Better Business Series workshops
The Better Business Series of free, business workshops is delivered by the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED) to help existing small businesses achieve successful growth and profitability.
Incorporating three hour workshops on a range of topics, this series is a valuable source of information and insight provided by experienced business operators.
Workshops are held regularly at the Education Development Centre, Milner Street, Hindmarsh. Please note that there is a limit of two attendees per business, per workshop.
Click on the following for topics, a schedule of upcoming workshops and to register for our Better Business Series.
A number of the Better Business Series workshops are suitable for those in the early stages of starting a small business. The topics suitable for start-ups to book into are highlighted below.
Venture Capital SA also runs a range of workshops and seminars to help companies become investor ready and to access capital for growth and development.
To Enrol in the following workshops near you, Search the events page here...
Better Business Series workshops Topics
Accounting and Finance
More Information |
- Introduction to Financial Reporting - Know Your Business
- Cash Flow Management
- Accurate Costing for Profitable Pricing (Services or Manufacturing)
- Accessing Finance to Grow Your Business
- Budgets for Better Business
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Business Analysis
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- A New Way to Make Profits by Responding to Climate Change
- How to Use Performance Measures to Maximise Your Profit
- Risk Management for Growing Businesses
- Business Continuity Management
- Optimising Business Practices
- Five Pillars of Business Success
- Increasing Your Productivity for More Profit
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Business Planning
More Information
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- Developing a Business Plan
- Business Structures that Make Sense SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- Implementing the Plan and Putting Things into Action
- Business Research: Asking the Right Questions SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- On Time, On Budget: Project Management Concepts and Practices
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Customer, Media and Stakeholder Relations
More Information
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- Distributor Establishment and Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- Networking For a Reason
- Making the Connection - Building Instant Rapport SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- Networking - More Than Just 'Working the Room'
- Team Power for Business Success
- Creating a Buying Environment – How to Increase Sales
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Doing Business in Difficult Times
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- Survival Tips in an Economic Downturn
- How to Survive and Thrive in the Recession
- Selecting the Right Project in Difficult Times
- Boosting Your Trade Business in Hard Economic Times
- Reduce Your Risks in a Recession with Business Continuity Planning
- Managing Your Business through Stormy Weather
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Goal Setting and Achievement
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- Making You More Effective to Achieve Your Business Goals
- Life and Business - How to Have it All
- Systemising Your Business for a Less Stressed Life
- Tips for a Productive Home-Based Business SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- Your Trade - Your Business
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Legal
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- A Guide to Effective Debt Recovery
- Commercial Leases Tips and Traps SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
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Marketing
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- Introduction to Marketing Basics SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- Developing a Marketing Strategy
- Marketing is More Than Just a Fancy Word for Selling
- 8 Simple Rules for Creating a Promo Brochure In-House
- Developing Your Brand - Getting Your Name Out There
- Profit from Your Advertising – Explore Your Media Options
- Strategic Marketing - How to Effectively Promote a Service Business
- How to Get the Most Our of Your Marketing Budget
- Winning Government Tenders
- Winning Tenders with Large Companies and Major Projects
- eBay and Online Auction Marketing – The Basics SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- Exporting for Beginners
- How Do You Stand Out From the Crowd?
- Creating Advertising That Works
- My Web Site Doesn't Work!
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Getting the People Right
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- Are You Ready to Employ Staff?
- How to Attract and Keep Good Staff
- Interviewing Skills for Employers
- Delegating Your Way to Success
- Coaching and Mentoring Your People to Success
- Planning and Managing the People Aspects of Change for a Small Business
- Succession Planning for a Sustainable Workforce
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E-Business
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- Selling Products or Services Over the Internet
- Setting-up and Managing Your Website SUITABLE FOR START-UPS
- Marketing Your Business on the Internet and Promoting Your Web Site
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Family Business
More Information |
- Succession Planning for Family Businesses
- Prevention & Management of Family Conflict
- Successful Exit Strategies for Family Businesses
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Cash Flow Management
Lack of cash flow is a major cause of business failure. This workshop looks at systems to monitor cash flow and targets areas where financial resources are invested.
The workshop focuses on two basic cash flow management ideas:
1. Getting your cash in from debtors sooner, and
2. Extending the time required to pay creditors.
The workshop is best suited for people already in business who understand debtors and creditors, but who have not had significant financial training.
Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.
Workshop Registration
Accurate Costing for Profitable Pricing
Unless you have an accurate handle on the cost of production of your product or the delivery of your service, you will not be in a position to price with precision. Too often pricing is based on beating the competition, without any confidence that the sale or service will deliver a profit.
This workshop provides insight into all elements of costing and practical tools to ensure all costs are correctly incorporated. How do you assess your most profitable products? What reports do you need to monitor changes in costs?
There are two workshops offered for this semester. The first is directed to businesses that manufacture a product and the second is directed to those that offer a service.
Chris Whelan is a chartered accountant and the principal of CL Whelan and Associates who consult exclusively in the area of product costing and pricing.
Workshop Registration
Introduction to Financial Reporting
Many small businesses utilise accounting software packages such as MYOB and Quicken to help manage their GST record keeping and to provide reports to the Accountant at year end. Typically, very few small business owners review the reports generated as a means of analysing performance of the business.
This workshop provides an introduction to financial reporting:
• Why financial reports are important;
• How to read and understand both a Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement;
• What is cash flow, why is it so important and how does it 'fit-in' with the above?;
• Using ratios (from the financial reports) to diagnose the results.
This workshop is best suited to business owners who have financial reports prepared (both internally and / or externally) but who don't know how to read them.
Delivered by Brett Thompson a Director with BDO Kendalls, Chartered Accountants.
Workshop Registration
Budgets for Better Business
Budgets are an important way of using financial information to control your business. Every business should prepare annual budgets and review and update those budgets regularly.
This workshop will discuss the key areas of budgeting for business including:
• Using budgets as a planning tool to set a course for your business for the next 12 months;
• How to prepare detailed budgets for your business using a 5 step approach;
• Monitoring budgets against actual results using your accounting software.
