In the first two parts
of this series, Louise Schultze sat you on the analyst’s
couch to figure out whether you have ADD (Advertising Deficit Disorder) and, if
so, which type. Today, she tells you how to cure ADD2 (and your Dad issues!).
Ok, you know what to do. Get comfy. You’re here because you have accepted that
you have ADD2. Last session on the couch, we spoke about ADD1 and your ‘Mother’
issues. Guess what? Yep - ADD2 is all about your Father issues. So let’s re-cap
what ADD2 is again.
ADD2 - (Advertising Deficit Disorder -
Type 2)
You’re hyperactive in your advertising. You place dozens of ads everywhere,
take up every distress ad out there with a ‘buy it, buy it now’ attitude. You
can’t see whether the ads you are placing are actually working for you, and you
probably created ads for your business that had a negative effect. You fiddle
excessively with your ads, and have poor listening skills when it comes to your
creative designer or marketer. And it just simply never registers to think
about the buying behaviours of potential clients.
So put that down, stop fiddling, and look at me Kimmy. Look at me!
We’re going to talk about Fathers............
To read the whole article, comment, rate and
spread the lovin go to...
http://bit.ly/dpfBC
Thanks iBidAM supporters! We do love you!
I am constantly on the look
out for businesses and individuals who genuinely offer the good stuff when it comes
to business advice and the real needs of SME’s. And I get all tingly when I come across someone
already sharing the love that wants to throw some our way.
Daniel Watson from Rhodan Management Consultants Pty.
Ltd is ready to play a little business hand ball. Daniel has over 35 year
experience in directorship, management, consulting, in both Private, Listed and
Unlisted Public Companies and Public Sector organisations, in Real Estate,
Telecommunications, Information Technology, Professional Services, Franchising
and Government. He is a member of all
the cool business groups like Australian Institute of Management, Australian
Institute of Company Directors, the Golden Key National Honour Society etc, and
has the University papers to back it all up.
We’re going to cross over to
Daniel’s 'Unique Insights' Blog from time to time and
steal a few words of wisdom for all you SME’s that like a bit of Boost Juice
for your business.
I thought I’d start with
some of his sizzling sss’s. Six of them
in fact!
The
Six Critical Elements to Building a Successful Business.
Creating a business is one
thing, but building a successful business that attains a level of profit which
represents a satisfactory return on the time and capital invested by the owners
and also proves to be sustainable over many years, is a challenge that many
business owners fail to overcome.
I believe that six critical
elements (the Six S's) must all be effectively in play before any business can
realistically become a successful business.
If one or more of these
elements is not operating at an optimal level within your business you have
some work to do if you want success to eventually come your way.
The Six S's are …….. read
more……
Oh Yeah forgot to say –
Daniel likes to give away a freebie here and there. Check it out!
In part
one of this series, Louise Schultze sat you on the analyst’s couch to
figure out whether you have ADD (Advertising Deficit Disorder) and, if so,
which type. Today, she tells you how to cure it.
How to cure SMEs with ADD Type 1
So here you are back on my
couch. You’ve either accepted that you have AD1, or you have plenty of time up
your sleeve and want to chill out on my couch. Either way, clock’s ticking and
you want to know what to do. So let’s get into the cure.
ADD1 - (Advertising Deficit Disorder - Type 1)
You’re the one complacent
about advertising. You have difficulty focusing on where to advertise and what
type of advertising works for your clients. You feel overwhelmed by it all and
then do nothing because it feels like the safer option.
Well, like all good
psychiatrists, I want to start at the beginning. Let’s talk about your
relationship with your mother.
To read the whole article,
comment, rate and spread the lovin go to...
http://bit.ly/r8S6H
Thanks iBidAM supporters! We do love you!
Now get off my couch and
start dealing with your Mum issues.
By Louise Schultze, Australian Anthill Article - August 28, 2009
I recently had the pleasure of having lunch
with the brains behind CLIVE
technology (Customer’s Live Internet Video Experience), Chris Schwager Director
at Ridge Films and Scott Maxworthy
Director at Maxys. They simply amazed me with their new
technology and how it can make a difference with engaging clients once they
reach your website. You see, Advertising
to marketing is like man to virus. You
need the host to attract the bug – so it can multiply and spread. Well, in the same way Advertising like humans
attract, and marketing is the virus that multiplies and spreads the bug. So you need a good engaging ad to get people
to your site and then a great contagious marketing campaign to keep them there.
