Better Business Series workshops

The Better Business Series workshops are delivered by the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED) to help small businesses achieve sustainable growth and profitability.

Consisting of a range of three-hour workhops, the series is a valuable source of information and insight from experienced business operators. Click on the following topics for a description of each workshop and scheduled session(s).

Workshops are staged at each of the 9 metropolitan Business Enterprise Centres and the 13 Regional Development Australia shopfronts in regional South Australia. Please note that there is a limit of two attendees per business at each workshop. For information or to register, call 1300 123 232 or contact your local centre (details below).

Workshops for new small businesses

Some of the Better Business Series workshops are suitable for people planning on, or in the early stages of starting a small business. Topics suitable for start-ups to book into are highlighted below.

Venture Capital SA also runs workshops and seminars to help companies become investor ready and to access capital for growth and development. It also stages a workshop for the entrepreneur or inventor wo has an idea or product but has not yet established a business or achieved significant sales.

Business Enterprise Centre (BEC) Network

 Regional Development Australia (RDA)

Accounting and Finance

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:

• Getting your cash in from debtors sooner, and
• 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. 

Session(s): 

Southern Success BEC (Morphett Vale)
23/08/2010 - 2.00 - 5.00pm.

RDA Whyalla & Eyre Peninsula (Whyalla Norrie)
31/08/2010 - 5.30 - 8.30pm.  
                              

Accurate Costing for Profitable Pricing

Many businesses set prices according to external influences such as what they believe the market is prepared to pay or what their competitors are charging. This workshop will provide an overview of matters to consider when pricing such as labour and overhead costs, productivity and required Net Profit.

The workshop will provide an outline of the 3 major costing methods

• Product Costing - for manufacturing businesses
• Service Costing - for businesses that charge an hourly rate or have set fees for their service like consultants, trades, contractors and others.
• Contribution Margin Costing - for all other types of businesses such as retail.

A detailed manual will be available on each costing method including a case study.

Delivered by Chris Whelan of C.L. Whelan and Associates.

Session(s):

Tea Tree Gully BEC (St Agnes)
25/08/2010 - 9.00am – 12.00pm.

North West Business Development Centre (Port Adelaide)
15/09/2010 - 5.30 – 8.30pm.

 Introduction to Financial Reporting - Know Your Business

 Many small businesses use accounting software packages such as MYOB and Quicken to help manage their GST record keeping and to provide reports to their Accountant. However, very few small business owners review the reports generated as a means of analysing business performance.

 This workshop provides an introduction to financial reporting:
• Why financial reports are important
• How to read and understand a Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement
• What is cash flow, why is it so important and how does it fit with the above?
• Using ratios (from the financial reports) to diagnose results. 

 This workshop is best suited to business owners who have financial reports prepared (internally and/or externally) but don't know how to read them.

Delivered by Steve Fimmano of BDO, Chartered Accountants.

No session scheduled

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:
• 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 five step approach
• Monitoring budgets against actual results using your accounting software.

Delivered by Chris Whelan of CL Whelan and Associates.

Session(s):

Inner West BEC (Thebarton)
24/08/2010 -  9.30am - 12.30pm.

Enterprise Adelaide (Adelaide)
7/09/2010 - 9.30am - 12.30pm.

Accessing Finance to Grow Your Business

This workshop will give participants the skills to help them in determine their future funding requirements and to prepare a case for funding for prospective partners or traditional lending institutions.

It looks at the three main things required to attract extra funding, the types of fund providers, and what these funders look for when assessing companies.

Participants should have an understanding of their own businesses and be able to articulate this. The workshop concentrates on more than the financials and looks at a company from an internal and external perspectives.

Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.

No session scheduled

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Business Analysis

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 determine where your business stands against budget and forecasts.

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 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.

No session scheduled  

Business Continuity Management

Business Continuity Management is about being prepared to handle major disruptions from adverse events. Businesses must be able to maintain services to customers under any circumstances, even when others are experiencing difficulties. Disruptions to business can occur in many ways, and often from unexpected sources such as flood, fire, power black out, loss of a major supplier or loss of key staff. A clearly documented business continuity plan assists in ensuring continuation of services to customers during these times. By identifying potential major disruptions to business and the impact they might have, a business continuity plan will assist in mitigation, response and recovery. Businesses that invest in business continuity planning will be better placed than others to continue trading after adverse events.

This three hour workshop takes participants through the basics of the business continuity planning  and outlines how to assess business risks and their likely impacts.

The workshop includes:

• 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.

Draft planning templates will be provided to enable participants to implement the concepts in their businesses.