Presented by Chris Whelan, a chartered accountant and the principal of CL Whelan and Associates.
Accessing Finance to Grow Your Business
The objective of the workshop is to provide participants with the skill that will assist them in determining the future funding requirements for their business. It also gives an understanding of the skills required to prepare a case for funding for prospective partners or traditional lending institutions.
It looks at the three main things an organisation needs to do to attract extra funding and what people, who provide funding, normally look for when assessing a company. Also we look at who provides these types of services.
To get the most out of this workshop, participants need to have an understanding of their own business and to able to articulate this. We concentrate on more than the financials and look at the company as whole from an internal and external perspective.
Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.
Workshop Registration
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Business Analysis
A New Way to Make Profits by Responding to Climate Change
“Climate change” and “sustainability” are words that are becoming very common place in business now. But what do they mean for you? How are they different? What are you meant to do? What choices exist for you? Can you and should you really start addressing this during a downturn in the economy?
Many business owners believe that responding to climate change and becoming a business that cares about sustainability, means that it will cost them their financial viability. This is simply a false assumption. In reality, becoming environmentally sustainable could be the beginning of a whole new era of prosperity for you. The first step involves SAVING money!
This session is delivered without scientific jargon (but is based on the latest scientific facts) and develops a business case for you to consider becoming a business that cares about environmental sustainability.
Using excellent video clips and opportunity to interact with others, it provides you with:
• An understanding of the real environmental issues and how we have come to be in this situation - even if you are a sceptic. Why it is better to behave as if climate change and sustainability issues are real;
• Opportunities for both reducing costs and positioning your business positively to engage the newly emerging "sustainability" market segments;
• A case study of a manufacturing business that is actually making bigger profits as a result of its real commitment to become a “sustainable” business;
• A simple, practical and low cost starting place, to make a difference for you, your business, your employees and the things you care most about; and
• How taking action on sustainability can help your business weather the downturn.
This 3 hour session is a MUST for any business owner/manager who wants to thrive in our rapidly changing environment (in the broadest sense of the word).
This session is delivered by Josie McLean of The Partnership. Josie is a member of the Local Government Association’s technical Panel for Climate Change; and a key presenter for the Business Sustainability Alliance’s (SA Govt) “Resource Efficiency Assistance Program”.
How to Use Performance Measures to Maximise Your Profit
Imagine having one piece of paper to drive your business decision-making. This workshop teaches you how to identify the required information to develop such a tool, helping to piece together the essential drivers for your business. You can know where your business stands against budget and forecasts, with this key information all presented on one piece of paper.
Each business has different goals, operating environments, markets and suppliers. This means each business must have its own drivers or important numbers to monitor or chase. We will try to help you work out where to find this information for your business, and how to compare it to benchmarks.
Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.
Workshop Registration
Risk Management for Growing Businesses
What is the right mix of growth and risk? Is there a “right” amount a business should aim to grow each year? What are the ways to grow a business whilst avoiding unnecessary risks? Is growth a choice or can you be forced into growth?
Risk is something we hear about every day in business, but what does it really mean? Growing your business involves risk – successful businesses and entrepreneurs calculate risk and return every day. To manage, mitigate and reduce risk first requires an understanding of what it means and where it is.
This workshop covers the critical areas of risk as it relates to growth in your business and discusses some of the ways to manage it. Participants in this workshop will learn:
• Strategies to identify opportunities and to plan for growth;
• Ways to identify and assess risk in the business;
• Ways to monitor and manage risks to the business;
• The different elements of risk: financial, marketing, skill requirements, theft, legal, OH&S, competition, culture clash, other stakeholders, government regulations, surprises (unknown unknowns), poor decision-making, bad luck;
• To prioritise activity, resource application and expenditure;
• To develop clear management tasks and resource requirements;
• A decision making process during a growth phase;
• To protect the existing fundamental business during a growth phase;
• To avoid ‘analysis paralysis’ while avoiding unnecessary risk
Delivered by Paul Edginton of Structured Innovation Pty Ltd.
Workshop Registration
Business Continuity Management
Business Continuity Management is about being prepared to handle major disruptions from adverse events, a clearly documented business continuity plan assists in ensuring continuation of services to customers during these times. Businesses need to be able to maintain services to customers under any circumstances, even when others are experiencing difficulties. Disruptions to business can occur in many ways, often from unexpected sources e.g. flood, fire, power black out, loss of a major supplier or loss of key staff. By identifying potential major disruptions to business and the impact they might have, clearly documented business continuity plans can be written and will assist in mitigation, response and recovery from adverse events. Businesses that have invested time in business continuity planning will in most cases continue to trade following adverse events, while lesser prepared competitors suffer the consequences of failing to plan.
A Business Continuity Management plan can protect your businesses future.
This three hour workshop steps participants through basics of the business continuity planning process and provides an outline of how to assess business risks and their likely impacts.
The workshop addresses the following key issues:
- Understanding and identifying risks
- Conducting a Business Impact Study
- Developing business continuity strategies
- Communicating with stakeholders
- Training staff and testing the plan
- Reviewing and maintaining the plan
This workshop aims to raise awareness of the value and methodology of planning for the mitigation, response and recovery of adverse events that have potentially damaging effects on business continuity.
Draft planning templates will be provided during the workshop to enable participants to easily and quickly implement the concepts discussed during the workshop into their businesses.
Presented by Kerrie Akkermans.
Workshop Registration
Five Pillars of Business Success
For a business to succeed it needs to have an understanding of how to create consistent and efficient workflows. By looking at the 5 pillars - Customer, Operations, Staff, Working Capital and Culture - will help us to examine the need to ensure that the customer experience is standardised with quick turnaround times and no defects. Standardisation allows for accurate performance measurement and helps businesses to begin a cycle of continuous improvement.
Presented by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.
Workshop Registration
Optimising Business Practices
This workshop focuses on an introduction to LEAN thinking. LEAN is based on the Toyota Production System (TPS). LEAN is a business system focused on the identification and elimination of waste to increase efficiency, productivity and quality. Utilising this system the methodologies and the tools of the LEAN thinking company you will start to discover that anything the customer does not want is non-value added; non-value activities are WASTE.