This technology is definitely one to
engage and has the ability to be used as an ongoing marketing tool also.
But don’t take our word for it - look at the
recent shark attack on the net using
the CLIVE technology. You have to click the play button at the
bottom right hand corner.
Mr. Maxworthy says “These days, you’ve got just 12
seconds to grab someone’s attention on the web”.
Crap, I hope it didn’t take you longer than 12
seconds to read this then!
www.clivevideo.com
New SMEs are more likely to have ADD - By Louise Schultze
Ok, so
I’m not talking about 10-year-old boys on Ritalin selling lemonade on
the corner of a suburban street. I’m talking about small and medium
enterprise with Advertising Deficit Disorder.
SMEs who, from
either lack of funding or simple know-how, spend too much money on
advertising in all the wrong places, or those who don’t spend any at
all. So which one are you? Do you have AD1 or AD2?
To read more, comment, rate and spread the lovin go to...
http://ow.ly/15KPVz
Thanks iBidAM supporters! We do love you!
:)
One of the things I sincerely love
about being human on earth is crash landing into people who just simply fit
into a part of your apparel of life. iBidAM has been proud to bring you
Notes From Dave's Brain, and we have
decided we will continue to bring you a great range of guest writers we crash
into along the way, who we believe will add immeasurable value to your
business. We can tell you everything you need to know about Advertising
& Marketing, but it's nice to have Alliances with people who not only know
their stuff when it comes to SME's, but are genuinely passionate about sharing
that knowledge with you. It's targeted to you the budding SME, and well
we just love our allies. To us they're more like; bruvers in the hood!
Now without further adieu, I would
like to introduce to you Richard Pascoe from Businesbuild.com.au. Richard is the co-owner of
Business Build.
He has been advising and consulting to businesses all over Australia since
1994, previously holding various positions from high level store management to State
Analyst for Coles Myer. Richard's expertise
encompasses merchandising, administration, stock control, negotiation,
financial modeling, staff management and IT. Richard has also owned and
operated 2 successful retail businesses before starting Retail Brokers.
I'm very impressed with Richard's
level of enthusiasm and integrity for what he does for SME's and I'm very
excited he will be sharing his expertise with us at the iBidAM Blog. Over
to you Richard.....
Thanks Louise......
NOW - HAVE YOU JUST BOUGHT A BUSINESS? WELL, GET READY
TO SELL IT!
You
have bought your business and are settling into the day to day running and
trying to increase sales or maintain sales. Many businesses when changing hands
can drop up to 25% of sales due to the previous owner’s involvement so it pays
to be prepared when you take over to counteract any decline.
However
one of the key aspects when you go into a business or have just started a
business is to begin to get ready to sell it.
Let
me explain.
One
day after a few years you may decide it’s time for a change and you want to get
out of your business. You prepare the profit and loss for the accountant,
decide on an agent to sell it for you, and it is on the market. What will the
agent do for you, advertise the business and point potential buyers in your
direction show them the profit and loss, and if it sells, take their
commission.
You
are the best salesperson for your business and need to help the agent if you
wish to maximise the sales price for your business. Remember the agent will be
interested in one thing, the commission.
Firstly
you need a handbook for the running of your business which covers everything
possible on the day to day running of your business, and will demonstrate how
you achieved the profit and the sales. A good handbook will allow you to
increase your price because you are minimising failure from the new owner.
Next
show detailed figures on the percentage increase of customers, the percentage
increase of dollars per customer, before and after pictures to show how you
have developed the business over time; this will assist in the selling of the
business.
Finally
stand back and take a critical look at your business and give potential owners
ideas on how they can develop the business further
A
profit and loss along with the agent will only do so much; you are the best
salesperson for your business.
I'm Richard
Pascoe from www.businessbuild.com.au,
and I'm signing out......
Thanks Richard. To find out more info on how to make your new
journey in your business a road to success, get cracking and hop on over to Business Build.
www.businessbuild.com.au
CALL
AUSTRALIA
WIDE : 1800 300 301
"Gday Everyone Dave here. . . . . .
As you may be aware the financial year has now closed.
