Profit Strategies
10,000 Hour Rule
In the book ‘Outliers’, the author Malcolm Gladwell mentions the ‘10,000-Hour Rule’, claiming that the key to achieving world class expertise in any skill ...
Advantages and Disadvantages of Giving Employees Share Ownership
Employee share schemes are designed to give employees a share ownership in the company they work for. This can be structured in various ways ...
Advisory Board
The value of expertise from outside of the company without diluting control An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to ...
Affiliate Marketing
Performance based marketing invented in 1989 and now in widespread use Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards ...
Audit
Company record keeping and audit requirements All companies are required under the Corporations Act 2001 to keep financial records. These records are also used ...
Australian Stock Exchange Listing
Advantages and disadvantages of ASX listing The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has 2,200 listed companies, an average daily turnover of A$5 billion and a ...
Benchmarking
Benchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time ...
Benefits of Joining the Australian Institute of Company Directors
The origins of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) can be traced back to the United Kingdom’s Institute of Directors, formed by Royal ...
Benefits of Non-Executive Directors
Creative contributions and improvement, and objective criticism A non-executive director (NED) is a member of the board of directors of a company who is ...
Black Swan Event
Develop robustness against negative events and exploit positive events The black swan theory describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major ...
Body Language
Nonverbal signals affect how people trust, respect and like you Body language is a type of non-verbal communication, where thoughts, intentions, or feelings are ...
Brand
Branded products can command higher prices A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or other feature that distinguishes one seller's product from those ...
Brand Licensing
Licensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset under a licence agreement. A licensing agreement authorises a company which markets a product or ...
Break Even Point
The breakeven point describes the point at which total revenue equals total costs, resulting in zero profit or loss. At this point, the generated ...
Business Awards
Gaining attention and credibility through awards All businesses can, and should, enter a business award. There are a huge variety of awards to choose ...
Business Exit Planning
Exiting your business – 52% of owners have no succession plan! Business surveys show that 33% of independent business owners plan to exit their ...
Business Process Outsourcing
Advantages and disadvantages Business process outsourcing (BPO) involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business process to a third-party service ...
Business Process Reengineering
Business process reengineering is defined as the redesign of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity, cycle times and quality. It is ...
Business Valuation
Find out if you are creating a more valuable saleable asset Business valuation is a process and a set of procedures used to estimate ...
Buy-Sell Agreement
What happens if a co-owner dies, retires, leaves or becomes disabled A buy–sell agreement, also known as a buyout agreement, is a legally binding ...
Calculate The True Value of a Customer
Calculating the true value of a customer, or potential customer, puts a value on the total sales and profits generated by one individual customer ...
Cash Flow Statement
A cash flow statement is a financial report that provides an overview of the inflows and outflows of cash within a business or organisation ...
Cloud Accounting
Cloud accounting is accounting data and software that is accessed online (like internet banking, for example). With cloud accounting access is available anytime from ...
Community Involvement
Stand apart from your competitors – be active in the community Surveys show that 98% of consumers will use a business that is active ...
Competitor Analysis
Learn about your competitors and identify threats Competitor analysis involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This enables the identification ...
Contingency Plan
Three steps for planning for the ‘what happens ‘if’ scenario’ Contingency plans are used for risk management when an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, ...
Conversion Marketing
Converting site visitors into paying customers In electronic commerce, conversion marketing is the act of converting site visitors into paying customers. The efficacy ...
Corporate Volunteering
Raise awareness of your business by being helpful Corporate volunteering is an altruistic activity where a business and its employees provide services for no ...
Crowdfunding for Australian Business
Innovative fast growing businesses needing to raise additional capital Crowdfunding is an important source for small businesses to acquire capital for growth in Australia ...
Customer Communication Plan
Customer communication with existing customers is generally neglected by businesses as they focus their marketing and advertising on communicating with potential customers. All businesses ...
Customer Retention
Existing customers generate 1.7 times more revenue than normal customers Customer retention is the activity that a company undertakes in order to reduce customer ...
Customer Satisfaction Evaluation
What the customer thinks and not what the business thinks they think Customer satisfaction is defined as the number of customers, or percentage of ...
Customer Segmentation
Understanding differences within your market Customer segmentation involves dividing a customer base into subsets of customers that have, or are perceived to have, common ...
Data Backup and Recovery
Losing data can cause your business to grind to a halt. All business owners know they should backup their data, but too many never ...
