29 July 2011

These are the topics being covered in this issue:


Wisdom of Experience
Dealing with Sales Downturns
Tools for Tough Economic Times
Shared Use Kitchen Incubator
Building Activity to Plunge Further

Wisdom of Experience

There are now four Peer Solutions Groups operating or under formation, comprising about 40 businesses.  Three of the groups involve Stage II businesses, one is for relatively inexperienced early stage businesses.  More groups will be formed as required.

Meetings last two hours and members set the rules and the topics for discussion based on the issues they are mostly dealing with.  Peer Solutions also provides an opportunity to test your ideas amongst your peers.

Outcomes have been excellent for all involved, reflecting that one of the best business development tools is the experience shared by others also in the ‘trenches’.

Some of the subjects discussed or planned to be discussed to date include the following, with  the emphasis being less on theory but much more on local circumstances.

Dealing with Sales Downturns

·         Designing a communication and distribution strategy.

·         Marketing, including measuring effectiveness.

·         Strategy drift.

·         Preparing a customer relationship strategy.

·         Planning, including exit strategies and succession planning.

·         Working ‘on’ rather than ‘in’.

·         Scope Creep beyond the original agreement.

·         EFTPOS sales.

·         Commercialisation of a new idea.

·         Starting a new office location.

·         Time management.

·         Website optimisation.

·         Retaining quality staff.

·         Commercial contracts.

·         Do I spend too much time on unprofitable customers.

·         Preparing a social media strategy.

If you are genuinely interested in growing your business and willing to share trust and confidence Peer Solutions could just be for you.  If you are interested please contact me on the details below.

Tools for Tough Economic Times

Every business will face tough periods – some are always facing them.

Now is the time to do (or redo) your strategic business plan.  And to do this you should compare your business with your industry.

Is everyone in your industry having problems?  If this is so there will probably be a shake-out with only some surviving.

Is it time to partner to gain some operational efficiencies?

On the other hand, if it is only your business that is having a problem then you will need to learn what your competitors are doing differently to you.

The Economic Development Section has a valuable resource called Service Benchmarks.  This will allow you  to compare your performance against industry averages for your sector.

Many (but not all sectors) are available.  As they are copywrite you will need to view them at Council.  Please contact Wendy or myself to make sure one of us is here to help.  There is no charge.

Shared Use Kitchen Incubator

We have been discussing with our friends at St Columba Anglican School the opportunity to utilise their canteen are for those businesses wishing to prepare, process or cook food in approved premises.  Obviously they will need to occur after school hours or at weekends.

By sharing the use of the facility overhead costs can be kept to a minimum.

We consider this opportunity is paramount as food safety regulations are becoming tighter and tighter.  If the trial is successful we will confidently proceed to a larger facility with a range of food processing lines in the future.

If you are interested please contact me on the details below.

Building Activity to Plunge Further

Our most recent analysis of the Port Macquarie Hastings economy indicated that our very important building and construction industry is down by approximately 30% over last year.

The recent Master Builders Australia June quarter 2011 suggests the mood remains gloomy particularly since the Government’s stimulation programs have now tapered off.  MBA claims the spectre of interest rate rises is casting a pall over the industry.

One local builder I recently spoke to believes profitability is not being helped by the high range of competition in ‘everything that comes up’.

11 July 2011

These are the issues being covered:

Difficult period ahead for retailers creates some opportunities

Most recently accredited Customer Care firms

Local business conditions

The Skite Spot

Difficult period ahead for retailers creates some opportunities



It has been a difficult year for retailers.  My figures suggest that within Port Macquarie-Hastings, turnover could be down by as much as 30% (although it is difficult to compare with last year as some industry classifications have changed).  Consumer confidence seems to have been affected by a range of circumstances but particularly uncertainty regarding pricing for fuel, power, carbon taxes and interest rates.  Inflation is on the rise.  Significantly the Australian National Accounts say that we are now saving about 11.5% of our income versus an average of 2.5% prior to the financial crash in 2008.  Combining all of these with big increases in online spending gives an indication of the forces working against local retail opportunity.  A response by the big corporates to the changing environment, as always, is to slash operating costs – meaning fewer and more poorly trained staff.  This creates, in my mind, significant opportunity for the small operator focussed on delighting their customers.  I remember an old analogy that says “while you can’t change the head winds you can almost always change the sails”.



