Small Biz Matters: People, Policy, Purpose.

Full speed ahead - so what's an accelerator?

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 19 May 2020

Incubators, accelerators, startup hubs. They seem to be popping up all over the place. Some are independant and others available through university programs. So what exactly are they and how do they give businesses the edge when starting out?

Are they just for the techpreneurs who innovate in the digital world, or are other industries and sectors involved too?

Today on the program we are joined by the CEO of Fishburners, Nicole O’Brien. Fishburners is a not for profit enterprise dedicated to “making the hardest thing you’ve ever done easier by providing the best facilities, resources, education, support and community of like-minded people to connect with and learn from.”

Welcome to the show Nicole.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Why are startups so important to building a better Australia?
  • How do you define a startup - is it a matter of being young or at the beginning of your small business journey?
• Why is Community central to startup success?
  • How do organisations like Fishburners nourish a community with such a diverse range of startups in their community?
• What is the future of communities in Australia, post pandemic? (How do they differ from co-working spaces?)
  • What are your top tips for continuing to collaborate & network when the face-to-face option is no longer there?
• What makes Fishburners different?
• What do we have to look forward to coming out of Australian startups over the next 5 years?

To find out more go to their website: https://fishburners.org/

 

Nicole O’Brien BIO

 

Nicole is a social enterprise leader with a passion for improving lives and communities.  

 

As CEO of Fishburners, Australia’s

largest startup community and coworking space, Nicole leads a space for

aspiring tech entrepreneurs to learn and communicate. The community has grown

to more than 850 members and 400 startups, across its offices in Sydney, and

Brisbane and Fishburners virtual platform.  Fishburners works closely with

partnerships including Google for Startups, Jobs for NSW, Brisbane City

Council,  UTS, Optus and Chartered Accountants ANZ.  High-profile

alumni include: Koala, GoCatch, DesignCrowd, Code Camp, Tinybeans, Madpaws,

Jayride, GradConnection and Hyper Anna.

 

Nicole’s career working with social

enterprises in the not for profit sector began in 1989 at the Australian

Conservation Foundation where she positively impacted on growing green

consumerism whilst building the ACF’s revenue base. A trip to Asia followed

with the opportunity to work on an Australian Aid project in Cambodia working

with the Khmer Journalists association as a business Development Advisor to

support the establishment of a free press. An exciting and optimistic time

following the first Democratic elections in Cambodia and there was a lot to

achieve, this led to work with the United Nations Development Program as a

Communications Consultant and the Shandwick Group as a PR Executive working for

the Cambodian Government.

 

Back in Australia Nicole worked for Team

Publications, a start up with a new approach to organisational learning where

she was charged with taking a range of management coaching tools to market.

This was followed by a role as Marketing Manager for the women’s and youth

titles. Following this period in publishing, Nicole’s passion for making a

difference took over and she spent the next 10 years transforming the social

enterprises of YWCA NSW and repositioning the organisation to be recognised for

the critical support it provided to women and their families.

 

More recently, Nicole has been using her

well-honed leadership, governance, financial, people, marketing and

entrepreneurial skills to ensure that ACON Health continues to be the leading

health promotion organisation providing opportunities for its community to live

their healthiest lives.

 

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts in

Education and Social Policy, Post Graduate in Marketing, Masters of Business

Administration and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company

Directors. She is mother to 15 year old Isabella and 9 year old Lachlan.

Tips on how to master first impressions and make that moment count

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 12 May 2020

Whether it’s face to face or digital, first impressions matter. There are a multitude of times in our professional lives (or personal for that matter) where we can be judged in an instant. It’s not mean; it's just human nature. Interviews, pitching, networking, speaking, meeting and bumping into other colleagues means at any point in time you need to be in control of your image before the beholder does it for you.

So how do you want to be remembered after the first impression presents itself? What can you do to ensure that you come across exactly as intended? Your dress, your presentation, your voice… it all adds up.

And all those same rules apply in this weird digital world in which we operate as professionals right now.

Jennifer Austin is an image expert on visual presentation and first impression management. In her role asis image consultant, coach, trainer, lecturer and speaker she regularly helps individuals and businesses to make the most of that first impression moment, whether its online or in person.

Welcome to the show Jennifer.

Topics we’ll be covering:

What are some of the first impressions which matter to business - it’s basically what people will see first so let’s talk about that. It’s about trust, credibility - it’s irrational but it’s the reality.

