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Newsletter April 2007 |
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Welcome to our April 2007 newsletter! In this month's newsletter: News from CEO David Baumgarten Your Trademark(tm) Is Your Business Future - A series of IP Workshops Community Radio Stations prove a great forum for business advice 'He Cooks' joins us at Castlereagh St
To find out more and book online see our Networking Calendars:
News from CEO David Baumgarten I am thrilled to have some good news for you as we welcome in the month of April. As you may be aware, we deliver the New Enterprise Initiative Scheme on behalf of the Federal Department of Workplace Relations. This program is about launching the next generation of micro-entrepreneurs and our future big businesses. We have been operating this program, also called NEIS, for more than 16 years. In that time we have assisted more than 4,000 start-up businesses. I am pleased to advise that we have again been awarded 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) in the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS) Star Ratings. Star Ratings compare the performance of NEIS providers to maximise their performance against the key performance indicators in each region. The most important criterion for gaining a high Star Rating is the number of participants with successful outcomes. A big thank you to my team. Our next Women in Business program is now full with 22 women entrepreneurs commencing the program, and our Accelerate Your Business Growth program is definitely on the radar of service businesses 3 years plus. I am getting a real buzz from the interaction of the participants' powerful results. I am delighted to include a new listing to our community noticeboard, the Last Thursday Club. It joins a great selection of workshop, networking and training events on our calendars. One for your diary ...........27th April ,The AustraIian Breakfast Panel Forum - Our own Peter Switzer is the moderator. I am also really pleased to welcome a new tenant to our Clearly Office facilities. Ben Dalton from He Cooks has a great concept, offering relaxed and fun cooking classes for men. Read his story in this newsletter. April is shaping up to be a busy month. Enjoy Easter and heed the warning from Bluefly our IT consultants: Easter holiday SPAM is coming! Read more below. David Baumgarten
Your Trademark(tm) Is Your Business Future - A series of IP Workshops As part of the Centenary of Australian Trade Mark Celebrations, IP Australia's NSW State Office together with Clearly Business are holding a series of 5 trade mark workshops, to give small business the opportunity to gain expertise and information on how to protect, enforce, exploit and maximise the value of their brands. Your intellectual property is a very valuable business asset to promote and protect. But in a recent ABS report, 73% of innovating businesses had no formal IP method. Only 1 in 5 had trademark or copyright protection. Less than 1% had any new operational processes that were new to the world. (source ABS: Innovation in Business 2005) The world is a visual, even virtual, marketplace, cluttered with junk advertising, loud signage, and multinational branding. Your trade mark is your business. It identifies who you are and how people recognise your business. How will you stand out in a crowded marketplace? The trade mark workshop series will include the following: Workshop 1 Date: 12 April 2007 Workshop 2 Date: 17 May 2007 Workshop 3 Date: 21 June 2007 Workshop 4 Date: 12 July 2007 Workshop 5 Date: 16 August 2007 Pre-pay and book into all 5 workshops for $80 (GST inc), saving $20.00. To take advantage of this offer email leona@easternsuburbsbec.com.au. To find out more and book online see our Training Calendars:
NAB launches affordable loans for microenterprises National Australia Bank has begun piloting a new Microenterprise Loan to back people who have an aspiration to get ahead in business but can't access mainstream finance. NAB CEO Australia Ahmed Fahour said the loans would be provided on a not-for-profit basis and were part of NAB's commitment to provide small, safe and affordable finance to people on low incomes. "The NAB Microenterprise Loan is an unsecured, low interest business loan of between $500 and $20,000 for people who are financially disadvantaged and have few or no avenues to access affordable credit," he said. "Eligible applicants will not only get access to financial assistance but, through the help of government partnerships, will also be given business skills training and advice during their first year of operation." To find out more download a PDF.
Accelerate Your Business Growth workshops and masterclasses in April/May Next group mentoring session Participants of our last growth planning workshop are working on their Business Vision in preparation for their group mentoring session. It was very interesting at the last workshop to have another random selection of service businesses whose contribution to discussions reinforced for us that we are on the right track with this program. After the mentoring session the group will then progress to Masterclass and Brains Trust sessions, each 2 hours in length. Masterclasses in April and May Service business owners who have already participated in the Growth Planning Workshop can choose to attend any of the following Master Classes to help achieve their goals faster. Systems and Procedures Masterclass Do you:
This workshop helps you minimise your clutter and improve your workplace efficiency. This can lead to reduced stress and increased productivity for individuals and a healthier bottom line for companies. Streamline your paper workflow systems, form productive work habits, use technology efficiently, manage information overload and improve the use of your office space. Customer Relationship Management Masterclass Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business strategy that helps businesses become more competitive by focusing on the customer's wants and needs. CRM involves the use of technology solutions to help businesses achieve that focus. By applying a CRM strategy across your organisation and backing it up with the necessary tools, you can improve customer relationships, reduce costs and gain a competitive advantage. This workshop will help you decide which CRM package is best for your business. Taking On Staff Masterclass Each small business owner faces the prospect of making the decision to hire staff, engage contractors or remain the same. This master class will look at the following:
This workshop will help you decide the next step for your business. For further details on the Accelerate Your Business Growth program, or to book, visiting our training calendars or contact our coordinator Shan on growth@clearlybusiness.com.au. ESBEC - Training Calendar
Community radio stations prove a great forum for business advice We are very keen to be involved with Community Radio Stations. During the week I was interviewed by Mona Hwalla, program producer/presenter at Muslim Community Radio (Radio 2M FM). We are now working on a regular fortnightly business segment. We also have a long-term relationship with Tim Shields at Eastside radio 89.7 FM in Sydney's eastern suburbs. If you have an affiliation with a community station that would like to utilise our business expertise for listeners, please let us know.