Photos taken by Hydro Photographics

The 5^th Annual Customer Care Awards, very ably organised by Rachel Ross, was a celebration of local business focused on doing exactly that.  For a full list of winners and photos click on the links below.

http://thecustomercare.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pmhc2444?v=wall#!/media/set/?set=a.201242873260535.65065.117445394973617

Most recently accredited firms

Speaking of Customer Care, seven more businesses have recently been Customer Care accredited, they are:

Telegraph Retreat – Melanie Marshall.  4½ star country retreat, luxury bed and breakfast.

Port Macquarie Day Spa – Jamie Finn, Rydges complex in Hay Street.  Relaxation, rejuvenation and therapies.

Thara Thai Restaurant – Thararat Watson, Timbertown Shopping Village, Wauchope.

XS Food – Rachel & Craig Freudenstein, Merrigal Road, Port Macquarie.  Food and beverage services and event catering.

Fredo’s Meats – Guy Williams, Lake Road.  Fresh locally grown produce and meats.

Men At Work – Scott Russell, Belah Road.  Ground maintenance, traffic control, transport.

XYZ Support – Zoe Pogonowski, Swift Street.  Website design, graphic design, maths tutorial business.

As these businesses are now officially accredited they are free to use Customer Care materials on all of their advertising and be promoted as Port Macquarie-Hastings “top shelf” businesses together with the other 360 existing members.  That means we have about 5,700 currently non accredited firms to go – a daunting but worthwhile task if Port Macquarie-Hastings is going to be recognised as Australia’s pre-eminent service excellence destination with all of the benefits that implies.

If you are interested in discussing the opportunity of becoming a Customer Care accredited firm, please contact Rachel Ross on 6581 8036 or email Rachel.ross@pmhc.nsw.gov.au

Local business conditions

I had the opportunity to discuss local business conditions at the Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce meeting last week.  In summary:

·         Gross Domestic Product is down 5% of the previous year.

·         Value of exports $1.5b – 14% greater than imports.

·         Labour force 30,000 people.

·         Unemployment 5.7%.

·         The top 3 key contributors to economic activity 2011 are health care and community services; accommodation and food services; electricity, gas, water and waste services.

·         The workforce is aging rapidly.

·         More jobs are being created for women than men.

For a full copy of the presentation, please click on the link below:

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1103899334145-143/Performance+of+Economy+21+06+11.pdf

Should you require further information, please contact Trevor Sargeant on 6581 8660 or email Trevor.sargeant@pmhc.nsw.gov.au

The skite spot

What you can do in the skite spot

The skite spot is all about sharing and its free.  What you can do:

·         Introduce yourself.

·         Share some recent good news stories about your business.

·         Praise another business.

·         Laugh about something you had a go at and it didn’t work.

Don’t be humble or shy because then we wont get the good news out, promote your accomplishments and inspire others.

How does it work?

Email me Trevor.sargeant@pmhc.nsw.gov.au.  Remember this is not an ad, it’s a discussion amongst friends.  So jump in and remember to applaud each other.

Your skite will remain as part of the current edition for two weeks and then be archived with previous editions on this site.

14 June 2011

The topics covered in this blog include Snapshots Edition 19, Purchasing Locally, Home Based Businesses and Higher Education.

Snapshots - Edition 19 - June 2011 Just Released

“Snapshots” is a quarterly publication from the Economic Development Section, providing data and commentary on the performance of the local economy.  Its aim is to assist business owners with their business planning and potential investors with their decision making.  June 2011 - Edition 19 has just been released and is available together with the previous editions – please click on the link.

Snapshots

Key Highlights

1.    Gross regional product (January 2011) - $3.092m which is a 5% decline over the previous year.

2.    Employment (December 2010) - 29,997 persons work in the Greater Port Macquarie region).

3.    Number of businesses registered to pay GST (June 2009) - 6,250.

4.    Building and Construction Industry down by almost one third over previous year.

5.    Population projections to 2036 – 107,600 persons, (1.3% per annum average growth).

6.    Unemployment (December 2010) – 5.7% compared to 5.3% for NSW.

7.    Visitor numbers – approximately 1.7m (2010).

Purchasing Locally

There appears to be lots of activity from organisations promoting the need to purchase locally. 

While I support this, I think the value is less about price but more about all of the other benefits of localness.  Business ownership matters in terms of impact. The key question is, where do businesses source their products and services and distribute their profits?