Debt Financing Rules
Four debt financing rules to factor in Debt financing involves borrowing funds from a lender. The lender is usually a bank but can also ...
Debt vs Equity Financing
Advantages and disadvantages Business activities and investments are financed by raising funds through owners’ equity, debt financing, or a combination of the two. Most ...
Debtor Management
Assessing customers for credit and minimising debtors The objective of debtor management is to minimise the time between issuing an invoice to a customer ...
Digital Marketing for Accountants
Building brand awareness with a digital marketing campaign Digital marketing uses targeted, measurable, and interactive digital channels to build brand awareness, generate and retain ...
Effective Delegation
Delegation is one of the most important management skills and if done well saves you time, develops your people, grooms a successor, and motivates. ...
Eight Hour Work Day
Happier and more productive employees – Sweden’s six hour work day The eight-hour day movement had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, ...
Emotional Intelligence
Guiding behaviour and thinking Emotional intelligence (EI) is the capability of individuals to recognise their own, and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different ...
Employee Surveys
Find out what your employees really ‘think’ Employee surveys are tools used by companies to gain feedback on and measure employee engagement, employee morale, ...
Employers of Choice Recruit Superior Employees
A business that meets all of its employee expectations is called an employer of choice. Employers of choice attract, motivate and hold on to ...
Employment Agreements
Protecting your business with Employment Agreements The terms and conditions of employment in Australia can be defined by an award, agreement or contract. These ...
Enterprise Risk Management
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) in business includes the methods and processes used by businesses to manage risks and seize opportunities related to the achievement ...
Entrepreneurs’ Programme
Business support from over 100 private sector Advisers and Facilitators The Entrepreneurs’ Programme is the Australian Government’s flagship initiative for business competitiveness and productivity. ...
Every Business Should Have a Website
There are currently 1 billion web-sites on the World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1990 by the British CERN ...
Export Market Development Grants
The Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme is a key Australian Government financial assistance program for aspiring and current exporters. Administered by Austrade, the ...
Exporting
You need a product or service which is in demand in overseas markets Exporting can be a profitable way of expanding your business, spreading ...
Engage, interact and learn about your target business market with Facebook Facebook is an online social networking service founded by Mark Zuckerberg (and others) ...
Factoring | A business practice used in England since 1400
A business practice used in England since 1400 Factoring is a type of debtor finance in which a business sells its debtors (i.e. invoices) ...
Flight Centre Incentive Schemes
Recognising and rewarding hard work Flight Centre Travel Group is an Australian-based international travel company and the largest retail travel outlet in Australia. It ...
Foreign Exchange Hedge
Reducing risk by implementing a foreign exchange hedge A foreign exchange hedge is a method used by companies to eliminate or ‘hedge’ their foreign ...
Franchising
Franchising has its origins in the Middle Ages; well before McDonalds! Franchising is a business relationship that allows the use of a firm's business ...
Green Business
‘Green’ businesses are favoured by employees and consumers Sustainable businesses or green businesses have minimal negative impact on the global or local environment, community, ...
High Performance Teams
Take a quantum leap in business results with a high-performance team High-performance teams (HPTs) are teams, organisations, or virtual groups that are highly focused ...
Holidays
Not taking at least three weeks annual leave? Time for change! Australian small business owners are struggling to get some much needed time away ...
Improving Customer Traffic Flow
Golden rules for optimal store layout and customer traffic flow The layout of your retail store determines the way that traffic (customers) flows through ...
Increase Conversion Rates
Conversion rates are the percentage of prospective customers who take a specific action you want. For example, the percentage of website visitors who purchase ...
Increase Staff Productivity by up to 20% with the Right Office Design
Productivity studies show that the most significant factor in determining an employee’s ability to focus is their physical environment. A well-designed office can increase ...
Innovation Is The Catalyst to Growth
Innovation is a new idea, more effective device or process. Innovation can be viewed as the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, ...
Internal Control
Internal fraud can be damaging or even precipitate business failure Internal control involves everything that controls risks to a business. Internal controls have existed ...
Inventory Management Software
Don’t suffer the same fate as Dick Smith Holdings Ltd Inventory management software (IMS) is a computer-based system for tracking inventory levels, orders, sales ...
Is Your Business Scalable?
Scalability describes how easy it is to expand a business model and grow its revenues significantly with minimal incremental cost. A software product like ...
