Growth & Export

As you can imagine, I get sent books all the time. It's one of the perks of being 'Mr Anthill'. Despite being a prolific reader, only a few ever capture my attention. And an even smaller number capture my imagination. Several weeks ago, I was sent the Australian edition of 'Become a Key Person of Influence' by Daniel Priestly. I read it in an afternoon. And, several weeks on, my imagination is still buzzing.

Russians far and wide are witness to an incursion from a rare staging point. An Australian franchise has made a big splash in the land formerly known for perestroika and currently known for its high concentration of billionaires (Moscow has more of 'em than any city on Earth; it's true, we Wiki'ed it).

Let’s say you’re an advocacy group. You have a mission. Your job is to affect policy, policy makers and the public. Your job is to raise awareness, or in other words: Your job is to MAKE NOISE. Here’s a recipe for a great dish of noise with an average cooking time of about 60 days.

In an interview with Anthill’s Cynthia Karena, the duo says entrepreneurship should be all about building value, not selling out. Early in Spreets’ life, McEvoy realised the importance of this when a friend declined to put a deal opportunity on his Facebook page. That is when the penny dropped, he says, and Spreets began to focus on quality deals and the user experience, rather than focusing only on discounts.

In an interview with Anthill’s Cynthia Karena, Bullock talks about how his resolve never to accept no for an answer landed him his first big client – St. George Bank. Entrepreneurship also means creating a win-win situation and scaling from small to medium, and probably to large, because of the huge potential that still exists, he adds.

Barry Westhorpe is Chief Executive of The CEO Institute - Victoria, a leading networking group for senior executives. In this podcast, Westhorpe explains the results of a recent report released by the institute on CEO confidence levels in Australia. While news has been good for the financial and service sectors, business sentiment is turning pessimistic due to uncertainty in overseas markets and in Government policy on SMEs.

The latest Bibby survey shows that 52% of Australian small business owners are now more stressed that a year ago and that their major headache is their cash flow. These findings have led the debtor finance specialist to support calls for tax breaks.

With Australian online retail sales increasingly going to offshore sites, eMarketingConnected decided to examine the online practices of national retailers. The results presented in its Beyond the Basics report show that Aussie retailers are failing to engage consumers and to provide them with a full online experience.

Ovum's latest report puts the Australian and New Zealand business software market on the verge of a massive growth across all categories. The market is expected to hit $7.3 billion in 2015.

Some people will read this headline and think, 'What the fffff-heck! Of course entrepreneurship is about wealth creation. It's about building companies and industries, isn't it! You're speaking rubbish!' After interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs, over eight years, Anthill's James Tuckerman thinks otherwise. So, what actually drives entrepreneurship?

It's been five years since Anthill's inaugural Cool Company Awards. Initially launched as a 'piss-take' to poke fun at a plethora of magazine award programs at the time, the 'cools' were quickly (and unexpectedly) embraced by Anthill readers... with the force and finesse of Arthur Fonzarilli's fist on a dukebox. (Ehhhhh!) But, unfortunately, five years on, our logo is beginning to look... well... not-so-cool. Could it be time for a crowdsourced makeover?

According to the BizExchange Index June Quarter 2011, the number of businesses advertised for sale has reached new heights during the quarter but, as market sentiment declines, fortunate will be those who are able to sell their business for the right price.

According to MYOB, the number of Australian businesses online grew since last November, with Western Australia named as the state with the greater percentage of businesses with a website. Leading the way for social media use are Victorian businesses. The report also found that more businesses with a website had an increase in revenue (32%) than those without (22%).

An accurate business plan – the roadmap of where you want your business to be – is vital to the success of any venture. But it's a daunting task that can often take weeks to complete! This is often time you don't have. You could always outsource the job? But professional costs can also be prohibitive.... seriously prohibitive.

Travelex and EFIC (Export Finance and Insurance Corporation) have partnered to provide an extension to the limit of the EFIC foreign exchange facility, allowing exporters to have higher foreign exchange trading limits. The two entities have agreed to double the overall limit of the EFIC foreign exchange facility guarantee.

A serial entrepreneur, Creel Price has achieved a level of business success and knowledge beyond his 36 years. He launched eight businesses by the time he left school and a further two at university. At age 25, he co-founded Blueprint Management Group with just $5,000 in capital and sold it a decade later for over $100 million.

Any business should not necessarily be restricted to its own domestic market. There are many more customers for your goods and services, franchise business and even your intellectual property than you might think, even if it might feel daunting and a little frightening to operate away from a familiar environment.

Marketing strategies are critical for all businesses. Most know this. But few know where to start. Step Change Marketing, based in Sydney, has unveiled a pretty exciting tool to solve this dilemma – The Virtual Marketing Strategist. But can a robot plan your marketing?

Entrepreneurs' Night Out is on in Brisbane for a round of meeting and mingling. Share a drink. Have a laugh. And most importantly, help...

"There has been a shift in spending with more consumers searching for meaningfulness from their purchases,” said Melbourne-based social researcher Jeff Gilling. Small businesses should take the time to get to know their costumers individually and ask for their feedback, they should investigate how they can contribute to their local communities and should develop incentives to encourage customers to return.