Don’t be fooled by a big size or big numbers.  Typically a new chain store is a clone of others using a minimum of local goods and services.  The profit from company owned stores are generally sent to their corporate headquarters elsewhere.  On the other hand, dollars spent at locally owned businesses create a strong local multiplying effect – well evidenced in Council’s input-output tables. 

Well, I guess I am preaching to the converted here and the effort needs to be made in informing your customers.  The following is available for your use at point of sale.  It can also be tailored to your circumstances should you wish, please contact Wendy Beverley on 6581 8221 to discuss.

This is What Else You Just Did

Home Based Business

The Home Based Business sector is a largely an unrecognised but emerging business sector of our economy.  Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics reports show that about 29% of all businesses in Australia are home based.  If this figure applies to our area, it means 2,000 businesses might be being operated from home. 

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a home based business forum.  A group of about 40 or so owners who meet every two months.  What a resource. I even met Anton Vissor who designs specialised vehicles such as fire trucks!

Wise Words from the Trenches

Last week, I visited a number of local firms – reports about which I will provide in the future with their authority.  However, one manufacturer said something very wise to me that is well worth repeating “The internet has forced me to stop focusing on my products and services.  Rather, I now need to focus on the customers who buy them.  If my customers are unhappy, my competitors are only a mouse click away.”  My take on this, is that modern customers buy more than the product.  Instead, they buy a package of benefits and advantages.

Higher Education – Encouraging Signals

While no financial commitments were made, the meeting with the Prime Minister and senior representatives of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) regarding the feasibility study, guided by Wayne Graham was very encouraging.  The Prime Minister was well informed, listened intently and was very accommodating with her time.  Thank you to Rob Oakeshott for arranging the meetings.

20 May 2011

Why do many of our businesses stay small?

Clearly the financial downturn is a major contributor.  But I think there is one more important and pretty simple factor at work.

PeerSolutions provides such an opportunity.  Two groups are currently operating with considerable success comprising 15 different businesses.  Check out the attachment - I'd be delighted to talk to you if you are interested.  My strong belief is that interconnected entrepreneurs and peer support networks are amongst the simple most important things we can be doing to grow businesses within Port Macquarie-Hastings.

PeerSolutions Flyer 

How do you do this? A good start is to talk to others with experience and to test your ideas.

If small businesses want to grow they need to find new customers. Obviously finding new customers means entering into new markets.  This means getting out of your comfort zone and becoming aggressive.

Apathy is the enemy

Expressways is a spare parts dealer - potentially boring, mundane and uncompetitive. They are anything but, Expressway Spares is constantly striving to maintain a competitive edge over their rivals and Patrick obviously aims to keep it that way.

Patrick also spoke about the importance of customer relationships and in so doing recounted his services at his preferred restaurant where he tells me that he is always acknowledged by name and treated as quite special. This is a bit different to the grunt I received today at the local sandwich shop.

Out & About

Rebecca Schacke & John Vanderveer own and operate the Milkbar Town Beach Cafe in Clarence Street, Port Macquarie.  John is a guy who I met some 10 years ago when he and his partner at the time produced the most fantastic bread and fresh pasta which he market tested at the Hastings Farmers Market.  They were such a success that they mostly sold out very early in the morning. Testing a product in a low risk situation is of course the real purpose of the Hastings Farmers Market.  John's test was amazingly successful and led to a number of other ventures - including the Lighthouse Cafe.  John & Rebecca have owned and operated the Milkbar Town Beach Cafe for 18 months and is a great example of how a business can grow attention to outstanding Customer Care.  In fact their business was so full the morning I turned up that we had to grab a table next door, courtesy of a friendly neighbour.

Some other businesses that have used the Hastings Farmers Market as a test for their ideas include Tony & Carol Sarks from Ricardoes Tomatoes & Strawberries and Monica & Eric Robinson from The Other Chef Fine Foods.

Worthy of a mention

While this email is not intended to be a noticeboard for other events, the following ones are worthy of special mention:

1. A comprehensive information session about the Mid Coast Uni Portal and initiatives to enhance higher education on the Mid North Coast will be held at the Port Macquarie Library Meeting Room, Grant Street, Port Macquarie.

Date: Thursday 26 May 2011 - 12.00pm - 1.30pm (light lunch supplied)

Attracting a tangible university presence to this area is possibly the single most important economic and social project that we can be doing.

