Bayside BEC Blog
Our unique perspectives on business and the economy.
IP Australia ‘Engaging an Attorney’ toolkit
As a business, chances are you’re creating intellectual property that you’ll want to protect. The process of patenting can often be an uncertain and daunting journey. For first time applicants engaging an attorney can greatly increase the chances of success.
IP Australia’s new ‘Engaging an attorney’ toolkit aims to help small and early stage businesses with decisions about patenting and how to be prepared in order to best utilise the services of a patent attorney.
The toolkit was created following customer research in 2016 that identified common barriers for small business, startups and early stage business when thinking about taking out patents and engaging an IP attorney.
This new content is designed to help first time IP owners have more productive and cost effective engagement with the IP attorney profession. That way they can focus on getting the advice they need so their IP strategy fits with their commercialisation strategy.
Deep Dive Business Workshop | Get Your Audience To Face You On Social Media
Are you’re posting on social media but your customers seem to pay little to no attention to what you’re saying? Over 90% of audiences on social media have their back to the brand they are ‘following’.
Why?
In this massively successful deep dive business workshop on 1 March 2018, Melinda Shobrook of CyberTribes goes through why they have turned their back on you, and how to get them facing you again on social media. read more…
New mandatory data breach reporting starts
From 22 February 2018, businesses with an annual turnover of more than $3 million – and certain small businesses below this threshhold – are required to comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988. A data breach occurs when unauthorised personal information is accessed or released. If the breach is likely to cause serious harm to an individual, businesses are obligated to notify both the individual involved, and the Office of Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
It is recommended you go to https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy-law/privacy-act/notifiable-data-breaches-scheme for a full explanation of the new scheme, including how and what you may need to report. Below we summarise a few key points for your information.
Which entities will be covered by these requirements?
According to the office of the Australian Information Commissioner the following entities are covered:
- Agencies and organisations (entities) that already have obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) to secure personal information.
- This includes Australian Government agencies, businesses and not-for profit organisations that have an annual turnover of more than $3 million, private sector health service providers, credit reporting bodies, credit providers, entities that trade in personal information and tax file number (TFN) recipients.
- Entities that have Privacy Act security obligations in relation to particular types of information only (for example, small businesses that are required to secure tax file number information) do not need to notify about data breaches that affect other types of information outside the scope of their obligations under the Privacy Act.
The turnover level of $3 million applies to only 2-3% of Australian businesses, however those businesses operating in the healthcare sector or the provision of credit or credit reporting facilities are covered irrespective of size.
The definition of health care provider is widely drawn to include many businesses in the allied health sector. For a full list of these and to determine if the scheme applies to your business see Is my organisation a health care provider.
Networking + Guided discussion on digital marketing, branding & social media
Melissa Robson from Divine Creative Agency spoke at the Bayside BEC at one of our “Networking & Discussion” events on a popular topic, how small businesses can get the most value out of their digital marketing, branding and social media. Most businesses leap straight into the DOING when it comes to marketing. They focus on WHAT they want to do, rather than the WHY behind it, and give little thought to an overall STRATEGY or OUTCOMES you would like to achieve.
The other missing elements business owners forget to do is have fun with their marketing. It’s time to be real and show who you and your business truly are. 76% of sales decisions are based on trust, so it’s imperative that we create trust in our marketing, and one of the best ways to do this is to be open and authentic. A great way to get your message across to many is through video. By 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of the consumer traffic… are you ready for this? When watching video, viewers retain 95% of the video’s message compared to only 10% when reading text. And click through rates increase 2-3 times when business owners include a video in an email.
Some of the other key elements that you need to do when you are marketing your business…
- Get clear and create a solid strategy. You need to know who your target audience is, where they hang out, what their ‘pain points’ are, how you can emotionally connect with them through a variety of media – we all know it takes on average 11-12 touchpoints with a prospect before they think about becoming a client. And then only when you know exactly who you are marketing to, set your goals and create an action plan. Work backwards from what you want the outcome to be, and detail HOW you are going to execute your marketing
- Discover your unique selling proposition and what motivates people to buy from you. It doesn’t hurt to run a survey with your existing clients, and it’s so important to not forget your existing clients. It costs 7 times more to pick up a new customer rather than do more business with existing clients. Remember to love your existing clients, they already love you… don’t ignore them!!
- Create special offers and packages that appeal to your audience and differentiate you from other people in your audience. (Remember, don’t view others as competition, we’re all individual and have something great to offer.) When you turn it into a completion based on price, nobody’s a winner.