• Style & dress - it’s not just about wearing brands it’s about clothing being a
  • Suitable for the audience - think about this first
  • Dressing for your age
  • The elephant in the room - the reality is we ARE being judged. Don’t wear distracting clothing
• Grooming (hair, makeup, nails), colours, makeup matter!
• Posture emulates confidence and competence
  • Body language (posture & handshake) - that is a big first impressions - Broadly your small business journey and what led you to start your own business
  • Eye contact!!

How long does it take to undo the damage a bad impressions can make?

good news , think of it like this , having a strong first impression is like a shortcut to success. Because a great first impression will make it easier to build rapport, pitch yourself, make a personal effective connections. And all you have to do is master those first 20 seconds. if you master the first 20 seconds of any interaction, it makes the next 20 mins easier without the first impression you have to work way harder to make a lasting impact.

• Thin Slicing Methodology - explain in terms of judgement
• 7 meetings theory and next time prepare
  • We are our harshest judge - use that to analyse

Why is body language so important?

Basen on research by

• Know your audience & how formal you’ve got to be
  • Eye contact
  • Posture
  • Handshaking
  • Facial expression

Organising your wardrobe depending on the event your attending

• Business meeting - Research the person you’re meeting, go up a notch
• Networking - don’t blend in! How can you stand out? Have a statement piece (what’s that?)
  • What’s the best opener you suggest to those who are nervous about people’s perception
• Presentations - what about the stage?
  • It’s about credibility
  • Fine line between looking feminine and too corporate
  • Avoid prints because they can overpower the face.
• Pitching - is that the same as presentations, know what industry / sector you’re talking to
• Male vs female - how do you talk to the male clients?

Survive & thrive in these uncertain times + HIghlIghting the basic mistooks your copy

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 5 May 2020

 

Business Survival Guide ~ Helping businesses survive & thrive in these uncertain times

With special guest Wayne Wanders, the Real CFO

Can you remember the last time your business was impacted in the way it has been in the last 2 months? Or how fast and furious the impact on the whole economy; therefore your clients, suppliers, stakeholders, connections (basically everyone) have been affected?

The biggest question of all, were you ready for this?

We didn’t have a crystal ball but if you and your business lived through the GFC or had a major downturn did you take that experience and learn from it, creating a form of preparedness which might have helped? Well, you probably didn’t have the right person with you to recognise this experience or help you learn from their’s.

Wayne Wanders is a virtual CFO who brings with him 35 years as a certified accountant and decades of experience with real businesses at every stage of their lifecycle. He doesn’t just gift advice he rolls up his sleeves and works alongside the businesses to understand how their businesses work and get back in control. 

Welcome to the show Wayne.

Topics we’ll be covering:

Decisions around staff

• Remember for most businesses your staff is your most important asset. You need to make sure you look after them, otherwise when the economy turns, they may leave you and you can’t deliver when the opportunity is there.
• Key decisions you can make around your staff include:
  • Identify those staff that support your existing customers and those who don’t.
  • For those staff that are not supporting your existing customers, determine what you can do to reduce costs. Do you really need this position? Can they work less days or take a commensurate pay cut? Do they have leave they can take?
  • what can be done to make them more effective?
  • If you are cutting salaries, make sure you are taking less as well. Staff won’t like if they are the only ones with reduced incomes
• Just remember:
  • Just be aware that inefficient and ineffective staff are often outputs of inefficient and ineffective systems and processes. In this scenario, don’t forget one of the golden rules which is, challenge all business assumptions and ask if the business can be done another way.
  • It is always easier to change processes in slow times than rush times. In rush times people take shortcuts, which may hurt in the longer run. In slow times people have the time to implement the change properly and things run smoother afterwards.

Decisions around expenses

• Key rules:
  • Don’t be petty, unfair or unreasonable with your staff.
  • Make sure decisions do not adversely impact your existing customers
• Look at the list of items you are spending money on, don’t forget those pesky direct debits.
• Can you now do that meeting via Skype saving on travel?
• What suppliers can you go to and re-negotiate prices.
• If you carry stock, what can you do to reduce stock levels? (slow moving stock- get cash by selling at a discount and don’t reorder in the short term.)
• Can you use a credit card to extend payment terms?.
• Can you extend payment terms with your supplier?
• Can you short term lease some equipment rather than buying it?

Looking after your existing customers

• Unless you are in a recession proof industry you may need to let go of any ambition for short term growth and instead focus on avoiding collapsing and calling in the administrator. Do, focus on is your existing customers. Generally, the second biggest asset of your business!
• It is cheaper to keep an existing customer than win a new customer.
• If you need to cut costs, make sure it does not adversely impact your existing customers.
• If at all possible, do something to improve the benefits you provide to your existing customers. Maybe it is better customer service. Maybe you have been able to reduce some costs and you pass some of this onto your customers.
• Tell your customers what you are doing to help them!
• Now if you do this well, when the economy turns, you are ready to restart your growth with your existing loyal customer base. And you can take advantage of the opportunities presented by other competitors not servicing their clients properly, and possibly not even surviving.

