My Business Podcast

"Let's face it, people leave managers, not companies". It is a bold statement, but one which Norgay HR Consulting's Clare Long believes is important for all business owners to be mindful of. Returning to the My Business Podcast, Clare delves deep into the issues of leadership and people management with insights on how to hire well from the outset, dealing with conflict resolution and employee terminations, the truth about unfair dismissal as well as important tips for ensuring your leadership delivers an empowered and engaged workforce. Plus much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“You learn a lot just from listening to your customers … but some companies don’t do that.” Coming from the owner of a business that grew its turnover by an impressive 80 per cent in 2016, such advice is worth listening to. Speaking on the My Business Podcast, Andrew Lupton of Nonna’s Gourmet Sausages and Deli discusses exactly how he achieved this feat, his approach to developing and managing supplier and customer relationships, the opportunities that can be harnessed by acquiring distressed assets and much more!

With the new year finally here, it may be time to give your workplace a new look with a commercial fit-out. However, it can be a daunting task: what do you need to know to get the right plan? Who do you need to talk to? How much do you need to spend? Speaking on the My Business Podcast, QVS Commercial Interiors managing director Eric Brown and DCI Partnership director Richard deVries discuss what business owners need to know about getting a commercial fit-out. They also cover how to balance what business owners want for their new layout versus what they actually need, and an easy trick to get the best possible layout before you make a costly mistake. Plus much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“The lifeblood of a business is its cash flow, and the more that you can bring in sooner, the better.” While this is a statement of the obvious, it is important to step back from your daily 'busyness' as a business owner to remember this point, and focus on ensuring your cash flow is in a healthy state. In this Christmas-week podcast, accountant Alexander Laureti returns to discuss chasing last-minute Christmas receivables, tips for maintaining healthy cash flow over the holiday period, and how best to strategise for the new year ahead. Plus much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

With speculation mounting about Australia’s economy approaching a recession, amid global factors such as Brexit and Trump’s election victory, just what are SMEs expecting for the future? Momentum Intelligence head of research Andrew (Andy) Scott joins the My Business Podcast to discuss the results of the inaugural SMB Sentiment Survey. Undertaken in the first quarter of the 2016-17 financial year – the same quarter that Australia’s economy went backwards, according to GDP figures from the ABS – the survey provides a snapshot of the thoughts of business owners on the performance of government, global economic forces, hiring intentions and profitability forecasts. Andy also explores the satisfaction and expectations of employees in smaller businesses, in terms of pay rises, promotions and job-hopping. Is it all doom and gloom, or are business owners optimistic about their fortunes in the months ahead? And are employees happy to stay where they are or do they plan to re-enter the job market? Tune in now to find

Once the domain of our biggest companies, offshoring is an increasingly attractive option for SMEs to reduce their wages bill and to fill skills gaps when local talent is short on the ground. Yet there are many questions and queries: How do you go about it? Is it expensive? Do you still have managerial control? My Business editor and co-owner of Momentum Media, Phil Tarrant, discusses his first-hand experience of taking on an offshore team of web and IT-skilled employees in a conversation with Thomas Cragg and Joe Curren of KMC Solutions, an offshore staff leasing and virtual employee provider in the Philippines capital, Manila. Take a listen and get some valuable insights into whether offshoring could be a viable option for your business! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

Beyond the eccentric rhetoric and headline-grabbing blustering, many Australians are keen to know what a Donald Trump presidency in the US will mean for their businesses. With this in mind, we invited Chris Joye, a funds manager at Smarter Money Investments and a columnist for The Australian Financial Review, onto the My Business Podcast to share his thoughts for what Trump’s policies will mean for Aussie importers and exporters. In a wide-ranging chat, Chris explores the potential policy implications at home, the effects on domestic interest rates for business loans and residential mortgages, as well as where SMEs can get the best returns on surplus capital. Plus much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

While innovation is a hot topic at present, how do you maintain relevance and grow your business in a changing market without cutting off your established bread-and-butter offering? Ex footy player and co-founder of Garlo's Pies, Sean Garlick, reveals his strategies that other businesses could also follow. http://www.mybusiness.com.au

From a start-up to annual sales nearing $5 million in less than three years, publican turned online retailer Steve Rider clearly has a solid grasp of e-commerce. The founder of Mybottleshop.com.au joins the My Business Podcast to discuss how business owners can best capitalise on sales growth opportunities, plus much more! www.mybusiness.com.au twitter.com/philliptarrant

Virtually every Australian knows of Kennards Hire – they ‘make your job easy’, as the slogan goes. Yet did you know this household name grew from a small regional hardware store? New CEO Angus Kennard, grandson of founder Walter Kennard, hits the airwaves on the My Business Podcast to share the story of how the business has grown to date, its innovative plans for the future and the company’s approach to succession planning... plus much, much more. Listen now! See more business insights, tips and profiles at www.mybusiness.com.au

