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The new Small Biz Matters program is all about People, Policy, Purpose. It is conversational and chatty and dedicated to empowering small businesses and their advisors to engage with policy and advocacy. Why? Because what Government does very much Matters to all Small Biz. Good and bad. A labour of love, in 2014 Alexi Boyd started broadcasting to give back to the local small business community. She knew information and support was lacking. Now with over 220 podcasts, the show is sought by PR Agencies and Government departments for its rich, informative content. Media Partners include universities, the Australian Tax Office, ASBFEO, COSBOA and international fintechs. Sponsored by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman’s office, each week we sit down with experts, advocates, business leaders, policy makers and politicians to dive into specific areas of government policy that affects your business and clients. We’ll give you a heads up on what’s coming down the policy pipeline, find out who’s fighting in your corner and empower you with ways you can influence those decisions which affect your business every single day. The program is broadcast weekly on Tuesdays live on local community radio Triple H 100.1FM, through the Community Broadcasting network, and wherever you get your favourite podcasts.
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #174 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 1 September 2020
The road to small business success is dotted with the pitstops of life. Previous experiences, major milestones in your career, successes and failures in a former working life or maybe the success of failure of a former small business!
But with each of these comes important life lessons that help to build up the pallet of colours that create your small business success.
Some of those transitions are bigger leaps than the norm. Take for example today’s guest. Eric Peck from Swoop Aero who, in a former life was a Australian Air Force pilot. How could you possibly take such unique experiences from around the world and utilise those skills to create a small business? Well that’s exactly what Eric is here to share with us.
Welcome to the show Eric.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- Moving from piloting to the world of business — learnings, challenges and how his pilot experience spurred him on to tackle healthcare inequalities
- Transitioning from military to corporate culture - where to use the best of both worlds
- Why he decided to create a for-profit business and the impact he believes it has helped become more accountable as a result
- The mindset you need to be a for-proft business in a NFP world
- Business growth — going from zero to a global medical logistics network in three years
- The importance of creating a fully sustainable business — Swoop Aero’s drones have a smaller carbon footprint than a bike
- The future of healthcare and how it can be improved through technology
To find out more go to their website: https://swoop.aero/
About our Guest & Swoop Aero
Swoop Aero transforms the way the world moves essential supplies and enables access to healthcare for millions across the world. Founded in 2017, this Australian born and bred company is bringing healthcare logistics into the 21st century by deploying two-way drone networks capable of delivering essential medical supplies to urban, rural and remote areas globally. Their managed air transport service provides access to the skies to ensure sustainable, safe and reliable provision of essential health supplies. Unmanned vehicles are at the heart of the next significant shift in supply chain logistics. From the UN to USAid and the Gates Foundation, they are trusted to create value by sustainably transforming health supply chains.
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #173 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 1 September 2020
Jobkeeper. JK. Stimulus. Handout. …. No matter how you describe it, it’s been a great illustration that we are living in the Lucky Country. Where else in the world has government been able to with one piece of legislation, simultaneously prop up the economy, maintain the employee/employer relationship, keep businesses alive and flush cash back into the broader economy?
But is it all good news? It is FAIR ? Is it EQUITABLE ? and what about those businesses we all know are being just plain dodgy? And another question; was COVID a missed opportunity where those businesses who were on the way out should have folded?
Joining us this week is financial frontline worker Nicole Lynch from Streamline Management who is now, like so many other BAS Agents a JobKeeper ninja. In just a few months these financial experts have navigated the JK legislation (often compared in its complexity to the GST which took months to roll out) and guided their small business clients through this minefield with finesse, expertise and just a little bit of hand-holding.
Welcome to the show Nicole!
Topics we’ll be covering:
- How do I get it?
- What is the criteria for the new 2.0 JK payments? Whole quarter rather than monthly sales downturn
- What’s changed compared to JK 1.0
- ... and what about that 1july employee change?
- What changes at the end of September?
- Retest turnover decline (ACTUAL not estimate)
- Test staff - fulltime vs part-time
- Stuff we don’t know about yet (changes on changes)
- Is it happening with the BAS?
