The Connector - April 2023 - Northern Business Breakfast publication

2023 SA Business Conference

The SA Business Conference 2023 is an opportunity for business owners, managers, staff and intenders to hear presentations by entrepreneurs, business leaders and advisors, sharing their journeys to success, discussing best practice and imparting valuable information for attendees to apply in their workplaces. There will also be workshops and networking opportunities.

Friday 26th May

9am – 4pm

Terrace Function Centre, Evanston

Hosted by the Gawler Business Development Group

The Conference provides a fantastic opportunity for attendees, to focus on developing and improving their businesses.

Buy your ticket now: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2023-sabusiness-conference-tickets-529933845397

Register your business or organisation for We’re Equal

WE’RE EQUAL identifies businesses committed to treating everyone equally, regardless of their age, ability, gender diversity, sexuality, relationship and reproductive status, race, religion, and culture.

They are actively committed to a vision of South Australia as an open, inclusive society that embraces/supports difference & diversity.

This means they will make sure their premises are a safe space for all people. They have zero-tolerance for discrimination or disrespectful behaviours, whether to or by their customers, staff, or suppliers and contractors.

Signing up your business or organisation to WE’RE EQUAL is quick and easy.

To join WE’RE EQUAL, go to www.equalopportunity.sa.gov. au/equal/register select the category that best describes your business & you’ll be taken to a sign-up form.

Thank you for helping to make South Australia a more tolerant and diverse society.

Fair Work Facts: pay slips

All employees must get a pay slip within one business day of being paid, no ifs, ands or buts.

Avoid pay slip slip-ups and get help from the small business website. There’s info on record keeping as well as templates and online courses to help you be an expert: https://smallbusiness.

fairwork.gov.au/keeping-the-right-records

Bites on the BoulevardBusiness Networking Lunch

Friday, May 5th 12:30 - 2:30pm

The Mawson Centre, Mawson Lakes

The business lunch is a great opportunity to enjoy some local food & drinks and network with other local business personnel. Gather, graze, connect & enjoy an afternoon of fine food and company. You really can mix business with pleasure. Book your tickets now $55 rb.gy/sxye6

Salisbury Centre Revamp

Key features that were reflected in the consultations and were delivered in the project included:

• Enhanced pedestrian safety with the reconfiguration of Church Street to assist with slowing traffic and facilitating smoother pedestrian movement

• Improved safety and security through improved LED lighting and CCTV coverage and upgraded Wi-Fi

• Creative artworks including a beautiful piece to commemorate the Salisbury railway crossing accident, celebrating the Salisbury City Band and Para Hills Brass Band and a third piece welcoming everyone from everywhere to Salisbury.

• Greater connectivity between the Salisbury Railway Station and Bus Interchange and John Street with more of a promenade type feel

• New garden beds and treescaping throughout the precinct

• Greater public amenity through outdoor seating and street furniture, installation of a new public toilets, expanded Salisbury Civic Plaza space and upgraded paving across some areas

• Improved parking for people with a disability and seniors and increased loading zone areas for local businesses

• Laneway beautification creating a north/south pedestrian corridor from Judd Carpark (off Wiltshire Street) through Judd Laneway, across John Street, through the Sexton Laneway through Sexton Carpark to the doorstep of the Hoyts Cinema Complex

Customers and local traders alike share the comments around John Street being more open, ‘welcoming’ and less cluttered, with more plantings that will only look even better as they mature.

Throughout the project, the City of Salisbury worked closely with the Salisbury Business Association and local traders to ensure that any inconvenience to businesses and their customers was minimised.

Council has also committed to a wider vision to support the redevelopment through more after-hours business opportunities including dining, shopfront improvements, street maintenance, activation as well as exciting future redevelopment opportunities for key Council owned sites across the City Centre

As a result of this major investment in the Salisbury City Centre, over the coming months we will see more events planned, expansion of outdoor dining opportunities and much more.

