

He’s working on a pretty simple and low level task that’s time consuming. When I asked him when it would be finished, he asked me if I could help finish it off. He told me he has another important deadline (which I know [...]

VIDEO: Top two things I hate about Google right now

jstewart@smartcompany.com.au — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:42:23 +0100

Forget about the NSA and its PRISM program – there are some recent changes in Google that could really hurt your business and its search rankings.

Jim Stewart is one of the country’s leading experts in search engine optimisation and his business Stew Art Media has worked with large clients including Mars, [...]

Should you be choosing to be in the tech minority?

dmarkus@smartcompany.com.au — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:23:35 +0100

IT is about time and money. Businesses invest in IT in the belief it will save them time.

Let me focus on two aspects here, investment and time. Being in a minority group from a technology perspective is either very good or very bad.

If you are in the minority group that derives massive time savings from your use of [...]

Innovations subscribers don't need

pwallbank@smartcompany.com.au — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:10:39 +0100

The news that ESPN is closing down its 3D sports channel is the beginning of the end for an innovation that nobody really wanted.

In the 1980s, telephone companies rolled out digital services under the name ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Networks – which were expensive and appealed to few businesses, giving [...]

Conversion psychology and how to generate sales leads online

fbendall@smartcompany.com.au — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0100

B2B marketing firm Pardot has just released a fascinating white paper, 'Using Psychology to Increase Conversions', which looks into the psychology behind lead generation in the digital realm.

The world of marketing is in flux as a result of digital channels and consumers are demanding a new relationship with bran [...]

Consider the cost of tech surveillance before you snoop

pstafford@smartcompany.com.au — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0100

Stealing will get you fired. That much is obvious.

Apparently, some prefer to take their chances. I recently spoke with the manager of a retail store, who told me he had seen an employee stealing money from the till. He confronted the employee, who confessed, and is now not working there anymore.

What's [...]

Help! It’s performance review time – what should I do?

auntyb@startupsmart.com.au — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:56:55 +0100

Dear Aunty B,

Performance review time is coming up and last year my boss asked me if I had any questions and I had nothing to ask besides – can I have a pay rise.

What should I say in the review that will not only look impressive but will help me improve at work and get that pay rise?

Lou

Tweed Head

Wrong Mr Digital Guru, the online world is not free and easy

creardon@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:28:44 +0100

As a smaller business operator myself, it's essential to get out to local business events and actually meet real business operators in the flesh rather than from behind a computer screen. Particularly when a leader from your very own industry (in my case digital communication) is holding fort.

So despite a bleak eve [...]

Retailers need to get basics right: If it's not in, it's not on

bwalker@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0100

I was reminded on a recent shopping trip as to why retailers need to pay particular attention to a critical "operational basic". Whilst we all rightfully concern ourselves about omni-channel retailing, it is never a reason for us to not keep a radar eye on the "basics" of retailing.

Now, I would call m [...]

A place for pride in the recruitment process

kdunphey@startupsmart.com.au — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0100

We've recently been recruiting at Elephant Property. I both love and loathe recruiting – mostly because I know how important it is to find the right fit (culturally and attitude-wise).

It's exciting when it works and you recruit someone amazing who becomes like a new family member, but it's always sooo time consuming [...]

My only employee abandoned me at my time of need! Why?

auntyb@startupsmart.com.au — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:07:08 +0100

Dear Aunty B,

I run my own clothes shop with only one employee. He’s hard-working and generally reliable, but will never prioritise his job over anything else.

For example, I recently fell down some stairs and broke my arm. My employee had organised to leave early to pick up his son from childcare. I rang him fro [...]

The five changes affecting how you engage your staff

mliubinskas@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:00:03 +0100

Recognition has always been a key tool of leadership but has increased in importance over the past five years.

The workplace has changed, so recognition must change as well. Here are some of the key changes and what businesses can do about it.

1. New generations

With Generation X in middle management or h [...]