- What are the traps for young players / bookkeeping DIYers?
- What happens to those doing it yourself? Many are not reporting, not testing correctly and not keeping records!
- What’s the ATO doing to claw back those who assumed they were eligible or just plain dodgy. What have they been doing to data match and what questions are they asking?
- When is an Eligible Business Participant not eligible?
- How have good BAS Agents such as yourself bailed out those DIYers. What’s involved in this process? (I just run! You got yourself into this mess, you need to call the ATO to fess up before they catch you)
- What about startups and those covered by the alternative testing for 2.0?
- Have you noticed which businesses/sectors of the small business economy have benefited more for jobkeeper in the past few months?
- Yes, those that are still trading are opting in (you need to be able to fund it for a whole month - not easy with no income), business with lots of staff need to have a good cash reserve to be able to pay ALL eligible staff before they are reimbursed
- It’s all about hanging onto employees who you still need to pay first
- As an adviser how to do if you think JK has helped the economy at large?
- The money is being spent – the younger generation is more likely to spend it.
- Or is it keeping the businesses alive which should probably go and get a JOB.
- Businesses need to be aware of insolvency protections and the impact JK will have on this.
- Generally JK legislation with all its trappings is a great example as to why it’s good to have a BAS agent on your side and already knows your business!
- BAS agents are doing a lot of these claims, they have access to industry professionals to help them, a business owner just doesn’t have access to the same info and support.
- BAS agents assist many of their clients run payroll - so they are in a great place to assist.
To find out more go to their website: https://www.streamlinemanagement.com.au
About our Guest:
Nicole Lynch is a co-founder and director of Streamline Management.
Nicole is a senior bookkeeper and has worked closely with countless businesses from differing industries over 20+ years – that’s plenty of experience in office administration and bookkeeping.
Nicole is our office Xero champion and loves helping small businesses make the switch from desktop to the cloud using connected business apps.
Nicole wears a lot of red!
About Streamline Management
We pride ourselves on our professional, confidential and personalised bookkeeping service. We are a small business, just like you, so you’ll never be just a number to us (pardon the pun!). Let’s put the fun back into your financial FUNdamentals!
Since 1997, our team of Australian based bookkeepers (we don’t and won’t offshore your work) use cloud technology to provide a seamless, continuous service. We will be there for you now; when you expand; and help you achieve your goals for your business. We offer bookkeeping & beyond.
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
Tuesday Aug 25, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #172 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 25 August 2020
With a welcome influx of innovative startups into our small business community it is helpful for experienced small business owners and newbies to understand the Startup Support Landscape.
Your idea can be grown, collaborated with, mustered, incubated, and accelerated so with no many opportunities to choose from (and pay for) the scene can appear cluttered. Beware to the inexperienced charlatans claiming to understand what it means to be starting out, or have any inkling of what the path to growth looks like.
We need to have information to help our friends the startups and (insert descriptive text here)-Preneurs to navigate the brave new world.
So we’ve invited Caroline Lepron, the founder of several successful startups including Skoutli to share with us the good, the bad and the ugly experience that is the Start Up Support world.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- Tell us about the concept of Skoutli and how you got started
- It’s about the sharing economy sharing space
- Avoiding waste and going against the idea of single use items
- In our first company we found kitchen spaces to share at certain times of the day when they weren’t being used (such as evenings inside a lunchtime cafe)
- In what ways have small businesses been tapping into this concept of Skoutli?
- How do you think the gig economy is changing the economy as a whole?
- Allowing more people to share what they have
- Tell us about your experience in the Fishburners environment?
- What’s your best advice for startups when choosing your support program. What should tech startups be looking for in terms of support?
- What makes a good program? KNOW what phase your business is in, especially if you’re paying for the program
- What to avoid
- What overseas options are there - Austrade support - and what should you be prepared to do?