This investment by the City of Salisbury complements a high level of private investment across the Salisbury City Centre by property owners on sites such as Parabanks Shopping Centre, The Salisbury Hotel, Hoyts Entertainment Complex, Independent Institute of Food Processing, Salisbury House Medical and Dental, Aldi, Pascale Legal, Radiology SA, and there’s even more to come. Many business owners have also refreshed their building facades, added new signage and new window displays as well as improved lighting and accessibility.

If you haven’t been for a while, I encourage you to visit us, grab a coffee, see a movie, FREE school holiday activities, enjoy lunch or dinner at one of our many cafes and restaurants, book a hair and beauty appointment, check out the Salisbury Community Hub and Library and check out the wonderful array of businesses and local traders that we have here.

And despite difficult economic times and the lengthy impact off COVID, we are grateful that John Street currently enjoys 100% occupancy of all buildings and much of our precinct has 90% + occupancy including Parabanks Shopping Centre.

“It is exciting to see project completion just days away. This fantastic project will revitalise our City Centre and create an enhanced experience for those visiting the area.” Mayor Aldridge said. Mayor Aldridge said while John Street has been an iconic part of the City Centre, it was time to give the much-loved street a face-lift. “John Street has always been a lovely part of our City Centre, and it has always met the community’s needs. But over time, we have changed, evolved and diversified …

Our Salisbury City Centre has “Something for Everyone” and as our local MP, Hon. Zoe Bettison always says, “Come to Salisbury and see the world”

But we’re not finished yet … Stay tuned, through multiple redevelopment opportunities, there’s more to come!

Join us on this journey.

The Art Of Business Of Communication…

In business, good communication is critical to success. Every day we communicate with customers, Staff and suppliers in a variety of ways including phone, email, meetings, video conferences, SMS and sometimes still via mail.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a workshop with Community Development legend Mr Peter Kenyon hosted by City of Salisbury. Much of the content explored the critical components of successful community development. Many of these parallel to the success factors in business.

Peter highlighted to the audience a 10-minute free TEDx talk by Celeste Headlee which explores 10 ways to have better conversations. The video has had over 28 million views.

I recommend have a watch at https://tinyurl.com/ TEDxTALKconversation

Whist many of us would have heard these messages before – it serves as a great opportunity to reflect on how we communicate in our business lives.

Celeste’s key messages were :-

1. Don’t multitask. More than just setting your device aside – be present. Be in that moment. Don’t be thinking about another part of your day; if you don’t want to have a conversation, don’t! Don’t be half in, half out.

2. Don’t pontificate. “If you want to state your opinion without any opportunity for response or argument or pushback or growth, write a blog.” Enter each conversation assuming that you can learn something new. “Everyone you will ever meet knows something that you don’t.”

3. Use open-ended questions. Try on the shoes of a journalist, don’t go for easy yes/no responses. Have them describe what they are feeling, thinking, or expressing. Don’t do it for them. Liven up the conversation with open-ended questions and you’re guaranteed a more interesting response.

4. Go with the flow. Let thoughts come to a go. Follow the conversation, not what you thought the conversation would be like. Don’t hold on to questions just because they’re really good questions. Listen, react, and keep moving with the conversation.

5. If you don’t know, say that you don’t know. Don’t make your talk cheap, err on the side of caution and always speak like you’re on record.

6. Don’t equate your experience with theirs. Your experiences are never the same, no matter what the situation. Everyone is unique in their situations and how they feel and most importantly it’s not about you.

7. Try not to repeat yourself. Repeating yourself sounds condescending and creates boring conversations. And we do it, a lot. When you want to make a point it becomes a habit. Stop it.

8. Stay out of the weeds. People don’t care about the little details – the years, names, dates, etc. Leave them out. Focus on you, what you like and what you have in common with the person you are speaking to.

9. Listen. This is the most important one. So many important, successful people have said it over and over again: Buddha, “If your mouth is open, you’re not learning.” Calvin Coolidge, “No man ever listened to his way out of a job.”

Steven Covey, “Most of us don’t listen with the intent to understand. We listen with the intent to reply.” So, listen. Yes, we all would rather talk. It gives us control, it gives us the centre of attention, and it gives us the ability to bolster our own identity.

We also get distracted very easily when we can listen at about 500 words per minute and the average person speaks at 225.

