Great gem of a book!

Today in the email inbox I came across an e-book a freebie that is a beauty!

50 gems from Australia’s top SME entrepreneurs by www.smartcompany.com.au

In it is 50 quotes from SME’s that they have interviewed and I enjoyed reading it.

Well I didn’t read the lot merely flicked through it but I found number 45 to be appropriate to all of us out there in social media land..

“Social media matters a lot!

There’s a new group of people who are on Facebook and their iPhones, tagging places that they have been to and eaten at.

I think that can become very infectious and good for businesses that do very well and not so good for businesses that don’t have a good reputation.

It only takes one negative tweet about an employee not doing the right thing to their staff and it can go viral.”   

Marcus Sellen, Selmar Institute of Education

2/3 can I make the hat trick ?

Happy New Year and all that Jaz! 

I love to shop but the thing that lets most retailers down is their staff  - their ability to strike up a relationship with their customers and then ensure the vital part of a sale is to ensure the customers purchase will make a difference in their life in a timely and polite no crap kinda way.

Simple enough? Nope it seems there is no staff training out there in retail land.... or is there...

Think about it for a moment:

If I could sell you something that would improve your quality of live, make more time for you to enjoy the quality times in your life  - whether it be down time, time with family or bring some pleasure to your little neck of the woods?

Have I got your attention?

YOU WOULD PAY ALMOST ANYTHING?

Right?

you betcha!

I know I would….my time is valuable, im a busy person, businesses, family and lots of volunteer commitments….I scream from the roof…

In the past I have had less than satisfactory experiences with phone retail and especially retail online….after all its global, your a faceless number/ name out there in the Internet of life...

But my 2 latest online chat/retail experiences have been unreal – a great start for 2012 and slowly restoring my faith in on-line retail experiences.

Meaning that most online purchases through ebay/online stores etc are usually straight forward.

But if you happen to have a slightly out of the box retail need....hold on its real windy out there...

But in saying all that... I have tried the the latest online retail fad – support chat….

Real people that can make decisions...OMG!

Tasks:

1/ update software, tricky one... this one..... need to upgrade from a very old Adobe product to latest version with all the bells and whistles…please make this simple for me...

2/update phone as 4 year phone is out of contract and wont update itself any more, needs a bin real fast.. who doesn't love dealing with telco's... oh dear.... headache tablets at the ready.

Results:

Task 1 – results: search on-line, log in, find chat on-line support - OMG its a real person with the same name as me....a little spooky ....
total time 23 minutes for online questions, selection, extra purchase, payment – delivered to my door within 7 days from Ireland.

Impressed!

Task 2 – results: 33 minutes for lots and lots of questions back and forth, selection of handset, choose plan choice, billing choice, proof of identity and finally payment – delivered to my door within 7 -10 working days ( they promised )

OMG and they even rang me when the connection was dropped via bad weather..

they I had a nice chat with my online support person who was so SWITCHED ON.

Love it!

that's what it is about....I'm a loyal customer will tell 25+ of my friends and sing their corporate praises online....everywhere...

Task three to purchase IT equipment on line....searching for the support chat...as we blog...

Maybe my faith in retail especially online is being restored...

Judges tips for photography comps

I recently had the pleasure of judging local photographs at an agricultural show and a clubs interclub challenge all in one week.

The standard was extremely high and there was a huge amount of effort in the under 18’s section which is fantastic as these are the photographers of tommorrow.

There were A and B grade images, monochromatic, prints and digital.

I struggle with the ideology in an open section that has analogue prints and digitally taken images up for judging together.

I must be strange, I like to judge digitally taken images against one another as I feel analogue is in a league of its own.

If we are to be judged should we be judged with our peers?

But as usual it was a fabulous experience and the range of subject matter and techniques and styles were amazing.

So what are my tips?

1. Read the rules; ensure your photo is within the guidelines.

2. Have a clean crisp neat mount for your prints; sometimes it’s literally points that separate 1^st and 2^nd.

3. Ensure your photo is clear, its hard to judge an image that has been printed too large and the whole image is out of focus or too pixelated.

4. Don’t have titles near the photo it can be distracting.

5. Mount colour can be black or white or pick out a colour that is within your photo and match the mount to this.
   Make sure your mount colour doesn’t distract from the photo. ( and dont forget to place an arrow for the top of the print on the back - so we know which way up the print is to be viewed.)

6. Photos  are usually judged on:

-       Impact

-       Composition

-       Technique

-       Presentation

-       Subject matter

Other items that come in to play are:

-       fitting within the sections heading,

-       the shows guidelines

-       creativity

-       lighting

-       style

-       centre of interest

-       colour balance

-       story telling

Digital images can be looked upon favourably with a neat boarder around them. 

Good luck with your next show!
I know I cant wait to judge again.

When does business responsibility end?

Saddened to hear of a friend purchasing a business the walk in walk out type.
All that was promised in the documents, stock control sheets etc were not as it seemed.
Missing passwords, memberships not up to date and mess on site to name a few concerns.

It’s a fact of life people who let businesses run down and or loose the plot with them just prior to the sale can damage the businesses reputation for the new owners.

How do you get over that?