Review raises more questions: Government releases 176-question Franchising Code consultation paper

jgehrke@smartcompany.com.au — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:40:20 +0100

The review into the Franchising Code of Conduct has progressed to the next stage with the federal government issuing a complex consultation paper seeking responses to six times as many questions as appeared in the Code review's original discussion paper.

The original discussion paper released in early January by Cod [...]

Volkswagen's crisis mismanagement bug

mhogan@startupsmart.com.au — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:28:28 +0100

Volkswagen has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately. And the company response, or lack of it, carry some good lessons for SMEs who may find themselves in similar situations with products gone wrong and unhappy customers at the gates.

I won't go into the nuts of bolts of VW's problems – you can read about [...]

Why resigning can be so hard to do

eash@smartcompany.com.au — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:00:00 +0100

When you about to go in to your boss to resign are you excited, feeling dread, angry, confident, smug, highly anxious, guilty or relieved? Many people go through a wide array of emotions and most of them have been building for weeks. The decision can be agonising.

There is a vast array of emotions connected to this [...]

Fast Lane: Politicians face the electoral music as SMEs hear silence on policy

cwaters@smartcompany.com.au — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:18:11 +0100

Yet another politician has jumped on the small business bandwagon with country singer turned Bob Katter’s Senate candidate, James Blundell, signalling his allegiance to SMEs.

Blundell says small business has suffered under a Labour government and claims he wants to fight to lower small business penalty rates.

It’s an admir [...]

No tax tips, but a little advice on possible currency exchange tax issues

jvrondas@privatemedia.com.au — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:11:20 +0100

By now you are well aware that "it's that time of year again"; that time of year most people dread. That time of year where administrative burdens mean a mass of paperwork, spreadsheets, long meetings with accountants, tax planning and, of course, tax time tips.

Get professional advice

I must mention a [...]

Should I fire an employee who is late on their first day?

auntyb@startupsmart.com.au — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:05:43 +0100

Dear Aunty B,

I just hired a new worker to a front-line role.

He basically has to manage the shopfront in the mornings. He didn’t have a lot of work experience, being fairly young, but it’s a pretty easy role and he interviewed well enough.

He was meant to be here three hours ago for his first shift. He called m [...]

Buyer beware of trademark scams and scammers

sbarrett@smartcompany.com.au — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:16:48 +0100

As much as we promote and encourage honourable and effective selling and buying practices, it is just as important to keep an eye open for the latest scams and scammers looking for unsuspecting victims.

One of the latest scams dogging businesses and business owners is the area of the registered trademark, where businesses [...]

How cost shortcuts can damage brand reputations

kmoore@startupsmart.com.au — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:49:31 +0100

There is always the temptation by brand owners to improve profit by lowering quality whilst maintaining price.

Moving to a lower cost factory or country of production, decreasing the pack size or lowering packaging or product quality all consume much meeting time and generate much angst as brand owners are put under pressure by the [...]

Blog Entries

It’s outrageous – my employee asked me to do some of his work!

VIDEO: Top two things I hate about Google right now

Should you be choosing to be in the tech minority?

Innovations subscribers don't need

Conversion psychology and how to generate sales leads online

Consider the cost of tech surveillance before you snoop

Help! It’s performance review time – what should I do?

Wrong Mr Digital Guru, the online world is not free and easy

Retailers need to get basics right: If it's not in, it's not on

A place for pride in the recruitment process

My only employee abandoned me at my time of need! Why?

The five changes affecting how you engage your staff

Review raises more questions: Government releases 176-question Franchising Code consultation paper

Volkswagen's crisis mismanagement bug

Why resigning can be so hard to do

Fast Lane: Politicians face the electoral music as SMEs hear silence on policy

No tax tips, but a little advice on possible currency exchange tax issues

Should I fire an employee who is late on their first day?

Buyer beware of trademark scams and scammers

How cost shortcuts can damage brand reputations