To find out more go to their website: www.arealcfo.com.au

 

Leaning from the expats : HIghlIghting the basic mistooks your copy

With special guest Adam Zuchetti, journalist and copy expert!

Are you a wordsmith?

One skill many small businesses lack is the ability to sing our own praises. And it means that our website, our social media posts and any copy we write lacks that which it is intended - to advertise us. It also means that your grant funding applications, attempts to win business awards or attract positive media coverage might fall short of highlighting your achievements and you miss out because you’re not fantastic at constructing sentences oozing with your own praises.

Here’s a question: If you read the copy on your website, would grammatical errors jump out at you like they would your reader, who might think that’s unprofessional? Similarly, can you sit down and answer several questions about your successes and your journey?

Or, are you like many businesses, not so crash hot at the word thingy.

Well, today on Small Biz Matters we’re going to learn from an expert - Adam Zuchetti is a freelance journalist and copywriter, with over 13 years’ experience across business, real estate and personal finance. He was the long-time editor of My Business – one of Australia’s longest-running publications for small and medium businesses – and host of its podcasts, webcasts and the high-profile My Business Awards. Adam also recently launched into business for himself, co-founding personalised pet subscription and gifting business Paws N’ All (so he knows all about starting from scratch like the rest of us!)

Welcome to the show Adam.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• What should be your process when creating a written piece of content (journalism)
  • Common mistake is to start at the beginning. But what do you want to achieve: what’s your purpose for writing this? Is this marketing? Is it social to be shared? Is it an award submission? Is it a government briefing/proposal? Look at the end messaging first and what result you hope it generates for you, then work backwards.
  • Plot out with your main bullet points such as research, an interview, testimonials & key messages
  • Think about the tone you want to use. Government should be formal, but marketing can vary depending on the type of customer you want to attract and whether you offer a premium, discount or mid-level type of service. Social media is generally quite conversational and often uses abbreviations.
  • For digital texts, take a look at your SEO too - that’s search engine optimisation, or how easy it is for Google to find you. You may have dedicated keywords or keyphrases that you should incorporate into your copy & headings, or hashtags to include on social media.
  • Be flexible - You have an idea of what YOU want but the research, or the info from another person might be a real nugget you need to allow to develop
  • Then write your heading and especially your opening paragraph LAST.
• When working with a journalist for the purposes of PR, what do you suggest is a good way to approach them to suggest a piece of content? Few key tips:
  • Target the right media. You’d be surprised as a business journalist the number of pitches I receive about home decorating tips! It’s exactly the same as customers coming to your restaurant looking to buy light globes and hammers, for example. I’d also say that, just like any type of content you create, it will depend on what you’re hoping to achieve. Local media - radio, newspapers, newsletters, community Facebook groups etc - can be great for reaching out to customers; industry media can position you as a technical expert/innovator in your field’ small business media are always looking for stories that inspire others or demonstrate learnings that others can follow.
  • Pitch it at a time you’re available to talk. I once received a great pitch about a really topical news subject, but when I tried contacting the business owner for an interview, it turned out he was away on holiday for 2 weeks with no phone access. So story didn’t run, and they’d wasted the spending on PR.
  • If you’re offering a customer as a case study, prep them first on what to expect and what you’d like them to convey. (e.g. example of the real estate agent & grieving widower)
  • I always recommend you set up a Google Alert - that way you can track what is being said about you and your business online. This will email you a list of links to posts or articles that mention you - and not just media articles, but things like customer reviews too!
  • Finally, remember that a journalist is a person just like you! We’re not the devil out to get you. And we may just become a new customer of yours if you show us the same level of honesty, friendliness and integrity that you show other customers!
• Grant writing - What are the typical mistakes you see which can see people making in the places where they really should be:
  • Autocorrect issues, apps which help you write - e.g. Volvo incident on Twitter
  • Typos are such easy mistakes to fix but can really work against you/make you look cheap & nasty and not attentive to detail “e.g. manging director”. I’ve even seen someone spell the name of their own business wrong!
  • Make sure you answer the question - even if it seems like it’s the same question worded differently. And answer it fully - you have failed if your reader is left with more questions than answers or has to look elsewhere to fill gaps in their knowledge.
  • Copy & paste is the devil - looks lazy, particularly bad if you’re positioning yourself as a leader in your field.
  • Rushed applications. This isn’t school leaving your assignment until the night before - rushed copy shows through, and again, it’s not a good look.
  • Waffling is never good. Have your key points, deliver them concisely and back it up with supporting evidence.
• Is it really obvious as an award judge when other people are writing a submission for you?
  • It can be, but that’s why professional writers exist! You can also use someone who knows you as a person. Want those first-hand insights, experiences, stories, anecdotes to make your story come to life.
  • Marketing speak can stand out and work against you - it’s basically just the pushy salesperson in written form.
  • But on the flipside, I’ve seen business leaders win awards where the submission was entirely written by their staff - that demonstrates just how valued their leadership is!
  • At the end of the day, think about who’s reading it: a bored judge won’t be inspired to give you the gong, and a government official won’t be inclined to give you grant funding if you’re not saying more than is already available on your website.
• Is there a disconnect between what you’re writing and what’s being read & how do you fix
  • Get someone else to read and critique - ask them what are you trying to say? Even in the media industry, we have this level of secondary oversight through sub-editors.
  • Industry jargon. Your customer/reader/whoever may not understand what you’re talking about, even though you understand it inside out.
  • Third or first person - more empowering & trustworthy to use I/us/we. We is great too, as it gives the warm and fuzzy feeling of being part of a community, versus the more dictatorial reception of I say this, you do this.
  • Can you make it personal? Asking “How can we help you?” sounds rhetorical or hollow, but “how can we help you, Alexi?” is very direct and almost demands a response.
  • Don’t forget about your team and how they can contribute - integrating customer FAQs & feedback to make it real-world relatable (PLUS if your customer-facing staff receive the same FAQs, why not build content around that? You’ll pick up new traffic on Google and new followers on social media; you can also improve your website to (better) answer these questions etc.
• Using this copy for other purposes:
  • A grant application can be a great tool for adapting your business plan - risk mitigation, marketing, finances, supply chain, route to market etc.
  • It can really be team-building to create content together - everyone has different insights/backgrounds/contributions they can make, which will make your content/award submission/grant proposal much richer & more thorough. And your staff will appreciate being able to contribute.
  • Social media is a great testing ground - one technique is delivering a piece of content 5 different ways/on 5 different days & see where you get the best response. Is time of day important for example? Do some words/images work much better than others? The immediate feedback is so valuable. E.g. story of breastfeeding mothers and 2am was a major peak in views.