To find out more go to their website: www.skoutli.com
About our Guest:
Caroline is French and Australian. She discovered Australia 12 years ago for a 6months internship and never left! She is 35yo, Serial Entrepreneur, Mum of a 3yo girl. She loves traveling, food, extreme sports, she is a Kite Surfing Instructor, and she focused on creating a positive impact on earth! She is an expert in Marketplaces, her last one Cookitoo was about commercial kitchens. She soft launched Skoutli almost a year ago and just launched Skoutli properly! She loves helping entrepreneur and she particularly wants to help women entrepreneurs as she thinks that there are not enough of them.
Skoutli (www.skoutli.com) helps content creators (photographers /producers /influencers) to find locations for their next photoshoot. These sets are people home / environment /backyard/ vehicles that can be used for advertisements, social media posts, and movies. The way Skoutli is different from its competitors is that it offers location rentals by the room by the hour. The price is also different according to how many people come on the set to be fair for small and big teams. It’s possible to rent a yellow bathroom for 2hours, a modern kitchen for a full day or a swimming pool for 3hours!
Adventurous and passionate person. Highly motivated and positive thinking individual. Lived and studied in France, Mexico and Australia and was part of the Australian Landing Pad in SF for 3 months.
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #171 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 18 August 2020
Despite the best intentions and our hard work at building relationships, sometimes it can all go to the proverbial. A dispute over an unpaid invoice, incomplete work, timing issues or workplace grievances can lead to your small business’ downfall.
We’re fearful of lawyers and the legal system perhaps because generally we worry about being in trouble. But the legal system can support you, protect your rights, and help you recoup losses and income which is rightfully yours.
The role of the mediator is one which small businesses should familiarise themselves with. Crombie Pitts joins us this week to explain the role of mediation, how the small business commissioners’ offices supports and generally what the process is to resolve disputes.
Welcome to the show Crombie.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- As a small business owner can you give me some examples of how and why we might seek mediation in a small business dispute?
- What sort of legislation can they support you and your business
- What the difference between mediation and going to court?
- Parties come together at a time convenient for both
- Costs are lower and resolution is faster
- 80% success rate which you’re not guaranteed at court and you could have to pay costs too
- In a practical sense, how do mediators work with govt organisations like state based Small Business Commissioners
- Mediators are on a panel
- How does the process work?
- What to look for in a mediator
- Accreditation via National Mediation Standards Board
- Do both parties need to agree on a mediator?
- They can work across state boundaries and online
- What are the qualities you need to be a good mediator
- Fair, open ended questions, a professional
- What is the mediator’s role?
- The process…
- Do I need to have a lawyer at a mediation?
- What are my rights? What happens if it fails in private and commissioner settings?
To find out more go to their website: www.cpmediations.com
About our Guest:
Crombie Pitts from CP Mediations is a National Accredited Mediator and Licensed Real Estate Agent. He has over 30 years commercial experience in senior roles within the property industry. He is married with one 21 year old son and a labrador called Roxy! Originally from the UK, Crombie and his family have now been living in the northern beaches for 15 years. He is a volunteer with Warringah Rugby Club.
Tuesday Aug 11, 2020
Tuesday Aug 11, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #170 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 11 August 2020
Not all Tech Founders are cut from the same cloth. We imagine an uber-cool twenty something hipster in designer ripped jeans in their inner west grungy garage, spouting bourjois ideals and claiming their commercial idea is there to make the world a better place.
But what of those founders who fell into the role - coming up with one of those once in a lifetime nuggets that might, just might make them a fortune. Oh, and make the world a better place too.
Sharon Melamed, the founder of Matchboard is one such creator. She’s a self proclaimed Non-Techy Tech Founder who wears life experience and a distinct lack of IT fluency with pride. Her approach to nurturing what she recognised as a brilliant idea and turning it into a hugely successful company was very different and drew more on her past than the tech future she now owns.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- What’s it like to be a Non-Tekky Tech Founder
- Some stats on tech founders - they’re not always millennials!
- Discussion about what’ it’s like to come into this world after leading a successful internationally successful corporate JOB career.
- With corporate experience you take the best of the best of their business
- Building a network and collaborated with so many others.
- Didn’t need an accelerator to understand the execution but rather it became around learning the tech.
- Setup & Collaboration - a different approach
- So, rather than co-founding which is what techpreneurs typically do, you partnered with a company based overseas
- Negotiating a different sort of contract with an overseas company
- How did you think of that approach?
