Increasing your visibility is a key goal for many business owners. It’s been said that who knows you is more important than who you know. So, how do you increase your visibility while maintaining your credibility?

Join us on 20 October when for a new webinar where we’ll explore how to raise your profile, both online and offline, without spending a fortune.

Event Details:

Increase Your Visibility - National

DATE: TIME: VENUE: PRICE:

Wednesday, 20 October 2010 10.15am for 10.30am – 11.30am AEST Your home or office. ABN Members – $0 – FREE Non-Members – $39 (*members: login to get your member discount.) Not a member? Join now and save all year.

Note: You will need internet access and a headset with microphone. Fee includes tuition. Call costs may apply if you do not use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

What is a webinar?

A webinar is a web-based seminar. To participate you will need high-speed internet and a USB headset (with microphone). Instructions will be sent to you on receipt of your registration.

Not a member?

Join today and you save hundreds of dollars each year on workshops designed to help you be more successful as a businesswoman. Membership is less than $1 a day! Learn More about Membership Now

Is this event right for you?

This event is suitable for women in all stages of business.

What’s Next?

Register through our secure online shopping system. Upon registration you’ll receive confirmation of your attendance. If you have any questions you can send us an email or, call 1300 720 120. If you are a member, remember to login to get free entry.

If you ask people what they want more of in life, often the answer will somehow relate to happiness.

Happiness at work is not only an option, but a primary goal for many of us. But how do we maintain a high mood level when we’re crushed for time and managing deadlines and business pressures.

Dr Timothy Sharp is one of Australia’s leaders in the exciting new science of Positive Psychology and he’s our guest speaker on 21 September. During a one-hour webinar we’ll look at:

• A powerful approach to creating personal happiness
• Simple daily practices that will perk up your mood
• Ways to spend your time doing what you love and loving what you do
• How to enhance the life you live
• Strategies for creating and maintaining a more positive mind
• The keys to better relationships

We also know that happy workers are more engaged and satisfied, they get on and collaborate better with colleages and clients and ultmately, they’re more productive. So, we’ll look at how to support our teams and colleagues in the pursuit of happiness. And, how to create happy work environments.

Guest Speakers:

Event Details:

Happy at Work - National

DATE: TIME: VENUE: PRICE:

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 10.15am for 10.30am – 11.30am AEST Your home or office. ABN Members – $0 – FREE Non-Members – $39 (*members: login to get your member discount.) Not a member? Join now and save all year. Take a look at our 2010 educational webinar outline.

Note: You will need internet access and a headset with microphone. Fee includes tuition. Call costs may apply if you do not use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).

What is a webinar?

A webinar is a web-based seminar. To participate you will need high-speed internet and a USB headset (with microphone). Instructions will be sent to you on receipt of your registration.

Not a member?

Join today and you save hundreds of dollars each year on workshops designed to help you be more successful as a businesswoman. Membership is less than $1 a day! Learn More about Membership Now

Is this event right for you?

This event is suitable for women in all stages of business.

What’s Next?

Register through our secure online shopping system. Upon registration you’ll receive confirmation of your attendance. If you have any questions you can send us an email or, call 1300 720 120. If you are a member, remember to login to get free entry.

The subject of organisational resilience and business continuity is not my area of expertise but through my executive coaching clients and colleagues I have learned some of the jargon and theory behind it. You may have heard of business continuity experts – they are people who advise businesses on anything from disaster recovery and insurance to identifying business outputs and risks to them, and how to keep revenue flowing if there is a disaster or crisis. A business continuity plan sets out how your business could recover from a disaster or a major disruption to its operations.

Lately I have been thinking that I should have my own business continuity plan – one that consists of more than just backing up my hard drive from time to time, when I remember. It might sound a bit too grand for a home-based business but I think that a home-based business is particularly vulnerable to catastrophic failure because it usually relies on a small number of people, a limited amount of critical technology and a small number of systems. A house fire, an illness, a house robbery or even a toddler or pet could cause permanent and catastrophic business disruption to most home-based businesses.