A strict compliance regime spanning aviation and maritime regulations, high-cost maintenance in a corrosive salt water environment, a limited pool of skilled employees and exposure to the mercy of the weather: it would seem that Sydney Seaplanes has everything stacked against it. Yet, as managing director Aaron Shaw explains, the business is as successful as it is iconic over the waters of Sydney Harbour, and Sydney Seaplanes continues to expand and diversify its service offering to add further value to its customer base. Speaking on the My Business Podcast, Aaron discusses: • Forming symbiotic partnerships with other businesses for mutual benefit • The challenges of operating in a heavy regulatory environment • Diversifying the business to leverage existing assets • His strategies for contingency planning as a weather-dependent business And much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“You have to be prepared to give stuff away,” says Clare Long, founder of Norgay HR Consulting. On its own, this may not sound like the wisest of business strategies. Yet as Clare explains, giving away bits of your time and expertise for free is a core part of building strong referral partnerships and developing trust with prospective customers. Speaking on the latest episode of the My Business Podcast, Clare discusses: • The return on investment from giving away free bites of the cherry • How she targets her networking activities for maximum effectiveness • The difficulties of scaling a consulting business and her approach to achieving this • Why she seeks to engage with her competitors rather than challenge them And lots more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“That was a really eye-opening experience for us, because in taking over somebody else's business … you're basically having to earn your stripes very quickly, because you have now taken over that relationship,” says Alexander Laureti on his firm’s first business acquisition. Regular followers of the My Business Podcast will recognise Alexander from several months ago, when he discussed how often you should speak to your accountant and the most common problems accountants uncover in their SME clients’ taxes and finances. Alexander makes his return to discuss his own business, LMS Advisory, in more detail, and speaks about: • The challenges and benefits of expansion through acquisition • Some of the quirks of succession planning in a family business • His approach to selling in an industry not traditionally associated with sales • Balancing profitability with service delivery Plus much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“It’s always on the top of my to-do list, because I can’t stand doing that other stuff… it’s painful,” says physiotherapist and pilates instructor Becky Dyer when asked about working on her business, rather than in it. “I had an admin assistant helping me and she’s recently left, and I’ve decided to suck it up and do it myself.” Becky’s struggles are all too familiar for every business owner, yet her outlook on where her priorities lie is a source of inspiration. Speaking on the latest episode of the My Business Podcast, Becky discusses: Her approach to ‘upselling’ through offering value-add services How she is adding scale by taking her services business online Tips for building a business solely around a referral network Managing the challenge of working on a business when your heart lies with the job And more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“If your idea is really good, and they like who you are – you are genuine about it – they will actually remember you,” ZOO Group’s Pawl Cubbin says of selling your wares to new customers. Achieving this, he says, requires a delicate balance of attracting the best employees and then incentivising them to perform at their peak. And having established a raft of businesses, from advertising agencies to pubs to an airline, who better than Pawl to explain the dynamics of staff performance and customer attraction? Speaking on the My Business Podcast, the Canberra-based advertising and creative agency director discusses: • Enhancing customer value when digital disruption threatens your industry • Transforming his business from being process- to outcome-driven • How to “activate people’s thinking” to get employees performing at their best • His tips for pitching to prospective customers And more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“In the beginning, it was tough…but we just continued our plight of selling it for what it is.” These are the words of Lauren Chang Sommer, founder of Moi Moi Fine Jewellery which, for its first 12 years, was the exclusive Australian distributor of manufactured gem moissanite. Now, with a major shift underway in the industry, Lauren and her business partner – sister Alana – are establishing their own manufacturing business to further enhance their reach and take ownership of the entire product chain. As well as outlining what moissanite is and how it is created, Lauren discusses: • Establishing a business around an unknown product • Her approach to running a business while looking after young children • Controlling the entire product vertical, from manufacture to education to retail • Gearing up to pounce on a major industry shift And more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

Most people struggle to run one business. Jacob Ohlson currently has two businesses – wellbeing clinic Cryo and Powernet IT Solutions, having run the latter for more than two decades, since the tender age of 17. But with technology changing rapidly, the service offering and knowledge base of Powernet IT Solutions and its founder have never remained static. “20 years ago, I knew everything … today, there are so many different types of technology, nobody can be a master of everything,” he says. Sharing his incredible story on the My Business Podcast, Jacob discusses: • How he has retained his first two customers for 22 years • The lessons learnt with the benefit of hindsight over those 22 years • His innovative approach to changing things when he stopped enjoying his work • What he has taken away from spending time with Sir Richard Branson And more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au

“You could probably make a comparison with our business to a niche coffee brand that goes out in Australia, grows very organically through finding great little cafes in different markets and putting their coffee in there. You win the hearts and minds of the owners. The consumers start liking the coffee and you gain your market share that way,” says Jared Fisher, founder of Rogue Beauty. This route to market is a strategy Jared learnt while working in the US, before returning to Sydney and establishing Rogue Beauty, a distributor of high-end hair and beauty products through hairdressing salons. Yet this is only one part of a chain of businesses in partnership for mutual benefit. Jared is also a partner with US-based Oribe Hair Care, which manufactures its own product range, in conjunction with prominent American beauty products owner Luxury Brand Partners. My Business sits down with Jared, together with Reuben Carranza, the group president of Luxury Brand Partners, to discuss: • How to break into a market agai

Marketing is a word every business owner is familiar with, but one which many – if not most – don’t fully understand. For this reason, the My Business Podcast crew asked Sascha Moore, founder of Create Design & Marketing, to return and discuss some of the fundamental points that SME owners should know about how to (and how not to) market their business. In this episode, Sascha explores: • Alienating new opportunities by sticking with ‘what’s worked before’ • Identifying what your point of difference really is (and no, it’s not service!) • How to set up a one-page marketing plan And more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au https://twitter.com/philliptarrant

Swallow some humble pie – you can’t do everything well, so outsource the things that would cost you more in time, money or energy to do yourself. That’s the advice to business owners from Paul Glossop, founder of property buyer’s agency Pure Property Investment. The high school teacher turned pharmaceuticals rep turned business owner says time is the most valuable resource you have, and as such, you need to devote every minute you have in your working week towards the core areas that will make you money, rather than on activities – and people – that burn through it. In this episode of the My Business Podcast, Paul discusses: • The level of persuasion involved in turning a lead into a customer. • How he assesses which tasks to take on and which to outsource. • The trap of paying yourself less to boost cash flow within the business. • His plans for adding scale, and why doing so is important. Plus much more! http://www.mybusiness.com.au https://twitter.com/philliptarrant