- How has social marketing has been important in developing your credibility as well as growing your business.
- Organic LinkedIn strategy to get your business off the ground
- What does it mean to be targeted by the LinkedIn gods in their ivory tower?
To find out more go to their website: https://www.matchboard.com.au/
About our Guest:
Sharon is a multi-award winning entrepreneur. Following a corporate career across 5 countries, she founded Matchboard, a free-to-use website where companies can enter their needs and get matched with “right-fit” suppliers. In 2018, Matchboard was crowned “Business of the Year” at the Optus My Business Awards. And in 2017, Westpac named Matchboard as 1 of Australia’s top “200 Businesses of Tomorrow”. Sharon was named Suncorp Innovator of the Year 2018, and Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2019 Women in ICT awards. Sharon has a double honours degree and University Medal from the University of Sydney and speaks five languages.
Tuesday Aug 11, 2020
Tuesday Aug 11, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #169 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 11 August 2020
Podcasts, videos, radio, TV, socials, posts, comments and notifications. The world has an unquenchable thirst for content, and no shortage of new platforms for you to tap into. And the pressure is on to nail the communication with your potential clients or audience across a number of these online spaces.
We all know that we should be constantly working on our marketing strategy as our business grows but are you tapping into all the best channels available to you as a small business? We are spoilt for choice and many of these are free but we can drown in the options too.
Here to join us on Small Biz Matters this week is Stefan Sojka a Media expert who will take us on an adventure through the new media landscape where you can learn how to tap into this unique marketing resource to grow your business.
Topics we’ll be covering:
What sort of media opportunities are available to small business?
First define what we mean by “media”, because understanding that will go a long way to where we might fit in and discovering the opportunities.
The digital age has redefined the meaning of the word ‘media’. It used to refer mainly to mass media, like TV, radio, newspapers, magazines as it has with a few other words, like, platform and channel. A USB stick is media, as is a Website, a billboard, a t-shirt with a message on it, social media post, a reaction to that post, a search engine result a text message.
I take an extremely broad view, that media is the delivery of information, material or data via a delivery mechanism that reaches a destination and/or audience.
When we say media now, we can mean the content, the platform, the delivery mechanism, the format, we can even be talking about artificial intelligence algorithms and agents sorting, ranking and delivering information to us.
This broad definition ensures you take into account every possible format, channel, device, touch-point, reaction.
Also media is a two way street now. It used to be one to many, now it is one to one, one to many, many to many and everything in between.
Before digital technology, media opportunities were plentiful, but now they are almost limitless.
Traditional channels vs digital - The huge spectrum of touch points available, from social to directories, podcasts (of course) magazines, how to videos, walk throughs, Google’s numerous channels, like Google my Business, reviews, street view, 360 degreee walk-throughs of your shop, business networking groups, newsletters, etc. Even things like old school discussion forums, local groups, complementary channels that may not seem logical but may have your target audience there. Sports clubs use apps to communicate to their members.
The huge range of channels actually creates a unquenchable thirst for content, so you can tailor your output to suit what they are looking for (kind of like what I am doing right now). Councils and other levels of government provide many opportunities for businesses to engage and feed their channels, too. Exchanging reviews between customers if you are B2B (I’ll review you if you review me - so long as it's genuine)
Finding the right media to align with There are as many right answers as there are people looking for the answers. I’d be asking a bunch of questions first, because if you don’t, you risk disappearing down a digital media rabbit hole:
What do you do?
What do you have to offer, both as products/services but also as good content?
What are your values?
Who is your audience? Where do they hang out? What are they looking for?
What are you best suited to create? Are you a good writer, or presenter? Or more technical? Helpful hints, etc?
Where are the gaps in the media landscape that you can fill?
What are your competitors doing?
Can you use tools like Google’s keyword tool, to inform your content?
Where do you see yourself positioned in the marketplace?
How much time/effort/money have you got to dedicate to marcomms? Usually never enough so go for the low hanging fruit and quick wins.
Etc.
The answer to all these helps you determine where to focus and what to create.
