www.BusinessBlueprint.com.au
Jan/Feb 2011
. . . e r u t a e f l a i c e Sp
SUCCESS... WHAT I WISH I KNEW PLUS+ Make 2011 Your Best Year Yet!
Sharon Pearson
CEO of The Coaching Institute
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS Business News Photo Gallery Success Stories And More
FAST-TRACKING YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS TODAY
From The Editor Welcome to our Magazine! Dear Reader, Firstly, I hope you all had a fantastic break over the Christmas and New Year Period. I had a blast at home in Auckland for two weeks with my family and friends and can honestly say I was looking forward to getting back to work. Of course one thing I was looking forward to was our first annual overseas Business Blueprint event. We have just got back from taking our members to Fiji, which was amazing! It could not have gone better, with the incredible speakers, smiling Fijians and cocktails by the pool. It was the perfect balance of learning and relaxing. Make sure you check out some of the highlights on our photos page in this months magazine. We’re also getting ready for a new round of events we’re running called ‘New Rules Of Business’. is event is like no other seminar you’ve been too - its going to be two days of Dale revealing all his secrets for doing business in this day and age. We’re taking it all over Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin. Make sure you click on the link on the opposite page and register to attend in your city. I can assure you, your going to love it. is month, our good friend Marty Wilson has written an article called ‘What I Wish I Knew About Success’. He is the author of the book series ‘What I Wish I Knew’ which is fantastic - I would recommend you check them out. Until next time, have a wonderful month.
In this month’s magazine … Check out our latest news and business briefs... Page 4 Feature Article: What I Wish I knew About Success by Marty Wilson... Page 6 Find out how to make 2011 your best year yet.. Page 8 John Anderson Helen Macdonald Sharon Pearson Read about what Dale has been up to recently... Page 10 Check out the photos from our latest Business Blueprint event in FIJI... Page 11/12 We speak to Daniel Joyce about his business Red Room DVD... Page 13 Claim your free audio, ebook and video... Page 15 Discover 7 Steps to Systemising and Increasing your Sales... Page 16 Be inspired by this month’s success story - Andrew Price... Page 19
Contact Us For any enquires please call 1300 782 734 or email editor@BusinessBlueprint.com.au
NEWS IN BRIEF
S S E N I BUS S F E I R B Calling All Future Einsteins Future Einsteins of the world, Google needs you. e California internet giant already has a reputation for progressive employment policies with its bean-bag culture, lava-lamp filled offices and insistence that engineers spend 20 per cent of their year working on something that interests them personally. Now it is looking for a new breed of employee: teenage geniuses. Google has announced the launch on an online global science fair allowing any student with an internet connection and a Google account to enter a competition with a $50,000US prize. Billed as the "first global online science competition", the Google Science Fair is open to anyone aged between 13 and 18. Students are encouraged to submit an idea for a scientific experiment by 4 April, with the winners being flown out to California to pitch their idea to some of the world's leading scientific luminaries.
Sony Vs iTunes SONY has signalled it may withdraw its artists from Apple's iTunes store and withhold its games from the iPhone in a sign the two companies are on the brink of all-out war. Sony plans to open a competitor to iTunes, a music streaming service called Music Unlimited, in Australia soon. Another service launching later this year will enable mobile phone users to pay and play first generation PlayStation games on their handsets. e head of Sony's games unit in Australia said it was unlikely to be available on the iPhone or through iTunes. Two weeks ago Apple blocked Sony's electronic book application from the iPhone because it would have bypassed Apple's system for buying content. e new Sony music service, which opened in Europe last year, will have a library of 6 million tracks and users will be able to stream songs to Sony TVs, PlayStation3 consoles, PSP portable game players and Blu-Ray players. e chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment, Michael Ephraim, said music streaming was a ''new technology'' that gave consumers greater freedom to play their music on a variety of devices. Because Sony's service will be stored on servers, users will be able to more freely access songs from any device, which Mr Ephraim said was in contrast to Apple's system, which relies on users to transfer their library across devices such as the iPod or iPhone.