If you have not read my ABN blogposts before, I have recently started an online parenting magazine and I am currently running it from home. I have a small number of contractors and volunteers I rely on to develop my business and the vast majority of information I “own” is stored in computer hard drives in my office and in mysterious things called “servers” and ”hosts” on the other side of the world. So I have decided to add a business continuity plan section to my business plan.

For an overview of the elements of a business continuity plan, I found a simple guide on a Queensland Government website . I also found this very helpful pdf guide to Business Continuity Management from the South Australian Government.

It can be expensive to engage a business continuity expert but if you would like to find an expert in Australia, here are two places to look: Continuity Forum and The Australian Chapter of the Business Continuity Institute .

The essential areas that need to be covered are:

Prevention: what do you do now to prevent or reduce risks to your business?

Preparedness: what do you do now to make sure that you could quickly respond to and recover from a business disruption?

Response: when you are confronted with a crisis, what will you do to minimise its impact?

Recovery: what actions would you take to reduce the time it takes for your business to recover from a disaster?

So I have been thinking about my parenting website, the systems behind it, the people I rely on, the insurance I am choosing and the technology I use. I have spoken to a colleague who is an expert in this area and trawled the internet for information. You should consider getting professional advice on some of these individual issues but here’s a quick synthesis of what I have learned:

• Have a plan (and follow it) for regular back-up of your technology-based and hard-copy based information, systems and records. For a great example of what can go horribly wrong, read about Janet Beckers’ experience when her website host went missing.
• Work out where and how you would run your home-based business if your home was no longer available.
• Make sure that you are fully insured against all risks – that usually means comprehensive Professional Indemnity and Public Liability cover and making sure that your home insurance policy covers valuable items in your home office (e.g. your computers, software, cameras, phones). As part of this process, it’s a good idea to make an inventory of the items you own that would require replacement.
• Create a back-up of all the contact information you need for critical service providers to your business and store it off site and/or online in the technological “cloud”. (Some of this may be stored in your computer’s hard drive and some may be in items such as address books or business card folders, for example – and don’t forget to back up/regularly synchronise your mobile phone or PDA. Create a backup of your social media contacts, ‘friends’ and ‘followers’.
• If you have an e-commerce website – make sure that you have reliable back-up of all customer and order information.
• Try to set aside an amount of cash for an emergency; you may need to use it to replace items, obtain urgent services or pay for extra assistance from a consultant.
• Update your business continuity plan regularly and make it a part of your written business plan.

Looks like I have some work ahead of me!

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY YVETTE VIGNANDO

• Can a Mumpreneur Really Crush It? 5 Tips to Myself.
• 3 Tips for New Business Success
• 5 Twitter Tips for Entrepreneurs

More than two fifths (43 per cent) of  Australian business women reported that tax concessions are a key factor in reducing the environmental impact of their business, according to a survey released today by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN).

The survey conducted by ABN, a national community of nearly 20,000 businesswomen, is based on the responses of 395 participants and focuses on businesswomen’s views on social, environmental, political and other topical issues impacting women.

According to Suzi Dafnis, Community Director of ABN, minimising environmental impact is a high priority for small business as part of their corporate social responsibility.

“Our survey reveals that 23 per cent of Australian Businesswomen said that education and knowledge is a key factor in reducing the environmental impact of their business and 29 per cent said financial incentives in the form of grants would support them.

Just three per cent of women said penalties would encourage them to minimise their environmental impact.

“Our findings reveal that although minimising environmental impact is a priority for female small business owners, compensation through tax rebates or financial incentives would best assist them to meet obligations. The findings also reveal that businesses could also be better educated about how they can minimise their carbon footprint,” said Dafnis.