As a small business, you are now a publishing house and a Public Relations agency. So you need to think like this.
Publishers are in the business of creating content and finding ways and means to publish that content.
Public Relations agencies are on the lookout for opportunities to get their clients’ messages out there.
This is what you need to do.
How to make the most of every media opportunity and get your goals when it comes to your marketing strategy and business planning?
Analytics and measurement to help decide what is working and what isn’t. Try different things. Be creative.
There is no magic formula, although certain things are more measurable and certain than others (eg GoogleAds can give you all the data and stats, but you still need to have your own unique way of dealing with the customer when they arrive)
Tighten up and improve all the related activities and processes within the business.
Marketing is much more a holistic exercise now, so the entire business needs to look at itself holistically to ensure better outcomes.
This digital age is also an age of information overload and overwork. No one can really afford to do absolutely everything (big businesses have whole teams looking separately at every aspect of digital marketing - analytics teams, user experience teams, media buying teams, content creating teams etc) Small business must be realistic and work within limitations so try to find out what fits and works well for you and focus on that, with a little openness to explore new channels and opportunities.
Now that you are a small business media publishing mega corporation, you can find your niche, and your most suitable channels and mediums, and start feeding the digital media machine. Every morsel you give it, creates an expanding and more refined unique footprint of your presence and your activities.
Tips
Develop your own skills and get experience – jump at learning opportunities
Spend time googling to devour as much information as you can about media, marketing, publishing, content
You can never do everything, so focus on what works, what you are good at and get help if you need it.
The one irony about the web is so much of it is free, so considering the huge benefits a small business can get that traditional businesses never had, why not spend some money here and there to achieve what you want.
Even business is different every industry more or less competitive. If you are in a competitive industry, you need to try harder, because your competitors are, or you need to find your niche
Examples/Anecdotes
Political Video
Rotary Afghanistan School
Message - Flag eCommerce - “Wholesale enquiries welcome”
Ideas International - Tech journalists, Twitter
Envato - MVP then SEO. Build ecosystem with Freelance Switch / Job Board / Blogs / Tutorials
Cleverseal - Facebook, Blogs, Focus on USP and Family Business angle, nurture installer network
Star Jewellers emphasise 50+ years trading and bricks and mortar presence, custom Commerce theme and constant iteration and customer engagement, reviews, Google merchant, SEO, Consulting
GSSM - Single Product Websites with dual language.
Wavelink - 20 years. PRL
Motexion - Walk-through videos, ecommerce, SEO, facebook, one-on-one meetings with key people eg dealers and manufacturers, refine the business processes, team, supply chain, etc
Me personally: Youtube planted link on journalist site.
SEO Good Website - messaging prequalifies, establishes trust, communicates values.
About our Guest:
Cyrius Media Group http://www.cyrius.com.au/about
A media, events and marketing consulting agency, centrally located in Ryde, we design, produce and manage all aspects of digital media, marketing, events, Website design and Web development for: individuals, businesses, agencies, departments and community organisations across Australia.
We’ve been building and managing online assets since the mid 1990s and more recently have expanded into live events, podcasting production and taking the opportunity during the pandemic to pivot towards doing some of our own in-house pet projects.
Stefan Sojka https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefansojka/
Stefan spent the first 20 years of his career as an entertainer and musician, playing thousands of gigs from major corporate events for companies like Microsoft, Optus and Sony to backyard parties, weddings, clubs and pubs all over Australia. When the internet came along in the mid-90s, Stefan became a convert.
He became a staff writer for numerous national Internet magazines, then gradually evolved into a small business owner, employing designers, programmers and multimedia creators in what became the Cyrius Media Group digital agency. His background in music and entertainment seemed to fit nicely into the new media landscape, as he found his writing, creative and communication skills were a great asset for the business and for his clients.
Stefan is big on mentoring and encouraging others to succeed, and many of his employees have gone on to be hugely successful, and his clients have benefitted by increasing their combined revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of working with Stefan’s agency.
He’ll probably write a book about it all, because a brief biography simply can’t cover everything. But today we’ll be focusing on helping your small business improve digital networking, search engine visibility and positioning your business with the right messaging and image.