In a blog post announcing the competition, the company said that scientifically gied youths should be encouraged to display their talents: "How many ideas are lost because people don't have the right forum for their talents to be discovered?" However, a baking soda volcano is unlikely to pass muster here. To give an idea about the kind of talent they are aer, Google posted an example submission from a high school senior from Oregon who claims to have written an algorithm that could enable a robot to negotiate its way through a hospital carrying linen sheets.
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Major Fail For Vodafone Vodafone has come under fire with 12,000 complaints being put into a damning report. e creator of Vodafail.com is submitting a damning 30-page document to regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) today summarising accounts by 12,000 Vodafone customers of poor network coverage, customer service and complaint handling by the telco giant. Adam Brimo, a 23-year-old recent soware engineering graduate from the University of New South Wales, created Vodafail.com while on hold to Vodafone when he began experiencing network problems shortly aer signing up to a two-year contract with the company. Vodafail.com was launched on December 12 last year and the website has had 150,000 visitors. Vodafail's report - Vodafone situation: yesterday, today and tomorrow - analyses thousands of similar stories from customers about hours spent on hold to Vodafone's call centre trying to make a complaint about its 3G network issues, including frequent call dropouts and delayed receipt of voicemail and text messages. Customers said they were fobbed off by Vodafone customer service representatives, who said there weren't any known network issues and the problems they were experiencing were related to their handsets or SIM cards. In most cases suggestions to reboot the phone or get a new SIM card did not solve the problems. e report claims Vodafone seemed indifferent and failed to handle complaints properly. Vodafone chief executive Nigel Dews apologised via the Vodafone website late last month. However, peak consumer body Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) said, overall, there had been an information vacuum surrounding the issues. www.BusinessBlueprint.com.au/Mag Business Blueprint Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 5
What I Wish I Knew About Success... After interviewing more than four hundred inspirational people for his bestselling What I Wish I Knew books series, Author, Speaker and Stand Up Comic, Marty Wilson, says there are seven tips to succeeding in business and life that people bring up again and again. Here he shares three with us. 1. Take More Risks Every single person I’ve interviewed for the What I Wish I Knew books has agreed with Mark Twain who said “Twenty years from now you will be far more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did.” When we look back with the twenty-twenty vision of hindsight, we realise that almost nothing is as catastrophic, urgent or irrevocable as we think it is in the moment. e perfect example of someone living this attitude was advertising and marketing expert, Siimon Reynolds’ whose quote in What I Wish I Knew at Eighteen was: “Make your future bigger than your past by seeking growth rather than applause.” In a world that is constantly evolving, sitting back and doing the same old thing week aer week, year aer year, is a sure path to a slow, gradual decline. e way I put this thought in my corporate keynote on embracing uncertainty in business is “When you refuse to change you don’t hold onto the past, you lose the future. Look at the band U2. Always evolving, always selling records. Whereas the band e Animals - always stuck in the House of the Rising Sun.
risks and Lost in Translation got him an Oscar nomination. Chevvy Chase, started out doing movies like Caddyshack, and he’s still doing movies like Caddyshack. For a business case study, let’s compare Radio network TripleM Australia with Apple Computers. Both launched in the 80’s as great challenger brands sticking two fingers up at the big boys. Doug Mulray and Steve Jobs were smart and sassy. 30 years later and Apple is still innovating, still leading their industry. TripleM is still playing a “Non-stop block of Classic Rock”. ey’ve always gone for applause instead of growth under the mistaken belief that it was ‘safer.’ On a personal level it’s worthwhile mentioning that by risks I’m not talking about skydiving, climbing Everest, or even just ignoring your annual budget report till the night before. By “Take more risks” my interviewees mean being true to you and never playing small. In some workplaces ‘taking a risk’ can be simply being an individual. It’s much safer to fit in and do what everyone else is doing. Sometimes playing it safe can just be about listening to that voice in your head that asks "What will people will think?" or "Who am I to do this?"