Easy:

1. Wipe the slate!

2. Clean up, sort the place out, put your mark on it.

3. Renew the memberships with enthusiasm; people will be excited to hear you have taken over ( and probably relieved )

4. Work out your new business hours to suit you and your customers and be consistent with your opening hours, people like to turn up to a premises to find its actually OPEN and welcoming.

5. Check out the staff, are they from the previous owners stock pile, are they doing more damage than good? (remember you are as only as good as your staff, brand and marketing will not get you over the line each week if you have rude staff and or staff who don’t have the same passion for your product.

6. Treat each customer the same, remember word of mouth is the fastest and best form of advertising, you want the old customers, the ones who walked away and those new customers to come in and notice the new management. Positive referrals spread fast!

7. Listen to each customer! Sure they may whinge about the previous people but if you listen and pick up how you can do better, its like having a review done on the business – as long as its constructive, if it’s a personal attack against the past owners their reasoning’s may go deeper than a failure of customer service.

8. It’s your business try new things, ask your best customers what they are looking for and NETWORK, join local groups and talk to other business owners. ( don’t get caught up in the gripeing or sad sacks - look for the bright and bubbly owners who are like minded.)

9. Listen to all the advice and pick out the best bits that suit you, your financial situation and your future goals for the business.

10. Have fun, running a business is hard work but enjoy it, “ better to be self employed than unemployed” Work hard, learn hard and you will reap the rewards.

Good luck I know you will do well!

HOw do you run an event on and round Melbourne Cup day?

One way is to look at successful events that make it happen!

Don't get me wrong the Melbourne Cup is a crowd puller, remember its the race that stops a nation.... see some data on this:

http://app.streamsend.com/s/1/asvY/EqbCxPy/bx

Anyhoo one event I have been studying is the Marysville Sparkling Wine Festival.

Here is a small village that has survived from the Bushfires of 2009 that has come together as one community to showcase what it has to offer over five massive days.

The Sparkling festival on the cup day is one component of what is happening in and around Marysville.

Community engagement, community pride and the willingness to say WE ARE HERE COME VISIT US! is so evident in the happenings.

Community groups have all provided an attraction to showcase their strengths and achievements.

How did they get the word out?

Social media, word or mouth, adverts, pre press releases, Melbourne based radio adverts, hosting and linking up with different events, attracting different target markets, showcasing stalls featuring food and wine, things for the adults as well as the kids and the only sparkling festival in Australia... clever!

So many things happening ..
something for everyone....
as well as the big screens with the race on!

So don't miss out, get dressed up and join in - come along and see for your self..

pure marketing gold

http://www.marysvillefestival.com.au/

The team is off to melbourne for taste of melbourne

The Upper Goulburn Food and Wine region – Mansfield to Murrindindi will be showcased at this year’s Taste of Melbourne to be held at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton. Melbourne’s Ultimate tasting menu event, the Taste of Melbourne will be held from Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 September 2011.

It’s a really nice way to treat yourself to a delicious day out!

The Upper Goulburn Food Wine and Culture Group, The Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association and the Goulburn Strathbogie Olive Growers Association members have teamed up to be part of this endeavour to showcase our regions strengths collectively with our food and wine product.

The volunteer management team are Wendy Oates, Susan Kinloch, Sam Hicks, Lisa Wallace and Rob Mitchell and the team are happy to support the following businesses that are coming on board to be part of the four days:

Ashton Lodge Preserves, Buxton Ridge Winery, Delatite Winery, Emu Olives, Garners Heritage Wine, Great Divide Coffee, Hillcrest Olives, Hye Farm Olives, Kinloch Wines,
Lake Mountain Alpine Resort, Mansfield Regional Produce Store, Marraweeney Olives,
Maygars Hill Vineyard, Mount Bernard Olives, Oasis Olives and Ridge Grove Pickled Olives.

Come along and visit our the UG stand (no 80 G and H) at Taste of Melbourne and meet the makers of our regions’ best cool climate wines, olives and olive oils, preserves and chutneys, canapés from the new Lake Mountain restaurant and delicious delicacies from the Mansfield Regional Produce Store and more.

Now established as a ‘must attend event’ by food and wine lovers from Australia and beyond, Taste of Melbourne allows attendees to taste signature dishes from some of Melbourne’s best restaurants. Over four days there will be opportunities to meet award winning chefs, learn from demonstrations, take part in tastings and tutorials of fine wine and cheese, attendees can try out coffee and cocktail master classes and discover gourmet produce.

The groups acknowledge the sponsorship of the stand by Murrindindi and Mansfield Shire Councils.
Any further information about this event or if you are a small food producer who wishes to be involved (ring now as we have two sessions left) you can contact info@uge.asn.au or Sam on 5772 3227 or Lisa Wallace on 5772 0333

World Photography Day

"What's World Photography Day?

World Photography Day is all about celebrating photography and

remembering how special a photograph can be.
Today, we take our photographs for granted.

But next time you're flicking though photos from your last holiday, remember that there was once a time when photography didn't exist.

A time when those precious moments couldn't be captured, uploaded and shared.

On August 19th, celebrate photography and share your world with the world!"

http://www.worldphotoday.org/