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Small Biz Matters – #168 Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 4 August 2020
Running a small business is never a solo road; your path is guided by key stakeholders and strategic partners who help you. They might be people who work within your business, key clients, suppliers or supportive advisors.
Fostering these relationships is very important to running and growing a successful small business. But equally important is recognising who is STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT to your business development. As yourself, what role can this partner play in building foundations, growth of even calling it quits? Are they strategic for growth or just supportive? Do you collaborate with, or are you guided by them?
So we’ve brought someone onto the show who’s hugely experienced and keen to share this knowledge with our listeners. Annie Gibbins, in the role of CEO of several large medical institutions, had led teams who couldn’t exist without the partnership and guidance of strategic partners. Constantly engaging with and recognising the value of your key stakeholders can make or break these businesses. She is also an inspirational and dynamic business leader who is all about THRIVING - in business and life and author of Becoming Annie - A biography of a curious woman.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- As a change management CEO, what has been your strategy to influence significant change in Glaucoma Australia?
- 4 pillars
- Stakeholder engagement
- Clarify UVP
- Build Trust and Credibility
- Rebrand
- Go Digital
- Risk Awareness Campaigns which drive testing
- What change have you achieved over the past 2.5 years?
- Massive stakeholder engagement (Ophthalmology, Optometry, Pharmacy), Digital Referrals (Oculo), 300 referrals per year have grown to 7000 in 2 years
- New Strategic plan – Detect and Defeat.
- Patron – Governor General
- Ambassador – Kirk Pengilly INXS
- What have been the biggest challenges?
- Mindset
- Funding model
- Small team
- Website and CRM (new ones coming in the next 6 months!)
- 4 pillars
To find out more go to their website: https://www.anniegibbins.com/
About our Guest:
Annie Gibbins is the Chief Executive Officer of Glaucoma Australia. In this role, Annie is a powerful force for change in the war against the blinding impact of glaucoma and 100% passionate about eliminating preventable glaucoma blindness.
With over 25 year’s experience in the Health Education sector and qualifications in science, education and business, Annie has developed high impact skills in collaborative change management focussed on patient centred outcomes and data driven evidence.
Annie’s is also the CEO of Lipstick Consulting, and her previous roles include CEO of the Australian Institute of Ultrasound, CEO of the Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine, National Education Manager of the Australian Orthopaedic Association and Senior Nurse Educator TAFE, NSW.
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Small Biz Matters – Providing the small business community with educational content and advocacy since 2014
with Alexi Boyd, broadcaster, advocate and small business owner.
Date: 4 August 2020
When the chips are down you need a peak body on your side. And boy are the chips down right now.
Right now small, medium and even large retailers are losing income and purging employees to the point of no return. And their biggest overhead? Commercial Rent. And suddenly, the Code of conduct is everyone’s business. What are the Small business owner’s rights and the landlord’s responsibilities? What is mandated and what is inferred? Which level of government administers and is policing the protections?
And importantly; who can you turn to for help?
Right now the National Retail Association is flooded with queries about what has been mandated. Kyle Swain is the Leasing Advisor to the National Retailers Association and has been in the room supporting and negotiating for you and your business so we’ve brought him on Small Biz Matters to help you understand the changes.
Topics we’ll be covering:
Background - The creation of the National Cabinet Code of Conduct and the SME Commercial Leasing Principals
How did the code of conduct come about and who did the National Cabinet consult when it was created?
- What is it’s intent?
- Administration committee (a group of advisors in this case made up of 4 peak bodies) gave info to National Cabinet.
- National Retail Association’s advisor contributed to the guiding principles for the agreement to protect the tenants
- Then the States give effect to the code through legislation. So some states were quick to act and others slow to implement the desperately needed change.
- It is a mandatory National Code of conduct but many landlords wouldn’t act until the legislation actually assented in each state.
So how does this work for business owners who have multiple locations across multiple states?
- What’s the main difference between the states?
- Confusion around the different data required by landlords in each state
Now: what’s the current impact on small business?