We are looking for seasoned business presenters for the following programs. Please email me at david@easternsuburbsbec.com.au. Business Wednesday - Bankstown Our initial Bankstown Business Wednesday was a great success and we know the attendees at this monthly event will continue to grow. We are now planning our calendar for the rest of the year and an opportunity exists for any presenters based in the Bankstown area or surrounding area to be part of this initiative. A big thanks to the Torch Newspaper and Bankstown Council for their continued support. Growth Workshops for Established Business We are putting together a series of evening and weekend workshops for the established business. Our research into your needs has identified that you are looking for meaty, solution-based workshops that do not just skirt across a topic. Ask an Expert As part of our focus on growth businesses we are introducing in July a new initiative called 'Ask an expert'. We are currently recruiting our experts from a wide field of expertise. If you would like to be part of this initiative please email myself david@easternsuburbsbec.com.au for an invitation to a Business Lounge on this topic.
Develop Cost-Effective Advertising - Business Thursday, 19 April What is marketing? What is PR? What is advertising? Discover what cost effective advertising really means for you and your business. If I told you a home-made photocopied handout could be just as cost-effective as a $1 million TV program, you'd think I was nuts. Well, maybe it's not such a crazy idea... At the end of this workshop, you will be able to recognise what your business requirements are and, most importantly, decide whether your advertising decisions are the right ones! To find out more and book online see our Networking Calendars:
The Key to High Performance, with Dr Adam Fraser Have you ever had days where you were super-productive? Where you achieved amazing results with little effort. Have you ever had days where you overcame challenges and obstacles with ease? If you answered yes to any of these you have experienced FLOW. FLOW is a state where you achieve high performance with maximum efficiency and zero stress. Would you like more moments like these? Presenter Dr Adam Fraser has discovered the 6 keys to getting into FLOW; keys that anyone can adopt. You will:
ESBEC - Networking Calendar Back to Top
'He Cooks' joins us at Castlereagh St He Cooks is a new cooking school designed to meet the specific needs of men who want more confidence in the home kitchen. Lesson One covers a 3 course meal that is an introduction to the school, then participants can undertake the He Cooks course - five self-contained 3 hour classes, each centred around a food group. The students first watch a demonstration by a chef before creating the dish themselves in pairs. The fun culminates when the men eat the meal as a group with wines to match. No knowledge is needed for the classes, and those who have some knowledge can take more away from the experienced chef presenters. More details of course dates, menus, presenters and course structure can be found at www.hecooks.com.au or by calling (02) 9326 6530.
Holiday periods prove to be a bonanza for opportunistic spammers and organised crime groups to deliver their malicious messages to home and business computers. It has become common and accepted practice for friends to send email greeting cards, offered by many online companies, as a message of good will. These legitimate online greetings often contain links to web sites, such as Hallmark, where the greeting is delivered via a Flash-based web page. They rarely, if ever, contain attached executable or image files. Unscrupulous persons take advantage of the acceptance of these goodwill messages to deliver spam which may contain new virus strains or links to malicious web sites. Clicking the link results in the installation of malicious software, or 'malware', on the victim's computers. Most of the time the email based messages will be attractively disguised with headings or enticing promises to encourage you to open them. Malware programs commonly allow victim computers to be used as spam relays and for identity theft. The latter occurs where malicious programs capture personal details, such as names and bank account details, from the host computer. These details are then forwarded to overseas-based organised crime units. If you receive an online greeting card from an email address or person that you do not know, delete the email immediately without opening it. Always ensure that your virus protection software is up to date and that you have a properly configured personal or hardware firewall in place. Never open email attachments from unknown sources. Article provided by our own IT Consultants www.bluefly.com.au.
New Function Facility - Castlereagh Street We now have an additional function facility on the ground floor of our Castlereagh Street premises. The facility will be available for rental 7 days per week. It has natural light and own air conditioning. The room can seat up to 50 theatre style and 27 desk format. For further details or to arrange a visit contact nichole@clearlybusiness.com.au.
'Innovation Month' Business Breakfast On 22 May we are partnering with the City Of Sydney and IP Australia to host a Business Breakfast to celebrate Innovation Month. This event will be at the Sydney Town Hall commencing at 7am. More details next newsletter but make sure it goes in your diary now. The 2007 SME Breakfast Forum Series- Proudly presented by The Australian Date: Friday 27 April, 2007 Panel discusion outline • Building your brand Moderated by Peter Switzer, Business Columnist, The Australian. Book tickets now: visit www.newstext.com.au/smeforum. Newsletter edited by Harvest Communication |
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