Bill Murray, started out doing movies like Caddyshack. en he took some 6 Business Blueprint Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 www.BusinessBlueprint.com.au/Mag
Risks are always relative and personal anyway. When I made the leap to full time stand up comedy, one of my best friends said to me: “I don’t know how you do it, just the thought of it scares me to death.” At the time this friend was a paratrooper. His job was jumping out of a perfectly good aircra at high altitude while people on the ground shot at him. When looking back on their lives, everyone agrees that the only thing that we should really be scared of are ‘what ifs’ on your death bed. All my interviewees agree that in business and in life, the riskiest thing is to constantly try to play it safe.
2. Get Mentors Now, just because you’re all fired up to go out there and take some risks doesn’t mean you have to be an idiot about. If there’s one thing the What I Wish I Knew series stands for it’s using the wisdom of mentors to help make life easier. It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do, play golf, start a business, write a sonnet, you will make much faster progress, achieve longer lasting success, and make change immensely easier by tapping into the wisdom of mentors. I think we learn to avoid this at school, because we’re told again and again that copying is bad. But once you leave school behind, the best
FEATURE ARTICLE | WHAT I WISH I KNEW ABOUT SUCCESS
thing you can do is copy. In life – copying is good. In business copying is great. ere is always someone out there who’s already successfully done what you’re trying to achieve. So buy them dinner and ask for guidance. Forget about self-help and move into team help. When I was first starting in Stand Up back in 97, I got tips from James O’Loghlin, Pete Berner, Kitty Flanagan, Akmal Saleh. On a minitour around Ireland Adam Hills said to me: “Never lose your temper at the audience. It shows you’re out of control and you have to be the alpha male in the room.” at one little hint must have saved a hundred gigs for me over the years. Especially during the time I was living in the UK, performing for drunken poms at the time when Australia lost the Rugby World Cup and the Ashes. (“Swing low, sweet chariot…”) So look around your industry and ask yourself 1. What do I need to do really well to be at the top of my field? 2. Who is already doing those things at the highest level? en ask them out for a coffee/beer/ slice of baklava and say “You’re wonderful. Tell me how I can be
wonderful too.” en sit back, relax and let them give you the benefit of their hindsight. I guarantee you will come away with a few incredibly powerful insights and short cuts that will help you leapfrog the competition. For example, without blowing too much smoke up Dale Beaumont’s patootie (it is his magazine, but I don’t want to embarrass him) I got chatting to him one day around the time my book, What I Wish I Knew about Love, was coming out and he just happened to say in the middle of a sentence “You’re target market isn’t people in love. Your target market is people who want to talk to people in love.” From this one insight led me to many deals, one of which was worth six figures to my bottom line. So dump your ego and start finding mentors, you won’t regret it.
3. Lighten Up e last tip I’ll pass on from all my interviewees is one I gravitate towards – naturally as a Stand Up Comic. And it’s the thing that most business people dismiss out of hand. Humour. No one takes funny seriously. And I think that’s a big shame for two reasons. Firstly, when times are tough your business needs to stand out and humour is a fantastic way to get noticed. We all get a thousand emails a day.
Which ones do we open first? e ones we know are going to make us laugh. What’s your favourite ad on tele at the moment? I’ll be your answer was something funny. We notice funny, we remember funny and we even admire funny. So throwing some funny into your communications, new business pitch or advertising is like coating your brand with superglue for the brain. Even forgetting business for a minute, on a more personal level, when the excreta is hitting the rotating implement how much do we all need a laugh? e best leaders in business have been shown to be the ones who keep their sens of humour in a crisis. And funny is also a superb way to let off steam, release endorphins and lower blood pressure. Groucho Marx said: “Anything worth taking seriously is worth laughing about.” So when things go bad, when things are at their absolute worst, ask right in that moment: “What’s funny”? If you will laugh about it at your 80th birthday, start laughing now.