Other key findings of the research:

• The highest proportion of participants, more than two fifths [42 per cent] reported that they were not sure if the National Broadband Network would increase their productivity. 31 per cent of women surveyed were not optimistic with just 28 per cent saying they were optimistic.
• The overall confidence of business growth was positive with 23 per cent reporting that they expected their business to increase significantly and 39 per cent reporting that they expected their business to increase marginally.
• Nearly three quarters of Australian business women are using social media as part of their marketing strategy.
  • Interestingly, 13 per cent of businesswomen are using social media tools for more than 50 per cent of their marketing initiatives.

The results of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Quarterly Index were analysed and compiled by Tribe Research. www.triberesearch.com.au . This is the first ABN Quarterly Survey.

It was hosted in June 2010 and is an ongoing research project which will be undertaken by the ABN every quarter.

About the Australian Businesswomen’s Network

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network is the peak organisation supporting women in business to provide them with the skills to start, manage and grow their business. With over 20,000 members, the ABN caters to the largest community of women business owners and entrepreneurs in the country. The Australian Businesswomen’s Network provides training and mentoring for women across Australia. Its advocacy initiative, herVoice, was created in response to numerous requests for the ABN to take a leading role in public policy development, advocacy and lobbying on issues relating to Australian businesswomen and female entrepreneurs. For more information visit: www.abn.org.au

Spending the time to recruit properly is vital to the long term success of your business. The right staff will enhance your business and the wrong staff can cause irreparable damage to your reputation and productivity.

Recruiting staff will take between 20 and 24 hours – if not longer – to do yourself. Consider whether you have the time and, if you do, whether this is the best use of your time?

If in doubt, engage a professional!

Here is a detailed breakdown of how long recruitment can take with and without the help of a professional:

Now if you are having any doubts about the value of using a professional to help with your recruiting, think about this – if you had 20-30 hours to spare in your business – how much money could you make if you were doing the things you are great at, and the things that your business is successful for? I am sure your answer is at least twice whatever the cost is to hire some professional help.

Ok, so the numbers stack up, what should you be looking for when seeking help from a professional?

1. Do they usually recruit for these sorts of positions? If not, what skills, experience and knowledge are they bringing to the table which tells you that they can handle what you need?
2. Who else uses them? If you know your competitors are getting great staff from a particular supplier, likelihood is they can help you too! Ask for referrals and recommendations from other business that you know, or ask the Recruiter / HR Consultant for some references you can contact to discuss their service.
3. What service do they offer, does it provide value for money and what’s included? Not all service providers are the same, and there are many out there who promise the world and deliver nothing. Take the time to understand the processes they go through to find you that perfect person, and make sure they follow these processes.
4. Do they offer to come out and meet with you, to gain an understanding of you and your business needs? If they don’t offer, don’t invite them, and find someone else. A good Recruiter / HR Consultant wants to understand you and your business to ensure they find the right person.
5. Are they interviewing all candidates face to face? If they aren’t local to you, the answer is probably no – and if that’s the case what else are you paying them to do?
6. Are they providing copies of the references they have done, the testing the applicants complete and a thorough resume and interview feedback? If not, how can you be sure that they have followed the process they promised?
7. Do you trust them? Like all things it ultimately comes down to gut feel most of the time. Do you trust the consultant you are dealing with and do you believe they have your interests at heart?

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY KRISTY-LEE JOHNSTON

• Does Your Staff Make Your Business Look Good?
• It Is What They Know, Not Who They Know
• Pay Peanuts – Get Monkeys?

Despite the Government’s plan to invest more than $43 billion to build the National Broadband Network, more than two fifths [42 per cent] of Australian business women reported that they were not sure if the NBN would increase their productivity at work, according to a survey released today by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN)

The survey conducted by ABN, a national community of nearly 20,000 businesswomen, is based on the responses of 395 participants and focuses on businesswomen’s views on social, environmental, political and other topical issues impacting women.

According to Suzi Dafnis, Community Director of ABN, increasingly business is being carried out online and therefore small businesses rely heavily on the use of the internet everyday for their business to run smoothly and efficiently and progress new opportunities via the internet.