To find out more go to Adam’s website: www.adamzuchetti.com

Adapting, Pivoting and new revenue streams. Are you ready to hit the ground running after the slump?

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 28 April 2020

Is your industry in a downturn? (Join the club)...

But when it turns around, are you ready to hit the ground running?

Small Biz Matters is here to help you pirouette, pivot, adapt and revolutionise your business with two thought leaders from the Events and Real Estate industries. Two worlds turned upside down these past few weeks.They’re going to share with us two great examples which ANY business can learn from on how to adapt quickly using technology, out-of-the-box thinking and a bit of hard work.

A self-confessed real estate tragic, first we chat to Daniel Gunning who has taken his wealth of industry experience in commercial real estate and developed a strategy which any business could turn into a very different revenue stream.

Then Event Industry heavyweight Luli Adeyemo teaches us how Best Case Scenario flipped an event from traditional face to face to online in under 2 weeks whilst still maintaining the mantra that Content is King.

 

****************************************************************

 

Welcome to the show Daniel.

Topics we’ll be covering:

1. Can you share insights into the current issues small businesses are facing when it comes to the under-utilisation of business space?

• There's always been an issue of under-utilised/unused business space, which represents a loss for businesses -many pay rent for space that they are not using to its fullest. But up until now that was quite an unseen loss, and one they could afford. With the current lockdown that issue has become top of mind, with unused space a prominent loss and threat to many businesses' survival around Australia.
• There is going to be a complete recalibration of how businesses operate, not only following the lifting of the lockdown measures but in the longer term. The transition period post-lockdown will be long, and new working and operating habits created, with flexible working and flexible business operations levels becoming the new normal.
• I will be key for businesses of any type to learn how to optimise space and create extra revenues via a better space utilisation.

2. Why and how should small businesses rethink their use of space to adapt to a new world order, a new business reality?

• Changes to the market, new rules and adapt
• There's an opportunity for businesses to reduce their footprint, and adapt to an increasingly risk heavy environment and increasingly a new world order where markets, economies and Government-led directives change a very rapid pace
• Building resilience means becoming flexible, scaling up and down - including with physical business space - almost on demand to adapt to constant changes from the market or to face crises like Covid, bushfires. etc.
• Small businesses can build resilience and better balance their 'Rent to Revenue' ratio by both saving and making extra money with a better utilisation of space.