You mentioned you’ve had a big increase in businesses seeking information about the Code of Conduct to achieve rent relief and understand what their requirements are.
- There is a lot of grey area and it’s very open to interpretation. It’s not robust enough.
- How tough is it out there? It’s not just the Mum & Dad small-scale operators; the participants are across the board in terms of size
- How important is this code of conduct to keeping businesses alive?
What about the big boys: Westfield etc. What’s your report card on them?
- It’s the landlords who have, over a number of years, pushed “market rents” to a level that is unsustainable for SME’s and resulted in such a large percentage of tenants and occupiers of real estate, whether it’s a retail premises, a commercial office space or a warehouse, who don’t have 3-6 months of cashflow in the business to survive a sustained downturn such as a pandemic. For many, particularly in retail, even 1 month of having to close the business and receiving no revenue, even if 50% of the rent is waived, will result in financial failure,... and we’re seeing that in small numbers already, and expect to see it in huge numbers after JobKeeper ends.
- So my report card on landlords generally is that the bigger ones are certainly fulfilling their minimum obligations under the Code, but not really doing enough to fulfil the ‘intent’ of the code and I fear they will suffer the impact of that for the next 3 or 4 financial years rather than having 1 bad year.
The future: The continuing negotiation process between peak bodies & government across different scenarios
- The ‘reasonable recovery period’ - why is it important to understand what the definition of this period is?
- Returning to the two versions of “normal” - with or without the vaccine
- How dependent is the industry on Jobkeeper and why is it important to remember the impact it’s removal will have?
- With Jobkeeper now extended, will the Code of Conduct also be extended? And do we know what’s going to happen after this Code of Conduct period ends?
How can small businesses improve the negotiation process?
Where can those affected small businesses go for help?
- Peak bodies
- Webinars and understanding the legislation
- Know your rights, know where to go for help, educate to understand your requirements. Peak bodies can also support in the mediation process on the side of the small business
- Small business commissioners at state level & ASBFEO
To find out more :
The National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct - SME Commercial Leasing Pricipals - https://www.pm.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/national-cabinet-mandatory-code-ofconduct-sme-commercial-leasing-principles.pdf
About our Guest:
Kyle is the Retail Director for LPC Cresa who were founded in 1993 and are now one of Australia and New Zealand’s’ leading, independent, tenant-only leasing and property advisory businesses, and part of the global Cresa group.
Lpc Cresa advises office, retail and industrial tenants exclusively across every stage of the property lifecycle and seek to level the playing field when negotiating with landlords and developers to ensure tenants achieve the best possible outcomes.
Lpc Cresa has built a reputation as the preferred problem solver among occupiers of real estate through their unwavering commitment to providing tenants with professional, high quality and independent property advice.
As the Retail Director, Kyle is passionate about helping retailers improve their bottom line through strategically aligned property outcomes and has particular expertise in optimising lease portfolios.
Kyle has post graduate degrees in both Property Economics and Business Administration and a solid background in retail management having worked for major Australian retail brands including Coles Myer Group before entering the property industry.
Kyle has been the Leasing and Tenancy Advisor to the National Retail Association since 2017, providing advice and representation to Australia’s most representative retail industry association with more than 24000 shopfronts nationwide, positioning Kyle as leader in tenant-side retail leasing, tenant representation and retail advisory services.
In his spare time, Kyle is a Childhood Cancer Awareness advocate and avid cyclist, riding 250-300km per week before most of us even get out of bed.
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
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 July 2020
In the world of small business, marketing strategy can seem like a long battle requiring constant tweaking and analysis. We work tirelessly to post, upload, photograph, describe, blog, video and it can sometimes seem like a waste of time.
Well, without a strategy you might very well be doing that; wasting your time!
What is important is knowing your product, knowing your clients and their customer journey as they navigate all your marketing collateral. It’s a simple strategy and a great starting point for many small businesses who may not yet have even given a strategy a thought.
Laura Prael specialises in supporting small businesses in her business LEP Digital; drawing on years of working with big corporate brands and is here to share with us her understanding of the customer journey and why this is an important piece of the strategy puzzle.