Marty Wilson is a speaker, stand up comic and bestselling author of the What I Wish I Knew series. He specialises in going on first at conferences, getting participants to forget about ‘that email they forgot to send’ and open up to the knowledge they need to take in. In 2011 he is also doing private bespoke versions of his What I Wish I Knew series – like the What I Wish I Knew about Health & Fitness book he did with Fitness First. If you’d like to book Marty to speak, or talk about your own What I Wish I Knew book, please contact him at www.martywilson.com.au
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MONTHLY MENTORS | MAKE 2011 YOUR BEST YEAR YET
MAKE
2011
Helen Macdonald
John Anderson
YOUR
BEST
YEAR YET A number of years ago I heard this quote and it’s always stuck with me - “Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation” by Robert H. Schuller. is is why I make a point to spend ample time thinking about my business and planning out each major initiative in as much details as I can. I constantly ask myself questions like ‘How long is this going to take?’, ‘What could go wrong?’, ‘How could I create more leverage?’, ‘Is there a way to fasttrack things?’. e following columns feature insights and perspectives from successful business owners about how they create and plan and how you too can make 2011 your best year yet. Please enjoy the read and for more information on these experts, please visit their respective websites.
The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. If you want this year to be different to 2010, then you’ll need to DO something different! I don’t believe that we can change our outcomes just by thinking positively. We need less positive thinking and more positive doing! Don’t misunderstand – attitude is vital to our success. The key element is the application of ‘optimism’ rather than ‘positivity’. The Oxford Dictionary describes optimism as ‘a tendency or disposition to look for the most favourable outcome’. In my definition, there is also a critical aspect that includes taking action - doing something about it. Take advantage of the “fresh start” energy of the beginning of the year . To find out more about Helen, visit: www.helenmac.com
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I start my day with a brisk walk around the block. As I walk, I take some deep breaths. This helps me to ‘wake up’ and feel strong and centred. I think of all I’m grateful for in my life. As gratitude flows I visualise what I want in the day ahead. I say 20 Power Affirmations. By then I’m home - ready to get things done. I’ve started my day like this every day since I first heard it from Tony Robbins 2 years ago. Not only does it help me to feel fantastic… but it’s boosted my income too because I have so much energy to achieve big goals. I would recommend you find something that energises you in the morning and start to turn that into a routine. For find out more about visit: www.ConversionMasters.com.au
MONTHLY MENTORS | IMAKE 2011 YOUR BEST YEAR YET
Sharon Pearson - Living Life On Your Terms In 2011 exhausted and wanting nothing more than to sleep. Then the next ten years is spent trying to figure out how to get out of the mess they’ve created.
It’s why we went into business isn’t it? To have the life of our dreams, to be our own boss and to live life on our own terms. The flexibility to be, do and have what we want. Sometimes it’s a challenge to figure out how to create this. There’s so much to do. There’s so much to be achieved. There’s not enough hours in the day. And, frankly, too many business owners seem to live by the motto ‘more is better’. As in, more clients, more work, more money, less sleep, more stress... There is a way to get off this treadmill that might not be easy but it IS simple... Design Your Ideal Day Most business owners do it backwards. They build a business that takes over their lives, consumes all hours in the day and leaves them
The approach that changes all of this is to Design Your Ideal Day, and then go about building your business so it helps you achieve this and only this. When you do this exercise Your Ideal Average Day must be healthy for you and a day that you could do forever and not be bored, get sick or hurt anyone. Your ideal day includes – What do you do in the morning when you wake up? Who are you spending your time with? What do you do during the day? Who do you talk to and about what? Who are your clients? What do they expect of you? How many hours do you work? The more detail you can do this with the more profound it will be for you. It took me four hours to complete and when I saw what I wrote I realised some things had to change. Since this exercise two years ago I have gone about making sure that I get to live My Ideal Average Day most days of the week. I still don’t get it right every day, but I’m closer to it