Presented by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.
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Business Planning
Developing Business Plans
Do you need a better understanding of where to start in developing a plan for your business? This workshop demystifies Business Planning and provides you with a clear understanding of a framework and the essential elements of a plan for your business.
Some of the things you will learn include :
• The three perspectives that underpin a business plan
• Practical tools for assessing your current situation
• An introduction to business financials
• A new way of creating, developing and communicating the way forward
• The key areas that make up a Business Planning document
• Where to find a wide range of sample Business Plans
• The new A3 'Plan4Action' sheet that brings together your plan onto a single page
• How to develop a simple action plan for yourself and the business.
In addition Brenton Leitch will describe common characteristics of many successful businesses. Managing the National judging process for the Telstra and Australian Government’s Small Business of the Year Awards for many years, Brenton has a unique insight to those key success factors that distinguish some of the best businesses in this country.
Note: A follow-on workshop 'Implementing the Plan and Putting Things into Action' is offered for those who already have the key elements of a plan in place.
Presented by Brenton Leitch of Learning & Productivity Pty Ltd.
Workshop Registration
Business Structures That Make Sense (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
Are you unclear as to how to structure your business? (or not really sure as to why your business is structured the way it is?)
Don't know the difference between a Family Trust and Discretionary Trust?
This workshop provides an overview of common privately owned business structures, such as:
• Sole trader
• Partnerships
• Associateships
• Discrectionary Trusts
• Fixed Trusts
• Companies
and will contrast their features from a tax and privately owned business perspective.
This workshop is best suited to owners of small-medium sized businesses or those who are contemplating establishing their own business.
Presented by Gary Whitelock, BDO Kendalls, Chartered Accountants.
Workshop Registration
Implementing the Plan and Putting Things into Action
Do you have the key elements of a plan but having difficulty with actioning?
This workshop focuses on the key drivers within a business that underpin the conversion of the business plan into real action.
Some of the things you will learn include :
• Summarising your plan onto one page;
• Developing a simple action plan for yourself and the business;
• A powerful technique for communicating your plan to others in the business;
• Key aspects of your role as a leader within your business;
• Introduction to relevant tools and techniques such as time management;
• The importance of culture and people within your business;
• Developing relevant performance measures;
• Bringing it all together ie the plan and the implementation;
• The importance of an ongoing planning process.
In addition Brenton Leitch will describe common characteristics of many successful businesses. Managing the National judging process for the Telstra and Australian Government’s Small Business of the Year Awards for many years, Brenton has a unique insight to those key success factors that distinguish some of the best businesses in this country.
You should attend this workshop if you have previously attended 'Developing Business Plans’ or if you already have a plan and are now focusing on implementation.
Presented by Brenton Leitch of Learning and Productivity Pty Ltd.
Workshop Registration
Business Research: Asking the Right Questions (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
An understanding of the basics of data collection is fundamental to running a successful business. How do we know what our customers need? How can we improve the return on our investment in advertising? How do we test our new business ideas?
Many businesses turn to surveys and questionnaires to obtain answers to their questions. Often they find that information they get in return is meaningless or difficult to analyse. Sometimes survey results lead to wrong business decisions because of research design errors.
This workshop will provide an overview of business research and focus on the use of questionnaires and surveys to collect business data. You will see common mistakes that people make in designing business research and learn how to ask the right questions to obtain useful and accurate information for your business decisions.
Using real examples, practical exercises, group discussions and case studies to provide you with ideas you can apply immediately, this workshop will equip you with the required skills, knowledge and confidence to develop highly effective business research tools.
Delivered by Alina Lebed from Lizard Drinking Pty Ltd.
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On Time, On Budget: Project Management Concepts and Practices
This workshop focuses on areas where many organisations experience difficulties, and provides strategies for improving project performance. It introduces you to some simple project management techniques for initiating and organising projects and managing risk.
The objective of the workshop is to introduce participants to the fundamental concepts of project management, and to equip them with the basic skills, knowledge and understanding required to:
• Identify and initiate projects effectively
• Improve delivery capability and confidence
At the end of the workshop the participant will be able to organise and initiate projects, understand & use strategies for monitoring project performance and use simple techniques to assess and manage project risks.
The workshop process will be presentation, class discussion and exercises. Case studies will be used for class exercises. Participants will be expected to apply the exercises to their own business where this is feasible.
Presented by Henrietta Child of Kneedeep in Project Management.
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Customer, Media and Stakeholder Relations
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
This CRM workshop will show you how to strategically manage your customer relationships to ensure customers remain loyal, are more profitable and refer you new business.
This workshop is about Customer Relationship Management, not Customer Service. It talks about categorising your customers according to their level of business and managing each category differently to build your business.
It deals with principles like: 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. Hadn’t you better look after that 20% in a strategic manner? Your existing customers could be your potential new sales force. Make sure they know you and understand you and refer you new business.
Presented by the very dynamic Kerrie Akkermans from Akkermans Corporate Development, Kerrie has made this workshop one of our most popular.
Workshop Registration
Distributor Establishment and Management
How do I find a Distributor? The answer to this question is provided by this workshop. In addition we show you how to keep, manage and motivate a distributor once you have found one.
The first part of this workshop provides an easy to implement step by step approach and useful checklists for recruiting and establishing effective distributors in major markets. Other topics include understanding distributor margin structures and information collection.
The second part of this workshop focuses on building revenue by showing you how to motivate distributors to focus on promoting and selling your products on a long term basis.
Patrick Baker from Patrick Baker & Associates has assisted many companies to establish distributors interstate and in major export markets.
Workshop Registration
Networking for a Reason
'Networking' is a buzz word in business. What does it really mean and how can networking help you open new business opportunities and win new customers?
There is more to networking than just meeting people. How do you make sure they are the 'right' people for you? When you meet new people what are the proven protocols? And after the meeting, what next?
Barbara Doherty is a networking coach and trainer with over 20 years of experience in helping business achieve their goals through focussed networking with nous!. This hands on workshop gives you a systematic, practical and innovative approach to improving your networking skills and increasing your profits.