Listening takes effort and energy and is completely crucial for a great conversation. If you can’t then you’re simply just two people shouting out barely related sentences in the same place.

10. Be brief. As my sister (the authors) has said, “A good conversation is like a miniskirt; short enough to retain interest, but long enough to cover the subject.”

All in all: Be interested in other people.

Save The Date: May 9th

2023 Federal Budget

On Tuesday 9 May 2023, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down the 2023-24 Australian Federal Budget with updates to key economic forecasts.

From personal and business tax to banking, superannuation, infrastructure, health, defence, climate change, and more, the Federal Budget has implications for every corner of the Australian economy and impacts our status on the global stage.

The Federal Budget is expected to deliver relief, repair and restraint as the Government seeks to respond to inflation pressures. The focus is expected to be in key areas including defence, aged care, health care, electricity bill relief, and changes to the superannuation system.

The budget will be well covered by most media, however major Economic Forecast companies also have a subscription option. KPMG’s free budget analysis to your email box can be subscribed here https://tinyurl.com/KPMGbudget23

2023 Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) time!

If you’ve provided fringe benefits to your employees or their associates between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, it’s now time to lodge and pay your 2023 fringe benefits tax (FBT) returns.

Make sure you note the following in your calendars:

• The 2023 FBT year ended on 31/3/2023.

• You’ll need to lodge your FBT return and pay any outstanding liability by 22/5 to avoid interest and penalties. This date applies as the statutory due date of 21/5 falls on a weekend this year.

• If you’re lodging electronically via a tax practitioner, the due date to lodge and pay is 26/6. This date applies as the concessionary due date of 25/6 falls on a weekend.

• If it is your first time lodging with a tax practitioner, you’ll need to contact them before 21/5. The agent needs to add you to their FBT client list by this date to make you eligible for the June lodgement/payment date.

• If you don’t need to lodge an FBT return and you’re registered for FBT, you should still let us know by the date your return would have been due.

For more information … rb.gy/tdu7m

The NBB May Networking Event

$30 (Or $55 for two people) includes a keynote speaker, food, prize draws and networking. Book your tickets via eventbrite, https://tinyurl.com/326ycrfw

Fourth Wednesday of the month.

May Wednesday, 24th 7am Breakfast

June Wednesday, 28th 7am Breakfast

July Wednesday, 26th 7am Breakfast

August Wednesday, 23rd 7am Breakfast

September Wednesday, 27th 7am Breakfast

October Wednesday, 25th 6pm Cocktail

November Wednesday, 22nd 7am Breakfast

Dec Wednesday, 13th (TBC) 7am Breakfast

Wednesday 24th May 2023 6:45am coffee 6:45am – 8:30am. Playford Bowling Club, Goodman Rd, Elizabeth SA 5112

From Little Things Big Things Grow

Keynote Speaker : Alison Milisits, CEO of Vili’s Family Bakery,

February Wednesday, 22nd 7am Breakfast

March Wednesday, 27rd 7am Breakfast

Alison is a daughter of successful pie maker Vili Milisits O.A.M joins us to discuss her father’s journey to success and her own working career within Vili’s Family Bakery, her own business ventures, and beyond. Alison has worked in many roles including pie, pasty and cake manufacturing, sales representative, NSW State Manager, National and International Sales and Business Development Manager, General Manager and to her new role as CEO.

With 30 Years experience in the baking industry and an incredible mentor through life and business Alison is taking the Vili’s brand to new heights with growth in wholesale, export, retail and franchising.

Join us for this enlightening breakfast.

Venue : Playford Bowling Club , Goodman Rd, Elizabeth SA 5112

Bookings : https://NBBmay2023.eventbrite.com.au

The Rotary Ethical Guide

Every single person on this earth will at sometimes have to navigate difficult or ethical situations. At times they will do well, and other times they could do better. No one is infallible.

Rotary as a service organization with a long history of promoting ethical values in business and personal relationships. One of the key ethical frameworks promoted by Rotary is the “Four-Way Test”, a set of four questions that can guide ethical decision-making in any situation.

Members of Rotary are encouraged to use this framework in their business and personal lives.