Job Costing
Quoting and the advantages of using a job order costing system Job costing is an order specific costing technique used where each job is ...
Keep Everything Legal
Be informed and get professional advice To start and operate a successful business it is necessary to understand your legal obligations and ensure one ...
Key Performance Indicators
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a set of quantifiable measures that a business uses to gauge or compare performance in terms of meeting their ...
Key Person Insurance
Four categories of coverage Key person insurance, also commonly called key man insurance, is an insurance policy taken out by a business to compensate ...
Lifelong learners typically find higher-paying occupations
'Lifelong learning' is the ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. Businesses should encourage lifelong learning by employees ...
Likability
Customers prefer to do business with people they like In business, and also our personal lives, making people like you is very important. Anywhere ...
Business owners without a LinkedIn profile are damaging their business LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking service that is primarily used for professional networking. ...
Management by Walking Around
Finding out the ‘real morale’ in the business workplace Management by Walking Around (MBWA) is a classic management technique used by managers who are ...
Market Research
Using research to determine how best to market a product or service Market research is any organised effort to gather information about customers, competitors ...
Marketing – Effective Frequency | The Importance of Repetition
The importance of repetition for successful marketing results In advertising, the effective frequency is the number of times a person must be exposed to ...
Mentally Healthy Workplace
Staying healthy and calm Mentally healthy workplaces work better for everyone – employees and business owners. Why a workplace should be mentally healthy: At ...
Mentorship
Mentoring has existed in Europe since the Ancient Greek times Mentorship is a personal development relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable ...
Multi-Level Marketing
A concept that dates back to the 1920s with California Vitamin Company Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force ...
Occupational Burnout
90% of burned out workers meet the criteria for depression Occupational burnout or job burnout is a type of stress characterised by exhaustion, lack ...
Occupational Health and Safety
Creating a safe work environment Occupational health and safety is the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being ...
Ongoing Employee Training and Development
Employee training and development is part of human resource management and is concerned with improving the performance of each individual employee and the business ...
Online Customer Reviews
The importance of testimonials The number of internet users reading online reviews has risen dramatically in recent years. For example, the Local Consumer Review ...
Online Shopping
Convenience is a compelling factor in online shopping Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or ...
Organisational Culture
Nine characteristics for a healthy business culture Deal and Kennedy (1982) defined organisational culture as the way things get done around here. Culture includes ...
Organisational Structure
Use the right structure to meet business objectives An organisational structure defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision are structured ...
Outsourcing
‘Do what you do best and outsource the rest’ – Peter Drucker (1989) Outsourcing involves the contracting out of a business process to another ...
Overtrading
Alarm bells for overtrading Overtrading occurs when companies expand their business too quickly or aggressively. It results when the rapid increase in revenue requires ...
Paperless Office
Going digital – what is your target date? A paperless office is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or ...
Partnership Agreement
A ‘written’ partnership agreement is highly recommended A partnership is a business entity in which two or more individuals or entities combine their skills, ...
Personal Branding
Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a ...
Positive Reinforcement
Reward good behaviour or results and it will be repeated In behavioural psychology, reinforcement refers to an enhancement of behaviour that occurs whenever that ...
Prevent Employee Theft and Fraud
An employee is 15 times more likely to steal from an employer than the general public Employee theft and fraud takes many forms including ...
Pricing
Finding a good balance between price floor and price ceiling Pricing is the process whereby a business sets the price at which it will ...
Product Or Service Bundling
Product bundling for high volume and high margin products Product or service bundling is offering several products or services for sale as one combined ...
Profit and Loss Budget
Budgets are an essential management tool that allows business owners to monitor the financial impact of their business decisions and operational plans. Business results ...
Protecting Assets if a Negative Event Occurs
Asset protection is the strategies put in place to protect your business and personal assets if something goes wrong. During the good times and ...
Public Relations (PR)
Gaining exposure by providing information of public interest Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing the spread of information between a business and ...
Purchasing Business Premises
Buying premises will be one of the best decisions for most business owners Most businesses will require their own premises and are generally faced ...
Quarterly Review – Power of Four
The Quarterly Review process known as the 'Power of Four' is a process to improve business profitability, revenue growth, and ease of management. Without ...
Reducing Overheads
Keep overheads the same or lower than competitors To remain competitive businesses need to ensure their overheads are the same or lower than their ...
Referral Marketing
Referral marketing is a method of promoting products or services to new customers through referrals, usually word of mouth. Such referrals often happen spontaneously ...
