Articles

Have you thought about what your business is worth? When you come to sell it, it may not be worth as much as you think.

Businesses like to hang their hat with one political party or another for a variety of misguided reasons. It may well explain why so many businesses go bust in the first three years. They are spending too much time hoping politicians will deliver them a miracle than, you know, working. Is it just coincidence that this time-frame is the same as the term of a government?

It is commonplace in business to look at what your competitors are doing and do your own carefully crafted version of that. Excuse me. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. There is nothing unique about reflecting the messages within your industry.

It seems to me that the biggest thing holding Australian businesses back right now is the “me too” syndrome. I do not consider the fact that there are not enough women on boards and in senior management positions to be merely a sexist thing. What I mean is that there is an ingrained corporate culture that says the leaders and directors want to hire others that are “like them”.

When we last left Mr 1% Spend, he was asking some tough finance and tech accountability questions of bemused Sydney business manager “George” and his increasingly exasperated cohorts. Today, the story reaches its climax as the author questions whether spending $15,000 to upgrade Microsoft Office is the most intelligent use of company funds.

When we last left Mr 1% Spend, he was asking some tough finance and tech accountability questions of bemused Sydney business manager “George” and his increasingly exasperated cohorts. Today, the story reaches its climax as the author questions whether spending $15,000 to upgrade Microsoft Office is the most intelligent use of company funds.

Foreign investment and domestic jobs have been inextricably linked since Australia’s convict days. Austrade’s Chief Economist Tim Harcourt explains.

In the 1920s, Ernest Hemmingway sat around a table of fellow writers and bet them that he could write a story in just six words. With great disbelief, the writers took his bet. Hemmingway quickly wrote six words on a napkin and passed it around the table. The words were: “For Sale, Baby Shoes, Never Worn.” On the issue of brevity, Hemmingway was a man ahead of his time.

Poor cashflow is the biggest killer of promising startups and SMEs. Here, Alan Sharfman provides some outlines some simple steps you can take to improve you cashflow situation.

“All humans want is to touch and own shiny objects. I am pretty sure it is hard-wired into our brains right alongside breathing, pumping blood, sex and sleeping. You might think you’re above all that, but you’re not.

Two days of desert highways, roadside dining, sleep deprivation and feverish coding by 25 strangers delivered two web startups and a whole lot more, writes Matthew da Silva.

There isn’t just satisfaction and dissatisfaction, there’s non-satisfaction and non-dissatisfaction too. It’s important to know the difference. I did some research once on bank customers and found out that they weren’t hoping for satisfaction, just no dissatisfaction. And it really made me think.

Attracting new clients to your business can be as simple as finding out what turns them on. I’m talking about how to uncover the secret desires of your audience in order to really tickle their fancy and best excite and seduce them into becoming your clients.

Generation Y has been slammed in the media for a lack of work ethic. To find out what business leaders think, Jack Delosa caught up with Janine Allis, founder of Boost Juice, to learn about how she turned this generation into her greatest asset and what Gen Ys can do to take advantage of the recent media attention.

Over 400 vendors all competing for attention, all selling their wares. Each have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their booth to make them look professional and successful.

Much of the discussion about business innovation and commercialisation in this country focuses on technology transfer and public R&D. However, it’s worth reminding ourselves that agriculture and primary industries still constitute a large proportion of Australia’s GDP. And these sectors are crying out for innovation reform too. Brian Ramsay explains the significance of the upcoming Productivity Commission inquiry into rural R&D corporations.

Much of the discussion about business innovation and commercialisation in this country focuses on technology transfer and public R&D. However, it’s worth reminding ourselves that agriculture and primary industries still constitute a large proportion of Australia’s GDP. And these sectors are crying out for innovation reform too. Brian Ramsay explains the significance of the upcoming Productivity Commission inquiry into rural R&D corporations.

While in Copenhagen for last year’s climate change summit, Anthill contributor Dave Sag had an opportunity to test drive the Fluence, Renaut’s 100 percent electric car. As Sag reports, the loudest thing about the Fluence is its indicator. But is it a game-changer?

The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons, Napoleon Hill’s 1,600+ page monstrosity published prior to Think and Grow Rich, contains a lot of useful information that can help you realise your potential. In this series, Joshua Moore covers each of these attributes in a practical way that you can apply to your life and work. Today he discusses Lesson Five: Initiative and Leadership.

Let’s take a leaf from the pages of Old Media History. If you own a television set, TV networks can’t stop you watching their programming. There is no ‘block’ button on the control panel at your local TV station. Yet the demographic composition of a TV audience is essential to the success of a television when courting advertisers.