The Four-Way Test is as follows:

Of the things we say and do….

1. Is it the truth?

2. Is it fair to all concerned?

3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

These questions were first introduced by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor in 1932, during a time when the business world was grappling with ethical dilemmas arising from the Great Depression. Taylor felt that a simple, practical framework for ethical decision-making could help individuals navigate these difficult times.

Today, the Four-Way Test is a core part of Rotary’s ethical code and is sometimes recited at Rotary meetings and events around the world. It is used not just by Rotarians, but by individuals and organizations in a variety of settings.

The Four-Way Test is a powerful tool for promoting ethical behaviour and decision-making. By encouraging individuals to consider the truth, fairness, goodwill, and benefit to all involved in any situation, the Four-Way Test can help to promote trust, respect, and social responsibility.

It is a testament to Rotary’s commitment to promoting ethical values in business and personal relationships, and a valuable resource for anyone seeking to navigate complex ethical issues in their own life.

Next time when faced with a difficult decision – why not try the Rotary Four-Way Test.

Rotary Club of Elizabeth meets at the Grenville Centre on Monday nights 6.15pm for 6.45pm. Membership enquiries welcome.

www.elizabeth.rotaryaust.org

www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofElizabeth

Rotary Club of Salisbury (SA) meets at the Old Spot Hotel on Monday nights 6pm for 6.30pm. Membership enquiries welcome.

www.salisburyrotary.com.au

www.facebook.com/RCSalisbury

Top 5 Things Your Business Can Do Today To Improve Your Cyber Security!

1. Train employees: Educate employees about cybersecurity best practices, including how to recognize and respond to phishing emails and social engineering attacks. Regular training sessions can help ensure that employees are upto-date on the latest threats and know how to respond to them.

2. Use strong passwords: Encourage employees to use strong, unique passwords for all accounts and to change them regularly. Implementing multi-factor authentication can also provide an additional layer of security.

3. Keep software up-to-date: Regularly update all software and operating systems to ensure that known vulnerabilities are patched. This includes both software installed on individual computers and devices as well as any software used on the business network.

4. Back up data: Regularly back up critical data and store it securely offsite. This can help ensure that data can be restored in the event of a ransomware attack or other data loss incident.

5. Use security software: Install and use reputable security software, including antivirus and firewall software, to help detect and prevent threats. Regularly scan for malware and other threats to ensure that the business network remains secure.

Implementing these five steps can go a long way in helping small businesses protect themselves against cybersecurity threats. However, it’s important to note that cybersecurity is an ongoing process, and small businesses need to remain vigilant and adapt to new threats as they emerge. Seek the advice of you IT advisor.

How would like to make $43 for every $1 you spend on marketing?

Email marketing is one of the most cost effective marketing tools any business can use to reach its target audience. With an estimated $43 return for every $1 spent.

But it’s not just the return on investment that makes us smile, it’s also the fact that you own your email list. Whereas your social media accounts are all rented spaces. If they were to shut down tomorrow, at least you would have your email list.

To reach that return on investment in your business, there is some automation you can set up in your email marketing system to help get you there.

By setting up different automation within your email marketing, you can build stronger relationships with your leads, boost engagement, and ultimately drive more sales.

Welcome Series:

First impressions matter! Use a welcome series to introduce your brand, set expectations, and start building a relationship with your new subscribers.

Winback Series:

Don’t let inactive subscribers slip away! Win them back with a targeted series of emails that reminds them of the value you offer and encourages them to engage with your brand again.

Testimonial:

Social proof is a powerful tool for building trust and credibility. Use customer testimonials in your emails to showcase the positive experiences others have had with your brand.

Activation:

Once a subscriber has taken an initial action, such as signing up or making a purchase, it’s important to keep the momentum going. Use an activation sequence to guide them through the next steps and deepen their relationship with your brand.

By implementing these email sequences, you can build stronger relationships with your subscribers, boost engagement, and ultimately drive more sales.

If you would like help planning out and implementing your email marketing, please reach out to Bec Alison Marketinghello@becalison.com.au, or follow on Instagram for more tips @becalisonau.