Reinvesting In Your Business
Putting profits back into your business Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the most successful investor in ...
Research & Development
Tax off-set for eligible research and development activities Research and development (R&D) is a valuable tool for growing and improving your business. R&D involves ...
Selecting Your Business Location
Location, location, location! Selecting the business location to operate your business from is a key factor that affects your success, failure, and profitability. This ...
Self-Development Courses
An investment in yourself Self-development courses include personal development courses, success seminars and personal/executive coaching. The self-development field is very broad and covers activities ...
Sensitivity Analysis
Improving the usefulness of business budgets and forecasts Sensitivity analysis is the process of recalculating outcomes under alternative assumptions to determine the impact of ...
Service Guarantee
Benefits of reducing the risk the customer takes A service guarantee is a marketing tool used to reduce consumer risk perceptions, signal quality, and ...
Shareholder Agreements
Shareholder agreements – regulation and protection A company’s internal management is governed by the Corporations Act 2001 (known as the replaceable rules), the Constitution, ...
Six Sigma
The doctrine and how it differs from other quality improvement initiatives Six Sigma is a set of techniques and tools for reducing costs and ...
Six Thinking Hats
Six Thinking Hats is a system designed by Edward de Bono (physician, psychologist, author, inventor and consultant) who founded the term ‘lateral thinking’. It ...
SMART Criteria
Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time Related SMART is a management acronym giving criteria to guide in the setting of objectives in project management, employee-performance ...
Solicitors
Good legal advice from a business solicitor is like ‘insurance’ for a business Under the Legal Profession Act 2004 it is illegal for people ...
Sponsorship for Small Business
Creating positive publicity through sponsorship Small businesses should focus on local sponsorship such as sponsoring the local football club, neighborhood art gallery, or a ...
Stick to The Knitting
Stay with the business that you know The seminal management book in ‘Search of Excellence’, by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, was published in ...
Stoicism | The philosophy of self-control and fortitude
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught that ...
Strategies to Improve Saleability of your Business
As all businesses will eventually be sold, whether in 2 years, 5 years, or 30 years, business saleability is important. Business saleability will maximise ...
Supply Chain Management
Improve performance by managing your supplies Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services and includes the movement ...
Tax Planning
Would you rather pay 48.5% tax on business profits or 27.5% or less? Tax planning aims to minimise tax payable by taking legal and ...
Ten Traits of a Good Leader
Research has found that the democratic leadership style is one of the most effective and creates higher productivity, better contributions from group members and ...
The Benefits of Sales Training
Sales training aims to improve the salespersons effectiveness when dealing with a potential customer by improving their product knowledge, communication and presentation skills. Generally ...
The Power of One
The Power of One is a profit improvement tool that has been developed by Verne Harnish and the team at Gazelles and is explained ...
Trade and Professional Associations
An investment in yourself and your business A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association is an ...
Trade Shows & Exhibitions
Showcasing your business and uncovering trends A trade show or exhibition is an exhibition organised so that companies in a specific industry can showcase ...
Trademark
Distinguish your goods or services from someone else’s A trade mark is a way of identifying a unique product or service and it can ...
Unique Selling Proposition
Your USP and convincing customers to switch brands The unique selling proposition (USP) is a marketing concept that states successful advertising campaigns make unique ...
Upselling
‘Do you want fries with that?’ Upselling is a sales technique whereby a seller induces the customer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades or ...
Venture Capital
Peter Thiel’s Facebook shares of $1 billion – a dream investment return Venture capital (VC) is money provided to seed early-stage and emerging growth ...
Video Marketing
Share insights, connect and call audiences to action Using video or film as a part of a marketing budget is a great way to ...
Visual Merchandising
A silent selling technique that can motivate your customer Visual merchandising is the backbone of the retail industry and involves displaying goods and services ...
Webinars – A Marketing Tool
Training and education, brand awareness, low cost – huge marketing options Web conferencing is an umbrella term for various types of online collaborative services ...
Working Capital Management
The importance of being in a positive working capital situation Working capital (WC) is the operating liquidity available to a business and is calculated ...
Would a Mobile App Benefit Your Business?
A mobile app is a computer program designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Most such devices are sold ...
Zero Based Budgeting
Identifying wasteful expenditure In zero-based budgeting (ZBB) a new budget is prepared every year without reference to last year’s budget with every budget item ...