Networking - More Than ‘Just Working the Room’
Ever sat in your office staring at a pile of business cards collected at networking events not knowing what to do next?
Networking is about so much more than simply ‘working the room’ or having a catchy introductory line and this workshop reveals the secret behind being a GREAT networker.
You don’t need to be confident, socially skilled or popular. In fact you don’t even need to speak to more than 2 or 3 people at a networking event. You just need to know the secret!
So, if you want to ...
• significantly increase the generation of new business from networking events
• create an easy to use and effective networking plan
• develop mutually beneficial, lifelong business relationships
• overcome your nerves when attending networking events
• stop standing in a room full of strangers not knowing what to do or say
... then you must attend this workshop.
Presented by the entertaining and challenging Keith Arnold of Loud Communications.
Making the Connection – Building Instant Rapport (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
Have you ever noticed how some people just seem to connect with their clients and staff immediately, enabling them to get exactly what they want out of the interaction? Have you ever watched in awe as someone engages an audience straight away and leads them to a sale or some other win-win situation?
This workshop will give you the skills to build instant rapport with anyone, through body language and verbal language, and through understanding what makes other people tick. These skills will be transferable into any area of your life, and will absolutely give you greater confidence when negotiating or dealing with other people in general.
Presented by Samantha McDonald of Dare Coaching & Seminars.
Workshop Registration
Team Power for Business Success
Growing businesses rely on a small group of people working together to produce products and provide services. Unfortunately the power of teams is rarely harnessed because too little time and effort is invested in building the group into a “genuine team”. This interactive and practical workshop will introduce participants to the stages and processes they can follow to knit a group of people into a sound unit that achieves the same or better output than a much larger group. Importantly this workshop will show that once connected to “the cause” staff are happy to work with you to share the load of running and developing the business. Topics to be covered in this workshop include:
• Understanding the stages of teambuilding
• Managing the structural and interpersonal issues of team development
• Harnessing the qualities of staff
• Generating results focussed behaviour
• Team and individual leadership
• Shaping and maintaining the team
Presented by Scott Way of PKF Consulting.
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Creating a Buying Environment – How to Increase Sales
Stand out from the crowd.
This workshop addresses the chronic issue of sameness in sales. It is difficult to tell the difference between one business and another which often leaves price as the determining factor in deciding whom to buy from. Businesses struggle to stand out from the crowd. Creating a buying environment using theming and experiential based selling can achieve this for you.
The workshop covers how to research customers, how to use theming to set the scene and how to use experiential selling to convert lookers into buyers. The workshop provides a step by step process to creating a buying environment.
Presented by the very dynamic Kerrie Akkermans.
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Doing Business in Difficult Times
Survival Tips in an Economic Downturn
Doing business in the current economic climate can be tough. What is worse is that many of the issues facing businesses are out of our control. However there are always areas within our businesses that we can improve upon and try to help combat these external factors.
This workshop looks at some useful tips that we may be able to apply covering topics such as:
- Cash flows – Better management of this finite resource
- Marketing – Now is the time to market your business
- Reporting - Do we actually know how we are going?
- Finance - Do we need to access some and what is different about getting it currently?
- Consolidation – Where is our business placed right at this minute?
- Survival Strategies – Reduce waste, Increase conversions
The workshop also targets aspects of their businesses to consolidate their position in the marketplace and ride out the storm. This will be a 3 hour workshop that also ‘includes a one on one free 30 minute business diagnostic consultation’ aimed at the current economic climate with businesses that attend and take up the offer.
Presented by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting
Workshop Registration
How To Survive and Thrive in the the Recession
Use simple, low cost strategies to survive the recession
In tough times consumers' buying habits change, so businesses need to understand these trends and adapt their approach to survive. Targeted direct response marketing, streamlining processes and tightly managing finances will ensure you survive and thrive in the recession.
It’s confidence levels and action that will keep the momentum going in your business. Whilst these are difficult times, smart businesses will capture available opportunities and lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s prosperity.
This workshop will give you tips for tough times that are easy to implement and low cost. It covers how to adapt your business processes, structure, costs and marketing tips that are easy to implement and low cost. Don’t miss this opportunity to recession proof your business.
Presented by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting
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Selecting the Right Project in Difficult Times
How do organisations evaluate and choose between projects? In tough times it’s more important than ever that you get this right. A bad choice can pitch you into cash flow difficulties, or major scope blowouts. This workshop is focused on multiple aspects of project evaluation and priority setting.
Topics covered -
• What is a project?
• Why do organisations need to prioritise potential projects
• How to select which projects to commence and when?
• Considerations in evaluating clients
• Considerations in evaluating potential new product projects
• How to integrate these selections into a budgetary process to enable closer financial control.
Presented by Henrietta Child of Kneedeep
Workshop Registration
Boosting Your Trade Business in Hard Economic Times
So you are a great tradesperson with many years of experience on and off the job. You have successfully run your own Trade business for many years. You may have trained apprentices and trainees. You know if we stop training people the gap in our trade skills shortage will widen. The question is how can you continue to train in the current economic climate?
This workshop is designed to assist tradespeople in keeping their current business afloat and look at what initiatives and incentives are available for employing trainees and apprentices.
Investing in generation Y and re- skilling other workers could be the boost your business needs to:
• Maximise your cash flow by doing the small jobs
• Keep your customers needs met
• Do your own in-house training when workload is light
• Pick up new work and identify essential services
• Develop good working relationships and pass on valuable knowledge.
This is your chance to look at your own trade and industry and identify how you can be a part of its future workforce.
Presented by Emma Neumann of Trade Maids
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Reduce Your Risks in a Recession with Business Continuity Planning
Business Continuity Planning is about being prepared to handle major disruption to your business to ensure the continuation of services to your customers, even if others around you are experiencing difficulties.
Loss of a major customer, supplier liquidation, changes in consumer spending patterns and massive cost increases are common in a recession. Responding to these situations just the way you would if there was a fire in your business will ensure you survive.