Please RSVP to Emmy Graham by phone 6581 8207 or email

emmy.graham@pmhc.nsw.gov.au by Monday 23 May 2011

http://www.ncinnovationfestival.org.au/mid-coast-uni-portal-and-higher-education-project-innovative-initiatives-tertiary-education-1

2. The Port Macquarie Chamber of Commerce is undertaking a survey of business confidence.  Ultimately trends will be very useful in shaping the future of our economic development programs.  Please click on the link below to complete this survey.

www.portchamber.com.au  

 

By not staying ahead of your competitors, you risk being swamped. A good example is to think of encyclopaedias.  Encyclopaedia Britannica dominated the information field for two centuries until Microsoft launched Encarta. 15 years later Encarta was made redundant, replaced by Wikipedia. This is despite the fact that Microsoft had more money than many small countries and the very best people but still couldn't hold onto the lead. 

The moral of the story is to keep your blinkers off and to constantly review what you are doing and what your customer is expecting you to do.

It's not good enough to be fairly good at some things.  You have to stay ahead by constantly reviewing your business and how you are meeting your customers ever- changing demands.

Expressway Spares is a good case in point. Patrick is constantly reviewing his business and anticipating his customers future needs through regular meetings with his key staff. In discussing how he is staying in front of his competitors I had assumed that Patrick would tell me about his outstanding infrastructure, sophisticated tooling, huge gantry cranes enabling rapid completion of customer orders, be they national, international, private sector or government. I thought he would also mention his sublime business processes in immaculately clean premises and his logistically - central location both at Sancrox and also Mt Thorley in the Hunter Valley. But Patrick dismissed much of this as secondary prefering to focus on his staff, or team as he calls them, as being his Company's most important distinguishing feature - an experienced and motivated team of more than 150 specialists nurtured through a process of regular communication, a commitment to regular training, monthly progress meetings, career pathways and high levels of motivation.

3 May 2011

Tough Times Ahead for Some of our Businesses

Last week the Australian Financial Review reported that Coles is now serving between 1.5 and 2 million more customers per week than in 2007.  Bunnings (same ownership) total sales in the March quarter rose 8.1% continuing a recent trend.   This reflects the incessant inroads that the big guys are making through pricing and convenience.  It seems that customers are not only doing their weekly "big shop" but are also returning in-between times to top up for meat, fruit and vegetables and deli products.   In such a price and convenience driven future, it is difficult to see how the local butcher, the baker, the greengrocer and convenience stores can survive unless they are able to offer a genuine point of difference.  Under such circumstances,  I believe that it is more important than ever to promote 'localness' and the many benefits that this brings  The attachment has been developed for your use in this regard and can be formatted to include your own business details.  If you would like an electronic Word document, please contact Wendy Beverley, email wendy.beverley@pmhc.nsw.gov.au

Thanks for Shopping

The Drivers of our Local Economy

In order to review the Economic Development Section's Business Plan we have again looked at all 109 industry sectors in Port Macquarie-Hastings to refine our understanding of where best to concentrate our efforts. Criteria used comprised exports (sales to customers outside the area- the wealth creators), employment, value added (the value added by each industry in the local area) and backward linkages (the amount spent by industry sectors on locally sourced  goods  and/or services.   This analysis was based in the 2006 ABS Journey to Work employment census data, the most recent National Input/Output Tables (2006)  and the June 2009 ABS Gross State Product figures.

The major drivers of the Port Macquarie-Hastings economy have been identified as:

•       Retail

•       "Other' Property services (real estate, commercial property developers, etc)

•       Health Services

•       Education

•       Electricity Supply

•       Accommodation, cafes and restaurants

•       Residential building

With the exception of the important  tourism related businesses, it is notable that these are all service based industries.  It is hoped that our industry development activities in timber/ forestry, airport precinct businesses, higher education  and  transport / logistics, developed around some key infrastructure facilities,  will assist to diversify the economy away from its dependence on population growth.

Out & About

This week and last, I had the privilege of visiting 7 businesses nominated in the professional services category of the prestigious Customer Care awards.  Two judges for each of the 9 categories have been drawn from the Taskforce to individually assess the nominations including a written submission and a site-visit.  Personally I learnt  a great deal during this process and without exception each entrant had a very strong focus on service excellence in their organisation.

