Sorry we have a "IT Hitch"........Our current winter newsletter can be found by clicking

However if you have not read our  autumn newsletter  read both and keep yourself fully informed.

Welcome to our autumn newsletter!

NEWSFLASH: COST CUTTING BY NSW GOVERNMENT WILL IMPACT THE EASTERN SUBURBS
The Marketing Process. What is it?
Yellow Pages Business Ideas Grants 2004 - $300,000 in cash & prizes!
Corporation Builders Capital Raising Forums. Who are we?
Key Strategies to Create an Innovative and Successful Business - Seminar Tuesday 24th August
New Small Business Show Launched on Channel Nine
NEIS Participant Craig Ruddy wins 2004 Archibald Prize
Easts Function Centre Grand Open Day 27th June 2004 - Your chance to have a look!!

Plus our regular features:

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NEWSFLASH: COST CUTTING BY NSW GOVERNMENT WILL IMPACT THE EASTERN SUBURBS

UPDATE: The BEC peak body met June 21st with the NSW Small Business Minister Hon David Campbell, MP. See the media release issued by the BEC Association following this meeting.

You may have heard via the media that the NSW Government have decided to withdraw funding from the BEC Network. Not only have they withdrawn funding but they have also reduced the funding to the Business Advisory Centres from $3.8M to $2.7M.       

With 50 BECs funded out of the 2004 funding it is not hard to work out the small amount of funding each BEC receives. Nonetheless this funding is vital for us to continue to offer the services we deliver to small businesses. I ask you to reflect on how we have maximised the use of these funds in our community.

We are as a network lobbying the NSW Small Business Minister, our local and Federal Members in an effort to have these decisions reversed. Please see the following media releases:

BEC Association Media Release 8th June 2004
ESBEC Media Release 9th June 2004

As you are all aware The Centre is totally committed to supporting the Eastern Suburbs Business Community. It is personally disappointing that we had no forewarning of this decision and to this very moment have not received any formal letter from the Minister or the NSW Department of State and Regional Development. In fact we read it, like yourself, in the newspaper.

We are seeking letters and emails of support for the BECs to be sent to the following:

Peter Debnam  LIB Member for Vaucluse
Email: Peter.Debnam@parliament.nsw.gov.au

Paul Pearce,  ALP Member for Coogee
Email: coogee@parliament.nsw.gov.au
 
Murray Matson, Randwick Mayor
Email: murray.matson@randwick.nsw.gov.au
 
Peter Moscatt, Waverley Mayor
Email: peterm@waverley.nsw.gov.au
 
Geoff Rundle, Woollahra Mayor
Email: records@woollahra.nsw.gov.au

We also ask if you would be willing to go on talk back radio to express your concern and disappointment with this unexplained action. Please call us on (02) 9369 2844 or email reception@easternsuburbsbec.com.au

I sincerely thank you for your support.

Regards

David Baumgarten
CEO
Eastern Suburbs Business Enterprise Centre

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The Marketing Process - What is it?

The three phases in the process of marketing are review, analysis and planning.

Before you can even start to market you need to review all of the aspects of your business that might affect its marketing. There are seven basic steps; each step is like a mini-stock take of one aspect of the business, a little like a financial audit but much less scary. You simply look at all the elements of the business that will have an impact on your future marketing.

1. Analyse the people resources in the business, including the skills and strengths of the business owner.

2. Review the business operation, including financial performance, systems, structure, location, resources and past marketing activities.

3. Analyse your product or service.

4. Compare yourself to your competitors.

5. Establish your market boundary, where you will concentrate your marketing activities.

6. Identify your target markets.

7. Develop a customer profile of the decision maker in each target market segment.

This seven step exercise will give you great insights into your business and the confidence to choose the right marketing strategies. You will also find it has the added advantage of changing your focus from the product to the customer.

Most business owners are product focused first and foremost. After all, their product is the one thing they know and understand the most, and it is something they have control over. So people are often inclined to build their marketing activities around their product or service and its strengths rather than develop marketing from the client perspective.

Once you've completed the review you need to analyse your findings, which simply boils down to common sense. The review will give you all the ammunition you need to create great marketing.

Once you've analysed your findings, you can start matching your marketing to suit your target clients. Suddenly you will have a much clearer picture of who your target clients are, where you can find them, how they like to be approached. You will also know what your business is capable of in terms of growth and revenue.