than I was before I did this exercise. The thing is, it takes courage to design your business to suit your Ideal Average Day, because it can mean saying ‘no’ to a client, letting an opportunity to go by because it would take you away from your Ideal Average Day and making decisions that you wouldn’t make if your motto in business is ‘more is better’. For me this has meant NOT opening a new division of the business that would add $5million turnover in the next 12 months. I could have the money, but the price of this money is me losing living my life on my terms. I’ve done things for money and I’ve done things so I can have life on my terms. I now do things because it gives me life on my terms, and, interestingly, I’m wealthier than ever. Sharon Pearson is an entrepreneur and the bestselling author of Simple Strategies for Business Success. For your free copy of this book be one of the first ten people to email mastermindclub@thecoachingi nstitute.com.au and let us know the number one reason why you want to live Your Ideal Average Day. You can visit one of Sharon’s businesses at www.smallbusinessmastermindc lub.com.au
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Diary Dates Hot Seat Interview Thursday 3rd March Power Hour Class Thursday 17th March The Business Blueprint Autumn Conference is being held from Thursday 7th April - Sunday 10th April Power Hour Class Thursday 21st April Hot Seat Interview Thursday 5th May
Business Blueprint Members Area Welcome to our first issue for 2011. What a difference a year can make. Twelve months does go by extremely fast but on the same token, it’s more than enough time for a person to take an idea and turn it into something truly great. To see evidence of this, you only have to read the profiles and biographies of many successful business owners. In the early days it’s about laying the foundation but then they hit a point and things take off. Sometimes people call this the point of exponential growth. Others call it a tipping point. Or in the words of Victor Hugo ‘Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come’. As this new year falls upon you, I hope its your time and you can look back at this year saying ‘I’m glad I did’ and not ‘I wish I had’.
Power Hour Class Thursday 19th May
On a personal note, we spent two weeks in Hawaii in January on vacation which was a great time to relax and recharge We had a week back home and then flew to Fiji for another week to run our first ever Annual Business Blueprint Conference.
Hot Seat Interview Thursday 2nd June Power Hour Class Thursday 16th June The Business Blueprint Winter Conference is being held from Thursday 14th July - Sunday 17th July
I’m pleased to say it was a huge success and was one of the proudest times of my life. e following capture a small slice of the event - it really was very special (and as you can see above, my son Finn loved it too). Finally, we are now gearing up for to launch a brand new event called ‘e New Rules of Business’. e response we have had to date has been phenomenal and we can’t wait to share this event with you. Please check out the ad on page two of the magazine and register at www.NewRulesOfBusiness.com.au and we hope to see you there. Until next month,
MEMBERS AREA | FROM THE GALLERY
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HOT SEAT | DANIEL JOYCE
HOT SEAT
Daniel Joyce
With his business partner, Daniel created Red Room DVD in 2004 with their first vending machine located in Waterloo in Sydney. Where did the idea for your current business come from? I was living with a French guy, Jip Ducharne, who was complaining one night when he couldn’t rent a DVD at 2am. He mentioned that there were 24/7 DVD rental machines on every street corner in Paris. I had never heard of a DVD rental machine. When we did some research we discovered there were over 5,000 DVD dispensers in Europe – and not one in Australia. is was definitely something worth investigating. Unfortunately, DVD dispensers hadn’t operated successfully outside of continental Europe, which confused the opportunity for us somewhat. How did you come up with the name, Red Room DVD? When we decided that the business opportunity for us was to build a cutting edge retail brand, we sought help from experts. We commissioned a Melbourne-based design collective called Element Digital to do some corporate identity and branding work. We really wanted to avoid an obvious and forgettable name, like DVD Express or Movie Stations – so we were happy for an abstract name and brand. Red Room DVD was suggested for a whole bunch of reasons: it is highly memorable; a bit provocative and mysterious; it is a room – and we like to think of our stores as an extension of your lounge room; it is also red, which is a challenger colour (for example, Virgin or Vodafone) and is brave, confident and clever. e brand, Red Room, can also be applied to other products. It took a couple of
weeks for the name to grow on us, but now we couldn’t imagine being known as anything else. As a young person, how have you been able to sell franchises worth hundreds of thousands of dollars? Buying a franchise is a major business decision for anyone, and for us it is just as important to get the right franchisees on board – we are seeking a certain type of movie-loving person. Very early in the piece I realised that a young franchise chain like Red Room needed some ‘grey hairs’ on board – so David Chapman joined the team. David was formerly the regional vice president for Pizza Hut International and CEO of Burger King (AsiaPacific), so he was very experienced at running large franchise chains. He also has experience with small expanding franchise businesses and he was a perfect fit for Red Room. He is one of the key reasons we have managed to attract top calibre franchisees so early in our development. We also own a network of Red Room DVD stores ourselves, so it’s evident that we are tied into the industry for the long haul.