Welcome to the show Laura.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- Content marketers often refer to the customer buying journey - what is that and why is important?
- Is it literally a linear pathway from start to finish or is it more nuanced than this?
- Where does the idea of the ideal client fit into this?
- Essentially, thinking about what you’re trying to achieve; how do you want the potential customer to behave?
- Has the customer journey changed over the years - if so, how and why?
- The impact of social media, different forms of advertising
- The importance of creating brand awareness
- How can you use content marketing to support the buyer’s journey?
- Linking this back to your marketing strategy
- What are your tips for creating an effective buyer persona?
To find out more go to their website: lep.digital
About our Guest:
Laura is an accomplished copywriter and communications professional with more than 13 years of experience working in senior digital communications roles for large companies. Over her career, she’s mentored and trained more than 600 professionals in topics including writing for the web, content marketing, and building a personal brand. Today, she’s best known for founding a fast-growing award-winning digital content marketing agency, LEP Digital. The company is now in its sixth year running and employs a team of four women.
In 2018, she won the Regional Outstanding Young Entrepreneur Business Award by the NSW Business Chamber and two international Stevie® Awards for Women in Business in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year and Women-Run Workplace of the Year categories.
Her recent speaking experience includes keynote speaker at the City of Parramatta Council for International Women’s Day 2020, speaker at the Marketing to the Rural Sector Conference 2019, keynote speaker and panellist at the University of New South Wales and University of Newcastle, and private presentations for various businesses. Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Newcastle, and a Master of Public Relations & Advertising from the University of New South Wales.
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
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 July 2020
There are certain types of stories we all listen to in times of crisis. Stories of strength when overcoming personal hardship, of growth in economic slumps, of great leadership when dealing with unusual situations, and those ones which inspire us when we simply don’t want to adult anymore.
Well this story will tick the box ALL OF THE ABOVE.
With literally no previous retail experience Karen Edbrooke started Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore, using extraordinary work ethic and desire to assist women, it is now a rare success story in a weird world of retail closures. Founded before social media and online sales, she has been forced to adapt not only the way she sells to clients but how she interacts with them. Her team has completely changed, her products have evolved, and her business is a great example of how the retail world is now survival of the fittest.
Welcome to the show Karen.
Topics we’ll be covering:
- Growing your online sales
- Where was the starting point? Did you divert away from your strategy or start over in the crisis?
- Socials – did you increase your budget?
- employing the right people & the ideal worker who can adapt
- top tips on finding the right fit
- Passionate about upskilling retail workers in IT
- what the industry leaders can do to improve the candidates
- Helping the local business community
- mentored other female entrepreneurs
- using her space to support other businesses
- Operating in times of crisis
- Adjusting your mindset & staying focus on what you want to achieve,
- keeping your team focussed
To find out more go to their website: https://brastogo.com.au/
About our Guest:
Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore was founded by Karen Edbrooke in Brisbane in 1992. Edbrooke got inspiration for the business whilst recovering from a serious car accident. Edbrooke grew increasingly frustrated by the challenges that larger women faced in the fashion and lingerie industry. She believed that mainstream lingerie manufacturers in Australia ignored the needs of larger women. Upon realising that the Australian lingerie industry was ignoring a significant portion of the female population, Edbrooke decided to take action.
Founded before the birth of the internet and the existence of Facebook, the business has been forced to adapt, but has done so with immense success. Big Girls Don’t Cry Anymore has a large social media following. They currently have the largest social media following of any independent Lingerie Store in Australia. They currently have over 105,000 ‘followers’ on their Facebook page and hundreds of thousands of followers on other platforms.
Before her accident, Edbrooke was working at the National Australia Bank. She never went to university and she is completely self-taught in business. She uses her experience to teach others about how to start a business from scratch. Edbrooke’s passion for her brand, extraordinary work ethic and desire to assist women to find the right fitting bra has helped her to create one of the country’s leading business success stories. The business is now the most successful retailer of lingerie and swimwear for women of all sizes with customers across the nation and around the world. Services are also offered virtually through virtual bra fittings, live streamed fashion parades and a number of other innovative offerings.