Most importantly, you will know exactly what your product or service can offer your clients. Every marketing idea is tailored to suit the business and the customer. This matching process automatically creates a marketing plan.

Extract from "Kickstart Marketing" by Linda Hailey

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Yellow Pages Business Ideas Grants 2004 - $300,000 in cash & prizes!

The above grants program provides assistance and funding to help turn innovative business ideas into commercial reality. Three national winners will each receive $50,000 in cash grants under three awards categories:

• Best idea Concept stage
• Best idea Product Development stage
• Best idea Business Development stage

In addition, national winners and finalists will receive business development support, which includes funding towards an accredited educational or vocational course or intellectual property protection.

Each potential entrant is invited to attend a free seminar that provides information on entry procedures and judging criteria.

Call 1800 886680 or visit www.yellow.pages.com.au/big

Entries close 5pm (AEST) Friday 30th July 2004

Corporation Builders Capital Raising Forums. Who are we?

Over the past 10 years Corporation Builders has been at the forefront of educating Australian SMEs and businesses in the process of investment attraction and capital raisings.

Since 1994 we have consistently educated and then sourced funds for emerging, high growth companies in Australia and have facilitated in excess of $450million in debt and equity capital.

Corporation Builders partners with leading Federal, State and Local Government agencies as well as private industry associations in delivering a range of cost effective programs aimed at companies looking to access private equity funding.

To get more information call 1800 807 510 to speak with Scott Leeson, who will explain in greater detail how our partnerships operate, and register you free of charge to the next Capital Raising Forum.

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Key Strategies to Create an Innovative and Successful Business - Seminar Tuesday 24th August

Are you looking for strategies to increase effectiveness in your business and your life?

Do you want to improve your bottom line without employing more resources?

Our strategic partner Business Connect continues to entice us with seminars that anyone wanting to shift their business to a whole new level must attend.

This seminar features Stephen Lundin, author of bestselling management book 'Fish!, demonstrating how to boost morale and improve results. Plus:

• Tom O'Toole's amazing business success story
• Innovation, Entrepreneurship and of course Risk!
• Intellectual Property - Maximise the value of your business.

For bookings and more information visit www.businessconnect.com.au/seminars.

New Small Business Show Launched on Channel Nine

A new TV show offering practical advice to small businesses premiered Sunday 9th May at 7.30am on the Nine Network (Adelaide 7.00am - check local TV guide for details) and will run for 13 weeks. E

ach week, the show will profile a small business facing a particular challenge. Assisted by a 'Business Legend' and a team of experts, the small business manager and the expert team will agree on a way forward. The 'Business Legend' will also share information on how they dealt with the same issue when they were starting out.

In the first program Jim Penman, founder and CEO of Jim's franchise group, comes to the aid of 'Swim Bike Run', a specialist Melbourne retail outlet experiencing severe cash flow and financial management problems. With help from Jim and the team, the business manages to save $10,000 per month and increase profits by 200%.

I am also pleased to see that an ESBEC strategic partner ABBI Insurance is a sponsor of the program.

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NEIS Participant Craig Ruddy wins 2004 Archibald Prize

Artist and 2004 Archibald Prize winner Craig Ruddy completed the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme course three years ago and is just one of our small business success stories.

Visit our Case Studies to find out more about Craig and the many other small businesses who have reaped the benefits of our business advisory services and training schemes.

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Security alerts from our IT experts

3 May 2004 - W32.Sasser.B.Worm attempts to exploit the LSASS vulnerability described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-011, and spreads by scanning randomly chosen IP addresses for vulnerable systems (more information)

The Netsky, MyDoom, Bagle and Gaobot virus worms are continuing to bombard email in-boxes. Since their respective releases in February 2004, multiple variations of these viruses have been distributed. There are now more than 26 variations of Netsky alone and almost as many variations of Bagle.

Each of these viruses sends an email, which is designed to trick the recipient into opening an attachment. This action will open a "back door" on the infected computer, permitting access to files and services by intruders. Each virus variation will also perform other tasks ranging from loading key loggers through to using the infected machine to perform denial of service attacks.

Please be extremely cautious when opening an email from an unknown source. It is vital that you have active antivirus software running at all times, that the virus definitions are frequently updated and that the antivirus software is configured to inspect incoming emails.