3. What can businesses do now, in preparation for that new reality and transition period post lockdown?

• For many industries, the road to recovery is going to be long. Businesses cannot afford to sit on space they pay a rent for but that is underutilised. Right now is a very important phase for all small businesses, in particular in industries affected by the lockdown (i.e retail, hospitality, arts & culture,...). Now is the time to PREPARE the return back to a 'new normal'
• Businesses need to start thinking of new creative ways to use and optimise their space, either by renting that space out to others (i.e sole traders, other companies), or by even thinking of the creation of new services out of that space
• The idea is to foster more flexibility, and build a win-win scenario where someone in need can find cheap and flexible ways to use space, on-demand, while allowing the company woning the space to create extra revenue without needing extra investments
• Now is the time to invest in the technologies and digital platforms that will allow that scaling up and down and that flexibility that the business and economic world now requires

4.What are ways businesses, in particular in industries such as retail, hospitality, as well as for sole traders to use their space differently, to think more creatively and create new services?

• Examples of new services that can be created while social distancing restrictions are still in place : transform parking into drive-ins for cinemas, locations for live streaming for health and well being activities and retail, ghost kitchens for home delivery services, locations to park food trucks, retail/food drive through, delivery services, home delivered cocktails.
• Examples of ways to create win-win scenarios where an unused space can be rented out on demand by the hour, day or week (i.e a sole trader needing an office or just a desk 5h/week - they can get access to a great office space cheap, while the renting company can make an easy extra revenue) - The most common under utilised space in an office is usually the board room and unoccupied desks, car parking spaces. An example of a win/ win scenario is a business offering their boardroom and unused desk in the office to a sole trader for an agreed amount of time per week. alternatively, a company may operate their business between the hours of 8am - 5:30pm each day, the can rent there office to another business who may deal in international markets and they can use the office between the hours of 6pm to 9pm at night or they may rent there office out the a small business that rents there office from them on Saturday and Sunday when the other business is closed.
• Examples of ways the hospitality & retail industries can reach out to a corporate clientele by offering corporate packages during non-peak hours - Food and cocktail delivery packages, group retail sales via live streaming. Once self-isolation measures will be lifted, some restaurants and cafes can transform into mini coworking centres, rent out some of their tables/space to sole traders and freelancers, cafes closed at night can offer their space for corporate team building events, etc.

To find out more go to their website: https://spacenow.com/ 

About Daniel Gunning:

Daniel has Real Estate in his DNA with he and his family being prominent figures in Australia’s real estate industry, he has acted as director of commercial real estate group, Gunning Real Estate.

Currently CEO of Spacenow, he brings over a decade of commercial real estate experience to the Spacenow team having worked in all facets of property; property management, consultancy, transactional, managing sales teams, business operations and management.

Throughout his career he has worked on both sides of commercial real estate as representatives for buyers/tenants and for vendors/property owners in all types of real estate; Industrial/Retail/Commercial/hospitality which provides a thorough understanding of the pain points in workspaces and how they can adapt to new flexible real estate requirement within industries.

 

 

****************************************************************

 

Welcome to the show Luli.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Why in your experience is it important to remember that regardless of the platform - online or in person - content is always king?
• Should you lower your expectations for an online event in terms of attendance and retention?
  • Have you got any tips on how to keep your audience engaged throughout? Is this different to the face-to-face model?
  • What tools do we have at our disposal (polls, breakout rooms, ways to engage the audience?)
• Does the prep change? Do you need to train your speakers, experts and panellists for this new online version?
  • How is this different?
  • Does the brief include lighting in their homes, presentation (such as clothing) and HOW they need to address the online audience?
• Why is a professional moderator so important when conducting events online?

How is the Government Supporting Small Businesses + Unpacking the Stimulus Packages

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 21 April 2020

Anyone else sick of hearing about Stimulus Packages? I promise this is the last one. (I really HOPE it is the last one). Today on Small Biz Matters we welcome a true expert in their fields and the State Government explaining in clear language what you can access and how to do it.

The Minister for Small Business joins us to explain what NSW is offering as its latest stimulus measure for small business and puts some definitions around how it will be fairly distributed. Now that the ATO has everything up and running for JobKeeper the incredibly hard working Matthew Addison, Chair of the ICB is here to help you understand the HOW to access and then correct way to distribute the $1500 a fortnight to your employees.

Strap on your thinking caps peeps; its another jam-packed show.