“These figures reveal that although small businesses rely heavily on the internet it is unknown whether faster internet speeds will actually lead to increased productivity. There is naturally a lot of uncertainty about how the NBN will be rolled out given the election, but the research (which was conducted prior to the election campaign) shows that about a 31 per cent of respondents were uncertain as to how they would apply any benefits, another third (28 per cent) were very optimistic about its impact,” said Dafnis.

Other key findings of the research:

• Tax concessions were reported by more than two fifths of the participants as the main incentive to reduce the environmental impact of their business.
• The overall confidence of business growth was positive with 22 per cent reporting that they expected their business to increase significantly and 39 per cent reporting that they expected their business to increase marginally.
• Nearly three quarters of Australian business women are using social media as part of their marketing strategy.
  • Interestingly, 13 per cent of businesswomen are using social media tools for more than 50 per cent of their marketing initiatives.

The results of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Quarterly Index were analysed and compiled by Tribe Research. www.triberesearch.com.au . This is the first ABN Quarterly Survey. It was hosted in June 2010 and is an ongoing research project which will be undertaken by the ABN every quarter.

About the Australian Businesswomen’s Network

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network is the peak organisation supporting women in business to provide them with the skills to start, manage and grow their business. With over 20,000 members, the ABN caters to the largest community of women business owners and entrepreneurs in the country. The Australian Businesswomen’s Network provides training and mentoring for women across Australia. Its advocacy initiative, herVoice, was created in response to numerous requests for the ABN to take a leading role in public policy development, advocacy and lobbying on issues relating to Australian businesswomen and female entrepreneurs. For more information visit: www.abn.org.au

I asked a group of managers today how they would describe ‘resilience’. Their respose was ‘how you bounce back’. We then proceeded to have a conversation about maintaining one’s resilience in times of change and stress.

I know from my own experiences of the last few years, resilience can be a resource that slowly wears down. I don’t ‘bounce-back’ as easily as I did 5 years ago, and the conversation got me wondering about we, as Business Leaders and busy women increase our bounce-back-ability.

Rest

For me, a key part of my diminishing ‘elasticity’ is in large part attributed to my new parenting role. My eldest turned five last month, my second and youngest is two and a half. There is rarely a night where I’m not interrupted at least once by at least one of them. The interruptions are short and easily dealt with now, but long gone are the days of a solid eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.

I’m also guilty of working late into the evening, largely because I want to and I find that I’m quite productive when I do. However this has a knock-on effect in terms of sleep. Late to bed, interrupted and still early-up to meet the day’s commitments. There’s no doubt more sleep would make the world of difference.

In addition to the sleep is of course just ‘down-time’. I know I’m not alone that as working parents (this is no longer a women-only issue) we are always ‘on’ and there is little opportunity for our own rest and rejuvenation. That of course impacts our resilience resources.

Network

Another contributor to our resilience I think is our ability to bounce ideas and share a common reality. Being a business owner can be lonely at times and there are often few people we can ‘unload’ to. This means thoughts, emotions and frustrations are often bottled up or, if you’re like me, continue in a monotous loop of random internal dialogue. If you’re going through a challenging time, this internal dialogue can have a very slow yet profound impact on your state of mind and therefore your resilience. I noticed in the group I was working with today, the very fact they came from the same organisation and had together experienced rapid change at least normalised their feelings, they were all a bit ‘battered and bruised’ but their resilience was as affected as people who go through such experiences on their own.

Physicality

We know the importance of diet, exercise and personal health and well-being. Nothing more needs to be said. Except that it is important for reasons other than our physical health. Our mental health is dramatically affected too. I know my resilience drops when my exercise drops so finding any time for exercise is important.

They’re my random ramblings about improving my own resilience, my mental notes-to-self about improving my ability to bounce-back. I’m therefore curious and keen to share – what do you do? What works for you?

MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY CAT MATSON

• Asking the *Right* Questions to Get the *Right* Answers
• What Every Business Plan Should Have (But Most are Missing)
• Half-Time Address

Do you cringe every time you hear the words ‘What makes you different?’ Do you think ‘Oh no. I still have no idea what my niche is’?

Do the words ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ and ‘Point of Difference’ make you go weak at the knees because in your heart you just know that your business is a lot more ‘same same’ than different to your competitors?

Here’s three secrets that will give you relief from these miserable symptoms of business boringness.

1. Design Multiple Differences

Anyone can copy one or two points of difference – it is the unique combination of multiple factors that will actually make your business different. And the more out of the box and opinionated you are in promoting your differences, the stronger your brand will be… as long as your differences align with your customer’s requirements. So don’t go looking for one big impossible to find point of difference – go looking for 10 or 20 smaller ones that combined make you look like the company your customers have been waiting for!

Find out what they hate about your industry and fix it! Discover their pain points and go beyond their expectations! Use your constraints to create unheard-of solutions. And then be a curator: often it’s what you leave out that leaves the largest impression. Create a combination of differences that is impossible to copy!

2. Be Yourself

It’s common to see new businesses earnestly emulating their more established competitors. No-one is interested in swapping to a clone of their existing supplier. The risk is all on your clients side. In every industry there is space for a wide variety of ice-cream flavours – just because plain vanilla is popular, doesn’t mean all clients will choose it (and often the margins are smaller)! Have a good look at who your ideal clients are. Find the quirky twists that you enjoy and they appreciate and form your brand around these. You’ll create raving fans instead of dutiful dinosaurs – a much more progressive and profitable base to build a business on!

3. Engage Clients Creatively

Once you know how you’re different, show your clients the difference, rather than telling them. Allow your differences to shine through at the client touchpoints which have the most impact or influence. Be willing to be seen as different. When you start getting word of mouth clients regularly, media requests and hearing gossip about your business you’ll know your ‘be the difference’ strategy is working!

The survey conducted by ABN, a national community of nearly 20,000 businesswomen, is based on the responses of 395 participants and focuses on businesswomen’s views on social, environmental, political and other topical issues impacting women.

According to Suzi Dafnis, Community Director of ABN, social media tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn are firmly established as an important component of a business’ marketing strategy.

“Our survey reveals 41 per cent of respondents use social media for 10 – 25 per cent of their marketing strategy and 13 per cent use it for 26 – 50 per cent of their marketing strategy.

Interestingly, 13 per cent of businesswomen are using social media tools for more than 50 per cent of their marketing initiatives. This really tells us that social media is providing Australian businesswomen with a low cost and accessible means to reach the wider community,” said Dafnis.

Other key findings of the research:

• Tax concessions were reported by more than two fifths of the participants as the main supporter for them to reduce the environmental impact of their business.
• The overall confidence of business growth was positive with 23% reporting that they expected their business to increase significantly and 39% reporting that they expected their business to increase marginally.
• The highest proportion of participants, more than two fifths [42%] reported that they were not sure if the National Broadband Network would increase their productivity. 31 per cent of women surveyed were not optimistic with just 28 per cent saying they were optimistic.

The results of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network Quarterly Index were analysed and compiled by Tribe Research. This is the first ABN Quarterly Survey. It was hosted in June 2010 and is an ongoing research project which will be undertaken by the ABN every quarter.

About the Australian Businesswomen’s Network

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network is the peak organisation supporting women in business to provide them with the skills to start, manage and grow their business. With over 20,000 members, the ABN caters to the largest community of women business owners and entrepreneurs in the country. The Australian Businesswomen’s Network provides training and mentoring for women across Australia. Its advocacy initiative, herVoice, was created in response to numerous requests for the ABN to take a leading role in public policy development, advocacy and lobbying on issues relating to Australian businesswomen and female entrepreneurs. For more information visit: www.abn.org.au

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