By considering all of the potential major disruptions to your business and the impact they might have, you can plan to prevent and manage such an event should it occur. You can continue to trade while ill prepared competitors will suffer. It’s an opportunity to gain market share and grow your business.
A Business Continuity Plan can protect your businesses future.
This workshop takes you through the Business Continuity Planning process and provides an understanding of how to assess risks and their impact on disruption to your business products and services. It can also be incorporated into your Quality Assurance System.
Presented by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting
Workshop Registration
Managing Your Business Through Stormy Weather
This workshop focuses on practical strategies and actions you can take in your business, to help get through the recession.
Key areas covered will include:
• Three perspectives that underpin your business
• The current business environment and your business
• Developing strategies and actions to generate sales
• An introduction to business financials including Cash Flow management
• Practical strategies for reducing expenses
• Leadership in tough times (Urgency, Inspiration and Hope)
• Holding the right team together
• A powerful technique for communicating your plan to others in the business
• Bringing it together into a Plan for Action inc, Things to do NOW, the A3 Plan on a page approach
• Developing a simple action plan for yourself and the business
• Additional SA Government expert services available to you.
… and more
The emphasis will be on practical tools and techniques you can put into place immediately.
In addition the presenter will describe common characteristics of many successful businesses. Managing the National judging process for the Telstra and Australian Govt's Small Business of the Year Awards for many years, he has a unique insight to those key success factors that distinguish some of the best businesses in this country.
Presented by Brenton Leitch of Learning and Productivity.
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Goal Setting and Achievement
Making You More Effective to Achieve Your Business Goals
Research shows that people who write their plans down are 80% more likely to achieve their desires. So step one to being more successful, has to be to write your goals down. But what type of goals? What makes them powerful?
The second part of this session looks at what happens after we have written our goals. How can you make yourself more effective at doing what needs to be done to achieve your goals? We look at what neuroscience is now telling us about how our brain functions and how we can change our habits. You will leave with at least one major insight into why you may be stuck in any given area in your business - and the beginnings of your own action plan to become unstuck.
This session is facilitated by Josie McLean, a former strategic and business planner in major public companies - and an Executive Coach working with leaders in many different industries.
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Life and Business – How to Have it All
Finding a way to balance the demands of work in your own business with the demands of a healthy personal and family life is a major challenge that confronts all business people today. By understanding more about your own business and life goals and expectations, you will be in a better position to make the decisions that will satisfy the many demands on you.
At the completion of this workshop participants will have:
• A good understanding of the importance of understanding their business and life goals in achieving work and life balance
• A clear understanding of useful ways to think about work and life balance for business and life
• Practical strategies to make more time to build stronger relationships with family and friends while continuing to build their business
Presented by Shelley Rogers, from Individual & Organisational Development, a Psychologist specialising in organisational issues.
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Your Trade – Your Business
Knowing your trade is what got you started in your own business. The problem is you now have a too hard basket, a van full of iced coffee cartons with phone numbers on it, invoices to do and money to chase, bills to pay and phone calls to make, licenses to keep and Business Activity Statements to do.
All of this plus order parts for jobs, collect or organise delivery to sites, and actually do the job and chase more work, all in a days work!
This workshop is specifically designed to help tradespeople organise their small contracting business so they can work more efficiently.
Practical hints and tips as well as group work and individual analysis. The workshop is not only designed to meet the needs of the tradespeople but for the partners of tradespeople or for the people who help them out with the books. There is more to running a business than doing the job and doing the books.
Presented by Emma Neumann of Trade Maids.
Workshop Registration
Systemising Your Business for a Less Stressed Life
We all know we should have documented systems in our business but there never seems the time or necessity, until things go wrong or a customer asks if you have quality assurance.
This workshop will show you how to put systems into your business that are easy for staff to follow, will allow you to measure performance more easily and take time off without the stress. If you want to gain quality accreditation the workshop also encompasses how to go about it.
Presented by Kerrie Akkermans.
Workshop Registration
Tips for a Productive Home-Based Business (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
Do you work from home or are you planning to work from home? Do any of your staff work from home? Working from home offers a degree of freedom that can be enjoyed and a degree of discipline that must be adhered to.
In this workshop we discuss the physical environment that is required to create a productive home office. We also examine the technological requirements and the personal commitment required to ensure work-life balance is maintained when working from home. Participants will take away a simple to use checklist for establishing and maintaining a home office.
Delivered by Leigh Aitken of Inspired Business Consulting and Personal Development
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Legal
A Guide to Effective Debt Recovery
Cash flow is important to the survival and growth of a business. There are simple collection measures involving legal forms and processes that business owners can adopt as part of their collection process.
An understanding of these legal instruments or collection tools may significantly improve the viability of your business.
The topics covered in this workshop include:
• Pre-litigation collection procedures
• Magistrates Court forms and processes
• When a company owes you money; the “statutory demand”
• Bankruptcy Act procedures
The presenter will also run through a sample commercial lease, pointing out and explaining the major attributes, rights and obligations created – this will be done in an interactive manner with the participants.
Presented by Julia Adlem of Pace Lawyers.
Workshop Registration
Commercial Leases Tips and Traps (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
A lease is a contract; usually one involving payment of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars by a business owner over is term. It is one of the most important contracts or relationships a business owner will enter into.
It follows that an understanding of your rights and obligations is important when negotiating a lease and also throughout the term of occupancy of the premises. The topics covered in this workshop include:
• Disclosure statements
• Usual lease terms; traps and pitfalls
• Additional shopping centre lease terms
• Your right and obligations
• Breach and termination
The presenter will show a sample commercial lease, pointing out and explaining significant terms and where to find them in the lease documentation.
Presented by Serina Pace of Pace Lawyers.
Workshop Registration
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Marketing
Introduction to the Marketing Basics (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
A program developed to challenge your thinking about marketing your business. The most significant marketing challenge faced by most small - medium sized businesses is not HOW to market your business, but, more importantly, establishing WHO is your market, WHAT is your point of difference; WHAT is it that you are trying to communicate.
By searching for the answers to these questions, you will be in a vastly improved position to determine how to market your business.
The first workshop in our set of three core marketing workshops. It has lots of case studies and practical examples.
