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Polishing up your financial crystal ball
The 2008/2009 financial year would have to be one of the most volatile for many years. What will 2009/2010 bring for SMEs? Some say it will be tougher and there will be more job losses and some say there will be great opportunities around. Whatever the next financial year brings, every business owner needs to plan for the worst and the best case scenario.
Anthill’s Smart 100: Readers’ Choice Awards (2013)
They embody the passions of earnest inventors and the dreams of budding business builders. They are the products of industries both old and new,...
Australian companies have so much unrealised potential
There are so many examples of exciting Australian companies and initiatives. Why aren’t doing a better job of ensuring their success? Brad Howarth looks at the issue of squandered potential.
Service to audit doctors stacks up at number four in Anthill's SMART 100
A doctor will do a better job is he or she compares patient treatment and outcomes to those performed by peers. That's the core idea behind SurgicalPerformance, a website that allows physicians to audit themselves and see how their work stacks up against others in the field.
Hey Presto! Watch me pull an ROI out of my hat!
In his first post, The cheque is in the mail, I'll respect you in the morning and your email system will generate a 125% ROI in ten months, Mr 1% Spend explored the idea that Return on Investment (ROI) is a concept manipulated by marketers in order to produce unmissable investment propositions. Here he expands on this topic with an example of this technique and how it will leave you, the customer, completely dissatisfied.
Marketing 3.0: How new media leaders are opening their APIs to third party developers...
Opening up your API to approved third parties can have huge benefits for your brand. Just ask Twitter – they built much of their early success off the backs of their external developer community.
Is Botox ruining the way we communicate?
Somewhere along the line it has become unappealing to let others see our emotions. More and more we rely on highly impersonal means – text messaging, social media and emails – to keep in touch but also to convey confidential information, conduct negotiations and build relationships. More and more we are talking at everyone but not really connecting with anyone.
Diary of an Entrepreneur Raising Capital: Naked Bungie Jumping
“If ever my optimism or motivation wains slightly, I try to picture it all working out in the end, just as planned. And if that doesn’t work, I just imagine how lucky I am not to have to get up each morning and do something really challenging, such as naked bungie jumping. Suddenly, seeking capital, staying motivated, etc., seems relatively simple, not to mention a lot less embarrassing.”
Toddler training and CEO training – not so different
Mr 1% Spend had an encounter with the CEO of Petulance Corporation recently. It was illuminating.
"The silence on the end of the phone was deafening. For any of you who have kids, it was that silent pause you get between saying no to whatever it is your toddler wants and the instant that the tears and screaming starts. Then the screaming started.”
Hidden Pizza Restaurant reveals not-so-hidden flaws in Yellow Pages’ digital strategy
What Yellow Pages has done with this campaign is spend (undoubtedly) an enormous amount of money reminding you that it exists. In the process, it may have also unwittingly demonstrated the strengths of its competition.
Diary of an entrepreneur raising capital: Once bitten, twice shy
I realise the aim of this column is to be as open and honest as possible about my experiences raising capital, but at this point I’m eager not to do anything that might jeopardise our chances of success.
If you think I’m being a little too prudent then let me tell you a painful story about how I learnt not to count chickens, the hard way...
Check out the new Twitter list of Anthill contributors
Anthill Magazine (in both its print and digital incarnations) has always had a rich and varied group of editorial contributors. In light of Twitter's newish lists feature - which allows users to compile and/or follow curated lists of Twitter users - we thought it was worth creating a list containing all of Anthill's regular contributors who are active on Twitter.
How to build a professional network from scratch
Starting out in business can be one of the most trying times anyone can experience and even more so if you lack a supportive...
World Builder: An amazing short film
This award winning short by filmmaker Bruce Branit was shot in a single day followed by about two years of post production. In it, a man...
Have we lost our sense of humour? Or is the Lynx Balls ad really...
There's nothing like getting banned by the Advertising Standards Board for generating masses of free PR. The latest Lynx ad, which seeks to encourage Australians to clean their dirty balls (the double entendre is more than intended), has been censured for denigrating the elderly.
Bringing coffee to a nation of tea drinkers, how Di Bella has taken on...
A Brisbane coffee mogul has beaten Starbucks at its own game. Launching into India, before the U.S. behemoth, Di Bella Coffee has had an overwhelming response from a nation of tea drinkers.
Do you know your competitors as well as you know yourself?
How well do you really know your competitors? No doubt, you are probably aware of your main business rivals but do you have some level of intelligence at your fingertips? How much do you know about what they do, what your customers think about them and how your business matches up? Understanding your competition can give you a new perspective on your own business and is an important step when planning your marketing strategy.
Meet Ralph Simon: "The Father of the Ring Tone"
Ralph Simon is regarded as one of the founders of the modern mobile entertainment industry. At X|Media|Lab Global Media Ideas, Ralph will address various ways Australian Internet start-ups can find capital or smart support for their company and commercial ideas In an email interview, we asked him to share his views about the 'next' round of mobile technologies and what he thinks about Australian innovation.
How to lose market share in one easy step: insights from the browser wars...
Once upon a time there was a company called Netscape. It reigned supreme on the Internet until the first browser war. Microsoft Internet Explorer was crowned the new king. Yet, as the battle for web browser supremacy continues, the new king has lost its footing. Google Chrome just clocked up 410 million users.
Fanshake’s Dana Al Salem talks about commercial ways to harness ‘fan love’
In this podcast, Fanshake's Dana Al Salem tells Brad Howarth about the opportunities for brands of all kinds to engage with the people that love them and gives some tips on how to work with that most fickle of audiences, like Generation Y.