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting.

No session scheduled

Five Pillars of Business Success

For a business to succeed it needs to have an understanding of how to create consistent and efficient workflows. Looking at the five pillars - customer, operations, staff, working capital and culture - will help us ensure that the customer experience is standardised, with quick turnaround times and no defects. Standardisation allows for accurate performance measurement and helps businesses improve.

Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.

Session(s): 

Salisbury Business & Export Centre (Mawson Lakes)
20/08/2010 -  9.30am - 12.30pm. 

 

Optimising Business Practices

This workshop is an introduction to LEAN thinking. Based on the Toyota Production System (TPS). LEAN is a business system that identifies and eliminates waste to increase efficiency, productivity and quality. Users of the LEAN system discover that anything the customer does not want is non-value added; non-value activities are WASTE.

Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting.

No session scheduled

Increasing your Productivity for more Profit

Have you been hearing about how your business culture, lean thinking and elimination of waste can increase productivity in your business?

This workshop describes the essence of productivity improvement approaches currently being used by big companies and shows how they can be applied to your sole trader or small business

Some of the things you will learn include:

• How you can use a simple diagnostic tool (that you will be given at the workshop) to help you focus in on key areas for improvement for your business
• An introduction to 8 forms of Waste, Value Adding and the visual workplace, and how these concepts can be applied within your business.
• A simple 5 step '5S' process for transforming your personal workplace  (with practical demonstration at the session for both an office and workshop application)
• Practical time management approaches that can free up your time to focus on those areas that can contribute the most to your bottom line.
• Key steps in laying the groundwork for changing behaviour within your business to one that is more productive and more profitable
• Key aspects of sustaining the 'new normal', within your business.

In addition the presenter will describe common characteristics of many successful businesses. 

Delivered by Brenton Leitch of Learning & Productivity.

No session scheduled

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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 a clear understanding of a framework and the essential elements of a plan for your business. It also explains the characteristics common to most successful businesses.

Topics 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 of a business planning
• Where to find sample business plans
• The new A3 'Plan4Action' sheet that reduces your plan to a single page
• How to develop a simple action plan.

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.

Delivered by Brenton Leitch of Learning & Productivity.

No session scheduled

Implementing the Plan and Putting Things into Action

Do you have the key elements of a plan but having difficulty with actingon it? This workshop focuses on the key drivers that underpin the conversion of a business plan into real action, and describes common characteristics of successful businesses.

Topics include :
• Summarising your plan on one page
• Developing an action plan for business
• Communicating your plan to others in the business
• Your role as a leader within your business
• Tools and techniques such as time management
• The importance of culture and people in your business
• Developing performance measures
• Bringing it all together
• The importance of ongoing planning.

Participants should have attended 'Developing Business Plans’ or have a plan ready for implementation.

Delivered by Brenton Leitch of Learning and Productivity.

No session scheduled

 Business Structures That Make Sense (suitable for start-ups)

Are you unclear as to how to structure your business (or unsure about why your business is structured as it is)? Don't know the difference between a Family Trust and a 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 tax and privately owned business perspectives. 

This workshop is best suited to owners of small-medium sized businesses or those who are contemplating establishing their own businesses. 

Delivered by Gary Whitelock of BDO, Chartered Accountants. 

No session scheduled  

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 - but often they find the information they receive 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, this workshop will equip you with the required skills, knowledge and confidence to develop highly effective business research tools.  

Delivered by Alina Lebed of Lizard Drinking. 

No session scheduled

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 and 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 businesses where feasible.

Delivered by Henrietta Child of Kneedeep.

No session scheduled

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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, lead to more profits and refer you new business. It discusses 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.

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting. 

Session(s):  

RDA Whyalla & Eyre Peninsula (Port Lincoln)
7/09/2010 -  6.00 - 9.00pm.

RDA Far North (Port Augusta)
8/09/2010 -  6.00 - 9.00pm.

Enterprise Adelaide (Adelaide)
27/09/2010 -  9.30am - 12.30pm.

Distributor Establishment and Management

This workshop show you how to find a Distributor, and how to keep, manage and motivate a distributor once you have found one. Part one 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 focuses on building revenue by motivating distributors to focus on promoting and selling your products on a long term basis. 

Delivered by Patrick Baker of Patrick Baker & Associates.

No session scheduled 

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? How do you make sure the people you meet are the 'right' people for you? What are the proven protocols? And after the meeting, what next? 

Delivered by Barbara Doherty of Urban Umbrella.

