Entrepreneur Zone

Tony Melvin

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:25:49 +0000

Tony Melvin wants his business Resicert to become the national leader in property inspection, a cottage industry he expects will explode, with the introduction of the carbon tax and consumer demand for national energy standards.

Tammy May

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Business is booming at MyBudget, the personal finance business that takes control of clients’ income, pays their bills, talks to creditors and develops long-term budgeting plans.

Stan Gordon

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:24:17 +0000

Stan Gordon is the founder and managing director of the Franchised Food Company, which has about 160 stores nationwide across its four brands: Cold Rock Ice Creamery, Mr Whippy, Pretzel World and Nutshack.

Rob Davidson

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:17:19 +0000

Rob Davidson, co-founder of one of Queensland’s largest recruitment firms, Davidson Recruitment, explains why the internet is pressuring all agencies, be they recruitment, real estate or travel agents, and pushing out mediocre operators.

Guy Russo

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

This article first appeared August 4, 2011.

You think times are tough? Kmart's managing director Guy Russo has seen tougher, particularly when the GST was introduced.

Suren Chandrajit

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:12:05 +0000

Don’t underestimate the solar industry, says Suren Chandrajit.

Glenn Cooper

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:42:00 +0000

Coopers is now Australia’s largest locally owned national brewer, following the takeover of Foster’s by SABMiller.

Shane Pettiona

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:37:34 +0000

Shane Pettiona, one-time chief operating officer of Carsales.com.au, says he’s never been involved in a dotcom that has had such growth and been so warmly received.

Brendon Levenson

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:42:52 +0000

Jetts Fitness founder Brendon Levenson says the financial crisis has shown that the 24-hour, no-contract fitness model can withstand dire conditions and indeed is pretty much recession-proof.

Jo Ucukalo

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:30:48 +0000

Jo Ucukalo noticed that she was good at handling complaints, and after taking on disputes for friends and family, Handle My Complaint was born.

Simon McCord

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:03:49 +0000

Are there too many group buying sites?

Jim Penman

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:25:06 +0000

Don’t discount: that’s the message from franchising guru Jim Penman. The Jim’s Group founder says service, rather than price, is what attracts and keeps customers. The group, which has about 25 divisions, is set to turn over about $400 million this year.

Narelle Plapp

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:34:39 +0000

Naturopath Narelle Plapp started off selling muesli for clients; five years later, the company she founded, Food for Health, is turning over $3 million and selling 14 products.

Corinne Noyes

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

From a background in fast-moving consumer goods, Corinne Noyes has managed to woo women and Woolworths with Madame Flavour, a specialty loose leaf tea company which is on track to double last year’s revenue of $2 million this year.

John Winning

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 23:29:38 +0000

John Winning’s Appliance Online has helped overcome views that Australians wouldn’t embrace sales of large-ticket household goods online.

Costa Anastasiadis

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 21:42:49 +0000

Gourmet pizza chain Crust has been growing at a rate of knots over the past couple of years, opening up its 100^th store this month 10 years after the first store was rolled out in Sydney.

Rodney Grunseit

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:47:05 +0000

Rodney Grunseit heads up Sunshades Eyewear, Australia’s biggest privately owned eyewear company, which sells up to 3.5 million pairs per year.

John McDonald

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 01:31:18 +0000

Workplace conflicts distracting and dragging down your company? John McDonald might have some words of help.

Rod Sims

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:32:24 +0000

Rod Sims, the new chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, has been on a steep learning curve since taking on one of Australia’s most important and controversial regulatory positions in August.

James Patten and Bradley Carr

mheffernan@smartcompany.com.au (Madeleine Heffernan) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0000

The founders of beauty and kitchenware sites ry.com.au and kitchensuperstore.com.au say beauty products shine no matter the economic circumstances, with high-end consumers more likely to buy online than trade down.