I
expect that you have either heard from or had a chat with your
accountant about year end tax planning and you may have squeezed in a few more tax
deductions.
If not, then one that is of particular interest this year is the 50% investment allowance for small businesses (ie businesses with a turnover of less than $2m) or the 30% investment allowance for businesses with a turnover greater than $2m.
In
short, if a small business spends $1,000 or more on a new or near new
item of plant, equipment, furniture, motor vehicles (ie items that
you'd normally depreciate) then, in addition to normal
depreciation, you will also be entitled to a one-off upfront tax
deduction equal to 50% of the items cost. In the case of non-small
businesses then you must spend at least $10,000 per item in order to
receive an extra 30% tax deduction.
In
the case of small businesses you have until 31 December 2009 to acquire
eligible items. However, only items acquired this financial year can
be claimed this financial year. Items acquired between 1 July-31
December 2009 may be claimed next year.
Finally,
if you're making a tax loss this year then clearly the extra deduction
does nothing except to amplify your loss (and I'm not sure if you can
carry it forward), in which case you might be better off holding onto
your cash rather than spending it!
I
don't know all the answers or all the eligibility criteria so I'd
strongly recommend that you please talk to your accountant about this
opportunity ASAP.
Regards
Dave Windsor "
David Windsor has extensive knowledge with over
15 years experience mentoring entrepreneurs to start-ups, to SMEs to corporates,
sharing his legal, commercial and strategic know-how, and network, with the
prime focus of achieving growth for his clients – it's nice to have his know-how splattered here for all to see and share. Thanks Dave!
I was having a conversation with iBidAM.com’s brilliant expert Lawyer & Commercial Counsel, David
Windsor, the other day about some of the mistakes we have made and how we
always managed to pull ourselves out of it.
How we only wish we had of known some things from the start.
So it gave me the idea that, since Dave has some extensive knowledge with over
15 years experience mentoring entrepreneurs to start-ups, to SMEs to corporates,
sharing his legal, commercial and strategic know-how, and network, with the
prime focus of achieving growth for his clients – I thought I’d pick his brain
and share it with you for FREE!! Yay FREE
ADVICE from a lawyer, you don’t get that every day!!!
Thoughts From Dave’s Brain…….
- Set
yourself up correctly from the start
- There
is nothing more exciting than starting-up a business. To see your idea come to life and brave
the big bad world. Be it by yourself;
with some old school mates; family members; professional colleagues that
you've met along the way; or complete strangers; it is paramount that your
business and specifically the structure of your business and relation of
the founders is set up properly at the start.
- As
entrepreneurs or innovators founding a business it is critical that you
familiarise yourself with the range of structures, entities and strategies
available to you. From Companies to
Trusts to Partnerships to Sole Trader - each has its advantages and
disadvantages - including asset protection, income tax treatment, capital
gains tax treatment, profit distribution, entry and exit strategies,
access to Government grants & concessions, etc.
- Moreover,
once you decide on a structure both for yourself and the business (and
when I say yourself - I mean you as one of the owners / founders) then I'd
strongly suggest that you put in place a comprehensive agreement between
yourself and your fellow founders (an Equity Holder's Agreement) so as to
govern your relationship, manage your respective expectations and provide
for the smooth operation of your business.
- Finally,
I'd counsel you to ensure that everyone that works for the business
(whether as a Director, Contractor, Consultant or Employee) enter into
Service Agreements that cover off at an absolute bare minimum the
development and protection of the businesses confidential information and
intellectual property, along with dealing with such matters as rates of
remuneration, services to be performed, etc.
- It
might seem like a lot to start off with, but remember two things: 1) It's
a hell of a lot more costly, time consuming and risky to
"re-structure" a bad structure than to start off with a good
one; & 2) Agreements are for the bad times, not the good times - hence
the best time to write them is when you are all happy and most importantly
- in agreement!
From time to time, I’ll share some more wisdom from ‘Dave’s Brain’!
Remember, iBidAM.com
is the best solution for your Advertising & Marketing needs. When you need to slash your Advertising &
Marketing costs, iBidAM is how you do it, without slashing clients from your
business in the process! We are giving
away extraordinary FREE stuff at the moment to help with the Financial Crisis –
like FREE ADVERTISING TO OVER 10,000 BUSINESSES and much more. Contact us for more info.