Session(s):

Inner Southern BEC (Clarence Gardens)
24/08/2010 -  8.30 - 11.30am.

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 two or three 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.

Delivered by Keith Arnold of Loud Communications.

No session scheduled

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 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, giving you greater confidence when negotiating or dealing with other people in general.

Delivered by Samantha McDonald of Dare Coaching & Seminars.

No session scheduled

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 to 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 share the load of running and developing a business.

Topics 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

Delivered by Scott Way of PKF Consulting.

No session scheduled

Creating a Buying Environment – How to Increase Sales

This workshop addresses the chronic issue of sameness in sales and stand out from the crowd. 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.

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting.

No session scheduled

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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 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 three-hour workshop helps businesses consolidate their position in the marketplace and ride out the storm.  Each interested participant can also receive a one on one free 30 minute 'business diagnostic consultation’, at no charge.

Delivered by Michael Corner of Wicked Performance Consulting. 

No session scheduled 

How To Survive and Thrive in Tough Times

Use simple, low cost strategies to survive in tough times.

In tough times consumers' buying habits change, so businesses need to understand the trends and adapt their approaches to survive. Targeted direct response marketing, streamlining processes and tightly managing finances will ensure you survive and thrive in difficult times.

Smart, confidence businesses will capture available opportunities and lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s prosperity.

This workshop will give low-cost tips for tough times that are easy to implement. It covers how to adapt your business processes, structure, costs and marketing tips that are easy to implement.

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting. 

No session scheduled

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 include:
• 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 projects
• How to integrate these selections into a budgetary process for financial control. 

Delivered by Henrietta Child of Kneedeep.

No session scheduled

Reduce Your Risks in Tough Times with Business Continuity Planning 

Business continuity planning is about being prepared to handle a major disruption to your business so you may continue to serve your customers, even if others can't.  

Loss of a major customer, supplier liquidation, changes in consumer spending patterns or cost increases are among problems that require planned responses. 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 events. 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 business's future.

This workshop takes you through the business continuity planning process and provides an understanding of how to assess risks and their impact on your business products and services. It can also be incorporated into your Quality Assurance System. 

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting.

No session scheduled

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 tougher times.

Topics 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 including the A3 'plan on a page' approach
• Developing a simple action plan for your business
• South Australian Government expert services available to you.

Delivered by Brenton Leitch of Learning and Productivity.

Session(s):

RDA Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island (Wirrina Cove)
25/08/2010 -  6.00 - 9.00pm.  

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Goal Setting and Achievement

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 many business people. 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.

Delivered by Shelley Rogers of Individual & Organisational Development

No session scheduled

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, and how 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.

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consutling.

No session scheduled

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 but requires 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 checklist for establishing and maintaining a home office. 

Delivered by Leigh Aitken of Inspired Business Consulting and Personal Development. 

Session(s): 

Northern Adelaide BEC (Elizabeth West)
17/08/2010 -  6.00 - 9.00pm.

Southern Success BEC (Morphett Vale)
15/09/2010 -  2.00 - 5.00pm.    

How to Get Organised, Stay Organised and Get Things Done

Feeling swamped with work? We all have to learn better skills and methods for dealing with the stresses of a busy career.

This three-hour workshop provides useful tips, covering topics such as:

• Creating an organised life, rather than organising your existing life
• Tools for transferring the information from your head into a manageable plan
• Understanding what is a project and what isn’t
• Tackling the quick jobs now.

Participants will be encouraged to consider their daily activities, to focus attention on tasks that can be achieved quickly, and to be realistic about items that will never be completed. 

Delivered by Henrietta Child of KneeDeep.

No session scheduled 

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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.

Topics 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 run through a sample commercial lease, explaining in an interactive manner the major attributes, rights and obligations created.

Delivered by Julia Adlem of Pace Lawyers.

No session scheduled

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 a 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.

Topics include:

• Disclosure statements
• Usual lease terms, traps and pitfalls
• Additional shopping centre lease terms
• Your rights 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.

Delivered by Serina Pace of Pace Lawyers.

No session scheduled

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Marketing

 Introduction to 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, and what is it that you are trying to communicate.

The answers to these questions will improve your ability to market your business.

The first workshop in our set of three core marketing workshops, it includes several case studies and practical examples.

Delivered by Steve Davis of Patrick Baker & Associates.

No session scheduled 

Developing a Marketing Strategy

This workshop will require you to determine the marketable advantages within your business. You will identify your target market and the tools to help you consider the things that influence your business and how to deal with them. The workshop also provides a method of implementing your plans into your business.

This workshop follows Introduction to Marketing Basics.