Craig Colman, Blue Fly Business Systems.

Need more help? Contact Craig or Tony on (02) 9340-7375

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Law tips from our expert in the field

SPAM ACT - HAVE YOU COMPLIED?

The 10th April 2004 deadline for businesses to comply with the Federal Government's anti-spamming legislation has just passed. Heavy penalties apply for non-compliance.

Ensure that your business is not an unwitting sender of 'unsolicited commercial electronic messages' (better known as SPAM) by making sure that:

• You have a consent to send a commercial electronic message to a person BEFORE sending it (this consent will preferably be expressly given by the person to whom you are sending the message, however the law recognises that consent may be implied from dealings you have had with the person in the past);
• You have clearly identified the sender of the message and included up to date contact information for them;
• You have included an unsubscribe message in all commercial electronic messages inviting the recipient to unsubscribe by sending a message to a specified electronic address able to handle a reasonable volume of messages for at least the next thirty days;
• You comply with unsubscribe requests within five days of the request being sent;
• You do not use address-harvesting software or harvested address list (especially to obtain your commercial email targets).

The above information is provided by Peter Townsend Business Lawyers.

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Networking dates for your diary - bring your business cards!

Cocktail Function 20th April 2004 - thanks for your support!

Over 70 small business operators all networking at the one time created a real buzz in the room. Special thanks to Peter Switzer who made time to attend plus:

Liz Paven, Director Strategic Alliances, ATO; Wendy Muirhead, Strategic Alliance Manager, NSW ATO; John Cuncliffe, State Corporate Relations Manager, Sensis; Mike Hooten, General Manager ABBI Insurance; Rob Riddell, CEO East's League Club; Sharon Hawkins, Department of Workplace Relations; Peter Donadel, Australia Post Manager, Marketing Communications, NSW/ACT.

All had a great night - so make sure you book early for our next function!

Networking Workshop 17th Jun 2004

This workshop allows you to network as well as learn about the most cost effective way for a small business to get more leads, more sales and more profit. When you have your own business it is not only important to keep your existing customers, it is imperative that you keep prospecting for new business on a regular basis.

You can also use the telephone to make appointments, follow up quotes, follow up complaints and follow up existing customers after the sale to sell more or check for customer satisfaction. Jenny Cartwright will teach you how to set up your own telemarketing division and what to look out for. She will teach you some of the skills that are vital to the success of a telemarketer:

• How to build rapport on the telephone
• How to grab the prospect's attention and keep it
• Knowing what types of questions to ask to evoke the response you need to sell your product or service
• Listening skills that will charm your prospect
• How to create a script that works
• How to handle every objection
• How to handle call reluctance

Don't miss your chance to learn how to win more business quickly. To book visit our Networking Calendar.

13th July 2004 Cocktail Function to launch the 2004 Australia Post ACT/NSW Small Business Awards

To be eligible for an invitation to these awards you must be in business and be interested in entering a submission to an award category.

Tuesday 13th July, East's Leagues Club, Spring Street, Bondi Junction. By invitation only.

Business Skills Workshops - Business Planning and Cash Flow Management plus FREE Bookkeeping workshop!

Business Planning

A two part introductory workshop to help you get your business off the ground. 9th & 23rd June 2004

Managing Your Cash Flow

A practical 3 hour workshop which helps identify cash flow issues and develop the skills to deal with them. 28th June 2004

ATO Record Keeping and Tax Basics workshops

 These free 3 hour workshops have recently been updated and will help you to manage your bookkeeping in accordance with ATO requirements. Monthly in July, August and September.

For further details or to book your place on any of these training workshops please visit our Training Calendar

Easts Function Centre Grand Open Day - Your chance to have a look!!

As you may be aware East's League Club are a sponsor of ESBEC .On  Sunday 27 June ( 10am - 3pm ) they are holding an open day of their newly refurbished Easts Function Centre!

Now with two magnificently decorated rooms, the smaller Harbour Terrace seating 150 and the grander Bondi Room seating 300, Easts Function Centre is the perfect location for all your corporate conferencing and banqueting needs.

The friendly and professional Function Team will be available on the day to answer questions and take bookings. Easts Better Business Partners will also be exhibiting. There'll be lots to see so make sure you get down to Easts Function Centre Grand Open Day!                         

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