new businesses have a good handle on their finances. It is not sufficient just to get a bookkeeper on board; you need to know the accounts intimately and be able to instruct them to complete the tasks you need. I recommend new businesses spend money upfront on quality financial information. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. What do you love most about being in business? Flexibility in lifestyle. I love being able to go to the gym when I want, go for a coffee, have a swim at lunch, take a DVD home at midday on a Tuesday! I have never worked more hours than I currently work, but it is the flexibility that makes me enjoy each day. Blurring the line between work and play is also a great thing. In my previous corporate job, the lack of lifestyle flexibility was one of the things I struggled with most. I also love the sense of achievement when you build something.
What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in business and what did you learn from it? In the early stages I did not have a firm enough grasp on the business’s finances. We were so hard at work inside the business, that it was difficult to justify spending time on broader issues, like capital management, which was totally wrong. It is critical that
To find out more about Red Room DVD and their products, visit: http://www.redroomdvd.com/home.php
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HOT SEAT
Sue White
In 1995 Sue launched Intimo with just five staff and a small collection of imported lingerie,available in only two colours.But with a dedication to personalised service, product innovation,exclusivity and the genuine opportunity for women to build a successful Intimo consultancy, the company grew rapidly. What made you decide to start Intimo Lingerie? I have always loved lingerie and adored fashion, but as a larger cup size woman I found it incredibly difficult to find attractive, fashionable and affordable lingerie in my size. At the time, I was in fashion importing and wholesaling so I decided to diversify to fill the obvious gap in the market. It quickly became apparent that the lingerie business is not only about creating a quality product, it is also about how it is presented and sold. Lingerie is such a tactile, intimate and ‘feel-good’ product and I wanted to create a complementary buying experience. In addition, I discovered that more than 75 per cent of women wear the wrong sized bra, so a fitting and measuring service was imperative in ensuring that our customers had a supportive and comfortable bra. at was when I discovered party plan! It was the perfect business model for this type of product – it created an opportunity for fitting and measuring, a chance to feel the product and try it on in a comfortable environment, and it enabled each person to get the individual service that is appropriate for such a personal product.
In the beginning,what were some of the business skills you were lacking and what did you do about it? When I started Intimo, my role was in the background looking aer production and administration. But over time, as the company grew and developed, my role became far more high profile and I unintentionally emerged as the ‘face of Intimo’. Although I wholeheartedly believed in the company and its goals, I
was not confident that I had the sales and public speaking skills required to convey that passion and belief to others. To compensate for this, I attended sessions with a business coach who helped me to clarify my personal vision for the company; I then found that I could convey it more genuinely and convincingly. Ultimately, this helped me to realise that if you believe in something passionately and work hard you can achieve anything.
What are some of the things you do to ensure that your products are of the highest standard? Almost all of our products are manufactured in China, which has become the epicentre of global lingerie production.Over the last ten years, the standards and technology have improved dramatically and they keep getting better. at being said, we still have a rigorous quality control process both in China and Australia.We regularly visit the factories in China to ensure that the facilities are maintained in peak condition and that they adhere to our environmental and social standards. When we’re developing a new style, it undergoes a series of sample stages and is washed and worn repeatedly before going into final production. en, it is re-examined in China and again upon arrival in the warehouse. If we don’t believe that a product is up to the Intimo standard it will be returned to the supplier. We don’t want anything substandard bearing the Intimo brand as it would corrupt our reputation,we’d much rather recall and return a product.