Delivered by Steve Davis of Patrick Baker & Associates.

Session(s): 

RDA Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island (Mt Barker)
24/08/2010 -  6.00 - 9.00pm.

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 brands.

This workshop provides an easy to implement process for identifying how to brand your business for your target customers and developing a strong and valuable brand image and related communication messages.

Delivered by Patrick Baker of Patrick Baker & Associates.

No session scheduled

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 - and one of the best ways to do this is to develop a promotional brochure. YOu could spendyour hard earned profits and have an agency produce it - or you can learn how to create your own.

This three-hour workshop gives you a valuable insight into creating promotional materials that 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.

Delivered by Keith Arnold of Loud Communications.

No session scheduled

Profit from Your Advertising - Explore Your Media Options

Establish your advertising goals, determine what and 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.

Delivered by Paul Hedges of Hedges Corporation.

No session scheduled 

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 and detergent empire)

If you can relate to this quote, find out how to put the odds more in your favour. This workshop is designed to follow Profit from Your Advertising –Explore Your Media Options.

You will learn practical tips on creating advertising that works.

Topics include:

• How to create headlines that grab attention
• What types of advertisements require a lot of detail and which don’t
• What works in printed advertising
• How to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Delivered by Paul Hedges of Hedges Corporation.

Session(s):

Inner West BEC (Thebarton)
14/09/2010 -  9.30am - 12.30pm.

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.

Topics include:

• 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.

Delivered by Neville Woodcock of Woodcock Consulting

Session(s): 

Eastside BEC (Payneham)
18/08/2010 -  5.30 - 8.30pm.

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 tenders are evaluated, major project procurements managed and how to ensure your products and services have the best opportunity to be part of the project.

Delivered by Neville Woodcock of Woodcock Consulting.

No session scheduled

eBay and Online Marketing – The Basics (suitable for start-ups)

Australian consumers spent $12.5 billion 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, but a grassroots, marketing focused introduction to eBay and other Australian online auction sites. Particular attention is paid to site familiarisation its sales and the inbuilt research tools that can help participants learn more about market activity within their categories.

Delivered by Steve Davis,  of Patrick Baker and Associates.

No sessions scheduled

How to Get the Most Out of Your Marketing Budget (suitable for start-ups)

Marketing budgets are not infinite and more and more internal competition is occurring. 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 their 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.

Delivered by Rob Maynard of Corporate Ascent.

No session scheduled 

Exporting for Beginners

Interested in exporting but wondering where to start? This workshop will take you through the key decisions and information you need to make your export sales profitable.

Topics include:

• Market selection
• Export pricing
• Distributor establishment
• The key steps you need to take to ensure your exports are profitable.

Includes useful checklists to help you get things right from the start.

Delivered by Patrick Baker of Patrick Baker & Associates.

No session scheduled

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 using the contacts you make?
• Do you receive 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. 

Topics include:

• Finding your unique point of difference
• Defining your offer
• Developing effective promotional tools
• Refining your presentation skills
• Follow up techniques
• Converting enquiries to customers. 

This informative workshop will conclude with a brainstorming session to help you come up with a marketing approach to help you attract more clients and customers! 

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkemans Consulting.

Session(s):

Eastside BEC (Payneham)
22/09/2010 -  5.30 - 7.30pm.

My Website Doesn’t Work!

Everyone has a website now. Unfortunately very few have sites that really ‘work'. 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. Participants will be taken through the steps to knowing what you want, and how to get it (even if you’re developing your site yourself).

Delivered by Keith Arnold of Loud Communications.

No session scheduled

50 Ways to Advertise at No or Low Cost

Can't afford to advertise your products or services but need the exposure?

Do you stare, listen or read competitor ads jealously wishing you had that sort of money to spend?

Here is the answer to all your frustrations ... 50 (or thereabouts) ways to benefit from advertising without the cost. In fact many of these suggestions probably already exist in your business - you just need to use them more effectively.

Learn how to:

• Turn your letterhead into a dynamic sales tool
• Make even your building signage generate new customers
• Turn your business card into a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, 52-week-a-year sales superstar.
  

Perhaps most importantly, learn why traditional advertising doesn't really sell products or services anyway.

If you can't afford to advertise or simply want to find a more effective solution, don't miss this workshop.

Delivered Keith Arnold of Loud Communications.

No session scheduled

Using Social Networking to Market Your Business

Heard of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs?

If you’ve been wondering if it’s worthwhile to jump into social media, or you’ve already dipped your toe in the water but  aren’t sure how to make them work for your business, you can't afford to miss this workshop.