Presented by Patrick Baker from Patrick Baker & Associates.
Workshop Registration
Developing a Marketing Strategy
This workshop will focus your attention on the steps required to develop a strategy for your business that will ask you to search for the marketable advantages that exist within your business. You will address the identification of your target market and learn working tools to help you consider those things that influence your business and how best to deal with them. The workshop also provides a method of ensuring the plans are implemented into the business.
This workshop is our second workshop in our set of three core marketing workshops.
Presented by Wayne Lyons of Marc Makrid & Associates.
Workshop Registration
Developing Your Brand – Getting Your Name Out There
One of the most valuable assets your business can ever have is your Brand – Yet surprisingly many businesses do not take a planned approach to developing their brand.
This workshop provides an easy to implement step by step process for identifying the most effective approach to branding for the customers that you are targeting.
This workshop will show you how to work towards developing a strong and valuable brand image.
In addition, this workshop will provide suggestions to help you develop your most effective communication message and define the most appropriate method of communicating with your customers.
Patrick Baker from Patrick Baker & Associates has assisted many companies to develop and build their brands and create effective communication strategies. This is the third in our set of three core marketing workshops.
Workshop Registration
Marketing is More Than Just a Fancy Word for Selling
Everyone involved in running a business, is involved in marketing, whether they know it or not, and whether they do it well or not. This workshop is designed to give you a sound understanding of the basics of marketing so that you can 'do it better'.
You will gain a greater understanding of your products, your customers and potential customers, and your competitors. Through case studies and practical exercises, you will learn how to present you, your business and your products to the market, and what will attract your customers.
Presented by Mike Norman of Norman & Associates Pty Ltd.
Workshop Registration
8 Simple Rules for Creating a Promo Brochure in House
One of the most successful ways of generating new business is to communicate with your market. One of the best ways to communicate with your market is to develop a promotional brochure. One of the quickest ways of spending your hard earned profits is to hire an agency to develop a promotional brochure for you !
But you can break this vicious cycle … by creating your own promotional brochure.
Tried this and it hasn’t worked? Or maybe you’re reluctant to try something new or find the idea of DIY somewhat daunting.
This half day training session gives you a valuable insight into the tricks of the trade behind creating promotional materials that actually generate business.
Find out how to write, design and distribute promotional materials in-house for a fraction of the cost of outsourcing this important business process.
Presenter Keith Arnold of Loud Communications shares the 8 golden rules to creating promotional materials that really sell.
Workshop Registration
Profit from Your Advertising - Explore Your Media Options
Establish your advertising goals, determine what & where to advertise, understand the way the media works and how to negotiate your advertising more effectively.
After the previous three marketing workshops, which are all very strategic, this workshop takes a refreshing and matter of fact look at advertising.
Presented by Paul Hedges of Hedges Corporation.
Workshop Registration
Strategic Marketing - How to Effectively Promote a Service Business
Many service businesses have difficulty explaining to customers what the service IS and why a customer should pay for the services. Often service businesses find themselves over-servicing their clients, losing money and still making their customers unhappy!
Many service businesses spend huge amounts of money developing marketing and advertising collateral that does not come together with proper strategic purpose. Often a marketing strategy has not been fully developed. The science of Service Marketing is rarely understood. Most marketing strategies for service businesses are based in the framework of "product" marketing.
Managers often discover, too late, that the service they promoted is not the service they intended to SELL. How does your business align its sales process, website, brochures and pricing with the needs of customers, suppliers, staff and shareholders?
Marketing strategy takes into account the needs of the business and its customers and ensures that the service customers BUY is the service the business intends to SELL.
Understanding customer expectations, the customer purchasing continuum, net retained customer value, and service guarantees is vital for service businesses.
These concepts are all covered in this workshop:
- How should a service business promote its services?
- How does a service business quantify the value of its service?
- How does a service business ensure that the service they provide is the service their customer expects?
- What tools and frameworks are available for assessing the effectiveness of your service business.
Delivered by Paul Edginton of Structured Innovation Pty Ltd
Workshop Registration
Winning Government Tenders
Tendering for Government business is a requirement for many companies. Do you know how to contact Government purchasers directly? Do you understand Government requirements and tender documentation? These are essential skills in a company’s business development activities and are critical in preparing a successful Government bid or proposal.
Participants will learn:
• How to contact Government purchasers directly?
• How does the Government procurement process work?
• How does the Government approach the market
• How are tenders evaluated?
• Is tendering the only way?
• How to be more successful
Learn how to differentiate your company, your products and your ideas; add value to your proposal and create a distinct edge over the competition.
Our presenter is Neville Woodcock, a former senior supply consultant with the Industrial Supplies Office, recently involved in the development of a SA Government Industry Participation Policy to maximise opportunities for local businesses to supply the SA Government procurement requirements for major projects.
Workshop Registration
Winning Tenders with Large Companies and Major Projects
In the Winning Tenders presentation, you will find out how to discover projects of interest to you and how to successfully promote your company and products.
You will learn how to contact large companies or major project groups, before the tenders are released. This is critical to successful tendering.
You will learn how major project procurements are managed and how to ensure your products and services have the best opportunity to be part of the project.
We explain how tenders are evaluated and how you can present your people and your company to have the best opportunity to win tenders.
Our presenter is Neville Woodcock, a former senior supply consultant with the Industrial Supplies Office, recently involved in the development of a SA Government Industry Participation Policy to maximise opportunities for local businesses to supply the SA Government procurement requirements for major projects.
Workshop Registration
Creating Advertising That Works
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is I don’t know which half”
Lord Leverhulme: (1851 - 1925 founder of Lever Brothers soap & detergent empire)
If you can relate to this quote, find out how to put the odds more in your favour. This workshop is designed as a follow on from Profit from Your Advertising –Explore Your Media Options.
You will learn practical tips on creating advertising that works. Some of what you will learn is:
• How to create headlines that grab attention;
• Which types of advertisements require a lot of detail and which don’t;
• What is most effective in printed advertising;
• How to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Presented by Paul Hedges of Hedges Corporation.