- Find joint venture partners and work your existing network hard. Look around at you the businesses who are all successful and going strong, they would have one thing in common, they have solid business relationships, cross refer to each other and collaborate on many projects with other industry leaders. The days of going it alone are far behind us.
- Execute, launch and measure. Never be afraid to make changes if your plan isn’t working. There’s a famous phrase “Ready, Fire, Aim”. The purpose behind this is to just get yourself ready, get your plan into action and then readjust as you go. If you wait for the perfect launch, the perfect conditions, the perfect conditions… it will never happen and you will never take off.
If you missed the presentation and want to learn more about how Melissa and her team at Divine Creative Agency can help you, please get in contact with her direct on 9522 7300 or 0408 602 181.
Protect yourself from illegal phoenix activity
Reproduced from Small Business Newsroom.
Illegal phoenix activity is when a new company is created to continue the business of an existing company that has been deliberately liquidated to avoid paying its debts, including taxes, creditors and employee entitlements. You can avoid phoenix companies by knowing who you’re dealing with.
To protect your business you could:
Bayside BEC mentioned in Parliament by MP Steve Kamper
Mr STEPHEN KAMPER ( Rockdale ) ( 17:13 ): I acknowledge the fantastic work of the Bayside Business Enterprise Centre, formerly known as the Botany Bay Business Enterprise Centre, and thank it for hosting me at the executive meeting this morning. The Bayside Business Enterprise Centre has been operating for more than 30 years within the territory of my good friend the member for Heffron. The centre is relatively new to Rockdale, but I am highly impressed with its professionalism, organisational structure and skill base. I welcome the centre to my community. The Bayside Business Enterprise Centre, which is part of the network of business enterprise centres across Australia, provides a range of professional services, training, networking opportunities and support to local businesses. What strikes me as special about the Bayside Business Enterprise Centre is the fantastic job it does in bringing small, medium and large businesses together in a mutually beneficial manner.
The Bayside Business Enterprise Centre was first formalised in 1987 as the Botany Enterprise Development Agency with support from the Botany Municipal Council, relatively early in the member for Heffron’s long tenure at the helm of the City of Botany Bay. The board of directors was made up of senior employees—often the chief executive officers of a range of major local businesses, including banks, airlines and port-related businesses—and this tradition continues to this day, with many major companies taking on leadership roles within the business enterprise centre. The business enterprise centre was set up to create links among businesses and all levels of government, and it continues that job admirably to this day. The Bayside Business Enterprise Centre is lucky to have the support of some of the State significant businesses that call the Botany Bay area their home—Port Botany, Caltex, airlines and others with major pull—and they share their expertise and resources across the entire local business community. I am happy to see that collegiate spirit enter the Rockdale business community.
It is well known that I am a passionate advocate for local businesses in my community and across New South Wales. I ran my own businesses largely out of the Rockdale area for 30 years before I entered politics and as the local member I take a keen interest in promoting employment and business opportunities within my electorate. In my financial practice I spent a great deal of time advising clients on growing their businesses and thinking outside the square. I am well aware of the importance of skill sharing, advice and support in making or breaking local enterprise. That is why I am so excited by the quality of the services being offered by the Bayside Business Enterprise Centre and the opportunities this will offer to businesses in Rockdale as they expand across the local government area. It will offer great new opportunities, which have not always been highly accessible, in the Rockdale area.
I congratulate Executive Officer Marcus Dwyer, who has led the push to expand into Rockdale and grow the Bayside Business Enterprise Centre. I would recommend to all businesses in my electorate that they engage with Marcus and the Bayside Business Enterprise Centre to see how they might be able to support, and be supported, by this fantastic local network. Crucial to modern small businesses, Marcus and his team are providing advice and training in how to tackle the challenges of the digital economy, how businesses can engage with online marketplaces, how to make use of shared workspaces and virtual offices, how to deal with the challenges of cyber security and the possibilities created by our increasingly globalised world. The Bayside Business Enterprise Centre has set the gold standard for local business advocacy and advisory services. I look forward to working with the centre in the future to support our local business community and economy.
Mr MARK COURE ( Oatley ) ( 17:17 ): As a former director of a business enterprise centre in my capacity as a councillor at Kogarah City Council, I too acknowledge the Bayside Business Enterprise Centre for its contribution to the small business community not only in Rockdale but also across the St George area. It is well known that small business is the backbone of our community, but small business only prospers in a good economy. Since 2011 this Government has turned the New South Wales economy around in every key major economic indicator. New South Wales is now contributing to more than 80 per cent of the economic growth across this country. We are creating more jobs, building infrastructure and reinvesting into local economies. It is good to see that small businesses are continuing to grow not only in my community but also in the community of the member for Rockdale.
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