Hundreds of millions of people have already created accounts with Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and thousands more are signing up every day. Chances are good that your target market is using those sites as a way to connect with people and brands. It’s a great time to create a profile for your business and use these sites to your advantage.

Attending events is a great way to source leads and make valuable contacts, but who has time to visit them all? These days, it’s easy to enhance your efforts by going virtual. Get ready to learn new ways to build your reputation, drive traffic to your site, and win new business.

Topics include:

• Better use of networking
• Winning more business
• Reinforcement of your brand
• Ongoing feedback on your  business
• An understanding of social media and how to take advantage of it
  

The workshop is suitable for business owners and managers and sales/marketing personnel.

Delivered by Kerrie Akkermans of Akkermans Consulting.

No session scheduled

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Getting the People Right

Interviewing Skills for Employers (Part 1)

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 an employee's performance on the job. People wanting to improve their interview skills, recruit the best people for the job and avoid hiring mistakes will benefit.

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.

Delivered by Bridget Hogg of HR Development at Work

No session scheduled

Interviewing Skills for Employers (Part 2)

This second Interview Skills workshop is for people who have attended Interview Skills 1 (or another competency-based interview skills course) and want some guided practice and feedback to hone and master their skills.

Interview Skills 2 is 90% practice, with feedback from the facilitator. This workshop will enable participants to interview all types of candidates (from the quiet ones who can’t think of examples to the verbose) and adjust their styles to gain useful evidence in limited time. It will help interviewers to know what to listen for and to know when an interview is on or off track (and what to do about it!). Participants will leave with more confidence in their interview techniques and abilities to gather evidence of competencies.

Participants are encouraged to bring interview questions they may wish to use so they can practice these in the workshop (alternative example questions will also be available).

Delivered by Bridget Hogg of HR Development at Work.

No session scheduled

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  process and the fewer mistakes you will make. While the advanced preparation may seem daunting and time consuming, it will save you time and heartache later on. 

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. 

No session scheduled

How to Attract and Keep Good Staff

Improve employee attraction and retention, and save time and money. This workshop will help you:

• 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.

Delivered by Bridget Hogg of HR Development at Work.

No session scheduled

Planning and Managing People Aspects of Change for a Small Business

This workshop is for business owners planning a change in process such as downsizing, restructuring, redundancies or growth, and for managers of people. It is particularly helpful before a time of organisational change and uncertainty.

It covers:

• 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
• 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 and uncertainty.

Delivered by Bridget Hogg of HR Development at Work.

No session scheduled

Coaching and Mentoring Your People to Success

How do you currently develop your staff? Is training alone sufficient? Could a workplace coaching or mentoring program provide further ongoing development of your people?
Many organisations are now embracing coaching and mentoring as integral components of 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 and mentoring and examine how to implement a workplace program. Participants will receive an introduction to the basics of both skills, using practical case studies and skills practice. We will also discuss the options available and provide some tips on selecting a coach or mentor.

Delivered by Leigh Aiken of Inspired Business Consulting & Personal Development.

No session scheduled

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 and promotion readiness among your team.

In this workshop we will examine:

• 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 and future skills requirements
• Planning for future job roles and positions
• Creating readiness for promotion.

Delivered by Leigh Aitken of Inspired Business Consulting & Personal Development.

No session scheduled

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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 and inventors who have ideas or products but have not yet established a business or achieved a meaningful sales. For booking into this workshop, visit http://www.vcsa.com.au/go/events/will-your-idea-work-as-a-business-workshop

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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 and E-Newsletter marketing
• Increasing your website’s ranking on Google.

Delivered by Ivor Hay.

No session scheduled

Selling Products or Services Over the Internet

This workshop is aimed at businesses that already have websites but wish to implement e-commerce transactions as an 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
• How to maintain your catalogue.

Delivered by Ivor Hay.

Session(s):

RDA Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu & Kangaroo Island (Kangaroo Island, Kingscote) 24/08/2010 - 1.30 - 4.30pm.

Setting-up and Managing Your Web Site (suitable for start-ups)

This workshop is aimed at businesses that do not have a website and those that wish to change their site to improve its effectiveness.

Topics include:

• Setting-up your website
• Designing and building the website
• Engaging a web developer
• Managing your website.

Delivered by Ivor Hay.

No session scheduled

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Family Business

Succession Planning for Family Businesses

About 70% of family businesses fail to survive the retirement of their founders and only 13% 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 your business, retain the most talented potential successors and revitalise the family business strategy.

No session scheduled 

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 that 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.

No session scheduled 

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