Workshop Registration
eBay and Online Marketing – The Basics (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
Australian consumers spent 12.5 billion dollars online last year. Did your business get its share of that pie?
One of the most effective ways to dip your toe into the world of e-commerce is through an established online marketplace such as eBay.com.au.
eBay’s Australian website has grown significantly in the past 12 months and now boasts five million registered Australian users. With the online auction giant doubling its advertising spend this year, its market penetration is likely to expand further. Will you customers join the trend? Will your competitors gain the virtual upper hand?
eBay and Online Marketing – The Basics gives small businesses an invaluable insight into the online auction marketplace, from an independent, marketing perspective. This is not a glorified eBay training session. It is a grassroots, marketing-focussed introduction to eBay and the various alternative online auction sites in Australia. Particular attention is paid to familiarisation with the site, its methods of sale, and the inbuilt research tools which will empower participants to gain an accurate insight into the market’s activity within their categories.
Our presenter, Steve Davis, is Senior Marketing Consultant with Patrick Baker and Associates. He is also a media commentator on the internet and web site trends, and a seasoned eBay operator.
Workshop Registration
How to Get the Most Out of Your Marketing Budget
Marketing budgets are not infinite and more and more internal competition is occurring, fighting for the use of the corporate dollar. Is marketing one of the causalities resulting in less available expenditure in the marketing budget? This topic examines how to get the most out of your product. How is your product distributed? What linkages do you have?
Participants are taken through a review of their current distribution methods and what opportunities there are to increase exposure without spending significant amounts of money.
This workshop is suited to small businesses that have a limited marketing budget.
Presented by Rob Maynard, Director of Corporate Ascent Pty Ltd.
Workshop Registration
Exporting for Beginners
Interested in exporting but wondering where to start? This workshop will take you through a step by step review of the key decisions and information that you need to address in order to make your export sales profitable.
Topics covered include market selection, export pricing, distributor establishment and the key steps you need to take to ensure your exports are profitable and includes useful checklists to help you get things right from the start.
Patrick Baker from Patrick Baker & Associates has assisted many companies to establish new markets and distributors interstate and in major export markets.
Workshop Registration
How Do You Stand Out From the Crowd?
When you are asked to present your business and yourself how well do you do?
• Do you knock the audience's socks off so they rush you with orders and enquiries?
• Do you have a system for utilising the contacts you make?
• Do you get follow up enquiries?
• Do you have the resources to provide sufficient information?
• Is what you offer clear?
• Most importantly do you position yourself as unique?
If you can't answer yes to all these questions then this workshop is for you.
Presenting your business and yourself should be a golden opportunity for you to win more business. If you're not properly prepared and don't make an impressive impact, you will lose credibility and potential sales.
This workshop is designed to help you present professionally with the right tools and offer. It will cover the following:
1. Finding your unique point of difference
2. Defining your offer
3. Developing effective promotional tools
4. Refining your presentation skills
5. Folow up techniques
6. Converting enquiries to customers
This informative workshop will conclude with a brain storming session to help you come up with an impressive marketing approach to help you attract more clients and customers!
Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans
Workshop Registration
My Website Doesn’t Work!
Nowadays everyone has a website. Unfortunately very few have one that really ‘works’.
Why?
Website designers and programmers are specialists at making sites functional and visually appealing but who looks at the market’s needs, how to drive potential customers to the site, how the website can save you money and resources and of course how it can help your business to grow?
Too often the answer to these questions is … no-one.
This workshop puts you in control of your website, whether you are upgrading an existing site or developing a new one, we walk you through a very simple process so that you know what you want, and how to get it (even if you’re developing your site yourself).
Presented by Keith Arnold of Loud Communications
Workshop Registration
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Getting the People Right
Interviewing Skills for Employers
Some interviews don’t help you predict who will do the job effectively. This workshop shows you how to conduct a simple competency-based interview that will predict employees performance on the job.
Who is it for? People wanting to improve their interview skills, recruit the best person for the job and avoid hiring mistakes.
This workshop will help you to:
• Understand the difference between a “does your face fit” interview and one that will help you predict performance in your organisation
• Know how to conduct a competence-based recruitment interview
• Gather relevant evidence so you can make effective selection decisions
• Know what to listen for
• Learn what not to do in an interview, what to ask and what not to ask
• Avoid the pitfalls of interviewing
• Improve your interview questioning technique so you obtain detailed evidence of past performance
Participants leave with a detailed manual to keep for reference.
Our presenter is Bridget Hogg MAHRI FGLF Principal Consultant of HR Development at Work – Adelaide’s attraction and retention consultancy. Bridget has worked with many organisations to help them improve their interview skills.
Workshop Registration
Are You Ready to Employ Staff?
Are you thinking about employing staff for the first time?
As your business expands you will need to think about employing people. Employing people may be essential for the growth of your business. The more organised you are before you start looking for and talking with potential staff the easier you will find the whole process and the less mistakes you will make. While the advanced preparation may seem daunting and time consuming, it will save you much more time and heartache later on.
Outcomes
At the completion of this workshop participants will have:
• A good understanding of the many steps from deciding to employ to actually employing someone
• Practical ideas on how to decide between people
• A plan to move you toward taking on staff
Delivered by Shelley Rogers of Individual and Organisational Development
Workshop Registration
How to Attract and Keep Good Staff
Improve employee attraction and retention; save time and money. This workshop will help you to:
• Attract talent to your business
• Review your recruitment methods and learn how to improve your ability to select staff
• Discover the most common reasons why South Australians choose to leave their employer – and what you should be doing about it
• Learn about exit interviews – how you can find out why people leave your business
• Review your recruitment methods and learn how to improve your ability to select staff
• Understand why some staff go and some staff stay – and know what to do about it
• Identify ten important factors that attract staff
• Identify sixteen ways you can improve staff retention
• Spotting the times when staff might quit– and know what to do about it
You will leave with five strategies to increase attraction and retention of engaged, committed staff in your organisation.
Our presenter is Bridget Hogg MAHRI FGLF Principal Consultant of HR Development at Work – Adelaide’s attraction and retention consultancy. Bridget has worked with many organisations to help them improve their interview skills.