Learn LIVE Tues morning 9am on Triple H 100.1FM or later podcast on iTunes or via http://www.smallbizmatters.com.au

Welcome to the show Minister Tudehope:

• In this role tell me what experiences and expertise you bring with you to best support small business in NSW?
• Tell us a little about the various support programs and mechanisms in place to support small business currently? In particular the newly announced NSW Govt Small Business Stimulus package
• What do you recognise as the main issues facing small businesses in NSW in the next 12 months and how are you going to support these emerging concerns?
• One of the selling points of Liberal policy is “cutting red tape” and one of the issues we are talking about on Small Biz Matters is the confusion around employee vs contractor which can be confusing at best. Are you aware there are 5 different (federal & state) calculator tools across the 5 pieces of legislation? Are there any plans for the NSW government to work with Federal Govt to simplify this process so small business can confidently get this right across all pieces of legislation?
• Cashflow is time and time again raised as the number one problem Small Biz faces. And they are at near breaking point when it comes to payment times. Are you aware that according to the latest figures over $55B is paid late to small businesses in Australia from bug business every year? What is the NSW government doing to combat this problem of the little guys bankrolling big business?

About the NSW Minister for Finance and Small Business The Hon. Damien Tudehope MLC

Damien resides in the Hills District and grew up in the Moss Vale area before attending the University of Sydney, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws in 1978.

Prior to being elected to the NSW Parliament, Damien was a partner in his own law firm, O’Hara and Company Solicitors, for thirty years. Damien has also been a small business owner, primarily in the childcare sector and was the Chief of Staff to the former Attorney-General Greg Smith.

Damien was elected to the seat of Epping in 2015 with the second highest primary vote in the history of the electorate.

In March 2019, Damien was elected to the Legislative Council and was appointed as the Minister of Finance and Small Business.

Welcome to the show again Matthew:

INTERVIEW #2 - Trust Your Bookkeeper in times of Crisis… We unpack Stimulus with a true expert. Matthew Addison, Director,  Institute of Certified Bookkeepers

• Let's start with explaining each of the Federal Govt support mechanisms and broadly how they are going to support small businesses
  • Cash Flow Stimulus for employers — round 1 & 2
  • Jobkeeper o Instant Asset Write-off
  • Access to Super
  • SME Guarantee Scheme — loans
  • Commercial Rental Relief
• With each new "round" of stimulus measure are they adding on to the previous version in terms of what they offer?
• What info are we now waiting for, or is everything in place for small business to start reporting and opting in?
• What have bookkeepers seen as the main points of confusion?
• As the head of a professional association, would you like to see more appreciation from the federal parliament for all the additional work bookkeepers are delivering for their clients and in unpacking this for the federal govt?
• Why is more important than ever to engage with a qualified bookkeeper to support your business?
  • Be wary of the ATO having the power to through, data collection, look out for businesses trying to rort the system.

To find out more go to their website: https://www.nsw.gov.au/your-government/ministers/minister-for-finance-and-small-business/

The latest round of Govt Stimulus Packages and how they will be delivered

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 14 April 2020

The Government has announced a $130 billion JobKeeper payment to help keep more Australians in jobs and support businesses affected by the significant economic impact caused by the Coronavirus. Around 6 million workers will receive a fortnightly payment of $1,500 (before tax) through their employer. It’s intention is to ensure employees and employers remain connected and promises to assist businesses restart quickly when the crisis is over.

We’re all about answering your questions here on Small Biz Matters.

Many of you want to know about the timing of the stimulus package, the amount you can expect and the mechanisms the government will be using to ensure the right businesses get the right amount. Will it be fair? Will it take a long time? And of course the HOW will it work?

We have a powerhouse line-up today: Kate Carnell is the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman fighting for small business and some may argue responsible for many of the stimulus measures and later at 9:30am, Deborah Jenkins is Deputy Commissioner with the ATO - the agency responsible for administering and distributing the funds to you, the small business owner.

Questions for Kate Carnell:

• Many small businesses have swiftly pivoted their roles and responsibilities in recent weeks. No doubt you’ve been doing the same as head of ASBFEO; why is the role of advocate for small businesses in Australia more important than ever? Generally who do you engage with and has this changed? Who do you work closely with?
• When these big decisions are made on behalf of small business; who is at the table and what role does ASBFEO play?
• What sort of queries is your office getting from small businesses as they seek support? Have these changed?
• What do you believe will be the focus to support small business in the next 1-2months in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Questions for Deborah Jenkins:

• What is the ATO doing to support businesses experiencing a downturn or difficulties as a result of COVID19?
• How does the cash flow boost work (generally)
• Who is eligible for the cash flow boost? What about sole traders?
• Tell me about the timing of the cash flow boost? What about those businesses who have a lodgment deferral in place due to the bushfires etc
• What can you tell me about JobKeeper?
• What should small biz do who are overwhelmed / need support / need more time to lodge / pay / mental health issues?
• Can small businesses get early access to their super?
• Tell me more about the extension to the Instant Asset Write-Off

Deborah Jenkins is Deputy Commissioner, Small Business at the ATO. As part of this role she has responsibility for management of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) product for the ATO and the ATO’s Black Economy program of work.