What is one of the best business decisions you’ve ever made?
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e decision to adopt the party plan model was the best business decision I have ever made. Although it was about identifying the best forum for the sale of our product, it created a whole new dimension to the company that is now the core component – people. Intimo really isn’t just a lingerie company. It’s an organisation all about people and that presents a number of challenges, but it is overwhelmingly the most rewarding and amazing part.
What do you love most about business? I love the variety, excitement, the chance to be challenged each day and opportunities to meet lots of different people. I thrive on the adrenaline and the anticipation of what each day may bring. When you are in business you are never bored. ere is always something to do, somewhere to go, lessons to be learned, people to meet and successes to enjoy.
To find out more about Intimo and their products, visit: http://www.intimo.com.au/
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What do Microsoft, Chupa-chups, Liquid Paper, Ref Bull, Cornflakes and Post-it Notes have in common? All of these companies are household names across the globe! In this business book summary, you will hear of some of the greatest businesses of our time- and the people that created them. And whether you're a natural entrepreneur or just have a brilliant idea, you'll be intrigued, amazed and inspired to take your business to the next level.
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ARTICLE | SYSTEMISING AND INCREASING SALES
7 Steps To Systemising And Increasing Your Sales In today’s world time seems to be going faster than ever before. By the end of the day we look back at the To Do list we had at the beginning of the day and see it is now longer than the one we started with.
Well if it’s as easy as that, you might be thinking why aren’t most business owners doing it? Well there are two reasons: 1)
Trust
As our environment around us continues to change, we have to adapt and also change if we are to keep up and grow our business. e number one thing any business can do to not only grow but also create a system around increasing sales and demand for their product or service is: delegation and systemisation.
2)
Finances
Too oen I walk into a business and notice the owner being the sales consultant, boss, manager and every other role you can think of within business. Doing this is not only stressful for the business owner but also for the staff as they feel inadequate and unchallenged. Soon enough staff will start looking else where to work, somewhere that can give them variety, freedom, responsibility and ultimately job satisfaction. Sure controlling every sector within the business can be good short-term, it is a recipe for disaster long term. Now the solution to this challenge all looks to easy, just delegate and systemise what you can to others and as a business owner just concentrate on what you are best at.
Most business owners are working in their business rather than on their business. Because of this they develop a belief and love for the business so they think that no one else would be as passionate or knowledgeable about their product or service so they try to do everything themselves. And the second reason why they don’t like to delegate or systemise their business is because they simply can’t due to a lack of funds. Aer the Global Financial Crisis a lot of businesses have taken a backward step and their sales have dramatically reduced. As revenue decreases so does the number of sales staff within organisations. Aer the GFC most businesses have reduced their sales staff by 25% and in some extreme cases by 60%. So how do you drive revenue and increase sales if you have a very tight budget and you really can’t afford to hire sales staff on a full or part time basis?
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First things first: e business owner must get more creative. Below I have listed seven different strategies any business owner can utilise to not only increase sales but also systemise the sale process so that they can achieve more in less time: 1. Create Joint Venture relationships: By far the quickest and most cost effective way to increase sales is to partner with other industry related businesses who could create exposure for your product or service through their customer database. When creating joint ventures think of businesses who your customer would go to before or aer they purchase something from you. And lastly it is important to know your outcome before contacting possible joint ventures. For example: Is it an email which you would like them to send it out to their database or are you going to give them a free test of your product. ink of a strategy that is going to be a win win situation for each party involved. 2. Systemise your sales training: One of the main reasons why hiring new sales is an expensive project is the time and resources it takes to train a new sales consultant in your product and company. Start systemising this part of your business by creating videos, manuals and scripts which a
ARTICLE | SYSTEMISING AND INCREASING SALES
sales person can study before even stepping in to their first day at work.
current role. Generally it is very hard to change someone’s attitude.