Workshop Registration
Delegating Your Way to Success
Most business owners are excellent technicians. However to succeed at growing your business, you need to be able to manage your people – and specifically you need to know how to instruct and delegate effectively. An inability to do this will limit the growth of your business – and increase the stress you experience due to micro-managing and not being able to get away for holidays.
This interactive and practical three hour workshop is designed to provide you with clear steps to instruct staff well and delegate effectively. Learn more about issuing instructions clearly and sensitively – and learn how to delegate to your staff in order to develop them and reduce the reliance of your business solely on you. You will leave with a clear plan that identifies who to delegate what to – and how.
We also offer an optional, follow-up 1.5 hour session to you to review your progress after a month and fill in any missing details after you have started putting your plan into action.
Topics covered:
- What makes a good instruction to your staff member?
- Asking versus Telling. When each is applicable and the likely effects of each upon your people.
- What is delegation and what are the benefits?
- 4 step model to delegate effectively
- Essential communication skills
- 3 different areas to identify possible tasks/projects to delegate to whom
- Action plan, by staff member, to start delegating more effectively.
Materials provided:
- Handout to assess your current level of delegation skills
- Workbook
Delivered by Josie McLean of The Partnership.
Workshop Registration
Planning and Managing People Aspects of Change for a Small Business
For business owners who are planning a change process (e.g. downsizing, restructuring, redundancies or growth) and for managers of people. Particularly helpful just prior to times of organisational change and uncertainty.
What does it cover? How people react to change, the psychological contract and what happens if it gets broken, case-studies, planning for change, what to take into account before you decide on your approach, the transition curve – and what staff need from managers at each stage, developing an effective communication strategy, how to manage yourself in times of change and uncertainty, how to help your staff in a time of change or uncertainty.
Our presenter is Bridget Hogg MAHRI FGLF, Principal Consultant of HR Development at Work. Bridget is Convenor of Adelaide’s Recruitment and Retention Special Interest Group and has helped many local businesses to improve their attraction and retention strategies.
Workshop Registration
Coaching and Mentoring Your People to Success
How do you currently develop your staff? Is training alone sufficient? Could a workplace coaching and/or mentoring program provide further ongoing development of your people?
Many organisations are now embracing Coaching and Mentoring as integral components to their Human Resource Development toolkit. When used effectively, Coaching or Mentoring can assist in the development of your team, resulting in improved productivity.
In this workshop we discuss the differences between coaching & mentoring & examine how to implement a workplace program. Participants will receive an introduction to the basics of both skills, using practical case studies & skills practice. We will also discuss the options available & provide some tips on selecting a coach or mentor.
Delivered by Leigh Aiken from Inspired Business Consulting & Personal Development
Workshop Registration
Succession Planning for a Sustainable Workforce
Are you grooming your up-and-coming staff in preparation for their next role in your organisation? Have you identified successors for key roles in the business? Have you lost staff because they can’t see any opportunity for advancement? If you want to sustain length of tenure among your staff then succession planning is vital!
This workshop examines why succession planning is so important. Participants will examine the concept and will be provided with some handy tools to assist in identifying employee skills gaps, new role creation & promotion readiness among your team.
In this workshop we will examine the following elements:
• The importance of effective succession planning
• Risks associated with poor or no succession planning
• Benefits of an effective succession plan
• Identifying potential successors
• Identifying present & future skills requirements
• Planning for future job roles & positions
• Creating readiness for promotion
Presented by Leigh Aitken of Inspired Business Consulting & Personal Development
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Invention & Product Development
Will Your Idea Work As a Business
While not part of the Better Business Series, this workshop, run by Venture Capital SA, is suitable for entrepreneurs / inventors who have an idea or a product but as yet have not established a business and/or achieved a meaningful level of sales. Please use the address below to book into the workshop.
http://www.vcsa.com.au/go/events
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E-Business
All E-Business workshops will employ a mixture of teaching methodologies: information delivered via PowerPoint slides, group discussions, individual and group exercises, demonstration and discussion of sample websites (not live but on PowerPoint), with questions being encouraged throughout the workshop.
Marketing Your Business on the Internet and Promoting Your Website
This workshop is aimed at businesses wishing to attract more customers to their website and increase their website ranking on Google.
Topics include:
• Developing your web strategy;
• Promoting your website;
• E-Mail & E-Newsletter Marketing;
• Increasing Your Website’s Ranking on Google.
Presented by Ivor Hay.
Workshop Registration
Selling Products or Services Over the Internet
This workshop is aimed at businesses who already have a website but wish to implement e-commerce transactions as a optional revenue stream.
Topics include:
• How to set up an online catalogue;
• Selecting and implementing a shopping cart system;
• How to collect payments online;
• How to protect against credit card fraud; and
• How to maintain your catalogue
Presented by Ivor Hay.
Workshop Registration
Setting-up and Managing Your Web Site (SUITABLE FOR START-UPS)
This workshop is aimed at those businesses that do not yet have a website or businesses that wish to revise the site to improve its effectiveness.
Topics include:-
• Setting-up your website
• Designing and building the website
• Engaging a web developer
• Managing your website
Presented by Ivor Hay
Workshop Registration
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Family Business
Succession Planning for Family Businesses
About 70 percent of family businesses fail to survive the retirement of their founders only 13 percent survive to a third generation. Planning succession and hence survival is a feasible and effective process. This workshop will help you safeguard the long term health of the business, retain the most talented potential successors and revitalise the family business strategy.
Workshop Registration
Successful Exit Strategies
As baby boomers retire there are likely to be more family businesses for sale than the market can absorb. So many will not realise their expected proceeds - with consequences for retirement income. This workshop will help you to achieve the best outcomes, whether through family or management succession or by sale.
Workshop Registration
Prevention and Management of Family Conflict
Tension is inseparable from running a business. Running a family business compounds the occasion for tension and dispute. Conflict which is latent or denied is more dangerous than conflict that is open, where it can be managed. The workshop will help you to deal with conflict in family businesses and offer ways of turning them into positive strategies.
Workshop Registration
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