Deborah and her team work in partnership with tax practitioners, business, industry bodies and other organisations to create an environment that supports sustainable and viable small business to thrive.

Across the ATO she has responsibility for the small business experience, as well as engaging with, educating, assisting and guiding taxpayers through contemporary products and tailored services. She has a strong focus on making it easy for small businesses to operate using digital products and services.

She was previously Assistant Commissioner, Indirect Tax looking after GST interpretative assistance and financial services risk.

Prior to joining the ATO, Deborah was a partner at a large advisory firm where she advised domestic and international clients across all industries on GST related matters.

A passionate and dedicated professional, Deborah has previously been named as one of the International Tax Review Leaders for Australia. She also has multinational experience through her work in both New Zealand and Europe. In New Zealand she worked for both the public and private sectors.

Why genuine connections with your employees are more important than ever

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 7 April 2020

Working conditions have never been in such a state of flux. Across every country, industry, sector, structure, you name it; we’ve adapted like never before. Between laying off employees and re-hiring in a hurry, madly setting up correctly aligned remote workstations, equipment purchasing for staff, tech challenges... it is, as always, small businesses who lead from the front when it comes to flexibility.

But somewhere in there we all need to remember that our employees are actually HUMANS and not just chess pieces who need to adapt immediately to our needs.

So now more than ever it’s important for businesses to engage on a personal level with their workforce. To make sure you understand their needs as humans as well as your responsibilities as an employer.

Andrea Dzumla has across multiple companies, encouraged a diverse workforce which ticks all the eclectic boxes. Through a unique management style and genuine connections he’s managed to understand the individuality of his employees and adapt these relationships to the new remote workplace world we all now live in.

Welcome to the show Andreas.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Can you describe the unique nature of the Longtail UX workforce you’ve had in the past and why supporting diversity is so important as an employer?
  • In what ways have you supported that diversity in a regular workplace environment?
• What sort of strategies did you use to support the diversity of those you employed? And in a practical way how did you implement this?
• How can these be adapted to support small business with employees who has adapted to working remotely?
  • How can you keep your workers busy and know what they’re doing?
• You’ve had a lot of experience working in the environment of fast paced start-ups. Is that concept dead right now? With the economy stagnating do we expect growth to stagnate as well? And how can we as business owners nourish growth in our own business at this difficult time?
• Funding announcement InvesTech - there is investment out there and the practical way you

To find out more go to their website: https://longtailux.com/

About Longtail UX

Longtail UX has invented an entirely new way to make website content available and discoverable to users. Its patented technology aims to answer each user’s questions and to connect customers to the most relevant products, services and any other information from across the website in just one click.

By creating scalable landing pages for every long tail keyword related to a company’s product, the technology delivers a perfect match for every keyword searched by potential customers. As well as boosting traffic and conversions, the technology also ensures SEO investments are 100% measurable, providing detailed analytics that demonstrate results down to the individual keyword level.

Longtail UX was founded by Andreas Dzumla and Will Santow. Andreas is an ex-Googler and Dentsu Aegis Network agency GM. Will has more than 25 years of experience as a successful business owner and entrepreneur.

Next up for Longtail UX is the release of its new product - ‘Google SOS’ (‘Google Shopping Ads on-page Suggestions') which will allow online retailers to increase return on ad spend on Google Shopping Ads 20-30%, by creating landing pages that show multiple products related to the search, rather than just single items, as is currently the case with traditional Shopping Ads.

Unpacking the latest round (and the others) Small Business Stimulus Packages - COVID-19

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 31 March 2020

So much stimulation, but so much confusion.

Despite most of the major government agencies (and many great accounting & bookkeeping practices) publishing really clear summaries there is still a lot of unknowns. What is available? Which of the options applies to me, and how and importantly WHEN can I access it?

There’s lots of treats on offer from the Lazy Susan of Government Support so how does a small business owner make sense of it all?