By doing this you cut down the amount of time and money it takes to train new staff and increase your bottom line quicker because your sales staff can start selling from the very first day.
5. Invest in your staff: Incentives every sales team to read a book on sales each month. Purchase the book for them and let them know that you want to help them grow and become as good as they can be in sales. Aer being in sales for over 12 years I can tell you first hand that it’s not always about money when it comes to salespeople, growth and job satisfaction plays a major role.
3. Get creative in finding sales staff: Don’t just follow the traditional way of finding sales staff. Recruitment cost these days can become very expensive and it does not necessarily guarantee you a solid candidate. ere are many job boards these days that allow you to place an ad for free, use the power of social media and what I believe to be the best form of recruitment through internal staff members, 4. Hire on attitude not skill: A key ingredient in hiring quality sales staff is to hire on attitude not skill. Someone could be the best sales person in the world on paper but his/ her attitude might not be right for the
6. Create consistent challenges: One thing sales people love is a good old challenge. If they come to work every day and it is the same old thing then soon or later they will get bored and start looking else where. ink of new challenges and sales targets you can create every month that is going to stretch their comfort zone. 7. Find out what the salesperson wants: You need to find out what each individual sales staff is looking for by working in your business. Too many
times I have asked sales manager/ business owners what their team members look for in their role within the organisation and 90% of the time they tell me what they think rather than what their staff members think. Don’t assume, ask!! By implementing the above seven steps on a consistent basis you will start to notice increase of sales, staff satisfaction and most importantly growth in sales revenue so that you spend more time working on growing the business instead of being stuck in the business.
Alex Pirouz is the founder of SearchFindHire.com.au, an online network, connecting sales people with businesses looking for sales staff. Visit www.searchfindhire.com.au for more details
www.BusinessBlueprint.com.au/Mag Business Blueprint Magazine Jan/Feb 2011
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MONTHLY MENTOR | ANDREW PRICE
BUSINESS BLUEPRINT SUCCESS STORY
Andrew Price "From the time I finished high school I knew that I wanted to be an artist. I saw Toy Story at an early age, and so the idea of sitting behind a desk punching numbers for the rest of my life sounded dull and boring. I wanted to be creative! The only problem is, most artists are broke. You know it, I know it. So instead of taking the traditional route of most artists, that I would instead teach people how to be good at art instead. I didn't know how I would achieve it, but I thought it would probably work. It was at this point that I went to Dale's Profile Accelerator course. Dale taught me all about sales and marketing and why most books don't sell very well. His common sense approach made writing a book sound a lot simpler! He even gave me one-on-one help in the lunchbreak to talk me through what I needed to do. By the end of the course I was excited and ready to make some money!
On the opening launch day I made $20,000, and by the end of the first month I made $50,000. Needless to say I was blown away! I was able to quit my daytime job and work on my website fulltime. My website (www.blenderguru.com) now receives over 5,000 visitors a day and has over 14,000 email subscribers. I in the process of creating a training DVD that I hope to sell in about 3 months! I can't wait to start Business Blueprint and learn more awesome tips from Dale :) Andrew Price Creator of BlenderGuru.com
In the following 2 months I wrote an eBook called "The Wow Factor" that teaches people how to use a 3d art program. I already had a website and regular readers, so I made very subtle hints to my readers that a book would be launched soon and that it would be awesome! Over the course of 6 weeks, my book had gained quite a lot of buzz and it wasn't even for sale yet.
Coming up in the next issue... Feature Article: Emma Issacs from Business chicks talks to Dale Beaumont about the importance of having the right mentors. More photos from our Business Blueprint Fiji Conference
Hot Seat Interview with an expert who can help you take your business to that next level Another free Audio, Reading and Video that can enhance your business
Exclusive tips from our Business Blueprint Mentors The wrap up from our next Business Blueprint Conference and see all the exclusive pics
www.BusinessBlueprint.com.au Business Blueprint Magazine Jan/Feb 2011 19