The Customer Care award winners will be announced at a gala dinner at Port Macquarie Panthers auditorium on the evening of Friday, 1st July 2011.  For further information please email Rachel Ross:  rachel.ross@pmhc.nsw.gov.au

Getting More Traffic to Your Website

Website traffic is valuable but targeted website traffic is worth its weight in gold.  This post lists some good strategies for getting more visits from your targeted audience. I particularly liked Point 2 - probably the hardest but most beneficial and the essence of what the Economic Development Section stands for.

http://biznik.com/articles/6-steps-to-getting-just-right-clients-to-your-website

Michael Porter's model (provided below) is helpful when talking about differentiation - narrow market (local) and quality product means higher prices but this of course is dependent on high quality 'consistent' customer service.

15 April 2011

The Most Important Things

What are the 5 most important things that you would like to knock over today.

I recall a story of an American executive who employed a consultant to help him with his time management skills.

The consultant's response was to get the executive, at the end of each day, to do a list.

There were only two rules:

1.    The list must contain only the five most important things to be completed the next day.

2.    Each morning, the first job was to work on the first item on the list and not to move to the second until it was completed. And so on.

The activity was remarkably successful and the consultant well paid for the results.

So the morale is:

•       Not 20 things. Not the most urgent. The five most important.

•       Each task is not a whole project - but rather an achievable component.

•       Do the list at the end of each day - not in the frantic chaos at the beginning of the day.

•       Each day, Every day.

Feedback

I wanted to mention Customer Care in probably the single most important thing a business, any business, can be doing to differentiate itself from its competitors (see PC Pitstop article below).

Some say they are already doing a good job but I really wonder.  I encourage every business to implement a means of achieving impartial feedback on how their customers are being treated. Remember that a high percentage of your profit generally comes from repeat business.

A number of businesses have their own versions of 'mystery' shopping programs which are paying substantial dividends. Examples include:

Anthony Wilson, Saltwater Wine

http://www.saltwaterwine.com.au/

Neville Parsons, Holiday Coast Credit Union

http://www.hccu.com.au/

PC Pitstop

Speaking of Customer Care, this week I visited PC Pitstop - a dynamic business operating in the rapidly changing computer sales and repairs industry.

The business is owned and operated by an alert young team of Samantha Clark and Ben Waters, at two busy locations - Port Macquarie & Lake Cathie.

Ben and Samantha are  very inspiring, constantly seeking ways to set their business apart from competitors and doing it very well.  Customer Care is clearly driving their success.

I think one of the biggest problems with service firms visiting your home is that, more often than not, they don't turn up on time.  Sometimes they are not even prepared to  nominate a time. Well if PC Pitstop says 3pm, they have processes in place to ensure they are there at 3pm.  Furthermore, staff are trained to listen, analyse and paraphrase back to the customer to ensure there is no misunderstanding of the customer's requirements.  Of course, this lets the customer know they have been heard and understand.   Some good lessons for us all.  I am reminded of a quote  "Quality is what the customer says it is.  Nothing less."

http://www.pcpitstop.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=22

The University of Newcastle's Inaugural Graduation Ceremony at Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse was transformed into a sea of caps and gowns on Saturday 26 February as the University of Newcastle celebrated its first formal graduation ceremony in the region and its 100^th nursing graduate.

The ceremony marked the completion of undergraduate studies for 23 Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts (Primary) students and 31 Bachelor of Nursing students.

University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nicholas Saunders, said the ceremony was a special event, and the first formal graduation ceremony in Port Macquarie was a chance to reflect on the significant role the community played in securing tertiary education opportunities in the region.

Port Macquarie has fought long and hard for tertiary opportunities. Beginning with the Hastings College of Adult Education in 1983, community support for quality tertiary education resulted in an alliance being formed between the community, TAFE NSW - North Coast Institute and the University of Newcastle in 2002. The University joined the Institute on its Port Macquarie campus, welcoming the first students into the Bachelor of Nursing degree in 2004.

Today, the University has close to 340 students studying nursing, teaching and the tertiary preparation course Open Foundation by Distance.

Major milestones were reached at the graduation. The University conferred its 100^th nursing student and a University Medal was awarded to local student Lucas Kelly.

Drop in Consumer Credit - A bad omen for retailers?

The Australian Financial Review reports a significant decline in borrowings - including a 3.5% dip in personal loans during February. This figure has fallen for 6 out of the last 8 months.

The household savings ratio has now reached 9.7% in the December quarter which according to the AFR "was one of the highest points since 1982".

All this suggests a fairly soft trading period ahead until borrowing rates pick up.