Productivity

Productivity

Let’s leave the word PIVOT where it belongs – on the stairs

By Leanne Faulkner

There are a few words related to business start-ups and small business growth that I have come to detest. PIVOT is at the top of my list. For some, it’s discriminatory. For some, it can be disempowering. It risks fostering a bad case of imposter-syndrome in some people (what’s the secret I’m not in on people?).

Productivity

What football has taught me about running a small business

By David Koch

An exciting weekend of football Grand Finals ahead. Sadly my team, Port Adelaide,  failed at the last hurdle to make it to the AFL’s big dance. As President since 2013 it has been fascinating to be part of a professional sports organisation and observing how high performance teams operate. And I reckon all business owners can benefit from some of their strategies.

Professional development

3 simple ways to connect with your audience

All business owners right now are facing issues that we have never had to deal with and face in our lifetimes. We’ve had Covid-19, some states having to wear masks, live through different stages of lockdowns. The common thing that almost every Australian is feeling, however, is a distinct lack of connection with people.

Productivity

Podcast 242: How to stay productive when your work IS the distraction

As small business owners our jobs are often our passion. This means we don’t know when to stop working or ignore key aspects of our business by focussing on parts we enjoy the most. How do we overcome this? Author, podcaster and entrepreneur Steve Glaveski shares key productivity tips from new book, Time Rich.

Productivity

Am I really ready to win government business?

Many small businesses are already perfectly placed to win Government contracts. Unfortunately, they just don’t know how close they are. Now they have help.

Productivity

Podcast 238: I have learnt to run my business in 3 hours a day

Lisa Corduff knows about challenging years. The business owner and solo mum of 3 lost her husband last year in tragic circumstances. Then COVID hit. As she’s based in Victoria that's meant 2 rounds of lockdown, 3 kids to homeschool and a successful business to run in just 3 hours a day. This is how she's managed it all.

Productivity

How to make the next 3 months your best yet

Instead of feeling defeated by this year, why not take back control now and choose to end the year on a high? I’ve had so many people say that they can’t wait to see the back of 2020.

Professional development

How to use the featured section on your LinkedIn profile

By Karen Hollenbach

The LinkedIn profile featured section enables you to showcase posts, LinkedIn articles, links and documents on your LinkedIn Profile. This is one of my favourite LinkedIn Profile features because of how it allows you to feature content. And while it’s true that you could previously publish LinkedIn articles and add links and photos to the About, experience and some other sections of your profiles, the featured section changes the prominence a LinkedIn article now has on your LinkedIn Profile, lets you feature posts and does a better job of showcasing external website link imagery.

Productivity

Everyday rituals and habits that help me grow my business

My family calls me lazy. My partner teases me for being disorganised, but then again he would, because he’s one of those annoying over-organised, super productive people, who manages grocery shopping, cooking, laundry and will soon be taking charge of home schooling, seeing as how he has little, or no, work right now (he’s also self-employed).

Productivity

Two ways to make Mondays more productive you haven’t heard about

By Lucy Kippist

Call me annoying but I always try and look for the best in a Monday. Actually don’t tell anyone but they’re practically my favourite day of the week because they feel full of possibility - but only if you come prepared. Here are 2 clever hacks I discovered recently that come with a guarantee to kickstart a new week.

Professional development

How to identify and manage uncertainties

On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) learned of several cases of severe pneumonia in the Chinese city of Wuhan. This strain of coronavirus has since spread through China and into other countries. WHO later named COVID-19.

Productivity

SURVEY: How is your business coping with COVID?

By Lucy Kippist

We’re 6 months into this COVID mess. Our survey takes 3 minutes to complete. Click on the link and share your experience, we'd love to hear your insights.

Productivity

10 ways to be twice as successful in half the time

Busy, so busy!” It’s the default response for many of us when asked how we’re doing. But more often than not, come the end of the day, we have little to show for all of that busy-ness. However, being time poor is usually a reflection of being decision poor.

Productivity

13 inspiring women share their #1 tip for small business success

By Lucy Kippist

A massive 35% of Australia’s GDP is attributed to small business and women in particular are creating successful new ventures at a rapid pace. According to the ABS, Australia has seen a 46% increase in the number of women running small businesses over the last two decades.

Productivity

5 powerful ways to grow your business

If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from the last six months, it’s that the economy is unpredictable. Businesses and people have had to master the art of adapting to survive. Hit by major impacts and global shutdown, disorder is often the driving force for business owners to re-evaluate how they manage their operations.

Productivity

The day a violent hail storm turned my life and home-based business upside down

A few days before Christmas in 2018, a huge hailstorm hit most parts of Sydney. Some parts were hit harder than others, and unfortunately my suburb was one of them. During the storm, hailstones the size of tennis balls pelted our house at speeds of up to 112kph, downwards and sideways. Our windows shattered and rain literally poured in from everywhere, including through light fittings, beams, exhaust fans and down all walls. My sons’ backyard toys and play equipment became missile targets. Later, our bedroom ceiling collapsed.

Productivity

Screw it! The key to getting sh*t done

By Nicola Moras

Business owners all have one thing in common: there is always so much to do and finite time to do it. The famous quote “We all have the same number of hours in a day as Beyoncé” may be true that we all have 24-hour days, however, we don’t all have the luxury of the support that Beyoncé has. It’s what you do with the hours you have available that actually matters.

Productivity

5 ways businesses can reduce churn

According to research, the average business has a retention rate of less than 20%. That means that most companies are churning — or losing — 80% of their customers over time. The consequences of this can be severe for your business. It results in lost revenue and wasted advertising dollars. The true path to having a successful product or brand is to reduce customer churn, so they stay around as repeat buyers. Make sure you aren’t leaving profit on the table. Here are five powerful ways to serve your customers at a higher level (and keep them coming back for more) to help you.

Productivity

Podcast 231: How we adapted our client-facing business to the “new normal”

Sally Farrow from Para Mobility, a manufacturer of assistive technologies shares her unique experience in shifting her business model throughout recent times.