It’s all too easy to get people offside through poor communication – the careless remark that cuts to the quick, the dismissive answer. People make mistakes in how they communicate with others all the time. Read More

Small business owners are starting to feel the effects of the credit drought. Many may already have experienced disappointment with a loan application. Meanwhile unexpected needs for a cash injection keep coming up such as a delivery vehicle breakdown or an opportunity to pick up some normally expensive office equipment or machinery at a good price. With credit getting tighter and credit card charges going up, who can a cash strapped owner turn to for a loan? Read More

Customer loyalty programmes work big time for big companies but SME owners are often deterred from developing one because of worries about how much it would cost or how difficult it would be to organise and manage. As a matter of fact, the very same principles that keep customers coming back to big companies can be utilised to develop an SME scale loyalty programme without a lot of cost and drama. Read More

Every business has its share of high maintenance customers, but not every business subscribes to the 'customer is always right' philosophy and feels they have to go on supporting them no matter what. In fact, some businesses will actually 'fire' a customer they no longer want to work with and often report being happier and financially better off once having done it.  Read More

Well, the Credit Crunch is well and truly at our door.

And to ensure we are in the best position to continue to provide you with the knowledge to help lift the performance of your business I would be grateful if you would complete a short 5 minute survey. We have commissioned the survey in conjunction with the RAN ONE Network.  Read More

There may be any number of costs lurking in your everyday activities and procedures that just don't get noticed simply because they aren't big ticket items. But that doesn't mean they can't add up to a significant spend nonetheless. Look around and see if these tips can help drive down costs before making any drastic decisions that may come back to haunt you later. Read More

Small business owners are starting to feel the effects of the credit drought. Many may already have experienced disappointment with a loan application. Meanwhile unexpected needs for a cash injection keep coming up such as a delivery vehicle breakdown or an opportunity to pick up some normally expensive office equipment or machinery at a good price. With credit getting tighter and credit card charges going up, who can a cash strapped owner turn to for a loan? Read More

If you spend any time at all online you can't have failed to notice a whole set of new technologies that make up what is being referred to as 'Web 2.0' - wikis, blogs, rss feeds, podcasts. More and more, these are finding application in business. Here's a simple explanation of two of the most common Web 2.0 technologies being promoted as useful to small business, blogs and wikis. Read More

When an employee comes to you with a suggestion, what is your usual reaction? If its along the lines of "That's never going to work", "That's not your problem" or "We don't have time to think about that" - or any equally negative response, then you could be missing out on a great opportunity to pick up on ideas for increasing productivity, cutting costs, or improving working conditions.  Read More

A budget is an important management tool. Being a projection of your income against your expenses you can check it at any time to see how well or how poorly your business is doing.


The value of a budget is in direct proportion to the accuracy of the figures you use to create it. Here are some precautions to take to keep your budget figures accurate. Read More