Who better to take us carefully and sensibly through this maze than Kylie Parker, Accountant &  Director at Lotus Accountants | Author of Planning Plan B | Xero Alumni | Co-Founder AccounTEK Global AND internationally sought after speaker on all things accounting.

Welcome to the show Kylie.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• We’re onto round three of stimulus package so there’s a lot of misunderstandings as we all scramble to understand what the latest version means to us as small businesses. Can you take us through the latest stimulus package which was just released?
• Obviously the latest package is just an addition, an enhancement of the other former policies. As well as what has been offered lately, what else is available:
  • Employers
  • Those employing apprentices
  • Sole traders
  • What about Trusts?
• How will the business receive these funds and when?
• What should businesses and accountants & bookkeepers be wary of. Obviously safeguards are in place to ensure no one is taking advantage. What might businesses think they can get away with and how is the ATO going to catch you out?
• Now obviously extending the life of ANY loan has consequences. What should businesses be aware of before they request deferring a loan by 6 months?

Suddenly got loads of time on your hands? Time to learn LinkedIn... with a Ninja!

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 31 March 2020

LinkedIn is the place to be if you’re B2B, we all know that. But are we getting to messaging, profile and social strategy correct? How can we possibly understand the algorithm (which keeps changing) and how can you tell if your message is even making a difference?

Like all social media there’s the good, the bad and the ugly. You still need to be yourself, polite and wear your “happy face” and know where the dangers lie, but this is business rather than socialising and sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference. For example, How do we build a LinkedIn network of followers and how do you find the balance between numbers and genuine connections?

There is literally no one else I would have on this radio show to educate you on priming your LinkedIn profile and LI social media planning than Jillian Bullock. She speaks all over Australia, is the only certified LinkedIn Ninja in Australia and is incredibly generous with her knowledge of the LinkedIn Matrix.

Welcome to the show Jillian.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• Broadly speaking when running a business, how important is it to make sure your LinkedIn profile is current and relevant no matter what business you’re in?
  • Why is LI more important to B2B businesses? Why niche in that platform?
  • How to stay relevant and top of mind in a world of social media noise?
• Marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, what are your top tips on posting to LinkedIn
  • Peak times & timing (first few mins are so important)
  • Posts vs articles vs comments
  • Where does LinkedIn Live fit into all of this?
• Secret Squirrel Algorhythms… how can we learn the matrix?
  • Why is reciprocity so important?
• What should we avoid?
  • Why are fake profiles dangerous for you and your business and how do we spot them?
• How do we build a LinkedIn network of followers and how do you find the balance between numbers and genuine connections?

NBN - Put Simply, will it cope?

Small Biz Matters – a half hour program each week where you can work ON your business rather than IN it.
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 24 March 2020

It’s the question on every business owner, the workforce and student’s lips across the country. Will the NBN infrastructure cope?…. Is it an essential service by definition so we can be assured of service when setting up? And what are some practical strategies we can implement at home to keep it running at the highest possible capacity?

With literally everyone accessing online everything we need the reassurance that the NBN will stand up to the test. This week we welcome on Small Biz Matters Paul Tyler the Chief Customer Officer for Business at nbn Australia who will talk us through the strategies already in place to support small businesses to connect and stay connected to the NBN in these challenging times.

Welcome to the show Paul.

Topics we’ll be covering:

• In a nutshell, is our internet Infrastructure ready for millions of Australian workers and students to start to use the internet all at once? Are there going to be certain geographical areas experiencing more issues?
  • Please supply stats on increase in bandwidth load, the max capacity of the network

• What contingencies are NBN putting in place as demand increases? What is nbn business broadband, how does it work? Can you get it at home?
• Have you seen more people racing to get connected? Is the NBN considered an essential service? So, if I have technician booked to connect me to the NBN can I be assured there will be enough skilled workers to get me up and running?
• Upload speed starts to become a bigger factor as we work at home. We are no longer just receiving data as we stream content but also need to send lots of data between home and work (For example a video production company will be uploading gigs rather than megabytes between locations) and of course a whole lot more live-streaming from everyone everywhere… how will this be managed, can upload speeds be increased beyond what is currently available?
• You may have seen Telstra CEO Andy Penn say last week on 7.30 advised not having everyone stuck at home using the internet at the same time. Given that things have ramped up and now everyone is working & studying from home, are there any realistic practical ways we can limit our impact all at once?
• Given this radical and very fast change in how we use our network, does this change how the NBN plans for the future?
  • Is it worth adding fibre to the premises rather than fttn to increase speed, and whether ISPs are limiting bandwidth for commercial reasons eg contention ratios

To find out more go to their website: https://www.nbnco.com.au/business